This Twine game is based off of the Solo Mission presented in PARANOIA XP. All concepts, mechanics, and what have you belong to Mongoose Publishing. Stay alert, trust no one, and keep your laser handy. TROUBLESHOOTERS: [[David-R-URK-1]], Technical Services; [[Joshua-R-THR-2]], Technical Services; [[Edith-O-OFX-2]], Technical Services. MISSION: Surveillance systems check, Sector NHB. Rendezvous at NHB Troubleshooter Dispatch at 1300 hours. Investigate suspected sureveillance systems malfunction in residence quarters of INFRARED citizens Lonnie-KKD-3 and Virgil-KKD-4. [[Residence coordinates F6KKD]].

That's you. You were promoted from INFRARED clearance for reporting a co-worker when she pocketed a baggie of Cold Fun on her way back from lunch. Sometimes you think about her blank, uncomprehending face as they dragged her away for repatterning. Not often, though. Your job since your promotion has been twofold: maintenance clone for NHB sector housing units, and [[Troubleshooting]]. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

You know Joshua-R well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. He's a shifty sort, to be sure - you've seen him eyeing bots like the [[GREEN goons]] eye you in the lunch line. Hopefully he gets killed by a scrubot or something before he wrecks up the mission. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

You haven't seen her before. She's ORANGE clearance, which means she's your team leader, and has probably survived at least one Troubleshooter mission that's seen [[action]]. All things considered, you hope she gets herself killed trying to score another promotion before she unloads all the blame for the mission on you. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

Friend Computer, in its wisdom, knows that Internal Security can't keep eyes on every clone at all times. Armed Forces can't firebomb every barracks suspected of harboring Communist sympathies either, much to their regret. Enter Troubleshooters - armed and armored citizens recruited for their loyalty to Alpha Complex and ambition to rise through the ranks of the Complex's finest traitor-hunters. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

Internal Security is known for two things, publically: The BLUE-clearance troopers you see all the time in newsvids and on HIL-Sector Blues, flying around in heavily armored transbots and firing slugthrowers at dangerous traitors and criminals... And the GREEN-clearance troopers who you see every day. IntSec picks the biggest, dumbest, and most violent INFRAREDS they can find from each sector, and tells them to guard low-clearance toll booths, housing units, and shopping centers. They alternate between extreme violence and random extortion based on their mood. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

The briefing they give you at Troubleshooter Command is a joke. The enemy is everywhere, infiltrating everything, spying on everyone, and yet they are always mere days from their complete defeat. Every mission you hear about publically ends in two ways: Most of or the entire Troubleshooter team was discovered to be traitors, who were swiftly executed, repatterned, and demoted to INFRARED, or The mission was a complete success, delivering a crushing blow to the last remnants of traitorous elements in the Complex, or the last group of unregistered mutants, or the last real Communist cell. Your friends in [[Pro Tech]] offer a [[different story]]. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

Pro Tech. One of the few groups of really smart, creative people in the Complex. Sure, Corpore Metal and the Phreaks have their places, but Pro Tech were the people who pulled you out of the factory line and gave you your freedom. All it cost to enter was a stolen laser and a blast in the right back. It was your first kill - but you don't even remember his name. Pro Tech told you about the way things [[really are|different story]]. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

Friend Computer wants our home, Alpha Complex, to be perfect. There are, to its chagrin, three problems that plague it: 1. Communists. Your friends in Pro Tech assert that Communism is long dead, and the Computer is chasing shadows. Communism, as far as you're concerned, is a scapegoat for every half-ass job you do and every inconvenient person you want to terminate. 2. Mutants. Friend Computer wants pure human DNA, but you don't have to be Pro Tech to know how common mutations are. Hell, it's an open secret in Tech Services that the cloning process introduces genetic drift in the vast majority of the population - even still, admitting [[you're a mutant]] would earn you a bright yellow stripe on your lapel and hard stares from the rest of the hypocrites that wouldn't join you. 3. Secret societies generally. The Computer treats Communism like cancer, but groups like Pro Tech and the Phreaks aren't held in much esteem either. Still, having friends in low places is the only way to climb higher - and besides, they're your people! Tech-heads like you, who want to tinker and test and create! [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

Yeah, you're a mutant. If you still your breathing and focus, you can see things in incredible detail - like you're using binoculars that focus by themselves at whatever you want. It's real handy at finding fiddly little parts in toolboxes while on the job, and your Pro Tech friends like having someone who can tell exactly what wire they need for a new project from down the hall. Still, you haven't registered your power with the Computer. It's not a huge issue, not like those poor bastards born with Machine Empathy or Electroshock: the worst you'll get if you're found out is a censure and a yellow stripe. [[Back to the lineup?|Beginning]]

From your mission brief, the most this "mission" will involve is finding the security cameras in some INFRARED drone-hut and patching a failed wire or scraping tape off the lenses. Still, something about sending an ORANGE clearance Troubleshooter puts you off. You could [[accept the mission]], or you could [[try to wriggle out of it, somehow]].

You tap "accept" on your commlink and hustle to Troubleshooter Dispatch. In the bustle of the plaza, you find an empty terminal. After logging your name and mission code, you receive a message about a Bonus Duty from [[R&D]]: "Hello, Troubleshooters! Your friends in Research and Development have developed a new anti-personnel weapon - the X324-09 Neurostunner! This weapon delivers a non-lethal charge to your target that paralyzes them from the neck down thanks to patented..." The message dissolves into technobabble from there. What you know is that R&D has another untested weapon and needs a goober to fire it and live to tell them what happens. [[You're just the goober they want!]] [[You're no one's goober.]]

You decide to go to the bathroom instead of making muster at Troubleshooter Dispatch. At 1312, a GREEN goon kicks down your door and guns you down in the stall for dereliction of duty. [[At least it's better than the food vats.|Beginning]]

Research and Development, according to Friend Computer, houses the cutting edge of experimental technology. The brilliant scientists and engineers within are committed to applying said edge to the screaming face of the Commie Mutant Traitor menace. Your limited experience with that group has painted them as a group of baffling lunatics with too much plasma and too few blueprints. You signed on to Tech Services because you wanted to work with technology, not poke at it until it takes your hand. Friend Computer, in its wisdom, tends to throw the R&D projects closest to completion at Troubleshooter teams: if it works, or at least if it doesn't blow up or melt, it's usually slated for production. If it *does* blow up or melt or what have you, it's usually blamed on the Troubleshooters for mishandling the [[dangerously experimental equipment|accept the mission]].

An overcharged laser gun that *doesn't* kill the target? Are we Junior Commie Hunters now? No, R&D can find some other poor clone to foist their toys on today. You close the Bonus Duty window without rejecting it - if they ask, you were too excited to begin the mission to notice the message. [[You hustle your prudent bustle to the rendezvous point.|on the way]] (set: $hasneuro to 'false')

You steel your nerves - the "neurostunner" could be exactly the ace in the hole you need to live through this mission. You tap "yes" on the terminal, and go to the R&D kiosk down the hall. An ORANGE-clearance dispatcher looks at your badge, then at his terminal, and puts what looks like a fancy laser pistol on the counter. He leans back into his chair and picks his magazine back up without a word. [[Ask after the device's effects?]] [[Leave the citizen to his magazine and hurry along.]] (set: $hasneuro to 'true')

Without looking up from his magazine, he says: "That information is not available at your security clearance." You figured that's what he would say. [[That said...]]

He probably doesn't know, and you probably aren't cleared to know how to use this thing anyway. [[That said...]]

You make it to the headquarters conference room in plenty of time - they aren't waiting around for you, but both of their toolkits are sitting on the floor behind the door.You can hear the sound of a woman speaking sharply to a man in the next room, but you cannot make out what she's saying. [[Time to poke around their toolkits for contraband and Cold Fun.]] [[Time to eavesdrop.]] [[Time to play the Quiet Game.]]

You didn't sign on with Pro Tech for the cool clothes. If you could find a quiet corner and a few seconds of privacy, you could probably figure out how this thing works. That said, you might break it trying, or activate some nasty anti-tampering tech. [[The Computer favors the bold.]] [[There's no need to risk it - just point and shoot, right?]]

You duck behind a nearby confession booth rattling with the sounds of drills and desperate sobbing, then pry open the side of the neurostunner. The powerpack is incredibly outsized, and there's no method to control how much power will be put in to any shot - one credit would get you ten that it'll blow up after a single blast. Good to know. [[You put the gun back together - it's time to make the rendezvous.|on the way]]

You pocket the neurostunner without so much as a glance. You're sure it works like every other gun you've ever fired. It's time to make the [[rendezvous.|on the way]]

Once inside the cramped foyer, she sends Joshua-R into the [[common room]] to check the master surveillance unit, and orders you into the [[sleeping room]] to examine the remote unit there. Edith-O checks over Joshua-R's work, then examines your progress, then moves to the foyer and withdraws a strange device to scan the walls of the room. From across the hall you can see Joshua-R futzing with something in the common room. He's out of Edith-O's sight, and doesn't notice you looking at him. You can't see too well from here, but you could use your mutant power, [[Hypersenses,]] to try to pick out what he's doing. [[Time to focus. *Really* focus.|Spy on Joshua-R]] [[Focus on your work, not on your co-workers.|Joshua-R's ambush]]

An INFRARED's idea of a good time is fresh medication and an empty work docket. As such, the common room of the quarters consists of a pair of black plastic chairs, a small table, and a viewscreen on the wall that looks like it hasn't seen repair in years. [[It's one of the reasons you were willing to kill to get out of INFRARED.|inside the room]]

INFRARED sleeping quarters are large enough to accommodate a small bunkbed, a two-drawer dresser, and a poster featuring Friend Computer's unblinking eye. The poster says "OBEY YOUR FRIEND, THE COMPUTER" in black font. This poster is what passes for luxury in an INFRARED mind. You would kill dozens of people to stay out of INFRARED now that you're out. [[You don't know how you ever stood to live like this.|inside the room]]

Yeah, you're a mutant. If you still your breathing and focus, you can see things in incredible detail - like you're using binoculars that focus by themselves at whatever you want. It's real handy at finding fiddly little parts in toolboxes while on the job, and your Pro Tech friends like having someone who can tell exactly what wire they need for a new project from down the hall. And, as it happens, [[there's some creep down the hall who's futzing with something, and Hypersenses could help distinguish what's happening.|inside the room]]

Your irises shift and twist in your eyeballs as your focus is trained on Joshua-R... He's got a GREEN clearance laser barrel, and he's affixing it to his laser! Neither you nor Edith have any defence against a laser of that strength. [[Warn Edith-O - he'll kill you after drilling the team lead!]] [[Say nothing - you might be able to use this.|Joshua-R's ambush]]

Passing through the Troubleshooter Dispatch plaza, a passerby gives you a Pro Tech recognition sign, and whispers: "Confession booth with cracked door. Vital message." Your comrade passes by without another word. The signal was current - there probably *is* a message waiting for you. And look - there's a confession booth in the bank of them ahead of you with a crack in the door. [[You still have time - what does Pro Tech have for you?]] [[You don't have time for these nerds - you have to make the rendezvous!|Rendezvous]]

The confession booths are never roomy, but this one is claustrophobic. The viewscreen is off, mercifully, and you can see a CruncheeTym algae chip lying on the floor. There's a message written in the dye, too small for anyone without your power to read: "Edith-O IntSec. Terminate." That complicates matters. Edith-O has access to better weapons and armor - your RED-clearance laser won't punch through her reflec vest. You'll need numbers, or surprise, or preferably both if you want her dead. [[You eat the chip and leave for the rendezvous.|Rendezvous]]

The ORANGE clearance woman addresses you. "David-R? This is Joshua-R and I'm Edith-O. I'm in charge of this operation and don't either of you forget it." Edith-O directs the both of you to pick up your toolkits and follow her. She leads the way to the residence barracks of Lonnie-KKD-3 and Virgil-KKD-4 at F6117/KKD. She produces a magnetic key once the team arrives at the door, and [[opens it wordlessly|inside the room]].

Joshua-R's toolkit contains nothing unusual - he probably keeps the good stuff on him. When you touch Edith-O's toolkit, it immediately sounds a beeping alarm. The voice in the next room stops instantly. [[Shut off that alarm!]] [[Run!|back to Edith]]

You overhear a a woman's voice, sharp and tinged with genuine anger: "-for information of that nature is higfhly inappropriate. For the present I'll content myself to report your request to The Computer. If you show any further suspicious behavior, I shall remove you from this mission. Do you have any idea of the consequences? The subject is closed." You have just enough time to move away from the door and look innocent before [[the speaker enters the room.|Introductions]]

No point in risking your position so early in the mission. After a few seconds a pair of clones [[walk into the conference room|Introductions]].

You can't shut off the alarm quickly or easily. A woman with cold eyes appears at the door to the next room. She holds a laser pistol, pointed at your chest. [[The jig is up.]] [[Run!|back to Edith]] [[Draw on her!]] [[Fast-talk her!]]

It's a bad idea to turn your back on a Troubleshooter, a worse one to a Troubleshooter that outranks you with a reason to fire, and a terminally foolish one to a secret Internal Security agent. Edith-O's laser rips through your back and into your chest, searing your organs. You regain consciousness in a RED sickbay under [[armed guard]].

Edith-O, Internal Security agent, has taken you into custody and reported your behavior to The Computer. David-URK-1 is no longer a Troubleshooter. You are now a low-status INFRARED laborer in the foul-smelling food vats with a record of treasonous behavior. [[Your mission is over. The Computer is your friend.|Beginning]]

You stutter out an apology, saying something about a mandatory equipment check. She doesn't buy it, naturally, and your world goes dark as the butt of the pistol [[collides with your skull|armed guard]].

Your hand flies to your laser holster, but Edith-O already had her gun trained on you. Two shots to your chest and one to your head - you never had a chance. [[At least you didn't die in the food vats.|Beginning]]

You raise your hands and try to fasten a smile on your face... [[You were testing the security measures on the toolboxes, and boy is Edith-O on the ball...|The jig is up.]] [[You wanted to make sure the lock was working on the Team Leader's toolkit...|The jig is up.]] [[You...tripped. Yes. You tripped.]]

Edith-O looks at you like the stuff that falls out of a bad vat of Hot Fun. "Do not touch equipment you are not authorized to use. I will be reporting your clumsiness to The Computer - I hope for your sake The Computer will assign you physical therapy necessary to restore your balance." [[Looks like you're in the clear, inexplicably.|Introductions]]

Edith-O and Joshua-R both hear your shout. Edith-O draws her weapon as Joshua fires a bright green beam from his treasonously altered laser! The laser grazes Edith-O's shoulder, who dives for cover behind a plastic table. [[You've done your bit for Friend Computer - time to hide!]] [[Now's the time to strike: draw a weapon!]] [[Wait and see...|EdithCounterstrike]]

Joshua-R finishes fiddling with his gear, and walks back into the foyer where Edith-O is searching the walls with her mysterious device. He jams the weapoon in her face and blows a hole in Edith-O's head, who crumples silently to the ground. [[Hide!]] [[Talk him down!]] [[Draw on the traitor!]] [[Stare slack-jawed at the traitor!|Killed by Joshua-R]]

You hear the sound of several laser blasts while you do your best to phase into the dresser you're hiding behind. You don't succeed, but you do live through the fight. Edith-O steps into the room, keeping you covered with her pistol until Internal Security arrives with the morgue bot. You haven't exactly acquitted yourself well, but you survived to [[make the necessary repairs on the surveillance equipment in the barracks.|survived mission]]

You check your pockets - (if: $hasneuro is 'true')[[[you have a laser pistol and a neurostunner.->What will you draw?]]]\ (else:)[[[You have a RED laser pistol ready to fire.|use your laser]]]

In the split second before your finger hits the trigger, you realize you have a bead on both Edith-O and Joshua-R. [[Aim for Edith-O!]] [[Aim for Joshua-R!]]

You have an experimental weapon - why not use it? [[Aim at Edith-O, and hold down the trigger!|Weapon malfunction]] [[Aim at Joshua-R, and hold down the trigger!|Weapon malfunction]] [[Aim at Edith-O, and tap the trigger!]] [[Aim at Joshua-R, and tap the trigger!]]

You can [[draw the laser and fire|use your laser]] or you can [[chance it with the neurostunner.|chance it with the neurostunner?]]

Joshua-R looses a second shot at Edith-O, punching a hole in her cover. Edith-O responds with an orange beam dead-center in Joshua-R's chest, silencing him instantly. You have just enough time to register her grin before drilling your team leader in the temple. You have solved the problem of two murderous team members by replacing it with another problem: two dead team members. [[Time to leave. No one will notice two dead Troubleshooters among all the others, right?]] [[Wait for IntSec, and tell them the two Troubleshooters killed each other. Easy commendation.]]

You aim the laser for center-mass, just like that gun nut from Pro Tech taught you! The bright red beam flies at Joshua-R, but bounces harmlessly off his red reflec vest. Despite your failure to harm him, Joshua-R is distracted long enough for Edith-O to break cover and drill him between the eyes with a laser blast of her own, and the traitor drops like a sack of wet concrete. Edith-O holsters her laser and thanks you for your help. Despite her apparent gratitude, she keeps an eye on you (and your laser holster) as you both wait for trhe morgue-bot and the Internal Security team to come pick up the body. [[Edith-O promises to recommend you for promotion for your loyal assistance|survived mission]].

Troubleshooter Dispatch records clearly indicate you were with Edith-O and Joshua-R on this mission. You manage to evade capture for the space of a lunch hour before you feel the sausage-fingered hand of a GREEN goon on your collar. Flight to avoid apprehension is grounds for immediate termination, and that is exactly what happens. The last thing you see is a massive hole in your chest from a point-blank slugthrower shot to the back. [[Despite the pain, this is still better than the food vats.|Beginning]]

Despite the mission to check for equipment malfunction, there was at least one functioning camera at the time of the firefight. It clearly indicates that you shot Edith-O in the head in a grotesque display of treason. Your interrogators remand you to a nearby confession booth for immediate termination. [[As the drills descend upon you, you're still convinced this is better than the food vats.|Beginning]]

You hold the trigger as the internal power pack begins to rattle and shake. After a moment just long enough to cause both Edith-O and Joshua-R to register the impending discharge, the neurostunner explodes in a haze of melted plastic fragments. [[Your weapon hand is badly burned, but it wasn't possible to tell who you fired on.|EdithCounterstrike]]

The powerpack rattles and shakes, and releases a burst of electricity into Edith-O's frame, who goes down twitching and gurgling as the neurostunner melts in your hand, causing severe burns. Joshua-R's face sprints from shock to malicious joy as he levels his laser at you. There's a fair distance between you and the murderous clone. [[He's a bad shot, but that's still a GREEN laser. Time to go.]] [[He's a bad shot. Quick-draw on him with your off hand!]] [[He's a terrible shot. Rush him!]]

The powerpack rattles and shakes, and releases a burst of electricity into Joshua-R's frame, who goes down twitching and gurgling as the neurostunner melts in your hand, causing severe burns. Edith-O whirls to cover you, but when she realizes your weapon has disintegrated and your gun hand is injured, she holsters the laser and administers some first aid. An Internal Security team arrives within minutes. As their docbot bears you away, Edith-O offers a sharp salute in recognition of your valor. A message on your commlink appears on your way to a RED sickbay - Edith-O has underlined your courage and loyalty in her official report. Once you arrive at the RED sickbay, The Computer informs you of a 200-credit reward sent to your account, and an [[Official Commendation for conspicuous valor in action|survived mission]].

Despite the odds, you have survived a Troubleshooter mission. Survival brings benefits - a chance at promotion to ORANGE clearance among them. - Did you eliminate Edith-O? Pro Tech will likely be pleased with you. - Did you report or eliminate a traitor? Promotion is more likely. - Were you upbraided, harassed, or accused of insubordination? You'll probably face probation, [[but it's better than the food vats.|Beginning]]

You take cover behind the dresser in the sleeping room. Joshua-R fires from the foyer and misses, burning off a corner of the cheap container you're hiding behind. [[Fish out a gun and try to return fire!|Draw on the traitor!]] [[Push the dresser out of the room as cover, then make a dash for the exit!]]

You shout at him to calm down and think - you need to put a story together if either of you are going to make it out of this alive! Any hope of negotiation dies as you see the fanatic gleam in his eye - "There's no more time for lies, friend. We need to free humanity from the Machine! One day we'll *all* be free!" [[He levels his laser at you...|Killed by Joshua-R]]

Joshua-R has gone crazy, and killing him is a good way to score points with Troubleshooter Dispatch... At least that's what you think as your hand dives for the pistol. [[Joshua-R, unfortunately, already has his weapon drawn.|Killed by Joshua-R]]

A green laser cuts straight through your red reflec vest, and as the darkness closes in, you smell burning meat and hear Joshua-R... "There, you poor devil - at least you're finally free of the Machine." David-R is dead. Internal Security apprehends Joshua-R in minutes. The charges are treason and destruction of Computer property. A GREEN goon terminates Joshua-R on the spot. [[Still a better fate than the food vats.|Beginning]]

It was risky, but your unorthodox thinking took Joshua by surprise badly enough that his shot only wounded your hand before you dashed out of the residence. In the crowds of INFRARED, pursuit is impossible. You're covered for now. [[Find a terminal and report to Friend Computer!]] [[Find a quiet corner and wait for all this to blow over.]]

Your report is prompt and accurate considering the circumstances. Internal Security agents arrive to cover you and a docbot sees to your injured hand. After an impromptu interrogation by a set of GREEN goons while the docbot patched the worst of the damage, you are sent to a RED sickbay. In sickbay, The Computer informs you of the 200-credit reward you have earned, along with an Official Commendation in your permanent record. IntSec apprehends and [[terminates Joshua-R within minutes of your prompt report.|survived mission]]

A roving Internal Security team follows reports of a RED citizen behaving suspiciously in INFRARED barracks to find you cowering under a lunch table. In absence of contradictory evidence, The Computer finds your flight to avoid apprehension sufficient evidence of dereliction of duty, which is treason, which is punishable by immediate execution. As the sentence is passed through the GREEN goons' commlinks, you close your eyes and remember that [[even death by firing squad is better than the food vats.|Beginning]]

Joshua-R fires at Edith-O, punching a hole through her cover. Unfazed, Edith-O's return shot punches a hole through his chest. Joshua-R falls, gurgling out a last breath. In the same moment, Edith-O whirls to cover you with her pistol. It's extremely unlikely you could quick-draw and fire your laser before she nails you, and there's no good avenue to run. Unless... [[Try to kick the dresser into her face!]] [[No, don't do that, you vatbrain. Hold position.]]

You send a powerful kick to the dresser you've been using as cover, sending the furniture flipping into the doorway between you and Edith-O, landing with a loud *thud*. Edith-O responds with a pair of laser blasts to your chest, and a third in the brain for good measure. You're dead before you hit the ground. Edith-O is later given a substantial bonus and an Official Commendation for terminating a pair of traitors. [[At least you dodged the food vats.|Beginning]]

Edith-O keeps you covered, but notices the burns on your hand. The Internal Security team she calls in brought a docbot, and you are interrogated relatively lightly while the docbot patches the worst of it. You are sent to a RED sickbay, where The Computer informs you of a 200-credit reward sent to your account, and an [[Official Commendation for conspicuous valor in action|survived mission]].

You manage to dodge the first shot - the laser blast slags the INFRARED bunkbed instead of your leg. That's all the time you need - you're off and out of the room like a scrubot with [[fried Asimovs]]. [[Find a terminal and report to Friend Computer!]] [[Find a quiet corner and wait for all this to blow over.]]

You awkwardly reach for the holster with your off hand. [[Joshua-R's grin gets bigger|Killed by Joshua-R]].

You push the cheap dresser you were hiding behind away and sprint at him! The first shot misses, [[but the second...|Killed by Joshua-R]]

Asimov circuits are little chips plugged into every single bot that rolls off every production line in the Complex, if you ignore the rumors about [[Corpore Metal]] compromising the occasional manufacturing building. With a functional Asimov circuit, a bot's first duty is to Friend Computer's directives, then to the orders of the highest-clearance citizen that gives it an order. Needless to say, a bot without an Asimov circuit is not eager to get it replaced. [[But you digress.|He's a bad shot, but that's still a GREEN laser. Time to go.]]

A secret society, like you and your buddies in Pro Tech. Corpore Metal firmly believes that flesh is out of fashion, and the best a human can hope for is full cybernetic replacement. The rumor mill says they like ripping the Asimov circuits out of bots and hard-selling them on their own ideology. [[But you digress.|He's a bad shot, but that's still a GREEN laser. Time to go.]]