Albatross is a high-ranking member (possibly leader as a whole or leader of a section) of the G22 faction in Alpha Protocol. His bodyguard (and potentially his adopted daughter) is Sis. He and his faction play a role in the Taipei and Moscow hubs (particularly in Moscow), and he may also appear in the endgame.
Albatross encounters Michael Thorton in Moscow and in Taipei during Operation Blood Feud and during Operation True Heirs. He can become an ally at various points in both operations as well as throughout Thorton's entire operation.
Notable Quotes[]
- "I will ensure that the south wind is at your back."
- — Albatross to Michael Thorton
Dossier[]
Little is known of Codename "Albatross." It is believed he is a former CIA analyst who faked his death, and surgically altered his face and fingerprints. How a low-ranking, nonviolent analyst would turn up leading a cell of the covert G22 organization is even more difficult to understand. Whether or not Albatross shares his identity with the former CIA analyst (or was responsible for the murders of the other individuals within his division), he should be approached with caution and taken in by any means necessary.
Albatross rarely becomes directly involved in an operation, and the rare occasions he does, he is usually accompanied by his bodyguard, Codename: "Sis." The exact relationship between the two is unknown, but any attempt to apprehend Albatross must have a plan for dealing with Sis first. Cell leaders in G22 are required to be accompanied by a bodyguard at all times, and to travel alone (or to send one's bodyguard on a mission alone) is a violation of G22 protocol.
Albatross and G22 focus on monitoring events and establishing intelligence infrastructures rather than direct intervention. At times, G22 has supplied intelligence to both sides of a known conflict within the span of a few months, the end result doing nothing more than reinforcing the status quo while crushing whatever large scale outbreaks of violence erupt. As much as G22 is obsessed with accumulating information, they are skilled at denying adversaries any information or intelligence on their own organization, making their motivations difficult to ascertain.
Secret Fact: According to his own admission (and a quote from the poem), Albatross takes his name from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Whether he would rain down a similar tragedy on anyone who would harm him or his associates remains to be seen.
Interactions with Michael Thorton[]
- Albatross and G22 are either first encountered in Moscow after the mission to assault Lazo's yacht and retrieve data or in Taipei during the mission to investigate a warehouse district data trail. At the conclusion of either and both missions, Albatross contacts Michael Thorton and offers a partnership, as well as access to G22's inventory on the Clearinghouse.
- Albatross is an available handler for the missions Intercept Surkov at US Embassy and Assault Brayko's Mansion in Moscow. Albatross himself will not be your handler for the Taipei mission Intercept Assassination Plans, but will instead have a member of G22 contact Michael to provide intel.
- During the mission to assault Brayko's Mansion, Albatross can either be saved, executed, or abandoned by the player if he is chosen as the handler in the previous embassy mission. Konstantin Brayko will kidnap and torture Albatross. If the player chooses to save his ally rather then pursue the Halbech data, Michael finds Albatross tied to a chair, cut and beaten. He can then free and save him, or execute him. If the data was chosen over the ally, Albatross dies. The choice can be circumvented by playing as either the Tech Specialist or the Veteran.
- During the mission to investigate the warehouse district data trail in Taipei, the player can bluff the number of bugs they planted on the G22 servers if the player had planted all six bugs, in which case Michael Thorton will attempt to test Albatross' knowledge by asking how he found the bugs. Albatross will respond by saying that the fifth one set them off and they found the previous. The player can then choose whether to comply and delete every bug, or lie and keep one bug active. Keeping the last bug active is the only way to complete the dossiers of Albatross, Sis, and G22.
- Albatross (along with SIE and Steven Heck) is one of the three available handlers for the endgame mission Infiltrate Alpha Protocol.
Handler Bonus[]
Relationship | Bonus | Effect | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Friendship | The Subtle Approach II | Enemy Sight Range -10% | Though Albatross isn't a trusting man, he's grown to like you. With him as your handler, you have a master of infiltration watching over you and giving you pointers. |
Neutral to Trusted | The Subtle Approach | Enemy Sight Range -5% | Albatross is a veteran of countless covert operations. As your handler, he imparts some of his cautious methodology on you. |
Disliked | Competition | Endurance +5 | You don't trust Albatross, and he doesn't trust you. This animosity keeps you going when pain might slow you down. |
Animosity or Hatred | Competition II | Endurance +10 | The only thing worse than Albatross' voice in your earpiece is the thought of his smug grin if you died. That thought alone leaves you unwilling to give up in the face of grievous harm. |
Dossier Locations[]
- Moscow, purchased from the clearinghouse.
- Taipei, gained from Albatross at the end of the Investigate Warehouse District Data Trail mission.
- Taipei, gained from an email tap in place at the G22 network, provided that you bugged all 6 servers in the Investigate Warehouse District Data Trail mission, then bluff Albatross after the taps are discovered (leaving one in place).
Mission Appearances[]
A mission listed in italics means that msision does not to be completed to complete a playthrough. The words (Determinant) mean this character only may appear in that mission.
Moscow
- Intercept Surkov at US Embassy (Determinant)
- Assault Brayko's Mansion (Determinant; Can be killed)
Taipei
Endgame
- Infiltrate Alpha Protocol (Determinant)
Trivia[]
- You can go through a playthrough without ever meeting him (the same is true for Sis).
- Albatross is the most mysterious character in the game, offering very little insight into his background, personality or the purpose of his organization.
- According to his dossier, Albatross takes his name from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In this poem, the Mariner kills an albatross needlessly, and then spends most of the poem suffering karmic retribution while wearing the dead albatross around his neck as a symbol of his guilt. This implies that Albatross sees himself as both victim and vengeance. He may feel that he was betrayed by his former employers (conceivably the "G19" predecessor to Alpha Protocol itself), and his current activities are meant to act as an "albatross around the neck" of intelligence agencies who would pursue a destructive agenda.
- If you kill him in Assault Brayko's Mansion and then afterwards do the Investigate Warehouse District Data Trail mission, an email forwarded to you by Mina afterwards will confirm that G22 is still operating, meaning that Albatross's position was either taken over or that there are people in the organization above him.
- Albatross views Sis as something of a daughter to him, very protective of the girl. The mention of the St. George and the Dragon tale also implies that he is a danger to her in some way.
Gallery[]
[v] |
---|
Graybox Alan Parker, Henry Leland, Michael Thorton, Mina Tang, Sean Darcy, Yancy Westridge |
Graybox Factions Alpha Protocol, Halbech Corporation, U.S. Military Alpha Protocol |
Saudi Arabia Ali Shaheed, Omar Mohammed bin Nasri, , Al-Samad Lieutenant, Scarlet Lake |
Saudi Arabia Factions Al-Samad |
Rome Conrad Marburg, Gelateria Nico Proprietor, Jibril Al-Bara, Madison Saint James |
Rome Factions CIA, Deus Vult |
Moscow Albatross, Championchik, Grigori Pazinhov, Konstantin Brayko, SIE, Sergei Surkov, Sis |
Moscow Factions G22, Russian Mafia, Surkov's Guards, VCI |
Taipei Hong Shi, Omen Deng, Ronald Sung, Steven Heck, Wen Shu |
Taipei Factions Chinese Secret Police, NSB, White Oak Mountain Triad |