Sep 16, 2024 10:33 pm
INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEMO
from the desk of Chief Inspector Bill Quaxton
The vast majority of "street gang" activity on Cybele Station takes place in Ring 2, due to the high density of commercial businesses and low-income housing. The street gang serves to protect the interests of whatever local factions it represents, to carry out the directives of any upper syndicates which might support them, and to facilitate the thriving black market which, according to some, is the backbone of the entire Sodyban economy. This theater of illicit activity is referred to in dramatic station slang as, "the thirty-seven decks of crime." There are of course only 36 decks on Ring 2. The significance of the extra deck in the name is unknown and probably unimportant.
NOTABLE STREET-LEVEL STATION GANGS:
T.K.B. - the so-called "True Kebo Brotherhood" is an underground militia that uses the trappings of religious fanaticism to conceal a booming drug empire. The TKB is believed to have roots both in Ring 1 and on the planet of Kebos itself. They are known to occasionally use crablings as mules and gophers, figuratively speaking.
TKB symbols include the "Eye of Kebos," usually situated between two long, vertical curved blades; the initials "T.K.B." in any language; and three vertical claw-marks crossed by an "S" shaped horizontal line.
Hot-Blood Club - a primarily ape and human gang that also includes an increasing number of Bat’O. The HBC operates mainly on the inner, wealthier decks of Ring 2, and the scope of their operations is limited compared to other gangs. In essence, they are a frequently-violent social-club motivated by exclusion and territoriality.
The HBC often simply uses a version of the D.O.H.M. flag and logo as their symbols, as despite their criminal nature they do somehow consider themselves to be good imperial patriots. They also sometimes use the image of a hominid skull or a red, hominid handprint.
The Talon - "The Talon," often spoken of as an organized, monolithic force, is in reality a blanket term used to refer to any number of associated Avian criminal enterprises and individuals which hold, as one of their central tenants, the cause of radical separatism. These so-called "silent dissidents" utterly oppose their planet’s submission to the Hominid Empire and its tolerance of a continued reptilian presence on Cybele Station. Within the Talon are several factions whose motivations differ, but all seek a sovereign Thoth-Suroh. Some are royalists who would restore the noble houses and raise up a new emporer, while others are religious anarchists seeking not just revolution, but revelation. Many Talon fighters have fully integrated into their communities, living and working as teachers, doctors, and even station security and the colonial armed forces.
Universal symbols of the separatist movement include a black talon on a field of white; the "Sky Crest," the ancient crown which once designated the emperor of all birds; and the images of the celestial bodies which adorn that crown (a sun and moon surrounded by 13 stars). Individual separatist factions also have their own various symbols and calling-cards.
The Orochi - the Orochi are an eclectic organization notable for their strict code of honor, their affinity for operating in the dangerous asteroid belt itself, and for being one of the only majority-reptilian criminal organizations to be disavowed by the majority of reptilians themselves. The Orochi claim to be descended from a revered class of spies, bodyguards and assassins which flourished in the golden age of the Kebosian empire, but which somehow fell from favor and was consequently banished even further into the shadows. This may or may not contain some truth, but the Orochi’s reputation for stealth and secrecy is real and well-earned. Their symbol is the dragon.
from the desk of Chief Inspector Bill Quaxton
The vast majority of "street gang" activity on Cybele Station takes place in Ring 2, due to the high density of commercial businesses and low-income housing. The street gang serves to protect the interests of whatever local factions it represents, to carry out the directives of any upper syndicates which might support them, and to facilitate the thriving black market which, according to some, is the backbone of the entire Sodyban economy. This theater of illicit activity is referred to in dramatic station slang as, "the thirty-seven decks of crime." There are of course only 36 decks on Ring 2. The significance of the extra deck in the name is unknown and probably unimportant.
NOTABLE STREET-LEVEL STATION GANGS:
T.K.B. - the so-called "True Kebo Brotherhood" is an underground militia that uses the trappings of religious fanaticism to conceal a booming drug empire. The TKB is believed to have roots both in Ring 1 and on the planet of Kebos itself. They are known to occasionally use crablings as mules and gophers, figuratively speaking.
TKB symbols include the "Eye of Kebos," usually situated between two long, vertical curved blades; the initials "T.K.B." in any language; and three vertical claw-marks crossed by an "S" shaped horizontal line.
Hot-Blood Club - a primarily ape and human gang that also includes an increasing number of Bat’O. The HBC operates mainly on the inner, wealthier decks of Ring 2, and the scope of their operations is limited compared to other gangs. In essence, they are a frequently-violent social-club motivated by exclusion and territoriality.
The HBC often simply uses a version of the D.O.H.M. flag and logo as their symbols, as despite their criminal nature they do somehow consider themselves to be good imperial patriots. They also sometimes use the image of a hominid skull or a red, hominid handprint.
The Talon - "The Talon," often spoken of as an organized, monolithic force, is in reality a blanket term used to refer to any number of associated Avian criminal enterprises and individuals which hold, as one of their central tenants, the cause of radical separatism. These so-called "silent dissidents" utterly oppose their planet’s submission to the Hominid Empire and its tolerance of a continued reptilian presence on Cybele Station. Within the Talon are several factions whose motivations differ, but all seek a sovereign Thoth-Suroh. Some are royalists who would restore the noble houses and raise up a new emporer, while others are religious anarchists seeking not just revolution, but revelation. Many Talon fighters have fully integrated into their communities, living and working as teachers, doctors, and even station security and the colonial armed forces.
Universal symbols of the separatist movement include a black talon on a field of white; the "Sky Crest," the ancient crown which once designated the emperor of all birds; and the images of the celestial bodies which adorn that crown (a sun and moon surrounded by 13 stars). Individual separatist factions also have their own various symbols and calling-cards.
The Orochi - the Orochi are an eclectic organization notable for their strict code of honor, their affinity for operating in the dangerous asteroid belt itself, and for being one of the only majority-reptilian criminal organizations to be disavowed by the majority of reptilians themselves. The Orochi claim to be descended from a revered class of spies, bodyguards and assassins which flourished in the golden age of the Kebosian empire, but which somehow fell from favor and was consequently banished even further into the shadows. This may or may not contain some truth, but the Orochi’s reputation for stealth and secrecy is real and well-earned. Their symbol is the dragon.