Reconstruction: Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction aired on June 30, 2008 as the 115th episode overall.

Synopsis
At Outpost 17-B, Washington is stopped from approaching the crash site by the soldiers present there. According to the guards, the Director of Project Freelancer has ordered a total lock-down, so Washington creates a distraction to allow Church and Caboose to use a gravity lift from one of the bases to approach the crash site. They access the ship's computer to discover that Sheila is still active, despite the ship's systems being badly damaged. Washington and Caboose manage to activate the log of the previous flight, and observe Tex's struggle to land the ship before it crashed. In the sponsor cut there is Andy talking in the background of the flight recording. Washington then receives a call from Command, who tell him that a recovery beacon has been activated by Delta. Command also informs Wash that South Dakota, Delta's current host, is in "big trouble". Washington, remembering South's past betrayal, chimes in with "Yes. Yes, she is."

Transcript
Chairman: Dear Director.

Fade in to a base somewhere, with barricades and people behind them

Chairman: We can all understand that the shift from autonomy to oversight can be a difficult adjustment for anyone, but especially someone of your standing. In that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your brief explanations to our serious inquiries. None the less, I feel compelled to inform you, that even our trust has its limits.

Cut to Washington talking with a Private dressed all in black

Private: Sorry Sir, those are my orders. No-one can approach the crash site. You can't come in. Sorry.

Washington: I need to see that ship. Check my clearance if you need to.

Private: I know sir, but, it won't matter. They said I can't let anybody in. Anybody.

Washington: I have orders from Command, Private.

Private: So do I. These came from the Director himself. ...Look sir, I'd- I'd like to help you, I really would, but this investigation thing... apparently they've started talking to people within the Recovery force. Now everything's getting locked down. You get Command to call me and tell me different, I can let you in. Until then, there's nothing I can do. You can use Red Base if you wanna make some calls. That facility's already been swept.

Washington: Fine, I understand.

Washington walks back to Church and Caboose

Washington: *sigh* We have a problem.

Caboose: I hope it isn't a math problem.

Washington: They've got the crash site locked down.

Church: Oh great. We couldn't have found that out on the radio? We had to walk here?

Washington: They said we could use this base if we want.

Church: Wow, the empty concrete base? Is it our birthday?

Caboose: I want cake.

Church: Can't we find somewhere nicer to hang out? Hey maybe there's like a, cool nightclub nearby that you can't get us in to either. That would be awesome.

Washington: You two just, stay here. I'll go draw off the guards. When I give you the signal, use that grav-lift.

Church: The what? How do we use it?

Washington: Just step in to it. It'll do the rest. Meet me at the ship.

Church: Okay, what's the, signal?

Church turns around, and Washington is already gone

Church: God dammit, I hate when they do that.

Caboose: When they do wha- hey! Where's Agent Washington?

''They wait a while. Exciting, isn't it?''

Caboose: What do you think he'll do for a distraction?

Church: Who knows, probably like, you know, make a noise, or throw a rock. That's what I would do.

In the distance a vehicle is blown in to the sky and a siren starts sounding

Church: ...Or he could do that.

Caboose: I think he is better at distractions than you are.

Church: Yeah.

Washington: (over the radio) Okay, come on out. But come quietly.

Church: Okay, let's go.

Caboose: Um, yes, I don't want to. Uh, you see I am scared of the thing that I don't know what it is.

Church: Oh don't be a baby. How bad could it be-

Church steps in to the grav-lift and is hurtled, limbs flailing, through the air

Church: -eeeeeeeeeeeee!

Church lands, bounces, skids, hydroplanes, and eventually smacks up against the side of a jeep behind two soldiers, making "oof" sounds the whole way

Church: That was fucking bullshit!

Soldier 1: Did you just say somethin'?

Soldier 2: ...Whuh?

Washington: I said quietly, what part of quiet don't you understand?

Church: What part? How 'bout the part where I got thrown eighty feet in the fucking air, by the God damn throwing thing!?

Time passes, and a tank rolls by

Washington: They didn't see us, okay. Stay out of sight. Do you recognize this ship?

Church: Yeah, this looks like it.

Caboose: Sheila? Sheila. Are you okay?

Washington: Um... what is he doing?

Church: Oh, yeah we uh, we transferred our tank's training program in to the ship, so that it could help us repair it.

Washington: Did you inform Command that you moved the program to the ship?

Church: Yeah, we're not really big on paperwork.

Washington: That's actually a good thing in this case. If they don't know it's there, they may not have tried to activate it.

Washington opens a panel in the ship and something slumps out that turns out to be a diagnostics screen

Washington: Ah ha, here we go.

Sheila: (lethargically) Hello, and thank you for activating the- wait, where am I?

Caboose: Sheila?

Washington: Program, instruction. Run a full diagnostic, and load the logs from your last flight.

Sheila: Affirmative. Excep-exception: the system has taken dam-taken damage. I am functing- I am functioning at minimum capacity-ity-ity-.

Washington: Program, instruction. Override exception and-

Caboose: Do not talk to her like that, she is not a program!

Washington: Whoa. What? Calm down.

Church: Hey I'm just gonna, stand behind Caboose, for a couple minutes. You know for safety reasons.

Sheila: Port engine destroyed.

Washington: Okay. I only want to replay the logs from the crash. So can you please get it-

Church backs away further

Washington: I mean her, to do that.

Sheila: Stabilizer offline.

Caboose: Sheila, um, would you go ahead and do that ah thing that he just said, to me?

Sheila: Begin-beginning playb-playback.

The screen starts playing the log, with a warning siren and sounds of things hitting each other in the background

Sheila: Warning, warning, system failure.

Tex: Sheila! Stabilizers!

Sheila: Port abort, destroyed. Rear stabilizer offline. Navigation, offline. And my system clock does not match interior records.

Tex: Did Gamma get loose!

Sheila: Negative, but I do not know how much longer I can contain him.

Tex: Computer, what about there? In the canyon, can we land?

Sheila: Analyzing data.

Tex: Just tell me, can you get us there?

Sheila: I am unable to calculate-

Tex: Sheila, give me manual control, now!

Sheila: Acknowledged. Manual control, activated. Warning: decompression. Rear doors, open.

Tex: Where're they going? Close the hatch!

Sheila: Rear doors open.

Tex: Wait!

Sheila: Acknowledged. Warning.

Tex: What happened to-

Sheila: Altitude critical. Brace for impact. Brace for impact.

Tex: Hold on!

Sheila: Brace for impact.

Tex: Everybody just hold on-

The recording ends with a sustained beep

Washington: Okay, so after that the ship crashed here. And from what a survivor told us the Blues got here first and offloaded the bodies and equipment. Then they started to get infected.

Caboose: Infected? What were they doing with the bodies?

Church: Gross, shut up.

Caboose: No really, what were they doing with the bodies.

Washington: They said their men started acting erratically. And for some reason they destroyed all their radios and their own comm tower.

Church: Okay, okay. That was definitely Omega.

Washington: You had a similar experience?

Church: Yeuh, similar? Exactly the same.

Washington: It all adds up then. Omega was the one who inherited that trait. During training they discovered he could move from suit to suit. For some reason he preferred Agent Texas. They tried to reassign him but he always made his way back to her somehow.

Church: So where's yer A.I.?

Washington: I don't have one. Any more. It's a long story but it's why I was chosen for this job.

Church: Okay, okay I knew I had heard your name before. You're that guy that went nuts, right?

Washington: I didn't do anything. My A.I... lost control of itself.

Church: Riight. It just happened to do it while it was inside your head.

Washington: Right.

Caboose: We have a lot in common Agent Washington.

Washington: No we don't. And don't ever say that again.

Church: Where's Tex's body?

Washington: According to the prisoner, it should be in Blue Base.

Church: Take me to it, I want to see it.

Washington: What? I don't think so. That's their main-

Beeping sounds overlap Wash's last few words, then Command starts talking to him over the radio

Command: Recovery Command calling Recovery One, level zero.

Washington: I have you, Command, level zero. Go ahead.

Command: We have a beacon Wash. Pulling the data now. Stand by for I.B. and coordinates.

Washington: I received it here too. Standing by.

Church: What was that?

Washington: That was my recovery beacon. It means an A.I. somewhere is in jeopardy and I have to find it before- ...something, else, does.

Command: Coordinates locked, transmitting now.

Washington: Receiving coordinates for recovery target. Do we have an ID?

Command: Affirmative, it is from the A.I. Delta and-

Washington: Agent South.

Command: Roger that, Agent South Dakota. Vital reports look bad, yeah she's in trouble Wash.

Washington: Yes. Yes she is.