“The Cavalry Has Arrived”

Intruder alert
Several gunships depart the Tantiss Base to patrol the jungles of Weyland. Meanwhile, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair make their way through the jungle to Tantiss Base, five kilometers away. Inside the base, Doctor Royce Hemlock orders his TK stormtroopers to guard the Tantiss vault until the lockdown is over. Commander Scorch informs Hemlock that one of the “insurgents” has been captured. As Hemlock heads away, some figures scurry through a corridor.

At the detention block, Hemlock meets Edmon Rampart, who is still dressed as an Imperial Captain. When Hemlock remarks that Rampart has aligned himself with insurgents, Rampart quips about the security breach on Tantiss Base. Hemlock, in return, chides Rampart for not understanding how Clone troopers think despite his time on Kamino, explaining that he anticipated that Clone Force 99 would attempt to infiltrate Tantiss Base to recover the young clone Omega. When Rampart questions Omega’s value to the Empire, Hemlock explains that he is working on a project that’s vital to the Empire’s future, making him indispensable, unlike Rampart. After Hemlock leaves, Rampart gazes at the Kaminoan Doctor Nala Se, held in an adjoining cell.

Meanwhile, in the Central lab, Doctor Emerie Karr warns Echo they need to move because of the risk of him being discovered. Echo is still determined to find information about Omega. Karr explains that the records are heavily encrypted and that Omega is held in a heavily guarded vault. When Karr offers to help get him inside, Echo asks why she is helping him. Karr responds that she is making amends for her past actions.

The escape
Inside the Tantiss vault, Omega briefs her fellow prisoners, Jax, Eva, and Sami, about her escape plan. The toddler, Bayrn, plays with a toy while sitting on Sami’s lap. Eva is skeptical, but Omega is optimistic because her squad is here. Omega reassures her friends that she has been trained for this and tells them to get into position. Putting their plan into action, Eva tells a Tantiss medical droid that her game is not working. The droid says that it is not its programming to repair it. While the droid is distracted, Omega stabs its processor with a tool, immobilizing it. She, Eva, and Jax drag the droid away while Sami cuddles Bayern.

Doctor Scalder notices the droid is programming and heads down from the observation deck. Inside her alcove, Omega begins reprogramming the droid. Scalder asks Sami/SP-39 where the other inmates are. Omega, Jax, and Eva reappear with the medical droid. Eva claims they were with the droid. Scalder is suspicious about the unscheduled scan and demands to know what they are doing. When Omega backs up Eva, Scalder chides Dr Karr for being too lenient with the inmates and orders them to return to their alcoves to place them in solitary confinement as per the protocol if the kids misbehave. However, she is knocked unconscious by the medical droid, who injects her a sedative.

Omega orders the reprogrammed medical droid to guard the vault door. She tells Sami to prepare a sling for Bayrn. The children climb through the dumbwaiter system behind Omega’s cell. Meanwhile, Wrecker is slowing down due to injuries sustained from his fight with the dryax but insists he can.

Wrath of the Zillo beast
Back at Tantiss Base, Dr Karr and a disguised Echo enter the vault. After passing through a row of Clone commandos, they go through a red scanner system. Dr Karr tells Echo that the Galactic Empire used bounty hunters to kidnap the children, seeking to harvest their genetic material for certain medical testing. Karr says she had not learned about the children being held inside the vault until recently. When Echo asks about Omega, Karr explains that she is vital to Hemlock’s Project Necromancer, which serves Emperor Palpatine. Echo says he doesn’t like the sound of that.

Omega leads the children through the dumbwaiter system. Jax is concerned that Bayrn is getting restless. Omega climbs through a shaft into a large enclosure where the Zillo beast clone known as “Specimen A” is being held. While approaching the controls, Bayrn begins crying, which arouses the medical assistant and stormtroopers. Omega pulls a lever, which drains the water in the tank beneath. Two stormtroopers find the shaft Omega entered and discover the escaped Sami, Bayrn, and Jax. Before the stormtroopers can detain the children, the Zillo beast emerges from its tank and attacks the medical assistant’s station.

The stormtroopers initiate containment protocols, which consist of a sonic generator. However, the powerful creature brushes the generator aside. As the Zillo beast goes on a rampage, Omega and the children escape through the shaft. Karr and Echo discover an injured Scalder escorted out by Clone commandos and stormtroopers inside the vault. Doctor Hemlock informs her that Omega and the “specimens” have escaped through a weak point in the wall and vows to kill Scalder for being so incompetent to let that happen.

Just then, a tremor shakes the vault. Scorch checks his comlink and reports that Zillo Beast is loose at the containment level. Hemlock orders that the base’s generator be shut down and a division be deployed to secure the transport hangar. Hemlock also orders Karr to find Omega, warning that their fates are tied. Echo deduces that Omega released the Zillo Beast, explaining that Omega is following their plan of splitting the enemy forces thin.

Stormtroopers enter the containment level, confronted by the Zillo beast. Watching through the shaft, Jax notices that Bayrn is starting to sleep. The Zillo beast climbs the towering generator to reach the top. At the transport hangar, stormtroopers build a barricade and open fire on the approaching beast.

Hemlock’s ambush
Outside Tantiss Base, Crosshair finds that stormtroopers are patrolling the perimeter with lurca hounds. Wrecker regrets not bringing Batcher and struggles to hide his injuries. Due to Wrecker’s deteriorating condition, Crosshair tasks Hunter and Wrecker with heading to the communications array to contact Rex while he infiltrates the base himself. Hunter and Wrecker disagree, saying they are a team. Crosshair counters that Clone Force 99 died with the death of Tech.

Crosshair says he knows what they are up against inside Tantiss Base as a former prisoner. He warns that they will not make it out if they all go in. He tells Hunter and Wrecker that Omega needs them both. Hunter and Wrecker insist on going into Tantiss Base together. As the lurca hounds begin barking anxiously, the Zillo beast emerges from the top of its containment facility. The Bad Batch takes advantage of the chaos created by the Zillo beast.

Inside the wrecked containment facility, Omega and her fellow escapees approach the ladder attached to the generator. Jax is afraid of heights, saying he would make a poor soldier. Omega reassures Jax that her “brother” Wrecker fears heights but is still the strongest. She tells him to focus on what is ahead. Omega leads the way, followed by Sami (who is carrying Bayern), Jax, and Eva.

Elsewhere, Scorch informs Doctor Hemlock that the Zillo Beast fled into the jungle after wiping out two divisions of troopers. He calls for reinforcements. Doctor Hemlock orders that air support be dispatched to pursue the Zillo beast. When Scorch warns that he will help the rogue clones infiltrate Tantiss Base, Hemlock says he anticipates their move and orders Scorch to implement his plan. Scorch enters a different vault section, hidden above a secure turbolift. He opens several hibernation tanks containing numerous Clone assassins.

Meanwhile, Karr and Echo enter the wrecked containment facility. They figure that Omega and her friends are climbing up the shaft that leads to the science hangar. Echo asks if she knows a shortcut. Elsewhere, the Bad Batch encounters several armed Clone assassins and TK stormtroopers within the ruined science hangar, littered with burning wreckage and debris. Outnumbered and outgunned, Crosshair convinces his Clone brothers they need to fall back. During the gun battle, Crosshair manages to shoot an Imperial pilot, causing his vehicle to crash. Hunter is trapped beneath a loose wreckage. Wrecker and Hunter are ambushed by two of the Clone assassins. Crosshair tries to reach for his gun but is held down by CX-2, who says that he should be more careful with his shooting hand before lowering his vibroblade.

Reunion and evacuation
Elsewhere, Omega and her fellow escapees reach the top of the shaft, which leads to a hangar. Meanwhile, Echo and Dr. Karr see Clone assassins carting away the captured members of the Bad Batch on hoversleds through a corridor. Echo asks where they are being taken. Dr Karr says she doesn’t know but says it is somewhere well-guarded. Echo says he is not too worried but says they need to find the children first. Karr says that they are in the science hangar. Three stormtroopers corner Omega, Jax, Eva, Sami, and Bayrn. Before they can detain the children, Echo, who is disguised as one of the stormtroopers, shoots his colleagues.

Echo is delighted to be reunited with Omega and proud that she and the other children have escaped their cell. Dr Karr tells them that the shuttles are in Bay Four. When Eva asks if Karr is helping them, Karr confirms this but says they must hurry. When they reach the shuttle, Omega asks where Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker are. Echo reveals they have been captured. Echo tasks Karr with flying the children to a set of coordinates. Omega tells her friends that she will stay behind with Echo to help free the other prisoners, including her brothers. Omega reassures them that Emerie is taking them somewhere safe. Karr also gave her datapad to Omega and Echo, explaining that it would help them access the facility. Karr promises Omega she will look after the other children and tells Omega to be careful.

Liberation
As they head back into Tantiss Base, Echo asks Omega if she is ready. Meanwhile, Dr Hemlock subjects Hunter to electroshock torture and reminds him of the death of Tech. Crosshair is fastened to an operating table. Hemlock explains that Crosshair had resisted his conditioning in the past but says that he has altered his methods. Hemlock reveals that he plans to reprogram them into Clone assassin operatives if they survive the procedure. A defiant Hunter tells Hemlock they will survive, but he won’t.

As the operation on Hunter commences, an Imperial officer informs Hemlock that he has received a transmission from Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. Entering the detention block, Echo and Omega take out the stormtrooper sentries in a gunfight. Omega uses the datapad to free all prisoners, including Clone troopers, Nala Se and Rampart. They hand the prisoners guns. Omega is delighted to see Nala Se. While Echo speaks to a clone, Omega informs him that the Bad Batch is not in the detention block. One of the clones informs Echo and Omega that Hemlock has probably taken the Bad Batch to the training room for reconditioning.

Omega says she knows where the training room is. When Rampart proposes escaping, Echo counters that the Clones do not leave their brothers behind. Echo gives a rousing speech, urging the other clones to help them fight to free their friends. The other clones eagerly volunteer for one last fight. Echo tasks two clones with evacuating the wounded prisoners while he triggers an alert in a different wing to divide the Imperial forces. Echo tasks the clones with getting weapons. Nala Se tells Omega about her plan to destroy the data in her lab to prevent her research from falling into Imperial’s hands. When Omega offers to accompany her to the lab, Nala Se tells her that her place is with her Clone brothers. Rampart separates from the main body of clones.

War on Tantiss
Meanwhile, Governor Tarkin has a conversation with Hemlock via holoprojector. Tarkin says that the Emperor is most concerned about the Zillo Beast’s escape and fighting at Tantiss Base when the two of them hear what is happening. Hemlock claims he controls the situation, but Tarkin is skeptical and says he will be traveling to Weyland. Making their way to the training room, Echo, Omega, and the liberated clones gun down stormtroopers. Accessing a computer, Echo asks Omega if she can use the pneumatic tube system to spy on the training room. She climbs into the overhead shaft. Echo instructs Omega to relay what she sees.

Heading to her former laboratory, Nala Se obtains a detonator from a fallen stormtrooper. She is tailed by Rampart, who also takes a blaster from the fallen soldier. When Nala Se enters the laboratory, she installs her datapad, which activates the laboratory. As she consults the computer, she is confronted by Rampart, who asks what research could be of such value to the Emperor. At gunpoint, he demands to know about Project Necromancer. Nala Se secretly activates her detonator.

Using the pneumatic system, Omega tells Echo via Comlink that Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair are in the training room. She spots one guard. Omega says she can free them if they create a big distraction. Echo and the liberated Clones enter the part of the vault where the Clone X assassins are being kept. The clone assassins engage them in a gun battle, shooting several. During the gun battle, Omega infiltrates the training room and accesses a computer she uses to free her brothers. One of the liberated clones is impaled through the chest by a vibroblade-wielding clone assassin.

As Wrecker stirs, Omega is spotted by the sentry. She tries to shoot the sentry with her blaster, but his armor deflects her blasts. The Clone assassin captures her. Dr Hemlock and CX-2 enter the room. Hemlock compliments Omega for proving his observation about clone loyalty to one another. He then unleashes a gas into the Clone X vault, which incapacitates several liberated Clones.

Hemlock’s defeat
Back in the laboratory, Rampart reveals his plans to use the secrets of Project Necromancer as a bargaining chip to regain favor with the Empire. Nala Se counters that her research does not belong to him or the Empire. Rampart states that it is no longer hers and blasts her. She drops the activated detonator, which lands on Rampart’s feet, causing him to mutter “Wh-” in surprise before the explosion kills him and destroys the databanks, making Se’s research die alongside her.

Inside the Clone assassins’ vault, Echo is wounded in the back with a vibroblade. He is captured by the blade-wielding Clone assassin. Inside the training room, Hemlock is confident of victory over the rogue clones. However, Scorch brings the bad news that the Central Laboratory has been destroyed. Omega counters that Hemlock has failed with the loss of his data. When Hemlock counters that he still has her, she counters that she still has her brothers. Wrecker breaks free of his restraints and kicks a large chunk of the machine holding him down, knocking down several operatives, Scorch and Hemlock. The chunk of the machine slams into the computer terminal, severely damaging it and causing the gas in the Clone assassin vault to disperse. Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter begin to stir while Echo and his comrades revive.

Hemlock orders CX-2 and the other assassins to hold back the Bad Batch while he escapes with Omega. Wrecker tells Hunter to rescue Omega before charging at a clone assassin, pushing him through the glass into the vault below. This distracts Echo and, with Wrecker, kills two of the clone operatives. Hunter retrieves an electrostaff and impales CX-2 onto a machine, electrocuting him to death. Despite his injuries, Crosshair accompanies Hunter to rescue Omega.

Reaching the top of Tantiss Base, Hemlock and Scorch forces Omega to accompany them across a long bridge toward a hangar. Echo wrestles with a vibroblade-wielding clone assassin, who is killed by Wrecker. The last operative is then killed by Vik. Echo then attends to the wounded Wrecker and asks where Omega is. Hemlock uses his wrist vambrace to summon a starship, which emerges from the rainy skies. Before it can land, Hunter and Crosshair damage the starship’s engines, causing it to descend into the jungle. They also shoot Scorch in the chest, causing him to fall over the bridge.

Hemlock holds Omega at gunpoint, intending to use her as a hostage. Omega taunts Hemlock that he won’t hurt her because he needs her alive. Hunter gestures to Crosshair, who aims his gun. Moving close to the edge of the bridge, Hemlock threatens to jump over with Omega. Hunter tells Crosshair to shoot Omega’s magnetic binders. Crosshair initially refuses, as losing his shooting hand makes him worry that he might hit Omega. Hunter notices Omega pull a slim surgical tool out of her sleeve and tells Crosshair to make the shot after Omega makes her move. She does so, ramming the tool into Hemlock’s arm, causing him to move and raise his arm in pain. Crosshair and Hunter shoot the binders, freeing Omega. They then shoot Hemlock several times, causing him to fall over the bridge.

Hunter and Crosshair bend their knees, allowing Omega to embrace them. They then head downstairs towards an escape Rho-class transport shuttle with the liberated clones and Echo. The group then flees into hyperspace before Tarkin arrives in his personal Imperial Star Destroyer, the Sovereign, which is flanked by two Venator-class Star Destroyers.

Tarkin’s arrival
As Tarkin’s Star Destroyer hovers over the planet, he detaches his forces, including Imperial TK Shocktroopers, to the wrecked Tantiss Base. Captain Bragg informs Tarkin that several base wings suffered heavy damage, and Doctor Hemlock and several Advanced Science Division troopers perished in the Weyland Skirmish. He asks her if any of the fallen Chief Scientist’s research for the Imperial cloning program was salvageable, so she tells him that it was not because the databanks were destroyed. Declaring in an extremely angry manner that Hemlock’s failings have cost the Empire enough, Tarkin orders Captain Bragg to shutter the facility indefinitely and redistribute all of the Imperial cloning program’s funding and its surviving assets to Project Stardust so she complies with a nod of her head.

Return to Pabu
Meanwhile, the liberated children and clones adapt to life on Pabu island, mingling with the former Clone cadets. Karr is pleased that the children are happy. She and Echo discuss their new found freedom. Echo tells Karr that he plans to resettle some of the clones on Pantora with the help of Senator Riyo Chuchi. Echo invites Karr to help, which she gratefully accepts. While sitting between Batcher and Hunter, Omega tells him that they are finally safe with Hemlock dead and his research destroyed. While watching Sami and Bayrn lining up for ice cream with the Clone cadets and Eva, Omega asks how long it will take to reunite the children with their families. Hunter replies that he and Rex are working on it but will look after the children until then.

Hunter and Echo look at each other before departing. When Omega asks whether the clones get to remain on Pabu, Hunter replies that they all are free to choose their paths, stressing whatever they want. Crosshair and Wrecker join the group as they sit under the weeping maya tree.

Epilogue
Years later, Omega, who has become an adult, walks into Pabu Cove, where the Bad Batch has established a home aboard a repurposed Rho-class shuttle. Gonky is also present and walks down the gangplank. Batcher is also around. Hunter confronts Omega about “sneaking out.” Omega tells Hunter that the Rebel Alliance needs all Rebel pilots to win the Galactic Civil War. Hunter says that they want to keep her safe but respect her wishes. While watching the moon, Omega tells Hunter that he and his brothers have fought enough and that she is ready. Hunter says he knows she is but is not ready, so he hugs her before she leaves. Omega gets Hunter to promise to look after Crosshair, Wrecker, and Batcher. Before she departs on the shuttle, Hunter tells Omega that they will be there if she needs them.

Omega departs aboard the shuttle with Gonky. Hunter salutes before she leaves. Batcher is sad, but Hunter reassures the hound that Omega will be fine. As Omega flies into the night sky, Pabu glitters with street lights.