Space Ninja

Space Ninjas are a special type of ninja, specifically one of the space-faring type. The vast majority of space ninjas belong to the Spider Clan, a cult-like sect which has existed for several hundred years. The Spider Clan practice a sort of augmentation of human flesh in order to achieve a more perfect state of being and follow Postmodern Space Bushido. They also kill people for money. Their leaders are chosen from the oldest of the grand-masters, people that have lived a lot longer than any mortal man should. Being a sect of technology-loving fanatics, the Spider Clan have the very best to choose from in terms of hardware--cybernetic implants, exoskeleton rigs, hyper-capacity batteries, and you get the idea. Some believe that much of the Spider Clan equipment is based on reverse-engineered alien technology while others doubt such claims. Whatever the case, their technology is absolutely superb.

Overview
If you're reading this, congratulations! Fortune has decided to turn you into a 25th century agent worthy of the title "ninja". You spawn in a suit of cyberpunk-esque ninja gear which provides your powers, and you have your trusty energy katana on your belt. You should use the emergency oxygen tank in your suit storage as internals, not the C02 jetpack on your back. You have between four and six objectives. You are not required to follow them, yet your NINJA HONOR demands you try.

Or maybe you're just some chump who wants to learn about Space Ninjas. Well, read on.

How do I become one?
Space Ninjas may spawn as a random event once the round duration reaches 60 minutes. They're selected from the pool of ghosts with the 'be space ninja' antagonist option enabled. Space ninjas spawn outside the station, typically on the solars. Only one Space Ninja may spawn per round.

Your Equipment
As a member of the Spider Clan, your technologically advanced, cybernetically-enhancing suit is everything to you. Included with it is a pair of ninja gloves, a pair of ninja boots, a ninja hood, and a ninja mask. These items work in conjunction with the suit. The hood, for instance, makes you untrackable by the AI, while the gloves allow for special interactions with objects or creatures. Your suit also functions as high-quality armor.

None of your suit's functions are available until you Initialize it in the 'Ninja Equip' tab.

Aside from your suit, you have a number of items at your disposal. There is an energy katana at your belt. It inflicts 40 brute damage per attack, can deflect projectiles in the same way an energy sword can, and may be recalled to you whenever you lose it with an ability in your 'Ninja Ability' tab aptly named 'Recall Energy Katana'. It also has all of the functions of a cryptographic sequencer, so you can open doors with it, among other things. It also deals twenty brute damage when thrown. You have a brick of C4 and a flashlight in your pockets, an emergency oxygen tank in your suit storage, and a C02 jetpack on your back. There are night vision goggles on your face.

By default, you speak in the broken engrish of Space Ninjas, hwicho sounds sometingu rike this. To become more intelligible, you can use the voice-changing function of your ninja mask by clicking the applicable button at the top-left of your screen.

Your suit runs on electricity and consumes it for its many abilities. To recharge your power supply, Toggle Interaction under the 'Ninja Equip' tab and click on a power wire, APC, mech, cyborg, or SMES unit. Doing so will filter power from that object into you.

By default your suit runs on a 10,000-capacity power cell and thus can only hold 10,000 units of electricity, displayed as 100% in the status tab. You can upgrade your suit's battery by enabling interaction, then grabbing any power cell of greater capacity than your current one and using it on your ninja suit. Installing a 15,000-capacity cell will increase your power capacity to 150%, for example.

You can load a Personal AI by using it on your suit with interaction enabled.

Your Abilities
Some abilities are accessible under the 'Ninja Equip' tab, and others may be found under 'Ninja Ability'. All are accessible as command-line verbs.


 * Phase Cloak: Renders you invisible. Cost: about 1% energy per second cloaked
 * Phase Jaunt: Teleports you up to nine squares ahead in the general direction you're facing. Also generates a spark shower, so don't try this anywhere near plasma. You can bring people along with you if you grab them beforehand. Anyone in the destination you Jaunt to will be wounded and knocked out. Cost: 10% energy
 * Phase Shift: This ability is not listed under either tab, and may be accessed by right-clicking a visible tile. Teleports you to a specific tile. Anyone in the destination tile will be wounded and knocked out. Cost: 20% energy
 * EM Burst: Creates a 4-square strong, 6-square weak electromagnetic pulse. EMP disables radios, cameras, energy-based weaponry and hurts silicons. Cost: 25% energy
 * Create Throwing Star: 3D-prints a permanent throwing star of the same sort a traitor can purchase. Using this ability turns on throw mode so the star can be thrown instantly. These deal thirty brute damage and embed into people when thrown, inflicting further damage over time. Cost: 1% energy
 * Recall Energy Katana: Recalls your energy katana to you. The cost of this ability is variable based on how far you are from the katana, but can never exceed 100%. If the katana is onscreen when you use this ability it will be thrown in your direction, hitting anyone in the way.
 * Smoke Bomb: Drops a smoke bomb that obstructs vision and allows your escape. You get ten. Use them wisely...or throw a ninja party! Cost: 0 energy
 * Adrenaline Boost: This undoes paralysis, stunning, extreme cold, and basically anything else that would affect your movement. It also injects you with radium, which decays into harmful radiation. Cost: 0 energy
 * Energy Net: This ability is not listed under either tab, and can be accessed by right-clicking a player. It entangles them in an energy net which will after about thirty seconds teleport them to ninja prison. During this period they and others can attack the energy net to remove it, so make sure to restrain or sedate them beforehand. Cost: 20% energy

You can also shock people by touching them with any intent except harm, using some suit energy to stun them and inflict a small amount of burn damage.

Your Objectives
Ninjas generally have six objectives, unless they were created by an administrator. You will either be assigned to help or harm the station. This is determined by whether your employer is Nanotrasen or the Syndicate. Irrespective of who your employer is you're allowed to engage anyone regardless of their loyalties.

The objectives:

To steal the research, simply click the RnD Terminal with special interaction enabled and you will automatically download the research. This takes a while.
 * Steal research levels: You will have to steal between 10 and 20 levels of Research from RnD. Depending on if the scientists bothered to do research you may have to do it yourself, or coerce someone into doing it. Sometimes your mere presence will start research; eg. "NINJA ON STATION, R&D START WORK ON LASER CANNONS."


 * Protect a target: An assignment for Nanotrasen-employed ninjas. Prevent the target's death.


 * Assassinate a target: An assignment for Syndicate-employed ninjas, or Nanotrasen-employed ninjas assigned to kill an antagonist. Ensure the target dies.


 * Capture a target: Capture someone using the Energy Net ability.


 * Steal a target's brain: An assignment for Syndicate-employed ninjas, or Nanotrasen-employed ninjas assigned to debrain an antagonist. Surgically remove the target's brain and keep it.


 * Survive until round end: Simple, just don't die.


 * Steal a high risk item: A Syndicate objective. Just what it says on the tin. Steal some magboots, secret documents, or whatnot.

As with all antagonist objectives, these are optional. But before you go indiscriminately test out your energy katana on the faces of the crew, consider that playing as a space ninja is a rare opportunity you may not get to indulge in again for a long while.

Tips

 * It's a good idea to upgrade your power cell at the earliest opportunity.
 * Need to capture someone, but can't find any non-lethal weaponry to subdue them with? Follow them around while cloaked, or hide in a locker in their workplace, and Phase Shift onto them, knocking them unconscious.
 * You can drain APCs and render them inoperable. Depending on whether you're with or against the station, this may be tactically useful.
 * You gain the most power per tick from highly-charged SMES units.
 * Darkness is your ally. The night vision goggles on your face can be your most potent weapon.
 * Adrenaline Boost should only be used in absolute emergencies. One injection irradiates you strongly enough to inflict 25 toxin damage. Two injections can cause unconsciousness. Stock up on charcoal patches from chemistry to heal your toxin damage, since it's only available in medbay as pills and injections, neither of which can be used without removing your suit.
 * Your energy katana doesn't stun on the first hit, but your hands do.
 * You'll have to eat often, since moving one step increments your hunger, and Space Ninjas move at a blistering fast pace thanks to their ninja shoes.
 * Eating requires you de-initialize and remove your suit, which is a lengthy process during which you will be vulnerable. Stock up on high-quality food from the chef -- it's not common knowledge, but eating healthy food gives you a healthy metabolism, which makes you have to eat less and will also decrease the effects of the radium from the Adrenaline Boost ability.
 * Beepsky will mess you up. EMP him.
 * Being a Space Ninja is a careful balancing act of simultaneously paying attention to your objectives, your health, your nutrition, your suit's power level, and other resources. Consider loading a personal AI into your suit to help manage these factors.