The Forgotten Droid

"The Forgotten Droid" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. It is the thirtieth episode of the series overall. The episode premiered on March 16, 2016 on Disney XD.

Official description
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?''

Left behind
After the theft of the Imperial fighter carrier above Ryloth, the rebel fleet was still looking for a safe haven to establish a new base. Commander Jun Sato convened a meeting aboard the new flagship that was attended by the crew of the Ghost and the former Clone Captain Rex. By cross-referencing several Galactic Republic and Lasat maps, the rebels had identified the planet Berzite's moon in the Yost system as a prospective location. Ketsu Onyo, Sabine Wren's former Imperial Academy classmate, recommended Berzite's moon on the grounds that the Empire lacked a presence there. However, the trip was delayed as the rebellion's fighter carrier did not have enough fuel to make the journey. Sabine, who had been tracking Imperial fleet movements, suggested stealing an incoming shipment of fuel from the Imperial depot at Horizon Base. Sato approved Sabine's plan and the crew of the Ghost departed for Horizon Base to obtain the fuel.

Upon landing, the rebels made their way to the Imperial fuel depot while the astromech droid Chopper was assigned to watch out for Imperial forces. Kanan Jarrus' plan was to blast their way out after they have obtained the necessary fuel supplies. However, Chopper was distracted by the sight of a new droid leg being sold at a nearby stall. Chopper had an improvised left leg which did not fit him well. When Chopper raised the matter to Hera Syndulla, Hera reminded him that they were not on Horizon Base to shop and that they were on an urgent mission. Despite Chopper's protests, Hera ordered him to keep a watch for Imperial forces and to alert them. Before leaving, Garazeb Orrelios and Ezra Bridger teased Chopper about "getting a leg up" and going "shopping."

Defying Hera's orders, Chopper activated his rocket booster and flew to the stall selling the droid leg. The stall was run by an Ugnaught scrap merchant. Noticing Chopper, the Ugnaught merchant assured the droid of the quality of his produce but admitted to his involvement in shady dealings. The merchant offered to sell the leg to Chopper for 500 credits. When Chopper revealed that he lacked the funds to obtain it, the Ugnaught merchant ordered him to leave. Meanwhile, the other five rebels approached the fuel depot and found that it is heavily guarded. While Hera reiterated that the rebels could not leave without getting the fuel, Kanan told them to get the fuel "quietly with no complications."

Still determined to get the spare leg, Chopper stole it for himself and tried to flee back to the Ghost but was spotted by the Ugnaught merchant, who alerted several stormtroopers. Meanwhile, the other rebels fled back to the Ghost without Chopper. Left behind on Horizon Base, Chopper managed to dodge his Imperial pursuers by running aboard a departing Imperial cargo ship. He hid in one of the hatches. Meanwhile, aboard the Imperial cargo ship, the Imperial RA-7 protocol droid AP-5 told the captain on the ship that he is off by .002. The captain harshly responded by belittling AP-5 for being a "useless droid" before ordering him to go check on the ship's manifest.

Two unlikely friends
AP-5 walked past some stormtroopers who ignored him. He noticed that a hatch was open and investigated it for any stowaways. Chopper tried to elude AP-5 but was eventually caught by him. AP-5 recognized Chopper as a stowaway and the rebel droid who had stolen a droid leg from Horizon Base. When AP-5 noticed that Chopper had a spark projector, Chopper revealed that he was a war hero. In return, AP-5 told Chopper that he was a veteran of the Clone Wars who had served as an analyst droid for the Galactic Republic during the Ryloth campaign.

Chopper also told AP-5 that he flew a BTL Y-wing starfighter which crash-landed on Ryloth but was rescued by Hera. Finding a friend, AP-5 told Chopper about his unhappiness at being reassigned to inventory duty and being constantly belittled by his Imperial superiors. AP-5 expressed his admiration for Chopper's fortitude. At that point, the Imperial captain interrupted their conversation via comlink and asked AP-5 about the manifest and warning him about the stowaway droid. Chopper then used his electroshock prod to disable AP-5's restraining bolt, freeing the droid.

Shortly later, the Imperial captain arrived and proceeded to chastise AP-5 for neglecting the ship's manifest while asking him about the intruder. When the captain noticed AP-5's missing restraining bolt and attempted to apply a new one, Chopper appeared and attacked the Imperial officer. The officer grabbed Chopper during the struggle and called for reinforcements through his comlink. However, Chopper managed to stun him with his electroshock prod. With nothing left to lose, the two droids decided to join forces and Chopper devised a plan to seize control of the ship. While AP-5 thought Chopper's plan had a 10.5% chance of succeeding, he still agreed to help. Chopper lured the stormtroopers into the cargo compartment and then jettisoned it into space. The two droids then argued over who should lead the ship.

Meanwhile, in hyperspace, the other crew of the Ghost headed back to the rebel fleet. On the way, Ezra, despite his acrimonious relationship with Chopper, urged his fellow crew to go back for the droid. However, Hera criticized Chopper for only looking out for himself and allowing himself to get distracted by the droid leg. She also stressed that the rebel fleet was more important. Shortly later, they received a transmission from Commander Sato that the rebel fleet was under attack from Imperial forces. When they exited hyperspace, they saw the Imperial fleet attacking the rebels. Back on the cargo ship, AP-5 decided to go for his programmed destination.

Finding a new base
Aboard another Imperial warship, an Imperial officer informed Admiral Kassius Konstantine that the Ghost had entered the system. Realizing that they Ghost was carrying stolen fuel supplies for the rest of the fleet, Konstantine immediately ordered all remaining fighters to focus fire on the Ghost. The Ghost's crew was assisted by Ketsu who helped them take out the attacking TIE fighters, managing to enter the cruiser. On the Imperial cargo freighter, AP-5 allowed Chopper to serve as the ship's helmsman. Chopper changed the coordinates, much to AP-5's concern. He also told AP-5 that he should come with the rebels, as they were kinder than his Imperial superiors.

Back at the rebel fighter carrier, Hera managed to land the Ghost with much difficulty. Zeb and Ezra began unloading the fuel supplies while Hera received contact from Chopper through the ship's intercom. Hera was initially annoyed with Chopper for abandoning his post and informed him that the rebel fleet was preparing to depart for the Yost system. Over-hearing the conversation, AP-5 looked up the Yost system and informed them that an Imperial fleet was lying in ambush there. Chopper relayed this information back to Hera. When Hera expresses skepticism, Chopper assured her that AP-5 was telling the truth. AP-5 cross-searched both Chopper and the Imperial data to look for any potential havens and finds one: the planet Atollon.

Meanwhile, Hera informed Commander Sato that the Yost system was unsafe and that they have received coordinates to a new system. The cargo ship captain, regaining consciousness, headed back to the bridge to confront the hijackers. Taken by surprise, AP-5 claimed that Chopper was holding him hostage. The captain however saw through the ruse and attacked the two droids. While AP-5 manned the controls and expressed gratitude for Chopper's friendship, Chopper fought the captain and managed to knock his blaster pistol out of his hand. The two fought with the captain gaining the upper hand due to his bigger size.

AP-5 was about to transmit the new coordinates to Hera when he was shot twice by the captain. An enraged Chopper fought back even harder and managed to stun the captain again. Chopper then transmitted AP-5's coordinates to Hera and the rebel fleet. Despite their victory, AP-5 was badly damaged by the blaster bolts and began to shut down. Before powering down, he managed to tell Chopper that he was glad to have made a new friend, to Chopper's dismay. Using AP-5's information, the Phoenix rebel fleet headed towards the new coordinates.

Later, Hera and Kanan check out the coordinates and finds that Atollon was indeed safe and void of any Imperial presence. Meanwhile, Sabine fixes AP-5's thermosensors by salvaging parts from the spare leg had Chopper stolen. AP-5 met the crew of the Ghost for the first time. After learning that Chopper had sacrificed his new droid leg to repair him, AP-5 remarked that Chopper had a malfunctioning logic circuit. When Chopper uttered a rebuttal, AP-5 responded that the former's remarks were so foul that they could get him disintegrated in six systems. As the two droids departed the common room, the rest of the crew watched with bemusement.