Sector 55 Blues - Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down

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.

With their shift at an end Judges Hammer, Teal and Uthred return to the sector house and turn in the scrap of hairy flesh.  A persuasive Teal convinces Senior Pathologist Judge Quincy to run it as a priority job as lives could be at risk.

The team hit the changing rooms and meet up with Judge Cully who has been dealing with the GC Essexwood suicide all day.  It's been a real long one and she is in need of some excitement so she agrees to go accompany them to Dapper John's apartment.

Hob Nobbing with the Big Cheese at Buck House

Dapper John lives at 72055 Buck House Block on the north fringe of the Eurozone.  It is one of the more luxurious apartment blocks reserved for the sectors wealthy or famous elite.  

The robo-knocker announces their arrival and the door is opened by Call Me Arthur, Dapper John's robo-butler, who shows the guests into the palatial living room dominated by a floor to ceiling window which opens onto a balcony terrace overlooking the city.  John descends from a mezzanine floor via a sweeping synthi-marble staircase and immediately urges Arthur to serve the guests drinks.  After taking the Judges requests he waddles into the kitchen to prepare the beverages.

Judge Cully goes upstairs on the pretense of a attending a call of nature and immediately heads for John's office.  Accessing his terminal she is soon copying accounts documents and sending them to Sector House for forensic examination.

Meanwhile Judges Hammer and Uthred question Dapper John about the origins of the Trend Topper Toupee line and the manufacturers.  John reveals that the owners Duncan Spivey and Melvin Why have been suppliers for some time although the Trend Toppers line is relatively new and a vast improvement on their previous wigalicious products.  He gives them a business card with their contact details.

Judge Teal is surveying the room and notices that of all the objet d'art and curios that Dapper John has decorated his apartment one looks out of place.  On the mantelpiece under a huge mirror stand 3 Maneki Neko (Chinese fortune cats) two are lazily waving in sync but one is out of phase. He is joined by Judge Cully who returns from her investigation upstairs.

"One of these cats is not like the others, one of these cats just doesn't belong..."

Despite the protestations of a very anxious Arthur Judge Teal picks up the out of sync cat and turns it over to reveal a sticker which reads "Good Job, You caught us - COVID-55".  Peeling off the sticker reveals a plastic twist bung which when pulled out reveals a complex surveillance device.

COVID-55
Surveillance Device

An embarrassed Dapper John, reaches for the TV remote and pulls up COVID-55 on the 15ft wide Tri-D screen which dominates one wall of the apartment.  The screen is filled with a fish-eye view of Judge Teal inspecting the device.  The screen is filled with snow and a graphic explaining that COVID-55 is experiencing Technical Difficulties.

My John apologises profusely and assures that he will get his PR team on it right away.  He wasn't aware that he was a person of interest but then he is one of the most eligible and fashionable bachelors in Sector 55 so he has always suspected that he was in their sights. 

" They do like to dish the dirt.  Why only yesterday evening they exposed GC Essexwood for her romantic involvement with her robo-butler!"

The hour is late and the judges need to catch up on their regulation sleep chamber time if they are going to be an effective team in the morning.

Another Glorious Morning Briefing

The morning starts with Judge Belloch's customary and compulsory briefing

 

"OK ladies, we had an incident at Buck House last night which has put the city on edge.  The COVID-55 surveillance of Dapper John has unleashed the Justice Department Legal Eagles.  They swooped in last night and shut their operation down.  The citizens are melting down.  COVID-55 was one of their favourite shows and now they're out to get us.  Be extra vigilant out there and expect some retaliation.  

The anti-gang and loony squads have been doing some great work taking out key gang members and keeping that powder keg from exploding.  

Weather control reports that it is still on the fritz with a reboot expected at 14 hunderd hours so expect a cold front to move in from the east.  Cully!, you're with Hammer. Teal and Uthred for the time being."   

A Moloko Droog

As they peel out of the sector house they get a call from despatch

"There's a problem down at Resyk, sewer droid says they've seen something that's put the willies up them.  Asked for you personally."

Alex - a Molok Droogs Gang Member

On their way they spot a citizen in all white overalls and a bowler hat admiring a freshly scrawled "Droogs Roolz" in red paint.  As they approached he runs.  Cully shouts "Freeze Punk" and gives chase firing off a burst of GP rounds blowing the saps legs clean off at the shins.  Uthred spots a bulge in the punks overalls and reaches into a pocket pulling out a recently used can of red spray paint.  

Judge Scully asks the perp if he has anything to say in his defence.  The perp can only manage "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGG" as he screams in pain.  A meat wagon turns up moments later and bundles him into the back.  Judge Teal retrieves the punks legs and hands them to the Med Techs commenting "Hey punk you nearly got 5 years for littering".  

Trouble at RESYK

When the Judges get to resyk they are met by  Ro-Jaws who recounts seeing several small furry creatures matching the description of the wigs that the Judges gave yesterday.  He says there was a lot of them offers to show them to the spot in the sewers where they encountered the creatures.  Sadly Harry didn't make it out alive.

Descending to city bottom Ro-Jaws leads them to a manhole in the middle of a street in a rough part of the sector close to RESYK.  He flips the manhole cover open and drops down into the darkness below.

Following the fetid stream of waste as it follows the tunnel the judges hear a horrifying bellowing  animal roar.

Uthred goes down a 5ft wide side tunnel into a cistern in which a giant alligator is being attacked by a tiny hairy creature.  The alligator is in obvious distress and lashes out at Uthred who returns fire with an armour piercing round.  The hairy creature leaps into the tunnel and begins to attack Cully.  Teal fires an AP round through the alligators head as Cully stabs the hairy monstrosity with her boot knife.

Map of the Sewers

Uthred calls Ro-Jaws into the tunnel and orders him to open up his trash bin and stash the dead wig.  Reluctantly he agrees but demands that he wait outside for their return.

Exploring further down the tunnel Hammer and Cully are ambushed by a pair of wigs who lay in wait in side tunnels.  Uthred assists Hammer and attempts to bash the wig with his day stick.  Teal aids Cully and tears the thing off her helmet and whips it against the wall until it stops squeaking.  Cully fishes out an evidence zipper from her utility belt and bags the evidence for the boys back at forsensics.   

Prog 5 - The Big Wig ->

Back Issues

Sector 55 Blues Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There

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.

The trail seems to have gone cold leaving the Judges with only a couple of leads left from yesterdays events to chase down.

1. Does Victoria Nobody remember anything else from this morning's incident?
2. Are the deaths of Rock Dwayneson and Brittany Little connected or just a coincidence?
3. Is Synthi-Joe the most popular synthi-caf brand in Sector 55?
   

Thankfully the morning briefing is short but Judge Belloch informs the patrols that 

"The removal of Mosh 55 leader Vicious Sid has led to a power vacuum which the other Gangs will be quick to fill.  Tensions are running high and the Night Watch lost a couple of good judges last night to turf wars.  Judges Gonner and Toast will be sorely missed. 

Weather Control is still on the fritz and word is it's getting worse.

Black, Evans and Simpson you're off to Stallone Block.  looks like Z-list Tri-D star GC Essexwood took a dive in the ratings this morning and she's made a big mess of the pedway. 

Hammer, Teal and Uthred, I want you on crowd control at Sump's Ugly Parlour in JCVD Block.  There's an ugly pageant going down at 13 hundred hours and I don't want it any uglier."

Back in the Saddle

The Judges decide to interview Victoria Nobody again to see if she can recall anything from yesterdays incident.  As they cruise down Duke Street heading towards Bags O Style, they spot a man standing on the parapet of the skedway with a small crowd of people around him.  Half the citizens are urging the man to reconsider and the other half are baiting him to jump.

Uthred pushes the crowd back, whilst Hammer tries to arrest one citizen who is clearly guilty of coercion to suicide.  The perp remonstrates with the Judge "I've got 50 creds riding on this guy jumping Judge!" his friend retorts "No way Bert, I say he's gonna live".  Teal tries to persuade the jumper that its not worth it and that he has a lot to live for but is unsuccessful.  Hammer grows impatient and follows up Teal's Good Judge routine with some Bad Judge intimidation and lunges at the the perp trying to drag him down.  

The perp instinctively doges out of the way and steps back off the parapet.  Teal desperately reaches out to grab a leg as the man falls over the edge but all he can grasp is thin air.  He rushes to the edge to get a better view of the unfortunate citizen falling to his death some 300 storeys below.  Miraculously the flight path of a Resyk Trash Truck intersects with the man's death plunge and he lands in the back amidst the garbage of hundreds of Sector 55 residents.  Teal calls it in and tells MAC to inform Trash Truck 55-157 that they have a stowaway.

Hammer returns to the coercive citizen who is brandishing 50 Creds in 5 crisp notes.  He cuffs the pair of them to the pedway railing and takes the money.  "You are both going down for illegal gambling"  

Bags O Style

Twenty minutes later the Judges arrive at Bags O Style a ladies fashion emporium two doors down from Zooty Slutes Suits You.  Victoria Nobody recounts the horrific events of yesterday morning.  She does recall seeing something out of the corner of her move down the alleyway away from the victim (Rock Dwayneson) who then turned around and showered the alleyway with blood from his neck wound.  She was very lucky to avoid being covered in his blood and you can never really get blood out of white synthi silk.

 The Judges decide to check out the alleyway once more.  The alleyway ends in the reinforced rockcrete wall of Trump Tower ascending 300ft up like a concrete and glass cliff face.  Piles of trash bags litter the dead end, all of them having been ripped open by hungry vermin.  A cracked manhole cover sits in the middle of the alleyway.  Teal opens it up revealling a 5ft wide shaft which descends into darkness.

The Sewer

Pulling out their torches the Judges descend the slime and algae covered ladder 10ft until they enter a 5ft wide circular tunnel which runs the length of the alleyway.  No-one has been down here in many months if not years.  They move down the tunnel towards an intersection some 50ft away.  This is clearly the larger 10ft wide sewer beneath Melania Way.  There are no signs of recent activity and so head to Zooty Slutes to see if they missed any clues.

Mr Slute shows the Judges Demo Room 1, a state of the art office environment simulator where clients can road test their suits in "Real World" circumstances.  The fire door which opens onto the alleyway seems to be in working order.  Returning to the alleyway they question the other two vending machines (a Rola-Cola and a Burrito-bot) about yesterdays events.  Teal consumes a Triple Chilli Burrito in the process.  No extra information is forthcoming.

Munce Burger

They turn their attention to the Munce Burger restaurant on the other side of the alley.  The manager shows them into the office at the back of the restaurant past two bots shovelling frozen munce and synthibread patties into a giant kitchen bot.  They examine the CCTV and identify the 4 members of Mosh 55 who enter the restaurant about 30 minutes before they tried to rob Zooty Slute's.  The restaurant fire doors are operational and only open outwards.

Back to the Sewer

The Judges engage their bleepers and bikes to track their positions and take another look at the sewer.  Following the route of the flowing sewage they come out into Melania Way and then onto Meg 352.

Ro-Jaws - A sewer bot

Up ahead a sewer bot crew are clearing a massive fatberg which has almost completely blocked the 15ft wide tunnel.  Ro-Jaws and his buddy Ro-Harry are chisling away at the concreted mass of congealed fat refuse and wet wipes.  They are suprised to see Judges down here.  

Hammer asks if they've seen anything come down the tunnel in the last 24 hours or if they have seen a wig.  After a short explanation of what a wig is, Ro-Jaws triumphantly dons a bedraggled floppy hairy monstrosity upon his head and says "You mean like this!!"

It is a broken mop head.

Judge Teal asks if they have found any knives.  Ro-Harry fishes about in his waste receptacle and proudly retrieves a collection of miscellaneous cutlery including a rusty stiletto.  "I stick to the shiny stuff" he claims.

The Judges leave the two sewer bots and return to the surface.  Checking their wrist terminals they have about an hour before they need to be at JCVD Block for the Ugly Pageant leaving just enough time to go back to the sector house, shower and change into fresh suits.

A Call from Dapper John

Uthred's comm buzzes and sector despatch relays through a call from Dapper John.  He confirms that Rock Dwayneson was not a client.  

Perhaps if they have time they can call round to his apartment this evening and go through some of the finer points of the case.  

An Ugly Situation at the Ugly Pageant

The Judges arrive at the Ugly Pageant (Plaza Park Level 400 JCVD Block) just before ceremonies begin.  The crowd is a mix of block citizens and wannabe contestants of all shapes and sizes.  A Tri-D news crew is filming the event.

The Judges Patrol the crowds on the lookout for any suspicious activity.  Judge Uthred's keen senses highlight a small croup of young juves huddled round a bench.  One juve holds a small booklet and the rest seem to be utterly engrossed in its pages.  

As he approaches the juves scatter in all directions leaving the booklet on the ground.  It's a badly printed copy of 2000AD, a banned publication in Mega City One.

*** SURGEON GENERALS WARNING ***
Highly addictive containing brain melting stories and thrilling action
likely to cause seizures in small children, the elderly and pregnant citizens

Judges Hammer and Teal both spot a known dunker, Pogo Patterson, at work with his hands in other peoples purses.  He is surfing the crowd on his way towards the Plaza Park exit.  They instinctively set up a pincer movement but Hammer struggles to make his way through the crowd unnoticed and his eyes lock on Patterson's.  The dunker quickens his pace, he's obviously been made and its time to make a dash for it.  As the perp gets to within feet of safety Teal jumps out brandishing his day stick "Freeze you pickpocketing Punk!!"

Patterson puts up his hands and says "Hey Judges you got it all wrong, I'm legit these days" he pulls out handfulls of Otto Sump Ugly Clinic discount vouchers from his pockets which fall to the floor.  "I was hired to give out these discount vouchers, I'm in live event marketing now".  Hammer, tells the creep that he's arresting him on a charge of Disorderly Conduct.  This doesn't sit well with Pogo who claims that he is being brutalised by a system designed to criminalise the population.  In desperation he throws a punch at Hammer who effortlessly dodges and cracks the dunker over the head with his day stick.  

"Brutal but fair" he muses to himself as he radios in for a med wagon to pick up the unconcious perp.

An Unexpected Shower

Everything is peaceful as the various disgusting contestants parade their horrifying visages to the gawping crowd.  Suddenly there is a crack of thunder and a blaring siren from high above the park.  Weather control deluges the crowd in a short 30 second shower.

Not long after a scream errupts from one of the contestants on the stage. 

"Help, Help I've been assaulted!" she cries.

Jocelyn Wildenstein / Mr. Blofeldt
Ugly Competitor / Pet Cat

The victim is one Jocelyn Wildenstein, one of the favourites to win.  She is dripping wet and bald and she claims that someone ripped off her wig.  She also claims that her cat Mr. Blofeldt is missing.  She has minor lacerations to her head.

Jocelyn is most concerned about the survival of her pet and holds an impromptu press conference with the news crew posting a 10,000 credit reward for the apprehension of the vile individual who hurt her cat.  

If questioned about the wig she will say she bought it at a Wigiculous Wendy's over in Ozzy Apartments a couple of weeks ago.  It was a Trend Toppers Toupee "Lady Crystal".

The Judges search the park for the missing cat and Teal discovers it unconcious near a loose manhole cover under the stage bleeding profusely from several bite wounds.  

The cat has a scrap of bloody, hairy flesh in its mouth matching the colour and style of the "Lady Crystal".  The Judges will need to send this scrap of flesh to the lab for further analysis.

Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down ->

Back Issues

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

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.

 

Rock Dwayneson's Apartment

The Judges descend to the 7th floor of Trump Tower and exit the elevator.  The decor is distinctly shabbier and it looks like these apartments are reserved for the tower's lower income citizens.  The tranquility of the upper floors is replaced by the smells and sounds of people living cheek by jowl.

The carpet in the corridor is decades old hasn't seen a cleaner in many years judging by the filth ingrained into it's bizarre repeating pattern. The judges overlook the designers horrific choices and locate apartment 738.

After a full sweep of Mr Dwayneson's apartment the judges find nothing out of the ordinary.

Lower Rent apartments in Trump Tower

In the bedroom there are a series of 5 mannequin heads on a shelf wearing wigs and one empty head.  The heads all have sharpie labels, the missing one reads "The Magnum", the one matching his ID Card photo reads "The Black Mamba" 

A message hand-written in sharpie on the dresser mirror reads. 

"A HAIRY YOU IS A BETTER, MORE CONFIDENT YOU!"

In the trash is a plastic packaging for a Trend Topper Toupee "Magnum" hairpiece. 

Meet the Blunders

The screaming and shouting from the apartment 740 nextdoor intensifies.  It sounds like whoever lives there needs to blow off some steam in the Agrodome.  The apartment is registered to Brandon & Betty Blunder a married couple of 30 years.  

Brandon & Betty Blunder a well adjusted married couple

Betty politely answers the door in curlers and a dressing gown.  Her husband Brandon is watching the Vid and tells his wife

"Get rid of the roz luv I'm trying to watch my COVID!!"

Mr Flowers is watching the new hit show CO-VID-55 which is sweeping the sector.  Celebrities caught in their own homes on hidden CCTV cameras.  

The Justice Department doesn't take a position on censoring Vid shows until there is clear evidence of criminal activity.  As a result most Vid Shows either keep it clean or don't get a second season.

Betty tells the Judges that her next door neighbour is a lovely man, very quiet and in fact a model citizen.  She last saw Mr Dwayneson a couple of days ago and he was in high spirits as he had just purchased a new toupee and was eager to try it out. 

If questioned Mr Blunder reveals that he used to have a management job at Resyk in charge of the team that operated the sludge-o-matic 3000 but was made redundant when they upgraded to the sludge-o-matic 4000.  He hasn't worked a day since.  He remarks that they used to live on the 300th floor and had a window in their apartment, but welfare didn't cover the rent and so the had to move further down the block. 

    "Drocking robots taking everyones jobs!!"

Judge Teal notices Mr Blunder is clearly suffering from future shock syndrome making him a powder keg of negative emotions.  He way be okay today but he could blow at anytime and go on a killing spree.  He contacts Barney and orders a psyche evaluation just to be on the safe side.

The Judges move on to Apartment 736 which is unnocupied.  The bedroom is full of the detritus of the last occupant who clearly used it as a workshop for some electronics repair business.  A residency check reveals that the last occupant was a Freddy Slump who is currently serving 5 years for robot tampering.  Judge Hammer requests a criminal record retrieval from MAC.  

They continue their house to house enquiries but the other residents have nothing further to give.

They decide to follow up on the Robo-Vend lead and head out to the factory located in the Elon Tusk Industrial Park.

The Fat and the Furious

Cruising along the Yes Way heading South Judge Uthred is hit in the face by a half eaten munce burger.  300 feet up ahead are three fatties riding souped up mobility scooters.  

Mega City One is a tough place to police and low level civil disobedience like littering is the start of the slippery slope to recidivism.  The Justice department take a dim view and a guilty citizen can wind up in the iso cubes with a 6 month sentence.  

Illegal Fattie Street Racing is one of the newer crazes in Mega City One.  Fattie juves with a need for speed souping up their mobility scooters and racing each other for kicks has become a real menace to the law abiding citizens.   

The Judges give chase but the fatties don't come quietly weaving dangerously in and out of traffic.  Inevitably two of them lose control of their scooters.  One lurches into the path of a mopad and is instantly crushed to a pulp by the 50 tonne behemoth.  The other spears off the skedway and crashes into the plasteel guardrail erupting in a fireball.  The third pulls out a spit gun and sprays a hail of lead behind him.  Bullets pepper the windscreens of several vehicles between him and the Judges but miss their intended targets completely.

The surrounding traffic begins to veer out of lane and a huge pile up begins in slow motion.  Uthred and Hammer slam on their brakes to avoid colliding with vehicles and skid to a halt.  Teal remembers the words of his Justice Academy Driving Instructor Judge Talladega

"If you see a car spin ahead, aim directly for the smoke, when you get there, it won't be" 

Teal bursts out of the smoke into clean bright sunshine with 100ft between him and the last fattie.  He opens up with his Cyclops Laser Cannon carving a trench in the road up ahead.  With no time to react the fattie scooter hits the gouge with its tiny wheels and comes to an abrupt halt.  The fattie is thrown forward and cut in two by his handlebars.  The top  half of his body landing 100ft further down the skedway.  Judge Teal mutters to himself "Well that only half worked" 

Typical light traffic on a Mega City One Skedway

Carnage on the Yes-a-Bout

Judges Uthred and Hammer radio in the incident and Sector Control tells them to begin triaging the scene, Emergency Response Crews are 10 minutes out.  They go from vehicle to vehicle assessing the damage.  7 dead and 14 seriously wounded.  

Among the dead is registered mime artist Brittany Little.  He was thrown from his vehicle which has plowed into a tanker truck.  Highly flammable CHOO2 has leaked into the cabin of the vehicle which could explode at any time. 

Mr Little has lacerations over his body consistent with being thrown from a moving vehicle.  Judge Uthred spots what appears to be a human bite mark on the man's bald head.  His newly issued ID card photo shows him sporting a full head of shocking white hair.  

Without a care for his own safety, Hammer climbs into the CHOO2 sodden vehicle and searches for the missing wig.  

He can't find it but retrieves a hold-all containing a stripy turtleneck sweater, a black beret, a pair of white gloves and some face make up.

Unregistered Miming is a crime in every sector in Mega City One with the unique exception of a small area surrounding Mitterand Maisons block in the Euro Zone.

Brittany Little's Apartment

With Med and Tek judges on scene at the Yes-a-Bout the Judges resume their investigation but decide to visit Brittany Little's apartment in Thatcher Tower.

Thatcher Tower was the focal point for an unsavoury politically motivated crime a couple of years ago - You can read more about this in the case files: Tales from Mega City One. 

The apartment is of typical pre-Atomic construction but Mr Little has done his best to recreate the atmosphere of a 20th Century Parisian apartment complete with Toulouse Lautrect ballerina print and framed reproduction adverts for something called Absinthe.

In the bedroom the Judges find a collection of wigs and an accounts ledger.  A recent tax deductable expense for $99.99 has been entered with a description of "The Boris".  Uthred puts his access card in the bedroom comp terminal and pulls up the Trend Toppers Toupee website.  He searches for "The Boris" and "The Magnum" and finds product pages for each.  The wigs are in stock available direct from Trend Toppers or through numerous high street vendors.  Uthred recalls that he has a contact card for Dapper John and gives him a call.

Dapper John is initially reticent to reveal confidential client information to a Judge as he could face a confidentiality lawsuit.  When he is informed that the clients are now dead he divulges that The Boris was sold to a Mr Little a couple of weeks ago at his boutique in Trump Tower.  He explains he is not in his office so will get his people to look into Mr Dwayneson's purchase history.  He promises that they will "search the records with a fine toothed comb" and he'll get bake to Uthred Tomorrow.

Hammer, Teal and Uthred conclude their investigation in Thatcher Tower and head out to the Robo-Vend Factory.

Robo-Vend  

The Robo-Vend factory is located in the Grimesy Wing of the Elon Tusk Industrial Park campus right  next door to the Sector 55 RESYK facility.

Clark Jeremy
Head of
Operations

They are met by head of operations Mr Clark Jeremy.  He is more than happy to show the Judges their Business Operations Network Control Center (The BONCC) where they monitor the operations of the half a million vending machines distributed throughout Sector 55.

Whilst he is giving the Judges the grand tour a technician tries to interrupt him struggling to hold a cascading pile of computer printouts.  The technician wears a name badge W. Kidde - Area 51.

W. Kidde
Technician
Area 51

Jeremy shoos him away saying "not now Kidde! can't you see I'm busy?".  Faced with this intimidating and dismissive tirade of poor people management, the berated technician retreats  in a grovelling fashion.

Jeremy is very cooperative and shows the Judges the feeds from the cameras installed in the 3 vending machines in the alleyway.  He explains that the cameras are programmed to only operate in 2 circumstances; 

1. when the machines have a cred stick or a valid MC1 ID Card inserted in them
2.  If they are being tampered with or vandalised.   

Jeremy runs purchase checks on Rock Dwayneson, Victoria Nobody and Dapper John.  All three have prior purchase records at both the machine in the Alleyway and other machines in the sector.  

• Dapper John's purchase history is consistent with an intern being sent out to collect large and myriad assorted Caf orders using a company cred stick.  Every order includes a Mocha with a shot of hazelnut.
  
  
• Rock Dwsyneson's caf consumption reveals a pattern of consistent use of the machine in the alleyway and the same double cappuchino.
  
  
• Victoria Nobody is an occasional buyer but always seems to purchase when she is running late for work and uses the same machine in the alleyway buying a skinny latte every time.
  

Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There

Back Issues

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 1 - Suits You Sir

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.

It's just another day in Sector 55 and Judge Belloch is giving his day watch briefing...

"Okay listen up cos I'm only going to say this once.  There have been increased reports of low level corpulent delinquency, the usual stuff, fatties hanging around outside munce burger joints and extorting the customers, blocking the pedways and just generally being a nuisance.  The head of local gang Mosh 55 got released from iso cubes yesterday so expect them to be full of juvie bravado.  Oh and there's an intermitten a fault in weather control so prepare for inclement weather.  Now get out there and bust some perps!"   

Juve Punk Lookout

Judges Teal, Hammer and Uthred peel out of the sector house on their law masters and it is not long before sector control routes them to a disturbance at Slooty Zute's Suite You, an upmarket clothes store on the Melania Boulevard level of Trump Tower.

 As they park their lawmasters outside they see a juve punk cuffed to a holding post.  Teal challenges the punk and he reflexively raises both hands in surrender, clearly he is not cuffed to the holding post.  Uthred, unhappy with the lack of response from the punk, cuts to the chase and punches him squarely in the chest knocking him against the glasssteel door and he crumples to the ground winded.  The autodoors open automatically and the judges can see 3 more punks in the store. 

Hammer springs into action and moves into the doorway and shouts "Freeze Punks!".  The juve on the floor shouts "Its the fuzz Sid!" and lashes out at Hammer with his foot.  The punks inside turn their attention to the Judges and the leader Vicious Sid opens up with his spit gun cutting the manequins to pieces and showering Uthred and Hammer in shrapnel which bounces off their armoured jumpsuits.

Judge Teal runs through the door shooting a 3 shot burst at Vicious Sid as he runs for cover behind a trio of mannequins.  It is clearly this punks lucky day as with a click the first round jams in Teal's lawgiver.  Uthred dives into the store and brings down a solid blow against the red head girl who blocks the blow with her spit gun.  Hammer moves to get line of sight on the fleeing Vicious Sid and plants a couple of GP rounds in his back.  Sid's luck has run out and the punk crashes to the floor knocking the carefully posed mannequins over like skittles in a bowling alley.  The fat punk behind the counter unloads both barrels of his stump gun at Judge Hammer missing wildy and ducks behind the counter to reload.   

Debbie Destroy	Fat Freddy	Vicious Sid

Teal moves to the corner of the display plinth, unjamming her gun but the fat punk behind the counter is behind cover so she throws her day stick bouncing it off the counter and onto his head.  Uthred cracks Debbie Destroy over the head concussing her as Hammer calls up an armour piercing round and shoots through the counter unsighted.  The round punches through the counter front but misses the perp.  Vicious Sid summons his last energy and desperately crawls towards the fire exit leaving a trail of blood behind him.        

Uthred runs onto the plinth and launches himself feet first over the counter landing squarely on fat freddy pushing all the air and what little fight was left out of him.  Hammer runs round to the pitiful gang leader Sid and tells him to give up.  Sid continues to scratch his way towards the exit.  The Judge notes his reaction and "Brings down the hammer" crushing the back of his skull with his day stick.

Cowering on the clothes store floor are 3 civillians.  Owner, Zlooty Slute, his partner Whistler Floot and a customer Dapper John.  They pick themselves up and graciously thank the Judges for their timely intervention.  

Zlooty Slute	Whistler Floot	Dapper John

Only then do the Judges realises that the juve outside is gone.  They cuff the perps to the holding post outside and call for a Pat Wagon and a Meat Truck to haul their carcases off to the iso cubes and Resyk respectively. 

Dapper John pushes his business card into Uthred's hand telling him that if he ever needs anything to give him a call.  Uthred has no idea who Dapper John is and looks back at him blankly.  Hammer recognises the citizen as a manscaping magnate and socialite who has several male grooming ventures throughout the city.

Judge Teal goes outside to see if she can see the juve punk.  The report of unexpected inclement weather is accurate as there appears to have been a short rain shower whilst they were engaged with the Mosh 55 punks.  Her observations are cut short by the piercing scream from the alleyway beside the clothes store.  Rushing to investigate she finds a hysterical woman leaning in shock against a wall pointing to the body of a bald headed man lying on the ground in front of a row of 3 vending machines.  Hammer and Uthred gain access to the alleyway through the fire exit.  

Turning the body over, the unfortunate man appears to be in his late 40s and has had his throat torn out severing the carotid artery.  Death would have been swift as he would have bled out in under a minute. 

Searching the body turns up an MC1 ID Card and a door key card.  The victims is an unemployed local resident, Rock Dwayneson, 48 of Apartment 738 Trump Towers.

On closer inspection of the corpse they notice that the victim is bald yet his ID shows him with a full head of hair.  An examination of the crime scene does not turn up a toupee.  Is this a case of a mullett mugging with menaces or did he have some cred chips on him?

The woman is Victoria Nobody a young window dresser on her way to work at Plenty Bags of Style from her apartment in Amundsen & Abba.  She was about to buy a Synthi Joe when she found the body.  Her story checks out as her outfit is spotlessly clean and the crime scene is showered in blood so the Judges let her leave.

Pondering the scene Teal buys herself a synthi-caf and the robo-vendo 3000 dispenses a perfect cup of joe with a cheerful refrain

"Always a pleasure to serve the Justice Department.  Have a nice day Judge Teal" 

It dawns on Teal that the vending robot may have seen the murderer.  Handing her caf to Hammer, she dials in another cup and asks the machine who used it today.  The machine cheerily replies "Back again so soon, you must be really thirsty.  You are my first customer today Judge."  A fresh hot cup of joe with a dash of hazlenut syrup plops onto the serving tray and the robots lights go dark.  Uthred suggests that they open it up and access its video logs.  A good idea if the trio were skilled Tek Judges but as Street Judges this is out of their particular skill and toolset.

At that moment the Resk  Meat Truck crew arrive to remove the dead bodies.  The Judges retrieve the gang's firearms and help load the perps into the Pat Wagon.  For their part in an Armed Robbery and a a serious assault this pair will be doing 40 years in the cubes before the day is out.

With a cold crime scene the Judges are left with three possible next steps:

1. Visit Dwaynesons apartment to see if there are any clues and maybe find the missing toupee.
   
   
2. Visit the vending machine supplier Robo-Vend to request copies of the vending machines video records.
   
   
3. Get back on their bikes and dispense some justice.

PROG 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow - >

The Cat With an Arseload of Diamonds

It's no secret that I am a big fan of Jason Morningstar's FIASCO RPG, so when my regular Friday game was postponed, I jumped at the chance to run my favourite indie RPG.

I chose the Gangster London playset by Graham Walmsley which takes its inspiration from the mockney gangster movies of Mr Guy Richie.

The Cast

Dan H - Gold Top the milkman and small time drug dealer who is a bit tasty.

Dan C - Sniffy friend and associate of Gold Top who likes to sample his own product a bit too much.

Tony B - Razor an old style gangster, uncle to Sniffy and into everything but drugs.

Steve T - Stir a disgraced former MP who shared a cell in Wormwood Scrubs with Razor.

Act One

Razor and Stir are in the Admiral Benbow pub discussing their next job, a heist of stolen diamonds from one of the Ukranian boys Frank the Wank.  Sniffy joins them from the bar with his associate Gold Top.  Stir says that Frank has some diamonds coming into the country in a couple of weeks from Amsterdam.  They are being smuggled inside a cat.  Gold Top is the only driver in the group as Stir's Rolls is in the garage, Sniffy is too young and Razor lost his years ago.  "Top of the line milk float, all the bells and whistles" says Gold Top beaming with pride.  Razor and Stir agree to make a visit to Frank's cats home to set up the deal.

Flash back to Sniffy and Gold Top out on their round.  First call of the day is Dodgy Greg an out of work actor who likes to spend his leisure time with Charlie.  Greg lives on the Jasmine Allen Estate, one of the rougher parts of the manor.  Whilst Greg pours out the milk revealing the bag of coke stuffed in the bottle, Sniffy spots a couple of young scrotes trying to nick some milk from the back of the float. They give chase and catch the two kids and give them a kicking.  Some passing cops spot the pair and arrest them.

Gold Top's story is that he's just an honest milkman and the two little milk stealing shits needed to be taught a lesson otherwise they'll end up a pair of right proper Krays.  Call it "preventative justice", you could say they were doing the Old Bill a favour.  The cops let them off with a caution and the pair are released from custody.  As they walk back to the milk float they spot an old lady stapling a picture of her lost cat to the tree.  Gold Top notices the REWARD GIVEN line and asks her how much?  The old lady says that Mr Tiddles is her only companion and means the world to her.  She would give them her life savings to have him returned.  Intrigued by the thought of a few grand in reward money the pair follow the old lady back to her bungalow.

Flash back to Stir in his car driving down the A11 after a Conservative party rally.  He's smashed out of his skull on cheap bubbly and it's 3am.  He barely notices the impact as his Azure Blue 1969 Silver Shadow ploughs into a Citroen 2CV running it off the road, through a fence, down an embankment and into a tree.  He pulls over to inspect the damage to his pride and joy.  Through the cloud of steam billowing out of the radiator a young wideboy looms. 

"Oi mate, ain't ya gonna see if the other car's alright?" says the man. "What other car?" says Stir.  The woman's cries of help can clearly be heard from the roadside.  The man starts down the embankment.  Stir pulls out his phone and calls his mechanic Double Bore Billy. 

"I'm in a spot of bother Billy, I've pranged the Rolls and run someone off the road.  Some stranger has called the rozzers on me, what should I do?".  Billy replies "get the car back to mine and we'll hide it whilst I can fix it but be quick about it."

Razor and Stir leave the pub and head over to The Princess Eugenie Home for Cats.  Frank opens the door.  "We've come about a cat Frank" says Razor.  Frank lets them in and they explain that they heard he was coming into posession of a rare cat.  A "Dutch Diamond" to be exact.  As a cat lover Razor is prepared to pay hansomely for a rare exotic breed like that.  The big Ukranian tells Razor that the cat will be here in two weeks and he better have the money or he will "chop off his balls".  As they leave the cat home Razor comments "Frank always did like his knives.  We better go over to Billy's and get some shooters"

Sniffy and Gold Top are invited into the old ladies house and she explains that Mr. Tiddles went out through the catflap in the kitchen a couple of days ago and she hasn't seen him since.  The kitchen door opens out onto a jungle of a garden with piles of old furniture and trash stacked haphazardly  throughout.  Barely visible at the bottom of the garden is a fence and behind it a row of cat cages.  Sniffy pops a pill and gives one to Gold Top.  The halucinogen kicks in fast and from the corner of his eye Gold Top sees a human sized Mr.Tiddles beckoning at him from the fence.  The mancat wears a top hat and slinks through a broken slat into the fence.  The pair follow and find themselves behind a row of cages stacked 3 high at the back of a cats home.  Creeping round the corner they spy a hairy brute in a butchers apron wielding a cleaver.  He brings the blade down onto a chopping block and a cats head rolls off onto the floor.  At that moment the trip wears off and Gold Top instantly recognises the head as that of the real Mr.Tiddles. They bolt back through the hole in the fence, back through the garden and kitchen and out into the street screaming "He's fucking dead!". 

The Tilt - Something precious is on fire

Act One

Flashback a few years Stir and Razor, known then as simply Jim McTavish, are enjoying one of life's few luxuries when in residence at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, a haircut from the prison barber "fingers" Mario.  Suddenly the top dog Grouty walks in and shouts at McTavish to get the hell out of his chair.  Two of Grouty's heavies start roughing up Mario.  Stir swiftly gets out of his chair and throws a few puches in Mario's defence.  Jim calmly tells Grouty to wait his turn.  As the ageing gangster rushes towards him, Jim leans forward looking for Mario's cut throat razor but all his hands can grab is an electric trimmer.  He launches himself at Grouty from the barbers chair like an olympic diver.  The razor's curly cord stretches to it's limit until, with a pop, the plug lets go and shoots across the room hitting Grouty between the eyes prongs first.  The big man slips and Jim lands on top of him, the cord wrapped around Grouty's neck.  Never one to miss an opportunity when it arises, Jim pulls on the cord with all his might until Grouty breathes his last.  The two thugs run out of the barbers and alert the screws.  Hearing the wardens rushing to give him a beating, Jim looks at Stir and says "I guess that makes me the Top Dog now?"  Stir says well you'll need a Top Dog nickname "how about Razor?"  They both laugh as the first of the truncheons comes smashing down on their faces.

Flash forward to the day before the job.  The gang of four meet in The Admiral Benbow and discuss the plan for the next day.  Razor and Stir will get the cat from Frank and hand off to Sniffy and Gold Top in the milk float in case they get chased.  They'll all meet up back at Razor's.

Sniffy looks at Gold Top with a smile, they will have plenty of time to get the diamonds out of the cat and give it to the little old lady.  Everybody wins.

After the meeting Stir takes a walk over to Billy's garage to check on the Rolls.  As he turns the corner he lurches back into cover.  Outside are 3 police cars and a van.  Billy is being led out of the garage in cuffs.  DCI Reagan confronts him saying:

"Billy, you've been a very naughty boy.  I don't like shooters on my manor and I especially don't like people who run old ladies off the road in their expensive motors.  Don't worry we'll find out who's car it is.  Carter lock em up, It's 3 in the afternoon and I need a pint!" 

Razor and Stir ring the bell at the Princess Eugenie Home for Cats.  The door is answered by Frank's right hand man a hulking hairy butcher known as Sergei.  He shows them into the waiting room and Frank walks in carrying a cat box containing a black and white cat and places it on the coffee table.  Stir puts a briefcase onto the table.  Frank tells Sergei to check the case.  Razor pulls out a double barrelled shortened shotgun from inside his jacket and tells Frank there's been a change of plan. 

Frank laughs and reveals a remote controlled hand trigger. "I said no funny business put the gun down or the cat goes boom!"

Razor pulls a trigger and Franks head dissapears, the trigger drops to the floor.  Sergei lunges for the trigger and Razor shoots his last round blowing Sergei's hand off.  Grabbing the cat Razor and Stir swiftly exit the cats home as Gold Top and Sniffy trundle past in the milk float.

Sniffy grabs the cat box from his uncle and the pair speed off down the road.  Looking at the cat he can't believe their luck.  The cat in the box looks just like Mr Tiddles.  This deserves a celebratory snort so he cuts a couple of lines of coke, one for him and one for Gold Top.

Gold Top should have heeded the warnings on the TV.  Never snort and drive at the same time.  As the coke hits the spot a little old lady walks out of the road in front of him.  He swerves left and mounts the pavement hitting a pile of earth from an ongoing street repair.  The milk float is launched into the air and crashes through the front door of the police station.  The catbox flies out of Sniffy's lap its door pings open sending the cat flying through the air.

DCI Reagan looks down at the scene of destruction that is the foyer of the Police Station.  Picking up a milk soaked baggie of coke he says

"Well if it ain't the honest milkmen and their cargo of contraband.  Carter, book these boys in.  It's 9:30 and I haven't had any breakfast!"

Outside, the old lady exclaims "Mr.Tiddles, I thought I'd lost you!" and picks up the cat who is licking up the torrent of milk flowing down the Police Station steps. 

 

The Aftermath

Things don't go too well for Sniffy and Gold Top.  It's their first time in prison and Gold Top is still haunted by the memory of the Mr Tiddles beheading.  They both descend into a pit of despair and despondency.

Razor returns to The Scrubs, his violent reputation preceding him and quickly resumes his position as Top Dog without any bloodshed.

The long arm of the law catches up with Stir and he goes down for a 5 year stretch for causing death by dangerous driving.  Whilst inside he discovers he has a talent for writing.  His first true crime novel is published a few years later.  The Cat With an Arseload of Diamonds.

Prog 11 - Showdown on the Lido

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules. 

The Judges take up defensive positions in the corridor with a commanding view of the elevator doors.  A few moments later a soothing bong indicates that the lift has arrived.  A waiter emerges pushing a trolley followed by an imposing man mountain dressed in bermuda shorts.  The henchman grabs the waiter with one arm as his other transforms into a stub gun.

Wallaces fires off a Rubber Ricochet round which bounces off the henchman's head and into Hiro's right arm.  Steele selects Armour Piercing ammo and fires a 3 round burst hitting his target square in the forehead.  He crumples to the ground dead leaving the waiter a quivering wreck.  Que attends to the overwhelmed hotel worker.

Hiro steps into the lift and examines the body of the cyborg and determines that he has had extensive work done including cyber-ears.  He surmises that the henchmen are all networked together sharing seamless collective communication.

Wallace runs back to the suite and can see that Faraway is huddled in conversation with the other henchborg.  Holmes stays to give overwatch via the CCTV whilst everyone else bundles into the elevator and heads for the Lido Dec.  The soothing tones of the "Girl from Ipanema" waft from the elevator speakers as everyone chambers AP rounds in their trusty Lawgivers.

Hotel Chupacabra Lido Deck

As they exit the elevator the only person in sight is Iona Skye reclining on a deckchair.  Wallace heads for right hand stairs which lead to the upper Lido Deck.  Steele's egress is blocked by three terrified guests who run straight towards him screaming "Save us Judge Steele" and knock him over.  Que similarly swamped smashes one in the face with her nightstick nocking him out.  Hiro runs over to Iona Skye and attempts to talk to her.  Iona is completely oblivious to everything around her as she is listening to some music on a pair of earbuds and reading a Jackie Collins novel.

Henchborg #2 reveals his position and unloads a full clip at Hiro from the upper lido balcony.  Hero dives under the overhang.  Holmes spots Faraway on the CCTV on the upper deck and radios his location through to the assault team.  Wallace fires a Stumm gas grenade onto the upper deck.  Steele shoots one of the citizens holding him figuring that AP rounds leave easily treated wounds when fired at pointblank range.  Que struggles to reach the other citizens on top of Steels she flails at them with her nightstick.  Hiro shoots a 3 round burst of AP at Henchborg #2 but only hits with one.

Henchborg #2 leaps down from the balcony simultaneously firing another burst at Hiro hitting him in the helmet, the most heavily armoured part of a Judges uniform.  Wallace shoots 3 AP rounds into the cyborgs leg.  Steele fires another AP round at another citizen whose body goes limp.  Que calls Sector Control for an H-Wagon backup and throws a Stumm gas grenade at the observation deck which is slowly filling up with gas.  Shaking of the headshot, Hiro fires a 3 shot burst of AP into Henchborg #2.  Holmes spies two more henchborgs emerging from the shadows and immediately abandons his CCTV station running as fast as she can to the elevator.

Henchborg #3 fires at Hiro and Henchborg #3 fires at Wallace, both miss.  Avoiding the gunfight and the billowing cloud of gas, a group of 4 lemming like citizens leap off the balcony landing in a bone crunching heap below.   Emerging from the pile of bodies, Steele pulls down his respirator and heads for the stairs.  Que gets a bead on Faraway and fires a 3 shot burst of Grenade rounds.  He locks her in a stare as a round hits him in the leg blowing off his foot and ankle.  Hiro tossess a grenade through the balcony glass showering the two Henchborgs in shrapnel and knocking them down.

The unmistakeable drone of a hover vehicle pierces the chaos and a bright yellow hover-taxi floats  into the hotel over the pool.  Whoever's driving that vehicle has just earned an immediate ban and a charge of Dangerous Driving (Code 201: 5 to 15 Years).

Holmes frantically presses the lift buttons to the Lido Deck.  Wallace fires 3 rounds of AP at the oncoming taxi but misses.  Steele gets to the top of the stairs and shoots 3 Grenade rounds at Faraway who is crouching by the edge of the balcony.  The grenades explode showering Faraway's other leg with shrapnel.  Que fires 3 Grenade rounds into the taxi as it slews alonside the balcony with its door open.

Faraway crawls desperately from the balcony into the taxi leaving a trail of blood, and one foot, behind him.  The taxi door swooshes closed and it begins to accelerate away from the scene.

With a bong the elevator doors open and Holmes has a clear shot at the soft mechanical parts of the taxi.  She calmly selects High Explosive rounds and fires a salvo of perfectly timed shots.  The first punches a hole in the floor of the cab, the second passes through the hole and explodes inside the cab, the third blows apart the fuel lines causing the engines to splutter and a fireball erupts from the underside of the cab.

The taxi leaves a firey trail as it coughs and splutters to its death sliding along the perfectly manicured lawn before finally tipping into the pool.  A dull thud shakes the entire block as the cab explodes.

Back at the Sector House

The Judges spend a few hours in the rejuve tanks before reporting to Sector Chief Belloch for debrief.

"Iona Skye has been safely returned to her apartment and compensated for the damage to her property and the distress caused by the perps.  The bodies of Nigel Faraway and the Taxi Cab driver were recovered from the scene of the crime along with the four hired henchborgs.  Tek Squad are doing a full autopsy on their brains to find out who they were, who performed the surgery and who they worked for.  The hotel guests injured in the shoot-out are all making excellent recoveries thanks to your swift actions.  The BREXIT Campaign HQ was raided last night and arrests made, we're submitting them all to lie detector testing to find out who knew what and when.  Tom Vampire is on his way to Luna City so he's Witness Protection's problem now.

The Tek Squad matched the idol to the hood ornament of a Class 1 Mega Hauler.  These behemoths were used to move Pre-Atomic blocks from the edges of the Radzone to their current location and foundations built around them.  Iona Skye is one of the last citizens alive with first hand knowledge of how to operate these machines.

Several explosions have occured on pedways and zoomways connecting Thatcher Towers to the rest of the blocks in the Eurozone.  Arrests have been made and the remaining Nitro-9 recovered.  Citi-Def units in Thatcher Towers have been disbanded and a period of Martial Law has been enacted until such time as new Citi-Def units can be established.  

An alien invasion from the Pokemon dimension is currently being dealt with.  Tek Judges have developed containment field generators (CFGs) which are being issued as we speak.  If you spot any of these cute looking furry spugs then make sure you use your CFGs.  Until we know the scale of the threat, their capabilities and just what they're doing in Mega City One, the policy is Catch 'em All!.

Well, what are you waiting for a medal? Get out there and dispense some Justice!"

Back Issues

• Prog 1 - Another Day in Mega City One
• Prog 2 - Super Duper Loops and Loopy Droops
• Prog 3 - Juve Punks, a Vampire and Meg Way Carnage
• Prog 4 - Pre Race Rumbles, Narcs and Pizza
• Prog 5 - Ed, Edd, Eddy and ED209 
• Prog 6 -Vive La Resistance
• Prog 7 - Mitterand Maison
• Prog 8 - Royal Rumble at Le Teeny Eiffel Tower
• Prog 9 - Beneath Thatcher Towers
• Prog 10 - Confronting Nigel Faraway

Prog 10 - Confronting Nigel Faraway

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules.

The Tech Judges performing the crime scene investigation of the basement temple in Thatcher Towers have identified the bodies of the dead cultists.  All 13 are residents of Thatcher Towers and are wearing clothing displaying their respective Citi-Def Chapter insignia.

They have taken a 3D scan of the idol statue and are preparing to run through BARNEY and MAC when computer time becomes available.

BREXIT Campaign Headquarters

The Judges contact Nigel Faraways campaign office and arrange an appointment.  They take the lift from level 10 to level 300.  The office is located in a converted shop in one of the blocks gentrified retail parks.  They are met by Philomena Plune (PA) and Doug Sucka (Campaign Manager).

The Judges request a full report on Nigel Faraway's Campaign Finances from BARNEY.

Philomena Plune supplies the Judges with a copy of the BREXIT Manifesto from the recent campaign which states the 3 Guiding Principles of BREXIT which are:

1. Only a vote for BREXIT guarantees a positive move away from the Eurozone
2. BREXIT will begin with the breaking of all physical ties to blocks in the Eurozone
   
   
3. Residents must prepare themself for the impact of BREXIT
   

Doug Sucka tells the Judges that following the successful election. Mr Faraway has gone on a two week holiday for some much needed rest and relaxation.  Nigel does not want to be disturbed and so he has kept the location of his holiday retreat a secret known only to his closest assistant Tom Vampire.

Interview with a Vampire

The Judges continue their investigation at the Sector House holding cubes.  Judge Steele proceeds to interrogate Tom Vampire and offers him some encouragement in the form of a reduced sentence.  Vampire is visibly nervous and intimidated by the imposing Steele but begins recounting the first time he met Faraway by chance when they shared an elevator together.  Faraway was impressed with the sartorial elegance of Tom Vampire and said that he could use someone who projected the right impression.  He had no prior experience of politics but he surmised that his previous job as a sewage worker demolishing fatbergs in and around the Eurozone meant he could put up with a lot of shit.

L to R: Nigel Faraway and Tom Vampire

Their relationship grew stronger as they worked closely together.  Faraway confided in Vampire.  He revealed to him that BREXIT quite literally could not happen without Nitro-9.  Tom procured the Nitro-9 from Pepe Le Peu.  Nigel had given him the briefcase to deliver to Le Peu which he assumed contained the payment for the Nitro-9.  Tom did not know when the whereabouts but he knew that it had been delivered.

Hiro calls Sector Chief Belloch to discuss the possibility of entering Tom Vampire into the winess protection programme on Luna City.  Belloch agrees to the transfer and assures Tom Vampire that he will be on a Lunar Shuttle in another 48 hours.

Tom reveals the location of Nigel Faraways holiday retreat.  He has booked a two week vacation at El Chupacabra, a luxury spa hotel which occupies the top 100 floors of Jessica Alba block.

Hotel Chupacabra takes up the top 100 floors of Jessica Alba Block

Welcome to The Hotel Chupacabra

Two hours later Deputy Assistant Under Concierge Hector Ramirez tells the Judges that Mr. Faraway is currently booked into Suite 666.  He tells them that he and his elderley mother gave strict instructions that he was to be left alone, no media or fans were to be allowed to see him and any deviation from that order would result in a very public review on Trip Advisor.  Ramirez also tells them that Mr Faraway was accompanied by his two sons who were exceptionally big and strong and bore no familial resemblance to Mr Faraway.

He also explained that the hotel's reputation was built on it's strict observation of client confidentiality.

Suite 666 is located on the 66th floor of the hotel at the end of a wide corridor behind a pair of synthi-oak doors emblazoned with a brass plaque on which is etched a picture of tri-vid movie actor Ricardo Montalban and the words "The Khan Noonien Singh Suite"

Hiro attemps the number 5 breaching protocal but the door resists his shoulder barge.  An eyebot emerges from the wall next to the door and demands to see a warrant.  Hiro bombards the eyebode with legal arguments, citing chapter and verse from the only book that really matters in Mega City One... The Law.  The eyebot concedes in the face of overwhelming precedence and opens the door.  It informds the Judges that Mr Faraway and his ebntourage are currently relacing on the Lido deck.

Investigating the rooms, the Judges notice that one room contains a few signs that it has been recently occupied by Iona Skye, namely the pungent odourand the collection of hotel toiletry bottels that are now filled with urine.

Judge Wallace contacts the Hotel Lobby and tells Ramirez to invent a reason to call Mr Faraway to the hotel reception.  They enact Judicial Security Override protocols and patch the hotle's CCTV feed into the suite's huge Tri-D vid screen.  They watch as Faraway orders one of the two burly henchmen to deal with it.  The henchman makes his way to reception and then is met by a waiter with a trolley.  They enter the lift and the waiter dials in floor 66. The Judges get ready to receive visitors.

NEXT PROG -> Showdown on the Lido

Back Issues

• Prog 1 - Another Day in Mega City One
• Prog 2 - Super Duper Loops and Loopy Droops
• Prog 3 - Juve Punks, a Vampire and Meg Way Carnage
• Prog 4 - Pre Race Rumbles, Narcs and Pizza
• Prog 5 - Ed, Edd, Eddy and ED209 
• Prog 6 -Vive La Resistance
• Prog 7 - Mitterand Maison
• Prog 8 - Royal Rumble at Le Teeny Eiffel Tower
• Prog 9 - Beneath Thatcher Towers

Prog 9 - Beneath Thatcher Towers

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules.

The tunnel emerges into an ancient substructure whose concrete walls and lofty ceiling are propped up by massive buttresses and columns.  The scene is dimly illuminated by a pair of lit braziers which flank a large concrete altar at the far end of the cavern.  Lying on the alter is a naked and bound Judge Steel.  15 civilians armed with an array of firearms are spread about the cavern whilst a figure armed with a sacrificial knife addresses them from the altar.

Thatcher Towers - Basement Temple

Wallace issues an arrest phrase which goes unheeded as a foolish perp (#1) raises his stubgun in their general direction and he answers with a burst of 3 GP rounds.  The other Judges do not wait for further instruction.  Que fires a single shot into perp #2, Hiro a burst of GP at a third and Holmes fires a GP burst at perp #2.  In the confusion Steele manages to wrestle his hands free unnoticed.

The perps return fire Holmes takes a shot in the left arm, a bullet ricochets off Hiro's helmet and Que takes two rounds to the left arm.  The hooded cult leader drops the knife onto the altar as he ducks for cover.

Wallace's radio buzzes with static as he calls Sector Control for backup.  He launches a Grenade round at perp #3 which blows him to pieces and showers perp #7 in shrapnel. Que fires a 3 shot burst of AP at perp #4 who goes down clutching at the bloody stump of what used to be his leg.  Hiro fires 2 AP at the center of mass of a fifth perp who slumps to the ground instantly and a third shot wings perp #8 in the right arm. Holmes hits perp #6 with a close grouping to the chest.  Steele grabs the sacrificial dagger lying on the altar beside him and he cuts his legs free whilst rolling off the altar.

Perp #9 gets a lucky head hit on Wallace, perp #6 returns fire and hits Holmes in the left arm and leg.  Perp #7 wildly strafes Hiro with his stub gun hitting him in the left leg and right arm.  A new assailant, perp #11, also targets Hiro but misses.

Wallaces gets off a burst of 3 Grenades at #11 who explosively surrenders.  Que shoots 3 grenades at perp #7 killing him.  Hiro fires 3 AP rounds at perps #8 and #10 hitting them both.  Holmes runs back to the pillar nearest the exit in order to get a better signal.  Steele rolls over to the pile of clothes and reunites himself with his lawgiver "Doris".

The cultists strafe the area with stub gun fire but their lack of training and accuracy is telling and no rounds find a target.

Wallace fires a burst of 3 Grenades at perp #6 but misses.  Que downs both #8 and #10, Hiro blows up #14 with 3 Grenade rounds as Holmes makes it to the tunnel.  As naked as the day he popped out of the cloning tank, Steele leaps to his feet and kills the Cult Leader with a single GP round remarking

"Nobody puts Judge Steele on a sacrificial altar!"

His periferal vision spots two more cultists #12 and #13 on the other side of the altar and he snaps off a round at each but misses.

#12 and #13 return fire at Steele hitting him in the torso and left arm.


Wallace cuts down perps #12 and #13 with 3 grenades.  Hiro rushes at perp #6 who is frantically trying to reload and shoots him in the leg blowing off his kneecap.  He drops his gun, clutching at his mangaled leg and surrenders.  Holmes gets to the stairwell at the entrance to the tunnel and calls in backup from Sector Control.  Wallace shoots #15 in the head with a burst of GP rounds and he drops to the floor with a face that resembles swiss cheese.  Running to the leftmost pillar Que yells at the remaining cultist #9. 

"Drop your weapon, you're outnumbered!"

Stiffling the pain and screwing a hypo round into his lawgiver, Hiro chimes in

"Throw down your weapon"

Considering that the offence of Judge Homicide (Code: 101, 30 Years to Life) carries a lengthy sentence the perp retorts

"You'll never take me alive coppas!"  and shoots himself in the head.  Que mumbles to himself "You just saved me a heap of paperwork".

Surveyng the aftermath, Steele is stabilised but his serious wounds need urgent medical attention.  They cuff the two cultists, #4 and #6 who surrendered and stop them from bleeding out.  They take some robes and a stretcher and carry the pair out sealing off the scene for CSI by a team of Tech Judges.  They leave by the nearest exit and are met by a Med Wagon 30 minutes later.

NEXT PROG -> Confronting Nigel Faraway

Back Issues

• Prog 1 - Another Day in Mega City One
• Prog 2 - Super Duper Loops and Loopy Droops
• Prog 3 - Juve Punks, a Vampire and Meg Way Carnage
• Prog 4 - Pre Race Rumbles, Narcs and Pizza
• Prog 5 - Ed, Edd, Eddy and ED209
• Prog 6 - Vive La Resistance
• Prog 7 - Mitterand Maisons
• Prog 8 - Royal Rumble at Le Teeny Eiffel Tower