Droids in Distress " Droids in Distress " is the third episode of the first season of the animated television series " Star Wars Rebels " and the first episode following the premiere TV movie " " . It is the third episode of the series overall . The episode was released on iTunes as a free download and on WatchDisneyXD . com on October 3 , 2014 , and made its television debut on Disney XD on October 13 , 2014 . The episode was written by series executive producer Greg Weisman and directed by Steward Lee . Anthony Daniels guest - starred in the episode as C - 3PO . The episode features the crew of the " Ghost " intercepting a shipment of weapons intended for the Galactic Empire . Along the way , they inadvertently pick up C - 3PO and R2 - D2 , who are on a secret mission from Senator Bail Organa to prevent the weapons from falling into Imperial hands . The rebels continue to be chased by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau , while Garazeb Orrelios deals with grief over the near - extinction of his people . In the end , R2 - D2 provides Organa — who will become one of the founders of the Alliance to Restore the Republic — with information about the rebels and their activities . Official description . " Low on food and fuel , the " Ghost " crew agrees to steal an Imperial weapons shipment for crime lord Cikatro Vizago . During the mission , they encounter a familiar droid duo - - and find that the weapons in question are more deadly than they ' d realized . " Plot summary . In need of a job . The " Ghost " is being chased by a squad of TIE fighters and a Star Destroyer , fresh from a failed heist . After the ship jumps to hyperspace , Kanan Jarrus and Sabine Wren argue over the former ' s assertion that they would get away from the failed theft with the Imperial shipment they had attempted to steal . Hera Syndulla notes that the crew is low on food and fuel , and Ezra Bridger complains that there ' s been no time for his promised Jedi training . Kanan knows about another job , though , from the crime lord Cikatro Vizago . Garazeb Orrelios is not happy about the Spectres being arms dealers again , but the crew agrees to take the job , so they ' re off to the Lothal City spaceport . The con . At Lothal ' s main spaceport , Ezra and the astromech droid Chopper board Star Commuter 2000 shuttle ST - 45 , which is leaving for Garel . Aboard the shuttle , they pass by fellow rebels Sabine and Zeb , also disguised as passengers . Shortly after , the shuttle is boarded by Imperial minister Maketh Tua and Aqualish arms trader Amda Wabo , who sit in front of Zeb and Sabine . Wabo speaks to Tua in the Aqualish language , and Tua demands to know where her translator is : the protocol droid C - 3PO , who boards the shuttle accompanied by the astromech droid R2 - D2 . C - 3PO ' s services are necessary because Tua and Wabo cannot communicate directly . Just before the shuttle departs , they are joined by Kanan , boarding at the last minute . The various members of the " Ghost " crew ( Zeb and Sabine , Ezra and Chopper , Kanan ) are pretending not to know each other . After the shuttle enters hyperspace , Ezra and Chopper stage a fight , prompting Kanan to demand that the RX - 24 droid pilot send Chopper to the back of the craft . In response , Ezra demands that C - 3PO and R2 - D2 be transferred to the back as well , referring to both droids as astromechs . C - 3PO takes insult at being called an astromech , stressing that he is a protocol droid , and Tua tells the pilot that the two droids are accompanying her , and she is on Imperial business . The droid pilot informs Tua that Imperial regulations require all droids ( save for himself ) at the back of the craft , and 3PO begrudgingly heads to the back , followed by R2 . With Tua bereft of a translator , Sabine then volunteers her services while posing as an Imperial Academy student . Sabine quickly learns that Tua ' s weapons shipment is located in Bay Seven of Garel City Spaceport . However , she misleads Tua into believing that it is in Bay Seventeen . C - 3PO , in the back , sniffs that Sabine can ' t possibly take his place as translator . When R2 - D2 attempts to find out what Tua and Wabo , with Sabine translating , are talking about , C - 3PO tells him that it hardly matters to him what they ' re saying , and Chopper , believing R2 to be an Imperial droid , bumps into him to prevent him from listening . 3PO tells R2 that he could stand to learn some manners from Chopper . The theft . Upon landing on Garel , Minister Tua , C - 3PO , R2 - D2 and a contingent of stormtrooper s depart for Bay Seventeen . Meanwhile , the Spectres make their way towards Bay Seven . To enter the cargo bay , Ezra climbs through a ventilation duct to the roof , using Force jump s across the distant rooftops to Bay Seven ' s roof . While making his way up the duct , Ezra complains to Kanan via comlink about the delay in his Jedi lessons and that stealing to survive is already something he knows . In response , Kanan replies that the crew need the credit s . After entering Bay Seven , Ezra opens the bay door from inside to let in Kanan , Zeb , and Sabine , and Kanan opens the outer bay door to the opposite landing bay , where Hera lands the " Ghost " . Upon examining the cargo shipment , they discover that the crates contain T - 7 ion disruptor rifle s , weapons that had been banned by the Galactic Senate . Zeb is particularly upset by the discovery . Meanwhile , Minister Tua , C - 3PO , R2 - D2 , and her stormtroopers discover that Bay Seventeen is empty . C - 3PO deduces that Sabine probably confused the Aqualish word for seven with seventeen . Chopper , keeping an eye on the Imperials , contacts Hera and informs her that Tua and Wabo are on their way to Bay Seven . Ordered to stall them , Chopper picks a fight with R2 - D2 , but Minister Tua recognizes Chopper as the troublesome astromech droid from the shuttle and orders her men to hurry to Bay Seven . Before the rebels can finish loading the last of the disruptor rifles onto the " Ghost " , they are confronted by Tua and her stormtroopers . Following a brief gunfight , the rebels manage to flee Garel and set course back to Lothal . The crew of the " Ghost " are accompanied by two stowaways , C - 3PO having been led aboard by the insistent R2 - D2 . Kanan orders Sabine to fit them with restraining bolt s . Zeb calls Kanan aside and suggests they just take the T - 7s out of circulation and not sell them to Vizago ; they don ' t notice R2 eavesdropping over from where he ' s standing , as he makes sure he can hear them . Returning with the bolts , Sabine notes that at least the Empire doesn ' t have them : she learned from her translation that the Empire was planning to use the shipment as prototypes for mass producing the ion rifles on Lothal . As they could really use the money , she also suggests offering R2 and 3PO for sale to Vizago for extra credits . Not really reassured about the rifles , the despondent Zeb kicks Ezra out of their cabin and locks the door . Hera calls Ezra to the cockpit and asks him to cut Zeb some slack . She reveals that the Empire had used T - 7 rifles to violently clear the Lasat homeworld of Lasan . Zeb was one of the few Lasat who survived the genocide , and none of his people are currently on Lasan . Ezra agrees to cut Zeb some slack . When Hera learns that Kanan hasn ' t started training Ezra , with a frown she resolves to take up the matter with Kanan . Meanwhile , Minister Tua reports her recent encounter with the rebels on Garel to the Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus , who takes an interest in the Lasat Zeb . When Tua states that she didn ' t think there were any more Lasat left in the galaxy , Kallus responds that there are only a few . Showdown . Upon landing at the rendezvous point with Vizago on Lothal , the crew of the " Ghost " meet in the cargo hold to unload the rifles , with Hera agreeing to put off the topic of Ezra ' s training only for the moment . Sabine announces that R2 told her that his mission was to keep the T - 7s out of Imperial hands , and that his master will pay handsomely for the two ' s return ; Kanan agrees to consider it . Zeb is still not comfortable with selling the rifles , but as long as it ' s not the Empire , Kanan is fine with going ahead with the deal he already made with Vizago . Believing that the crew of the " Ghost " are criminals , thieves , and outlaws , C - 3PO sneaks into the cockpit while the crew is busy with the cargo and sends a distress signal to Governor Pryce , but as she is away it ' s rerouted to Agent Kallus , who promises that " help is on the way . " Meanwhile , Vizago agrees to buy the T - 7s and ordered his IG - RM droids to load the crates onto two speeders . Before they can complete the transaction , they spot an Imperial freighter carrying two All Terrain Defense Pod walkers on its way . Vizago and his droids quickly flee with four of the seven crates without paying the " Ghost " crew , stating that he doesn ' t pay for partial shipments or trouble with the Empire . Kanan is left shaking with anger . Kanan resolves not to let the disruptors fall into Imperial hands , and orders Sabine to destroy them . She starts heading to the ship to get explosives , but is surprised to see R2 leading the other two droids to the crates , saying he ' s helping the crew . He explains that they can just overload the T - 7 disruptors , causing them to explode . While the others get the crates together and open them so Sabine and R2 - D2 can get to work , Kanan destroys one of the advancing AT - DP walkers with a T - 7 rifle but is knocked to the ground by a laser blast from the second walker . Hera then distracts the second walker by leading it on a chase around the surrounding stone circle and orders Chopper to prep the " Ghost " for takeoff . Shortly after , Agent Kallus and a contingent of stormtroopers disembark from the Imperial freighter and exchange fire with the crew . During the fighting , Agent Kallus challenges Zeb to a duel and battles the Lasat with a stolen bo - rifle he had taken from a member of the Lasan High Honor Guard he personally killed . Kallus also goads Zeb by claiming to have ordered the use of the T - 7 rifles in the pacification of Lasan . Sabine and R2 - D2 finish with the rifles , and the others use one crate to destroy the walker , and the other two to scatter the stormtroopers . The powerful detonation throws both Kallus and Zeb off balance , but Kallus recovers a hair faster and stuns Zeb in the chest , leaving him defenseless . Before he can finish off Zeb , Ezra instinctively Force push es Kallus so hard he ' s thrown back , tumbles along the ground and slams into a rock , knocking him out . Gathering up Zeb and C - 3PO and R2 - D2 , the crew of the " Ghost " flee into space . Kallus comes to in time to watch the ship depart . On board , Zeb thanks Kanan for saving his life , only to corrected that it was Ezra , and Zeb nods his thanks . Kanan also informs Ezra that his formal Jedi training will start the following day . Even so , after saying this Kanan ' s smile drops off to a quiet look of concern about the weight of promising to be a teacher . Delivery . Later , the crew of the " Ghost " return C - 3PO and R2 - D2 to their rightful owner , Senator Bail Organa , docking with his CR90 corvette the " Tantive IV " . Senator Organa , without revealing his identity , pays Kanan very generously for the two , simply saying that he ' s very fond of them . On Kanan telling him that the crew , in that case , is glad to be able to return them , Organa notes that " the simplest gesture of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope , " which the confused Kanan recognizes as a Jedi saying . Organa , however , doesn ' t give him time to dwell on it too hard , smoothly bidding him farewell with a smile . With Kanan out of earshot , Organa checks with C - 3PO that he did not mention his name and gives him permission to shut down in order to rest from a hectic day . He also asks R2 - D2 to show him everything he had recorded about the Lothalian rebel cell , making a copy of it . Continuity . " Droids in Distress " marked the first appearance of Senator Bail Organa , R2 - D2 , and C - 3PO on " Star Wars Rebels " . Organa , who was seen in the episode using R2 - D2 to find out information about the Spectres , was one of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance . R2 - D2 and C - 3PO were introduced as members of the Rebel Alliance in . The episode was adapted by Michael Kogge into the chapter book of the same name .