Humility is the only defence against humiliation.
The Separatists have a new encryption code that the Republic can't crack. Fearing a major attack is imminent, the Jedi enact a plan to steal the Separatists' new encryption module, involving sending a team of droids to infiltrate the ship carrying it and stealing it. The only non-astromech droids on the mission are pit droid WAC-47, there to pilot the shuttle, and diminutive Zilkin Colonel Meebur Gascon, who has ambitions of being more than a map-reader. But when the most competent member of the group is R2-D2, will the D-Squad be able to carry out their mission?
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: WAC can't seem to remember Colonel Gascon's actual rank, constantly referring to him as "Captain" or "Corporal". Over the course of the episode, it becomes increasingly ambiguous as to whether it's still accidental or WAC has begun doing it on purpose.
- Amusing Injuries: WAC walking into the doorframe. Justified since he's a droid.
- Armchair Military: Gascon turns out to be a "tactical analyst" who plans missions, but has never actually been on a mission himself. Subverted once BC gets fried and he's forced to become an active part of the mission.
- Beneath Suspicion: A team consisting of droids is sent on the mission because, on a Separatist battleship, they'll attract little notice. Sure enough, as the droids make their escape, with intruder alarms blaring across the ship, they encounter a platoon of battle droids... who merely tell them to get out of the way so they can go find the intruders.Meebur: Funny thing about droids... the last thing they expect to betray them is another droid.
- Blown Across the Room: Dr. Gubacher warns C4 about the knockback his new laser possesses, which throws him across the room the first time he uses it because he's not locked down.
- Booby Trap: BZ falls victim to one on the comvault door.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: For the first half of the episode, WAC appears to be incredibly incompetent and cocky. He gets lost on the way to the briefing room, walks into a wall on his way out, gets them caught in the dreadnought's tractor beam, and constantly gets Colonel Gascon's rank wrong, all while bragging about his "superior" programming. But as the mission progresses, he becomes much more capable: he reminds C4 to lock himself down before firing his laser (to no avail), tries to warn BZ about the booby-trapped door (again, to no avail), gets the super battle droids out of the way with consummate ease, and repeatedly saves Gascon from the attacking super tactical droid.
- "Down Here!" Shot: Colonel Gascon's introduction: the door to the briefing room opens, and then the camera pans down to reveal him standing in the entrance.
- Exact Words: Mace Windu introduces Colonel Gascon as someone who has been with the Republic since the Battle of Geonosis. He never states that Gascon actually fought in the Battle of Geonosis. The droids eventually figure out that Gascon is an armchair colonel who's never actually fought in the field before, hence his desperate need to prove himself.
- Facepalm: Commander Neyo puts his hand to his forehead at WAC-47's behaviour upon arriving at the briefing.
- Foreshadowing: Mace tells the droids that not all of them may make it back.
- Glory Hound: It's heavily indicated that the Colonel is this, what with his comment about returning from the mission in time for his promotion ceremony to Brigadier General.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: WAC lures away the super battle droids guarding the comvault by telling them he's been sent by General Grievous to test the security. Most battle droids, after all, aren't very intelligent.
- I Surrender, Suckers: R2, ordered to stick his arms up by the super tactical droid, does so before promptly switching the room's gravity off, being the only one in the room who can fly.
- Malicious Misnaming: Colonel Gascon dismissively refers to the droids using nicknames like "flat-top" for C4, "Pinky" for QT, and in particular, "Cyclops" for WAC. It's implied that WAC has been getting his rank wrong on purpose as a means of getting back at him, and when the droids eventually demand that Gascon knock it off, WAC drives the point home by calling him "Shorty"; when Gascon finally starts treating them with respect at the episode's end, WAC gives him his correct rank (and with a pleased tone).
- Mini-Mecha: BZ gets his memory cores removed to provide a place for Colonel Gascon to ride in during the mission.
- No Gravity for You: When D-Squad is cornered by battle droids in the comvault, R2 hits upon the idea of switching the gravity off to even the odds.
- No One Gets Left Behind: R2, QT, and C4 insist on carrying the damaged and deactivated BZ back to the shuttle so he can be repaired.
- Not Helping Your Case: WAC-47 attempts to show that he's better than the astromechs by getting into the front of the line and turning to tell them that "The line starts behind me" — only to walk into the wall next to the door as R2 and company just roll right past him.
- Plot Tailored to the Party: R2, QT, and C4 all get upgrades designed to help them bypass the security measures guarding the encryption module, all of which are used.
- Special Edition Title: For this episode and the rest of the story arc ("A Sunny Day in the Void", "Missing in Action", "Point of No Return"), the opening title is pale blue.
- Title Drop:Mace: You've worked with the Jedi before. You are our secret weapons.
- Tractor Beam: Used to capture the shuttle after WAC decides that the best way to attract the Separatists' attention is to put the ship on a collision course with the dreadnought.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Downplayed. Gascon's outlaid plan to steal the encryption module goes somewhat as planned, although they end up having to fight off a super tactical droid. However, the return journey won't be nearly so smooth...
- We Need a Distraction: WAC begs to be allowed to be the one to distract the guards.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Colonel Gascon is dismissive of the droids, to the extent that when BZ is fried by a booby-trapped door, he berates BZ for it. At this point the droids decide enough is enough and demand greater respect from Gascon, who complies begrudgingly at first, and then more sincerely after the droids repeatedly save his skin during the ensuing battle.
