The New Trooper

After Kel and Eila, fugitives from the First Order, have a run-in with a stormtrooper, Kaz seizes the opportunity to uncover more details about the growing movement.

The episode opens with Captain Imanuel Doza watching through the window of his office as a First Order Upsilon-class command shuttle lands on one of the Colossus docking platforms. Commander Pyre emerges from the shuttle accompanied by a squad of stormtroopers.

While Captain Doza is drinking a hot cup of caf, 4D-M1N enters the office with Commander Pyre and two stormtroopers. Doza tells Pyre that the pirate spy he is looking for is gone and says that he doesn't need as many stormtroopers acting as security on the platform. Commander Pyre counters that someone helped the pirate spy to escape and vows to find her accomplice.

Captain Doza reminds Pyre that he is still in control here and not the First Order. Commander Doza in turn reminds Pyre that the First Order's job here is simply to maintain order per their agreement.

Elsewhere on the Colossus, Kel and Eila are fishing on one of the outlying platforms. Eila is holding the fishing rod while her older brother is preparing bait using puffer pig bacon. The two siblings struggle against a winged snarlfish. Kel tells his younger sister to take it up slow. A stormtrooper patrolling the deck hears their voices and decides to investigate.

Despite their combined efforts, the snarlfish breaks free of their rod. Despite their loss, the two laugh with Kel reassuring Eila that at least they caught a few for the day. Eila agrees. Just then, the stormtrooper approaches them from behind and demands to know what they are doing here. He demands to see their identification.

Kel says they lost their identification. The stormtrooper demands that the children come with him and grabs Eila by the right wrist. Kel tells the stormtrooper to get his hands off his sister and throws a snarlfish at him, causing him to let go Eila. Kel then hurls as second snarlfish, causing the stormtrooper to trip and hit his helmet on the railing. Looking down at the unconscious stormtrooper, Eila remarks that she thinks they are in trouble.

At the repair shop, R1-J5 ("Bucket") grumbles while welding a landing strut. The droid gets electrocuted and his hard cap is knocked off. BB-8 snatches it and gives it back to Bucket.

Kazuda Xiono enters Yeager's trophy room where Jarek Yeager, Tamara Ryvora, and Neeku Vozo are sitting around a table. Xiono is upset that Captain Doza has given the stormtroopers free run around the Colossus. As he sits down, Kaz says that the station has security droids and Ace Squadron and he doesn't understand why the First Order should be on the platform. Tamara responds that she feels safer with the First Order on the station. When Xiono expresses disagreement, Neeku responds that he feels safer in a "threatened by the military kind of way." BB-8 shakes his head and beeps.

When Kaz asks Yeager his opinion, Yeager responds that this is nothing new and remarks that like the Empire, the First Order gives security and takes away your freedom "all under the guise of their protection." Yeager tells his mechanics that they grew up in an age of peace and have no idea what the Empire was like.

Tamara responds that she knows the stories and adds that her grandfather worked at an Imperial factory and put food on the table when he couldn't find work anywhere else. She asks rhetorically if that made him evil. Yeager counters that she is too young to understand and says that the Empire exploited the vulnerable. Tamara disagrees and interjects that Yeager is taking Kaz's side again. She storms out saying that some of us have actual work to do. Neeku volunteers to accompany her back to work and leaves.

When the others have left, Kaz reminds Yeager that the Resistance put him on the Colossus to spy on the First Order. He remarks that here they are everywhere. Yeager warns Kaz not to get caught because the First Order has a way of making people disappear. BB-8 beeps.

Yeager notices the two orphans Kel and Eila and asks if they are hungry. Kel replies they are not while Eila asks if they are hungry. Kaz tells the children that they should not be up here with the First Order around. Eila tells him that's why we are here but struggles to explain the details. Kel begs Kaz to accompany them. Kaz asks Neeku and BB-8 to come along. When Tamara insists on following, Kaz tries to talk her out but she specifically insists on coming to help the others, not Kaz.

When Bucket appears, Yeager asks if he is going with them. Bucket beeps no and scuttles away. While walking through the corridor, they walk past the Frigosian janitor Opeepit, who is still grumbling at the loss of his floor sweeper. As the group enter a room, Kaz asks why the kids are quiet and remarks that it can't be that bad.

When Kaz enters, he is startled by the sight of an unconscious stormtrooper. While Kaz panics, Tamara runs her finger over the stormtrooper's neck pulse and finds that he has been knocked unconscious. Tamara asks the children if they did this, and Eila replies that he tried to take them away. Kaz panics that the stormtrooper is now going to kill them. Tamara tells Kaz to stop being so dramatic.

The stormtrooper begins to stir, but Neeku knocks him out with a wrench. When Kaz protests, Neeku says that he didn't want him to kill them. Tamara surmises that the kids attacked a soldier of the First Order and that they are now involved as well. When Tamara suggests turning themselves in, Kaz counters that they will lock them out for good.

Just then, they hear voices in the corridor. Kaz tells the group to flee before the stormtrooper patrol finds them. As they leave, Kaz and Neeku carry the unconscious stormtrooper. The group hide under a tunnel below the floorboards until the stormtroopers above pass. Kel leads the group down a flight of stairs. When Kaz drags the stormtrooper by his feet, Tamara grumbles that they are in so much trouble.

They reach the engineering deck, which is inhabited by the Chelidae. While Kel explains the situation to the Chelidae, Kaz asks the Chelidae if they could rest at their place. After Kaz lays the stormtrooper on a bed, he says that he still can't believe that the kids knocked him out. Tamara tells them that they need to come up with a plan before the trooper wakes up.

Just then, they hear a voice from the stormtrooper's helmet comlink asking Trooper CS-515 to check himself in and report for duty. Neeku pulls off the helmet and remarks that he doesn't recognize his voice, but Kaz grabs the helmet. Kaz impersonates the stormtrooper and claims to be having comm problems. The commanding officer says affirmative and orders CS-515 to head back to headquarters where they will look at his transmitter. When BB-8 beeps, Tamara says that the First Order will now be expecting CS-515 to report in.

Kaz remarks maybe he should report in and decides to impersonate the stormtrooper. Before Tamara can protest, Kaz says they need to find out what information the First Order has and says he will infiltrate the base disguised as this trooper to see if he reported the kids. When Neeku asks what if CS-515 did report the children, Kaz says he will erase the incident from the database. He tells the others to keep the stormtrooper out of sight until he comes back. Neeku remarks that this is a very creative yet dangerous plan.

When Kel asks what to do if the stormtrooper wakes up, Kaz tells Neeku to deal with him "because he seems pretty good at that." Tam sighs and warns Kaz not to get caught. Kaz retorts that if he does he hopes the First Order are not as friendly as she thinks they are. Kaz strips the stormtrooper of his armor and enters the corridor disguised as CS-515.

He is soon spotted by the stormtrooper sergeant CS-812 and another trooper designated 398. Believing him to be CS-515, CS-812 orders the disguised Kaz to come with them and demands to know his whereabouts. Kaz claims that there was interference with his communications and that he was looking for suspicious activities in the lower levels. The sergeant orders him to fall in line and Kaz marches behind them.

While traveling through a hangar, Kaz tries to mimic their activities. He also makes conversation with 398. The trooper responds that it has been a long day and that they are close to verifying the identities of the residents of the Colossus. Kaz says that he was so busy that he forgot to log his latest census data. 398 says that he better get over to the transport to upload it. CS-812 tells them to cut the chatter and informs CS squad that they have an incident at the marketplace.

The stormtroopers travel to the marketplace where they are greeted by a jeering crowd of mainly alien merchants and customers including Jooks, Rolt, Orthog, Namua, and the furry alien antique vendor. Jooks tells the troopers to go home while the furry alien antique vendor denounces the First Order. Amidst shouts of "Free Colossus," CS-812 tells the crowd that this is an illegal gathering and orders them to disperse or face arrest.

Jooks responds that this is a free platform and tells him to go back to his own world. Orthog adds that they don't need the First Order's help and tells them to leave the Colossus alone. As the residents pelt the stormtroopers with rotten fruit, CS-812 reiterates his order for the crowd to disperse.

Kaz contacts Neeku and tells them that he is going to try and sneak aboard their transport in order to steal their mission logs and see if they know anything about the kids. After dodging two stormtroopers, the disguised Kaz stumbles upon Opeepit scrubbing the floors. He almost slips, and the alien janitor chastises him for messing things up. Kaz apologizes before slipping away. He says that this would go a lot faster if he had a floor cleaner. The Frigosian grumbles in a foreign language.

Meanwhile, Tamara says that she can't believe that she got caught up in all this. She believes that the First Order is trying to keep everyone safe and protect the platform from any danger. Kel responds that it is strange she would consider trusting the First Order over her friends. Tamara asks Kel and Eila why the troopers are after them.

Eila recounts how the First Order came to her homeworld of Tehar and started destroying everything including their family and friends. As her brother comforts her, she tells Tamara that they escaped before the First Order could come for them. Tamara is shocked and apologizes. She asks if the First Order had a reason to do that. Kel says that they don't know why the First Order attacked them.

Neeku warns that the stormtrooper is waking up. CS-515 asks where he is. As his eyes open, he asks who they are. As the stormtrooper gets to his feet, the children, Tamara, and BB-8 scatter. Neeku tells CS-515 that he is experiencing disorientation associated with being knocked unconscious. When the man asks what, Neeku adds that his surroundings might feel unfamiliar.

CS-515 stumbles into the path of a Chelidae and asks what that is. Kel and Eila hold the stormtrooper's hands and tell him to calm down. CS-515 remarks that he is so tired. Neeku offers to help the stormtrooper go back to sleep and knocks him unconscious with an electro-shock prod. Kel and Eila smile with Eila saying that will do.

Near Doza Tower, Kaz approaches the Upsilon-class command shuttle but is stopped by a sentry. Kaz manages to gain passage by claiming that he is doing routine maintenance aboard the ship. Inside the shuttle, Kaz approaches the computer and begins checking the mission logs. Kaz is relieved that CS-515 never reported the incident with the kids.

He decides to check what the First Order is up to only to find that he has been logged out. The First Order BB-series astromech droid MB-13A confronts Kaz and demands to know what he is doing. Kaz greets the droid and says he startled him. Kaz claims that he is just adding his census data. The astromech droid plugs into the network terminal and retrieves a data rod.

Believing that the data rod holds information vital to the Resistance, Kaz demands that the droid hand over the data rod on the grounds that the Commander is requesting it. When MB-13A protests, Kaz claims that it is critical that he give it to the commander. The droid disagrees and stings him with his electro-shock pod. Kaz demands that MB-13A hand it over, but the droid stings him. Following a tug of war, Kaz grabs the data rod from MB-13A.

The BB droid charges at Kaz, but he kicks off its head. However, MB-13A is still able to operate without its head and follows Kaz. As he exits the shuttle, Kaz throws the head aside and tells MB-13A to fetch it. Just then, CS-812 demands to know what CS-515 is doing here. Kaz claims he was just checking security feeds, but the sergeant tells him they are going to see Commander Pyre. Kaz realizes that his mission to steal First Order intelligence has become more complicated.

Inside Doza Tower, the stormtroopers walk past Torra Doza's room, where the teenage girl is playing with her pet Voorpak Buggles. A tense Torra watches the patrol walk past her room as the last trooper, Kaz in disguise, waves to her.

Meanwhile, in Captain Doza's office, Commander Pyre asks Doza why he left the Empire all those years ago. Doza explains that it came down to a personal choice but says that he doesn't expect him to understand even if he explains why. Just then, CS-812 enters the office with the disguised Kaz and the other troopers.

Commander Pyre requests that Doza leave the office. The captain points out that this is his office, but Pyre responds that he has to deal with his troops. Commander Pyre briefs his troops that he has received word from Captain Phasma that a full garrison is on its way. He adds that citizens may remain on the Colossus as long as they are sympathetic to the First Order. All others will be arrested or dealt with. The stormtrooper sergeant says, "Yes sir."

Commander Pyre requests the troopers' personal reports. At CS-812's beckoning, Kaz, who is impersonating CS-515, reports that they busted a food uprising and roughed up a few rabble-rousers, and claims, "That's about it". Commander Pyre agrees with the sergeant's assessment that this trooper's conditioning is erratic. He orders that CS-515 be brought to the transport for a full mental wipe and reprogramming. Kaz is shocked but the sergeant tells him that it is time for a "brainscrape."

Kaz protests that he is totally fine and flees up the turbolift. Exiting the lift upstairs, he brushes past a security droid and bumps into Opeepit, causing him to drop his belongings. Kaz contacts Tamara and Neeku via comlink. Neeku asks Kaz where he has been and Kaz says it is a long story. He leads the stormtroopers on a chase and fires at them.

Kaz runs through a crowd of jeering Colossus citizens including Orthog, Grevel, Narb, Nod, the unidentified furry alien vendor, Rolt, and Jooks who pelt him with rotten fruit. When more stormtroopers arrive, they too are pelted with rotten fruit. Kaz takes the opportunity to sneak behind the crowd and head into the corridor. He tells Neeku and the others that he is at Corridor G-9 near the market and to hurry.

Tamara, Neeku, Kel, Eila, and BB-8 exit their hiding place with the unconscious CS-515. The Nautolan Namua asks if that young man is alright but Tamara claims that he is very ill and that they are taking him to the med station.

Meanwhile, one of the stormtroopers informs the sergeant that they have lost him. CS-812 orders them to scan the area because the armor is linked to their tracker. After locating CS-515's armor, the sergeant stuns Narb and Nod. Lin Gaava is also among the spectators. The troopers head to G-9. Kaz stumbles into a dead-end. Fortunately for Kaz, Neeku opens the trapdoor. Kaz is relieved and says he could kiss him. Neeku apologizes that he doesn't feel the same way about him.

CS-812 asks 398 what is taking him so long. The trooper responds that he is having a hard time scanning through these corridors. They find a dazed CS-515 propped up against a wall. CS-812 removes his helmet and CS-515 asks how he got here and says his head hurts. The sergeant orders his troops to take him for reconditioning. CS-515 asks if he has seen his "green friend" and sheepishly remarks that he is such a nice guy. Kaz and the others hide under the trapdoor.

Kaz tells the others including Kel and Eila that he checked the First Order's logs and that they never reported the incident. He reassures Kel and Eila that there is no record of them being here. Kel breathes a sigh of relief. Kaz breaks the bad news that the First Order is bringing a lot of reinforcements soon and warns that the First Order is not coming to protect them.

Later that night, Kaz returns to Yeager's station with Tamara, Neeku, and BB-8. Tamara warns Kaz that if he had been caught he would have put them all at risk. She praises him for helping those kids. Kaz thanks Tamara, Neeku, and BB-8. Yeager then summons Kaz to his office immediately. BB-8 also follows Kaz.

Inside Yeager's trophy room, Yeager asks Kaz what he found out about those kids. Kaz informs Yeager that they are cataloging and identifying everybody on the Colossus. Yeager says this is nothing new, because the First Order does that all the time. Kaz shows Yeager the data rod and gets BB-8 to display it. The data rod carries a star map of the galaxy.

Yeager speculated that the red dots on the map are First Order fleets. Kaz says this is impossible because not even the New Republic defense fleet has that many. Based on the map, Yeager concludes that the First Order wants to exploit the Colossus as a military supply line because they need a way to refuel their fleet since they're preparing for a war with the Resistance. Kaz realizes that the First Order is willing to destroy them all to get it.

The planets mentioned on the First Order's holo-map shown at the end of the episode are all in the wrong locations.