Carda ran with several orlock gangs over a period of some 25 Terran years, first joining as a lookout as a 11 year old. Through this time she developed a reputation for calm under fire, a killer instinct and an ability to get the job done when all was going to hell around her. By the end of her time running with gangs she was serving under Jojo "gunkasaurus Rex" Lock, with the "Gunkasaurs" gang. Following a major disagreement over several issues including the gang name, which Carda considered "dumb as fuck", the gang began to fall apart, before a botched raid on a ghast farm rendered Jojo Lock a drooling vegetable. Lacking the family connections to run her own gang, a disillusioned Carda set out with another former member of the Gunkasaurs, Deadeye, to find her way as a freelance bounty hunter.

Utlizing her contacts from her orlock days, her wits, and her infamous hammer "Leslie", Carda slowly built herself up a reputation as a dependable, intelligent and relentless hunter, but also as one who stayed more or less on the right side of the law - turning down contracts likely to bring her into conflict with the authorities (though more than happy to clash with gangs). Despite her accrimonious split from the Orlock leadership, she maintained a decent working relationship with many Orlock gangs, and often signed on as extra muscle protecting caravans or joining raids. Eventually, on a contract to bring return a petty town mayor's daughter from an ill advised twixt with a mutant loan shark, she made the aquaintance of Tincan and Voyager, and together they formed the Hammer Hand Security Services company. Hearing rumours of trouble in Zeta-9, they set out towards it, figuring that trouble meant good pay

Known as "tincan" for his first set of armour that he improvised from empty cans, Jon MacCormac is a scummer and proud of it. Born in a flop house, he grew up on the streets and learned the hard way that life in the underhive is harsh, brutal and cruel. Daily scraps for food taught him how to fight, and he worked as hired muscle for many years, before graduating to private security for visiting merchants, caravaneers and even missionaries. Through this work he developed a reputation for a hard fighting, brutal and talented mercenary, but not much of a leader. When he signed on to help Carda with a recovery job, he found a leader he felt he could trust in, in contrast to the protection contracts where the clients would often attempt to use him as cannon fodder or a fall guy. A knack for survival and talent with a blade earned him Carda's respect, and together with Dead Eye and Voyager, he joined Carda to found HSS.

The man who would become known as Voyager was not born in the underhive. He wasn't even born in the lower hives. He was born into a highly regarded family in service to house Javar, a minor noble house in the upper spires.  As expected for those of his family, he went into service in the Javar's house guard, and quickly displayed skill at arms, drive and, unusually, the type of initiative that makes for ideal operatives. After many years of training, he was annoited as a special agent of the house, in service to the firstborn son of house Javar. However, politics in necromunda are violent and byzantine, and on the death of the old patriach, a brutal shadow war between rival claimants to his power and wealth emerged. Despite his right of blood, Voyager's patron was disliked by some of the powers behind the throne, and was killed. His servants and agents were to be purged, and Voyager's own wife and 2 daughters were murdered, their throats cut in the dark. persued by house agents, Voyager made a living as a bounty hunter, his skills and equipment earning him the creds to survive, and to move on when his hunters got too close. 

Many years later, Voyager has become a hardened bounty hunter, his old life now left behind. Accepting that vengence is unlikely, he has resolved to survive in his new life, and if the oppetunty arises to stab the old nobility who rewarded his service with the muder of his family, he will take it. After operating alone for so many years, he signed on with Carda after working with her on a job and feeling for the first time in decades the warmth of comeradarie. 

Mr Nigel Ratburn spent 12 years teaching small underhivers in a rare facimile of a school. However, when this was burned down by a drunk vigilante posse hunting mutants due to his status as a ratling, the previously kindhearted Ratburn's attitude hardened. After attempting, unsucessfully to hunt down the posse (since they were eaten by a sump croc the same night), Nigel decided the best way to earn funds for a new school, and to gain a rep that would keep such posse's away, would be to learn to shoot, and join a gang. Selling the cadavers of the orphaned children who had died in the fire, Nigel was able to buy a lasgun, which he named Arthur.  Joining HSS, Nigel now be teaching lessons in an entirely new way

Green jacket, red trousers

A long time comrade of Carda's from her time running in Orlock gangs, Pedro developed a firm loyalty to the woman that lead him to success and creds and kept him alive while doing it - when an ogryn took issue with him and smashed his leg with an axe, it was Carda who rushed the beast and killed it, saving his life (though he maintains a limp to this day). When Carda was denied the ability to lead her own gang due to a lack of family connections, Pedro decided to follow her rather than seek out a new gang. While he lacks Carda's leadership and charisma, he brings a strong back, a good eye, and a heavy bolter - and in his experience, thats usually enough