Robbie MacNiven’s Necromunda short story Once a Stimm Queen tackles the strained relationship between two rival gangs, with the added complication of the underhive’s black-clad Enforcers getting in the way of cooperation. Sy and Jennix are both juves in the Escher gang the Stimm Queens, out on a routine job running stimms for a Goliath gang when the Enforcers strike and Sy makes a risky break for safety. Years later, the Enforcers get involved once again in Stimm Queens business, only this time Jannix is older and wiser, and won’t go down without a fight.
Necromunda is a perfect setting for this sort of story, taking in illicit deals in shady out of the way places, and MacNiven spins an entertaining tale of grit, determination and desperate deal-making. The Enforcers provide a suitably dangerous threat with their Dredd-influenced brutality, offering something a bit different to pure gang versus gang stories, but there’s more here than just a straight-up fight. It might be a touch predictable, but there’s a neatly constructed plot that nicely justifies the setup and provides a satisfying mixture of action, double dealing and engaging dialogue. It’s great fun, and there’s scope for much more from these characters.
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