TEXT: TM
  Alpha Complex  Mission Dossier 02
  n o t  f o r  t r o u b l e s h o o t e r  u s e
  TROUBLES
      BY THE 
  BOXLOAD
    
  
  PARANOIA
  T
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  Y
   
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  Written by 
  M. J. DOUGHERTY
  Paranoia created by 
  DAN GELBER, GREG COSTIKYAN AND ERIC GOLDBERG
  GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ARTWORK
  Will Chapman, Amy Perrett 
  EDITOR
  Matthew Sprange
  FLY-BLOWN VISIONARY
  Ken Rolston
    
  
  TROUBLES BY THE BOXLOAD
  4
  MISSION BACKGROUND
  5
  THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF THE BRIEFING 
  ROOM FULL OF BOXES
  6
  A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY 
  TO WAREHOUSE 749921
  8
  CONFERENCE MODE ENGAGED!
  9
  DIFFICULTY LEVEL: CONFERENCE MODE
  11
  LEVINN-B IS DEAD AND THE AUTOTRUCKS 
  ARE GONE
  13
  TRANSPORTATION REQUIRED… YOU’LL DO!
  14
  OVERHEATED PURSUIT
  16
  THE CHECKPOINT GUARDS ARE DEAD AND 
  THE AUTOTRUCKS ARE GONE
  18
  ALL THE COMPUTER’S BOTS AND ALL 
  THE COMPUTER’S CLONES COULDN’T PUT 
  BARRACKS 4XAF TOGETHER AGAIN
  20
  JUST IN TIME DELIVERY
  22
  MISSION COMPLETE…ISH!
  23
  ACHIEVEMENTS
  25
  CONTENTS
  Paranoia TM & © 1983, 1987, 2017. Eric Goldberg & Greg Costikyan. All rights reserved. Mongoose 
  Publishing Ltd., Authorised User. The reproduction of material from this book for personal or corporate 
  profit, by photographic, electronic, or other means of storage and retrieval, is prohibited. You may 
  copy character sheets, record sheets, checklists and tables for personal use.
  Published by Mongoose Publishing, Ltd. Published 2017. 
    
  
  THIS WAY UP
  THIS WAY UP
  THIS WAY UP
  FRAGILE
  HANDLE
  WITH CARE
    
  
  TROUBLES
      BY THE 
  BOXLOAD
  TROUBLES
      BY THE 
  BOXLOAD
  W
  A
  R
  N
  I
  N
  G
  C L E A R A N C E  L E V E L  V I O L E T
  42 BOXES OF [REDACTED] ON THE WALL, 42 BOXES OF 
  4
  Salutations, Prospective GM! 
  (If you are not the GM-to-be of this mission, you have already incriminated 
  yourself by making eyeball-to-word contact with it. Your best option is to 
  run the adventure and pretend you always intended to. In which case, 
  Salutations, Prospective GM!)
  Contained within this document you will find a Very Interesting Mission 
  for a group of RED clearance Troubleshooters. In this adventure, the 
  Troubleshooters will deliver some stuff to a warehouse and Everything Will Be 
  Fine. There might be some minor hiccups along the way, but Troubleshooters 
  used to defending Alpha Complex from the Traitorous Hordes will surely have 
  no problem putting a few boxes on a shelf, right? 
    
  
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  5
  Apart from the possibility of being aggressively maintained by a deranged 
  repairbot, conference-called into oblivion or terminated for tardiness, this 
  mission is nothing more (or less) than an in-depth exploration of box-delivery in 
  Alpha Complex, and thus perfectly safe for all participants.
  MISSION BACKGROUND
  Troubleshooter Barracks 4XAF (‘Standing for Safety and Security!’) had a little, 
  err, trouble recently. The nature of this trouble is classified, but according 
  to highly treasonous rumour there was some laser fire, a few explosions and 
  maybe a little poison gas, all of traitoristic origin. So now barracks 4XAF needs 
  refurbishment, reassignment of personnel and a certain amount of building 
  work. 
  But all was not lost! A valiant team of INFRARED pick-stuff-uppers and a 
  repurposed repairbot went through the wreckage and salvaged everything 
  that could be, well, salvaged. Mostly office supplies, it turned out, but every 
  paperclip saved from destruction is a victory denied the enemies of Alpha 
  Complex. Not a BIG victory, but a victory all the same.
  So now all the salvage from barracks 4XAF is ready to go into storage, to 
  be broken out again when the triumphant reopening of the barracks takes 
  place. Of course, the salvage actually has to get to the storage area….
  It might be worth noting at this point that the salvage has been designated 
  a Relic of Heroic Action – every single piece of it – and is of greater 
  significance than the usual box of paperclips. And Internal Security has 
  decided it constitutes evidence that can be used to identify and apprehend 
  traitors. That might cause the odd complication. There is also the matter 
  of the repurposed repairbot, which was unable to fulfil its function of fixing 
  everything and has suffered something of an existential crisis. Its sole mission is 
  now to locate the missing debris from barracks 4XAF and put it all back where 
  it came from, rebuilding the barracks around it if necessary.
  This is one very determined robot, and it has help in the form of a handful 
  of smallbots co-opted to help pick up the more fiddly bits of debris. The 
  repairbot has not relinquished its control over the smallbots since its mission is 
  unfinished. We will be meeting those soon. 
  First, the Troubleshooters have some work to do.
    
  
  6
  THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF THE 
  BRIEFING ROOM FULL OF BOXES
  Read the following to the players:
  You know it’s been a slow day-cycle when five Troubleshooter teams 
  respond simultaneously to a report of a Slightly Shifty INFRARED in Possession 
  of a Non-Regulation Mop. Just the one gunfight today. Well, two. One 
  resulting from simultaneous Troubleshooter arrival, and one over who got the 
  blame for the first gunfight. You decide to designate them Gunfight 1A (Not 
  Our Fault) and 1B (Also Not Our Fault) as you head for the debriefing room. 
  But then you got here and… boxes. Boxes and boxes. Boxes of boxes. 
  Boxes of boxes and boxes of boxes – (Boxes) + (Boxes) + [(Boxes) x (Boxes)] 
  + {(Boxes)² + (Boxes)²} =  3(Boxes)² + 2(Boxes), for the mathematically 
  inclined… give or take some random stuff spilled on the floor. So yeah, 
  boxes. The briefing room is full of assorted boxes, all of them in varying states 
  of wear. Some are open, and you try to avoid seeing what’s inside in case 
  it’s something treasonable, or treason-inducing, or just plain yucky. You 
  can’t help get the odd glimpse though, and it looks like someone had a 
  clear-out in a disused clone barracks. 
  So what’s in there? Well…. Fasteners, boots, bowls, spoons, I Love The 
  Computer badges, cups, screws, light bulbs, mop heads, information 
  leaflets, insulating tiles, half a screwdriver set, brushes, part of a funbot, 
  cable ties, garbage bags, squirtyfood dispenser nozzles… 
  (You may wish to go on in this vein for a week or two until the players get the 
  idea.)
  There is no briefing, no debriefing, just a very bored YELLOW clearance clerk 
  with a Checklist of Immense Proportions. 
  TAKE ONE DOWN, FOLLOWING LOAD LIFTING PROTOCOL 
  ‘This lot,’ he says, waving the checklist at the 
  colossal pile of stuff, ‘needs to be in Warehouse 
  749921 about an hour ago. Right now will do, or very soon 
  at a pinch. Slow day, you’re Surplus to Requirements. 
  You got lucky, it was this or food vat duty. Here’s 
  your chit. Get moving.’
    
  
  7
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  The orders are legit and the checklist is truly immense. It is also accurate, 
  down to the condition of each individual screw and fastener. This may be 
  unheard-of in the history of Alpha Complex. If the Troubleshooters want 
  to spend a fortnight verifying everything, they are welcome. But there is a 
  queue of autotrucks parked nearby waiting for the boxes to be loaded. We 
  all know who gets to do the loading.
  Each Troubleshooter is required to take responsibility for a portion of the 
  boxes, and each Troubleshooter’s consignment is to go on a separate 
  truck. There is of course no way to evenly distribute the cargo – boxes are 
  different sizes and the number of boxes is not divisible by the number of 
  Troubleshooters. Also, some boxes are more busted up than others, and 
  some are overloaded. There is a real possibility that some of the contents 
  might be spilled or fall out. That would be unfortunate, wouldn’t it?
  The Troubleshooters themselves are on the list, sort of. They have to be 
  delivered to the warehouse as well. Mainly because the staff there do not 
  want to spend their day-cycle unloading boxes from trucks. It’s not like 
  Troubleshooters have anything better to do.
  The box-carrying autotrucks do not have anywhere for a Troubleshooter to 
  stand, sit or cling. Not with any reasonable certainty of staying attached to 
  the vehicle anyway. But that’s okay. There is a personnel transport waiting at 
  the end of the queue. The Troubleshooters may be concerned about being 
  separated from their cargo, but soon they will have other things to worry about.
  SUDDENLY, BOXES.
    
  
  8
  A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON 
  THE WAY TO WAREHOUSE 749921
  Actually, no. Transporting boxes of stuff is not hilarious. Loading the trucks 
  takes a while, and some of the boxes have a distressing tendency to pop 
  open or spill a trail of paperclips. Do the Troubleshooters notice that? Do 
  they maybe help someone else’s box come open? Do they swipe a few bits 
  from someone else’s consignment? 
  Be quite surprising if they didn’t, really. 
  But soon enough the trucks are loaded. Just as the Troubleshooters are 
  about to set off, a BLUE clearance Internal Security Evidence Auditor 
  approaches, escorted by a mob of heavily armed goons and an auditbot. It 
  looks a lot like a standard maintenance bot, but has been retrofitted with a 
  rapid-fire clipboard dispenser. 
  The BLUE clearance clone is Senior Auditor Levinn-B-GON; ambitious, 
  ruthless and extremely audit-happy. He holds out an imperious hand and 
  the auditbot fires a clipboard from its dispenser. It snaps right into Levinn-B’s 
  hand. Some of the impressive looking forms clipped to it smoulder slightly. 
  AND ENSURING FORM LM71-B HAS BEEN CORECTLY FILED
  ‘Hang on a clock cycle, Troubleshooters!’ the IntSec 
  Evidence Auditor snarls. ‘What you have there 
  is several autotruck-loads of critical evidence! That’s all that 
  remains of Troubleshooter Barracks 4XAF. I’m going to have 
  to confiscate it. And the trucks. And you. You’ll deliver the 
  evidence to the Evidence Delivery Chute at Internal Security 
  Site Bravo Nineteen, then report for questioning about your 
  involvement in a possible plot to conceal critical evidence. 
  And also the total destruction of barracks 4XAF.’
  Internal Security wants to examine every paperclip, 
  fastener and squirtyfood nozzle for evidence of whatever treason overcame 
  the brave Troubleshooters of Barracks 4XAF. Sooner or later. Maybe. Or 
  perhaps they just want to have it all in storage in case they are ever asked 
  why they did not investigate the debris from Troubleshooter Barracks 4XAF. In 
  fact, who knows why IntSec does anything? 
    
  
  9
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  The orders to deliver the, er, evidence to Bravo Nineteen are legit. But so are 
  the orders to take it to Warehouse 749921. The Troubleshooters cannot do 
  both and besides, this questioning thing sounds hazardous. But what to do? 
  Well, that’s up to the Troubleshooters.
  Shooting it out with Internal Security over a few truckloads of office supplies 
  has a certain simplicity, but also a certain finality. The Troubleshooters may 
  be able to blag, weasel or bribe their way out of this situation – begging will 
  not work; begging never works. The GM should let them try for a while. Then 
  something interesting happens; interesting in the sense of adding a new way 
  to get executed for failing to complete the mission.
  The Troubleshooters’ iBall communications protocols flash a priority call from 
  one Goanna-B-GAD. The data push indicates that Goanna is the warehouse 
  manager at 749921. Not taking a call from a senior to whom you have been 
  ordered to deliver truckloads of stuff is treason. So is ignoring the senior who 
  has all the paperwork to take possession of that stuff and is waving it under 
  your nose. Interesting, no?
  Goanna-B demands to know why the Troubleshooters are not already 
  en route to warehouse 749921. Levinn-B demands to know why the 
  Troubleshooters are not already en route to Bravo Nineteen and why they 
  are ignoring him. Realising they are in communication with someone else, 
  Levinn-B uses his Internal Security powers to force the conversation into 
  Conference Mode.
  CONFERENCE MODE ENGAGED!
  Conference Mode is fun. Everyone gets a split-screen display (on their 
  iBalls) drawn from the ubiquitous security cameras and other clones’ iBalls, 
  showing the faces of everyone in the conference call. This overlays normal 
  vision, allowing any given clone only fragmentary observation of what is 
  going on around him. This is entirely (well… almost… entirely) enough to 
  avoid walking into furniture when conferencing, but not enough to, say, 
  conduct a gunfight with Traitorous Enemies of the Computer. Which may be 
  unfortunate…
  The result is that each person involved in the conference call can see only a 
  little of what is in front of him, plus the faces of everyone else and odd bits of 
  what is behind them. Remember that, friend GM; it will be important.
  Levinn-B has been a little overzealous in his use of the forced-conference 
  facility. He has included his entire squad of bodyguards (they don’t say 
  much), a nearby scrubot (it doesn’t say anything) and some INFRAREDS 
    
  
  10
  working in an adjoining food vat chamber (they say a lot, most of it 
  mumbled loyal slogans which the GM can drop into the conversation at 
  suitably baffling junctures.) It’s all a bit confusing.
  Goanna-B and Levinn-B begin arguing. Levinn-B wants the Troubleshooters’ 
  cargo because it might be useful evidence to uncover a traitorous plot. 
  Goanna-B needs it because it has collectively been designated a Relic of 
  Heroic Action and is to be stored until it can be presented to Troubleshooter 
  barracks whose denizens have zealously proven their worth. Any interjection 
  the Troubleshooters make will probably just complicate matters further.
  After a moment, the auditor’s bodyguards go next door to execute the 
  INFRAREDS in case they heard something classified during the chat. The 
  bodyguards struggle a bit with this, since they cannot clearly see what they 
  are doing, and after a few misplaced shots they resort to grenades. This 
  goes about as well as expected.
  At this point, one of the bodyguards is hit. Nobody can see where the shot 
  came from, but there is clearly a fight going on next door. 
  AND PASS IT AROUND TO AUTHORIZED CITIZENS...
  ‘GET IN THERE AND HELP!’ yells Levinn-B 
  and goes back to arguing with 
  Goanna-B. 
  It is worth noting at this point that Goanna-B has more control over the 
  conference call than lowly Troubleshooters, and has cut out all of the 
  irrelevant participants (the Troubleshooters, the INFRAREDs and the scrubot). 
  He refuses to terminate the call however, and until both he and Levinn-B do, 
  the Troubleshooters are stuck in Conference Mode. At least they will be able 
  to see one another yelling in terror. 
  Goanna-B cannot afford to lose this argument. He does not run a 
  particularly honest warehouse, and losing a Relic of Heroic Action will 
  bring down intense scrutiny upon him, followed by intense termination. He 
  needs those relicified office supplies and he needs them right now. So the 
  argument continues and with it the forced conference call. 
  Problem, that. But not Goanna-B’s problem.
    
  
  11
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  The Troubleshooters must obey the order to go help the IntSec team despite 
  the fact they cannot see what is going on. If they do not, they will be 
  terminated for disobedience and lack of zeal. Their next clones will arrive at 
  the scene to find Levinn-B dead and the autotrucks gone, as per Levinn-B is 
  Dead and the Autotrucks are Gone on page 13.
  If the Troubleshooters obey the order, they may spot a couple of 
  smallbots scurrying about the floor picking up small items that fell out of 
  the boxes, and popping them neatly on the trucks. How very helpful! The 
  Troubleshooters may also spot (remember, they can’t see what is going on 
  very well) the scrubot’s whirly brushes send a paperclip pinging down the 
  corridor towards them. They might try to catch it (they must deliver all the 
  cargo!), in which case they will find out how hard it is to do anything whilst in 
  Conference Mode.
  DIFFICULTY LEVEL: CONFERENCE MODE
  The Troubleshooters might need several attempts just to get through the 
  doors into the next chamber. Clever clones might try to watch what they 
  are doing on someone else’s video feed. It doesn’t help but it’s clever. 
  Once they’re in the chamber, the Troubleshooters’ nostrils are assaulted 
  by the rancid stench of food vat contents. Their ears are already being 
  assaulted by the frightened shrieks of INFRAREDS, courtesy of Conference 
  Mode, but they are now accompanied by a groovy beat of grenade 
  detonations. The Troubleshooters soon find themselves assaulted by gunfire 
  and explosions. Lots of assaulting going on in here.
  The situation is this: both the IntSec team and the Troubleshooters have been 
  ordered to terminate all INFRAREDs in this area in case they saw something 
  treason-inducing. The IntSec team began to comply but had difficulty due 
  to Conference Mode, and soon came under fire from an unknown source. 
  The Troubleshooters were sent to assist them, and have entered a maelstrom 
  of grenades and laser fire. There are, of course, no hostiles. It was just a stray 
  shot. But now the IntSec team are convinced there is a traitor behind every 
  squirtyfood dispenser and are determined to blast their way to victory.
  The IntSec troopers cannot be sure that the new arrivals in the combat zone 
  are their backup or the enemy they are fighting, so they engage all targets. 
  This might not be immediately apparent, since Conference Mode makes it 
  difficult to shoot in the right direction, let alone actually hit someone. It will 
  become apparent after a while that the IntSec team intend to wipe out 
  everything that isn’t them and figure it out later.
    
  
  12
  41 BOXES OF [REDACTED] ON THE WALL, 41 BOXES OF 
  The GM should make the most of the confusion and general mayhem. 
  Grenades going off in a food vat, hurling semi-toxic Food Ingredient Paste all 
  over the place. Terrified INFRAREDS squealing their innocence and loyalty. 
  Except the one who’s actually an infiltrator intent on sabotage. Believing she 
  has been exposed (as opposed to targeted for termination more or less at 
  random), she deploys concealed weapons and joins in the fighting. She’s in 
  Conference Mode as well so everyone sees her pick up a weapon and start 
  shooting, but can they figure out where she is from the backdrop display? 
  Is she behind one of the Troubleshooters? Better spray laser fire everywhere 
  just in case!
  The IntSec team have taken a simple route through the chaos: kill everything 
  that moves. If the Troubleshooters want to survive, they will need to take out 
  the IntSec team or convince them to stop shooting. They will also have to 
  deal with the INFRARED problem. The simplest way is to kill them too, but if 
  the Troubleshooters want to help some of them get away (why???) they will 
  have to do so without incriminating themselves on everyone’s iBalls.
  Conference Mode is abruptly terminated during the fight. So are some 
  clones, but in a different manner. The shooting continues however, unless 
  the Troubleshooters can somehow convince the IntSec team to cease fire. 
  When the dust and the toxic cloud of vapourised Food Ingredient Paste 
  clears, the INFRAREDs are all dead or gone. The unmasked traitor is probably 
  among the abruptly terminated.
  At this point the Computer asks for a mission update:
  LOYAL TROUBLESHOOTERS!  IT IS TIME TO REPORT 
  YOUR SUCCESS! SPEAK UP, PROVIDE INFORMATION, 
  AND REPORT IN! IT IS YOUR PLEASURE AND YOUR 
  DUTY! 
  HAVE 
  YOU 
  COMPLETED 
  YOUR 
  MISSION?
  The Troubleshooters have some explaining to do. Mainly why they are in a 
  wrecked food preparation area after a gunfight with the IntSec team they 
  were ordered to support, a random traitor and some unarmed INFRAREDs. 
  They will have to provide an explanation for what happened and why. 
  Something heroic and non-treasonistic.
  Good luck with that.
    
  
  13
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  LEVINN-B IS DEAD AND THE AUTOTRUCKS ARE GONE
  Whilst the Troubleshooters are squirming their way through an explanation of 
  how their part in the recent food vat debacle was actually quite heroic and 
  troubleshootery, they will become aware that the conference call was not 
  completely terminated after all. All of the Troubleshooters are still receiving a 
  feed from one participant – the scrubot. 
  The scrubot is not saying anything of course, just quietly trundling down the 
  corridor with its whirly scrub-brushes whirling away. Behind the scrubot, a 
  single paperclip can be seen lying forgotten on the floor. The scrubot turns 
  around and trundles determinedly towards it. What if it pings the clip off with 
  its whirling brushes and it can’t be found? The Troubleshooters could get into 
  real trouble if they lose any of the cargo. 
  And why is the scrubot leaving a trail of dark fluid behind it? Where is 
  Levinn-B? Where are the autotrucks?
  Rushing back into the corridor the Troubleshooters see the scrubot headed 
  for the lone paperclip. It must be saved! Also, Levinn-B’s corpse is stuffed in 
  the scrubot’s Big Messy Things Holder, on its back. The trucks are gone. 
  Saving the paperclip means stopping the scrubot. Not hard, but if it is 
  stopped in a non-smashy way then it might provide information to someone 
  who knows how to view the internal logs of a scrubot. Or the Troubleshooters 
  could just ask the Computer to show them the security camera feed from 
  the corridor over the past few minutes. They might be a bit reluctant to do 
  that, since it will bring to the Computer’s attention the fact that they have 
  lost the items they were supposed to deliver. That might in turn raise the 
  question ‘what were you doing at the time the autotrucks went missing?’ 
  which might then bring about some intense scrutiny of the food vat 
  debacle, and we all know where that leads….
  So what did happen here? Well, Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed), 
  on its self-imposed mission to return all the bits of barracks 4XAF, sent its 
  smallbots to pick up any dropped items and approached the trucks 
  whilst Levinn-B was arguing with Goanna-B. Upon hearing Levinn-B yell at 
  Goanna-B that he was taking the items to his evidence holding facility, 
  Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) decided that Levinn-B was a threat 
  to the mission and performed unscheduled maintenance on him. His corpse 
  is riddled with injuries; he has been drilled, hammered and sawed into 
  unserviceability. 
    
  
  14
  Goanna-B decided Levinn-B was being rude and had cut the call, 
  terminating it at his end. This dropped everyone else out except the scrubot 
  because its comms protocols were different. The scrubot tidied up the mess 
  as Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) led the autotrucks away. The 
  Internal Security auditbot followed, dutifully noting that a paperclip had 
  been dropped from the rear truck. 
  So now the Troubleshooters are standing in a corridor with a scrubot, the 
  corpse of a senior Internal Security operative and a paperclip. 
  Naturally, Goanna-B calls them at this moment and wants to know why 
  they are not at the warehouse. If the Troubleshooters try to blag their way 
  through this conversation, Goanna-B counters with a question: 
  TAKE ONE DOWN, FOLLOWING LOAD LIFTING PROTOCOL 
  ‘If that’s so, why are my autotrucks 
  headed along Transfer Conduit B578?’
  Smart Troubleshooters will realise this is Useful Information. 
  However, they need to explain why the autotrucks are not travelling towards 
  the warehouse and not responding to navigational overrides. Assuming 
  the Troubleshooters can come up with something that does not get them 
  immediately arrested and shot, they may be able to pursue the autotrucks 
  and complete their mission. 
  TRANSPORTATION REQUIRED… YOU’LL DO!
  The Troubleshooters now know roughly where the autotrucks are headed. 
  If they take the time to call up a map on their iBalls, they will be able to 
  deduce several possible destinations. All are blanked out, of course, since 
  the Troubleshooters are not of high enough clearance to know what these 
  installations are. But one stands out – Troubleshooter Barracks 4XAF. Recently 
  destroyed under mysterious circumstances. 
  Transfer Conduit B578 passes quite close to it.
  The autotrucks have quite a head start, and the Troubleshooters will 
  need transportation to pursue them. They cannot request it from the 
  Computer – they have already been assigned transport for this mission, 
    
  
  15
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  have they not? Is it somehow inadequate? Please explain why you think the 
  transportation assigned to you by the Computer is inadequate. What are 
  your Transportation Adequacy Assessment credentials?
  So, there are two options. One is to improvise something, steal a vehicle 
  or generally come up with a clever solution to the problem. The other is 
  to hotwire the scrubot. It would be possible to rig up a rather basic set of 
  manual controls and to overload the ‘bot’s drive system to enable high 
  speeds whilst a team of Troubleshooters clung on to it. Not a good idea, but 
  possible. 
  However they do it, the Troubleshooters will need to get to Barracks 4XAF 
  as quickly as possible. That presents a variety of potential problems. The 
  Troubleshooters are not authorised to deviate from their mission to deliver 
  the cargo to Warehouse 749921, and that certainly does not mean they 
  have permission to charge off halfway across the sector. The GM should let 
  them worry about that for a while, then turn it around on them.
  As they are seeking a way to catch up to the autotrucks, the 
  Troubleshooters receive a call from an Internal Security checkpoint. 
  ‘Troubleshooters! You got some explaining to do! 
  We’ve just stopped a bunch of autotrucks full of 
  office supplies. What they’re not full of is you. Says on the manifest 
  that there’s a Troubleshooter team as escort and there ain’t. You 
  wanna explain why I’m talking to you this way and 
  not slapping an answer out of you in person?’
  Pointing out that if the Troubleshooters were present 
  an answer to the question raised by their absence would not need to be 
  slapped out of anyone will not be appreciated. The checkpoint guards 
  want to know why the Troubleshooters are not with the trucks, and they 
  want to know now. They also want to know why there is an IntSec auditbot 
  with them and an unauthorised repair bot which appears to have been 
  repurposed.
  There is no safe answer to any of these questions. The Troubleshooters 
  were assigned to be with the trucks; losing them is treason. The autotrucks 
  are in the wrong place, which makes the autotrucks guilty of treason 
  and therefore, by association, the Troubleshooters. The fact that the 
  Troubleshooters are not with the trucks and are not responsible for them 
    
  
  16
  being in the wrong place is of no consequence to the checkpoint guards. 
  The autotrucks are the Troubleshooters’ responsibility and if they are in the 
  wrong place, then that’s a problem. IntSec doesn’t like problems.
  Attempts to warn the checkpoint guards about, well, anything really will be 
  ignored or lost in a barrage of questions. The Troubleshooters will be hard 
  put to explain the situation but might be able to come up with something 
  that doesn’t get anybody shot. Or at least, not anybody the Troubleshooters 
  don’t want shot.
  The GM should let the Troubleshooters weasel for a while, record 
  incriminating statements, then suddenly cut the comm channel. There 
  is no response from the checkpoint if the Troubleshooters try to reinitiate 
  contact… but then they probably will not want to.
  OVERHEATED PURSUIT
  The pursuit of the autotrucks is not a simple matter. It should be, but this 
  is Alpha Complex. The Troubleshooters are not authorised to repurpose 
  scrubots, nor to ride them at Unwise Speeds around the corridors. They 
  cannot simply drive through secured doorways or Internal Security Mop 
  Inspection Points. So they will have to take the back roads, so to speak.
  Now, Alpha Complex has no back roads. What it does have are 
  maintenance corridors, garbage chutes and Semi-Forgotten Tunnels With 
  A Funny Smell. These are places where an intrepid band of Troubleshooters 
  can ride a repurposed scrubot or other conveyance at Unwise Speeds 
  without official interference. Of course, these are also places where 
  traitors can skulk about and those who hunt traitors can unskulk them. The 
  possibilities for a misunderstanding are… delicious.
  Oh look, here’s one now.
  During their journey, the Troubleshooters catch sight of another group of 
  clones behaving in a skulky manner. In fact, they are readying an ambush! 
  The victims are some other skulky types. The Troubleshooters have just 
  seconds to decide what to do as their conveyance hurtles towards the 
  ambush zone. Warn the ambushees? Demand to know if the ambushers are 
  of traitorous intent or loyal Troubleshooters? Open fire at random? So many 
  options, none of them good.
  AND ENSURING FORM LM71-B HAS BEEN CORECTLY FILED
    
  
  17
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  Spotting a mob of clones bearing down on them aboard a repurposed 
  scrubot, the ambushees do the natural thing and open fire. The ambushers 
  do the same, some at their intended targets and some at the newcomers. 
  Pretty soon everyone is firing at one another.
  There is no need for the Troubleshooters to stop and get involved here. Their 
  best option might be to speed through and escape, leaving the confusion 
  behind. Interestingly, if a Troubleshooter gets hit they are miraculously 
  unharmed, and their own targets seem unduly surprised that laser bolts 
  actually hurt. Some psychopath announces his intent to Cut, Cut, CUT! But 
  there is nobody in sight with a cutty thing.
  If the Troubleshooters do stay and fight it out, they find that both sides lack 
  real grit and troubleshootery determination. They just scatter and flee once 
  a few of them are shot. It’s like they weren’t really looking for a fight at all. 
  Very confusing and a bit upsetting. 
  ALL ABOARD THE SCRUBOT EXPRESS
    
  
  18
  But soon the Troubleshooters are past and almost to their destination. 
  Driving recklessly down maintenance corridors, through a food hall and 
  into the middle of a Mandatory Fun break, the Troubleshooters gain on their 
  quarry. Their conveyance begins to overheat and handle erratically. More 
  erratically than before, that is. Yes, that erratically. Eventually the swerves 
  and lurches become too much to handle and the conveyance spins out of 
  control through a doorway and onto a main transit tube.
  The Troubleshooters are deposited in a heap right in front of an Internal 
  Security checkpoint. A strangely unmanned and slightly laser-charred 
  checkpoint. 
  Hmm. Interesting….
  THE CHECKPOINT GUARDS ARE DEAD 
  AND THE AUTOTRUCKS ARE GONE
  Just what it says, really. The checkpoint guards are dead and the autotrucks 
  are gone. There are signs of a fight; laser scoring on the walls, floor and 
  ceiling. Clones dead with drill, saw and hammer wounds in front and laser 
  burns on their backs. A skilled investigator who was willing to tell the truth 
  would quickly conclude that the IntSec guards were attacked by someone 
  or something armed with improvised hand weapons and fought back, using 
  their lasers with more enthusiasm than skill. 
  There are no signs of the autotrucks, but if the Troubleshooters think to 
  look they will be able to find a single paperclip, fallen and forgotten from 
  whatever box it was stored in. Hang on… wasn’t there are complete 
  inventory of every clip and fastener? And it was correct? Well, that means 
  that somebody’s consignment is now wrong. That could be interesting. 
  But first the boxes and the autotrucks must be reclaimed. And soon, 
  because in the distance the Troubleshooters can hear the sounds of IntSec 
  and Troubleshooter teams responding to the attack at the checkpoint. 
  Screeching tyres, screeching INFRAREDs being run over by those tyres, 
  random weapon discharges… this is soon going to be a place where it’s not 
  healthy to be seen holding an unauthorised paperclip.
  SHOOT A TRATIOR, FOIL A TERRORIST PLOT,
    
  
  19
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  The Troubleshooters need to make themselves scarce. That’s not hard. There 
  are numerous exists from the transit tube, enabling the Troubleshooters 
  to make their way towards Barracks 4XAF on foot. Another conveyance 
  could be obtained, improvised or hijacked, but any way they do it the 
  Troubleshooters need to get a move on. 
  Naturally, there is a complication. Not far from the site of the checkpoint, just 
  around the transit tube’s next bend, one of the autotrucks has given out. Hit 
  by several laser blasts (‘only IntSec troopers are so random’) it was unable 
  to keep up with the others and ground to a stop against the tube wall. Not 
  completely though; the poor thing’s tiny bot brain keeps it trying to move 
  even though its tyres are shot out and drive train is on fire. Not very much on 
  fire, but on fire nonetheless. 
  Aboard the truck is someone’s consignment of the delivery. What happens 
  if it is burned or taken to an evidence lockup as, well, evidence? What if 
  it falls into the hands of traitorously intentioned clones and is used to clip 
  treasonous documents together? What if the clone whose consignment has 
  not been delivered cannot pin the blame on someone else? Hmm.
  The Troubleshooters have Not Long to either get the autotruck moving 
  or abandon it. The GM will recall these vehicles have nowhere for clones 
  to sit, stand or cling with any degree of safety. This one is damaged and 
  somewhat on fire. Encourage the Troubleshooters to be inventive in coming 
  up with a solution or way to blame one of their number for the loss of the 
  consignment. 
  IntSec is on their way. Some of their own are down, killed with lasers. The 
  Troubleshooters have lasers. The obvious conclusion will be drawn. Lasers will 
  be drawn. We know what happens after that.
   The best way to avoid that is to already have left the scene when IntSec 
  arrives.
    
  
  20
  ALL THE COMPUTER’S BOTS AND ALL 
  THE COMPUTER’S CLONES COULDN’T 
  PUT BARRACKS 4XAF TOGETHER AGAIN
  Finally, the Troubleshooters reach Barracks 4XAF. Outside stands a row 
  of autotrucks and a personnel transport. All are empty. An industrial 
  quantity of tape bearing messages like ‘Danger Do Not Enter’, ‘Off-Limits 
  to Unauthorised Personnel’ and ‘You Met Your Quota; Rejoice!’ has been 
  wrapped around the building, but something has forced its way through.
  From inside the barracks comes the sound of hammering and sawing. 
  Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) is hard at work repairing the facility. 
  Well, shoving piles of rubble around into an approximation of their original 
  location. Smallbots scamper about picking stuff up and putting it down 
  again at random. An Internal Security auditbot stands sad and alone 
  nearby, its clipboard dispenser idle.
  The Troubleshooters have found their hijacked cargo! There it is, standing 
  around in boxes ready to be loaded back into the autotrucks. Or put back 
  on the shelves that Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) will get finished 
  building in a decade or two. So what are they waiting for?
  Before the Troubleshooters can do whatever it is they decide to do, their 
  iBalls receive a priority communication from a very irate Goanna-B.
  AND PASS IT AROUND TO AUTHORIZED CITIZENS...
  ‘Where are you? You know what, I don’t care. 
  Where are my autotrucks? You know what, I know. 
  Where is the cargo you were assigned to deliver to my storage 
  facility? Yes, that’s what I want to know! Where is it? 
  And why is it not here in my warehouse?’ 
  Goanna-B goes on like this for a while, interrupting any 
  attempt to explain the situation, weasel out of the blame or generally get 
  off the hook. He also uses an iBall-distorting level of volume just to make the 
  point, making it impossible for the Troubleshooters to act coherently while his 
  message is blaring in their collective cortex. 
    
  
  21
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  The feed from Goanna-B’s iBall communications system shows a large 
  number of IntSec guards entering his storage facility, pulling things off 
  shelves and poking into every corner. Goanna-B looks frantic.
  PERFORM AN ACT OF BLIND OBEDIENCE TODAY!
  ‘Get me that cargo, get it here now, you hear? It’s a 
  Relic of Heroic Action and I need it here to make my 
  inventory complete. If it’s not here by the time Internal Security 
  finish their audit of my facility, I’m in big trouble. Which means YOU 
  are in BIGGER trouble! You get that? No, I don’t have 
  a Form SK-1704B. Why would I have one of those?’
  Goanna-B realises he has left the channel open and cuts 
  comms at this point, returning to arguing with an IntSec auditor.
  So the Troubleshooters need to get their cargo and get underway. Simple 
  enough, right?
  Of course, Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) will resist with all of 
  its improvised weaponry, directing a mob of smallbots to swarm at the 
  Troubleshooters and drag them down to be gently pricked by Fine Object 
  Picky-Up Tools and Small Thing Holders. Smallbots are not fearsome.
  This is likely to be a short and rather one-sided fight. Nice for the 
  Troubleshooters to be on the right side of one for once.
    
  
  22
  JUST IN TIME DELIVERY
  With Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) dealt with, the Troubleshooters 
  can round up their cargo and be on their way. The smallbots are released 
  from control when Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) expires, as is the 
  auditbot. 
  Troubleshooters who think of it will discover that the auditbot dispenses 
  form-festooned clipboards at any opportunity. Holding out an imperious 
  hand will result in a smouldering but more or less intact clipboard arriving in 
  it, complete with many forms. These include a fully signed and entirely legit 
  order for the Troubleshooters’ cargo to be taken into IntSec custody, which 
  could be used to ‘prove’ that the cargo was in fact the responsibility of 
  Internal Security and not the Troubleshooters’ (or Goanna-B’s) when it was 
  hijacked.
  There is also an SK-1704B. This largely incomprehensible 92-page document 
  is so vague and all-encompassing that it can be interpreted to mean almost 
  anything. If Goanna-B had one, he’d be off the hook with Internal Security. 
  Hmm….
  The Troubleshooters have autotrucks, they have their cargo. They have… 
  won?
  Well, there’s a little problem. One of the trucks is pretty busted up, and the 
  Troubleshooters may have abandoned it along with its cargo. If so, they 
  are an entire consignment short. Whose? They’ll have to sort that one out 
  among themselves, one way or another. 
  Finally, finally, the Troubleshooters roll up at Warehouse 749921. Goanna-B 
  is surrounded by IntSec goons and is frantically trying to explain why a Relic 
  of Heroic Action is not present in his warehouse when the inventory clearly 
  states it is. There might be a degree of creativity about that assertion; 
  perhaps IntSec is trying to cover up the fact that it is supposed to have the 
  remnants of Barracks 4XAF? 
  And did the Troubleshooters just roll up with the contentious item? Why yes, 
  they did indeed!
  40 BOXES OF [REDACTED] ON THE WALL, 40 BOXES OF 
    
  
  23
  PARANOIA 
   
  PARANOIA 
    
  PARANOIA  
   
  PARANOIA
  IntSec wants the cargo. Goanna-B wants the cargo and a form SK-1704B. 
  And his autotrucks. Why is one missing or all scorched up with laser blasts 
  and generally quite dinged?
  The Troubleshooters are detained at gunpoint for An Uncomfortably Long 
  Time With No Bathroom Breaks. During this time, cocky IntSec troopers 
  wave their weapons around and occasionally shoot out a light, mostly 
  by accident. But only mostly. Goanna-B and the auditor go through the 
  consignments checking they are correct.
  Of course, they aren’t. Unless someone thought to drop a recovered 
  paperclip into theirs to make it right. One or two were recovered during the 
  mission, so at least two Troubleshooters are off the hook. The others… not so 
  much. 
  After an Additional Uncomfortable Period the Troubleshooters are suddenly 
  presented with a debriefing order. Grinning IntSec troopers escort them to 
  a nearby chamber where they are ordered to sit down on a bench that 
  isn’t big enough, and left to stew for a while. The Troubleshooters are not 
  disarmed; IntSec hopes they will sort out a few problems by turning on one 
  another.
  MISSION COMPLETE…ISH!
  The debriefing is conducted by an Automated Troubleshooter Interaction 
  System (ATIS); essentially a simple programme designed to ask questions and 
  evaluate the answers.
  A selection of questions follow. They are generally vague, giving the 
  Troubleshooters a chance to incriminate themselves. Not all of the 
  ‘questions’ are questions as such; some are statements or meaningless noise. 
  The Troubleshooters are expected to respond anyway.
  • 
  IS THE MISSION COMPLETE, FRIEND TROUBLESHOOTERS?
  • 
  WAS THE MISSION A SUCCESS, FRIEND TROUBLESHOOTERS?
  • 
  DON’T GIVE ME ANY MORE OF YOUR LIES!!!
  • 
  DID YOU INTERACT WITH ANY OTHER SERVICE GROUPS?
  • 
  HOW DO YOU RATE YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH INTERNAL SECURITY?
  • 
  FOGIHAEHJ’I GJKRGW’ 7793408 GRLRGWKL
  • 
  DID YOU FIRE YOUR WEAPON? WHAT AT?
  • 
  DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THE MASSACRE OF MOTIVATIONAL 
  VID PRODUCTION CREW BBD-4?
  • 
  HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WEAPON-DISCHARGE EXPERIENCE?
    
  
  24
  • 
  SEVEN.
  • 
  HOW MANY TRAITORS WERE ELIMINATED IN THE COURSE OF THIS MISSION?
  • 
  WHAT LESSONS WERE LEARNED?
  • 
  SEVEN?
  • 
  WHICH TEAM MEMBER CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO MISSION SUCCESS?
  • 
  WHICH OF YOUR TEAM-MATES IS A TRAITOR TO OUR WAY OF LIFE?
  • 
  BVGJ[GRJA[VQJ= TY[]]J-U 9-U]
  After the last ‘question’ there is A Long Silence. It goes on until the 
  Troubleshooters feel compelled to say something. Just sit and look at them 
  for, well, ages. Make them uncomfortable. Make them say something. 
   
  And then, the cheery voice of Friend Computer replaces the almost 
  identical voice of the ATIS algorithm. 
  SING IT 5.7 MORE TIMES!
  CONGRATULATIONS, LOYAL TROUBLESHOOTERS! YOU 
  HAVE BEEN REASSIGNED! BOARD THE VEHICLE OUTSIDE 
  IMMEDIATELY.
  CONGRATULATIONS, LOYAL TROUBLESHOOTERS! YOU 
  HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO RESTAFF BARRACKS 4XAF! 
  ALL YOUR REQUIREMENTS ARE ALREADY WAITING 
  FOR YOU. BE AWARE! YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED 
  A RELIC OF HEROIC ACTION! ENSHRINE IT! GUARD 
  IT! PRAISE IT! USE IT WITH LOYALTY AND DEVOTION!
  There is no indication of an outcome to the debriefing, and the vehicle’s 
  personnel space is a sealed unit, from which there will be no escape. If the 
  Troubleshooters board, they will endure a bouncy and highly unpleasant 
  journey which abruptly ends at a pile of Restricted Area tape which has 
  been cut away. Ahead lies a strangely familiar wrecked barracks.
  Entering the barracks, the Troubleshooters find it more or less as they left it; 
  wrecked, with debris all over the floor. Nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat. 
  The remains of Repair Bot 8428DJD53789 (Repurposed) are still there. The 
  auditbot has gone.
  And in the middle of the room, neatly stacked, is their Relic of Heroic Action. 
   
  Well, at least they have all the office supplies they can eat.... 
    
  
  ACHIEVEMENTS
  Venerate a relic of Heroic Action. Venerate it!!! 
  (50XP)
  Show Zeal! Display Determination! 
  Be a model Troubleshooter!                                                  
  (50XP)
  Make sure nobody in the team is carrying 
  anything treasonous in their boxes… 
  and if someone is, make sure it’s not you                  
  (50XP)
  Motivate and inspire those 
  of lesser clearance than you                                                                    
  (50XP)
  Win today’s ‘termination with poetic 
  justice’ award by dealing with a traitor in a 
  manner that fits the nature of their treason.                            
  (100XP)
  Have the right paperwork and authorisations 
  (100XP)
    
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Paranoia [multi]/MGP Red Clearance edition/MGP Paranoia - Troubles by the Boxload.pdf