Asset Protection

• Access: The pulse rifle does the talking
• Difficulty: Depending on the situation at hand
• Supervisors: NovusCorp
• Duties: Eliminating everything that stands in your way
• Guides: This is the guide

These are the guys you send when the Emergency Response Team won't be enough. Asset Protection is part of a special CorpComm task force, one that is usually sent in response to mutiny, or when the station is completely and utterly fucked. This is usually because xenomorphs have replaced the entire crew, a Head of Staff is being held hostage, or a Mercenary or two is terrorizing the station. They're armed to the teeth, and have no shortage of equipment. They will use force against anyone and everyone who stands in their way.

Like the Emergency Response Team, Asset Protection troopers are administrated by the NovusCorp Defense Force. However, unlike ERT, Asset Protection's objectives are exclusively military-grade protection. When they aren't aboard the station, they are often hunting down pirates and smugglers, and thus their availability is only for the most serious incidents.

Unfortunately, Asset Protection teams have gained a notorious reputation as being NovusCorp's “Death Squad.” As in, there are numerous conspiracy theories claiming Asset Protection are in fact murderers for hire who have killed the inhabitants of entire stations. These allegations are, naturally, absurd. If you don't want to take our word for it, ask yourself what a “Death Squad” would even accomplish. It's not practical, and it's not something that could be covered up, even if NovusCorp was the mega-evil corporation that some people say it is.

The Asset Protection team is by-far the most well prepared and armed force that you will ever see in your life. The chances of winning against these officers is almost null. Pray quietly that they are incompetent enough to not be able to use a pulse rifle. You'd be hard pressed to find anything more robust than what these men carry around as standard duty issue.

Asset Protection troopers are usually equipped with the best equipment NovusCorp has to offer:

• Personal preference of firearms, both energy and ballistic, up to and including heavy military hardware like Pulse Rifles and surplus USDF Service Rifles.
• Personal preference of melee weapons.
• Energy shields.
• C4 explosives.
• All manner of grenades.
• Highly advanced Asset Protection body armor, both in the form of Mk1 “SWAT” suits, and Mk2 Hardsuits, depending on preference.
• CorpComm headsets.
• First aid kits.
• Optical thermal scanners.

The Asset Protection teams are sometimes granted usage of military grade mechs such as Seraphs, Marauders, and Gorillas. Due to their cost, these are only used in case of the most severe emergencies, usually because the threat that they are encountering can easily tear up the officers' flesh in a matter of seconds, even with the power armor worn.

The Seraphs and Marauders are armed with high precision laser cannons, AC 10 scattershot, pulse cannons, and a variety of other equipment, including fail-safe systems.

The Gorilla mech is a captured mech that is equipped with an 88mm cannon that can one-shot most other mechs, a rapid firing machine gun, and a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), not to mention stupidly thick armor plating. The Gorilla's only known weaknesses are its power consumption, which requires it to use a tesla power relay while stomping around, and also the Gorilla's slow speed, which can be exploited to flank it or run away.

The chances of survival for anyone that has to go up against the mechs is essentially zero. That is why when the mechs show up, everybody panics no matter what they were sent in for.

• Establishing a general plan to go on whilst eliminating the threat, usually supplied by a Corporate Command Official/Admiral.
• Prepping themselves and assuming roles in a timely manner, usually forming squads.
• Arrival on the station or ship, securing anything that they were told to, and killing anyone dumb enough to get in the way of that objective; including the crew.
• Patrol around the station, areas being secured until confirmed clear.
• Handling a threat appropriately, and carefully.
• Evacuation of the Asset Protection team after threat is handled, or the entire station/ship is dead.

• If civilians are encountered in a room, a quick flashbang will take care of any hostiles followed up by stun-function on the rifles.
• If the Asset Protection team is told to nuke the station, they will be supplied with a nuclear fission device, detonation codes, and an authorization disk.
• If the Asset Protection team faces too many casualties on their side, they retreat to the shuttle and confirm their numbers before leaving, followed by a Bluespace Artillery shelling of the station or ship.

If you see something, run this quickly through your mind:

• Is it wearing Asset Protection team gear? If so, skip to last step.
• Is it a pet? If so, skip to last step.
• Is it not interfering with your mission? If so, skip to last step.
• Is it not your objective? If so, skip to last step.
• Shoot the crap out of it.
• Carry on patrolling.