A Pass.

Dredd took a deep breath, breathing in the familiar recycled air of Mega-City One following the whole night he and rookie Judge Anderson fought through Peach Trees against the Ma-Ma clan and Ma-Ma herself before he walked away following his brief conversation with the Chief Judge. She had asked him if Anderson was a pass or not.

When the psychic rookie had been handed over to him to see if she could make it as a Judge in the anarchy of Mega-City One, Dredd had not been impressed or even happy with the assignment.

The girl had failed the academy.

She had even failed the initial tests. If it wasn't for her psychic abilities then she would never have worn a Judge uniform and tac-armour. But Dredd had given the girl a chance, not just because the Chief Judge had ordered him to but because he wanted to see how she did, although that had been a factor, but also because he genuinely wanted to see if she could handle it.

There had been moments where he had been prepared to fail her on the spot, even though she had proven to have learnt a good deal about the law protocols, however, her hesitation and lack of expertise had caused quite a bit of friction. But that was normal for a rookie; despite his status as a clone of Chief Judge Fargo, the Founder of the Judge system, with all of the knowledge and training programmed into his brain, he had still needed to have actual experience on the streets of Mega-City One, and Dredd had trained and passed his own fair share of rookies in his time since.

One of the points of contention he had over Anderson was she did not wear her helmet, but she'd countered by saying her psychic abilities would be hampered if she wore a helmet. Perhaps they could have one custom made for her, one that was just as good as a regular helmet but allowed her to use her abilities?

But those same abilities had proven to be incredibly handy, and they more than made up for any discrepancies. Anderson had used her abilities to learn Kay was the one who had skinned those three who were thrown from the top floor of Peace Trees although he was uncertain if that had been a basic feel where the young rookie had just been peering into his mind. Either way, he had come to believe her when she had claimed Kay had been responsible for the skinning, under Ma-Ma's orders. Anderson had used them to learn more about that young mother living in that apartment where they'd forced themselves into, taking Kay with them while they were hiding from the inhabitants of Peach Trees who were egged on by Ma-Ma into killing the two Judges for their freedom and wellbeing. The sheer stranglehold Ma-Ma had over Peach Trees was shocking, unthinkable, but it was a reality of life in Mega-City One, and not for the first time since he had walked into the place and listened to the paramedic who told them the story of Ma-Ma and how she had become such a powerful figure by killing everyone else, and Anderson's good question about how Ma-Ma had gotten away with it for so long without a Judge intervening and restoring the law, Dredd wondered just how many other parts of the city lacked Judges.

Probably more than we would want, Dredd thought sadly.

There were areas that the Judges rarely patrolled. Peach Trees was one of a hundred such places in Mega-City One, but if that was going to change and the Chief Judge planned to despatch Judges to the areas of the city where the crime rate was incredibly high; it was the logical step, especially after what she had heard and Dredd himself would recommend this part of the city would receive more frequent visits from Judges.

But one thing was clear and Dredd hated to admit it considering how hard and how long he had fought for law and order in the city.

The Chief Judge was right when she had claimed the Judges were losing their never-ending war against the gangs which appeared out of nowhere every day. A psychic like Cassandra Anderson could make all the difference in the war, and he had seen examples of just how powerful she was but since he didn't really know how powerful a psychic mutant could be since most of the ones in the past were so hideously mutated and genetically mutilated by residual radiation, Dredd had no idea how powerful she was compared to them.

Still, it was likely she was very powerful, and he had seen that power full-on; Dredd had no idea what Kay had seen or even what Anderson had done to him when she had taken over the interrogation, but just the fact she had gotten him to wet himself must have been gratifying for her; Dredd had noticed the way Kay had been eyeing up the young woman. He had seen it before, that unrestrained lust and desire to cause pain, the desire to rape. Dredd had been tempted to snap the criminal's neck, but he hadn't since he could be a great advantage in bringing down Ma-Ma's organisation.

Unfortunately, it had nearly backfired when he had seen her be overpowered by Kay when those kids ambushed them and distracted them, Dredd had very nearly given into his inner rage.

The young woman had been given into his care. It was his job to protect and watch after her, but while he hadn't liked the fact the rookie had entered the academy and failed but had been allowed to stay…she had grown on him.

She couldn't go.

Dredd looked down at the badge she had handed to him. She had made it clear ever since she had let that techie go instead of killing him she knew she wasn't Judge material, but she was wrong. Dredd had had an epiphany when they had been in the tech room; Anderson might not be seen as Judge material, but she had the spirit and desire to be one, and when she worked through it he had no doubt she would be an exceptional one.

He only hoped she would listen.

X

Dredd found Anderson being checked over by the paramedics. The older Judge could see the paramedic technicians were already providing better medical care than the makeshift field dressing he had provided for her, and he knew he would need to be checked out himself.

"Anderson," he said in his usual brisk manner, lifting his helmet to glance at the PMTs but they didn't seem bothered by his presence.

"Judge?' Anderson's face was uncertain, albeit tired following the night she'd had.

Dredd lifted up the badge. "You didn't let me finish what I was going to say about your assessment, Rookie," he said reprovingly.

Anderson sighed and looked down at the tips of her boots. "I failed…"

"No, you didn't," Dredd was becoming tired of the self-pity. "You passed; you might have let your primary weapon fall into the hands of Kay, but you proved yourself worthy of becoming a Judge."

Dredd handed her the badge and turned to march away. As far as he was concerned he had said his piece, but then he remembered what was really on his mind. "Rookie, I'm going to recommend to the Chief Judge we continue to work together to refine your skills. But beyond that, I was impressed by what I saw in Peace Trees."

Anderson was looking at him with genuine shock. She had clearly assumed she had not only let him down but she had also annoyed him. He would really need to do something about her confidence.

He genuinely didn't want Anderson to go.

"I'll see you tomorrow on shift, rookie," Dredd finished as he turned to find the Chief Judge to let her know about his decision to not only pass Anderson as a Judge but to take her on as a partner.

Author's Note - I don't own Dredd, sadly.