“Who Else Knows?”

Heert takes charge
Supervisor Heert inspects the aftermath of Kleya Marki’s attack on the Lina Soh Hospital in Coruscant. Attendant Joydali reports that two Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) drivers were killed and one missing. Several ISB tactical agents and stormtroopers were also killed. Heert crouches beside the corpse of a fallen stormtrooper. Joydali proposes slapping six charges and identifies hospital staff and guards as possible suspects. Heert says that they will blame Supervisor Dedra Meero for the disaster since she was responsible for the hospital’s security package.

Joydali theorizes there were three attackers based on the scale of the attack, advanced surveillance and lack of witnesses. Heert emphasizes that Meero is to blame and gives orders that Luthen Rael’s body not be touched. The hospital’s director Doctor Recklaw strides up to Heert and Joydali, protesting at the closure of the hospital. When he insists he is in charge of the hospital, Heert threatens to arrest Recklaw on charges of obstructing their investigation. Recklaw backs down and agrees to give the Imperial access to the hospital’s security logs.

Meero’s downfall
Meanwhile, Meero waits inside a white ISB interrogation room. Director Orson Callan Krennic walks into the observation room and switches off one of the recording machines. He enters the interrogation room from behind Meero and demands to know who else knows. When Meero tries to feign ignorance by saying that all she knows is that Supervisor Lonni Jung is dead, Krennic responds that he is not here to investigate the murder of an ISB clerk. Returning to business, he tells Meero to guess the true reason for his visit. Cornered, Meero says that Krennic is here because of the Death Star.

When Krennic asks who else knows about the Death Star, Meero says Major Partagaz knows. However, Krennic is not satisfied and demands to know the names he doesn’t know. Meero says this is absurd and denies being a rebel spy. Krennic says this is the only plausible answer and repeats his question. Meero says that Lagret’s brother, who is stationed on Scarif, is also aware. Krennic asks if Jung was on her list of suspects. Meero says that Jung was a “busybody” who was always on the fringes. When Krennic asks why Meero gave Jung her certificate clearance, Meero responds that she never gave Jung her clearance.

Krennic is suspicious and doesn’t buy her explanation, prompting Meero to say that Jung stole her clearance. Krennic then asks Meero what she knows about Galen Walton Erso. Meero says that several intelligence bundles were forwarded to her office by mistake and expresses regret for not reporting it. When Krennic asks about Ghorman’s mining schedules, Meero says she has clearance for that. Krennic then asks why she has copies of the orbital progress assessments, Eadu research journals, and two years of Jedha Working Group printouts in her files. Meero claims they were accidentally sent to her but Krennic does not believe her and calls her a “scavenger.”

Meero claims she did not read most of the files but Krennic does not buy her answer. He counters that Jung spent three hours reading the documents while logged into her accounts. He presses his long finger down on top of her skull. Krennic asks her to consider what Jung might have told Luthen Rael. After Krennic removes his hand, Meero admits that she obtained those files in order to assist with her search for “Axis.” She emphasizes that she found Axis. Meero describes herself as a “scavenger” because she had to be one.

She tells Krennic that the Jedha documents mentioned that a Partisan spy worked as a valet for the local Moff. When questioned, he had been recruited by a man who owned a treasure-laden Fondor haulcraft. Meero says that Krennic’s team made the mistake of torturing the man to death and buried the transcript of his interrogation rather than forwarded to Coruscant, forcing Meero to scavenge for it to use that clue to investigate Rael and uncover his identity as “Axis.” A furious Krennic asks how someone so “competent” could make the foolish mistake of confronting Rael alone at his gallery.

Meero mentions that Rael had an assistant and believes she also knows about the Death Star secrets. She says that they must hunt her down as well. Shortly later, Moy enters the interrogation room. When Meero says that she can help interrogate Rael once he has been revived, Krennic grabs her face forcefully and responds that they can do without her. He exits with Moy, leaving Meero alone. Through the observation room’s glass, Meero witnesses Krennic speaking with Moy and another ISB agent before exiting the room.

Identifying Kleya
While director Recklaw paces outside the CCTV room under the watchful gaze of ISB tactical officers, Heert and Joydali question the technician watching the security camera feeds. He recalls hearing an explosion, which he says reminded him of a thermal line that blew up last year. The technician says he recalls being told that they were under attack and asks about the situation outside. Heert requests camera footage of the outside entrance area. However, the technician reveals that the cameras were destroyed during the explosion. Heert then suggests that they examine footage from the concentrated care unit. While retrieving the concentrated care unit footage, the technician asks if the ISB agents could speed up his cousin’s ISB application. Joydali tells him to shut up and focus on his work.

Meanwhile, at the safehouse, Marki pounds into a solid concrete wall beneath several pipes. She uses a pipe to chisel a hole into the wall. Back at the hospital, the technician and the ISB agents focus on a screenshot of Marki in a nurse’s scrub at the surgical entrance. Heert tells the technician to zoom in on the screenshot. Back at the safehouse, Marki finishes her hammering and shines a flashlight through the hole in the wall. She retrieves an object wrapped in a rag, which turns out to be the components of a fractal radio. Marki proceeds to assemble the radio.

Back at the hospital, Heert peers through the security footage, taking an interest in Marki. He notices that the suspect is looking face down, preventing them from getting a clear view of her face. Heert realizes she is trying to hide. Marki uses electronic cables to power up the fractal radio and also digs up a chrono which she uses as a timer. The ISB agents and technician find more footage of Marki, with Heert realizing that there was only one infiltrator. Back at the safehouse, Marki taps on the keys of the fractal radio, causing the red light to flicker.

Signal to Yavin 4
At the Great Temple on Yavin 4, Wilmon Paak accompanies a crew of rebel technicians exiting the hangar bay at the end of their shift. Paak walks through the jungle to a simple tent-like adobe. Inside his tent, he is confronted by Dreena who asks him about his beeping fractal radio. Dreena demands to know what it is and tells Paak that it started beeping half an hour ago. Dreena asks if he is okay and seeks more information. Paak says he will explain later before leaving.

Meanwhile, Cassian Jeron Andor plays a game of chips with Melshi and K-2SO inside Andor’s Yavin 4 hut. K-2SO is critical of Melshi’s gambit and says he is not thinking straight because of the alcohol he has consumed. When K-2SO remarks that Melshi is unwise for risking so much for so little, Melshi says that droids cannot understand humans. K-2SO recalls they have played this game 863 times and he is able to predict the humans’ behavior. Andor engages in playful banter with Melshi and K-2SO. Before they can continue the game, they are interrupted by Paak, who brings his fractal radio.

Launching a manhunt
Back on Coruscant, a determined Heert marches to the ISB Central Office. Later, Heert briefs Major Partagaz and Director Krennic about his discovery of Kleya Marki’s role in the hospital break-in. Krennic orders Heert to issue a galactic-wide hologram of Marki and gives him a broad mandate to hunt her down. He warns that failure will be deadly. When Heert asks whether they should charge Marki with sedition or murder, Partagaz proposes manufacturing a story that Marki escaped the Lina Soh Hospital with an infectious condition that could kill thousands. Krennic agrees to the plan and dispatches Heert on his mission.

In private, Partagaz confronts Krennic about the secret Death Star project, insisting that, given the project was supposed to have been completed by now, it is nothing short of a miracle ISB have kept word from leaking out until now. Krennic warns Partagaz he can’t protect the latter from the Emperor’s fury over the leak and insists that the superweapon is days away from being operational, dismissing Partagaz’s complaints as identical to those he’s already heard from Tarkin; Partagaz irritably tells him to save the “sermon” for Emperor Palpatine. Krennic responds that Partagaz has a “plague” to stop and that he is overdue for a meeting on Scarif. Partagaz wishes his colleague the best of luck, and Krennic departs with a grateful nod, clearly aware he will be next in line to face Palpatine’s wrath if the present debacle isn’t salvaged.

An unsanctioned rescue
While Marki waits by the fractal radio, K-2SO reminds Paak that there is a base-wide ban on unauthorized radio transmissions. The others stare at the fractal unit. Andor thinks the radio is malfunctioning but Paak believes the transmission is genuine. K-2SO asks if the reason why they are not transmitting back is to avoid being traced. He asks who they are hiding from. When K-2SO probes into the matter, Andor explains that they are hiding from everyone. A red light begins blinking on the fractal radio, with Paak describing it as a compression cipher, burst broadcast and an abbreviated chain. He says that is a short message.

Realizing it is a distress signal, Andor asks K-2SO if the U-wing starfighter is powered up. After K-2SO confirms the ship is ready, he tells Melshi that he needs an extra hand. Paak warns that the message could be a trap, but Andor insists on going and tells Paak to pull a departure roster so that he does not get shot down while departing. Andor tells Melshi to get ready. When K-2SO reminds them that they need a flight plan, Andor says that they could claim this flight is a test run. Andor insists on not filing a flight plan.

Meanwhile, Marki sends an encrypted message using the fractal radio. Later, General Davits Draven learns from Lieutenant Poyle that a U-wing has departed on an unauthorized test flight. Yavin Base ground control orders Andor and his colleagues to return to base but they switch off the radio. K-2SO observes that they have departed on 17 unauthorized flights. Andor takes the U-wing into hyperspace and the ship departs the Yavin system.

Seeking advice from Meero
While waiting in a cell back on Coruscant, Meero is visited by Supervisor Heert, who peers through the mesh gate at his former mentor and colleague. Heert confirms that Rael was killed by his assistant, who infiltrated the hospital. He says that Kleya Marki is on the run. Meero responds that the case is now his responsibility. When Meero says that he was friends with Jung, Heert disagrees. Meero warns that there is a cell waiting for him if he fails with the mission.

When Heert asks about Krennic’s project, Meero thinks she is testing him. Heert confides that he came to her for advice in solving the case. Though Heert has launched a massive search package, he acknowledges that the fugitive Marki is too smart to go where they are looking for her. Heert says Meero knows how the rebels think. Meero replies that Marki is likely to call for help. When Heert says that they are scanning for possible transmissions, Meero warns that she knows that. She advises Heert to consult the old Axis files, recalling there was a radio on Ferrix. She mentions that Anto Kreegyr also operated on old frequencies and pulse codes. Heert thanks her but Meero warns it is too late. Heert departs with his two stormtrooper escorts.

Discipline and ingenuity
Back at the Great Temple, Wilmon Paak tells General Draven that Andor and his team left in response to an emergency transmission. Draven is furious because he believes that Andor’s departure will alert the Empire to their presence on Yavin 4. Paak defends Andor, saying that none of what the Alliance to Restore the Republic has built would be possible without Rael. Draven orders a lieutenant to confine Paak to his quarters until further notice.

Meanwhile, Heert and Joydali enter Rael’s gallery where ISB and other law enforcement investigators are still going through the gallery. A female ISB technician named Lepori tells Heert that Rael managed to destroy his storage files, contacts and dossiers prior to the raid; having planned for this. She tells Rael that the fractal radio’s transmitter is still intact. Lepori explains that Rael and Marki spliced the antennae system into a metro tower next door, using Imperial power. Heert frowns at learning how the Axis network has outsmarted the Empire for years.

Descent into Coruscant
Above Coruscant, Andor’s U-wing exits hyperspace and extends its foils during descent. When K-2SO asks where they are going, Andor gives the coordinates “Plate seven grid, 3561 East.” Melshi adds “65459 Solar North, Level 5124.” Andor exits the cockpit and speaks with Melshi. K-2SO observes that Melshi has never been to Coruscant. When Andor asks if the coordinates are accurate, Melshi confirms they are. K-2SO recalls that he once attended a parade on Coruscant with 200 KX-series security droids. Andor recalls that the Emperor attended that parade.

Andor activates Paak’s fractal radio unit. Meanwhile, Marki paces anxiously inside the safe house. Her fractal radio begins beeping. Back at the gallery, Lepori proposes taking Rael’s fractal radio offline and reassembling it at the laboratory. Heert is impatient and says they have to get it operational fast. Lepori explains that all the options require a connection and that she cannot trace back something she does not have. Just then, the transmitter begins picking up radio signals. Heert and Joydali react with astonished looks.

Meanwhile, Marki and Andor correspond via fractal radio transmitters. The U-wing continues its descent. Elsewhere, Heert updates Partagaz about their breakthrough. Joydali dispatches an ISB tactical unit to Marki’s safe house. After descending into the planet’s atmosphere, Andor and K-2SO fly the U-wing through the skyscraper corridors of Coruscant. They park on an unoccupied landing pad at the base of the apartment complex.

Converging missions
Heert rides an ISB TAC shuttle with several ISB tactical soldiers. The unit commander Sergeant Gharial hands Heert some body armor and tells him that his job will be to identify the suspect. Gharial says that Sergeant Benzi will be running the second team, who will be responsible for flanking and posting up the ship for the ride out. A technician connects Major Partagaz with Heert and the ISB tactical via comlink. K-2SO stays aboard while Andor and Melshi enters the apartment complex.

Meanwhile, Heert issues the ISB tacticals with a hologram of Marki. He orders them to take her alive but warns that she is considered armed and dangerous. Working with the crew and the ISB command Center, the Imperials jam all non-essential communications and power around the safe house. K-2SO notices the ship is down while Andor and Melshi enter a turbolift after allowing a human and a horned alien to leave. The two try to contact K-2SO with their earpieces but receive no response due to the communications blackout.

K-2SO reacts with dismay to the arrival of the ISB shuttle. Andor and Melshi enter Level 27 and walk into the dark corridor. They notice the decrepit and leaking state of the complex. The two proceed cautiously towards the safe house which lies at the end of the corridor. ISB tacticals file out of their shuttle while Gharial asks Heert if he has a trace. Heert says he is working on it.

Marki awakes to hear the door knocking and reaches for her blaster. As the ISB technician Lepori issues a transmission, the fractal radio begins beeping. Andor and Melshi knock on the door, calling for Luthen. A dishevelled Marki opens the door and greets Andor and Melshi. Outside, Heert is able to home in on the fractal radio’s transmissions using a hexagonal transmitter. Marki tells Andor and Melshi that the Emperor’s energy programme is a cover for a superweapon, drawing links between Imperial activities on Ghorman, Scarif and Jedha. She explains that Kyber crystals are linked to the Imperial superweapon. Andor asks Marki if she is sure that Rael is dead. Marki responds with an anguished look.

Luthen’s legacy
Meanwhile, Gharial tells Heert that the ISB tactical teams will work their way up to the Floors 26, 27, and 28 West. Gharial assigns one man to the bridge and two to the lobby. Heert reminds them that he wants Marki alive. Benzi responds that he has relayed the order to his men twice. The ISB tacticals enter the building. Inside the safe house, an anguished Marki repeats what Rael told her about Galen Erso, Kyber crystals, Scarif, and Jedha. Andor warns Marki they need to leave.

Gharial and his colleagues ascend up the lift while two tacticals stand guard at the lobby. Marki is reluctant to leave for Yavin 4, but Andor insists on rescuing her. As the ISB tactical team approaches the safe house, a tactical tells an alien resident to stay in his residence for safety. Meanwhile, the ISB tactical soldier on the bridge encounters K-2SO. He asks the ISB command if they sent a KX-security droid via comlink. After confirming he is not with them, K-2SO backhands the soldier, who falls off the bridge.

The shuttle pilot asks ISB command what is going on. ISB command assumes local law enforcement sent the KX droid as backup. K-2SO forces his way aboard the ISB shuttle and assaults the crew. Partagaz hears their cries over the comms. Meanwhile, the ISB tactical team enters an apartment inhabited by an elderly human couple. Andor reassures Marki that she will be safe on Yavin and that they will tell the Rebel Alliance about the Death Star together. When Marki reminds him that he once wanted to leave, Andor says that she told him he was wrong and that he now sees things her way.

Inside the elderly couple’s apartment, Heert uses the transmitter and realizes the safe house is directly above them. Gharial orders the ISB team to reactivate their comms and proceed upstairs. When Marki reminds Andor that he left her and Rael for the Rebel Alliance, Andor responds that he made the right choice and that they cannot fight the Empire alone. He says that Rael was unable to swallow his pride. Marki angrily grabs Andor and defends Rael, saying that he stayed on Coruscant for what she just told him. She tells Andor to tell the people on Yavin what happened, adding that he owes Rael that. In the hallway, the tactical team closes in on the safe house.