Odysseus

"Menendez, successfully captured during the Yemen assault, is brought on board the USS Barack Obama for immediate interrogation."

- Mission description

"Odysseus" is the ninth mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops II that takes place on the U.S.S. Barack Obama. After capturing Raul Menendez, the ship comes under attack.

Characters

 * David Mason (playable)
 * Raul Menendez (playable)
 * Mike Harper (Alive/not present) (Player-determined)
 * Javier Salazar (Captured/K.I.A.) (Player-determined)
 * Crosby (W.I.A.)
 * Tommy Briggs (W.I.A/K.I.A.) (Player-determined)
 * David Petraeus (cutscene only)
 * Chloe Lynch (W.I.A/K.I.A./not present) (Player-determined)
 * Farid (K.I.A./not present) (Player-determined)
 * DeFalco (Alive/K.I.A/not present) (Player-determined)

Plot
The mission begins with Menendez being interrogated, while speaking to David Mason. As the interrogation continues, Admiral Briggs reports that enemy drones are attacking the Obama. Menendez is freed by Salazar (without David knowing), knocks out David and Salazar, and then escapes. The player must make his way through the level, at a part of the mission, into the security room. Believing that there is only one option left, Admiral Briggs reboots the sytem, which unfortunately shuts down the security, allowing Menendez to break through. The player then plays as Menendez and goes into the server room, and holds Briggs hostage. As he walks into the control room, threatening the soldiers that he will kill Briggs if his demands are not followed. As Briggs tells the soldiers and Salazar to shoot Menendez, Salazar then betrays them by killing the two soldiers, and either Chloe Lynch (Karma) or Farid (depending on the choice in the previous mission). If DeFalco is still alive he will grab Chloe and slit her throat. Then Menendez must make the choice as to whether to shoot Briggs in the head or leg. Menendez then hacks the U.S. command network and takes control of the entire U.S. miltary drone fleet. If Admrial Briggs is killed then he cannot reactivate the ships' defences, leaving them to sink. If he lives, the ships' defences will come back online and the ship is saved. After Section breaks in through the vent, he will check on the wounded and see what Menendez has done. Mason alerts the ship crew that Salazar is a traitor and soon he is captured by friendly forces. After Mason catches up he will interrogate Salazar and when finished will either be taken prisoner or if Harper is still alive, executed. Then, as Mason and Harper reach the upper deck, they run into more enemy forces, and eventually get into one of their jets, where Crosby is waiting. As they take off, Crosby is shot in the arm by a Merc soldier, who is killed by Harper. (If he survived Achillie's Veil. If not the merc will be killed by Section.)

Video Walkthrough
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Challenges
Completing 5 challenges unlocks the Assault Shield for single player loadout.
 * Locate gift in Mason's state room.
 * Incapacitate enemy personnel (x20) using Combatant Suppression Knuckles.
 * Provide sniper overwatch for SEAL team advance across flight deck.
 * Eliminate enemy personnel (x10) with security turret.
 * Destroy security turret (x3) while disabled.
 * Eliminate airborne enemies (x8) before they land.
 * Direct CLAW to eliminate enemy personnel (x5).
 * Get to extraction in under 90 seconds.
 * Collect intel (x3).
 * 100% survivability rating.

Access Kit

 * Combatant Suppression Knuckles are available at the beginning of the mission, just after the interrogation scene. When Salazar opens the weapon room, the player can find a closed case on the nearby console. The knuckles are found inside.
 * Control over the security turrets. After Raul Menendez escapes the interrogatory room and David reaches the servers room, there will be an panel that grants access to the room's security turret. This happens again in the ship's pipe room.
 * Upon reaching the flight deck, immediately to the left is a control station which is blocked by a wreckage. Accessing this station activates one of the CLAWs you can use to clear a path towards the awaiting VTOL.

Trivia

 * The gift in Section's state room that is collected to complete a challenge is a piece of paper with the poem "Ulysses" on it. "Ulysses" is often referenced by Menendez throughout the campaign. The writing on the paper can be best seen with a sniper scope.
 * When picking up the piece of paper in Section's room, to the right from the door is a group of sticky notes. One of them reads "Zombies are coming", which is a reference to the Zombies mode.
 * If the player doesn't shoot Briggs, Salazar will knock him out, but Briggs will still act as he was shot and Section will tell the soldier to take him to the sick bay.
 * When Salazar betrays the group, and the player enables the Graphic Content Filter, Briggs will say "You rotten traitor!" instead of "You rotten cocksucker!".
 * If both Farid and DeFalco are alive in this mission, DeFalco will be killed (Farid too), but even though Menendez and DeFalco were very close, Menendez doesn't seem to react to DeFalco's death.
 * This mission can have various outcomes (as well as having the most out of any other mission).
 * In the opening of the mission, Secretary Petraeus will say to Admiral Briggs, "We got him." This same quote was said when Saddam Hussein was captured.
 * If both DeFalco and Farid are killed in previous missions, Salazar will kill Chloe and she falls to the left, but later her body will lie the same way when DeFalco kills her.
 * When the player goes inside David "Section" Mason's room, pictures of an unknown woman and several children can be seen on the wall. It is possible that they could be Section's family.
 * If DeFalco was killed in "Karma", the PMC has an American name and an American accent.
 * This mission is the only mission where the player won't start with the weapons they picked/customized prior to it, but these weapons are available in a weapons cache.
 * If DeFalco is still alive, he will hold an M8A1, with no attachments, before moving up. If he was killed, a Merc will hold an M8A1 with possible some attachments. The Merc can possibly hold an M27 instead. On some occasions, DeFalco will have an M8A1 with an Extended Clip, which can be picked up later.
 * If the player decided to kill Harper in "Achilles' Veil", Farid will appear on the Obama, but will still be killed. The way Farid is killed depends on whether Karma was rescued or not and how she was rescued. If she was rescued in "Karma", Salazar will try to shoot Karma, but Farid jumps in front of her to take the shot, Karma will then attempt to disarm Salazar, who in return knocks her in the eye, but not killing her. If Karma was rescued in "Second Chance", after Salazar kills the two soldiers, DeFalco will knock Karma unconscious. Farid will then take his own gun out and kill DeFalco by shooting him from behind, Salazar will then kill Farid. If Karma wasn't rescued in either "Karma" or "Second Chance", DeFalco will live and appear on the Obama. After Salazar kills the two soldiers, Farid will quickly take his gun and shoot DeFalco, who kills Farid just before his own death. DeFalco will only appear if he wasn't killed in "Karma".
 * Karma's fate depends on whether she was rescued or not, as well as whether Farid was alive or not. Karma may only live if Farid survived "Achilles' Veil". If she was rescued in "Karma", but Farid was killed in "Achilles' Veil", after Salazar kills the two soldiers, he will aim his gun at Karma, who surrenders herself, but Salazar still decides to kill her. If Karma was rescued in "Second Chance", after Salazar kills the two soldiers, DeFalco will grab Karma from behind then slice her throat open with a knife, killing her. If Karma is not rescued in "Karma" and "Second Chance", she will remain in captivity. She will survive but will not appear again in campaign.
 * Salazar's Fate depends on whether or not Harper was killed in "Achilles' Veil", if Harper was killed, then Salazar is simply taken into custody. If Harper wasn't killed, he will execute Salazar.
 * If Salazar was executed by Harper, aiming the crosshair on his body will display his name as if he was still alive. Shooting or knifing Salazar's body will result in mission failure, ironically displaying "Friendly fire will not be tolerated!".
 * If the player chooses to kill Briggs, Salazar will complain about being promised there would be no unnecessary deaths. Depending on the players choices, this is somewhat odd as only seconds before he shot and killed an unarmed civilian. Salazar may have decided to kill Karma due to her being the only person capable of cracking the Celerium worm.
 * It is unknown why even though Salazar executes Karma should Farid not be present, if he sacrifices himself for her he merely knocks her out when she tries to disarm him. It is possibly Salazar, feeling guilt about being a traitor, decided to spare her in honor of Farid.
 * Another outcome in this mission is the alliance with the US and China. If all the Strike Force missions were completed before this mission, then the SDC will ally with JSOC and assist in the protecting the Obama. However, in order to prevent the Obama from being destroyed, Briggs must be wounded, not killed.
 * If Harper executes Salazar, an M27 will appear hovering in the air just to the player's left once the scene has concluded.
 * Just during the beginning of the mission, the player can go into the right hallway and open the first door into Mason's room. Inside, there is a small piece of paper, which has the poem Ulysses written on it, lying on the table. Grabbing the paper will complete a challenge. The poem may have been written by and given to Mason from Menendez.
 * If DeFalco is killed earlier in the game, a Mercenary will take his place and proceed in the same role.
 * If DeFalco is in this mission, the line that he says will be in subtitles. However, if Mercenary is instead of DeFalco, and while he speaks, the line will not be in subtitles.
 * The Mercenary's rank may vary. The lowest rank seems to be Private.
 * The briefing room seen during the Strike Force mission cutscenes can be found in this level.
 * During the opening cutscene, when Menendez gets out of the VTOL, "Chasing a Ghost", a track from Black Ops II OST, can be heard.
 * Also, when the player gets to the flight deck, On Deck can be heard.
 * The mission's name references a fictional Greek king who built a Trojan Horse to trick the Trojans and enter Troy, Menendez also tricked David to capture him so he could upload a virus into the ship's system. It also references the poem Menendez recites to his followers - Odysseus' name was, at one point, Ulysses.
 * If the player decides to shoot off all 5 bullets without hitting Briggs (or not shooting Briggs at all), he will try to attack, only to be knocked out by Salazar.
 * An interesting sequence of events may occur if this mission is completed and unlocked to be replayed, but the story rewind function is used on any level before Achilles' Veil, both Harper and Farid will be alive in this mission. Farid will kill DeFalco as normal, but then if Judgement Day is played, DeFalco will still be alive and be killed as well. Technically speaking, if DeFalco was not killed in the level Karma, and the story not progressed past Achilles Veil', DeFalco dies twice.
 * This mission is the last time Briggs and Salazar appear in the campaign, whether they are killed or not on this level.
 * When the player takes control of Section again, he sees Salazar shoot the two soldiers, and seconds later he sees Menendez from his HUD glasses. It's possible that when he sees Salazar shoot the soldiers was banded.
 * In the interrogation scene, when Mendenez talks to David, the player can hear Nino Precioso from Time and Fate, but is barely to be heard.
 * When Menendez is uploading the virus, Salazar is holding a pistol, but if the player looks at his holsters, Salazar already has two pistols in his holsters.
 * If Harper was killed, Section will shoot the Merc in the end of the mission with a Five Seven with his left hand, this is the only time in game someone does that without Dual Wield attachment. Also, Section's Five Seven sounds different than other Five Sevens. It sounds like Harper's M27, if still alive.
 * This level has a similar structure with the Black Ops level Redemption; both take place on a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, the main protagonist and antagonist are on board, and both involve the planting/prevention of a virus/sleeper code that may threaten the national security in the United States.
 * If both Farid and DeFalco are present and Karma is not, they will kill each other, and DeFalco's Five Seven can be picked up and it might have camouflage on it, even though it didn't have it before.
 * The SEALs that holds the three PMCs prisoners has no mag' in their M8A1.
 * Interestingly, if DeFalco is present, the technician he took prisoner during Salazar's betrayal is nowhere to be seen when DeFalco approaches Chloe or Farid, the same occurs with the Mercenary, who vanishes along with the technician if he is present.
 * During the interrogation, Salazar punches Menendez in the face, and Menendez gets a large swelling, but when Section sees Menendez on the cameras, there's no swelling.
 * When Menendez is holding Briggs hostage, he cocks his revolver, but when he's going to shoot Briggs, it's uncocked.
 * After choosing Briggs' fate, while Menendez is sitting on the chair, it is possible to see Menendez' headless body (PC Confirmed).
 * If Harper died during the previous mission, Briggs will instead fill his role.
 * When as Menendez, every American in the room is shown as friendly, except for Briggs (as Menendez is going to shoot him, it shows red).
 * After Harper kills Salazar (player-determined), the player can pick up Salazar's Five Seven. For obvious reasons, it only holds 17/18 bullets (based on the choices in the campagin).
 * The PMC that is with Menendez (if DeFalco was killed in "Karma") is possible the same Merc that later shoots Crosby in the arm and get killed by Section/Harper.
 * At the beginning of the mission, when the player watches the security camera, Salazar talks to Menendez telling him a not to talk and it will take time for their plan. This is hinting that, Salazar is a traitor inside JSOC.
 * Oddly,If Farid is in this mission Menendez didn't tell Farid to shoot the one of the US Sailors along with Salazar.
 * Menendez' HUD, while being played as during Salazar's betrayal, only shows the objective icon on the top left corner. (The diamond-shaped icon)  This is the only time a feature on HUD glasses worn by 2025 playable characters is seen without wearing them.

Achievements/Trophies
Ship Shape (10 / Bronze Trophy ) - Reinforcements on the way.

Showdown (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - A duel between rivals.

Good Karma (20 / Bronze Trophy ) - Crack the Celerium worm.

Sinking Star (20 / Bronze Trophy ) - Interrogate Menendez.

Futurist (50 / Silver Trophy ) - Complete all future levels in veteran.