Saturday 27 March 2021

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 7 - Into The Cursed Earth

Sector 55 Blues is a Judge Dredd Campaign using the Savage Dredd unnofficial Savage Worlds Expansion.  This is an online only game with members from Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.

Aftermath at The Two Ways Public House

Judge Teal calls it in.

"We've got a dead Judge and five dead perps at The Two Ways in Benny Hill Block.  I need a meat wagon stat."  

"Who's the dead Judge" replies control "Going to need to inform the Watch Commander".

"It is the Watch Commander... Judge Govan is dead"  

A full complement of forensic judges descend on the crime scene and start to pick apart the aftermath of the shootout.  The death of one of his senior officers brings a personal visit from Sector Chief Judge Ezquerra to the crime scene. 

He walks past Hammer who is hunched over one of the Bikes trying to get its computer to home in on his bleeper.  A flashing green dot can be seen entering a mixed use zone in city bottom about 5 miles away.  The spot stops moving at an intersection on Salmond and 110th street.

Ezquerra balls out the four Judges for the destruction of Justice Department property.

"If the department gave you a salary I'd be taking the cost of repairs to those bikes out of it.!!"

Walking into the foyer of The Two Ways he surveys the seen of destruction and the body of Judge Govan which lies underneath the heavy steel treads of The Crushinator. 

"Judge Govan was a fine officer, one of the old school, he'll be hard to replace but not impossible.  We are all replaceable.

I've brought you four new bikes now get out there and hunt down Rabies Nesbitt.  Nobody gets away with Judge Homicide on my watch and roams free.  What are you waiting for? Go!! 

Sector Chief Judge Ezquerra
Sector Chief Judge Ezquerra orders a manhunt

What the Bleep!

The Judges gun their lawmasters through the dimly lit streets of city bottom following the computers directions to the intersection.  This part of the sector is so close to Great Western Wall that its streets never see daylight and are continually bathed in its 500ft tall shadow.  

Illegally parked on the pavement at the intersection is the red hatchback.  Cully notices a loose manhole cover to the right of the vehicle and Hammer calls up CCTV of the area from MAC.  A jerky grainy feed is patched through to his bike showing an obviously wounded Rabies getting out of the ar and walking around the front towards the manhole and dissapearing from view..

Cully opens the manhole revealling a 10ft drop into the sewer below.  Blood spots trail down the ladder into the sewer below.  The others notice that there are two boxes which match the one that fell out of the vehicle as it made its getaway from The Two Ways.  It is likely packed to the brim with these wig creatures and present a threat to the inquisitive citizens of Sector 163.

Their brief debate about what to do is settled when Cully fires two incendiary rounds into the vehicle setting it ablaze

"Into the sewer boys, he's got a head start on us"

The blood trail leads West and about a hundred feet along, the left sewer wall is broken open leading to a short hand excavated cross tunnel which intersects a service shaft filled with electrical conduits and other essential services which feed the Great Western Wall.  The trail of blood continues to a circular metal grate in the wall, a hot dry breeze blows through the grate carrying with it the unmistakeable smell of death.  

Hammer fires an incendiary round down the shaft which explodes with Justice Department efficiency scorching the walls clean of anything which might have been alive.  They clamber into the 5 foot wide shaft and inch their way along for what seems like an age until they emerge from the wall and stare out onto the bleak and barren windswept irradiated dustbowl that is THE CURSED EARTH.

The Cursed Earth
The Cused Earth - A barren and desolate irradiated wasteland

 The blood trail leads over a small dune and stops by a set of huge vehicle tracks which head east.  This looks like a planned rendezvous.

Taking a ride on the Express Elevator to Hell  

They call for an H-Wagon to come pick them up from the other side of the wall and their conversation is cut off by Judge Ezquerra

"I've been in touch with Sector 55 and these hairy creatures are taking over.  Only Rabies has the answer to this infestation and I want him alive".

Ten minutes later a Strat-bat lands at their 20 and pilot Judge Maverick shouts at them "We are your ride, get in".  In the back of the long range cargo carrier are a four bikes and a few extra supplies.  Each judge is issued a Rad Kit including meters, medical supplies, rad suits, one man pop-up tents and 14 days rations.  Their bikes are fitted with extra large panniers and a set of emergency sat comms gear.

The Strat-bat dusts off an half an hour later they are following the vehicle tracks using nap of the earth navigation.  Teal orders the pilot to get some altitude as there's a high chance that the perps are armed.

As the H-Wagon climbs to 200 ft and crests a dune the pilots see a large wheeled vehicle in the distance belching black smoke.  Sirens blare as the Electronic Counter Measures computer warns them that it has detected a weapons lock.  Moments later the right engine explodes. and the H-Wagon crashes into a canyon.

Cannibal Canyon

As the dust settles the Judges survey their immediate surroundings.  The back half of the shuttle has been torn off.  The pilots have not been so lucky.  The cockpit is a crumpled mess of tangled metal and sparking wires.  Blood drips from the steel.

VTOL Crash Site Battlemap
VTOL Crash Site Battlemap - Get a free 140dpi version from Fragmaps

Their bikes were stowed tightly and it takes but a moment to release the loading straps and wheel them outside.

As they survey their new predicament at the bottom of a 50ft deep canyon, Hammer spots a human sillhouette on the east canyon wall and then another and another.  His years of training kick in and he dodges as a primitive spear made from one arm of a pair of gardening shears lands six inches from his foot.  

A gravelly voice shouts down from the rim of the canyon

"We're gonna come down there Judges, we're gonna come down there and catch you, we're gonna catch you and we're gonna EAT YOU!"

Their day just keeps getting better.  Cannibals!! 

Cully indirectly fires a grenade round which arcs over the rim and explodes with it's familiar crack.  A scream goes up from one of the perps above.

Hammer manoeuvres his bike onto one of the storage crates which has been tossed from the wreck.  He can't quite get the elevation and his Cyclops Laser cannon only succeeds in turning a portion of the canyon wall into molten glass.

A cloud of black smoke belches from the vehicle above the canyon rim as it lurches North.  

The Judges gun their bikes in the same direction.  Hopefully there is a way out and they can head these wasteland scavengers off at the pass. 

Next Prog ->

Back Issues

Prog 1 - Suits You Sir - Mosh 55 rob Zlooty Slute's Suits You and a body is discovered.

Prog 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow - Rock Dwayneson's apartment and carnage at the Yes-A-Bout

Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There - Fun and Games at the Ugly Pageant 

Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down - Entering the sewers under RESYK

Prog 5 - The Big Wig - Confronting the beast below the city

Prog 6 - Last Orders at The Two Ways Pub - A shootout in Sector 163

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