Escape from Zombie Planet!

The latest adventure from the Old Buckenham Bone Crushers, using my own home-brew rules...

The zombie plague continues to spread on the colony world Arturo.  3 small groups of survivors have converged on an outlying landing field.  Together, they have formulated an escape plan. 

An overview of the landing field and associated settlement.

The townsfolk have been trapped in a building but are running out of food.  Now they will have to make a break for it.

The townsfolk survey the area.

More survivors have reached the outskirts of the settlement and are concealed in some rickety shacks.  They've made their way here in the hope of finding a ship to take them off-world and it looks like they could be in luck!

Wilderness survivors prepare for action.

Interstellar Mining and Extraction Consortium have a small cargo lifter almost ready for launch.  The crew have been holed up for several days but this looks like it could be their chance to complete launch prep and escape.  Navigational charts need to be downloaded from a nearby spacecraft undergoing maintenance.

Nav charts and supplies are located near the IMEC cargo lifter.

The 3 groups have been in radio communication and have finalised their escape plans.  Before the IMEC ship can take off, they must gather five important sets of supplies which are situated are various points around the landing field.  These include food, spare parts, CO2 scrubbers and other vital items.

The wilderness survivors make the first move.  Rummaging in the shacks they find some blankets.  It's not much but they might come in useful.  They decide that their safest approach route is over the rocky outcrop between them and the settlement.  This will avoid various zombies lurking in the woods and will give them a good view across the settlement and landing field.  Tying the blankets around their bodies, they prepare for the climb.

The IMEC team strike out from their cargo lifter towards the other spacecraft, pausing only to gun down a nearby group of zombies.  There seem to be few zombies on this side of the landing field.

IMEC crew members dash to recover them.

The townsfolk are going to make a break for the vehicle parked outside.  After taking a pot-shot at the zombies from the roof, they start to make their way downstairs.  Inside the building they pick up a datapad and some of the operating codes for the loader-bot outside.

Other than the zombies which heard the gunshots and are moving towards the townsfolk, the undead  lurch and shamble randomly around the area.

It looks like the townsfolk have misjudged the situation.  As they reach the ground floor, zombies burst in through the doorway, threatening to overwhelm them.

Townsfolk find there are zombies downstairs!

On this occasion luck is with them and in the nick of time they pile out of the fire exit and dash towards the off-roader.

So it's time to leave!

Realising time is of the essence, the IMEC crew sprint desperately to the spacecraft.  While one of them sets the nav charts downloading to their cargo lifter, the others start to drag the supplies towards a nearby forklift.

IMEC crew have reached the dry-docked shuttle.

The townsfolk start the engine and rumble away from the buildings in the off-roader.  One jumps out and dashes around behind a building.  Will the zombies see him or are they distracted and following the vehicle? The off-roader rattles down the road, its tracks mincing to mush the 3 zombies who stand in its path.

Townsfolk squash zombies on their way to the woods.

Turning into the woods, they pause to collect some supplies.

They skid to a halt next to the supplies.

Over in the woods, the wilderness survivors are reaching the bottom of the outcrop.  The rifleman sprints to the corner of the building to see if there are any zombies nearby.

Wilderness survivors have reached the edge of the settlement.

He recoils in horror as a decaying, one-armed undead lurches around the corner!

Rifle Rick encounters a zombie.

The IMEC mechanic swings the forklift around and his companions load on the supplies.  Now they can get it back to the ship more quickly!

IMEC crew load the supplies onto a forklift.

Two of the wilderness survivors check out a nearby building - they have discovered a store, crammed full of fuel drums!  The rifleman survivor makes a snap decision.  He will try to lead off the zombies by running away from his companions, deeper into the woods.

More zombies close on Rifle Rick.

A fanjet sits temptingly within reach but the survivors wisely choose not to risk trying to break through the cordon of zombies surrounding it.

Too many zombies to risk a run for the fan-jet.

Circling back from the woods, the townsfolk's off-roader falls victim to a zombie horde drawn to the sound of the engine.  The zombies manage to overturn the vehicle!

Townsfolk misjudge their escape route!

More zombies are closing in, attracted by all the noise.

Can they escape?

As the townsfolk ponder their situation, flames start to lick around the side of the vehicle.  Time to abandon it and move out on foot!

The zombies close in...

The fuel drums look heavy.  Luckily there is a digger nearby, should prove useful for transporting them.

Wilderness survivors have found a fuel depot.

Back in town, Andy Axe has used the datapad and codes to activate the Loader-bot.  It should prove useful for carrying more supplies.

Andy Axe activates a loader-bot to pick up some supplies.

In the woods, Rifle Rick finds he is cut off and surrounded.  It looks like his time is up - but will his sacrifice allow his companions to escape?

Rifle Rick has run deep into the woods to draw off zombies.

The last thing to go through his mind is... a zombie's teeth!  Aaaargh!

He has sacrificed himself to give his friends a chance.

Thanks to his decoy of the zombies, the other wilderness survivors have loaded a digger with fuel drums and are preparing to make a run for the cargo lifter.  Their last act at the fuel depot is to rig the remaining drums to explode.

They have been busy loading supplies and fuel drums.

Andy Axe rides the Loader-bot through town,picking up some supplies en-route.  As it passes one of the buildings, he leaps nimbly through the top-storey window ready to search it.

Andy Axe leaps from the loader-bot into a building.

The Wilderness survivors detonate the fuel dump.  The explosion attracts zombies from much of the town, hopefully it will leave a clear path for them to get to the cargo lifter.

Wilderness Survivors detonate the fuel dump.

Back at the burning off-roader, the townsfolk jump clear and scarper for the cover of the woods.

Townsfolk flee the zombies.

Out of sight of the zombies, they press on towards the landing field.

Townsfolk seek concealment in the woods.

The remaining wilderness survivors are ready to go.  Zombies are closing in, drawn by the explosion.

Wilderness survivors prepare to depart.

They cut round the side of the town where they see more zombies shambling towards the noise.

They make their way through the settlement.

On the other side of town, Andy Axe has emerged from the building, having found nothing useful.  A road grader wouldn't normally be his vehicle of choice but it beats walking!

Andy Axe decides his new ride is a road grader.

His comrades emerge from the woods nearby.  Can Andy get the vehicle started and pick them up before they are all overrun by the zombies?

Can he get to his companions before the zombies get him?

Meanwhile, the Wilderness survivors trundle through town, knocking aside zombies as they go.

The digger knocks aside zombies who lurch into its path.

The Loader-bot continues its circuitous march towards the landing field.  Not realising that it isn't alive, Zombies are attracted to its clunking mechanical footsteps.

The Loader-bot is running into trouble...

The number of zombies beating at its legs proves too much for the Loader-bot to handle and it keels over and crashes to the ground, disabled.  Looks like those supplies won't be making it to the escape ship.

... and it's down!

But the wilderness survivors have a plan!  One transfers to a nearby lorry, taking some fuel drums with him...

Wilderness survivors transfer part of the load to a new vehicle.

... while the other diverts to the wrecked Loader-bot to try and collect the dropped supplies.  Engine started, the lorry heads for the landing field via the woods, the road being too crowded with zombies to allow safe passage.

Split up!

Andy has evaded the zombies gathering by his new road grader.  Swerving across the road he picks up his colleagues.  Alas, they have no supplies - but at least they're all still alive.

And Axe picks up his buddies.

Back in town, the digger has been loaded with the supplies - but it has taken crucial seconds to do so and now zombies are surrounding it.

The digger runs into trouble.

Zombies beat at the bodywork of the vehicle, leaving bloody hand prints and smears on the paint.  The digger is great for driving into zombies but the scoop is no use when the zombies are attacking from the back!

Zombies surround the vehicle.

The inevitable happens as the digger succumbs to weight of zombie numbers.  Pistol Pattie's chances of survival are slim as flames erupt from the stricken vehicle.

The digger is overturned and bursts into flames!

In fact her chances of survival are precisely zero.  It's a toss-up whether she burns to death or gets eaten by the zombies first.

One more survivor becomes zombie food.

The townsfolk witness Patty's gruesome demise and decide to waste no more time.  They have to get to the landing field, and fast!

Unable to save the wilderness survivors, the townsfolk head for the cargo lifter.

Back at the cargo lifter, the IMEC crew have successfully loaded their supplies on board and updated the nav-comp.  They're ready to go as soon as the others arrive with the supplies they've gathered.  They should be here any moment, a vehicle can be heard approaching through the woods.  Not sure what's been happening back in the town, there's an awful lot of smoke billowing up over there...

The IMEC crew have loaded the ship.  But what has happened to the others..?

So... not what you'd call a win for the survivors!  Although 2 full groups made it to the escape ship, they failed to gather anywhere near enough supplies.  Perhaps they can make a sub-orbital hop to another settlement to search for other supplies?  But they certainly aren't escaping the planet just yet.