Chris’ Covert Operations

Adds a series of new covert operations to Stellaris, expanding your empire’s ability to manipulate, sabotage and infiltrate across the galaxy.

✔ Twelve unique covert operations to expand your intelligence arsenal:

• Discredit Galactic Envoy
  Undermine a rival’s reputation – not by war, but with whispers and scandal.
  Sabotage their voice in the Galactic Community and turn trust into doubt.
  Reputation is power. And power can be undone.
• Undermine Central Control
  Sow unrest, disrupt cohesion and fracture the very foundation of enemy rule.
  Destabilize empires without firing a shot just pull the strings until they snap.
  Empires fall – not by force, but by fracture.
• Infiltrate Fleet Command
  Cripple enemy fleets by disrupting their command structure.
  Sabotage doctrine, fracture coordination and leave their armadas in disarray.
  You don’t need to destroy the fleet. Just confuse the orders.
• Smuggle Predators
  Trigger a covert outbreak of alien predators on enemy worlds.
  Destabilize colonies, disrupt economies, and watch chaos escalate into planetary crisis.
  No bombs. No armies. Just teeth in the dark.
• Branch Shutdown
  Dismantle foreign corporate footholds with a multi-stage spy operation and crisis-style planetary situation.
  Destabilize branch offices, trigger sabotage events, and choose how far you’re willing to go.
  They profit from our people. We’ll make their presence unprofitable
• Narrative Shift
  Subtly shift an empire’s ethics through a multi-phase spy operation and a dynamic empire situation.
  Manipulate beliefs, ignite factional tension, and watch their ideology bend from within.
  We do not conquer their worlds – we conquer their beliefs.
• Covert Shield Protocol
  Protect allied empires from enemy espionage through a four-stage joint operation.
  Increases counter-espionage, boosts diplomatic trust, and grants intelligence bonuses to the initiator.
  True security is forged in silence – not in treaties, but in trust.
• Suppress Insurgency
  Stabilize volatile empires through covert influence. Ends active revolts on high-crime or unstable planets, boosts stability and happiness, and reduces governing ethic attraction across the empire.
  The streets are quiet again. Not because the people are content – but because someone made the noise go away.
• Shifting Allegiance
  Realign your vassals. This covert operation lets Overlords trigger a dynamic situation that sways loyalty, shifts ethics, and ignites political tension. Multiple approaches and random events shape the outcome.
  Loyalty is not given – it’s shaped.
• Subvert Oversight
  Undermine your Overlord’s grip through covert subversion. As a vassal, you can trigger an escalating situation within the Overlord’s empire – eroding loyalty, unity, and political control without open rebellion. Choose to destabilize the center from the shadows.
  Not all chains are broken – some are quietly loosened.
• Eliminate Key Figure
  Destabilize rival empires by removing their leader through a surgical covert strike. Successful elimination weakens loyalty, disrupts governance, and reduces ideological cohesion. Failure may reveal your hand, or bolster the enemy’s defenses.
  History remembers rulers. We choose who gets remembered.
• Covert Fleet Support
  Secretly bolster a foreign empire at war by providing hidden fleets and logistical advantages. Choose between three support tiers (Low/Mid/High) with escalating Alloy and Influence costs, granting powerful temporary military buffs. Risk of exposure adds diplomatic consequences.
  Wars are not always won by those who fight them – but by those who fund them from the shadows.

✔ Now with full AI support!
AI empires can now access and use all covert operations based on in-game logic.
Note: This requires overriding one vanilla file – see Compatibility section.

✔ Fully localized in English and 10 other languages:
Deutsch, Français, Español (España), Polski, Português Brasileiro, Русский, 简体中文, 日本語, 한국어
These translations were created using an automatic translation tool. Let me know if you spot any issues!

✔ Integrated with the vanilla espionage system – these missions enhance your tools for manipulation, subterfuge and covert action.

• Designed for Stellaris 4.*
• ⚠ Overrides one vanilla file:
  common/ai_espionage/spynetworks/00_base_strategies.txt

  This is necessary to allow AI empires to use custom operations.

• If another mod also overrides this file, AI will no longer use these operations – but everything still works functionally for players.
• Otherwise fully modular and compatible with most other mods.
• Incompatibility Notice: According to the author of Expanded
  Espionage & Diplomacy, that mod currently conflicts with CCO due to overlapping espionage systems.
• A community patch for EE&D exists but is unofficial and unverified: EE&D Compatibility Patch.

AI empires can initiate and execute all covert operations.
Each operation has strategic weightings and is used based on empire traits, ethics, rivalries and planetary conditions.
Ongoing balancing is in progress – feel free to help by sharing observations!

More operations will be added over time – from hard sabotage to subtle influence, propaganda, or economic disruption.
Ideas, balancing feedback or event suggestions are always welcome!

Simply subscribe and activate the mod in your launcher.
No specific load order required but place below major espionage overhauls if used.

• Whispering State an espionage-themed expansion designed to work alongside Chris’ Covert Operations.
• Adds unique civics that naturally complement CCO’s covert operations.
• Fully compatible and tested in combined setups.

Special thanks to the Stellaris modding community for tutorials, inspiration and feedback.

If you enjoy the mod, feel free to rate it or leave a comment!
Project updates: https://ko-fi.com/chrisrous
Join the community: Official Discord Server[discord.gg]
You can post suggestions or bug reports in the following dedicated discussions:

• Operation Ideas and Balance Suggestions – Share concepts for new operations or adjustments to existing ones.
• Translation Feedback and Fixes – Report issues or suggest improvements for translations.
• Bug Reports and Technical Problems – Describe any problems, technical errors or AI behavior that seems off.

Bug reports and translation suggestions are especially appreciated.
I actively maintain this project and respond to all feedback.

Enjoy your new covert arsenal and happy scheming across the galaxy!