Yet more ways Holdo was an awful leader

Here are snippets from the TLJ novelization discussing Rose’s development of the baffler, a device that hides energy signatures to make ships harder to detect, and its role in Holdo’s plan with the transports.

The novelization follows up from Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein, the book that goes into much more detail about Rose and Paige’s time with the titular bomber squadron and how Rose used the baffler in action. In Rose’s last conversation with Paige, it is revealed that Rose has been tapped to help other mechanics adapt the technology she built so it can be deployed across the Resistance.

This is the reason Rose and Paige were separated and why Rose, who was previously the flight engineer on the bomber Cobalt Hammer, was not on board with Paige when it was destroyed in the dreadnought run. Actually I’m not sure why Rose couldn’t still board Cobalt Hammer. She wasn’t replaced as Hammer’s flight engineer as far as I can tell. Did they not need a flight engineer for the bombing run?

I’m calling bullshit on Rose no longer being needed on the Ninka after the techs learned from her. If Rose was not needed on Hammer anyway, why couldn’t she stay on Ninka to help adapt the technology? In Cobalt Squadron Rose and the entire team of bomber flight engineers were forever sweating to get the baffler, a very new and finicky technology, working right under intensive conditions. The bugs were getting ironed out during Cobalt Squadron, but it doesn’t seem plausible that everything was ready to go within a few hours on adapting this new tech outside its original setting. New and untried tech doesn’t... work like that. There’s always something to trip you up.

So instead of staying on to help the deployment of the technology she built, Rose is transferred back to the Raddus where she is just in time to witness her sister’s death and where she has so little to do that she’s relegated to “doing droidwork.”