Tenth Percentile is the seventeenth chapter of Red vs. Blue: Revelation and the 170th episode overall. It was released on August 23, 2010.
Characters[]
Red Team[]
Blue Team[]
Others[]
- F.I.L.S.S.
- Washington
- Meta
- Doc
- Director (Mentioned Only)
Plot[]
Informed by F.I.L.S.S. that the storage facility contains backups of Project Freelancer data, Simmons has her restore the Blue Army data.
Grif peruses the records, which show that all the Red and Blue Bases are merely training grounds for Freelancer agents, and are staffed with the army's worst soldiers. Furthermore, all the strange events they had encountered, including being seemingly blown into the future, meeting the Alien, and Tucker's pregnancy were part of just one of several scenarios that may be run at simulation bases. These revelations shocks Sarge, who walks off to construct an impressive base all by himself within a span of 10 seconds. He insists that Simmons and Grif stop calling him "Sir", telling the Reds to call him by his real name, "Sarge, or S-dog" and then announces that he quits.
At the Freelancer base, Tex reveals that she is looking for the Director. She suggests that Washington and the Meta may know who the Director is. In the event they do not know his identity, Tex states that she will simply kill them, and that if she cannot find the Director, she will settle for destroying everything he built. When Epsilon-Church asks how Tex will get in contact with Washington and the Meta, she shoots him, triggering his recovery beacon. She explains that the beacon would not have activated until they left the storage facility. Church insists that he would have helped her. She states that he can't even help himself, which is why he made her. Church asks her why she is doing all this, and she says that she intends to find out.
In the desert, Washington and the Meta pick up Epsilon's recovery beacon. Washington has the Meta grab the storage unit and Doc acquire a vehicle, stating that they are "going to the only place that's left."
Transcript[]
Fade in to Simmons and Grif meddling with F.I.L.S.S.
F.I.L.S.S.: That is not an approved operation-hey! Watch it buddy!
Simmons: Can you show me the data logs?
F.I.L.S.S.: Affirmative.
Sarge: Simmons, any progress in restoring the Blues?
Simmons: It's a lot of data entry Sir. I was thinking I could hack the mainframe and reroute the data stream to-
F.I.L.S.S.: Or, we could just restore from an archive database.
Simmons: What?
F.I.L.S.S.: This is an off-site fallback facility. It is designed to have archives in case of data loss. Blue Team rosters would certainly be a part of that.
Simmons: Really?
F.I.L.S.S.: Yes. In fact, I am glad you pointed out the database anomaly. I had noticed it before, but did not have time to investigate. Strange.
Simmons: Oh. Okay, yeah, restore that then.
F.I.L.S.S.: Done.
Simmons: Great.
F.I.L.S.S.: You seem disappointed. Did I do it too quickly, and make you look bad?
Simmons: No…
F.I.L.S.S.: I could always, pretend that you hacked me, if it would make you look better to your friends.
Simmons: Stop patronizing me.
F.I.L.S.S.: Affirmative. Patronizing subroutines are now offline.
Simmons: You're still patronizing me… aren't you.
F.I.L.S.S.: Kind of.
Grif: Hmm…
Sarge: What is it, Grif?
Grif: This is weird, if I'm reading this right there's a bunch of other red and blue bases.
Sarge: Of course there are, Grif! The war is huge. The fate of the Galaxy rests in the balance.
Grif: Or… not.
Sarge: What's that mean?
Grif: Here, check this out, I'm looking at the list of missions for all the different bases, and some of them look… familiar.
Simmons: Let me see. Huh, apparently they set up bases in various locations and then send a Freelancer in for… training purposes.
Sarge: Training?
Grif: Practice.
Sarge: Practice?
Simmons: Yeah, the Reds and Blues are just there to test the skills of the Freelancers.
Sarge: You mean the Blues.
Simmons: No I mean both of them, ah- both of us. It says here that "simulation bases will present scenarios that may occur for Freelancer agents in a galactic battlefield."
Sarge: Simuwatshin?
Grif: He means we're like lab rats.
Sarge: What- what- that's nonsense! We've been through so much! We had that, whole battle with the Blues for the, somethinerother and, then we set off that bomb-thingy, and we got blasted through time, and we met an alien and that guy got pregnant.
Simmons: According to this that is… Scenario 3.
Sarge: Three!?
Grif: Why us though?
Simmons: Let me see, let me see, huh… "bases are outfitted with matching weapons and vehicles to ensure long conflict and are staffed by… low-level operatives?"
Grif: Hey, who's that report calling low level? Stupid report. Punch it.
Simmons: "The candidates for Red and Blue squads will be culled from enlisted army ranks based on low test scores and poor field skills so as to not be missed on our-"
Grif: That actually does sound like me. What about you, I thought you were smart? Did you have low test scores too?
Simmons: Hey those time limits aren't fair, it should be important that I know the information, not how fast I know it.
Grif: Geeze, guess I hit a nerve.
Simmons: And don't even get me started on the number 2 pencils.
Grif: Well Sarge, I always said Command was full of… Sarge?
Cut to Caboose in the big room
Caboose: Ah that's good. Eh, maybe a little to the left.
Grif: What is all this?
Caboose: Oh, this is new Red Base. Welcome.
Simmons: When did you build this?
Caboose: Oh I didn't build this. Your Sergeant did.
Grif: What? He built this? When?
Caboose: Oh, just now.
Grif: He walked out of the room like ten seconds ago!
Caboose: Oh he got sad about something so he's making a Red Base here. And I am helping. I am great at building forts. See, I already built a Blue Base.
Caboose: Ours has blankets.
Sarge: Go away!
Simmons: Sarge, what is all this?
Sarge: Simmons, didn't you hear? We're cannon fodder. Practice! Well if I'm the leader of junk, I may as well have a base made out of junk! Pretty appropriate, right?
Grif: Looks like shit.
Sarge: That was rhetorical, dirtbag.
Simmons: Well Sir, I think this is an excellent strategy. The Blues'll never-
Sarge: Blues? Simmons, don't you get it yet? Grif was right all along.
Grif: Thank you Sir.
Sarge: Don't call me that any more.
Simmons: Sarge, this place is one lie after another. We don't know if-
Sarge: Oh, we know. I know. You wanna fool yourself go ahead.
Simmons: You're just upset Sir.
Sarge: Don't, call me that.
Simmons: What? Call you what?
Sarge: Sir. From now on, you call me by my name: Sarge. Or S-Dog. I'm not in charge any more. I quit.
Simmons: …You what?
Grif: Uh-oh. I get the feeling somebody else's world just got rocked.
Caboose: Yeah, I'll start working on another fort.
Cut to the ice planet with Church and Tex
Church: Tex, stop. Where are we going?
Tex: There's only one person left who knows what happened to me. The Director.
Church: The Director, nobody even knows who he is.
Tex: I can think of two people who might know: Wash and the Meta.
Church: Wash and Meta, are you kidding me? Tex, forget all this. What if they don't even know?
Tex: Then I get to kill Wash and Meta. If I can't find the Director, I'll just dismantle everything he ever built.
Church: Tex I think the Director built all this for you.
Tex: Ugh, even more reason to burn it all to the ground.
Church: Facing Wash and Meta, is suicide, even if we knew where they were. We don't. How the hell are you gonna find them?
Tex: They'll find us.
Church: Oh so what, we just hole up? And wait for them to come without ever even knowing when that's gonna be?
Tex: No, they'll come now.
Church: How? Are you just gonna call them on the phone?
Tex: Somethin' like that.
Tex shoots Church
Church: Tex?
Tex: I needed you to come. Sheila said the recovery beacon wouldn't activate, until we left the storage facility.
Church: Tex?
Tex: I didn't ask to be paired with you. I didn't wanna come back. But I'm here now, so I'm gonna put an end to this.
Church: Tex, I would have helped you.
Tex: You can't even help yourself. That's why you made me, Church. You made me to take on all the things you can't handle. Just like you always have. Well guess what, I'm gonna handle it. Wash and Meta will be coming now. I have some things to get ready.
Church: Tex… why are you doing this?
Tex: Funny you should ask. That's exactly what I plan to find out.
Cut to Wash in the desert
Washington: What is that? Where is that coming from? It can't be.
Meta: *growl*
Washington: I'm getting it too. I should have known he might end up there.
Doc: What is it?
Washington: It's a recovery beacon. It's him; it's Epsilon. Doc, go get a vehicle. Meta, you grab the memory unit.
Meta: *growl*
Doc: But where are we going?
Washington: We're going to the only place that's left.
Trivia[]
- Sarge mentions the events of seasons 3 and 4, specifically Caboose activating the bomb in Church's host body, when they thought they time traveled and when the Alien impregnated Tucker. Apparently, Freelancer planned these scenarios.
Video[]
