Harvest Team

Harvest Team (Motto: "Forever Vigilant") is America's first, and only, anti-revenant task force. While also the first of it's kind worldwide, there are other similar organizations which also work in secret across the world. These include England (AZO, Anti Zombie Operations), Germany (Nachtzehrer, "Nightwalker"), and Japan (SDF Unit 444, 4 is the Japanese number for death).

Harvest Team was founded in 1941 due to what is known as the "Mabel Incident" of 1940 and the belief that Hitler was creating a secret army of undead somewhere in Germany (which happened to be somewhat true; while no evidence suggests he was successful he did at least attempt to make controllable undead warriors). While the government had known about the undead for decades, these two factors caused urgency for the creation of an anti-revenant fighting force.

Area 51 (officially an experimental aircraft testing facility) was built as their home base, chosen for access to aircraft and proximity to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. There they constantly train in a state-of-the-art gym and combat scenario replication facility (which in recent years has used augmented reality to better simulate battles with the undead). Originally part of US Army, in 2003 Harvest Team was put under the Department of Homeland Security umbrella. All their funding is labeled as classified, and Harvest Team's commanding officer answers only to the President of the United States.

Harvest Team's active combat personnel is only eighteen strong, however they supported by a group of six reserve personnel, twenty former Harvest Team members who oversee combat training, and over two hundred research scientists whose duties range from detecting undead attacks to trying to better understand the nature of revenants. They also have the best mental and medical health institutions in the world, to keep the combatants of sound mind as well as sound body. Psychiatric Evaluation and medical chuck-ups are mandatory every month and after every mission to ensure this.

In addition to state-of-the-art body armor made out of ultra-lightweight memory metal and Kevlar, Harvest Team uses a wide array of weaponry in their war against the undead, some of which no longer used by the conventional military.

Their weapons include:

• HT-1 Flamethrower (Originally the M2 Flamethrower, now a refurbished model designed exclusively for Harvest Team cleanup operations)
• HT-5 Repeating Crossbow (Designed for Harvest Team based off civilian models)
  
• Benelli M4 Super 90 Shotgun
• M4 Carbine Assault Rifle (Modified single-shot only version, silenced)
• M9 pistol (Silenced) *
  
• M24 Sniper Weapons System (Silenced)
• HT-2 Tactical Machete
• HT-3 Tactical Prybar
  
• HT-4 Trench Spike (Titanium version of the Mark 1 Trench Knife used during WWI) *

*= Carried by all Harvest Team members at all times

The loadout of weaponry varies from mission to mission and soldier to soldier, however the shotgun is typically used only for building clearance due to noise, and the HT-1 is almost always used for disposal of destroyed revenants en masse.

The HT-1 Flamethrower is the only incendiary weapon in use by US special forces today. Capable of generating over one thousand degree fires and with enough fuel to last one full hour, it can set any undead on fire within fifteen feet of the operator. However, even with the HT-1 a revenant will not be completely destroyed for at least one minute. For this reason it is almost never used in actual combat but rather to ensure that revenant bodies are completely eradicated after the battle ends.

The HT-5 repeating crossbow is typically used for block-to-block sweeps of rural areas due to it's light weight and absolute silence; even though silenced firearms are quiet as well they still make enough noise that a revenant can hear it from 20 yards out on a clear day. Crossbow bolts are also usually reusable unlike bullets, and loading bolts into a clip by hand takes only thirty seconds on average. Plus, unlike it's gunpowder-based counterparts, it will never jam. The HT-5 retains perfect accuracy for 100 yards.

The Benelli M4 Super 90 is not a standard issue weapon however does see use in US forces outside of Harvest Team. With twelve shots and semi-automatic action, the Super 90 can clear a room of undead in mere seconds. Unfortunately, shotguns are impossible to silence and are only effective at close range, so this take on the archetypal "zombie killer's weapon of choice" is usually used for clearing out buildings.

The M4 Carbine is one of the best assault weapons in use by American forces today. It's light, compact, and can carry 30 rounds in it's clip. Unlike it's sister weapon the M16, the M4's stock can be used as a bludgeon to some success, meaning it also has use when ammunition runs dry. This is the most common primary weapon for Harvest Team operations due to it's versatility.

The M91911A1 handgun is almost as iconic to America as baseball and apple pie, and is the favored sidearm for the US forces and Harvest Team due to it's reliability and stopping power. This is the only firearm carried by all Harvest Team members at all times, however it rarely sees use. Why? Because the only time a Harvest Team member is to use his M9 is to kill an infected. If a Harvest Team member is infected (a rare occurrence), he is expected to use the entire magazine except one bullet to continue to fight the undead. The last bullet, of course, is for the soldier himself.

The M24 Sniper Weapon System is a multi-purpose long-range rifle currently used by the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. A modified version of the civilian Remington 700, the M24 has a detachable scope and bipod allowing it to be used as an infantry weapon should the need arise. Capable of braining a ghoul at nearly a mile's distance, the M24 is usually used for scouting and cover fire, however in situations where it's apparent that the town is completely devoid of survivors (and thus no urgency required to enter the town) has been used in siege warfare to safely dispatch the undead.

The HT-2 Tactical Machete, typically used in rural situations where a revenant may have escaped into the wilderness, is a titanium composite version of the hacking tool that is usually used to clear brush out of one's path. Capable both of decapitation and skull penetration, this reliable tool is favored in melee scenarios in open ground.

The HT-3 Tactical Prybar is not so much a weapon as it is a tool for forcing one's way into a house or building. Also made out of titanium composite, it's also sturdy enough to crack a revenant's skull, and the pry end can also get into the brain via the eye socket. However, this is usually only used in building clearance to force open doors and windows.

Last but by no means least, the HT-4 Trench Spike is the great-grandchild of the very first weapon made expressly for Harvest Team, and due to both it's effectiveness and tradition is the only melee weapon that is always carried by every single person in Harvest Team. The spike is held in such regard that it is also the only weapon that is required to be carried by all members of the research and training team as well. It's not uncommon for active soldiers to carry two, one for each hand. Why? Because it's just that good.

Simple in design but lethal in use, the trench spike was invented in World War I as a combination of brass knuckles and a piercing weapon that can punch through and enemy's steel helmet in one go. The spike goes in and out cleanly, and is a killer nearly every single time. It's small size allows it to be used in tight quarters with ease, and will never chip or run out of ammo. When all other options are exhausted... and occasionally when they are not... a Harvest Team soldier will toss his other equipment aside, slip on his trench spike, and get busy taking out the undead. In one incident in Brazil 1957, a Harvest Team member who was bitten in battle found that his pistol jammed on him. With two other comrades with him and no ammunition left, he used his trench spike to kill two hundred ghouls before finally succumbing to the horde. His teammates survived. It's no small wonder why he is the only Harvest Team member to date to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

While no two operations are the same, all Harvest Team missions have the same objectives, in order of priority:

• Kill or capture all revenants in the area
• Dispatch of all infected
• Maintain secrecy of the incident
• Rescue as many survivors as possible

Two parts of these objectives may stand out as strange. First, the obvious: capture revenants? The reason for this is simple, to better understand what they are, how to came to be, how they act and if there is ever a chance of curing them.

The second thing that stands out is that secrecy is more important than preventing collateral damage. The horrific truth is, sometimes Harvest Team is ordered to let potential survivors fall victim to the undead... or even kill survivors... to keep the truth behind the incident hidden from the public. Why hide such a dangerous threat to the world from us at this cost? Nobody knows for certain. But it happens.

According to Gellar, these are the best ways to keep yourself from becoming a statistic:

• COOPERATE: If they tell you to do something, do it. Don't ask why, don't complain. Just go with it.
• DO NOT MENTION THE WORD ZOMBIE: Don't make them even think you believe in the undead.
• BE TERRIFIED: It's hard not to be when the undead come to your town, but those who seem like they just want the nightmare to end are more likely to walk away with their lives then those who seem unaffected by what happened.
• YOU REMEMBER NOTHING: They will inevitably ask you to say this over and over. Go with it. Don't contradict them, don't argue. You remember nothing.

Harvest Team is technically never off-duty. They are considered active personnel 24/7/365 until KIA or deemed no longer fit to serve. Which does not mean they are not granted recreation. Harvest Team's facility has a wide range of recreational activities available to them. While typically a Harvest Team member is expected to train a certain number of hours per week, three days after every mission (rarely are all 18 members are deployed for one mission, and the average rate of deployment is three missions a year) are considered "rest days" to help ease stress; during this time members are encouraged to forgo physical training and focus on recreation instead. This does not, however, guarantee that should another incident occur within the rest period (which has happened only once in the existence of the squad) that they will not be deployed. If you're needed, you're needed, no exceptions.

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