Military Operator

"Don't hide. I'm programmed to assist Talos I crew in evacuation procedures."

- Military Operator

The N-CN9 "Blackbox" Military Operator is a weaponized operator encountered in Talos I in Prey. It can also be found in Prey: Mooncrash, re-branded Security Operator.

Overview
Military Operators are top-secret offensive Operators developed in the Beams & Waves Lab of Talos I. It fires long-range energy beams as well as keeping the same spatial mobility as regular operators.

Military Operators can be hacked, but they require much more GLOO to subdue than other Operators. Hacking them also requires Hacking IV, whereas other Operators only require Hacking II.

Active military operators usually begin appearing during the later story mission The Keys to the Kingdom. However, one has been encountered in the area around the bottom of the grav shafts to/from Alex Yu's office in the arboretum before Dahl makes his presence aboard the station known.

Prey
EXCERPT FROM TRANSTAR OPERATOR BROCHURE: The N-CN9 Blackbox Military Operator is the world's most advanced unmanned multi-role fighter. Armed with a state-of-the-art MAG-directed energy weapon and an OMNI navigation systems, the Military Operator is never short on firepower. From assault operations to security detail, the innovative Synthetic Hyperdynamic Neural Network ensures the Military Operator is quick to respond to developing and dangerous situations. Morgan's Notes: TranStar's been covering their tracks about these. Don't want to look like an arms-tech company. They're probably wired into Talos I's security system. Could track me using the station's security rosters. Might be a way to get rid of my tracking bracelet.

Mooncrash
EXCERPT FROM TRANSTAR OPERATOR BROCHURE: The [REDACTED] Security Operator is the world's most advanced unmanned multi-role fighter. Armed with a state-of-the-art [REDACTED] and OMNI navigation systems, the Security Operator is never short on firepower. From assault operations to security detail, the innovative Synthetic Hyperdynamic Neural Network ensures the Security Operator is quick to respond to developing and dangerous situations. ADDENDUM: Rewrite this into a more PR friendly spiel before they go on the market. We can still deploy them on TranStar bases in the meantime. - A. Yu PETER'S NOTES: Pretty sure I've seen these in KASMA reports. Some kind of automated military fighter. I guess TranStar was in the middle of trying to rebrand them into a more "friendly" role.

Trivia

 * Military Operators are always hostile, except when hacked. One notable exception occurs if the player allies themselves with Dahl: near the shuttle bay at the end of the quest, all Military Operators in the area will be friendly until Dahl turns on the player.
 * Military Operators are armored, and capable of resisting more punishment than the standard Operator. They are most resistant to bullets, though they are weak against electricity. However, unlike Corrupted Operators, Military Operators can become broken, so they can be defeated without needing to deplete their health fully.
 * Until Kaspar is shut down and Dahl is taken down (dead or alive), the Operator Dispensers throughout the station will continually churn out more hostile Military Operators as long as none they have deployed are repairable. After both are dealt with, they don't appear anymore. Only a limited number of Operators can be present in a particular space, however. If the player hacks all of the Operators in an area without destroying them, the Operator Dispensers will cease production until one or more are destroyed. This can, if used in certain areas, enable the player to effectively dominate the entire area, since Military Operator laser weapons have excellent range, and an enemy which spawns into a spot the player has filled with hacked Operators will be besieged by multiple mobile sources of energy damage.
 * Military Operators use a laser weapon similar to the Q-Beam.
 * All Military Operators use military jargon when speaking.
 * If a Military Operator becomes corrupted, it will no longer be able to attack with its laser for some strange reason, making them less dangerous, especially at a distance. They will instead try to kamikaze attack Morgan by rushing at him/her and blow themselves up. Corrupted Military Operators speak in a more corrupted and morbid tone.
 * To hack this operator, you must stun it, by using the GLOO Cannon, Disruptor Stun Gun, EMP charge, or the Electrostatic Burst power, and once immobilized, initiate the hacking minigame. This will require Hacking IV, however, and you will typically need much more GLOO to successfully immobilize a Military Operator.