Planet Storm

Bamf's Z Tab Experience

Blackthunder's mind slips back into that horrid memory: Blackthunder's platoon had suffered heavy casualties, and most of them were black on ammo.  Blackthunder was just supposed to play the forward observer (FO) for this mission and T-Bone was supposed to be the Platoon Leader.  During every mission on Planet Z, the trainees have to rotate leadership and other positions in the platoon.  It was part of their training to understand how to lead without rank.  That rank is unimportant and that teamwork is everything.  It's about finding a way to help the team from your duty position.  It's about doing your very best at your job because the brothers next to you depended on you.  Their lives depended on you. It was about winning.
Even back then, Blackthunder carried his giant warhammer.  And as T-Bone sat there on his knees surrounded by zombies about to eat him, Blackthunder crushes the threat with one powerful sideways blow from his hammer. 
He then grabs T-Bone's radio to call for help, "any station this net, this is Black 6 Fox requesting immediate support at Blackcity 1 in sector 9, my coordinates are x-ray x-ray 6751 7853, over!" 
Bamf's Platoon was on the other side of the planet conducting their own raid. They had just finished actions on the objective and called in for evac as they heard the call. 
Bamf keys the mic, "Black 6 Fox this is Red 6, say again your coordinates, over." 
Blackthunder replies, "x-ray x-ray 67..." 
Ship 9958's C2 node breaks in,"Break, Break, Break...this is Zulu 1.  Red 6 disregard your last transmission from Black 6 and proceed to evac site 27.  Your window will be open in 30 seconds, out!" 
Bamf knew exactly what that meant.  The evac window would only be open for 60 seconds then they would be stuck on Planet Z for another 24 hours without resupply.  Zulu 1 didn't want Black Platoon rescued.  It wasn't worth risking an evac ship for potentially infected Soldiers.  Plus, if Black Platoon was being overrun, then they failed their mission, and mission failure meant another 24 hours on Planet Z without resupply plus a "No Go."  Zulu did this so the weak Soldiers that couldn't hack it would just become zombies allowing for more targets on future training missions. 
Evac Site 27 was about a kilometer from their position.  30 seconds wasn't a lot of time to make it their, but even a slow IGSC evolved Soldier could make that time. Even with full battle rattle and through terrain, that time standard was doable. 
Bamf looked at his acting platoon sergeant and said, "you are in charge. Take Red Platoon to evac site 27.  I am going to reinforce Black Platoon.  Your window is open in 25 seconds, GO!!!" 
Red 7, the platoon sergeant commands Red Platoon,"Evac Site 27 in 25 seconds, Execute!" 
In unison, only as elite Z-Tab Soldiers can, move at break-neck speed toward Evac Site 27 without ever dropping security.  It was a thing of beauty.  But another stayed behind with Bamf.  The acting first squad leader, Nik Anania.  He overheard the entire conversation and was willing to risk everything with Bamf to save Black Platoon.  
Bamf looked at Nik and said, "Red 1, you know that your are jeopardizing your Z-Tab and potentially your life, I am acting in direct violation of Zulu?" 
Nik looked at Bamf, nodded and said, "I heard him say he was in sector 9, let's book it that way and see if we can't regain comms."
Sector 9 was on the other side of the planet from them and every second counted.  Red 6 and Red 1 double timed Southeast toward Sector 9.  As they moved through Sector 2, they found a scout rocket and a command cycle.  Bamf mounted the command cycle and Nik jumped on the scout rocket.  They fired them up and with a loud roar of the engines, they were off at super sonic speed.  The scout rocket is much faster than the command cycle, but where the command cycle lacked in speed, it made up for in firepower. 
"Red 6 this Red 1, I have made visual contact with Black Platoon, you can see the explosions on the North Side of Blackcity 1," informed Nik.
Nik could see the energy dispersions from Blackthunder's war-hammer as he was crushing zombies.  Black Platoon's first squad leader Jackson Campbell was on the opposite side in full on hand to hand combat with zombies.  Jackson was an athletic Soldier and was holding his own there.  T-Bone was on the North Side of their patrol base taking steady shots with the few rounds he had left.  They were the only three survivors from the platoon. 
"Black 6 Fox, this is Red 6, do you read me?" Asks Bamf.
"Red 6 this is 6 Fox, I got you loud and clear brother and I see you approaching from the Northwest. See if you can give us some breathing room," requests Blackthunder.
"Roger that.  Red 1, give them a strafing run North of their position and I'll reposition South till I'm even with those buildings just South of them.  Then, I will attack along a bearing of 90 degrees to level those buildings.  That should give you enough time to come back around and clean up the trash."
"Roger that." Acknowledged Red 1. 
Jackson's radio was damaged and at the site of the Red Platoon heroes giving them final protective fires, he moved to secure another radio from one of the other fallen Black Platoon squad leaders. 
"Red 6 this is Black 1, there is a strong hold in the courtyard in the center of the city at building 8 on the GRG I am Patching in to your helmet now.  Take those down and we can move South on foot to clean up the trash and complete this mission," suggest Campbell.
"Roger that Black 1, I'll get em on my second pass after Red 1 clears the box." replied Red 6.
Bamf took out the remaining strong hold positions while Nik cleaned up after him.  Black Platoon then cleared through to the South Side of the City.  They all linked up in a clearing a couple hundred meters South of the city. 
"Zulu 1, this Black 1.  We are mission complete and ready for evac," requested Jackson.
"Black 1, this is Zulu 1, evac site 52 will be open in 5 mikes, out."
It was a 6 Km movement, but still no problem, even on foot for these elite warriors.  They make it to an evac ship hovering 20 feet into the air.  They all jump in.  The ship takes off at sonic speed back to Ship 9958. 
Enroute, the Senior Instructor (SI) standing in the Cargo area with them looks at Bamf and yells, "you think you are some kind of a hero?!  Pilot, turn this ship around!"
"Destination, Sir?"  The pilot asks.
"Junction City." He replied. 
Junction City was the most dangerous place on Planet Z.  Studies suggested that the Zombie phenomenon started there.  Z-Tab missions there were usually just reconnaissance missions to learn more about the Zombie phenomenon. 
The SI looked at Bamf and said, "your mission is to hold Building 1 in Junction City for 24 hours.  If you survive, we will evac you from that roof at 0200 hours tomorrow." 
Bamf smirked and replied, "too easy."
Just as they flew over Building 1 in Junction City, the SI dropkicks Bamf in the chest knocking him out of the aircraft.  Nik jumped up to go after him but the SI grabbed Nik by the neck and threw him back into the aircraft.  Blackthunder stood up, but was met with a swift punch to the face.  He threw his war-hammer out the back of the aircraft before being thrown back in his seat.  Bamf survived his landing on the roof of Building 1 with a perfectly executed Parachute Landing Fall (PLF) and looked up just in time to catch the war-hammer.  A feat that few men could do, but Bamf had superhuman strength similar to that giant guerrilla Blackthunder. 
Building 1 in Junction City was a huge research facility and hospital in the center of the city.  Junctions City was the crossroads of many highways around Planet Z and believed to be the first city there.  The zombie outbreak was believed to be have started in that building.  It was also the biggest stronghold in the city for the zombie phenomenon. 
Bamf was immediately met with heavy resistance on the roof.  Bamf started his marathon of zombie smashing. 
Bamf started systematically clearing Building 1 from the top floor down.  But, it seemed like the zombies were coming from all over to reinforce this building.  This was more than just a search for food for them.  This was different as if they were trying to protect something.  They were moving as a team.  One even showed up with an IGSC issued assault rifle.  Fortunately for Bamf, he didn't know how to use it.  Bamf smashed him and his degenerate group of zombie friends. Bamf equipped himself with the dropped assault rifle even though it only had about half a mag in it.  He attached it to the magnetic strip on his back.
On the 5th floor, there was a an infected lady in a lab coat.  If it weren't for the decaying skin on her face, she would have been a really pretty woman.  She was typing on the computer in an uncoordinated fashion.  With one finger at a time and struggling to figure it out.  She stopped and looked at Bamf.  Bamf readied the hammer, but she didn't attack him.  Instead she studied him.  This was very peculiar to Bamf. 
Bamf had some telekinetic abilities, but he couldn't get into her head.  As he got closer, she attacked him. He grabbed her by the throat and ripped her arms off.  She was still breathing and alive as he held her against the wall.  Now that he was touching her, he was able to get inside her head a little more.  It wasn't the same as being in a human head though.  It was different, there was a chiming in her head.  At different frequencies like a different language.  When he squeezed tighter, the chiming increased and when he relaxed his grip, it decreased in frequency.  Bamf tried to interpret the chiming.  Just as he figured out that this was an alien telekinetic way of communicating, another horde of zombies hurling in from the stairwell. 
Bamf went back to zombie smashing time. There seemed to be an endless stream of zombies coming at him.  But this was Bamf Storm, one of the greatest warriors in the galaxy.  He could keep this up all day.  If he is going to survive, he will literally have to keep this up all day.    
He made it down to the 2nd floor and again their was a zombie infected older gentlemen in a lab coat trying to type into a computer.  Still clumsy, but less so than the lady before.  This one looked at Bamf studying him like the one before.  But, this time, he could feel the zombie in his head, even though they were not touching.  The chimes were mesmerizing, like being in a daze.  The older gentleman seemed to try and smile.  Bamf heard something behind him, but was struggling to break the daze.  He focused on his rage and it broke him out of the trans, he turned just in time to defend himself from three zombies trying to sneak up on him.  He smashed two of them with one stroke of the hammer and grabbed the other by the throat.  He then turned the hammer upside down and rammed the stick through his body, effectively making a zombie kabab with the hammer.  Bamf was connected to the zombie kabob for the brief seconds it was still breathing.  He looked at the old man that was still studying him.  Bamf focused hard on the chimes, he projected images of his rage into both of them.  The chimes turned into a high pitched scream.  The old man fell to his knees and held his head.  Bamf squeezed the kabob some more, the squelching increased in both of them.  He dug into the kabob's mind more. 
The zombie's mind says, "hunger for meat." 
He ripped the kabob from the hammer and threw him out the window.  He moved to the old man and grabbed him by the head and looked deep in his eyes as he squeezed. 
The old man began to speak to Bamf telepathically.  Except not in English, Bamf was beginning to understand the squelches by interpreting them as images from the old man's head.  Bamf saw images from the planet before human habitation.  He saw tree like structures of decaying meat from animals spread across the lands.   Then hundreds of years ago, when ships started to land, the fireballs started to disintegrate the rotting trees, till there was no more.   Then, he saw several years ago when a doctor discovered the, phenomenon deep in the earth's core and was studying the regenerative capabilities of the substance.  He attached the substance to a mouse and saw increased speed and strength from the mouse.  He cut limbs from the mouse and saw them grow back in minutes.  He felt excited to have learned of such a medical phenomenon.  They started to mine the substance from the earth and rub it on amputees, cancer patients, and other terminal patients with incredible results.  Months went by before the infection started to take over.  Once the patients turned, it was a matter of time before it spread across the planet. 
Then, the IGSC Soldiers started to arrive.  Killing zombies by the thousands.  The horde managed to keep them from getting into Junction City though.  Until Bamf arrived.  The horde contemplated what possessed a man to risk everything by entering the city of death.
"Little do they know, I am just an idiot that wants his Z-Tab." Bamf thought to himself.
Another zombie busts through the window, shooting a side arm at him.  Bamf rolls out of the way and smash him with the hammer.  The old man swipes at Bamf with his hand, bleeding from the eyes and mouth.  Bamf flattens him.  Its daylight outside.  Bamf moves back to the roof to recharge his suit from the sun.  The structural integrity of the building had been compromised from all the heavy hammer smashes during combat.  Bamf thought it would be a good idea to leave the hammer on the roof since this would be his Pick up Zone (PZ).  He ripped some of the rebar from the concrete and used the hammer to forge a giant jagged machete. 
Bamf held the roof, defending wave after wave of zombie horde while his suite recharged in the daylight.  At nightfall, he re-cleared the building back down to the second floor.  Where he found both the lady in the lab coat and the old man trying to figure the computer thing out again.  They started to look slightly less clumsy and looked at Bamf simultaneously, studying him.  Bamf started to realize that, you can't kill the zombies, just slow them down for a time.  That's all he really needs to survive this ordeal...time. 
Then a giant zombie rat came screaming through the hall.  Bamf sliced it in half with his giant jagged machete.  The two scientists studying him.  Bamf attached the machete to the magnetic plate on his back and grabbed the two zombies by the neck. 
They all intertwined in a telekinetic whirlwind.  Bamf saw that the horde was learning from him and the more they telekinetically engaged each other, the smarter the horde became.  The more they learned from him and the humans in general.  As if he was the missing link they needed for these past few years to fight back from the IGSC. 
Bamf threw them out the window.  More zombies came flooding up the stairs.  He fought his way down to the ground floor.  Cutting zombies to pieces, the floor looked like chopped suey with zombie parts.  He fought to the courtyard.  Where the horde started to merge together to form one of the tree like structure of rotting flesh he saw in his image.  The image of what this phenomenon used to look like before humans landed on this planet.   This 30 foot tall creature yelled in a hundred voices like an echo, with all the mouths that made up this creature.  The echo resonated and it spoke in English, "we are The Horde, Bamf Storm!  We are the Conglomerate, and the rightful inhabitants of this planet! And now we will kill you before our secret leaves this place." 
The giant being swung at Bamf with an arm 15 times the size of him.  Bamf back flipped out of the way and sliced a chunk out of its arm.  He then ran up the backside of The Horde and started to hack away at limbs.  The Horde, threw Bamf from his back.  Bamf flipped on to his feet.  More zombies started to flood the court yard.  Bamf cut them down as fast as he could, but the ones attacking him were just a distraction.  Other zombies were moving to The Horde and repairing the limbs he had just cut off. 
Bamf them remembered that the original human inhabitants of this planet used fire to clear this land.  He pulled the magazine from the assault rifle he had on his back and cracked the nuclear power casing that charged the laser rounds in it.  He cut a big hole in the middle of The Horde and jammed the cracked magazine in it.  He flipped off The Horde and with a carefully aimed shot with the last round in the chamber of the  riffle.  He hits the magazine and further ruptures the casing, catching the Horde on fire.  The Horde begins to scream in hundreds of voices.  Bamf hears the chimes squelch in his head.  He knows he only has a little time left before that magazine goes nuclear.  Fortunately, it was 0200 and his punishment was over.
"Zulu 1 this is Red 6, I am mission complete and ready for evac," requests Bamf.
"Red 6 this is Zulu 1, evac in 30 seconds from your predesignated HLZ," responds Zulu,
Bamf sprints to the roof, grabs the war-hammer, and jumps onto the transport.  They move at sonic speed back to Ship 9958 just as there is a nuclear detonation on Planet Z.  Bamf smiles.
The memory is just but an instant in Blackthunder's mind as he just struck The Raider to the ground back on Planet Blackheart, after the battle at Googlon.  He looks at the rest of the leaders at the table and says,"Get out.  ALL of you!"  He points with his hammer, "and take T-Bone to the infirmary, Now!"
The Raider explodes from the ground and strikes Blackthunder under the jaw, leveling him,"You dare attack me?!" 
Blackthunder rises to his feet, "If he dies, I will kill you."  Blackthunder turns his back to The Raider and walks out of the room.