Weapon System in Zombie Apocalypse

The specimen chamber at MOA Complex's subterranean research wing was silent but for the faint mechanical hum of active scanning equipment. Floodlights bathed the secured containment unit in sterile white, while overhead arms positioned with surgical precision hovered above the object of interest: the core biopsy tube retrieved by Shadow Team.

Inside the titanium cylinder lay a segment of the Colossal Worm's carapace, sliced clean and sealed in nitrogen. It still faintly shimmered with residual bioenergy—dark crimson interlaced with soft pulses of violet light. The worm tissue seemed to breathe on a cellular level, even disconnected from the host.

Dr. Lena Calix, Overwatch's head xenobiologist, leaned over the chamber's interface console with her usual precision. Her team had already run three spectrograph tests, and now the big ones were queued: density mapping, plasma susceptibility, and directed explosive resonance.

"Alright," she said, adjusting her lab goggles. "We'll start with baseline composition."

A low mechanical clank issued as the biopsy tube was depressurized. A robotic claw retrieved the sample and laid it gently onto the hardened graphene testing plate. The sample's structure looked like it belonged to some hybrid of coral and hardened obsidian. Dr. Calix initiated the first scan.

"Spectrometry shows…" She squinted at the monitor. "Okay, this is nuts. There are trace elements of silicate, calcium phosphate, and—what the hell—conductive proteins?"

Her assistant, Luis, frowned. "Conductive? Like nerve fibers?"

"Not just nerve," she muttered. "This thing's shell is semi-neural. It responds to stimuli like skin—but it behaves like armor."

She flicked her fingers across the console, triggering the electron micrograph.

The visual returned in moments. The tissue was dense. Too dense.

"It has four distinct layers," she said aloud, "an epidermal sheath, under that a ceramic-composite layer similar to artificial armor plating, a third layer of bio-conductive gel, and a core stratum made of… is this… regenerating keratin?"

"Regenerating?" Luis echoed.

"It self-repairs," she confirmed. "Slowly. But it does."

He whistled. "So if we bomb it, it could theoretically regrow?"

"Unless we can override or destroy the regenerative mechanism."

Luis adjusted the scanner focus. "Let's see what happens when we stress-test it."

"Do it."

First came the laser ablation.

A 3.4-watt directed beam—typical for slicing steel—fired against the outer sheath.

It sparked… and stopped.

"Minimal penetration," Lena noted. "Surface only scorched. No cut."

Luis upped the setting to 6.0-watts.

Same result.

"It's not laser-weak. It's laser-immune," Lena murmured. "We're going to need a blunt-force solution."

She loaded the stress-test platform with an impact hammer calibrated for high-yield testing. A carbon-alloy spike slammed down onto the sample at 1,200 psi.

Finally—a crack.

"Now we're getting somewhere," she said. "Mark that. Blunt kinetic force is viable."

The machine repeated the test at intervals, increasing psi until the deepest fracture exposed the gel layer.

They paused. The gel hissed and oozed slowly—reacting to air. Within seconds, the outer edges started to harden again.

Luis stared. "It's sealing itself."

"Not completely, and not fast," Lena replied. "That gives us a window. Penetrate fast and deep enough, we interrupt regeneration."

She turned toward the other test rig.

"Load the plasma cutter. Controlled burst."

"Wait, plasma? Isn't that what the worm uses against us?"

"Yes. I want to know if it's vulnerable to its own weapon class."

Luis activated the rig. A short burst of plasma discharged at the cracked sample.

This time, the reaction was different.

The inner gel flared violet, reacting violently—briefly ionizing.

The lights in the lab flickered.

Dr. Calix's eyes widened. "It has a threshold. Plasma destabilizes the internal matrix. It's not immune to it. Just... resistant."

Luis stared. "Then we use plasma-based ordnance?"

"No," she said slowly, eyes gleaming. "We use a plasma-primer. Something that shocks the inner layers. Then a delayed kinetic payload."

"A tandem warhead?" he guessed.

"Exactly."

She turned toward the comms station. "Get me Command. We've got viable weapon profiles."

—

Back upstairs, in the MOA command center, Thomas paced behind the central table as data fed into the holographic projector in real time. The structural layers of the Worm's hide spun slowly in 3D—each one labeled, each one mapped.

Marcus read off the results.

"Confirmed: outer hide impervious to standard rifle and laser fire. Moderate resistance to heat. Plasma can be used to destabilize internal bio-gel, especially after breach. Regenerative layer slows after core layer is compromised. But…"

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Marcus looked grim. "Its surface can emit a feedback charge. Anything that touches it—biological or mechanical—gets a high-voltage response. We're estimating 80 to 110kV arcs."

"Good for frying anything too close."

"Exactly."

Thomas turned toward the glass lab panel. Beyond it, Dr. Calix stood with her team.

He pressed the comms.

"You have a solution?"

She nodded. "We do. This thing can be killed. Not easily. But killed."

She pressed a sequence and displayed a new layout.

"A tandem payload—a plasma warhead to destabilize the core layers followed by a delayed kinetic impact. We drop both in sequence. The plasma shocks it, opens the internal matrix. The kinetic punch drives through before regeneration stabilizes. But we'll need delivery mechanisms."

"Jets?" Marcus asked.

"Jets would be best. Or rail-launched heavy drones. The warheads would have to be custom-built."

Thomas folded his arms and hummed in thought. What they were asking aren't available to them right now, not even the system has what they need to bring down the Colossal Worm.

"Sadly, we don't have anything in our inventory that matches what the doctor's recommendation. Let's look into what we have. We have A-10s, Apache, AC-130, we have artillery as well and if we want to send some Abrams in the front line we are going to send it to the front."

Dr. Calix didn't flinch at Thomas's reply. She had expected it.

"No tandem warhead platforms, then," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and studying the data on her tablet. "Alright. Let's work with what we have. I'll improvise."

Thomas stepped closer to the glass separating the lab from the command floor.

"We've got A-10 Warthogs with a full loadout of GAU-8 rounds and Maverick missiles. Apaches with Hydra 70s. We also have the AC-130 for heavy air support and 155mm howitzers ready for indirect fire. No smart munitions or experimental systems," he said. "But we've made less work with worse."

Dr. Calix glanced at her assistant Luis, then tapped a few keys on her terminal. A 3D schematic of the Worm's layered armor reappeared, this time with heatmap indicators showing pressure zones, weak points, and plasma-reactive zones.

"Alright, listen closely," she said. "We've confirmed the Worm's hide isn't invulnerable—just layered. Its surface plates are hard, but if you disrupt the bio-conductive gel underneath, you compromise the entire system."

She pulled up another slide. This one showed the violet energy spike when the plasma test had been conducted.

"This reaction? That was from a 1.5-second plasma burst from a lab rig. Your Warthogs fire depleted uranium shells at over 3,000 feet per second. The plasma effect isn't necessary to kill—it's necessary to weaken."

Thomas folded his arms. "Soften it with plasma. Hit it with kinetic after."

"Exactly," Calix said, pointing. "The A-10's Avenger cannon? It's your best kinetic delivery system. If you can coordinate that with a saturation burst from the Apache's Hydra pods—especially with incendiary warheads—you can trigger a similar effect to a tandem payload. Not perfect, but viable."

Marcus leaned in. "So what are we talking here? Coordinated airstrike? Multiple aircraft?"

"Yes."