Checking in with our double agent...
Late that night, after most of the people at 'Ghost Base' have gone to sleep, there are only a few guards outside on night watch, along with BB-8, and a crew of three working inside the Ghost. They are Rose Tico, and two resistance technicians, Chab and Bando, both human males in their early twenties.
Chab and Bando are in a maintenance bay, which is very dark due to the ship having no power. The only source of light in the room being the small lights on their helmets. The two men are working on assembling some components when Rose enters the room. The two men stop what they are doing, turn to face Rose, and salute her.
"Lieutenant!" Chab and Bando say in unison.
"Relax guys! I'm still one of you. I only got the lieutenant rank because the general wanted me to be in charge of all of the techs. You don't need to worry about saluting or standing at attention." Rose says. Both men stand at ease.
"Is there anything we can help you with, lieutenant?" Chab asks.
"No thanks, Chab. I just need to grab a few components, then I'm going back to work on the emergency systems. I'll be bringing emergency power online in a bit, just to test everything. We'll hopefully have emergency lights and working doors. That should hold us over until main power is back online tomorrow night." Rose answers.
"Sounds good, sir." Bando says.
"By the way, did you two finish working on those armor plates? General Syndulla wants them ready by 07:00." Rose says.
"The armor plates are good to go, lieutenant." Chab says.
"Alright. I'll let you two get back to work then." Rose says.
Rose leaves Chab and Bando to their work, and once she is certain they can't see her, she grabs an oxygen mask from the emergency kit, and enters a crawl space under the deck. She puts the oxygen mask on, then, crawls for several feet, stopping in front of an access panel. She takes a small device out of one of her jacket pockets, and connects it to the panel. She flips a few switches, and the ship's life support system comes online, filling the ship with a poisonous gas that kills Chab and Bando within seconds.
A few hours later, Rose calls Leia and Hera, who head for the Ghost with Jacen, Chopper, and several rebels.
"What happened to Chab and Bando?" Leia asks.
"I...don't know. I haven't seen them since about 02:00. I was in the crawl space for about three hours after that. I came out, and found them, just like that. Then, I commed you." Rose answers.
"Are you alright?" Hera asks.
"I think so." Rose answers.
"All the same, I want you to let the medics look you over." Leia says.
"Yes, general." Rose says. She walks away.
"This is very bad." Hera says.
"I know. I think our spy has been busy. I'll begin an investigation. Until it's over, we should hold off work on the Ghost." Leia says.
"Right. I think Ahsoka would be best suited for the job." Hera says.
"You're right. Ezra too. They both have plenty of experience investigating crimes like this." Leia says.
"Ezra and Ahsoka are with Kira, supervising her training. You want me to comm them?" Hera asks.
"They're started already? It's only 07:30!" Leia says.
"They started at dawn. Ezra likes to start early." Hera says.
"I'll go talk to them myself. I'd like to see how Kira's doing anyway. She's a special kid. I'm glad Ezra got her back." Leia says.
"Me too. Thanks to her, we got Ezra back. I thought he was lost forever." Hera says.
"If Darth Vader can turn away from the dark side, then I don't think anyone's really lost forever." Leia says.
"You think you can help Ben?" Hera asks.
"I don't know, but I'll do my best. Whatever it takes." Leia answers.
Near the Gauntlet, Ezra and Ahsoka are watching Kira deflect blasts from two training remotes, Chopper, and R2. Han Solo and Chewbacca are also nearby, watching. Leia and Hera approach Han and Chewbacca.
"Han, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought hokey religions and ancient weapons weren't your thing." Hera says. Chewbacca laughs.
"Well, you know, Chewie wanted to watch the kid practice. I think he likes her." Han says.
"I think you do too." Leia says.
"Well, maybe." Han says.
"Yeah, you do. You went on a suicide mission to save her after all." Leia says.
"Almost suicide mission. I came back, eventually." Han says.
"Yeah, you came back. Just make sure you stay this time!" Leia says.
"Of course your highnessness." Han says, as he leans in to kiss Leia.
After a brief kiss, Han and Leia separate, and return to watching Kira practice. Kira switches one end of her lightsaber to blaster mode, and destroys both training remotes, then, switches her saber back to standard mode just in time to block incoming blaster fire from Chopper and R2.
"What the...? Her lightsaber is a blaster too?" Han asks.
"Yeah. Ezra's first saber was too. He actually built it with blaster parts." Hera answers.
Ezra sees that Hera and Leia are present.
"Chopper, R2, cease fire!" Ezra says. Both droids stop firing at Kira, who deactivates her saber. Hera and Leia approach Ezra, Kira, and Ahsoka.
"Nice lightsaber. You're pretty good with it." Leia says. Kira smiles at the compliment.
"I'll say. She whipped my ass yesterday!" Ezra says.
"You're just out of practice!" Kira says.
"Don't sell yourself short, Kira. You're a natural fighter." Ahsoka says.
"I see we have a decent crowd. Jedi training isn't usually a spectator sport." Ezra says.
"Han and Chewie wanted to see how Kira was doing, and I'm here to talk to you about the two men we found dead this morning." Leia says.
"Any idea what happened?" Ezra asks.
"Actually, I'd like you and Ahsoka to handle the investigation." Leia answers.
"I don't know…" Ezra says.
"Ezra, I know you can do it. I trust you." Leia says, putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder.
"Thanks, Leia. I'll do my best." Ezra says. Leia smiles, then turns to Ahsoka.
"What about you?" Leia asks.
"Count me in. We should start by taking blood samples. I'll analyze them, and determine a cause of death." Ahsoka answers.
"Alright. Let's get to it. Kira, you can come too. Consider this part of your training." Ezra says.
"Okay." Kira says.
"Then, it's settled. I'll let you three get to work." Leia says.
A few hours later, in Ahsoka's house, Ahsoka completes the analysis of the blood samples. She and Kira approach Ezra, who is reading the ancient Jedi texts.
"How's it going in here?" Ahsoka asks.
"Hell, there's things in these books even I don't know. I only have incomplete copies. These are the originals. Some of these pages most likely haven't been read in thousands of years." Ezra answers.
"You can read that ancient text? I can almost read maybe half of the words." Kira asks.
"Be patient. It's gonna take you time to learn all this stuff." Ezra says.
"Your father's right. Nobody's expecting you to learn all of this overnight. I'll keep working on the translated summary for you, but it's best if you learn to understand the full, original text." Ahsoka says.
"How's the analysis going?" Ezra asks.
"Zemoxalene." Ahsoka answers.
"Damn. So, that crap was in the Ghost?" Ezra asks.
"I'm afraid so. Kira and I checked three times just to be absolutely certain." Ahsoka answers.
"Kira, do you know what zemoxalene is?" Ezra asks.
"A toxic nerve gas. Kills within seconds. Used by the Empire, and the First Order to execute prisoners. It's airborne, so it would have been in the ship, just long enough to kill those men." Kira answers.
"Good. You listen well." Ezra asks.
"What I would like to know is how Lieutenant Tico survived." Ahsoka says.
"Wasn't Rose on the ship?" Kira asks.
"Yeah. she told Leia that she was in a crawl space below deck, and last saw the techs alive at about 02:00. I've placed their time of death at about 02:30. If the lieutenant was indeed on the ship at the time, then, she should be dead, unless she was protected somehow." Ahsoka answers.
"What if she sealed the hatch to the crawl space?" Kira asks.
"Wouldn't matter. The crawl spaces on the Ghost aren't airtight. The gas would have gotten to her, if that's where she actually was. At least there was no one else on the ship, otherwise, they'd be dead too." Ezra says.
"It would seem that it's time for us to talk to Lieutenant Tico." Ahsoka says.
"I was thinking the same thing. Something's not right here." Ezra says.
"Do you think the lieutenant could be the spy?" Ahsoka asks.
"It's possible." Ezra answers.
"Rose? The spy? I just don't see how that's possible." Kira says.
"How well do you really know her, Kira?" Ezra asks.
"We've talked a few times. I wouldn't exactly call her a friend just yet, but she seems nice." Kira says.
"If she's the spy, then it's her job to be nice to us. It makes it easier for us to trust her." Ahsoka says.
"We don't know anything yet. We'll have to talk to her. If we catch her in a lie, then, we have our spy." Ezra says.
"Hera's going to be pissed when she finds out there was poison gas inside the Ghost. She's already upset because she's had to stop repairs while we investigate, and she's worried that they won't be able to get the Ghost ready before the Empire gets here." Ahsoka says.
"If it comes down to it, we might have to leave the Ghost behind." Ezra says.
"Grandma won't do that. That ship's her home!" Kira says.
"It's mine too, but if we have to leave it behind to save lives, then, that's what we'll do." Ezra says.
"Your father's right. Now, let's go find Lieutenant Tico." Ahsoka says.
Rose? A spy? Say it ain't so...