It's dawn on the Colossus, and Kaz is fast asleep when Yeager and Bucket approach him. Yeager tells Kaz to wake up, since he's got an early start ahead of him. In his sleep, Kaz requests five more minutes and rolls over, so Yeager has Bucket play a loud siren that jolts Kaz awake. Tam, working on the Fireball, is not sympathetic. Half-asleep, Kaz complains as he shuffles over to the caf machine, but can't get it to work as he repeatedly presses a button, wondering if it's broken again. Tam comes over, shoves him out of the way and presses the correct button before stealing the mug. Yeager says that he and Kaz will be leaving the platform for a day-long salvaging mission, and Tam is surprised as that wasn't on the work list.
Yeager pilots his shuttle off the Colossus, and tells Kaz he didn't actually say where they're going. Kaz takes a nap in the back. He's woken up again by sunlight later, and, properly awake, asks Yeager what it is they're doing. Yeager explains that someone wants to see him, and an X-Wing rises from the clouds. It's Poe, who proceeds to greet BB-8 over the coms (although Kaz thought he was being spoken to). Poe then tells Kaz he's got a surprise for him, and Yeager opens the shuttle's door as another X-Wing appears, flown by a red-and-blue astromech droid Poe introduces as CB-23. Kaz is nervous about jumping into the cockpit, since they're not docking to avoid attracting attention, because even though he learned sky-jumping at the New Republic academy, he's never actually done it. BB-8 eventually gives Kaz a push, and he lands in the fighter. Kaz straightens himself out and puts on the waiting helmet, saying hello to the droid, who responds she'd rather be flying with Poe. BB-8 then hops on-board Poe's fighter, and the two X-Wings fly off, with Yeager waiting in the shuttle.
Poe asks Kaz about Captain Doza potentially colluding with the First Order, and Kaz explains that they want to take over the Colossus, but he doesn't know why. Upon being asked why he didn't just send a transmission, Poe explains that signals can be intercepted, and also he wanted to fly somewhere. Kaz knows the feeling. They enter an asteroid field, and Poe shows Kaz a trick he calls a tailslide. Kaz tries it out twice, but doesn't manage to quite grasp it, nicking his fighter on asteroids. Poe tells him he's thinking too hard about the trick. Just then, Kaz picks up a distress signal, which Poe notes is coming from sector 6. The two head off to investigate, and find an old Darius G-Class freighter, which appears to have been attacked by pirates. There are several life signs aboard, and the two move to dock, with Poe hoping the survivors aren't any of the attackers.
Onboard, the ship is dark, and Kaz wonders what kind of cargo was being transported. Poe deduces, based on the cargo containers littering the hallways, that it was something alive. The two humans and two droids search a bit more before witnessing two pirates running down a cross hallway, fleeing from some kind of large creature that pulls them back. Kaz, sickened, realizes they've been eaten, and Poe responds that at least it's not them, wondering what kind of creature that was. Shortly thereafter, Kaz, Poe and the droids come under attack from Kowakian monkey-lizards, with Kaz having to pull one away from his face. Two of the irritating creatures manage to fill the hallway with smoke, leading Kaz and Poe to temporarily get separated as Poe chases after one that stole his blaster. As BB-8 and CB-23 have a lovely bonding moment, Kaz yells for help with the several lizards clinging to him. Kaz eventually gets help just as Poe returns with his weapon and fires at the ceiling to scare the lizards off, accidentally killing one on the ceiling in the process. Poe comments on how much he hates the creatures.
Searching deeper in the ship, CB-23 and BB-8 track a surviving humanoid life sign to a room next to a partially-closed door. Entering, Kaz finds an unconscious Mirialan woman inside of a crate, and carries her out of the room as he and Poe hear the giant creature approaching. It turns out to be a giant, mutant monkey-lizard, with both Kaz and Poe surprised that the creatures could get that big. They run, and shortly get split up when Poe, the only one with a blaster, lures the lizard away while Kaz, who is slowed down due to his burden, runs with the droids. Poe meets up with Kaz again just as he's put the woman down out of exhaustion, and helps carry her to their ships. As they depart from the freighter, they discover several pirate fighters have arrived, and fight them off. Kaz, dealing with one on his tail, finally pulls off the tailslide trick perfectly to rid himself of the pursuer. Poe and Kaz head back to Castilon.
Rendezvousing with Yeager, in his shuttle, Kaz brings the unconscious woman on board. Yeager is incredulous, suspecting that this is not a good idea. Poe tells BB-8 he'll see him again soon before leaving, and BB-8 waves CB-23 goodbye. When the woman wakes up, she punches Kaz in the face, and he hurriedly explains that she was rescued by some pilots, and that he and his boss volunteered to bring her to the Colossus. Yeager interjects that he didn't. The woman introduces herself as Synara, and claims to have been attacked by pirates. She's uncertain of how she'll be received on the platform since she has no ID, and Kaz promises that he and Yeager will sign her up.
At the Colossus' entrance, as Kaz goes to the window to sign Synara up, she's approached by a security droid, before Kaz waves it off, telling her everything is fine. Inside, Synara thanks Kaz, but tells him she'd like to be alone, and enters a lift. Yeager is suspicious, and tells Kaz that if anything goes wrong, all of this is on him. Kaz is confident it will work out fine. Inside the lift, Synara pulls out a comlink and calls her boss, Kragan Gorr, telling him that all of the other pirates who boarded the freighter were eaten, and that she's the only one who survived. Upon being told that, thanks to the kindness of unwitting strangers, Synara is on the Colossus, Kragan is pleased, seeing it as an unexpected opportunity. He tells her to blend in, as he'll have an assignment for her soon, before signing off. Synara smiles.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Poe fires a blaster into the ceiling as a warning, and a dead Kowakian monkey-lizard falls to the floor. Judging by the look on his face, he didn't know it was there.
- An Aesop: Don't be quick to trusting strangers, even if they look unsuspecting and helpless.
- Alliterative Title: "Signal from Sector Six".
- Animals Not to Scale: In-Universe. Onboard the freighter they find an enormous Kowakian monkey-lizard, Kaz even says he didn't know they got that big. Out of universe material indicates that it's called a Kowakian ape-lizard, and is basically a gorilla to the monkey-lizards' howler monkeys.
- Asteroid Thicket: Kaz and Poe enter one while flying, and find the distressed freighter there.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Poe and Kaz go off to rescue the humanoid life signal on the monkey-infested ship in spite of the danger. Later, when Synara comes to, Kaz doesn't suspect a thing about her and welcomes her to the Colossus out of the kindness of his heart.
- Continuity Nod:
- BB-8 makes like R2-D2 and shoves someone off a ledge.
- Poe mentions rathtars, gundarks or reeks as possible candidates for the giant creature onboard the freighter before they find out what it is.
- Poe mentioned to Rose in Adventures #6 that he hates Kowakian monkey-lizards.
- Kaz's unsuspecting kindness towards a stranger (Synara) who is touched by it but proceeds to take advantage of it brings to mind what happened with Ezra back in Rebels, which showed the exact reasons of why this may be a bad idea.
- Cowardly Lion: Kaz spends most of the episode terrified, screaming, and flinching from everything, but he doesn't let it affect the mission.
- Distress Call: What kicks off the plot.
- Don't Think, Feel: When Kaz fails to pull off the tailslide trick well twice, Poe tells him he's thinking about it too much.
- Dramatic Irony: The audience knows from her first appearance that Synara is one of Kragan's pirates, but Kaz doesn't.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Synara manipulates Kaz's kindness to get into the Colossus, and she seems surprised and somewhat touched that he's seriously that nice.
- Failed a Spot Check: Kaz, half-asleep, keeps pressing a button on the caf machine, but it won't pour and he thinks that it's broken again. Tam walks over, shoves him aside, presses the correct button, and steals Kaz's mug.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: To Synara's true identity and intentions.
- She turns away as she explains to Kaz that she was the only survivor of her crew after pirates raided their ship, like one would do if they were lying.
- One of the security droids approaches Synara in a hostile fashion.
- After Kaz gets her registered, Synara hastily thanks Kaz and tells him that she needs some time alone... because she needs to talk to her boss, Kragan.
- Foreshadowing: When he and Kaz head to dock with the damaged freighter, Poe hopes that the survivors aren't any of the bad guys. It turns out the woman he and Kaz rescue is, unfortunately, one of the bad guys.
- Forgot to Mind Their Head: Kaz bangs his head on a pipe when he's startled awake.
- Gory Discretion Shot: The two pirates Kaz and Poe see get captured by the ape-lizard are eaten by it just offscreen.
- Immune to Bullets: The ape-lizard is minimally affected at best by any shots fired at it.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Yeager is wary about bringing Synara back to the Colossus and warns Kaz that if Synara turns out to be trouble, then it's on him. He's right.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: The Kowakian ape-lizard takes the already present monkey-lizard combination, and adds the build of a gorilla and the tough hide, ridge, and tusks of a boar.
- Must Have Caffeine: The first thing Kaz does after being woken up is make a beeline to the caf machine.
- Not a Morning Person: Kaz is not at his best early in the morning.
- Not Quite the Right Thing: Kaz and Poe bring Synara back to Castilon and get her registered on the Colossus. Too bad she's one of Kragan's pirates and wants to bring the Colossus down.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Kaz, after tripping over BB-8 and seeing a monkey-lizard running at him.
- Replacement Goldfish: CB-23 accuses Poe of using her as this for BB-8.
- Skewed Priorities: BB and CB share a tender moment after the former saves the latter from some of the monkeys, all while Kaz is getting beat up by one.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Kaz is a pilot, not a soldier, and not at all athletic. He manages to carry Synara fine when he's terrified and running from the ape-lizard, but when Poe leads it away the adrenaline crashes and he can barely drag her.
- Likewise, Kaz has no combat experience outside a fighter, is unarmed, and is trapped on a freighter with a monster he's already seen eat two people. Does he show Nerves of Steel? Nope, he's as terrified as anyone else would be in that situation.
- Third Time's The Charm: Kaz doesn't get the tailslide trick Poe shows him right until his third try, when he's fighting off pursuing pirates.
- Wake Up Fighting: Synara wakes up to Kazuda leaning over her, and she punches him in the face out of reflex.
