Nuclear Operative

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Syndicate

Nuclear Operative

Access: Syndicate
Difficulty: Hard
Duties: Steal the disk, arm the weapon, and get out.
Supervisors: The Nuclear Commander, The Nuclear Agent, and the Syndicate.
Subordinates: None
Guides: SS14 - Introduction To Nuclear Operatives - Liltenhead

"You are a nuclear operative. Your goal is to blow up NT14 Bagel Station LV-408, and ensure that it is nothing but a pile of rubble. Your bosses, the Syndicate, have provided you with the tools you'll need for the task. Death to Nanotrasen!"

Congratulations, Operative. You have been chosen to join our finest group of operators, the Syndicate Nuclear Operative strike team.

For Nuclear Commander, click here.

For Nuclear Agent, click here.

Your Primary Objectives

1. Retrieve the Nuclear Authentication Disk.

2. Use it to activate the Nuclear Fission Explosive.

3. Escape alive on your infiltrator vessel. (Optional)

Order of Operations

A good plan is one that is not rushed. You have plenty of time aboard your infiltrator vessel, use this time to properly equip yourself and create a plan with your fellow operatives. Be sure to also use this time to memorize the nuclear authentication codes located on a paper in your vessels bridge.

The basic plan is as follows:

  1. Plan the attack.
  2. Order the items, weapons, and explosives with your Syndicate Uplink to turn yourself into a walking armory.
  3. Infiltrate the station using your vessel and equipment.
  4. Steal the Nuclear Authentication Disk.
  5. Detonate the Nuclear Fission Explosive.
  6. Evacuate the station, preferably back on your Syndicate Infiltrator Vessel. (Optional)

First Introductions

When the round starts you will find yourself aboard a Syndicate Infiltrator vessel floating off in space a distance from the station. Here you will find your team, your team leader, the nuke codes, and all the equipment you will need to infiltrate the station. Be sure to notice who your team leader is, their name will be Commander. Also use this time to memorize the nuclear authorization codes provided to you on a piece of paper in the vessels bridge. To avoid confusion all operatives should listen and follow the instructions of their Commander. The last thing you want to do is have five different plans. You are a strike team, not a lone operator, be sure to act like one.

Operatives planning aboard their infiltrator vessel

Creating the Plan

First of all, don't rush. Your infiltrator vessel is far enough from the station that you should be safe from anyone discovering you. Use this time to come up with a plan with your Commander and to help guide your fellow operatives. Be sure to communicate with your team before spending all of your Telecrystals. Listen to your Commander and work with them to develop a plan that everyone understands. Operations without a plan are often the ones that fail the most often.

Equipment

Every operative should always have a flexible set of equipment. Unless its part of the plan, you don't want to be the guy with 15 blocks of c4 and no weapon to defend yourself with. The more options you have, the better your chances at completing your mission. A diverse and flexible set of equipment will allow you to adapt to more situations on the fly and increase your chances of mission success.

Your most important piece of equipment is your pinpointer. This handy device points you to your primary objective, the Nuclear Authentication Disk. As you get closer to the disk, the arrow on your pinpointer will begin to change. Red to blue to green as you get closer. Once you are within one tile of the disk, the pinpointer will flash a black dot.

An operative's most important tool

You will want means of infiltrating the station. By default you Will not have access to station's external and departmental air locks. Be sure to bring equipment to allow you access to these areas. Your primary form of defense is speed and stealth. Get bogged down behind a air lock and you are as good as dead if the crew discovers you and swarms your team.

Remember operative, you are only useful to your team while you are alive. Go down and the crew will have access to your equipment. Play smart and stay alive. Be evasive and don't rush into a mob of crewmembers. keep you and, more importantly, your gear safe at all costs.


Infiltration Equipment
Equipment Cost Description
Cryptographic Sequencer 8 TC The quickest, stealthiest, and most reliable way of getting places you don't belong. Comes with 3 charges that refill over time.
Composition C-4 2 TC A slower, more violent way of opening airlocks and station walls. The vessel comes stocked with some for free.
Melee Weapon N/A If you have to resort to meleeing open a airlock, you probably already failed the mission.
Crowbar Free Useful to open unpowered airlocks.
Jaws of life 2 TC Useful to open powered airlocks.


Ranged Weapons will be your main source of killing power. Your ammo is very limited however, so be sure to aim your shots. Spraying down hallways or full autoing at a distant target is an excellent way to expend all your ammo and turn you into nothing better than a walking piñata for the crew to murder and loot. Remember, your primary goal is not to gun down the entire crew. Extended fire fights will often lead to you running out of ammo and the crew swarming your position. Always be on the move and pick your targets. Do not waste ammo on a clown playing a tuba and do save your ammo for security and more immediate threats. And gods forbid, always check your firing lines, don't shoot your fellow operativities in the back!

Ranged Weaponry
Equipment Cost Description
Viper 2 TC You spawn with one. A cheap, effective pistol. useful if you get caught while reloading your main weapon.
Python 3 TC A slow fireing but deadly revolver. Loud and Dangerous.
Cobra 8 TC A silenced handgun. Quick, deadly, silent.
Surplus Rifle 1 TC A bolt action rifle. A slow, low powered, cheap rifle. A last resort.
C-20r bundle 20 TC A reliable and accurate SMG. Comes with 3 magazines.
Bulldog bundle 25 TC A semi-auto drum loaded shotgun. Comes with 2 12g and 1 beanbag drums.
China-Lake bundle 30 TC A powerful and dangerous grenade launcher. Excellent at crowd control and friendly fire. Comes with 9 grenades.
L6 Saw bundle 30 TC A robust 100 round light-machinegun. Good for mowing down crewmembers while taking point. Comes with 2 box magazines.


Melee weapons should generally only be used to kill off downed crewmembers to conserve ammo, or as a last resort while reloading. If you run out of ammo or lost your gun and have to rely on your melee weapon, you will probably be dead very soon. That saying, melee weapons can be very effective. Weave in and out of combat to distract the crew while your team finishes them off from afar, Or be a distraction and lure security away from the captian and the rest of your team.

Melee Weaponry
Equipment Cost Description
Energy Sword 8 TC A pocketable, but dangerous energy sword. Very loud, and very visible.
Energy Dagger 2 TC A smaller, cheaper, and less powerful version of the energy sword.
Survival Knife Free A handy backup weapon. Your last resort.


Guns and explosives are not your only tools for this operation! Don't underestimate the usefulness of utilities. Weather it be healing cigs or non-slip shoes, these options are good to buy if you have a small amount of telecrystals to spare.

Utilities
Equipment Cost Description
Syndicate Minibomb 6 TC A small, throwable explosive on a 5 second timer. Good for creating hull breaches and for especially hard-to-kill targets.
No-slip Shoes 2 TC Protects you from getting humiliated by a robust clown with a banana peel.
Blood-red Magboots 2 TC Allows you to maneuver in 0-G. Useful when planning on sabotaging the gravity generator.
Cybersun Juggernaut Suit 12 TC A robust hardsuit. Slows you down significantly, but provides immense protection from damage.
Agent ID 2 TC An amazing piece of equipment, provided you kill someone worthwhile. Is able to copy accesses, and change name and job tites at will.
Combat medipen 4 TC A fast and effective way to halt bleeding, and heal any damage, whilst the Agent is busy killing a clown.


Every operative should generally always have, in order of importance:

  • A pinpointer to locate the disk.
  • Equipment to help them breach the station and open airlocks.
  • Long range weaponry to mow down any crewmember in your way.
  • Enough ammo for extended firefights.
  • A melee weapon for when you are out of ammo or you lost your gun.
  • Utilities such as healing or non-slip boots.


An example of a standard kit:

Cryptographic Sequencer --- 8 TC

C-20r bundle --- 20 TC

Composition C-4 --- 2 TC / Free

No-slip Shoes --- 2 TC

Agent ID --- 4TC

Combat Medipen --- 4 TC

Pinpointer --- Free

Crowbar --- Free

Infiltration

This is arguably the most important part of your operation. Do it well and you will have the element of speed and surprise. Mess up, and the crew will have ample time to arm themselves.

Once the plan is made and everyone has their equipment, your pilot will fly the infiltrator vessel over to the station. Quickly don your hardsuit's helmet and internals and space walk over to the hull. Using your planed course of action, you and your team will breach the hull and board the station. If all went well, you and your team will have infiltrated the station without the crew knowing of your existence, if the station AI hasn't spotted you.

There are many different methods of infiltrating the station. Do you go loud and use speed and shear firepower to your advantage while the crew is confused? Or do you take a more subtle approach? Sometimes it will be beneficial to move slowly at this point in your operation. Sabotage the station before you board. Perhaps quietly have a operative enter maintenance disguised as a crewmember. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Be sure to plan ahead for this part of the mission and communicate. Just be aware, the more time you spend on station, the greater your chances are at being discovered and blowing your cover.

Sabotage

Should you choose to, and should your plan call for a more delicate approach, you and your team might find yourselves in an opportunity to quietly sabotage the station before the crew notices your existence. Silently breach sections of the hull to space parts of the station. Place a power sink and distract those in charge. Re-pipe atmospherics and deny the crew of breathable oxygen. Disguise yourself as a crewmember and disable power substations or the gravity generator to put your magboots to good effect. The options are yours to decide.

A good sabotage requires time and planning. Be sure to discuss this part of the mission while you and your team are planning the operation. Be aware that some crew members, engineering in particular, may come along and investigate the source of any problems you cause. The longer your team spends at sabotaging the station, the greater your potential at confusing the crew and mission success. On the other hand however, every second you spend is another second the crew has to prepare. Science will be researching better technologies, cargo might be ordering weapon crates to fight space carps. Keep in mind the more sabotage you cause and the longer you stay unnoticed, the greater your chances are at being discovered. Once your cover is blown and the crew notices you are on the station, it is probably best to move on to the next phase of your operation.

Assault

Remember operative, speed and stealth are your best tools. Move quickly together and keep the crew from calling out your exact location. Do not get into needless firefights with unarmed crew, this is both a waste of valuable time and ammo. You should keep a close eye on your pinpointer and rush the disk. Your best scenario is catching the captain unaware and unprepared. Spend too much time stuck behind airlocks or fighting crew and the captain will have time to barricade themselves while security and the crew begins to arm themselves before converging on your position. Do not fight fairly, do not give the crew a moment to call out your position. Focus on the mission, operative. Move quickly and place precise bullets into any crewmember you come across. Do not chase unnecessary crew, do not take fights you cannot win, and get that disk at all costs.

Acquiring the Disk

Most of the time, the disk will be on the Captain's person either in their bag or pockets. If not, likely with the Head of Security or other relevant command. Follow your pinpointer until you locate it. Once you acquire the disk, your first primary objective is complete. Make a quick and organized retreat back along your infiltration path. You have the disk now so there is no longer any need to stay and fight the crew and risk death and mission failure. Hastily return along your assault route and back to your infiltrator vessel. On board is the Nuclear Fission Explosive.

Alternatively, if you and your team are unable to make it back to your ship, there is a second Nuclear Fission Explosive in the vault on the station's bridge. This option however may put your team at greater risk. If you are going loud and the crew already know about your operation, it may be better to rush the vault and the station's nuke. On the other hand, it also may be better to return to your infiltrator vessel if your team was quick and stealthy enough. The longer you spend aboard the station the less of an advantage you and your team will have.

Either way, once you and your team are in possession of the disk, your next most important objective is getting to a Nuclear Fission Device. Unless you are providing interference and a distraction for your team, DO NOT go on a killing spree around the station at this time. Engaging in a prolonged firefight, wasting ammo, and getting bogged down while you have the disk is a mistake you don't want to make. Rush the nearest Nuclear Device and move on to the next phase of the operation.

Arming the Nuclear Fission Explosive

The nuclear device awaiting the nuke codes

You have the disk, now you just need to arm the weapon.

Insert the disk into the device and input the nuke codes. If the codes are forgotten, they should be on a piece of paper aboard your infiltrator vessel's bridge.

Enter the codes by pushing the E and arm the device, preferably on the station. Make sure the device is anchored to station's floor and REMOVE THE DISK.

Anyone can disarm the nuke with a single button press if the disk is still inserted in the nuke. The last thing you want is for a crewmember to walk up to the nuke and disarm it. Your primary objective now is to ensure the disk does not fall back into their hands.

Escape

This entire part is optional. Either defend the nuke with your lives or get the fuck out.

Run like hell with your team back to your Syndicate Infiltrator vessel and fly the hell away from the station, you have 2 minutes to get from the nuke room to the Infiltrator.

The Explosive Victory

Congratulations, Operative. you have successfully destroyed one of NanoTransen's finest in nuclear fire. Your objective is complete. Bask in your victory and remember this sensation. We will call upon you and your exemplary skills again.