The agent's course of action presents a problem. You cannot possibly reach the power core within two minutes, and a lockdown would effectively pin you here while reinforcements come. However, you could make it out of the base within two minutes.
Thwarting the Empire and rescuing the defector takes priority, and you abandon the plan to blow the base. The only way you could escape the trap and still blow the base was if you went up with it.
So, two minutes and a quick private security lift ride later, you have a brief fight to escape the vehicle garage. Your new companion fights with a hand-sized boltcaster, though it certainly doesn't fire standard bolts. She seems to have a wide variety of them available to her, from incendiary, to explosive, to stun. She is also clearly adept at technical tasks. This fires up Mariah, and she gets a little petulant and competitive. The Imperial backs off, and lets her handle the technical stuff, obviously not wanting to cause friction.
Outside you compound, you get picked up by the shuttle, and streak away just ahead of the ambush.
Mission accomplished.