Fed vs. New

Fed vs. New is the eighteenth episode of Red vs. Blue: Season 12 and the 263rd episode overall. It aired on September 22nd, 2014.

Blood Gulch Crew

 * Sarge
 * Grif
 * Simmons
 * Donut
 * Lopez
 * Epsilon
 * Washington
 * Tucker
 * Caboose
 * Carolina
 * Freckles

New Republic

 * Kimball
 * Smith
 * Bitters
 * Jensen
 * Palomo
 * Various soldiers

Federal Army of Chorus

 * Doyle
 * Emily Grey
 * Various soldiers

Space Pirates

 * Locus
 * Felix
 * Various soldiers
 * Control  (Mentioned only)

Plot
As the hour for the Blood Gulch Crew to make a decision comes to an end, Felix and Locus learn that the Reds and Blues have not arrived at Crash Site Bravo, and conclude that they did not agree with their deal. Suddenly, Felix spots a space pirate acting unusually and confronts the latter, soon finding out that the pirate is Carolina. Felix questions her on where her comrades are but Washington holds Felix at gunpoint. Unfortunately, Locus does the same to Wash.

Meanwhile at Armonia, Doyle and the Federal Army of Chorus surround Kimball's forces inside the city, where  Doyle accuses the New Republic for destroying Chorus' government. Kimball retaliates by arguing that the government was a broken bureaucracy that nearly killed Chorus and its inhabitants. Doyle, however, retaliates back by blaming the rebels for killing the Reds and Blues, confusing Kimball and concerning a group of Space Pirates watching nearby.

Back at Radio Jammer 1C, Felix yells for the other Reds and Blues to reveal themselves, with Caboose accidentally giving away his position. As two Space Pirates approach the said position they discover Caboose's assault rifle mounted on a crate. However, the rifle is soon revealed to be Freckles, now implanted inside, who quickly kills one of the Pirates. At the same time, the Rebels and Feds engage each other at Armonia. Back at the Radio Jammer station, Felix and Locus battle Carolina and Wash in combat, while the Reds eliminate the remaining space pirates.

As the firefight escalates at Armonia, Kimball pursues a fleeing Doyle. Back at the radio jammer station, Felix breaks off his battle with Carolina and searches for the other Reds and Blues, eventually coming across Tucker. Tucker asks him how he was able to convince Kimball to go to the capital, in which Felix explains that he easily manipulated Kimball by lying about the crew dying. He then begins to proudly monologue about how he and the space pirates tricked the Chorus armies for so many years, but realizes that the Reds and Caboose are right behind him. After Felix intercepts them, Tucker charges at Felix, but is stabbed in the stomach.

Meanwhile, Wash searches for a cloaked Locus, who of which questions Wash's reasons for fighting and states that he was once a real soldier. Wash on the other hand states that he was a different person then and questions why Locus differentiates a soldier and a human being. Locus explains that a soldier does not question his orders and simply does what is expected of him, but Wash describes Locus as a coward for hiding behind his "soldier" ideology instead of owning up to his past actions. This results in Locus tackling Wash.

Meanwhile, with Tucker wounded, Felix takes aim at him, but Epsilon appears next to Tucker and the two reveal that they have been recording the entire situation through Tucker's helmet cam. In response, Carolina, the Reds, Caboose and Dr. Grey use the mercs' advanced weaponry to disable the radio jammer, allowing Epsilon to send the recorded footage of Felix to Armonia. The Blood Gulch Crew's actions are shown to be successful, as the Feds and rebels witness Felix's monologue throughout various screens at the capital, revealing the truth behind the Space Pirates' involvement in the Civil War.

With their mission now a failure, and their plans exposed, Locus, Felix, and the pirates retreat, with Locus vowing to the Blood Gulch Crew that their battle isn't over. Afterwards, Tucker falls to the ground, with Dr. Grey quickly running to his aid, while the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew, minus an injured Wash, watch from nearby. Over the radio, Doyle and Kimball order their respective armies to cease fire, with Kimball desperately trying to get in contact with the Blood Gulch Crew.

Transcript
To be written...

Trivia

 * The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the series, with Red and Blue being replaced, and rhyming, with Fed and New respectively.
 * This is the third longest running episode of the series, behind Why Were We Here? and Silver Linings.
 * Felix stating that Carolina is fast is a reference to Cloak and Dagger, where he asked her about it during their brief fight.
 * Washington holding Felix at gunpoint while Locus holds Washington at gunpoint is a reference to You're the Bomb, Yo, where a similar scene occurs involving Wyoming, Tex, and O'Malley.
 * Doyle is again seen with Mark VI forearms instead of the Mark V he debuted with. Also, midway through the episode the forearms and legs shift, this time both to ODST.
 * Freckles is revealed to have been moved into Caboose's assault rifle and appears to function well in it.
 * Even though Carolina's leg injury has been a hindrance to her since Cloak and Dagger, somehow it does not affect her combat performance during her fight with Locus and Felix.
 * Simmons' statement about Grif being "deceptively heavy" in Catch Up, No Mustard is referenced in this episode, where Sarge jumping onto the Pirate only staggers him a step, but Grif jumping on him throws him to the ground.
 * Locus uses the "German Suplex" on Carolina, the same move Epsilon-Tex used on Tucker in This One Goes to Eleven.
 * Lopez loses his head once again in this episode, but is revealed to still possess complete control of his body, before he reconstructs himself.
 * Washington's statement, "If it's not a car, it's a cliff," is a reference to Reunion where he nearly falls off a cliff, as well as a reference to his bad luck with cars.
 * Simmons' catchphrase returns with a new variation, "Suck it, Black!", which refers to the Space Pirates.
 * Bitters missing his target is a reference to Thin Ice.
 * Doyle's line, "I'm a leader, not a fighter," is reference to Exploring Our Differences where Tucker makes a similar statement, "I'm a lover, not a fighter."
 * Felix's bow and line "Round One: Felix" is a reference to the Mortal Kombat video game series.
 * The end of the fight between Tucker and Felix references the fight between Wash and the Meta in Reconstruction: Chapter 19: both Wash and Tucker were wounded by the enemy (Meta and Felix), and reveal Church/Epsilon to buy time to activate/use a device (the EMP and, in this case, Tucker's helmet cam).
 * Along with this, Tucker's attempt to distract Felix as the Reds and Caboose sneak up on him is similar to when Tucker distracts Epsilon-Tex in This One Goes to Eleven: in both situations, Tucker keeps the attention of his opponent (Epsilon-Tex and Felix) so his allies can commence a sneak attack on them (Simmons and, in this case, the Reds and Caboose) only to fail.
 * Locus thinking that soldiers and humans are two different things might be a reference to Master Chief in the Epilogue of Halo 4, as he displayed a similar belief about soldiers and humanity.
 * This is the first episode where Dr. Grey uses a weapon other than her scanner, that being a Light Rifle.
 * Coincidentally, when Felix fights Tucker while Locus fights Wash, the paired fights match the side they aligned with in the Chorus Civil War; Felix and Tucker were aligned with the New Republic, while Locus and Wash were aligned with the Federal Army of Chorus.

Video
S12E18