Paranoia: My Name is Troubleshooter

[BlueBard]

Spam-R scrabbles at his holster with his left arm, trying to draw it crosswise.  In an act of shockingly violent desperation, he manages to draw his laser pistol, shove it against Blo-R, and pull the trigger.

CLICK.

Nothing happens.

GM: I would have thought the whole power drain thing was pretty well self-evident by now...

By the way, ArrMatee and everyone following him have cheerfully reached the bottom of the stairwell.  For those still on the landing with the exoskeleton (Spyd, Blo, Spam), the light is getting mighty dim.

On the other hand, the steam chamber of the exoskeleton is now warm enough to make a really nice heater and it's beginning to give off a slight reddish glow.  Not enough to see by.  Yet.

[Spam]

Now in an act of desperation, I'll try to go down the landing, hoping not to get caught by Blo-R... and also because I'm afraid the exoskeleton will blow up... or something.

[Viking]

Being the first one down the stairs, with Shoot-O-LOT behind him, ArrMatee no doubt sees quite a lot of disarray at the bottom of the stairs.  His eyes will bug out with surprise and genuine shock, of course.

"By the Computer!" he exclaims.  "Watch your step, Sir!  I don't know what happened down here, but it's pretty cluttered."

[gdaybloke]

"Hold up, Spam-R! I have your medication here!"

Spyd pursues Spam down the landing.

[Panther_Gunn]

Blo follows his teammates down the stairs, and away from the glowing hunk of metal.

"Citizen Spyd!  I suggest you double that dosage.  The poor boy is clearly deranged.  Why else would he attempt to shoot at a fellow Troubleshooter?"

[BlueBard]

At the bottom of the stairs, the team sees a trio of apparently disabled scrubbots tangled in a heap, a Green-level citizen lying unconscious next to the stairs with a sizeable lump on his forehead, and writing scorched into the wall.

[gdaybloke]

"Ohh! A chance to expand our literacy skills!"

[Viking]

ArrMatee is torn.  While investigating the scene would no doubt prove fascinating, the team clearly has a need to locate water for the radioactively-powered exo-suit.  He looks to the Team Leader for guidance, like any loyal Citizen would.

"Your orders, Team Leader?" he asks.

[BlueBard]

"What the heck happened here?" Shoot-O growls.

He reads the blackened writing on the wall.  He glances at Blo-R quickly, then at the hottorch, then fixes a suspicious gaze on ArrMatee.

"You want to try to explain this, Recruit?"  Shoot-O asks with a faint tone of menace.

[Viking]

"Certainly, Team Leader!" ArrMatee responds.

"As I stated earlier in my reconnaissance report, which I understand if you missed due to the distraction of having recently opened a sealed door with my assistance, after the lights went out, I heard a disturbance at the bottom of the stairs.  I went to observe from a safe distance, and saw a Citizen engaged in suspicious activity!  Said Citizen was shooting flames from his hands at one of the walls, Team Leader, and said Citizen did not have a Yellow band to mark himself as a Registered Mutant!  I yelled really loudly at what I presumed to be a no-good, stinking Mutant (no offense, Citizen Blo), which apparently surprised him.  He ran towards the stairs to come after me but, due to his surprise, stumbled horribly and hit his head, after which he stopped moving.  I then immediately proceeded to the top of the stairs to locate my Team, Team Leader!"

[spoiler]See this page for the original recon report.[/spoiler]

[BlueBard]

"Okay, we're gonna have a debriefing session --later.  Let's find water before that exoskeleton irradiates the entire sector," Shoot-O says.  "Everybody follow me!  ArrMatee, you go first."

Shoot-O points at the door at the base of the stairwell, where you all came in at.

[Viking]

ArrMatee dutifully exits the door first, as ordered.

[BlueBard]

Does anyone stay in the stairwell for any reason?  Note that the light source is leaving.  If I don't hear anything in short order, I will assume not.

Spyd is unsuccessfully trying to persuade Spam to take his medicine, with Blo cheering Spyd on.  Numb (unless I hear otherwise) is following Shoot-O (or at least the light) wherever he goes. 

The Green level is still unconscious on the floor, but now shows signs of stirring.  Shoot-O is not looking in that direction and does not notice.  (Neither does ArrMatee)  The three deactivated scrubbots are still sprawled in a heap.

[gdaybloke]

"I really can't fathom why you don't want your morale-officer-prescribed medication, Spam! Could it be that you doubt the computer's veracity in appointing me to this role?"

[Panther_Gunn]

"I really can't fathom why you don't want your morale-officer-prescribed medication, Spam! Could it be that you doubt the computer's veracity in appointing me to this role?"

"*I* don't think he trusts the Computer, Citizen Spyd.  That sounds very much like the behavior of a traitor, to me."

[BlueBard]

Shoot-O pauses in the doorway and turns around, his face shadowed in the dim light behind him.

"The Computer didn't give out the assignments," he says in a tone of rumbling menace.  "I did.  Would someone like to take issue with that?"

Spam:

[spoiler]You're starting to feel a bit woozy and light-headed.  Must be the meds Spyd already shoved down your throat are starting to kick in.[/spoiler]

[Spam]

"What medicines have you been giving me, Spyd?" I ask, starting to fumble a bit, as I grab my head, feeling woozy.

[gdaybloke]

"Nothing more than those assigned to me, as manufactured by the good, loyal clones we met earlier. Any dizziness you're feeling must be either intentional, or a genetic deficiency of your own!"

[Spam]

"Nothing more than those assigned to me, as manufactured by the good, loyal clones we met earlier. Any dizziness you're feeling must be either intentional, or a genetic deficiency of your own!"

"Well surely it's not me... it had to have been your medicine... and why does everything suddenly feel all dizzy...?"

[BlueBard]

Briefly interrupting the byplay between Spam and Spyd...

You have finally all straggled out into the corridor at the bottom of the stairwell.  Everything is dark, except what the hottorch's flame can illuminate.

Five clones of various security levels (IR, R, O) are huddled together, rocking and moaning.  The sudden appearance of the light has startled them.

[Viking]

"Excuse me, Citizens!" exclaims ArrMatee, as he approached the five startled clones huddled together.

"Could any of you direct us to the nearest source of water on this level?  The prompt restoration of power to this sector depends on it!"

Technically, this isn't a lie, he muses to himself.  Since power won't be promptly restored if a nuclear meltdown occurs...

[BlueBard]

Their time in absoute darkness seems to have caused severe psychological damage to these clones, none of whom have never before experienced such a thing.

"Luh-Light." stammers one of the Red Citizens, his eyes strangely fixed on the light of the hottorch.  "L-Light." he says again, this time rising and reaching out a hand toward the hottorch.

"Light. Light." moan the other clones, the light of the hottorch burning in their eyes.  They begin to get to their feet.

"Uh-oh," says Shoot-O, "I have a bad feeling about this..."

[Viking]

ArrMatee starts backpedaling, rapidly.

"Happiness Officer!" he calls out.  These poor clones need emergency medication - immediately!"

[BlueBard]

"Light! Light! LIGHT! GET LIGHT!" the clones voices rise to a shriek as they scramble forward toward ArrMatee.

[Viking]

Hopefully, ArrMatee manages to get behind the Happiness Officer.  As well as his other teammates.

Be that as it may, however...

ArrMatee turns off the hottorch.  And then moves against a wall.

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

[spoiler]While these odd citizens are advancing and showing such an interest in the light, I will have a scan to see if I can obtain a spare light from any of my fellow troubleshooters (if one is available, hanging from someone's belt or in a pocket for example) and, if I can obtain one, I throw it into the middle of the mob.[/spoiler]

[BlueBard]

[spoiler]While these odd citizens are advancing and showing such an interest in the light, I will have a scan to see if I can obtain a spare light from any of my fellow troubleshooters (if one is available, hanging from someone's belt or in a pocket for example) and, if I can obtain one, I throw it into the middle of the mob.[/spoiler]

Numb:

[spoiler]Nope.  The only source of light seems to be ArrMatee's hottorch.[/spoiler]

[BlueBard]

Everything goes dark.  Absolutely pitch dark.

"LIGHT!" scream the clones with rage.  From the sound of it, they seem to be shuffling and stumbling forward, trying to find the light.

Spyd:

[spoiler]You sense danger![/spoiler]

[BlueBard]

Everyone,

Unless you have any (ahem!) bright ideas, you're going to be grappling in the dark with temporarily insane clones.  Declare your actions, please, if you haven't done so already.

[Viking]

[spoiler]I wait until (hopefully) the group of temporarily insane clones moves past me, since I'm flat up against the wall.  Then I turn around and use the hottorch to set an insane clone's head on fire.  If it sounds like an insane clone is coming towards me, however, I'll switch plans to simply aim the hottorch at his head, and fire.

Note: I plan to distinguish my teammates from the other insane clones by virtue of the fact that the other insane clones seem to be screaming out, "LIGHT!"[/spoiler]