Nuclear Operative

Congratulations, agent. You have been chosen to join ~~our finest group of operators,~~ the **Syndicate Nuclear Operative** strike team. Your mission, whether or not you choose to accept it, is to destroy Nanotrasen's most advanced research facility! That's right, *you're going to Space Station 13*.

## Your Objectives

1. Retrieve the Nuclear Authentication Disk (located on the station).File:NuclearDisk.gif
2. Use it to activate the Nuclear Fission Explosive (located on the Mothership). File:Nuke.gif
3. Escape alive on the Syndicate Mothership. File:Vodka bottle.png

## But First, You Must Learn How to Crawl

 File:Syndie.png
Before you do anything, you must properly prepare yourself. There's no need to rush, instead take the time to discuss strategy with your squad mates - a job well planned is half done!

**The checklist is as follows:**

1. **Plan** the attack (how to get the nuke disk and arm the nuke).
2. **Order** items and arm yourself to the teeth.
3. **Infiltrate** from the Mothership or make your presence known with an assault pod
4. **Destroy**

### Knowing Your Team

All of your fellow agents will have a big red **S** by their head. Be very careful when you see this **S**, as you don't want to kill your fellow agents on accident.

There will be a leader. He spawns behind the desk, and is the only one with access to the shutters. If you are the leader but don't feel up to snuff for it, pass your **lead agent card** to someone else.

### Communication

You have a special radio frequency, set in an encrypted wavelength. This is how you will, and must communicate with your team. Communicate passwords, safewords, and attack plans on this channel early, there is no telling who might get the headset later.

Making code named strikes with your team can be an effective way to deal with the crew, but it is difficult.

Safewords can be said if you see a comrade but both of you are disguised. "Shamalama dingdong!" or something - fast, and easy to say. The phonetic alphabet can also be useful for this, as in Alpha - A, Bravo - B, Charlie - C and so on.

Passwords are only useful if you have a door guard in the Mothership, or some one with the Military PDA. Make it as you want, said over the Syndicate frequency.

### Planning the Attack

**LISTEN TO YOUR LEADER** (the guy who spawns inside the tables he is the only one with access to the button to the shutters)! Your team should talk over about their plan of attack, but the leader should have the final say how things are gonna be since he has the power to buy all the good stuff.

Different approaching styles:

* Infiltration by using jetpacks or by ~~teleportation~~ CRASH AND BURN BABY, STEEL RAIN!
* Split up or stick together?
* Oldskool-style: Get the disk, return to ship, arm the nuke and drag it to the station.
* More-risky-style: Haul the nuke first to the station, get the disk and arm it.
* Stealth-style: Disguise as John Smiths, infiltrate and steal the Nuke Disk quietly.
* Murderbone-style: Just kill everything that doesn't have a red S over it.
* Locker-style: Cram your whole team into a locker, have someone in disguise drag the locker to the station, unleash a locker full of syndies when the crew least expects it!

### Ordering Gear as a Team

File:Telecrystal uploadreceive station.png **Telecrystal Management Consoles:** These consoles work to allow your team to manage their telecrystals. The Telecrystal Stations accept any item with a Syndicate Uplink (PDA, headset, radio, etc.). Once the Uplink is inserted, they can donate their telecrystals to the group's boss console. It's best to go ahead and donate all of your crystals and wait for your commander to dish them out, or buy **big stompy mechs!**

File:Team telecrystal management console.png **Team Telecrystal Management Console** can then take its telecrystal pool and distribute it among the hooked Uplink Stations.

It gets an amount of bonus telecrystals based on the round population, allowing nuke op equipment to scale with the increased threat of a fully-manned station.

Each operative spawns with a personal Syndicate Uplink radio with 30 Telecrystals pre loaded. STOP! Before you waste your crystals on a balloon, take note of the computer terminals in front of you. Once you insert your Uplink into it these new devices allow for your team leader to assign you additional Telecrystals or for you to donate your own Telecrystals to a common pool for your leader to draw upon. Why would you give away your crystals? Giving your crystals to your team leader will allow him to save up and buy some expensive and powerful goodies, like a freaking assault mech!

Once your team has bought the items essential to your plan you can now selfishly buy what you will need for the mission, however you need to pause and think hard. What Syndicate Items will you need? Which will cause a huge backlash if used against your team? Now, think what everyone else will likely need. The problem with the agent ID is the access -- you have very little, but an emag, powersink or stolen high-ranking ID will change that in a moment. You do not have an ID or a position at the station, so don't worry about people finding the emagged doors. Everyone on the team should have one. The chameleon kit is wonderful for sneaking in, especially with some *proper* documentation. Bombs are great in the right hands. Energy swords, especially if you make double-bladed eswords, are good for blocking enemy fire - but can be easily turned against you if an assistant gets a lucky disarm in. Syndicate borgs are great tanks, and are even more robust if you have a welder, but are at great risk from ion rifle shots.

### Equipment

 File:Nuke equipment.jpg
Pick out what you need from the armory closet in the **Equipment Room** as well as your Syndicate Uplink. The armory closet contains:

* Jet Harness filled with oxygen (This fits inside your backpack, so you can wear your backpack inside the station.)
* Syndicate Mask
* Tactical Turtleneck
* Blood-red Hardsuit with built-in Helmet (These fit inside your backpack and can switch from Travel (spaceworthy) to Combat (No slowdown) mode by clicking the helmet)
* Military Belt
* Crowbar (Absolutely necessary when your team is using a powersink. It fits inside the box too.)
* High-capacity Power Cell
* Multitool

There's also a **Tool Storage**, which contains:

* Night Vision Goggles
* Suspicious Looking Toolboxes (You need the screwdriver if you are planting a power sink and the wrench for securing bombs.)
* Suspicious Beacons (These are large bombs, don't just take them randomly, usually they are used as part of the plan.)
* Syndicate Minibombs
* Many other kinds of generic tools like proximity sensors and remote signaling devices

You must now equip yourself for space travel so you can invade the station.

1. Get out of your armor and put on the dark red space suit, if you haven't bought an elite/shielded hardsuit.
2. Take your backpack off.
3. Place your internals on, you can use the jet pack as an oxygen tank, and place the jet pack on your back. # Take the military belt from the locker and move any items you will be taking into it, it will be easier on you if you don't need to carry your backpack onto the station so try and cram everything you can into the belt.
4. Pick out your Syndicate agent card ID's disguise (or wait till you get to the station).

Once you are space ready, and your internals are running from your jetpack, look into the Equipment Room and pick up a pair of Nightvision goggles if you have not already bought a pair of thermals, this is double important if you plan on using a Powersink.

You are now completely outfitted, check the inside of your backpack/military belt and throw out what you will not use, this will be handy for the next stage of equipping yourself with weapons.

### This is My Rifle

A quick and dirty list of the common weapons employed by Syndicate Operatives in the field.

* File:Stetchkin.png Stetchkin Pistol -- **Free**. Standard-issue sidearm. 8 Rounds, 30 brute per shot. This is a poor primary weapon to use due to its low ammo count and slow rate of fire but it can be useful in a pinch. *Isn't implant-locked like your other firearms!*
* File:Bulldog.png Bulldog Shotgun -- **Free**. Standard-issue primary longarm. 8 Shells drum fed, semi-automatic. Three ammo types.
* File:C20r.png C20r SMG -- **14 telecrystals.** Close Combat SMG. 20 rounds, 20 brute per shot/instant knockdown. Popular among nuke ops
* File:C90gl.png C90gl Assault Rifle -- **18 telecrystals.** Mid-range combat rifle. 30 rounds, 35 brute per shot. Secondary grenade launcher, aprox 80 brute per grenade.
* File:L6machinegun.png L6 SAW -- **40 telecrystals.** Light Machinegun. 50 rounds, 60 brute per shot. Powerful, though if you drop it prepare to be royally screwed by that assistant.
* File:Sword.gif Energy Sword -- **8 telecrystals**. Close combat weapon. 30 brute per hit. When double-bladed, can block taser shots. Best if double-bladed, if used as a sidearm or if you are very robust in melee.

 File:Pinpointer-green-lg.gif  **You've got a pinpointer, right?** This device, once turned on, will act as a compass directing you straight to your primary target: The nuclear authentication disk. Every operative that spawns at the start of the round will start with a pinpointer in one of their pockets. Grab it, turn it on by using it in your hand and put it back in your pocket so you can always see it.

The military PDA is very handy if you want to escape after you set the nuke (and I know you do), make sure you assign the PDA to someone who has the least chance of dying and won't fuck off into space. The PDA also comes with a free Detomatrix cartridge, you can use that to thin the heard.

Now, you have your equipment, tools, and toys. But the trouble is just getting started as you strike the heart of the wild.

You are equipped and armed with the best, but what matters is the will to win, and the thirst for blood. Couple that with wisdom, and a large helping of know how, and you have a chance. But what makes the Syndicate agent successful isn't their red suit, or revolver, it is their team.

## Actually Getting There

The Syndicate Mothership is NOT in proximity of the station when the nuke team is first sent out. One of the Nuclear Operatives must use the control computer to move the Mothership into close proximity to the station. Previously, you also had the option of utilizing the mothership's teleporter assembly and a purchased teleporter board to launch your assault. Sadly, that was removed in favor of the...

### ASSAULT POD

Grab your team, cram into the pod, select your area and launch. You'll be on station within seconds, obliterating anything unfortunate enough to be caught in the way. From there it's a simple matter of assaulting the crew and cornering whatever poor bastard has the disk. Caveat emptor: The assault pod is a **one way trip** so make sure you have an exit strategy.

## War were declared

Alternatively, your team leader could choose to declare war. This alerts the station crew that you're planning to kick down their door in about 20 minutes, but it gives the ops a huge TC bonus. Declaring war doesn't change any of the above, except you lose the luxury of having time to come up with a plan.

## Dat Fukken Disk

 File:Disk512.gif
You need this disk, but as it could be guarded by the Captain, Head of Security, Clown, or the Head of Personnel... you best go in without second thoughts or distractions. Even a lure and false positive to get the disk holder to where you want them will be effective.

One method includes blowing up the wall the disk holder has their back to. A block of C4 will knock down any wall and seriously wound whoever's on the other side.

If you're in the bag for a more elaborate ruse, have one of your team members cause a ruckus in a secure area, forcing the disk carrier to flee right into the arms of your waiting team members.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box! This game mode in particular lends itself to unconventional approaches.

## ACTIVATING THE NUKE!

 File:Nuke.gif

Getting the disk is just the first half of the battle. Now you have to destroy the station. Haul ass back to the mothership and grab the nuke from the aft storage area. Take the nuke back to the station and find an area to set it up.

Now follow these guidelines in order:

1. **Click** it with your open hand.
2. Place the Nuke **Disk** into the slot.
3. Punch in the nuke **code**, hit enter.
4. Set the **time**.
5. Set it to **Armed**.
6. *(Optional)* Disengage the anchor.
7. *(Optional)* Have it timing as you run off with the thing (if you die it will still go off).
8. *(Optional)* Place the nuke anywhere you want on the station.
9. *(Optional)* Anchor it.
10. Take the Nuke **Disk** out.
11. Either guard the disk, space the disk, or something to throw off the crew's pin pointer.
12. Get back to your **Mothership**.

If any other Nuke Agents are alive, give them a moment to get to the Mothership. Once you and your buddies are loaded in the Mothership, get out of there.

## Quick Tips

* Be careful of falling behind and getting lost in space.
* To talk with your team, just talk as if you wanted to talk on the standard radio channel, your headset is different and only your team will hear you.
* Subvert or destroy the AI first. It can give you away. Syndicate borgs are able to dispose of the AI without it screaming for help over the comms, and a sniper with thermals and penetrator rounds will do the job just as well.
* Make sure the Escape Shuttle can't be called and then you can't technically lose!
* Always keep in communication with your team. Having backup and knowledge of what's happening from both the Syndicate and loyal station fronts goes a long way towards an easy victory and far outweighs the damage someone who stole a Syndicate headset can do.
* Installing a power sink on the station is a popular strategy. Make sure you bring night-vision goggles!
* Taking out telecommunications is a good way to ensure the crew remains confused and disorganized
* Ignore the nuke in the vault on the station. It has a completely different code, and without an admin checking the var and giving it to you, it would ~~take you days to guess it~~ be impossible to activate.
* For the love of fuck do not mistake a Science Disk for the Nuke Disk, sciences disks are Yellow and Nuke Disks are Green.
* Do not buy a mech unless you are absolutely sure you are capable of making it an asset.
* Use the red button found in your base to instantly blow up all deployed syndicate bombs in the game.
* If you know that the station has cyborgs, bring a flashbang or ten. Flashbangs are very effective at taking out cyborgs, and you can emag-crowbar-emag the stunned cyborg to subvert it.
* You can quickly and quietly rob the armory by applying c4 to the wall from space. No loud beeping. No ruckus. C4, grab the guns, get out.
* If going stealth, the regular headsets in the locker room come pre-loaded with a Syndie key. Chameleon headsets don't.

## File:Syndieborg.png Syndicate Cyborgs

Assault Syndicate cyborgs are purchasable from an uplink by using 80 telecrystals. A random ghost from the spectators with the operative preference enabled will be chosen for this (if none is found, you can refund the teleporter item you get). Syndicate cyborgs are very useful for going loud, as they cannot be stunned the same as Operatives can and have powerful weaponry (plus the means to emag other borgs). Syndicate cyborgs can also tell who other operatives are, regardless of their apparel. In addition, they have an energy cell with a charge of 25000 watts, equivalent to 2 1/2 high-capacity cells. They come with the following modules:

* Energy sword (high draw from energy pool!)
* A cyborg LMG that fires 3D-printed bullets; these bullets are regenerated over time
* A six-shot grenade launcher; it cannot be reloaded
* Cryptographic sequencer
* A pre-installed Ion Thruster module
* Crowbar
* Operative pinpointer

### File:Pinpointer.gif Guys? Where are you?

Syndiborgs have a handy little device called the operative pinpointer. This does not point toward the nuclear disk like the other pinpointers - instead, this points towards the nearest nuclear operative. If a syndiborg is lost or the radio is dead silent, they can use the pinpointer to find their way to an operative. Of course, it does have drawbacks, like not discriminating between a Syndicate corpse and a Syndicate operative, as well as a tendency to stick to the same operative. However, it's very useful for coordinating with your team, and since it has no power draw it should be kept active at all times.

## Mission Debriefing

* If the Escape Shuttle leaves with the Disk on board, the crew wins a Major Victory.
* If the Nuke detonates, but not on the Station's z-level, the crew wins a Minor Victory.
* If the Nuke detonates in the station successfully but no Syndicates manage to escape, no-one wins.
* If the Escape Shuttle leaves with the Disk still anywhere on the station, the Syndicates win a Minor Victory.
* If the Nuke detonates in the station successfully and the Syndicate Mothership escapes, the Syndicates wins a Major Victory.

## Tips

* Praying for clown masks as a nuke op is the best thing.
* If the nuclear device is armed, you can examine the pinpointer and it will tell you how long before it explodes.
* Set your ID to a crew member. Give it a legit job. Set your fucking ID to a fucking crew member's name and give it an actual job like Chemist or something.
* The gloves you start with are already insulated.
* You can put all your nuke op equipment into your backpack. Even your hardsuit and jetpack.
* For the love of all that is holy, do not lose your ID, otherwise you'll end up locked out of the Syndicate Shuttle while the nuke timer ticks down.
* Thermal glasses will make you vulnerable to being flashed, even with your hardsuit helmet on. NVGs do not.
* The black-and-red space suit is good for inserting a stealth OP onto the station. The crew is less likely to go into a panic at the sight of a regular space suit rather than the iconic blood-red hardsuit.