“The search for truth begins with belief.”

A DISTANT ECHO
Conspiracy! After repeated setbacks
on the planet Anaxes, an elite clone
squad is deployed to investigate the
Separatist tactical advantage. This
special unit, called the Bad Batch,
infiltrates Admiral Trench’s cyber
center to steal a strategic algorithm
capable of predicting the Republic’s
every move.

What our heroes found was a live signal
from the ARC trooper known as Echo, a
clone long believed to be dead….

At Fort Anaxes, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, and Clone Sergeant Hunter await permission to embark on a rescue mission to Skako Minor in search of the ARC trooper Echo. However, Hunter remarks that the general staff is skeptical about the mission. Rex insists that if they’re going to get permission, they should leave immediately. But Anakin says they must make time for “that thing,” although Rex disagrees.

Heading to the barracks, Rex hands Anakin his helmet before staying outside as Anakin goes in. Once in private, Anakin puts the helmet and a holoprojector on the floor and contacts his wife, Padmé Amidala. He tells her he worries that Rex is letting his personal feelings drive him too much on the mission. Padmé says she wonders where he might have learned that from and advises Anakin to support Rex’s instincts on this mission since he has always done the same for him.

Outside, Rex sees Obi-Wan Kenobi approaching and bangs on the door to warn Anakin. Having already deduced that Anakin is inside the barracks, Obi-Wan doesn’t believe Rex’s hastily thrown-together claim that Anakin is double-checking his gear without him. When Anakin emerges, he returns Rex’s helmet, claiming that the Captain allegedly broke something.

Obi-Wan has come to say that the Jedi High Council has denied permission for the mission, but Anakin talks over him and resolves to go anyway. Resigned, Obi-Wan calls after Anakin, “I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello,” revealing that he knows what Anakin is up to and prompting a brief displeased look from him.

Skywalker, Rex, and Force 99 are preparing for an assault in space. However, Force 99 is reluctant to reveal who they answer to. They then exit hyperspace and land on Skako Minor. Tech informs them that they have landed on a part of the planet inhabited by Poletecs, a primitive people who worship giant flying reptiles. A keeradak then attacks the Marauder.

Skywalker and the clones confront the keeradak carrying a Poletecan mount. The keeradak kidnaps Anakin with its claws and flies away. Clone trooper Crosshair manages to fire a grappling hook at the keeradak, and Hunter holds on. However, Hunter’s blaster is knocked out of his hand by the keeradak. The creature tries to knock Hunter against the rocks, but Hunter lets go and lands on a flat surface. He is unhurt and manages to track Skywalker and his kidnappers to a nearby Poletecan village. The villagers take Anakin prisoner.

At the edge of the village, Hunter is joined by the clones. They agree not to terrorize the villagers and instead move on to rescue Skywalker. To display their firepower, they use a boulder to smash several structures and manage to impress the Poletecans. Eventually, the Poletec chief orders a ceasefire and tells the clones that he doesn’t want their war on his planet. The chief explains that he kidnapped Skywalker because he didn’t want to get involved in the war. With Tech as a translator, Anakin informs the Poletecans that the Separatists, led by Wat Tambor, are responsible for bringing the war to Skako Minor. Rex requests Tech to tell the Poletecs that he and the clones will apologize for their actions and that they are there to rescue one of their comrades, Echo, who the Separatists are holding. The chief provides the clones and Skywalker with scouts to lead them to Tambor’s city, Purkoll, but no further.

Meanwhile, Minister Wat Tambor received a warning from Admiral Trench that an infiltration team of clones had traced the algorithm’s signal to Skako Minor and that a Republic attack was imminent. Tambor argues that the Techno Union has corporate neutrality on the planet, but Trench warns that it wouldn’t matter to these Republic operatives. Tambor then decides to be ready for their attack.

During the journey, Tech finds that he’s unable to trace Echo’s signal. Hunter thinks that the Separatists are trying to lure them into a trap. When Crosshair says, he would have left him for dead as he is just another “reg,” Rex is enraged and assaults him but is stopped by Wrecker, who says to pick on some not his size, and Rex angrily says to Wrecker that he’ll be a lot smaller when he’s through with him. Anakin defuses the situation by sending Force 99 to scout the surroundings while talking to Rex. While Rex is confident that Echo is alive, Anakin advises that they should be ready for such a situation. Rex understands Anakin’s concerns but refuses to give up hope and says that if Echo is dead, he’ll handle it.

In Purkoll, Force 99 traces Echo’s signal to a tower. Shortly later, they are joined by Anakin and Rex. Tech opens the door, and they lift to the top despite Wrecker’s reluctance. While on the lift, Anakin reminds the clones that they are on a stealth mission and must avoid blowing things up. Upon exiting the lift, the clones face several D1-series aerial battle droids. Wrecker immediately moves to engage the droids, and as the rest of the Bad Batch follows, Rex quips to Anakin, “So much for stealth!” Exploring the facility, they lose Echo’s signal again. Tech theorizes that the signal is only visible during data transmissions and that they must wait for Echo to transmit more data.

Anakin orders the clones to split up while they search the facility, heading heads into a chamber where he dispatches several D-wing droids that attempt to trap him with the help of Crosshair. Meanwhile, the clones search the chambers. Tech traces the signal to a particular chamber but finds its entrance sealed. The viewscreen next to the door activates to reveal Wat Tambor, who informs the clones that he knew they were coming and has laid a trap for them. He even used their algorithm to predict every movement they made to infiltrate Skako Minor, thus violating the Techno Union’s neutrality. Rex responds that Tambor had violated the Union’s neutrality by bringing a Republic prisoner to Skako Minor. Tambor claims that Echo is dead, which causes Rex to call him a liar angrily. The foreman orders approaching D-wing droids to execute the clones.

The clones engage in a battle against the D-wing droids, but luckily, Anakin comes to their aid and helps them destroy all the droids. Following the battle, Anakin orders Tech to open the door, allowing Rex and Tech to enter a large lab where they discover Echo trapped inside a stasis chamber. Echo has been drugged and is entirely unaware of his surroundings. Several tubes have been fitted into him, and prosthetic parts have replaced some of his limbs. Rex and Tech realize that Echo was held captive by Separatists who mined his mind for Republic strategies on Anaxes. They comfort him and begin freeing Echo.