Episode 3.13—"Prototypes"
An Imperial vessel enters the asteroid field surrounding Eiloh. While Rex informs the other clones about the unknown ship, Hunter hacks into the hospital's intercom system. He transmits a message to Saw's comlink, alerting him of the situation. Outside, the Partisans exchange glances as Saw replays Hunter's warning.
The ground shakes violently. The ship has navigated the asteroid field and fired a powerful blast at the ray shield. The vessel riddles the shield with devastating blows until it disintegrates. As the Partisans take cover, the ship pivots its guns toward the hangar and fires. The hangar explodes, destroying the vessels inside and showering the ground with debris.
The Partisans draw their weapons as the ship descends. Dark mechanical forms march down the gangplank in perfect synchrony. These invaders are droids. They are the same height as commando droids, but they are bulkier, and they carry powerful repeating blasters. Raising their weapons in unison, the droids fire at the Partisans. The Partisans take cover and shoot back, but the blasts deflect off the dark armor that sheathes the droids' bodies.
The clones watch the scene unfold through a small window in the medical building. When Emerie asks how the droids found them, understanding sparks in Hunter's eyes. He rushes back to Tech's room. Emerie and the Bad Batch gather around as Hunter rolls up Tech's left sleeve. Tech's arm is striped with scratch marks from his continual clawing at it. Hunter asks Emerie to scan Tech's arm. When Emerie does so, she discovers a tracking device inside. The tracker is so small that Hunter is unable to sense it.
Outside, the Partisans defend themselves against the onslaught of droids. Their shots continue to bounce off the droids' armor, but Saw notices weak spots in their limb sockets. Gripping his bayonet, he slices through a droid's shoulder socket. He fires at the exposed wires until the droid collapses. Breathing heavily, Saw pauses to survey his kill.
The droid grabs Saw with its other arm. Leaping to its feet, it throws him against the side of a barrack. Palmer fires at the droid until it turns away in favor of attacking the other Partisans. The two gape as the droids assail the scattering recruits with new vehemence. Saw determines that they must hijack the droid's vessel and get the surviving Partisans onboard. While he limps toward the ship, Palmer hurries to the women's side of camp to retrieve their extra weapons.
Several droids break away from the attack to scan the other buildings. Their sensors detect lifeforms in the medical building. The clones scramble away from the windows as the droids fire at the building. The shattered windows are too small for anyone to fit through, so the droids begin prying apart the doors.
The clones barricade the entryway as they discuss what to do. Hunter suggests they continue rewiring the doors' security system, as the resulting explosion could destroy the droids. Glancing through the window, Echo spots the Marauder still parked outside the barracks. The ship's engine looks dented from the hangar's explosion, but Echo believes he can fix it.
As the clones prepare to blow down the doors, Hunter asks if Emerie can remove Tech's tracker. Emerie hesitates. Her scanner indicates that the tracker is intertwined with his brachial artery. She was trained to perform experiments, not surgeries, and any slip-up on her part could be disastrous. She admits that if she cannot remove the tracker, their only other option is to leave Tech behind. Hunter firmly says they are not doing that again.
Just as the droids break through the entryway, the clones finish modifying the security system. A surging explosion rips open the doors and sends the bots flying. Dodging the flames that engulf the droids, Echo, Crosshair, and the Regs dart outside. At Hunter's urging, Emerie sedates Tech and reaches for antiseptic and a scalpel. She is nervous, but Omega crouches by her side and promises to help. Hunter and Wrecker guard the entrance while Emerie begins the procedure.
Echo repairs the Marauder's engine while Crosshair and the Regs cover him. The Partisans find themselves in a similar situation as they attempt to protect Saw, who is disabling the trackers on the droid's ship. They manage to keep the droids back by throwing detonators.
The explosions shake the medical building, causing Emerie to nick Tech's artery. Hunter turns to see the predicament, the panic in his eyes matching that in Emerie's. But Omega remains calm. Working quickly but carefully, she shows Emerie how to cauterize the wound. She wipes down the supplies and encourages Emerie to continue. With Omega's help, Emerie painstakingly removes the tracker. Hunter quietly observes the scene, realizing for the first time how much Omega has matured since Tantiss.
Wrecker directs Hunter's attention back to the doorway. The droids they blew back have emerged from the flames. Many are missing limbs, but they head doggedly toward the medical building, dragging themselves if they have to.
Outside, Echo finishes repairing the Marauder's engine. Before he can head back to the medical building, the blaster fire intensifies. They have run out of explosives to throw, and the droids are resuming their attack. A dismayed Echo sees that droids are converging on the infirmary as well. Just as the situation looks hopeless, Palmer returns with a crate of EMP grenades. Snatching them up, the clones and Partisans roll them toward the droids. The droids drop to the ground as electricity pulses through their bodies. Sparks fly from their limbs and parts of their torsos, but their heads remain unaffected.
Hunter tells Emerie they need to move. She rapidly stitches up Tech's arm while Omega gives Hunter the tracker. Now that the tracker has been displaced, it beeps faintly. Hunter stomps it into the ground, crushing it. Wrecker lifts a still-unconscious Tech over his shoulder, and the four head toward the Marauder.
Having disabled the trackers on the droid's ship, the surviving Partisans stream into their hijacked vessel. Palmer sees the clones approaching the Marauder and wants to apprehend them, but Saw says they don't have time. Some of the droids are already getting up. Saw and Palmer fire at them as the other Partisans climb into the ship.
One droid crawls toward the Marauder, despite having only one arm and leg remaining. Balancing on its foot, the droid rises and fires at the clones. Crosshair lunges forward and attacks it ruthlessly. The droid is still unnaturally strong, but it is no match for Crosshair's brutal skill. He knocks the droid to the ground, battering it with blaster fire until he shoots off its faceplate. Then Crosshair's face pales.
Everyone stares at the unmasked assailant as the truth sinks in—this "droid" is a clone. His limbs and parts of his torso have been replaced with cybernetics, and his face is contorted with pain. His eyes have the same hazy look as Tech's, and similar scars run down the sides of his face. Straining to get up, the clone murmurs that good soldiers follow orders.
The clones and Partisans turn as the other invaders regain their feet. Skin shows through another "droid's" damaged faceplate, confirming that these attackers are all controlled clones. Lowering his weapon, Crosshair kneels down to speak to the clone. As the clone weakly reaches for his blaster, Palmer raises her own gun and fires.
We cut away before the shot hits, but we see Omega's distraught reaction. As the other controlled clones rise, Palmer instructs the Partisans to aim for their faceplates. Wrecker breaks the Batch out of their shock and shouts that they need to leave. Emerie boards the Marauder with the other clones, but Omega stands frozen. Hunter dodges blaster fire to reach her and brings her on board.
As Echo starts up the ship, Wrecker notices that the Partisans are also preparing for takeoff. Eyeing the turret gun on their hijacked vessel, Wrecker realizes what they plan to do. He carefully sets Tech down, then runs outside. Clutching a spare EMP grenade, Wrecker scales the side of the hijacked ship, staying out of sight of the windows. As he climbs toward the turret gun, the vessel takes to the sky.
Echo jerks up the Marauder's thrusters, pursuing the hijacked ship. A terrified Wrecker inches toward the turret gun and lodges the grenade inside the barrel. As the vessel gains altitude, Wrecker starts to lose his grip. Echo pilots the Marauder directly beneath the other ship. When Wrecker falls, he lands on top of the Marauder. Inside the hijacked ship, Saw orders Palmer to fire at the controlled clones. When she attempts to do so, the grenade detonates, destroying the turret gun. Saw commands Palmer to get them out of Eiloh and into hyperspace. Once the Bad Batch pulls Wrecker inside, they make their escape as well. Echo flies the ship through the asteroid field, then jumps to lightspeed.
Exhaustion sets in as the clones process what has happened. Several of the Regs are injured, and a confused Tech is slowly regaining consciousness. Rex says they need to get to Coruscant.
Later, Hunter helps Emerie treat the injured Regs. He notices Omega sitting alone in her room, hugging her tooka doll. Hunter takes a step toward her. Before he can speak with her, Echo announces that they have reached Coruscant.
When the clones land, they conceal the Marauder inside an old warehouse. The protestors' numbers have increased exponentially, and the clones sneak through dark alleys to avoid them. Rex says he has friends in the Senate who can help them, but they need a safe place to contact them. He leads them to the back of a boarded-up shop, explaining that Imperials are unlikely to investigate a place they have already combed over. Kneeling, Rex pushes aside some crates to reveal a large gutter. When they crawl through the gutter, they find themselves in the shop's stockroom.
Hunter scans the overturned shelves and broken glass that litter the room. His gaze settles on a splatter of dried blood that stains the countertop. When Wrecker asks what happened here, Rex replies that this was the Rowan Squad's base. Rex unscrews the bulb from a dead ceiling light, revealing a transmitter inside. A quiet alarm beeps when Rex removes the transmitter. He explains that the Rowan Squad installed this alarm as a simple noisemaker; it will not send out an alert.
While Rex deactivates the alarm, Hunter checks on Tech, who sits slumped in a corner, staring blankly. Emerie asks why the beeping alarm is not bothering him. Hunter guesses that Tech knows he does not have to warn them anymore.
While Emerie tends to the injured clones in the stockroom, the others filter into the main room. Crosshair, who leans against the wall separating the two rooms, watches a Reg tune the transmitter. Turning, he notices a crack in the wall. He can see Emerie working inside the stockroom. She retreats to a shadowy corner and begins adjusting the comlink Hunter gave her.
The others discuss the controlled clones, which they decide to call Dark Troopers. Since the troopers were all missing their limbs and the same parts of their torsos, Hunter concludes that the Empire intentionally removed these body parts to replace them with enhanced cybernetics. Echo recalls the scars on their temples and their struggle to think for themselves. It reminds him of Tech's current state. The men suspect Tech may have been the template for the Dark Trooper's design. Wrecker quietly asks what they are going to do now. Echo has no words, and Hunter simply replies, "I don't know."
Night falls on Coruscant. The others sleep in the stockroom, but Hunter lingers in the main room, studying the bloodstained counter. Rex steps into the room with an armful of food and bandages. Setting the supplies on the counter, he comments that Hunter's squad has been hit hard. Hunter replies that other clones have had it far worse. He meets Rex's eyes and confesses his failure to save the Rowan Squad.
Rex gently says he already knows. The Bad Batch was at the ISB the same day as the ambush, so he knew they may have discovered the attack plan. When Rex returned to Eiloh, the unease in Hunter and Wrecker's eyes confirmed this. Rex assures Hunter that he understands his choice. He knows the Rowan Squad would have gladly given their lives to protect their little sister.
Pain weathers Hunter's features. He admits he's not like Rex. He shares Rex's fury over the clones' abuse, and he would join his team if he only had himself to think about. But nothing matters to him more than keeping his squad safe. He used to feel like the Bad Batch was invincible, but recent events have proven this is not the case. He didn't have a choice about fighting in the Clone Wars, but he can protect his squad from this conflict. Rex respects Hunter's viewpoint. However, he asks if his other squad members agree with it.
In the stockroom, Crosshair replaces an injured clone's bandage. Looking up to survey the room, he realizes that Emerie is gone. Narrowing his eyes, he carefully moves aside the panel that conceals the tunnel to the gutter.
Omega wakes up just as Crosshair ducks into the tunnel. She follows him outside and calls to him softly. She says that whatever Crosshair plans to do, it probably isn't a good idea. Crosshair replies that his path is different from theirs. Omega asks to come with him, but Crosshair says she belongs with Hunter. Omega watches him stride down the dark alley and disappear from sight. She wraps her arms around herself as she stands outside the shop, alone.
END OF EPISODE THIRTEEN