Judge Dredd Episode 1: The Wreckers

The scene: Mega-City-1. The largest, most dangerous, crazy, polluted,
hectic city in the world.

Judges Duck (Ollie), Beth (John), Bolt (Matt) and Psi-Judge Hooker (Dave)
Are newly qualified from the academy. They've spent a day with a senior Judge
who has observed their actions and judgements in the City and considered them
capable of being given the full eagle of a Judge and being let loose in the City.

Judges seldom operate alone. Usually only the most senior Judges (such as
Dredd, Hershey, Andersson) work singly and new judges are usually put in teams.
Judge Duck is the natural leader of this group, with excellent combat skill, good
Reflexes and solid all-round supporting skills. The Judges know that some citizens
see them as the representatives of the most facist state ever seen on Earth, but
most see them as the only thing that protects them from the craziness of life in
Mega-City-1, a place where the sheer complexity of modern life can drive
People crazy with Future-Shock syndrome, to become Futzies!

Its the day after the Munce Day Parades and its been quiet. Weather
Control has set the weather to a light mist to keep temperatures down and calm the
Citizens down after the previous day's excitement and hot day. The group have Arrested several citizens for public drunkeness and disturbing the peace. The only
Serious crime reported in the area is the theft of a truck full of Citi-Def
supplies, mainly Spit-guns and Shell-Jackets.

The team are riding along a very quiet zoom-way, their very presence
Keeping traffic speeds down and drivers cautious. They are approaching Buddy Rich
tunnel, which is 3km long with one large chicane and heads between a few newish
city blocks and several old ruined skyscrapers from the pre-war days. Their bike
computers, which are far better drivers than the novice Judges, are in control of
their bikes.

Suddenly a red wedge roadster zips by them, travelling at serious speed,
far above the speed limit for this area. Judges Duck, Beth and Hooker immediately
accelerate to pursue the roadster, Judge Bolt, realising that the tunnel's thick
plascrete will block radio signals, immediately pulls off the road to call the
sighting in to Control. He waits for a response from Control for any reports on the
roadster.

Duck, Beth and Hooker switch on sirens and use their bike megaphones to
order the car to slow down and pull over, but there is no sign that the driver has
heard.
They continue to accelerate, beginning to close the distance between them
and the car. Soon they are at their maximum speed of 480m/R. They go around the
left bend in the tunnel. Beth now then slows down to fall back slightly, while Duck
and Hooker attempt to get within 20m of the speeding vehicle and match speeds,
as they approach the driver appears to grow panicked and the roadster speeds up,
with the driver having some difficulty in controlling it.

Back at the tunnel entrance Bolt has been informed by Control that the
roadster has been reported as stolen. He sets off immediately after the others at
maximum acceleration.

Back in the tunnel Judges Duck and Hooker round the right bend in the
tunnel in time to see the roadster disappear into a wall of fog. They all begin to
deccelerate as quickly as possible, but are still going very fast. They
hear a squeal of brakes from the fog and then hit the wall themselves.

The fog marks the tunnel's end is creeping in from the outside where thick
fog has descended (a fault has occurred in Weather Control and the mist has got out
of hand in this area). The Judges feel their bikes wheels slip as they hit the wet
road surface, luckily their bike computers control the skids and they continue
to deccelerate. The roadster driver has not been so lucky, the car has hit a
pillar supporting a flyover above their road and the driver has gone through the
windscreen and lies on the bonnet of the car, unmoving.

Beth also zips past the crashed car, with her bike computer successfully
Keeping control. All three judges deccelerate rapidly and return to the crash
site. Beth is first to the scene, parks her bike, dismounts and approaches the
vehicle, challenging the perp/driver to surrender. Duck joins her, aiming at the
still body. Beth gets near to the vehicle and observes a puddle of petrol
spreading around it. She tests the body for a pulse and finds none. The perp has
judged himself. Hooker arrives and calls into Mac for a meat wagon and tells him
to close the road and divert traffic away.

At this point Judge Bolt arrives on the scene, travelling at near maximum
speed. His bike hits the wet road and rolls end over end, coming to a halt a few
metres away from the crashed roadster. The other Judges are stunned to see Bolts
wriggling body pinned under the Lawmaster - he appears relatively uninjured! The
bike, though, is crippled, its engine stopped.

Suddenly a crashing noise occurs and the Judges turn to see a truck bearing
down on them, hurtling down the South bank at the side of the road. Judge Duck is
right in its path and hurls himself to the side, but is unlucky to have the edge of
the vehicles fender pierce him in the chest, puncturing a lung! Judge Beth is
also in the path, but manages to roll out of th way. The truck crashes into the
opposite bank and is still.

Hooker attends to Duck and mandages his chest, sealing the whistling hole,
Duck is safe for now, and still a Judge. He picks up his Lawgiver and takes cover
behind a bike, gun trained on the truck. Beth draws her gun and aims at the truck,
challenging any occupants to surrender. Bolt struggles out from under his
bike, draws his Lawgiver and sets it to Rubber Ricochet, aiming at the cab of the
truck.
Hooker pulls out a Stumm grenade. Beth sets her gun to High Explosive.
They recognise it as probably being the stolen Citi-Def supply truck.

Silence falls and there is no movement from the truck, then shadowy figures
Appear out of the mists on the banks - wreckers! Judge Bolt challenges them to
Surrender to the Law and two immediately fall to the floor, discarding their weapons.
However, another perp charges him shouting, "Its Judges, but we can take
them. We've already hurt one, so theres no other way! Kill the Judges!" He
waves him club menacingly.

Chaos breaks out as the wreckers charge the Judges. Hooker hurls her Stumm
Grenade, which explodes, taking two wreckers down. She also applies her
Psi Skill to 'jinx mechanism' on a perp with a Spit Gun, but can't concentrate
enough. Beth fires her HE round at the same perp and he disappears behind a pillar in an explosion of blood.

Duck fires twice over at a perp with a knife, missing both times, while
Hooker shoots another wrecker and then drops another Stumm grenade, taking down 3 perps.
Another perp with an Eletro-prod runs out of range of the Stumm, at Bolt,
but Duck blasts him in the leg, and he collapses on the floor. Beth, meanwhile has
been shot in the arm by a spit gun, but makes it to the relative safety of a
cloud of Stumm gas.

Bolt has been fighting in close quarters with several perps. He shoots one
twice, dodging Club and Electro-prod swings, and the perp then surrenders when
Duck yells out "Over half of you are down! Give it up creeps!" Then another Rubber
Ricochet shot from Bolt rebounds of a pillar, narrowly missing him and the
club-wielding perp he is struggling with. This perp swings and gets in a lucky blow,
caving in some of Bolt's ribs with his club. At the same time two wreckers with