Shadow Operatives

Shadow Operatives are a secret military organization that works for the Illuminati around 2029. They are also referred to as Gold Masks", "Gold-Masked Mercenaries", and by other similar terms in various in-game dialogue, mission briefings, and concept art descriptions, in reference to the distinctive headgear adorned by their troops.

Background
Not much is known about how the organization was founded, but it appears that some time after the events of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Illuminati looked for a new group to carry out their military operations after the Tyrants were all but wiped out and Belltower Associates went bankrupt (though later re-branding itself as Tarvos Security Services). One possible reason that the Illuminati did not turn to Tarvos is that the Illuminati decided they needed a group they could directly order.

When Belltower re-branded itself as Tarvos, they released their augmented personnel. Some of these augmented personnel later joined the ranks of the Shadow Operatives. The Shadow Operatives may have specific roots in Belltower's Spec Ops division, which was sold to an undisclosed buyer when Belltower went bankrupt. A correspondence found in a Shadow Operative facility confirms that some of the augmented personnel formerly employed by Belltower later joined the ranks of the Shadow Operatives. As a further indication of their roots in Belltower, the Shadow Operatives' G.A.R.M. facility was previously owned by Belltower prior to its bankruptcy. When Belltower went bankrupt, G.A.R.M. was, for some unknown reason, left off the balance sheet.

By 2029, the Shadow Operatives had grown into a small army of well-armed augmented soldiers willing to perform clandestine activities without hesitation. Although the Illuminati were working to control or get rid of augmented people, they did prefer using augmented personnel for operations, possibly because of their advantages in combat.

Bases of Operation
The Shadow Operatives operate from black site facilities under Illuminati control. One of their bases is G.A.R.M., a facility located in the Swiss Alps. Originally a scientific research center, the facility later became owned by Belltower. After Belltower went bankrupt, the facility then fell under the control of Illuminati member Bob Page, possibly purchased by Page or one of his companies. G.A.R.M. houses troops commanded by Viktor Marchenko.

The Shadow Operates also operate from a facility in the Baltic region. This facility is known only by the designation "BH" or "BH facility" used in various e-mail correspondences. One correspondence indicates that the facility is off the mainland around Tallinn, Estonia, and is being used for nanotechnology research in addition to housing combatants. In preparing for an attack on London, Marchenko requested troops from the Baltic facility to bolster his forces based in G.A.R.M.

Organizational Structure
The organizational and command structure of the Shadow Operatives is largely unknown. It does appear, however, that the Shadow Operatives are under the direct command of the Illuminati leadership. For example, an encrypted communication found in G.A.R.M. indicates that at least some elements among the Shadow Operatives are receiving direct orders from Bob Page, referred to in the communication as "Mister Majestic." Elizabeth DuClare also refers to the Shadow Operatives as "our assets," further suggesting that the Shadow Operatives are directly controlled by the Illuminati leadership.

Viktor Marchenko is deployed by the Illuminati to command the Stormsurge operation and the Shadow Operatives based in G.A.R.M. Marchenko is of value not only for his combat prowess, but also for his ties to Augmented Rights Coalition, which permits ARC to be framed for activities of the Shadow Operatives conducted under Marchenko. Marchenko's formal rank within the overall organization, if any, is not stated. It appears, however, that Marchenko is little more than a dispensable pawn, as indicated by orders from Bob Page to immediately terminate Marchenko in the event that he deviates from mission plans in London.

Personnel
The Shadow Operatives field veteran and elite augmented soldiers equipped with advance, experimental augmentations developed by Vadim Orlov, such as the Icarus Dash and TITAN augmentations. Other augmentations used by Shadow Operatives include the Icarus Landing and Glass-Shield Cloaking. These assortment of augmentations make Shadow Operatives particularly formidable foes.

Identification records of Shadow Operative troops have been erased, making their personal identities untraceable.

Dubai
In 2029, the Shadow Operatives ambush a black-market arms deal between the Jinn and the arms dealer Sheppard. The Shadow Operatives kill Sheppard and his crew and attempt to use Sheppard's helicopter to escape with the black-market arms shipment. Adam Jensen and other members of Task Force 29's Central European Division, which had been task with capturing Sheppard, are also present at the ambush. TF29 promptly engages in a firefight with the Shadow Operatives, and orders Jensen to prevent the helicopter from taking off.

The Shadow Operatives took heavy causalities during the mission. If Jensen and TF29 were able to prevent the helicopter from taking off, one Illuminati council member confirms afterwards that "all assets" deployed in Dubai were lost. Otherwise, if the Shadow operatives escaped with the helicopter, the council member will instead note that "all but three" of the Shadow Operatives were lost, but extraction of the majority of the shipments was successful. In either case, Bob Page insists that the mission was a success. Due to the unusual chain of events leading up to the ambush, Alex Vega later tells Jensen that the Illuminati purposely wanted TF29's Central European Division to witness the attack by the Shadow Operatives.

Adam Jensen's arrival at G.A.R.M
Later, Jensen discovers and infiltrates the Shadow Operatives' G.A.R.M. base in Switzerland. Unaware that Marchenko had advance knowledge of Jensen's arrival, Marchenko ambushes Jensen and temporarily incapacitates him using the Orchid. When Jensen wakes up, the Shadow Operatives are already in the process of evacuating the facility. By the time TF29's Lyon headquarters gets a team to G.A.R.M., the Shadow Operatives had already vacated the base and were in the process of carrying out "Stormsurge."

Stormsurge
"Stormsurge" is the code name for an attack on Nathaniel Brown's Safe Harbour Convention in London's Apex Centre in order to thwart Nathaniel Brown's attempt to block passage of the Human Restoration Act. For this attack, Marchenko uses the Dvali to smuggle the Orchid to the Apex Centre so that the Orchid can be used to poison the United Nations delegates hosted by Brown. The Shadow Operatives then take control of the security system run by Tarvos at the Apex Centre, by using an undercover agent who had been transferred into the ranks of the local Tarvos unit.

Meanwhile, TF29 arrives at London after Jensen had discovered that this attack would be imminent. When Jensen arrives, he discovers that the Shadow Operatives have killed the Tarvos personnel stationed at the Apex Centre and have donned Tarvos uniforms as disguises. The exact outcome of the mission depends on the player's actions. However, under all outcomes, ARC is labeled as a terrorist organization by the United Nations after the event in London, indicating that the Illuminati were successful in framing ARC.

Troop variants
The following troop types are encountered in Mankind Divided. For purposes of Praxis gain, Shadow Operative troops are either veteran tier (awarding 20 XP for defeating them) or elite tier (awarding 30 XP).
 * Light Troopers. Light troopers are equipped with the Klipspringer Jump Mod, Icarus Dash, and Icarus Landing augmentations.
 * A first variant of the light trooper wears a dark, hooded outfit with dark shoulder pads, along with a gold mask. These troops are veteran-tier and are equipped with a Hurricane TMP-18 machine pistol or a SB-762 Battle Rifle as their primary weapon, along with a Zenith CA-40 pistol as a secondary weapon. All shadow operatives in the opening mission of Mankind Divided in Dubai belong to this classification. Although they are depicted as using Glass-Shield Cloaking in a cutscene, they do not have this ability in actual gameplay. They are not encountered at G.A.R.M. An email correspondence found in G.A.R.M. suggests that these troops deployed in Dubai are based in the Baltic Sea facility.
 * A second variant of the light trooper wears a gray outfit without hoods, and gold masks. They are veteran tier and are equipped with a shotgun arm gun augmentation. For this reason, they sometimes do not carry weapons; other times, they are armed with a machine pistol.
 * An elite-tier variant of the light trooper wears a hooded outfit similar to that of the variant encountered in Dubai, but with gray shoulder pads, along with a gray mask instead of a gold mask.
 * Medium Troopers. Medium troopers are armed with a combat rifle and equipped with the Icarus Landing augmentation. They also wear armored combat vests, making them tougher than their lighter cohorts. Troops of this type wear gray uniforms with gold shoulder pads and gray gas-mask helmets with gold face plates. They are veteran tier.
 * Stealth Troopers. Stealth troopers are armed with a battle rifle, a machine pistol, or a sniper rifle, and are equipped with the Klipspringer Jump Mod, Icarus Landing, and Glass Shield Cloaking augmentations. Troops of this type wear gold uniforms and masks that are half-gold, half-gray. They are elite tier.
 * Heavy Trooper. Heavy troopers are armed with a shotgun and equipped with the TITAN, Implanted Rebreather, and Icarus Landing augmentations. Like the medium troopers, heavy troopers are also armored. Troops of this type wear gray uniforms, cybernetic arms with gold-colored triangular patterns, and helmets also with gold-colored triangular patterns. They are elite tier.

Trivia

 * Concept art of their augmented arms are labeled as "ARC Augments," same with the light trooper's shotgun arm. Along with a graffiti painting of a Shadow Operative on the Ruzicka Station during the intro, this indicates that the Shadow Operatives were possibly originally intended to be part of ARC.