Washington

Freelancer Agent Washington, also known as Recovery One, Prisoner 619-B, real name David, or simply Wash for short, is the main protagonist in his eponymous mini-series and a main character in Red vs. Blue overall. First introduced in the series' second saga, the Recollections, Washington was once a Freelancer assigned to the Special Operations Recovery Unit, where he was charged with recovering the artificial constructs of dying Freelancers.

Overview
Before the Recollections, Washington was an easy-going soldier who, despite his high rank, acted like a rookie. However, after being implanted with the A.I. Epsilon, Washington witnessed the Director's crimes, the Alpha's torture, and possibly went insane due to the implantation. Washington is one of the most complex characters in the entire series. Although introduced as the main protagonist in Reconstruction, he later becomes an antagonist alongside the Meta in Revelation. Near the conclusion of Revelation, however, he helps defeat the Meta and becomes a member of the Blue Team after the Reds and Blues help him fake his death so that he can avoid life imprisonment and live a new life.

Project Freelancer
At a time, Washington was listed as the sixth ranked Freelancer. After a failed mission with C.T., Washington tries to console her, but she pushes him away. She then explains that the missions decide between the best and worst Freelancers and that Wash had better choose whose side he's on soon. Hours later, Agent North Dakota approaches Wash, worried that "Internals" had questioned the latter about his use of equipment on a mission. Wash tells him not to worry, but their conversation is interrupted when a group of soldiers head towards the training floor. Wash and North head there as well and witness Maine, Wyoming and York fighting Agent Texas.

When York is injured during the fight, Wash, Carolina, North, South, and C.T. rush down to his aid. The Director then enters and yells at the Freelancers. When Wash tries to defend himself, saying that Maine and Wyoming weren't following protocol, the Director angrily responds that the enemy won't follow protocol either. Wash is later seen in the briefing room with most of the other Freelancers, preparing for the mission to retrieve the Sarcophagus. He assigned to Team A, along with Maine, Carolina, and a recovered York.

During the mission, Wash is seen with Team A in the 110 story building, where he finds the Sarcophagus. Carolina gets the idea to send it up a window washer lift by having Maine serve as a counter weight. As the Sarcophagus is being sent up the lift, a soldier with a flame thrower battles Carolina and Wash. Wash tries to kill the soldier with a Fuel Rod Cannon, but the beam bounces and explodes harmlessly behind the soldier. After Carolina kills the soldier, the two regroup with York at the top of the, where they unexpectedly confront Tex.

Suddenly, the four become surrounded by Insurrectionists, but are soon saved by the Mother of Invention which fires a MAC blast at their location. When the building begins to collapse, the Freelancers hop off the building and escape. During the freefall, Wash lands on the Sarcophagus and brings down a Hornet with his battle rifle. Afterwards, a Pelican picks him up, with the Sarcophagus in hand. After the mission, Wash spots C.T. talking with an Insurrectionist, forcing her to end the video chat, as a result of  being interrupted. C.T. leaves and tells Washington to mind his own business.

A.I. Interaction
In the UNSC Scrap Metal Recycling Station in space, Wash is sent on a mission to infiltrate an Insurrectionist space station and capture its leader, alongside fellow Freelancers: North Dakota, South Dakota, C.T., and Carolina. Before they set off, Carolina tells them not to over use their jetpacks or they'll end up like Georgia, which only makes Wash feel uneasy. During the mission, Wash attempts to access the leader's location via a computer module in the space station's main hangar, but nearly gets killed by a falling Warthog. When the Freelancer team obtain new information on the leader's whereabouts, they prepare to depart to Bone Valley, until York crash lands inside the station's main hangar and joins them.

After they leave the station, the Insurrection plant nukes in space, forcing the Freelancers to escape. As the others make it into the Pelican, Wash slowly catches up, out of fear of ending up like Georgia, but is saved when Carolina locks onto his armor's cod piece with a grappling hook. After the mission, Wash and York are introduced to North's A.I., Theta, and are amazed by their success in a test involving the two. After a class about A.I. theory, Wash joins North Dakota and York on their discussion of the Alpha A.I. in the mess hall. Wash asks many questions during the discussion, while eating a couple of snacks in the process.

Washington is soon sent on mission to obtain C.T.'s armor at the Longshore Shipyards, along with fellow Freelancers Carolina, York, South, and North Dakota. During their arrival at the Shipyards, the Freelancers quickly attack the Insurrectionists, where Wash activates his armor enhancement: an EMP unit that he uses to shut down two Warthogs before they hit him. After North eliminates a sniper group, Wash and York are attacked by the Sleeveless Insurrection Soldier. Wash manages to disarm the Sleeveless Insurrectionist, but is soon chased by a Warthog. Taking cover, Wash activates a beacon, which sends down a drop pod containing Maine and Sigma.

As Wash and York watch Maine handle the Insurrectionists from behind cover, Sigma appears before them to speak with Delta. He soon dismisses himself afterwards and Wash, along with York, soon join Wyoming inside the Leader's bunker, but are pinned down by Twin Insurrectionist Chain Gunners. When Carolina arrives and begins to give orders, a cloaked Tex breaks through the Twin Gunners' line of fire and surpasses them. Carolina, enraged, charges after her. Still under fire from the Twin gunners, Agent Florida, who had recovered after being hit by a tomahawk to the chest, shoots a crane arm and sends the crate it was carrying at the Insurrectionist soldiers, splattering them underneath.

Epsilon Incident
Back aboard the Mother of Invention, Washington is scheduled for A.I. implantation, along with South Dakota, for either the Eta or Iota A.I. Unfortunately, his schedule is pushed back by Carolina, who decides to take both A.I. for herself. While Carolina is prepped for surgery, South complains over the latter's decision and is further angered when Wash claims that he has been rescheduled for implantation sometime soon. Afterwards, Wash and York visit Carolina after her surgery in the medical observatory, where she soon wakes up and demands a match.

Afterwards, Wash, York, North, Wyoming and Maine gather in the observation room to watch a match between Texas and Carolina. As the training match begins, the Director comes in and questions why there is an unscheduled match going on, before noticing that Tex herself is participating. He then yells out her name in concern, which sends all the A.I. in to a relapse, calling out "Allison" as a result. The Freelancers, except Wash, double over in pain in response to the A.I.s' screams. However, this quickly subsides, and the Freelancers recover, except for Carolina, whose A.I. have become unstable.

Several days later, Washington is assigned to be implanted with the Epsilon A.I. Immediately after the operation, Wash loses control, seeing numerous memories of Allison, which causes him severe pain. Wash is soon sedated and sent into Recovery. A few days after his implantation, Wash wakes up in the medical room, with North and South standing by him. The two tell him that the Director not only removed Epsilon, but plan to remove all of the A.I. from the Freelancers. Wash then questions Carolina's whereabouts, in which North reveals that the Director has been planning to send Carolina to go after Tex, who has recently gone rogue. A security alarm suddenly sounds off.

Recovery One
Some time after the events of the Freelancer break-in, Washington attains the new call sign, "Recovery One" and is charged to recover the Delta A.I., after Freelancer York is KIA. While recovering Delta Wash plants an explosive onto York's armor, but is then attacked by Wyoming. As Wyoming corners Wash, he realizes that the explosive on York's armor is about to detonate and flees as a result. When Delta reminds Wash about the detonator, Wash takes Delta and manages to escape the explosion. He is then contacted by Recovery Command and is sent to answer a Priority One Distress Call.

Wash responds and finds the two Freelancer twins, North and South Dakota. North is KIA, but South was left alive. Upon questioning South, Wash discovers that North still had his A.I. construct, Theta, but is soon contacted by Command and is ordered to kill South. Wash only pretends to kill her, later saying that he needs her help. He orders Delta to lie about South's death, much to South's disbelief, and the group go to a city, where Wash explains the situation to South: something is hunting down the Freelancers and stealing their armor enhancements and A.I. Wash plans to implant Delta into South for safekeeping, but South protests, saying that she isn't rated for implantation.

Nonetheless, South goes through with it. Wash and South are then attacked by the Meta, the entity that is hunting the Freelancers. In an effort to protect Delta, Wash suggests that South escape while he provides her cover. This turns out to be a severe mistake when South betrays Wash and shoots him in the back. South then confronts the Meta and convinces it to steal Wash's armor enhancement before the timed charge she allegedly placed on his armor detonates, giving her the time to escape with Delta. Washington is last seen lying on the ground motionless with the Meta looming over him.

Pursuit of the Meta
Washington makes his re-appearance in the very first episode of Reconstruction, having escaped the Meta from his last encounter simply by playing dead. Wash also reveals that he was able to survive South's betrayal because he had taken York's Healing Unit. Upon offering counsel to Recovery Command on the incident at Outpost 17-B: Valhalla, Wash is ordered to investigate the last known location of the Omega A.I.: Blood Gulch. When he arrives, he learns that all of the soldiers, with the exception of Sister, have been transferred, as their bases were rendered "obsolete", although Sarge is also present, having refused his reassignment orders. After a fruitless attempt at interrogating Sister, Wash questions Sarge, who shows him Caboose's reassignment orders as recorded by Lopez.

When he arrives at Caboose's new base at Outpost 28-A: Rat's Nest, he learns about Caboose's incredible stupidity the hard way. Shortly afterwards, Wash and Caboose manage to find Church at Outpost 48-A and persuade him to join them in hunting the Meta. After finding and re-activating Sheila at Valhalla, Washington's suspicions about the Meta are confirmed, but he is interrupted by a distress call from Delta, implying that South is under attack by the Meta. After a series of events leading up to South's death, Wash manages to track the Meta back to Zanzibar, only to have Sarge and the newly reformed Red Team show up and ruin their hopes of stopping the Meta. As a result, Wash manages to convince the Reds and Blues to work with him to stop the Meta.

After Wash assumes command of both teams, Church gives him a message that he received from Delta: "Memory is the key." Wash reveals that the message meant that the Alpha A.I. is the only thing that can stop the Meta, and that there is only one place where they can find it: Freelancer Command. After commandeering some vehicles at Valhalla, Wash, the Reds, and Blues sneak into Freelancer Command, where, Wash takes Church with him down into the A.I. Containment Facility where he begins to search the corridors. After some searching, Washington finally comes across the panel he was looking for, but instead of extracting the Alpha A.I. from it, he extracts his A.I.: Epsilon.

Church is furious that Wash lied to him, but Washington explains everything. He explains that all the other A.I. were never copied from the Alpha (because one cannot copy an A.I.), but instead fragments of it, created by torturing the Alpha until it began to split off parts of its personality in order to protect its sanity, which were then harvested for use. Finally, Washington provides Church with a jarring revelation - the reason why Church always agreed with everything Delta said, why he was assigned to Blood Gulch, why he can live without a body, and why he was unaffected when the Omega A.I. jumped into his head, is because Church himself, is the Alpha A.I.

Imprisonment
Church refuses to accept Wash's explanation, and insists on leaving  with the rest of the Blood Gulch crew despite Wash's appeal for help. Wash makes his way back down to a computer terminal in order to trigger Command's EMP, luring the Meta in behind him. The Counselor and the Director of Project Freelancer each plead with Wash not to go through with his plan, but when Wash refuses, they allow the Meta to attack him. When Wash is injured, Church appears and stalls the Meta long enough for Washington to activate the EMP, destroying the electronic facilities of Freelancer Command and the Meta's collection of A.I.

Washington's fate is revealed in Catching Up, where it is shown that he survived the gunshot wound, but had been stripped of his Agent status and imprisoned in a UNSC Maximum Security Detention Facility for his actions in Reconstruction. Caboose contacted him, requesting help for himself and Donut, but Wash stated that assistance from him would be unlikely; however, when approached by the Prison Guard, he claimed that he needed to see "the Commander," stating ambiguously that he had found "the missing piece to his puzzle." The commander is revealed to be the Chairman, who in turn makes a deal with Wash: Wash promised that in exchange for his freedom, he'll find and return the Epsilon Unit to the UNSC.

Pursuit of Epsilon
In Think You Know Someone, Washington soon arrived at Valhalla to find Donut, Lopez, and Simmons trying to escape in the Meta's Warthog. Wash orders the Meta to stand down before demanding the Epsilon unit from the terrified Reds. Deeming Lopez and Donut to be useless to him, Wash shoots them both and holds Simmons prisoner back at Blue Base. Revealing that he's working with the Meta, he then forces Simmons to make a call for a medic, and results in Doc responding to the call. When Doc arrives, he is quickly subdued and held prisoner alongside Simmons.

After receiving a call from Sarge, Wash forces Simmons to reply with an all-clear message, hoping to lure the rest of the Blood Gulch squad with Epsilon in tow. However, Sarge and Grif return and overtake Wash with an unexpected plan and in the process, incapacitate him. The Reds then rescue only Simmons and reunite with Epsilon, who followed them back to Valhalla, until Wash reappears alongside the Meta in pursuit of them. He is forced to detour, however, when Epsilon blocks his progress by causing a wall to collapse. Forced to abandon his pursuit, Wash and Meta attempt to free Doc from the wall, but only succeed in tearing away Doc's wall fragment. The two then question Doc, who replies that Simmons "mentioned something about sand."

They then tracked down a Recovery Beacon to the dig-site, where Washington forced the Meta to dig until he found the source of the beacon: C.T.'s helmet, surprising Wash. After Wash and Meta free Doc from the wall by blasting it, they encounters the Aliens. Doc convinces them to draw a map to Epsilon for them, but humorously, the map turns out to be an insult to humans, leading the Meta and Wash to open fire on the Aliens. Wash then tries to get Doc to check if one of the Aliens had survived the attack and ordered the Meta to find something they could use to help track Epsilon.

The Meta tosses out an empty storage unit and Washington orders the Meta to modify it into a capture unit. While the Meta works on the storage unit, Doc asks Wash if they have any way to track the Reds, such as following their footprints, or looking for broken tree branches. Wash informs Doc that they are in the desert, and calls him an idiot. As Doc walks away, Wash asks the Meta if they can track the Reds, with the Meta telling Wash they are in the desert. After modifying the unit, the Meta manages to find a faint trail, and the three prepare to move out. Wash then gets a beacon, and he, the Meta, and Doc leave for Epsilon.

Joining the Blue Team
Upon arrival at a snowy Freelancer base, they find the body of Epsilon lying in the snow, but Washington is reluctant to approach. Doc suggests that they would possibly be expected to remain in position by their would-be assailant, to which Wash scoffs at, but is quickly proven true when a ring of mines detonates around them, sending the three flying. Wash is soon subdued by Tex, who demands the Director's location. Shocked that Tex is alive, Wash expresses confusion at her question, when suddenly the Meta attacks. Wash then regains his weapon and joins the brawl. As Tex escapes from a falling cliff she detonated, Wash and the Meta run to safety, barely escaping the fall.

After the fight, Meta captures Tex inside the capture unit and uses it to obtain Epsilon, betraying Wash. Wash manages to save Epsilon, at the cost of his own safety. As the Meta gets ready to kill him, Wash is saved by a close rescue by the Reds and Blues. He then finds Tex trapped in the memory unit and begins a short conversation with Epsilon over Tex's past until the Meta returns for a fight. After an intense battle with the Meta, Wash is badly wounded and gives Sarge the Warthog tow cable, which he uses to defeat the Meta.

Afterwards, Sarge tells Doc to go help the wounded Washington, expressing doubt that he will survive. When UNSC Police forces arrive, the Blues help Washington evade arrest by faking his death and giving him Epsilon's armor, now with a yellow trim. When Wash asked why they were helping him, Caboose told him that they were returning past favors, while Tucker said it was because they were one guy short. Nonetheless, Wash thanks them.

Conflict With Carolina
As time passes, Carolina takes the Reds and Blues on a mission to rescue Epsilon at the UNSC Archives, where Wash informs Epsilon that he took his armor, his place on Blue Team, and even his name. After the group leave the facility with Epsilon in hand, they make a pit stop at a UNSC Wind Power Station, where Carolina expresses her regret over the Meta's rampage to Wash, as a result of it being caused by her A.I. Sigma. The two suddenly discover Tucker and Epsilon spying on them nearby, in which Carolina threatens them to get out. After sweeping out the facilty, Wash tells Carolina that he was unable to find anything new. As a result the two ex-Freelancers decide to locate a new target: C.T.

When the group arrive at the desert, Wash quickly directs Carolina to C.T.'s grave site. While there, Wash wonders why Carolina wanted to find her, in which she retells the events at the Longshore Shipyards, where C.T. was killed by Tex and that the body discovered by Wash and the Meta was in fact the Insurrectionist Leader. After Carolina takes the data pad containing the information on Project Freelancer, Wash plugs it into the computer of an Elephant, but the data file becomes corrupted. Frustrated, Carolina departs on her Mongoose to an Abandoned Island Fortress, in which Wash has everyone move inside the temple, before dark.

That night, Wash overlooks the desert on the roof of the temple and hears Caboose attempting to sneak up on him to voice the groups' concerns about Carolina. Wash tells Caboose to get back inside, but is caught by surprise when Caboose tells him he considers him a friend. Carolina returns with Epsilon and tells the group that they are moving to Outpost 17-B. Upon returning to Outpost 17-B, Wash and Carolina head to the Pelican, after a debate with the Reds about the possibility of an ambush due to the teams being wanted fugitives.

After scanning over the Pelican crash site, Wash informs Carolina about his findings: a dog tag and a couple of shell casings. Carolina, angry at the fact that they were unable to find anything useful, decides to leave Valhalla and orders Wash to tell the Reds and Blues that they will be moving out again. Wash points out that Valhalla is still their home and they won't be ready to leave, but Carolina stares him down and says she will see the mission completed regardless. Wash, clearly fed up with Carolina's attitude, then leaves to inform the others. As he goes to tell the Reds, he eavesdrops on a conversation they're having, listening to Sarge state that if they leave, things are going to get worse.

Rescue Mission
Wash and the others then gather in the Hologram Chamber, where Carolina and Epsilon discuss their plan of to kill the Director. However, the Reds and Blues refuse to help and as a result, Carolina holds Tucker at gunpoint, forcing them to assist. Furious, Wash aims his pistol at Carolina's head, threatening to kill her if she tries to hurt his "friends." Epsilon then begins to blame the Reds and Blues for all the problems he had to deal with. Feeling betrayed, the Reds and Blues depart from the chamber, leaving only Washington, Carolina and Epsilon. Wash coldly tells Carolina that she needs to figure out the difference between her enemies and her friends before walking out of the room.

Sometime later, the Blues manage to take all of the Reds' equipment, and continue to torment the Reds, but none of the crew feels into it. When Wash questions what else do the Reds have, he becomes astounded when Grif reveals the Meta's Brute Shot to them. Doc soon reminds the Reds and Blues on how much they have changed since they first met. Following Doc's speech, the Reds and Blues decide to go help Epsilon and Carolina but Wash reminds them that the mission will be dangerous. After a brief speech from Sarge however, Wash agrees to help. Suddenly, a trio of UNSC Police Hornets surround the group and attempt to arrest them.

The Reds and Blues, however, steal the Hornets and fly off to Carolina and Epsilon's location. The group find Carolina being attacked by an army of robotic Tex drones. Washington helps Carolina to her feet and gives her his pistol. Afterwards, the Reds, Blues and Carolina follow suit and battle their formidable opponents but are soon overwhelmed. Wash tells Epsilon that he must find Tex in order to stop the drones, in which Epsilon does so. After Epsilon shuts down the drones, Wash reminds them that the Director must be dealt with, but Epsilon tells the group that he and Carolina must complete the next task alone.

Shipwrecked on Chorus
After Carolina and Epsilon confront the Director, they decide to relocate the Reds and Blues to a place where they can call home. However, on their way back home, the Reds and Blues crash land a pardoned ship in an unknown location. So as a result, Tucker, Caboose, and Washington settle at their new Blue base, where Wash creates a journal entry describing his experience at Project Freelancer and his transition meeting the Reds and Blues. However, he discovers the Reds using Blue team's tank on their own base. Frustrated, Wash stops them and explains that they must repair their communications tower before they run out of food. He and Caboose then return the tank back to Blue base, where Wash confronts Tucker about his insubordination.

Wash then has Tucker perform exercises, and later comforts a depressed Caboose. Soon afterwards, as Wash repairs the comm tower with Tucker's help, Tucker questions why they haven't been found yet, stating that the ship's GPS would have also informed command of their crash. Wash brings up his concern of something watching them and reluctantly agrees with Tucker. After they complete their repairs, the Reds arrive to offer help, where Lopez 2.0 successfully manages to complete the repairs, allowing the group to make contact with Donut. Wash and Sarge inform Donut of their situation and Donut agrees to rescue them.

Afterwards Caboose returns and introduces the group to his pet Freckles, frightening everyone. Soon after, Wash enters the ship to check the group's food rations, but instead ventures into another area of it. When he returns, he questions why Simmons is at Blue base, in which Tucker explains that the latter simply joined them. Wash scolds Tucker for this and the two get into a heated argument, until Grif and Sarge attack in their Warthog. Wash attempts to calm Sarge down, but only escalates his argument with Tucker. After Wash makes a sarcastic remark of making Caboose Blue Team leader, Freckles misunderstands this and believes that Wash was demoted and Caboose was promoted.

As things heat up, Donut, Lopez, and Doc soon arrive and end their commotion, stating that they were dropped off by the pilot. Realizing that Donut allowed the ship to leave the Reds and Blues attack them in anger. With Caboose now the mistaken leader, Wash, Tucker, and Simmons are forced to follow his ridiculous commands, in fear of Freckles killing them if they don't. Luckily, Wash manages to trick Caboose into having him enter the ship to "check for enemies". While inside, he is seen constructing something and makes an apology to Caboose. He returns to Blue base and finds Simmons having built an internet connection system, allowing both teams to communicate with one another via Basebook.

Battle at Crash Site Bravo
Afterwards, Wash confronts Tucker at the comm tower and tries to give him advice on fixing the radio, but the latter only insults him. Wash then admits that he was one of the worst Freelancers in his squad and has no choice but to assume a leadership position ever since Church and Carolina left, something he has never done before. He then tells Tucker that he can be a capable soldier if he tries and later apologizes to Caboose for being a poor friend in the latter's time of need. So, as a token of goodwill, Wash gives him a new helmet, resulting in Caboose returning the Captain position back to Wash. Suddenly, four white armored soldiers attack Blue base, forcing the Blues to eliminate them.

As the Reds and Blues regroup, they are confronted by both Felix and Locus. Locus asks the group to come with him, but they refuse and Wash orders Freckles to kill Locus. When Locus disappears, the group interrogate Felix, who explains that they have crash landed on the planet Chorus, whose society is undergoing a civil war between the New Republic and the Federal Army. Felix asks for the group's help against the Feds, but they decline. Nonetheless, Felix tells them to prepare for an attack. While the others fortify their bases, Wash questions how Locus has access to cloaking, in which Felix explains that the Feds have access to various pieces of advanced technology.

Soon afterwards, Wash dons into his original steel armor color scheme for the upcoming attack, when suddenly, both Lopez 2.0, while in control of C.C., and the Federal Army attack, forcing the group to engage. During the battle, both Donut and Lopez become hurt and downed. Locus then incapacitates both Wash and Sarge with a railgun, forcing the unharmed Reds and Blues to retreat with Felix into a tunnel. As Wash regains consciousness, he commands Freckles to "Shake!", prompting the latter to execute a powerful ground stomp that causes the tunnel roof to collapse and seal off, ensuring the rest of the group's survival. Wash is then knocked out by Locus and taken by the Feds, alongside Sarge, Lopez, and Donut.

Secrets Revealed
After the battle, Wash, Lopez, Sarge, and Donut are sent to F.A.C. Outpost 37, where they meet General Donald Doyle, who reveals that the Feds are not the enemy, and are fighting the New Republic for their previous acts of terrorism. Doyle then promises that he will allow them to leave Chorus if they help the Feds defeat the rebels and rescue their friends, which the group agree to. Locus then gives Wash a storage unit containing Freckles' "heart and mind", and the group are soon introduced to Dr. Grey, who treated Wash's injuries. Weeks later, Wash and the others prepare to rescue Tucker, Simmons, Grif, and Caboose, but unexpectedly run into them at the compound.

They tell each other the truth behind why the rebels and Feds are fighting one another, and Wash comes up with a plan to end the war by having Kimball and Doyle come to an understanding. Suddenly, the compound is attacked by Locus and a group of mercenaries, who force the Blood Gulch Crew to stand down. As Locus prepares to kill them, Felix arrives and betrays the group, revealing that he and Locus used them as a means to cause further conflict in the Chorus Civil War, all due to their superior wanting the planet free of it's inhabitants. Fortunately, Carolina emerges from hiding, disguised as a mercenary, and uses a Teleportation Cube to escape with the group.

Arriving at a secret Forest Base, Carolina and Epsilon explain that their ship was purposely crashed on Chorus by the Space Pirates, who are mass-producing advanced versions of the ship's Freelancer equipment. Soon after, Wash gives Caboose Freckles' storage unit, overjoying the latter, and the group soon discover a connection between the teleportation grenades and Grif's Suppressor. In order to know who supplied the grenades, the Blues and Carolina leave to search the other half of the ship at Crash Site Alpha, while the Reds search the ship's manifest at Crash Site Bravo. While at Alpha, the Blues and Carolina are attacked by Space Pirates, forcing them to teleport away.

However, when a space pirate who teleported back with them attempts to kill Caboose, Carolina rescues him, and the group restrain the mercenary. Afterwards, Wash tries to give Tucker advice on leadership, telling him that he must learn from his mistakes and trust his instincts. He then joins Carolina in interrogating the space pirate, Zachary Miller, and learns that they used a tractor beam to attract their ship towards the planet. Suddenly, more space pirates attack the forest base, where Wash realizes that the storage chip Locus gave him contained a tracking device. Due to this, he teleports the group to a fueling station and informs them of his discovery.

Going to War
After Epsilon removes the tracker, the group are contacted by Felix and Locus, who offer them a first-class trip off Chorus. Distrustful of the two, the crew execute a sneak attack on the mercenaries at Radio Jammer Station 1C, where Wash engages in a one-on-one fight with Locus, who questions Wash on why he continues to fight for the Reds and Blues. Wash explains that he has changed and describes Locus as a coward for hiding behind his "soldier" ideology, prompting Locus to attack him.

After Felix boasts the Pirates' plans to Tucker, the other Reds and Blues disable the radio jammer, allowing Epsilon to send Felix's recorded words to the Feds and Rebels at Armonia, who finally learn secret behind the Pirates' involvement in the war. Because of this, Locus and Felix teleport away. After the Feds and Rebels form a truce, they thank the Blood Gulch Crew for their efforts, and together, learn the true identity of Control and leader of the Space Pirates: Chairman Malcom Hargrove. When the latter declares war on Chorus, the Blood Gulch Crew, Federal Army, and New Republic, accept.

A month after the events at the radio jammer, Wash is seen training Smith, Jensen, Bitters and Palomo, admonishing the latter for his failure to hit the training cones in the weapons practice facility. When Grif appears, demanding to know of Kimball's whereabouts, Wash counters by demanding to know why Grif was absent from training earlier in the day. When Grif responds by stating he wasn't there because he didn't care, and reiterates his desire to know of Kimball's location, the exasperated Freelancer decides to have his trainees do laps to punish Grif. When Grif shrugs it off, Wash increases the amount of laps, and then accidentally divulges Kimball's location in the war room. Grif runs off, leaving Wash standing behind incensed at the former's desertion of training, just before the lieutenants arrive from their laps, Bitters and Jensen out of breath, Palomo having collapsed on the floor, and Smith triumphantly standing tall remarking that they "showed him".

Personality
Originally, Washington was very kind, compassionate, and obedient. He interacted very well with the other Freelancers, specifically York, North and on occasion, Carolina, and his compassion and understanding led him to comfort others during times of trouble. When C.T. returned from a failed mission, Wash attempted to tell her that it wasn't entirely her fault, but was rebuked when she claimed he was just making excuses. Although he was quite naive and somewhat immature during his early career as a Freelancer, acting like a child towards anything that piqued his curiosity, Wash could be serious when the situation required it. He wasn't afraid to voice his opinions; an example of this is when he accused Maine and Wyoming of protocol violation after York's injury to the Director.

After the trauma he sustained from Epsilon's breakdown, Wash's personality took a drastic change. Now knowing about the horrors the Director inflicted on Alpha, Washington became cynical, jaded and somewhat cold-hearted. His interaction with other soldiers and A.I. units was cold and professional, limited only to tactical input and vital information about missions. He showed little remorse when he discovered his friends had been killed (Though he did attempt to comfort South for the loss of her brother, albeit barely letting her have any time with him).

Washington also has very little tolerance for disloyalty; a prime example was when he expressed his desire for retribution against South's betrayal, as well as threatening to kill Carolina if she hurt his friends. He was extremely ruthless in completing his objectives, whether it be revenge or freedom, unhesitatingly killing South, executing Lopez, and shooting Donut. Wash was also callous, killing the Alien survivors of C.T.'s dig team with the Meta out of mere annoyance and impatience. Alongside his grittier demeanor, Wash had also become cunning and charismatic, setting up plans to defeat the Meta and shut down Project Freelancer long before the events actually occurred.

He had his methods of keeping the Reds and Blues in line, from simple bargains to keeping them informed of possible consequences of them not following his orders. Though he was still capable of some kindness, such as helping the Reds and Blues escape from Command whilst telling them to be careful and treating Caboose with fatherly care, despite his immense stupidity. He eventually comes to care greatly for the Reds and the Blues, showing fierce loyalty towards them and seeing them as a new family and place to belong. After Carolina threatens Tucker with her rifle, Wash finally realizes that she had crossed the line and, in turn, threatens her at gunpoint. Washington feels responsible for the problems he caused them in the past and wants to prevent more from happening to them.

Relationships
Washington seems to dislike or distrust almost every character he meets. However, by Season 10, he seems to have become kind towards the Reds and Blues, since they are the only friends he's had in years, stating that "they're not that bad, once you get to know them."

Survivability
A trademark of Washington is surviving events that would, at the least, leave others mentally and/or physically destroyed. Despite being seen as the most capable member of the Reds and Blues, Wash's survival "skills" are either out of the use of his equipment, others rescuing him, or pure luck. His impressive record of survival show that:

Season 9

 * He was nearly incinerated during the encounter with the Insurrectionist Flame Soldier had Carolina not pushed him out of the way.
 * Had Tex not assisted him, Wash and the package could have been lost on impact after the free fall in The Sarcophagus.

Season 10

 * He dodged an oncoming falling Warthog after he reactivated the gravity on an Insurrectionist spacecraft in Heavy Metal.
 * Was rescued from a detonating nuke by Carolina in Turbulence.
 * He prevented a Warthog from running him over, by using his EMP armor enhancement.
 * Survived the self-destruction of his implanted Epsilon A.I.

Recovery One

 * Managed to escape from a gunfight with Wyoming mere seconds before Agent York's armor, which Washington had rigged to explode, detonated.
 * He recovered from a near-fatal gunshot wound in the back, inflicted by Agent South (survived due to possessing Agent York's healing unit. It is unknown if he still possessed it from Reconstruction onwards)

Reconstruction

 * Was saved from being executed by the Meta while in a frozen state due to the Meta's equipment failing.
 * Swiftly recovered after the Meta struck him twice with the blade of his Brute Shot.
 * Battled and defeated a Hornet single-handedly, without getting injured. (This is one of the few times that Washington's survival was based on skill).
 * Barely survived a gunshot wound to the shoulder, inflicted by the Meta.

Revelation

 * Survived getting hit by a speeding Warthog.
 * Survived being in the middle of a powerful explosion, detonated by Sarge.
 * Survived being in the middle of another powerful explosion, detonated by Tex.
 * Managed to escape from a collapsing glacier due to the assistance of Doc.
 * Was injured by the Meta, but was spared the final blow due to the intervention of the Reds and Blues.

Season 11

 * Was one of the sole survivors of a large ship crash (That he helped cause out of clumsiness).
 * Was nearly sniped in the head twice by Locus, but was saved at the last second by Felix.
 * Survived a direct hit from a Railgun.

Season 12

 * Survived several injuries and a hallucination inflicted by Locus, after being saved by Emily Grey.
 * Was nearly sniped again in the head by Locus, but was "saved" at the last second by Felix.
 * Was nearly disintegrated by an Incineration Cannon by Locus, but was rescued by Carolina and Epsilon.
 * Narrowly fell off a cliff in Fed vs. New, but quickly saved himself.

"Of All Time"
In Reconstruction: Chapter 6, after Washington witnesses Caboose throw a spike grenade into the wall they are hiding behind, he states "That was the worst throw, ever. Of all time." Since then the phrase has appeared in later seasons as a running gag, often being used by Wash. However other characters have used it as well, sometimes splitting the phrase between two characters.

Cars
Throughout the series, Washington has had several instances where he is nearly killed by a car. In Upon Further Review, Washington is run over by a warthog after Sarge and Grif set an ambush. As the Warthog was driving towards him he questionably yells "CAAAAARRRR?!?!" Since then, it has been a running gag that Washington has bad experience with automobiles. In Heavy Metal, while hacking a computer, a Warthog nearly crashes into Wash and he asks "Why do cars hate me?". In Fall From Heaven, while fighting Insurrectionists, he was chased down by an enemy soldier in a Warthog while yelling "Caaaarrr!!!" once again. It's even stated by Monty Oum that Wash was initially meant to be cut in half by the Meta with the Warthog in Reunion.

Psyche
Washington’s psyche has been brought up to question throughout the series. Such examples include the comical lengths he goes to destroy South’s corpse for her betrayal in Reconstruction and Simmons revealing he went through a phase of bed wetting when he was younger according to his psyche profile in Check Your Local Listings. Originally, Washington acts less mature in the Project Freelancer Saga, such as when he sees the Insurrectionist Flame Soldier in The Sarcophagus, as he asks "What the fuck is with this guy?" due to the enemy's bold entrance and when he took a Fuel Rod Cannon to combat the soldier, he made a big fuss about the fact that the charge bounces off the wall while in the midst of battle.

After the implantation of Epsilon, Wash suffers much psychological damage, drastically changing his mood and attitude as seen in the Recollections. Wash also seems to be very begrudging, especially when it comes to South Dakota after her betrayal, evidenced by, comically, the lengths he goes to when disposing of her corpse. In order, he utilizes; a burst of his Battle Rifle, a plasma grenade, a sustained burst from a flamethrower, and at least a dozen fusion coils and propane tanks. Amusingly, Washington makes several attempts to add the final core to the stack, pushing it back onto the pile when it keeps rolling off.

Washington also states in Think You Know Someone he’ll do anything to obtain freedom, including betraying his former allies, implying he lacked any empathy due to the constant abuse he has suffered in his life. However, after the Blood Gulch Crew fake his death to allow him to start a new life, Wash seems to be kinder and more sociable to the Reds and Blues, stating "They're not that bad when you get to know them," to Carolina.

It is also possible that his time with the Reds and Blues, who were much like he was before the Epsilon incident, could have aided in his recovery from the psychological trauma of Epsilon self-destructing in his head. During The Federal Army of Chorus, Wash hallucinates over various events from his past, such as his last encounter with the Director, his talk with the Counselor on hunting the Meta, and his betrayal of the Reds in Think You Know Someone. Fortunately, he is resuscitated by Dr. Grey.

Combat
Despite lacking the advantage of an A.I., Agent Washington demonstrates formidable combat ability in Recovery One, Reconstruction and Revelation. He held his own for a while against Agent Wyoming, managed to drive off the Meta, and managed to take down two Hornets single-handedly. Washington seems to have an incredible level of skill with firearms, being able to fire his Battle Rifle accurately in one hand while being run over by the Warthog and cock Sarge's shotgun one-handed in midair, and fire a Fuel Rod Cannon, despite having never seen it, let alone wielded it, before, and shooting a Rocket Launcher out of the Sleeveless Insurrection Soldier's hand while falling down.

A battle rifle is Washington's symbol on the Freelancer leader board and he has shown unmatched skill with it, being able to draw and fire it with his left hand faster than the Meta could lift his Brute Shot in n+1. He also appears to be adept at using knives, as seen when he greatly injured Meta with Tex's Combat Knife in the same episode. Wash was also able to shoot a speeding Tex in the back during their battle. When the situation calls for it, Washington is also quite skilled at infiltration tactics.

Washington seems to be adept at hand to hand combat, as was seen in his fight against Agent Texas in Revelation, as he was able to trade several blows with her before being knocked back. During Season 12, Wash fights a vicious duel with Felix, utilizing his battle rifle's skills to disarm Felix of the latter's DMR, and when Felix closes to melee range, he again uses his battle rifle and hand to hand combat skills to block Felix's attempts to stab him with a knife, demonstrating exceptional reflex time.

Resilience
Washington has an almost extraordinary ability to survive fatal situations, whether being saved by his allies, circumstances or physical resilience and displays an indomitable will to achieve whatever he wants, whether it be revenge or freedom. He has also shown great patience, having harbored rebellious thoughts against Project Freelancer and the Director for many years before turning on them and is never shown to be frustrated during his hunt for Epsilon, despite the many setbacks.

Memory
Washington is shown to harness amazing memory, perhaps as a byproduct of Epsilon's breakdown, as he was able to remember all of the things that happened to the Alpha after all the years, and also keeps a record of the worst actions he has ever witnessed with that memory, as he comments on both Caboose and Doc's throws as being the worst and second "worst [throws] ever. . . Of all time" respectively. During Season 10, Wash was shown to have remembered the location of C.T.'s helmet, and in Reconciliation, Wash remembered what he was most known for during his time as a Freelancer: having a grappling hook stuck to his groin.

Kills
Washington has defeated multiple enemies throughout the series; most notably South Dakota and the Freelancer A.I.s (excluding Epsilon) with the EMP, including Tex and Church.

Trivia

 * Washington was in possession of York's healing unit during Reconstruction: Chapter 11 when he uses it to stabilize Caboose. This could be the reason for his remarkable survival skills, as most of his miraculous survivals occurred after finding York's dead body.
 * Washington's original armor enhancement was revealed to be an EMP Unit, where he used it to disable two Warthogs in the episode Fall From Heaven. This explains his apparent knowledge of the pronunciation of EMP.
 * In Reconstruction, Wash uses a particular armor enhancement: the 'BioCom,' which allows him to check on a teammate's vital signs during battle, as he used it in Chapter 10 (Although, it's possible this is just standard issue to all commanding officers or Recovery Agents, or even perhaps it is in all armor sets and, much like the megaphone/speech amplification, it is just not known by the Blood Gulch soldiers).
 * It is also possible that his armor enhancement is the voice modulator that the Meta has at the end of Chapter 4. It has the symbol for Epsilon on the corner of it, which was Wash's A.I. It is possible that the Meta took this enhancement at the end of Recovery One.
 * When Wash pulls up the BioCom in Reconstruction: Chapter 10 you can see a part of it that says "Replay Last Film!".
 * Washington's prisoner number (619-B) is a reference to the address of Rooster Teeth's office building which is 619 B Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701.
 * According to Burnie Burns, Washington was the last Freelancer to be officially active, as his pursuit of Epsilon allowed him to get out of jail. All the Freelancers at that time other than Wash had been KIA, had gone rogue or punished after Project Freelancer was shut down.
 * Washington was once ranked 6th on the Freelancer leaderboard as shown in Season 9. His rank later increased to fifth, but, in Season 10, returned back to the 6th position.
 * Washington has only been portrayed in the Halo: Combat Evolved engine during the DVD menu of Reconstruction. Due to color limitations, this is the only representation of Washington without his yellow markings, being colored completely in Black.
 * On October 14, Rooster Teeth animator Monty Oum announced that in the episode, Reunion, Wash was initially meant to be smashed and cut in half by a Warthog thrown by the Meta. The scene was cut for various reasons. Monty stated "I don't think Wash could survive getting cut and half by a car..."
 * Washington seems to have had a fear of ending up like Freelancer Georgia, whose fate was caused by a jetpack malfunction.
 * During What's the "I" Stand For?, Washington can be seen without his helmet at the Freelancer A.I. course, though his face is not visible. He appears to have spiky blonde hair.
 * Washington is one of only four Freelancers whose name has been seen on the Freelancer Ranking board in every scene in which it is featured; the others being York, North Dakota, and Carolina.
 * According to Wash in Reconciliation, he was most known for getting his balls stuck by grappling hook during his time at Project Freelancer.
 * Washington, along with Florida, is one of the few Freelancers who did not go rogue and disband from Project Freelancer. Rather, Wash was fired by the Director during Reconstruction: Chapter 19.
 * In Reckless, after Donut mentions getting shot back in season 7, Washington whistles the tune of "Pelican Reveal", track twenty-four on the Season 9 Soundtrack.