Episode 4.8—"Survivors"
As the rebel ship flies through space, the Bad Batch speaks to the other clones. Now that the drug has worn off, the Regs can share what happened to Rex. A few of them overheard Imperials speaking about Rex and the 501st Legion. They suspect the Imperials have imprisoned Rex in the legion's headquarters on Coruscant.
Hunter steps aside to speak with Eeth Koth. The Zabrak man glances up from Roam's datapad, which he uses to track the doonium shipment. He remains polite but guarded when Hunter identifies him as a Jedi. Eeth clarifies that he is a former Jedi. He left the Order before the war ended, so he managed to avoid the massacre. Hunter asks what Eeth plans to do with them. Eeth says he hasn't decided yet.
They land on a small, forested planet called Joon. Eeth leads them to a clearing, where a vast array of rebels have gathered outside their tents. As the clones and rebels exchange suspicious glances, Omega asks where all these people came from. Eeth replies that they are survivors, just like him.
The Bad Batch receives permission to move their ship out of the rebel vessel. Tech chooses to stay inside the Marauder, alone. He stares at the radio, which is once again simply airing static. He looks through the window and sees the rebels training outside. Gathering his resolve, he crosses over to a punching bag that Wrecker hung in the ship. He raises his fists.
At nightfall, the two groups hold a meeting. Tensions rise when the rebels refuse to share the tracker information with the clones. Few believe the clones' claims about the inhibitor chips, and many demand they leave immediately. Others fear the clones may return to destroy them. A menacing rebel eyes Omega. He suggests they keep her as collateral to ensure the clones don't try anything. Hunter draws Omega close as his senses grow stronger.
The two sides prepare to fire at each other, but Hunter gets between them. He shouts that this is what the Empire wants. The Imperials are making something dangerous on an unknown planet, and they expect the clones and rebels to be too busy destroying each other to resist them. Just like in the Clone Wars. They need each other's forces if they're going to survive this fight.
Throughout the argument, Eeth has watched Hunter silently. Now he steps forward. He remarks that it is difficult to trust the clones after they have taken so many innocent lives. Hunter asks if he would trust Rex. When Hunter informs him of the captain's capture, Eeth reveals that Rex helped save him from General Grievous. He agrees to find him and hear what he has to say. Hunter declares that he's going, too.
While Hunter and Eeth prepare for their mission, the clones set up camp. Hunter stops by his squad's tent and instructs them to look after the other clones. He asks if there is any way they can access the tracker's coordinates. Echo looks up from the Batch's own datapad and says he's working on it. Hunter's senses intensify. Glancing through the tent flaps, he spots Omega gathering wood outside. The rebel who wanted to take her hostage looms nearby, as do several other scowling men. Hunter says he's bringing Omega with him.
On Coruscant, Rex awakens inside a small cell. He is wearing his usual black jumpsuit, but his armor is missing. He has been strapped to the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Bonds cinch his arms in place. He fights against his restraints, but a security device activates on the other side of the room. It shoots a hypodermic needle into his shoulder. An alarm beeps as Rex's consciousness fades.
When he comes to, he finds himself strapped even more securely to the wall. Since his arms are crossed, he manages to wedge his fingers under a strap near his shoulder. He thrashes against his bonds until the device fires the needle. Rex moves his hand slightly, tugging the strap over his shoulder. The needle punctures the bond but doesn't reach his shoulder. He feigns unconsciousness as the alarm resounds.
A stormtrooper enters the room to shut off the alert. Rex maneuvers his fingers around the needle. When the trooper turns to tighten his restraints, Rex pierces the needle between the trooper's armor plates. The device releases more projectiles, but Rex, who has partially freed one of his hands, jerks the unconscious trooper in front of him, using him as a shield. He stretches his arm out just enough to seize the trooper's gun. After blasting the security device, he twists the gun around and shoots the convergence point of his bonds, which is just above his head. The restraints fall to the ground. Someone speaks through the trooper's comlink, asking if everything is alright. Using the trooper's helmet to disguise his voice, Rex replies that the situation is handled. He dons the rest of the armor and opens the door with the trooper's keycard.
Meanwhile, Hunter, Eeth, and Omega land a small shuttle on Coruscant. Omega asks if she should wait in the ship in case they need a pickup. Hunter closes his eyes, sensing all the potential foes in the vicinity. He tells Omega to stick with them. They stalk through Imperial City and hide behind a building, where they survey the 501st's headquarters. Hunter is still enduring hypersensitivity. He keeps his face clear of emotion, but his hands tremble slightly as an Imperial vehicle rolls by. Eeth uses the Force to rupture its tires. When Imperials step out of the vehicle to assess the damage, the three stun them and board the transport. Hunter drives the transport into the headquarter's vehicle depot.
As they exit the transport, Hunter warns them that security cameras line all the hallways in the main building. Eeth says that won't be a problem if they can get him to the security room. Hunter reveals that he can sense the layout of all the floors above them. Nodding to an elevator, he says the security room is on the eighth floor.
The elevator doesn't work without a passcode, so they open its hatch, climb into the shaft, and scale the rickety ladder. They have just passed the second level when the elevator activates beneath them. Eeth instinctively Force-jumps to the eighth floor, but Hunter and Omega can only climb fast enough to reach the third. Eeth uses the Force to open the doors to the third floor. Hunter and Omega jump through the opening just in time.
In the meantime, Rex stalks toward the hangar in his stormtrooper disguise. Stormtroopers have replaced most of the original soldiers, but in the hangar, Rex spots the remaining clones of the 501st. His brothers inspect numerous shuttles inside the hangar.
Suddenly, intruders emerge from the shuttles. The clones gun them down. One clone, Evan, hesitates when he sees that his target is just a young boy. Another clone shoots the boy. To the clones' surprise, their victims do not fall to the ground. Instead, they flicker and disappear, revealing that they were holograms all along. An Imperial officer strides up. Looking directly at Evan, he warns the clones not to have any weaknesses within them, as Vader will sense this when he returns. He orders them to continue preparing the shuttles for Kamino.
We cut back to Eeth. He sneaks into the security room and effortlessly takes out all the guards. He speaks into his communicuff, instructing Hunter and Omega to meet him here. Turning, he discovers an adjoining room filled with confiscated items, including Rex's armor.
Back on the third floor, Hunter and Omega slowly emerge from hiding. Hunter closes his eyes again. From his perspective, we see a thermal display of all the lifeforms in the building. Every little sound amplifies in his ears, as does the distant yelling he heard in the past. Hunter's facade begins to crack, revealing hints of distress. He shakily informs Omega which hallways are safe to traverse. Gently taking his hand, Omega asks if he is okay. Instead of answering, Hunter heads down the hallway from which the shouts seem to be emanating. Omega follows as he tracks down the sound that only he hears. He stops outside the data room. Hunter whispers that he senses something in that room, and they need to find out what it is.
While the two prepare to infiltrate the room, Rex watches his men head out of the hangar to retrieve supplies. He tails Evan, who walks alone down a quiet hallway. When Evan reaches a region free of security cameras, Rex emerges from the shadows and pins him to the wall. Evan yells for backup, but the other clones are too far away to hear him.
Rex removes his helmet, unveiling his identity. He asks why the clones are still serving the Empire. Evan thrashes in his grasp, torn between his loyalties to the 501st and to Rex. As Evan gasps for breath, Rex catches a glimmer of a suicide shocker implanted in his teeth. Evan prepares to bite down. Rex thrusts his hand into Evan's mouth, forcing his jaw open. He looks earnestly into Evan's troubled eyes. He says that if he cares about his brothers, he needs to answer him.
Outside the data room, Hunter gives Omega a spare blaster and instructs her to get into Position Four. On his signal, they jump into the room and stun the Imperials inside. After shooting the security camera for good measure, Hunter follows the sounds he hears to a wall. He and Omega uncover a hidden compartment containing a datacard. Omega inserts the card into one of the computers. She gasps. The card contains a shipment record of thousands of captured clones. Most of the information is redacted, but they can see the name of the secret planet where the clones were taken. Volturis. The disembodied yelling Hunter hears grows louder, intermingling with a metallic clanging noise. He says no planet in the galaxy has that name.
Back in the hall, Evan finally stops struggling. Rex lets go of his mouth so he can speak. Evan rasps that some clones believe in the Empire's cause, but others remain in service because the alternative is worse. Rex asks what that alternative is. Evan doesn't answer. Rex inquires about the transport shuttles heading to Kamino. No answer. Staring the wavering man down, Rex says most of the clones on Kamino are just children. Pain seeps into Evan's expression. He confirms that some of the clones who rebelled in the 501st were turned into Dark Troopers. Many more clones have disappeared since then. He suspects that the missing clones and the children on Kamino are being harvested for the same fate.
Rex asks when the Empire plans to extract the children. The answer is still forming on Evan's tongue when a blaster shot kills him. As Evan's body slumps to the ground, Rex turns to see that a clone has fired the shot. Several more are at his side. One activates an alarm while the others shoot at Rex. He dodges their fire and downs them with stun blasts.
Hunter and Omega return the card to its hiding place and hurry to the security room. The mysterious shouts and clanging sounds vanish from Hunter's senses, replaced by the shriek of the alarm. All his senses go on high alert as stormtroopers close in on them.
In the security room, Eeth spots Rex on the monitor. He sees the captain rushing down to the ground level. Shouldering the bag of Rex's armor, Eeth sprints out of the security room. He nearly slams into Hunter and Omega, who are being pursued by stormtroopers. Hunter pulls Omega behind him and helps Eeth take out their attackers. The blasts from their weapons overwhelm his eyes and ears, making it difficult for him to aim. Omega back moves in front of him to stun the remaining troopers. As Hunter regains partial control over his senses, Eeth says Rex is heading to the vehicle depot.
We return to Rex, who shoots down stormtroopers as he runs. He reaches the ground floor, but the hallway's blast doors start sealing in front of him. He slides under the final door just before it closes…only to discover that the entrance to the vehicle depot has closed. As he stands there trapped, he hears footsteps approaching. Rex turns and raises his gun. The blast door reopens, revealing Eeth, Hunter, and Omega. Eeth has used the Force to open the door, and Hunter and Omega have stunned the stormtroopers around them. Rex greets them in relief.
Eeth telepathically opens the entrance to the depot. The four board one of the ground vehicles and flee the facility. They reach their ship and escape before the stormtroopers catch up with them. Sweat breaks out on Hunter's forehead as his senses continue to assail him. He regains his composure before Omega notices.
Back on Joon, an exhausted Tech sits alone in the Marauder. His flushed face and the still-swaying punching bag suggest he has been busy. We travel over to the Batch's tent, where Echo has detected the tracker's signal on his datapad. He discovers that the doonium transport has journeyed outside of the charted galaxy. The signal diminishes the further it travels until it disappears completely. Echo looks out of the tent to see that Eeth's ship has returned.
At sunset, the two factions hold another meeting. The rebels retrieve Roam's datapad and learn that the tracker has gone offline. Since they locked the datapad away the day prior, they never had a chance to see the doonium's last known coordinates. Echo sits calmly and says nothing. Hunter, however, struggles to focus on the conversation. He takes a sip of water, then presses his lips together as if the taste is too strong for him. He turns his attention to Rex.
The captain reveals what he learned about the Dark Troopers and Kamino. The clones urge the rebels to join forces with them. Together, they would be strong enough to attack Kamino, free the children, and acquire information. Omega insists that taking Kamino is in the rebels' best interest. If they don't, they will have many more Dark Troopers to worry about. One rebel retorts that they can handle those kids. Eyeing Omega bitterly, he adds that after losing his family to the attack on Coruscant, he has no qualms about killing clones of any age.
Hunter's senses roar to life at the threat. He orders Wrecker to take Omega to the Marauder and stay there with her. As Wrecker leads Omega away, Hunter retreats to the quiet woods. But his senses continue to surge. The shouting and clanging sounds return, blending with the noises around him to create an earsplitting cacophony. He clamps his hands over his ears and squeezes his eyes shut as the moonlight blinds him. He sinks to the ground, wincing when his skin comes into contact with the grass.
Among the screaming muddle of sensory input, Hunter detects Eeth's soft voice. Eeth encourages him to breathe. Hunter forces himself to take slow, even breaths. Eeth suggests he focus his senses on one thing—Eeth's voice. Doing so causes Hunter great pain, but he succeeds. Slowly, the world around him returns to normal. As the searing moonlight recedes, he sees Eeth by his side. Hunter murmurs that he hasn't experienced anything like this since he was a boy.
Eeth shares one of the reasons he left the Jedi: They thought the Force could only speak to those who could manipulate it. Eeth believes it can speak to anyone, even non-Force-users like Hunter. The longer he ignores it, the longer he will remain unbalanced. Hunter claims he isn't ignoring anything. Regarding him evenly, Eeth says he cannot embrace the Force until he lets go of what he cannot control. Hunter counters that he has already done that. Through the gaps in the foliage, Eeth sees Omega sitting on the Marauder's gangplank. Eeth says he has learned that accepting the Force isn't about completely detaching yourself from others. It's about being willing to let them go when the time comes. Hunter doesn't respond.
Eeth returns to the others to subdue their argument. Some of the rebels doubt Rex's information about Kamino, but Eeth vouches for him. As the quarreling dies down, the two groups agree to rescue the children.
Back in the woods, the mysterious yelling creeps back into Hunter's awareness. He gazes through the trees, where he can see Omega. He focuses his senses on the peaceful forest around him, forcing the yelling from his mind. He successfully shuts it out.
END OF EPISODE EIGHT