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Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: Rebels - The Forgotten Droid (2016) [S2E19]
When Chopper steals a replacement for his original leg, he separates from the Ghost crew
and finds himself stranded on an Imperial ship. The grumpy astromech meets an inventory
droid in service of the Empire, but will this new acquaintance become friend or foe?
Star Wars: Rebels - The Mystery of Chopper Base (2016) [S2E20]
The rebels finally locate a potential site for a secret base, but find their new home
is not as isolated as originally believed...




CONTINUITY
These two episodes form a storyline about Chopper Base. The planet Atollon is seen for the first time,
as well as an unidentified planet that hosts Horizon Base. Two worlds are seen in these episodes:

These two episodes and the two-part story in the next two episodes take place in the last quarter of 7974 (3 BBY), possibly in the last month.
In the interest of continuity, a small amount of time has passed since 'Shroud of Darkness' (S2E18), possibly as much as a week or two,
however based on the urgency of finding Malachor, it is probably not much more. Ezra has now been Kanan's apprentice for two years.

- Ketsu Onyo has shown up with no explanation, and will make sporadic appearances in the rest of the series. She has apparently decided to
aid the Rebels actively and risk her life fighting alongside them, but also comes and goes of her own accord, probably still working as
a bounty hunter for the Black Sun Clan. It is odd the Rebels don't consider this a security risk, despite the fact that she can apparently
contact them in order to meet up with them, which could betray their position in a number of ways.

- The planet Berzite is an uninhabitable world located in the Yost System, within the Shadola Sector, in the Slice region of the Outer Rim,
relatively near to the Lothal Sector in galactic terms. Berzite's small moon is habitable, and could make a useful location for
a clandestine base, probably due to its remote location, proximity to the Lothal Sector, and surface conditions. The planet
Berzite orbits the star named Yost, which itself probably has at least a couple other planets as its satellites.


Commander Sato says that the carrier-cruiser cannot reach Yost because it is "several parsecs away" and "does not have
enough fuel to complete the journey." The ship must really be out of fuel, since several parsecs means approximately
between 13 and 32 light-years away. This is an extremely short trip in galactic terms, so Sato is essentially saying they
don't have enough fuel to jump anywhere through hyperspace. This is not impossible, as fuel is at a premium for these
Rebels, however why doesn't the ship simply fly to Yost faster than light through normal space? Ships in SW have been
flying to other starsystems without hyperdrives since Episode V, where the Falcon made a journey of many light-years,
probably hundreds, from Hoth to Bespin without a working hyperdrive. Other examples of this have been shown,
so the only reason this would not be possible is if this ship is running on fumes, and it can't fly through regular space
because it is large and would use up more power than it has. As previous episodes of this series have established that
engines get their power from the main reactor, for this ship to be this immobile, it must also be in danger of running
out of power completely, leaving it without shields, heat, or weapons. Gravity and air would still work without reactor
power, however the ship would shortly be too cold to inhabit. Had the script stated that Yost was 100 parsecs away
from this fleet it would have made more sense. The fleet would probably still have been located in the same sector.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel


- The Empire maintains a system of fuel depots in each sector, keeping their supply decentralized and easily accessible for refueling their ships.
Hera states that "the Empire's tightened security at all its depots in the sector" not long after Commander Sato states that Yost is "several
parsecs away." This means that the current position of this Rebel fleet is in the Shadola Sector, which if shown on the maps below would
appear to be on top of the planet Berzite and the Yost System, since each grid square is 5000 square light-years. This places the unidentified
planet which is home to Horizon Base in the Shadola Sector. Since it has yet to appear on a map, its grid coordinates are not yet certain.
It is almost certainly in grid square T-8 or U-8, however it could technically be in U-7 or even the very corner of T-7.


- The unidentified planet home to Horizon Base is located in the Shadola Sector, in the Slice region of the Outer Rim. It is a terrestrial planet
mostly covered in ocean, however it has large submerged continents which often rise above sea level to form islands of all sizes. These
barely submerged continents create huge areas of shallow sea, which boasts a native ecosystem which includes large coral formations.
Horizon Base is built into one of these shallow seas, with both tower platforms and facilities built into the sea floor with the water held
back by technological means. It is an Imperial fuel depot, but not strictly military, as it has infrastructure clearly designed to accommodate
civilian traffic, including shops, food establishments, and other provisioning, as well as acting as a regional shipping port.



Chopper tries to pay with credits and the Ugnaught parts dealer responds "Credits? What do I look like, a Senator?"
Why would any merchant at an Imperial fuel depot not accept Imperial credits? Credits also happen to be the most
widely used currency in the galaxy, so what exactly did he expect Chopper to pay with? The implication is that this
parts dealer wants his business to sometimes remain "unregistered", and since credits can always be tracked unless
they are "unlocked" this would explain why he won't take them, but that is not at all what his comment implies. He
makes it sound like nobody uses credits, which makes no sense even in the Outer Rim. Credits are not well-received on
remote planets with little connection to the Core civilization, or worlds like Tatooine with no real Imperial presence.


- Class 4 container transports are large bulk freighters which can carry additional cargo by attaching a train of transport containers.
They are a product of Kuat Drive Yards and are used by the Imperial military to ship supplies. They are armed, but not heavily
enough to be considered a frigate. They are an original creation which first appears here in 'The Forgotten Droid'.

- The unidentified captain of the Imperial military freighter is an actual Captain, according to his rank insignia. The creators had been
reusing the same template of a Lieutenant for nearly every Imperial officer, and a number of those examples probably should have
been higher ranked individuals. Not only did they bother to use the correct insignia, they also went to the trouble of making this
Captain an actual character, with a unique appearance and a personality befitting an Imperial Navy freighter captain.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- AP5 wants to be respected as a colleague, has pride in his experience and expertise, and his artificial ego is bruised by being assigned to
duties which he feels are beneath his abilities. As a droid, he is bound by his protocol to accept his inventory duty, however he vents
his frustration to Chopper by pretending to be happy fine about it, saying "I do not mind being relegated to a tedious occupation,
despite the constant disrespect from my Imperial supervisors." This type of talk is the product of a psychological complex, or in AP5's
case the droid equivalent, due to a disassociation between what he knows would make him happy and what he has to accept in order
to function in society. Droids were more often than not given a measure of respect as second-class beings under the Republic, however
the Empire's Human-centric policies and anti-droid sentiment generated by the Clone Wars has made this less common in the Empire
and nonexistent in the case of the Imperial military. Chopper suggests that he does as he chooses because he has free will, to which
AP5 replies "free will sounds nice. I admire your fortitude." AP5 then goes against his protocols and chooses not to report Chopper.
This suggests that the droid equivalent of free will is simply the exercise of latent ability, what is called 'the will to power'. This by
extension suggests the idea that Humans and other organic sentient beings only have as much free will as they choose to have.
Main Article: Droid Intelligence

- Atollon is a habitable planet located in the Lothal Sector, within the Dominus Sector in the Slice region of the Outer Rim. Rex describes it
as "hot, dry, and unpleasant", which is one of the reasons this world has not been settled, however it has a limited native ecosystem
apparently sustained by fresh water sources deep underground. Large tree-like coral creatures tower over the landscape,
which is also inhabited by native animals, including the small dokma, and large, multi-legged krykna which feed on them.
Atollon was known to people in the region in "ancient" times, but was subsequently lost to history and is not on Imperial
charts when the Rebels arrived. Atollon orbits a yellow star and has a single moon.


- Ezra sees a convor flying overhead just before he sees Ahsoka. This is Morai, the spirit animal of the Daughter, or possibly the Daughter
herself in an animal form, who is Ahsoka's ally and is seen near her on many different planets. The Daughter was one of the Mortis
gods devoted to the light side of the Force. Since she gave Ahsoka some of her energy to restore her life in The Clone Wars
'Altar of Mortis' (S3E16), Ahsoka is now connected to her in the Force in some way. There is no indication at this point that Morai
gets into ships with Ahsoka and flies from planet to planet, suggesting she has abilities with the Force worthy of a being from Mortis.

ANALYSIS
Admiral Konstantine and the Lothal Sector Fleet has finally caught up with Phoenix Cell, primarily because the fleet's lack of fuel
resources have made them less mobile. The recent addition of a cruiser-carrier which is now the largest ship in the fleet has
compounded this existing issue, which has reached a crisis point where it has become an anchor. Interstellar space is vast, and
it is easy enough to find a location where a small fleet not traveling through hyperspace will probably not be detected for a time.
There is always the possibility of being detected quickly due to unlikely events, however it is usually safe to assume a properly
chosen spot is safe for a short period of time. The longer a fleet of operational ships stays put, the greater the chance it will be
discovered by probes, patrols, or monitoring stations. A fleet would ideally make route jumps through hyperspace to new positions
for security, however most forces who must rely on such tactics don't have bases or planets to fall back to, and thus are hampered
by fuel supply issues which make each jump costly. Additionally, hyperspace routes are routinely monitored, most heavily along
larger routes and near heavily populated regions. Unregistered collections of ships traveling through major hyperspace routes
can easily be a red flag for Imperial authorities, so smaller regional and local hyperspace routes must be utilized for safety. This
makes travel more circuitous and thus more costly to fuel resources. No matter how Konstatine eventually located this fleet, its
progress was obviously being loosely tracked by the Empire, as he has pursued this fleet beyond the southern borders of
the Dominus Sector, and has forces lying in wait in the Yost System, and likely other potential sanctuaries in the area just ahead.
He has actually laid an effective trap which would have worked without the assistance of AP5's inside Imperial information.
If the Ghost had been unable to refuel the carrier, the fleet would have been forced to abandon their new command ship.

Atollon is an ideal base for Phoenix Cell, which was unlikely to be easily discovered by the Empire. It is uninhabited, is not located
near to a regional hyperspace route, and has been absent from Republic and Imperial star charts for likely millennia. Atollon is
also located in a starsystem unlikely to attract visitors, as it is unremarkable and extremely remote, located near the very edge
of known space. It has fresh water sources underground, and a climate suitable for conducting base operations. This base will
provide a staging area where heavy equipment, armaments, and resources like fuel can be stockpiled, and ships can be landed
to save fuel and for repairs. The most likely means by which such a base could be detected are by Rebel mistakes or by fortune
during a probe sweep. If Rebel ships are tracked back to the system, it would obviously have to be abandoned, however this is
not easy to do without planting a tracking device, or knowing where to monitor hyperspace. The Empire is unlikely to monitor
the vast empty space between a planet they don't know exists and the nearest local hyperlane, so necessary travel should not
betray their location unless very unlucky. The possibility of a distant probe or Imperial patrol detecting either the base or any
ships in orbit of the planet is also remote, but is more likely. The size of the base and of the Rebel ships in their fleet make this
less of a concern, as probes would only detect a very strong power signature unless within at least a few light-years distance.

Ahsoka says that in her experience, "just when you think you understand the Force, you find out how little you actually know."
This is the never-ending cycle of gaining knowledge about the Force, which is power, and eventually being once again humbled
by the magnitude of the mystery of it. The Jedi seek to streamline this process through their religion, always trying to maintain
a balance of these important impulses. This keeps their connection to the Force and their subsequent power in wielding it
at a strong but natural level limited by their progress and innate ability. Each Jedi's understanding of the nature of the Force
is unique, and while in most cases their conceptions may contain varying degrees of truth, they will always be incomplete and
in some ways inaccurate. As the Jedi teach, it is also true that conception of anything depends greatly on one's point of view,
no two beings have the exact same conception, and no being can truly, fully understand something as grand as the Force.
Ezra says he doesn't think he ever understood the Force to begin with. This is the beginning of wisdom, and true science, as
one must be an empty vessel and impartial observer if one wishes to fill themselves with something approximating truth.
This may also be another indication of how Kanan has failed to teach Ezra the importance of focusing on the rigors of Jedi
religious practice, absolutely necessary to training of a Jedi with the discipline and wisdom not to turn to the dark side.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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