Guilder caravans make tempting targets for Outlaws. The penalties for attacking Guilders are draconian, but Outlaws are desperate, hunted men and the Guilder caravans carry a small fortune in credits alone. Guilders hire local gangs to protect their caravans as they pass through their territory, but bitter experience has taught the Guilders not the let the guards come near the caravan itself in case the temptation proves too much. Hence the gangs act as vanguards and flankers, fighting off mutants and Outlaws that come anywhere near the caravan. For their part the Outlaws just want to get past the guards and grab the booty.