Nuclear Operative

ModernClassicFestiveCommanderAssault TrooperCombat EngineerField MedicFirebrandGrenadierHeavy Weapons SpecialistInfiltratorMarksman

Congratulations! You have been chosen to be a member of [insert random organisation here]. You, brave agent, must move the nuclear weapon we've provided you with to the main station and activate it. Did we mention this was a suicide mission? No? Whoops!

Red Mean Syndicate Machine

You and your fellow operatives spawn on the Syndicate Battlecruiser Cairngorm. Here, you have a load of gear to help you kill everyone. Noteworthy starting gear:

• A Syndicate requisition token. () You need to insert it into a Syndicate Weapons Vendor to get your gear!
• A Tactical Assault Rucksack. It has a generous 10 slots, which is usually enough to carry most of your weapons and some medical supplies.
• An agent card.
• You are also implanted with a microbomb.
• Sweet-looking SWAT gloves. They're SWAT because they help you deflect attacks more often when blocking.
• A pair of sunglasses.
• An emergency oxygen tank, with complementary breath mask. These can fit into your pocket and usually provide enough oxygen to last you 10 minutes or so.

If you spawn as the leader, you spawn with even more goodies:

• A Nuclear Bomb Teleporter Remote. It teleports the nuclear bomb to you, but only once! Can be useful if the crew has stolen the nuke or you want to skip all the dangers of carrying it in manually. This only works if the nuke has not been armed and you can use only on the station Z-level, so you can't accidentally waste it while on the Syndicate Battlecruiser, but can still rescue the bomb if it accidents rolls out of the Cargo Bay launchers into the Debris Field.
• A pinpointer for the (optional) nuke auth disk.
• A sweet sabre.
• A commander's cap and a commander's great coat. Together, they protect you from Space and the Trench and considerably reduce damage from bullets, explosions, and melee attacks--all common things you'll get hit by, whether from your team or the crew. It's considerably better than most other gear, so you don't need to switch it out!
• A unique ID card, which allows entry into your personal office and the radio studio at the back of the Syndicate Battlecruiser. These rooms are only accessible to you and for a good reason: the phone in your office and the radio equipment can openly reveal your presence, ruining any possibility of stealth or a surprise attack, so it's best not to use them carelessly!

Toys for big boys

In addition to the gear everybody spawns with on their person, Syndicate operatives have access to other free goodies on their Syndicate Battlecruiser in various rooms. The highlights are listed below, while a more detailed list is on the Syndicate Battlecruiser page.

This entire area, save for the firing range, is coded as a "sanctuary zone", meaning bullets and melee attacks will do nothing, so you don't have to worry about accidentally shooting your teammates.

Cockpit:

• A tape recorder. Play it to hear an in-game explanation of your mission and, more importantly, the station area you have to take the nuclear bomb to!
• Some camera monitors. Once you learn where the bomb site is, you can go through the cameras to find a possible route on it and check for any obstacles on the way.

Atrium:

• The nuclear bomb. You need this. Don't forget it!
• A telepad. Click on the Syndicate teleporter remote you started with while standing over it, and it'll take you to the corresponding pad in the Listening Post. You might use this for a stealth infiltration or just because all the pods got taken.
• A monkey in a red space suit named Oppenheimer. If he takes your weapon, pull him to the blue tiles with yellow markings near the tables in the armory room. This area doesn't have sanctuary area protection, so you can click-drag the monkey's sprite onto you to take the stolen goods off of them.

Armory:

• Lots of multiple green pinpointers that point you in the direction of the nuclear bomb. Pick one up, click on it while it's in your hand to activate it, and put in your pocket or some other easily-accessible place. No more "Where's the nuke?".
• Some utility belts. If you need more Inventory space, you can swap out the pistol belt one of these, and put the ammo on the belt and the pistol in your rucksack.
• Many breaching charges, for clearing any walls, windows, and other solid obstacles in your path to the bomb site. Handy if you don't want to buy an uplink just to get an EMAG.
• A syndicate omnitool. Seven tools, including a knife, in one package.
• Some teleporter remotes. These can teleport you and the bomb between the Syndicate Battlecruiser and the Listening Post. If you want to use the Listening Post as a stepping stone for getting onto the station, you absolutely need one of these.
• A few red lockers with standard-issue red space suits and jetpacks.
• A MPRT launcher and RPGs. It blows stuff up with above the level of a high-power pipebomb and can gib somebody if you aim it right, or yourself if you aim it wrong. Requires a bit of skill. Don't use this in close quarters!

Hangar:

• Two large Syndicate pods and four Syndicate Miniputts, which become four syndicate minisubs on ocean maps. The pods accommodate one pilot and two passengers, while the putts take one pilot only, and both types come with a cargo hold for storing the nuke. This is one of the main ways to getting you and the nuke to the station. Don't forget to lock it!
  • Multiple twin-linked shotgun cannons. You can arm your pod/minisub with these, so you aren't caught defenseless when someone discovers you while you're in the pod. It's quick and easy to attach them.
• In the storage room below, a pair of bagpipes. Can ye hear Scotland calling?

Medical bay:

• Medical crates with a variety of medkits. If you have the space, it's a good idea to take one; even just a simple auto-mender can save your life.
• Another crate with various augmented robotic limbs, including a set of treads that'll make you run a lot faster. There are operating tables and trays of surgery tables nearby, so don't be afraid to augment yourself out if you have the time and know how to remove and replace limbs.

Backrooms:

• The commander's office, accessible only by them. Contains fun lore scraps and a phone. Some people like to call it up just for kicks. Are you willing to expose your presence to answer?
• A radio studio, with equipment identical to the kind used by the Radio Host and funny tapes. Also requires the nuclear operative commander's ID to enter, so if you want to go loud and expose your presence through a Syndicate radio broadcast, you need the commander to chip in!

Setting Them Up the Bomb

Prepping Up

Learn where you need to arm the bomb. Grab the audio log in the cockpit you spawned in. Play it. It will tell you where to move to nuke to. Alternatively, if you can't be arsed to go through all the lore crap, use the Notes command to quickly get the name of the designated area.

There's no need to rush, though! Teamplay is key in this game mode! Discuss the mission ahead with your comrades and come up with a solid plan before anybody heads out. You don't need to all do the exact same thing, but you should at least be aware of who's doing what and, failing that, who's carrying the nuke. (You'd be surprised how often people forget the bomb.)

Communicate with your teammates! You have a secure radio channel for speaking to your comrades. The specific channel used is randomized every round, so there's a slim chance of some meta-gaming nerd snooping in on you. To use it, simply type something like:

• say ;I'm about to activate the nuke in security. Let's do this, boys!

Don't forget to go the armory area on the battlecruiser and redeem your token for gear in the Syndicate Weapons Vendor. Simply click on the vendor with your token, click on the vendor to pull up its interface, and choose Redeem credits. With one token, you have enough for a sidearm, loadout, and utility item.

• Sidearm: A belt with a pistol and some ammo for it. You have a choice between the Branwen, which has low though respectable damage and a deep ammo pool, and the Predator revolver, which has huge damage but relatively low ammo.
• Utility: A little extra aid. There's a donk-pocket snack with healing chems and stimulants, a grenade that releases a cloud of nerve gas, a pouch with two rockets for the MPRT launcher, a knife that makes you go faster and can stun when thrown, a handy 7-slot fanny pack that goes in your belt slot, no-slips shoes, and an inflatable decoy nuclear bomb. They're all good options, though obviously the rocket pouch is no use if you or your teammates are not going to use the MPRT.
• Loadout:
  • Most options are a crate with a main weapon, plus some grenades or other gear. There's Assault Trooper with a rifle, Heavy Weapons Specialist with a machine gun and extra-protective armor, a Combat Engineer with a shotgun, turret, and tools, a Marksman with a sniper rifle, a Firebrand with a napalm flamethrower, a Field Medic with unique life-saving medicine, an Infilitrator with a tranquilizer pistol and disguise equipment, and Scout with an SMG and invisibility cloak. They're all solid picks, with Assault Trooper and Heavy Weapons in particular being simple, easy loadouts suitable for new operatives.
  • Alternatively, instead of a crate with preset gear, you can also order an uplink that comes with 12 syndicate currency and has a limited selection of gear. You're restricted to generic, all-job items, and even then, a few selections are unavailable, e.g. cloakers or more microbombs. That said, you still have useful staples like EMAGs, shotgun boxes, and a lot of utility items.

After you've gotten your weapons and tactics settled, get a green pinpointer from either the bottom table or the topmost gear closet and turn it on. An arrow will appear on it, pointing in the general direction of the nuclear bomb.

Put on a spacesuit! The bomb site usually gets a hull breach one way or another, so you'll need it. All the loadout options besides the uplink come with a spacesuit, and the commander's starting uniform is spaceproof, so you should be set. If not, get one of the red spacesuits from the gear closets.

You start with an emergency O2 tank, and there's spares in the pod hangar in case you need any, so you're pretty set on air supply. If you think you might need some more O2 for longer trips or expect to have to fly through space without a Space Pod, you might want also get a jetpack from the gear lockers. These take up your backslot, but have much higher air capacity and allow free flight. Regardless, don't forget turn on your air supply.

Again, bring a green pinpointer for locating the nuke. The crew might steal the pod it's loaded in or the bomb itself, you never know! This is also why you should lock all of your pods!

Remember: the green () pinpointer tracks the nuclear bomb, the red () model the authentication disk.

Rolling Out

Once you've got your spacesuit, weapons, and tactics down, it's time to actually haul the nuke and your Syndie asses onto the station. You have two main approaches for getting onto the station, each with their own ups and downs and special tactics:

By Pod

You board some space pods with a nuke in one of the cargo holds and fly to the station through the pod beacons. It's faster than using jetpacks and requires less map knowledge, but there's higher risk of getting spotted since the syndicate pods are easy to spot. On top of that, if someone hijacks your pods, things can go wrong quite quickly depending on what said pods have.

Go to the hangar on the left side of the ship and load the nuclear bomb into any of the syndiputts, syndicate pods, and, if you're on an ocean-based map (i.e. Oshan or Manta), minisubs there by click-dragging the bomb's sprite onto the space pod's. Do the same with your own sprite to board the space pod. While you ideally won't see pod-on-pod combat if you're sneaky enough, it's a good idea to crowbar the pods open to arm them with the pod shotguns anyways. Plus, since the minisubs can travel on station tile, if you arm them with shotguns, you essentially have a tank!

Before you leave, practice good pod security. Be sure to set your pod's lock code so enterprising crew members can't steal the pod or, worse, the nuke if you leave it in the pod's cargo hold. You can make it any 4 digit combo of numbers 0-9 and letters A-D you want; just make sure put in your notes through the Add Note command and tell your teammates the code. Also, after you set the code, don't forget to toggle the locking mechanism closed. No use setting it if you just leave it unlocked like a goofball.

Once you've secured the pod, create a wormhole to one of the station Pod Bay beacons. The specific beacon depends on the map and the area you need to take the bomb to (you remember it, right?); naturally, it's good idea to consult a map. Generally, you should avoid the main hangar beacon(s), since they tend to get a fair bit of traffic. When flying around the station, keep your distance and stay away from any windows to avoid the crew spotting you. For a stealth infiltration, it might be worth it to have a teammate warp to the Space/Sea Diner beacon and drop you off there. You then have them hide somewhere while you enter the station, whether through the Mining Shuttle on Space maps or just swimming to it on the Ocean maps.

Once you arrive at your desired location, don't forget to unload the bomb by unlocking the pod lock mechanism and click-dragging the pod sprite onto a tile. You'd be surprised how many people forget to unload it; it's a classic "fluke op" mistake.

By Listening Post

You teleport to the Listening Post and fly/swim to your destination while pulling the nuke. You have a bit more flexibility in where you can land, since you don't have to go to a pod beacon first, slightly reducing risk of detection. However, since the way from the Listening Post to the station isn't marked, there's high risk of getting lost.

Assuming you've your spacesuit and jetpack on, grab a teleporter remote from the bottom-most table in the armory; the remotes are specifically placed near those green bomb pinpointers. Stand on the teleporter pad in atrium of the Syndicate Battlecruiser (that's the room with the logo, remember) and use the teleporter remote. You'll arrive at the Listening Post's own telepad. You return to the cruiser in a similar way, by standing over the Listening Post telepad and using the remote. To teleport the nuke to the Listening Post, simply push it over the telepad and hit it with the teleporter remote.

The listening post is your only safe-zone on the station Z-level. Only people with an agent card can access it. Make sure you have everything in order the way you like it before leaving. It has some spare clothing and supplies in case you forgot something on the ship, but there's no real weaponry to speak of there.

Once you're comfortable leaving and know who's pulling the nuclear bomb, head out the airlock. If you're on a Space-based map (i.e. Cogmap1, Cogmap2, Destiny, Clarion, Atlas, Horizon), press the Toggle jetpack button in the top left to ensure your jetpack can actually also propel you through space, instead of just acting like a standard air supply. If you're on a Seafloor-based map (i.e. Oshan Laboratory), you can move through the water without it on, but you might want to exchange your boots for the flippers by the external airlock so that you can move much faster.

Cogmap2Cogmap1DestinyClarionOshanHorizonAtlasManta

Fly westward till you don't see any more asteroids, and turn north. You should end up somewhere near Mining or Escape, perhaps Cargo.

Fly westward. When you can't see any more asteroids, turn north. You should end up somewhere near Mining. You can then enter the station through the red airlocks in the lower left portion of Mining, where the Mining Shuttle docks, or fly west a lil' more and go through Escape.

Go east. When you exit the asteroid field and can't see any more asteroids, turn north. You should end up somewhere on the southwest hull of the ship. If you see an red airlock or window, it's probably the maintenance tunnel below the Morgue. If you see a pod bay hangar door, it's probably the one in Security. Ion thrusters, comms dish, AND red maintenance airlocks means you're below Engineering. Go farther east, and you'll find Cargo's pod bay and belts and red airlocks leading to maintenance areas below Research. All these aforementioned airlocks accept maintenance access, so you shouldn't have too much trouble with them.

Fly towards the northwest. You should end up below Mining, with its white airlocks with orange stripes, or Engineering, with a red airlock followed by a orange and yellow airlock. If you see ion thrusters, you're below one of the Electrical Substations, which have red airlocks.

You can then use the red airlock above the West Electrical Substation and go through the grey airlock to arrive at the maintenance areas surrounding Medbay. However, you can't access the Engineering & Mining airlocks with just your agent ID's maintenance access, so you'll need to EMAG them open or just blow them up down.

Fly due southwest. Hopefully, you end up somewhere around Crew Quarters A. You can then enter the station via an airlock above the Chapel.

Walk out the red double airlock that ends with a pipe and simply fly straight north. Along the way, you'll find a conveniently-carved I-shaped tunnel through an asteroid, and at the end, you should end up outside the Cold Loop, Hot Loop, or Combustion Chamber #1. Toxin Lab, and by proxy, Research, is just above these areas.

You can't Engineering's external airlocks since they require, well, Engineering access, and your agent ID, by default, just has maintenance access, and it's a similar deal for Research's, so you'll need a EMAG or some kind of breaching charge or explosive. Alternatively, if fly a good bit farther west, you'll find the Engineering nacelle and its South Solar Array. Break the glass, or go around to the other side, and you'll end up below Security.

Fly a little bit left (as in, as far as the solar array) and head upward. After a while, you should see a plus-shaped with a green light. From there, you can either head left towards the Ghost Drone Factory and proceed upward or go just a little bit leftward and then upward.

If you choose the former, you'll usually end up somewhere below Toxin Lab. If you choose the latter, you'll find another beacon of the exact same design, and if you head towards the top left/"northeast", you should end up somewhere around Pathology Research or Arrival Dock. In either case, you can go through all the red airlocks you see.

Regardless of which airlock you exited, fly directly north. You'll likely encounter a set of two red external airlocks with a beacon between them, signifying that you're directly below Engineering. Go left of the beacon, past a set of four propellers, and you'll find a red airlock that leads into the maintenance area below Cargo. Go right of the beacon instead, past a similar set of four propellers, and you'll find yet another red airlock, this time leading into a maintenance area below Research.

Don't leave the listening post without the teleporter remote and agent card, or you won't be able to get back in.

Going in hot

Eliminate all hostiles, secure and fortify the target area. How you accomplish this is up to you and your team - a coordinated infiltration can work just as well as the Rambo approach. Either way, security and the crew in general will be all over your asses as soon as they hear about red spacesuits, so be quick and strike true. Work together with your allies, since a lone operative will be very hard-pressed to fend off an armed, angry mob for any period of time.

Trigger the nuke

Your side has the upper hand? Great! Now trigger the nuke:

• Load the nuke into one of your pods and drop it off near the station.
• Move the nuke to the designated area. If you've forgotten, use the notes command to remind yourself.
• Click on the nuke with an empty hand to activate it. That will prompt a station-wide red alert, stating your exact location. Needless to say, stealth is no longer an option at this point.
• Insert the authentication disk if you have it.
• Defend the nuke for 10 (or 7 with the disk) long minutes. It's all or nothing!
• Gloat over the radio and vanish in a cloud of radioactive fire!

Space and OshanManta

Total Syndicate Victory - The operatives have destroyed Space Station 13!

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Total Syndicate Victory - The operatives have destroyed the NSS Manta!

The authentication disk

An entirely optional objective that can nevertheless be vital to your planning. When used on an armed bomb, it modifies the countdown depending on who inserted it: 3 minutes less (operative) or 3 minutes more (crew member). Needless to say, the first outcome is vastly preferable from your perspective. The disk can generally be found in the captain's pocket and if your team decides to send somebody after him (be it undercover or not) in preparation for the main strike, remember that he is armed and likely to expect trouble.

The Syndicate team leader spawns with a special red pinpointer in his backpack. It tracks the location of the authentication disk and should be given to the operative who has been tasked with obtaining it.

Sound Syndicate strategies

• It's redundant but worth repeating: defend the bomb! So many rounds were lost because the operatives were too occupied with wandering about and hunting for kills to notice the lone Staff Assistant slowly but surely destroying the nuke with a fire extinguisher or the cyborg unscrewing the nuke's bolts and loading it into a Space Pod.
• Speaking of unscrewing, while crew members can unscrew the nuke to move it, at the cost of halving the time to detonation (more on that in the next section), you cannot. Don't try it; it'll do nothing.
• Don't set a name on your agent card until you are already on the station. If you are spotted in your approach and the AI catches your fake name, your cover is busted and you don't get another chance to change it.
• Be careful with the RPG, you don't want to hit your comrades with friendly fire or splash damage.
• Don't forget your donk pocket or medical supplies! You are going to need them, guaranteed.
• The Armory contains handy shotguns, stingers and flashbangs, among many other things. Even if you end up spacing all the gear or not using it all, looting the armory deprives your foes of weapons they could use against you.
• Consider turning the AI to your side, if you have the time and ability to do so.
• Beware of security or vigilantes in space suits or pods! They can really ruin your day.
• Even a just few girders or windows around the nuke can go a long way.

Sneaky Syndicate Infiltration

Feel like going undercover? Here are some tips.

• Consider ordering an uplink so you can get a voice changer and/or DNA scrambler. Use the scrambler and make the agent card match your new identity.
• Try to keep a low profile. A greyshirt walking around with a jetpack and insulated gloves tends to catch the attention of any competent security officer.
• Dress sensibly. Walking around with military boots while not disguised as Captain, Head of Security, Security Officer is suspicious, and walking around with SWAT gloves or your assault rucksack on is very suspicious.
• The cockpit of the battlecruiser has a free sleepypen that can covertly knock someone out. Handy if you're not willing to get an uplink and buy one yourself.
• The battlecruiser's sleeping quarters contains for making default grey backpacks and satchels, lockers of colorful generic clothing, and a couple of snazzy bandanas and berets. If you need something more sophisticated, considering getting a custom class uplink for a chameleon suit.

Sound crew strategies

Please be aware of the special guidelines regarding Syndicate facilities.

• If possible, try to get into a group to increase your odds of fending off the Syndicates. Their guns aren't very useful if you have enough bodies to soak up the ammo!
• Watch out for suspicious behaviour or items. That greyshirt wearing insulated gloves and a gas mask might be an operative in disguise if they appear to be scouting the perimeter or trailing the disk holder (typically the captain).
• Don't wear Syndicate clothing, like red space suits and tactical turtlenecks, as doing so will likely get you killed.
• Try everything in your power to destroy that nuke. Best case, the Syndicates should be unable to even get the bomb onto the main station - engage enemy pods on sight, as the nuke might be in one of their cargo holds.
• If the weapon has already been deployed, eliminate all redsuits defending it or at least drive them away. Insert the authentication disk if available to buy you three more minutes. Now, while the nuke can't be disarmed, you can dispose of it in some manner:
  • The bomb can be destroyed by brute force alone, but it takes a lot of effort and high-powered gear (such as eswords, multiple laser guns or revolvers), since it has a good bit of damage reduction and roughly 150 "health". It is also susceptible to most EMPs, which take out a good sixth of the bomb's health and bypass the armor protection; however, the EMP from the wave gun is much less effective against the nuke.
  • Alternatively, get someone with screwdriver to loosen the bomb's floor bolts. Unscrewing takes about four seconds, and it will trigger a motion alert and halve the time remaining. Move the nuke off the main z-level (via mass driver, pod or teleportation) or destroy it (e.g. with the crusher) as soon as possible to avert certain death. Beware--dragging the nuke slows you down somewhat, even for cyborgs.
  • Don't try to blast or rocket the nuke, it is invulnerable to explosions.
  • The nuke can be teleported by Telescience if its floor bolts are loosened.
  • The nuke cannot be dragged away by the ocean currents around Manta, even when floor bolts are loosened.
• Security barriers are loads of fun against ops. Not only do they reduce damage from bullets and melee attacks, but if you use their special attack (click on any tile at least two tiles away while on Harm or Disarm intent), you create a shield that reflect their projectiles back at them. Yes, this includes rockets.