Kasumi: Stealing Memory

Master thief Kasumi Goto has a problem: A ruthless arms dealer named Donovan Hock killed her partner, Keiji Okuda, and stole Okuda's graybox, a neural implant that stores memories and information. Kasumi has planned a daring heist to recover Okuda's graybox and has asked for help in pulling it off. Once this is done, Kasumi can dedicate all her attention to completing Shepard's mission.

Acquisition
This mission is acquired after recruiting Kasumi on the Citadel. Like Zaeed: The Price of Revenge, this mission doesn't require the mission on Horizon to be completed first. Another similarity is that there's almost "no work needed" to acquire the character, as compared to the missions leading up to recruiting any other characters. However, the combat portions of the mission are substantially more difficult than most loyalty missions, due to the unusually high number of enemies in most encounters and the lack of a third squad member.

Head to Bekenstein in the Boltzmann system of the Serpent Nebula cluster to begin.

Traveling to the Party
Only Shepard and Kasumi take part in this mission. On the ride over you can ask about your cover &mdash; either Solomon or Allison Gunn, depending on Shepard's gender &mdash; and your formal outfit. Kasumi will go over the plan and every detail of it. In a nutshell: you will be going to a party at Hock's house, which will feature some of the biggest scumbags in the galaxy. You and Kasumi will break into Hock's vault and grab the graybox of Kasumi's deceased partner and lover, Keiji, which literally contains a snapshot of his brain. You will bring in a tribute in the form of a statue of Saren, which actually conceals your weapons and armor. Once inside you will arm up, break into the vault, obtain the graybox and leave Hock's complex.

At the Party
When you arrive at the entrance to the party, one of the Eclipse guards takes some issue with your gift and begins scanning it, which brings Hock out. Respond in any way you wish, then the guard turns up nothing and Hock lets you proceed in but insists that your friend (Kasumi) must stay outside, because Hock doesn’t like the way she looks. Respond to that and Kasumi will pull you aside and is understandable to why she must wait outside. Then Kasumi activates her cloak and heads inside with you.

When you are inside move through the party and enjoy yourself while you can. When you reach the end of the corridor off to the left is a security office that Kasumi says you will need to get access to eventually. Then she reminds you about the vault so move on. Hock is currently unavailable for talking at the moment so move out onto the deck and read a datapad. Apparently there is a Chief Roe in charge and Kasumi says that if you can get into the guards' communications it would help. See below.

Heading back inside there is a door that leads to Hock private quarters and is guarded by a merc, Samuels. You can’t get in yet so move to the vault on the lower level.

Getting Into the Vault
When you get close to the door, Kasumi decloaks and examines the vault door. After examining it closely, she says that three things are needed: cut the power to the kinetic barrier, get samples of Hock's DNA from his private quarters for the DNA scanner, and record a voice sampling so Kasumi can reconstruct the password using a programmed version of Hock's voice.

Voice Lock
Go talk to Hock; follow Kasumi's advice and keep him talking. Use the Paragon or Renegade options to draw Hock into giving a speech, giving Kasumi plenty of material. If you don't have enough morality points, you will have to use the correct dialogue options to keep him talking long enough to get a sample. Head to the security office and Kasumi will decloak, bypass the lock and take out the two Eclipse mercs in the room. Once they fall, Kasumi will say to look around. Access the safe for credits, and the medical station next to it for Medi-gel. On the other side of the room is a datapad with the password for the lock. You can now bypass the voice scanner.

DNA
To obtain Hock's DNA you need to get into his private rooms. You have two options for this; one involves subterfuge, the other brute force.

The subtle method requires convincing the guard (Samuels) outside Hock's quarters to let you in. Before he will allow you access, he will want to verify your access with the head of Hock's private security team (Chief Roe). You will need to enter the Security Room (left of where Hock is standing), take out two Eclipse guards, and read the datapad on the desk. The datapad has the password ("Peruggia"), and after reading it, Kasumi will say that she now has a sample of Chief Roe's voice. (While you're at it, access the wall safe and medical station nearby.) Then, when talking to Samuels, say you have clearance and he will call Chief Roe. Kasumi will tap into the conversation, pretending to be the security chief, and provide you access. Head down the stairs and into the bedroom. If you didn't examine the datapad on the terrace, then the dialogue option for verification with Chief Roe will not appear.

The brute force option is to break into the bedroom from the balcony outside. Head outside and towards the right side nearest the bedroom (the opposite side of the balcony where Chief Roe's datapad is found). There will be a prompt, "Balcony Railing", where you can jump down. When you land Kasumi decloaks and now you have to fight three Eclipse guards that are outside the building. There is little cover so use your pistol and powers to take out the guards. When they are down, head up the fallen panel and onto the ledge. Shoot out the window and head inside. Be warned that because you snuck in, if you activate the alarm clock in Hock's bedroom it will summon two more guards.

To get all the credits, first head to the security office and go either way you choose because both will be available. There are many things to search. Kasumi recommends the quick and quiet approach, and that's good advice.
 * Couch 1: DNA
 * Couch 2: 1 credit
 * Wineglass: DNA
 * Ashtray: Nothing
 * Plants: Nothing
 * Papers: Gives details on how Hock has been trying to crack graybox, he hasn’t yet.
 * Bypass the wall safe for 7800 credits
 * Antique weapons set: DNA but contaminated
 * Keyboard: Nothing
 * Datapad: See below and DNA
 * Alarm Clock: Wakeup call, which will summon guards to attack you if you broke in through the window.
 * Pillow: Nothing

There are multiple copies of some things but each item can only be scanned once.

When you have enough, Kasumi will say when, leave and head back up. If you snuck in, and didn't activate the alarm clock during your search, you will have to fight two guards on the way out.

Lights Out
The barrier power coils are along the floor to the right when you exit the vault. Kasumi will reset your Omni-tool to scan for the power source. Head up the stairs ahead and around until you reach the fireplace. Pull the statue on the wall and that will disable the barrier.

When you have all three head back to the vault and bypass the security systems.

The Vault
Kasumi will disable the security while Shepard straps on armor and both grab weapons. As you emerge into the vault Kasumi will trace the signal from the box and you can admire some of the works. Among them are Michelangelo's David, a krogan statue, a Rachni Queen statue, a turian sculpture, a statue of a Creature, a scale statue of the Kara (known as 'the turian Titanic'), some old quarian stone tablets, an ancient Egyptian statue, a Prothean statue, and the head of the Statue of Liberty.

On the table with the graybox are a pair of M-12 Locust submachine guns. Grab the graybox to progress, Kasumi starts to crack it and a holographic head of Hock threatens the two of you. Use a Renegade interrupt to shut Hock up while Kasumi cracks the graybox. Now Hock calls on his guards to attack. Chief Roe is among them. Use the cover and take them out, but be careful, as Roe's Eclipse troopers will try to flank you, while Roe herself attacks with Combat Drones and Incinerate.

Because all of the enemies will come through the doorway at the end of the vault, they are extremely vulnerable to AoE powers or a blast from a heavy weapon such as the Arc Projector.

Getting Out
Head toward the door that the mercs came out of, be sure to grab Medi-gel from the first aid station before you walk through the door. After you exit the room, you can change out your arsenal at a Weapons Locker on the left. Go through the next door and quickly take cover, because you will come under attack almost instantly from more Eclipse Troopers and an YMIR Mech. Once the YMIR falls, move up and take out the remaining Eclipse. Once you get far enough down the driveways, Hock will seal you in, so head up the stairs to the right and through the door. On your way out, grab the PDA on the floor worth 4,200 credits

At the other end of this hallway are eight YMIR Mechs in storage, however none will activate. Move up to the next door and take cover, because there are more Troopers and an Eclipse Heavy in this room. This room holds even more YMIR Mechs in storage and several missiles that will keep traveling overhead. Eventually you reach a point where you need to blow some tanks, but Eclipse Troopers and some LOKI Mechs won’t make it easy. Take them down before accessing the mass accelerator weapon. The room next to the tanks has some spare parts for salvage in it. If you get into trouble, accessing the mass accelerator cannon will instantly kill almost every enemy in the room, meaning that using Adrenaline Rush, Tactical Cloak, or Tech Armor, you could run past the enemies and trigger the cannon to wipe them all out. Very useful on higher difficulties.

Some Heavy Weapons and the M-98 Widow are also powerful enough to take out the tanks.

Near the cannon is refined platinum, spare parts and Medi-gel. Hock doesn’t sound too happy over the intercom as you move through the hole in the wall, turn right and take cover. More Troopers, a Heavy, and another YMIR will be coming down on the attack, so use cover and take them all out. When they are all down, move up, but take note of the cover as a truck will pull up with two more Troopers, a Vanguard and a Heavy on it. Move as you need to in order to take them out.

Once they are down, head for the door. You'll find a tech damage research upgrade and Medi-gel, so grab them. As you enter the next room, Hock will tell his forces to keep you busy, as he will handle the situation himself. You will encounter Troopers, a Vanguard, and a Heavy in here, so watch your step. Use the cover near the door, as it gives you clear lines of fire to the whole room. When you move up, more mercs will come out including, a few Eclipse Engineers.

When you take out all the mercs, you'll find some spare parts, two 500-unit crates of refined platinum, a PDA and a storage crate laying round for credits and resources. When you have everything, head for the door.

Landing Platform
This is probably the most challenging part in Kasumi's loyalty mission, as you will be attacked by mercs, mechs, and a gunship all at once. It is best that you and Kasumi take cover behind the crates right in front of the gate you passed through and stick there for the course of the fight. Changing this position is not recommended because it can expose you to the enemies and you will not be able to have a clear visual on your targets, making you easily vulnerable.

A cutscene plays showing Shepard and Kasumi exiting onto the landing platform. They are suddenly met with a hail of bullets as Hock appears in a fully armored A-61 Mantis Gunship with additional shielding. As they take cover they are met with a wave of mercs and mechs. Deal with the ground forces first as they are likely to flank you and get up close and personal. Shooting at the gunship will be pointless since it will retreat every time a new wave of mercs appear to recharge its shields. It is best to only focus on the waves of ground forces while staying away from the gunship's fire as best you can. Kasumi will soon tell you that if she can get close enough to the gunship she will be able to take out its shields permanently.

Keep in mind that the gunship has two modes of fire: continuous machine gun/cannon, and two rockets in rapid succession. On Insanity difficulty, if Shepard has no protection (shields or barrier), the two rockets will very likely result in instant death. The AI hacking ability is very useful here, to keep the mechs from advancing on your safe position and annoy your foes.

There are two ways to get to the point where Kasumi takes down the shields on the gunship. There is a set dialogue string from Hock that you can let play out as you fight off recurring waves of guards, or you can skip some waves by taking down the shields yourself once, and allow Hock to re-appear with the shields recharged. Either way will lead to the cutscene and eventual final showdown. It also doesn't seem to matter that Kasumi might be down at this time, she will miraculously come back to life and perform her astonishing gymnastics, so save your medi-packs if you are close to this point.

Keep ignoring the gunship and focus on the mercs since after eliminating them, you will be treated to a cutscene where Kasumi pulls off some amazing acrobatics and disables the gunship's shields. Now Hock's gunship will be like any other gunship that Shepard has encountered. Keep chipping away at its armor until it is destroyed, although the priority is still the mercs on the ground. When the gunship is finally destroyed, along with Hock, Shepard's shuttle will arrive on the other side of the landing platform. Before entering the shuttle, be sure to scout around for four packs of Medi-gel and some power cells you might want to grab before leaving.

Shuttle Ride Back
The shuttle will touch down and on the ride back Kasumi will examine the graybox and be treated to memories of her time with Keiji, as well as a warning: if the information in his graybox were made public, the consequences for the Alliance could be severe. She has trouble letting go, and the scenes behind her show that their relationship was much more than professional. After the scene is over, you can persuade Kasumi to keep or destroy the box. Regardless of your decision, Kasumi will be loyal to you.

Enemies

 * Chief Roe
 * Donovan Hock/shielded A-61 Mantis Gunship
 * Eclipse Engineer
 * Eclipse Heavy
 * Eclipse Security Guard
 * Eclipse Trooper
 * Eclipse Vanguard
 * LOKI Mech
 * YMIR Mech

Mission Summary
The heist was successful, Keiji Okuda’s graybox was recovered and destroyed/remains in Kasumi Goto’s possession.

Donovan Hock was killed in the destruction of his gunship. Kasumi is loyal.


 * Experience: 750 (937)
 * Credits: 60,001
 * Cerberus Funding: 30,000
 * Credits Found: 30,001
 * Weapons
 * M-12 Locust
 * Resources
 * Platinum: 2,000
 * Upgrades
 * Tech Damage
 * Powers Unlocked
 * Flashbang Grenade

Trivia

 * Once the mission is completed, the formal wear becomes one of the casual outfits Shepard can wear while aboard the Normandy.
 * The Creature statue is a reference to Dragon Age: Origins, another BioWare game, as it is identical to the Ogre found in Dragon Age.
 * The name of the achievement for completing this mission is called "Broke, Blind, and Bedlam," which is a possible reference to Ocean's Eleven. In the film, the explosives expert, Basher, is tasked with throwing the power so the heist can take place. In response, he asks "Do you want broke, blind, or bedlam?" to which Danny Ocean says, "How about all three?"
 * On a television, in the security room where Shepard learns the password for the vault, an image from Mass Effect Galaxy can be seen showing Nax firing his assault rifle.
 * As Kasumi covertly enters Donovan Hock's vault, she is seen in security camera footage for a few moments. However, the camera stutters, and Kasumi seems to vanish instantly. This scene may also be another reference to Ocean's Eleven, in which a similar scene occurs as a result of the team rigging the casino's security feed to display footage from an empty replica of the room they will actually be entering.
 * After examining the Statue of Liberty's Head, there is a Codex entry which details how it got detached in the first place.
 * While walking around the party, guests will comment on various missions that you have or haven't completed yet.
 * When Keiji's avatar reveals the sensitive information stored in the graybox, an image of what appears to be a Reaper (possibly Sovereign) is seen in the first frame.
 * In the inaccessible area of Hock's art gallery behind Liberty's head, there appear two pieces of art that resemble miniature mass relays similar to the mass relay monument found in the Citadel's Presidium.
 * The line Kasumi speaks upon an examination of the head of the Statue of Liberty is possibly a reference to the film Planet of the Apes (1968). The character George Taylor, after seeing the head of the destroyed Statue of Liberty, exclaims, "You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" Kasumi says, "Damn you, Hock!"