Covert Operations arc

The Covert Operations arc (story_covert_operations.xml, 521KB) is the Terran DLC espionage story. The player conducts covert missions involving Antigone surveillance, hacking, satellite deployment, EMP attacks, and station bombs. The arc is structured across 8 chapters (Ch0-Ch6 + Ch9, no Ch7-Ch8).

• Script: story_covert_operations.xml
• DLC: Cradle of Humanity
• Size: 521,009 bytes
• Text page: 30227 (with 30210 fallback for some contexts)
• MDScript version: 4
• Chapters: Ch0, Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5, Ch6, Ch9 (note: no Ch7/Ch8)

Persistent characters

Character	Setup cue	Role
Saman Red (Antigone Official)	Setup_Character_AntigoneOfficial (v2) — macro character_argon_male_plot_antigone_official_macro	”Antigone diplomat and Anti-Terran Operative” (vanilla code comment) — player’s main contact + briefing source
Scaleplate Lieutenant	Setup_Character_ScaleplateLieutenant (v2)	Antagonist contact
Dal Busta	Dal_Offer_Call	Provides offer calls
Boso Ta	Ch1_Covert_Intro_BosoBowsOut_Ref	”Boso bows out” — exits the storyline early
Secret Service Actor	SecretServiceActor_Section_Story_Covert_Operations	Section-bound contact

The “Boso bows out” detail is notable — Boso Ta acknowledges that the Covert Ops arc is not his domain and steps back.

Sectors anchored

Variable	Macro	Vanilla role
$AntigoneMemorialSector	cluster_28_sector001	Antigone Memorial
$SecretServiceSector	cluster_101_sector001	Mars — Secret Service contact
$ANT_Sectors	cluster_27_sector001	Antigone sectors group
$FallbackScalePlateSector	cluster_01_sector002	Scale Plate fallback sector

Faction interactions

faction.antigone (main), faction.argon (police), faction.civilian, faction.ownerless, faction.player, faction.scaleplate (antagonist), faction.terran (sponsor), faction.xenon (background).

Chapter 0 — Prerequisites

Mission entry: “Secret Service Prerequisite Conversation”

• Cue: Ch0_SecretServiceActor_Prerequisite_Conversation (instantiated)
• Path/Chapter: Covert Ops Ch0
• Find in game: Talk to Secret Service Actor for first time
• What player encounters:
  • Conversation establishing eligibility for Covert Operations
  • Story_Reminder system available for hints
• NPCs involved: Secret Service Actor
• Chains to: Ch1 Intro
• Code reference: story_covert_operations.xml Ch0_SecretServiceActor_Prerequisite_Conversation

Chapter 1 — Covert Intro

The largest chapter, multi-component. Setup of all subsequent covert mechanics.

Mission entry: “Covert Intro Briefing”

• Cue: Ch1_Covert_Intro (v2) + Ch1_Covert_Intro_SecretServiceActor_Briefing
• In-game name: Briefing with Saman + gate encounter
• Path/Chapter: Covert Ops Ch1 (intro)
• What player encounters:
  • Briefing conversation: Ch1_Covert_Intro_SecretServiceActor_Briefing_Conversation (instanced)
  • Boso bows out: Ch1_Covert_Intro_BosoBowsOut_Ref (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor) — Boso explicitly steps away from the arc
  • Gate Encounter setup: Ch1_Covert_Intro_Gate_Encounter_Setup (v3)
  • Antigone exposition (5s polling):
    • Ch1_Covert_Intro_ANT_Exposition — exposition trigger
    • Ch1_Covert_Intro_ANT_Exposition_Ref (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor)
• Where: Saman’s location (Antigone or Secret Service Sector)
• NPCs involved: Saman (Antigone Official), Boso Ta (brief exit)
• Chains to: Argon Police Encounter (Ch1_Argon_Police_*)
• Code reference: story_covert_operations.xml Ch1_Covert_Intro*

Mission entry: “Argon Police Pursuit”

• Cue: Ch1_Argon_Police_Control_* block + Ch1_PlayerRunning + Ch1_Escaped_Argon_Police
• In-game name: Evade Argon police during covert travel
• Path/Chapter: Covert Ops Ch1
• What player encounters:
  • Argon police detect player suspicious activity
  • Sector check: Ch1_Argon_Police_Control_Check_Sector (instanced)
  • Target sector tracker: Ch1_Argon_Police_Control_ReachedTargetSector_Ref (refs LIB_Generic.ReachedSector)
  • Event check: Ch1_Argon_Police_Control_Event_Check (instanced)
  • Conversation trigger (1s polling): Ch1_Argon_Police_Conversation_Trigger
  • Player evasion tracking:
    • Ch1_PlayerRunning (1s polling) — detect player fleeing
    • Ch1_Escaped_Argon_Police (5s polling) — confirm escape
• Objectives: Flee Argon police, reach safe sector
• Reward: Escape unlocks next phase
• Code reference: story_covert_operations.xml Ch1_Argon_Police_*

Mod conflict risks — Argon Police Pursuit

• ❌ Mods that disable Argon police trivialize the chase
• ❌ Mods that change ReachedSector library break sector tracking
• ⚠ Combat-rebalance mods affect chase difficulty

Mission entry: “Deploy Satellite (Surveillance)”

• Cue: Ch1_Deploy_Satellite (v5) + setup Ch1_Deploy_Satellite_Setup (v2)
• In-game name: Deploy surveillance satellite
• Path/Chapter: Covert Ops Ch1
• What player encounters:
  • Player must deploy a satellite (refs RML_DeployInPlace.DeployInPlace)
  • Wrong-satellite detection:
    • Ch1_Wrong_Satellite (instanced) — fires if player deploys wrong satellite type
    • Ch1_Wrong_Satellite_Ref (refs LIB_Dialog.Speak_Actor) — spoken correction
  • Station destruction listener: Ch1_Deploy_Satellite_Signal_StationDestructionListener — if target station destroyed during deploy
  • SCA Exposition + Dal Exposition guidance
• Objectives: Deploy correct satellite at correct location
• Reward: Surveillance live; next chapter unlocks
• Code reference: story_covert_operations.xml Ch1_Deploy_Satellite*

Mod conflict risks — Deploy Satellite

• ❌ Mods that change satellite macros affect “wrong satellite” detection
• ❌ Mods that disable RML_DeployInPlace break deployment
• ⚠ Custom satellite mods can confuse wrong-satellite check

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Chapters 2-6 — Covert operations

Each chapter advances the covert ops storyline with increasingly sophisticated operations:

Chapter pattern

Each Ch2-Ch6 includes:

• Ch*_Force — force-start chapter
• Ch*_Setup — chapter setup
• Ch*_Mission — main mission
• Various objective sub-cues
• DEBUG cues for testing

Vanilla patterns observed in cue tree (general):

Pattern	Sample cues
Deploy In Place	DeployInPlace_Ref (refs md.RML_DeployInPlace.DeployInPlace)
Hack Station	HackStation_BombAttacked (instanced)
EMP Surveillance	HackStation_Surveillance_EMP_Check_For_Further_Breaches (instanced)
Satellite Exposition	Satellite_Exposition
Dal Offer Call	Dal_Offer_Call + Dal_Wait_For_Fullscreen (5s polling)
Display Cutscene	DisplayCutscene_General

Hack Station + Bomb Attack mechanic

A unique Covert Ops mechanic — the player can plant bombs on target stations to disrupt:

• HackStation_BombAttacked — handler when player’s planted bomb attacks target
• HackStation_Surveillance_EMP_Check_For_Further_Breaches — after EMP, check for additional security breaches

This is the espionage gameplay signature: hack, plant bomb, EMP-bypass surveillance.

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Chapter 9 — (Late arc / epilogue?)

The arc skips Ch7-Ch8 and jumps to Ch9. Likely:

• Final reward
• Epilogue dialog
• Arc-completion state

(Specific Ch9 cues not extracted in this overview — modders should grep story_covert_operations.xml for Ch9_* cues directly.)

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Skipping mechanism

The arc includes Handle_Custom_Gamestart_Skip (+ Handle_Custom_Gamestart_Skip_Activate at 50ms checkinterval) — custom game starts can skip parts of Covert Operations via storystate flags.

DEBUG_Skipper system

Standard vanilla testing setup:

• Debug_Skipper_Conversation_Chapter / _Chapter_Selected — choose chapter to test
• Debug_Skipper_Conversation_Reputation / _Reputation_Selected — set reputation for testing
• Debug_Skipper_Conversation_Credits — give credits for testing

Modders should NOT rely on these.

Path completion summary

A completed Covert Operations arc yields:

• Antigone Memorial / Saman storyline resolved
• Scaleplate antagonism advanced
• Player rep with Terran + Antigone shifted
• Possible reward ship or equipment unlock
• Story state advance for follow-up content

Mod conflict risks (Covert Ops-specific)

• ❌ Mods that change Antigone faction behavior break Saman dialog
• ❌ Mods that disable Scaleplate break antagonist arc
• ❌ Mods that disable RML_DeployInPlace break satellite deployment
• ❌ Mods that change Argon police behavior affect pursuit mechanic
• ❌ Mods that change satellite macros break wrong-satellite detection
• ⚠ Mods adding mass surveillance content can confuse EMP breach detection
• ⚠ Custom faction mods can disrupt cover-faction interactions

Code references

Concern	Cue
Saman setup	Setup_Character_AntigoneOfficial (v2)
Scaleplate Lt setup	Setup_Character_ScaleplateLieutenant (v2)
Ch0 prerequisite	Ch0_SecretServiceActor_Prerequisite_Conversation
Ch1 briefing	Ch1_Covert_Intro_SecretServiceActor_Briefing
Boso bows out	Ch1_Covert_Intro_BosoBowsOut_Ref
Argon police chase	Ch1_Argon_Police_* block
Satellite deploy	Ch1_Deploy_Satellite (v5)
Wrong satellite detect	Ch1_Wrong_Satellite
Hack + bomb	HackStation_BombAttacked
EMP surveillance	HackStation_Surveillance_EMP_Check_For_Further_Breaches
Dal Busta offer	Dal_Offer_Call
Custom gamestart skip	Handle_Custom_Gamestart_Skip*

Related

• Terran arcs overview
• Terran Core — Restricted Core enforcement (may interact with Covert Ops)
• HQ Discovery — concurrent Terran arc
• Yaki arc — parallel Terran content
• Tides of Avarice: Unbihexium — similar espionage gameplay

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Covert Operations is X4’s “spy thriller” content — hacks, satellites, EMP, bomb-planting, police evasion. Your mod’s interference with deployable mechanics, Antigone behavior, or police behavior breaks the entire espionage flow.