America is an irradiated wasteland...within it lies a city. Outside the boundary walls, a desert. A Cursed Earth.
Inside the walls, a cursed city, stretching from Boston to Washington D.C. An unbroken concrete landscape. 400 million people living in the ruin of the old world and the mega structures of the new one. Mega blocks...Mega highways...Mega City One.
Convulsing...Choking...Breaking under its own weight. Citizens in fear of the street, the gun. the gang. Only one thing fighting for order in the chaos: the men and women of the Hall of Justice.
Juries. Executioners. Judges.
Judges Wily, Kowalski and Muller regarded each other as Judge Lande, Judge in Charge of Personnel for Sector 13, read through their service records. Recent casualties in the relentless war on crime had meant an influx of new blood and the formation of new partnerships. Judge Wily, a high-flying graduate from the Academy, had been sent to gain street experience in the seething cauldron of Dredd's old Sector. As such, he'd been placed in command of a new Tac-Group consisting of grizzled veterans of the streets. 'Sink or swim' his assessor had said at the conclusion of his Final Street Assessment; Wily was determined to swim.
Psi-Judge Kowalski came from tough Polish stock, who'd lived in the Sector since it was known by its pre-Atomic name: New Jersey. She'd been on the streets for five years, and in that time had seen all that it could throw at her. As a Psi-Judge, she was used to being passed from team to team as Judges around her inevitably became unnerved by her abilities, despite their obvious use in fighting crime. She was used to it, although constantly being on the edge and frequent use of her powers meant that her psych-evals were showing the beginnings of psi-trauma.
Muller was likewise a five-year vet. He too had grown up on these streets, but whereas many of his friends had ended up in Resyk through a life of crime, he'd fought his way into the Academy and succeeded against the odds. He was tough, uncompromising and prone to let his Lawgiver speak for him. Still, his arrest record was exemplary and his actions had so far eluded the attentions of the SJS, so the Sector Chief was content to let sleeping robo-attack-dogs lie.
As Lande finished his welcoming orientation, the newly-formed Tac-Group headed off to either the Sleep Machines or the shared dorms for their 'mandatory eight'. They were on the Breakfast Shift tomorrow, and knew they'd need all the rest they could get.
The Judges entered the Briefing Room together just before Judge Kemp, A-Watch Commander, started the briefing. The room had a sharp antiseptic smell and a harsh glare from the fluorescent lights recessed into the ceiling. Several of the Judges already seated were nursing a range of med-pack dressings on wounds taken in the latter half of the preceding Graveyard Shift. Some older Judges sat hollow-eyed, as the near-misses and almost-deaths of the preceding hours played on a constant loop in their minds; even Judges can only take so much.
As they entered, Muller nodded to some of his acquaintances. One in particular drew his attention: Judge Ronaldo was a close competitor when it came to both arrests and body count, and a definitely unfriendly rivalry had formed. Kowalski nodded to McNeill, a powerful empath she had grown to trust over the years. Wily, very aware of his comparative rookie status, tried hard to project a cool demeanour as he strode in, but unfortunately tripped over the edge of a chair, causing heads to turn. He was saved from embarrassment, however, as Kemp began the morning briefing dead on time as always. The briefing itself was unremarkable; the usual parade of homicides, robberies and new crazes the Justice Department had not yet seen fit to ban outright. One thing caught the Tac-Group's attention, however; a spate of missing person reports in and around Kimmi Kardashian Mega-Block.
Following the briefing, the Tac-Group headed down to the Quartermaster to draw their Lawgivers and ammo. A spate of irregular weapon malfunctions meant that weapons were checked in and out on every shift. Muller exchanged a few words with Judge-Quartermaster Couhoun, a confirmed gun-nut. As they headed down to the Garage Level, they could already hear the roar of Lawmasters as Judges headed out on their assigned tasks. Sitting astride their own Lawmasters, Wily directed Muller to choose the best route to Eustace Fargo Spaceport, their assigned patrol route. Muller led the trio out into the early morning traffic, the sound of engines and blaring horns penetrating even the sound suppressors in their helmets.
As they took a sweeping patrol route, a call came through from Control; a tap gang had been reported working the pedways near to the BoJo Johnson Luxy-Block. The trio immediately sped forward, with Kowalski showing off her driving skills by leaving Muller and Wily in her wake. Arriving at the crime scene, the Judges took in the situation with a trained eye. Three pairs of Taps were fully engaged in beating the Grud out of a group of citizens, oblivious to the arrival of the Law. Wily was first into the fray, leaping from his Lawmaster, taking aim with his Lawgiver and yelling to the nearest group to surrender. In response, two perps dropped their clubs and held up their hands. In contrast, Muller decided to take the direct approach; he skidded up to the pedway barrier and drew his Daystick, preparing to leap over and dispense the Law in his own inimitable style. As a precaution, he ordered his bike to shoot any perp that might try to run away. Kowalski, on the other hand, rode her Lawmaster calmly into earshot of the perps, dismounted and yelled a command to 'Stop and be judged!'. Such was the power of her demeanour that two inexperienced perps fainted on the spot, whilst one raised his hands, pleading for mercy.
One perp remained, obviously high on something. Having finished beating one citizen to death, he decided to add a Judge to his tally and ran towards Muller. Seeing this, Wily snapped off a Standard Execution round which struck the perp on the head, spinning him around and causing him to collapse at Muller's feet. As Muller charged towards the remaining perps, at least one of them lost control of their bladders at the sight of his snarling visage.
As a grateful citizen sobbed at his feet, Wily called in Meat- and Pat-Wagons to take the perps to begin heavy cube-time. Professionally, they cuffed the perps to holding posts and sped off to continue their patrol. As they rode along Jonny Galecki Overzoom towards the Spaceport, they noted traffic swerving ahead and horns being sounded. A slowster was disturbing the smooth flow of the traffic. Moving alongside, a brief query to M.A.C. resulted in an ID for the perp: the Foord Syerra was registered to one Carlton Fink33/17 Bruce Springsteen Block. As they moved alongside, a crazed face peered out from the vehicle's windows and the vehicle began to pick up speed. As the Judges moved in pursuit, one of the vehicle's windows opened and an object flew out, bouncing under a nearby transit pod. 'Littering' thought Kowalski...but suddenly the transit exploded! A bomb!
The chase began in earnest, as perp and Judge jockeyed for position. Wily soon fell back, and consulted his bike computer for a route that would cut off the perp. Muller took aim with his bike cannon and then his Lawgiver, aiming to shoot out a tyre on the Foord. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in damaging other vehicles as the runner swerved all over the road. It was left to Kowalski to close the distance, reach out with her mind and utter a single word under her breath: 'Pain!'. His nerve endings on fire, Fink crashed into the barrier and was trapped by the crash suppressors in the Foord. As Kowalski approached warily, she heard him babbling about how 'she was going to pay...boom!'. Reaching out with her mind, Kowalski traced the threads of the future, and saw the image of a woman in mid-20th century clothing and hairstyle, chained to a cooker in a hab block. Atop the cooker sat what was clearly a bomb, with the timer ticking down!
(To be continued....)
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