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.
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| 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!"
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