Between the years of 19 BBY and 18 BBY, Clone Force 99, alongside the pirate Phee Genoa, unearthed an age-old superweapon in the form of a walker. This walker, a subject of legends, was long thought to be a city constructed by the Ancients that housed a precious crystal known as the Heart of the Mountain. Omega, a member of the Bad Batch, came across a compass displaying the coordinates of the Kaldar Trinary system. Genoa then convinced the team to join her on a quest for treasure. Upon their arrival at Skara Nal within the system, the compass guided them into the depths of a mountain. After navigating a series of perilous traps, the group eventually reached a chamber where the Heart of the Mountain was located. However, when Genoa extracted the crystal, the true nature of Skara Nal was revealed: it was a colossal walker equipped with a superlaser, which immediately began to wreak havoc on the surrounding area. Hunter then talked Genoa into returning the crystal, as the Batch's starship, their mode of transportation, would be destroyed if she refused. Upon its return to the walker, the crystal melted, causing the war machine to malfunction and collapse, resulting in its permanent destruction. All of the humans survived this ordeal. However, Genoa's droid, MEL-221, was destroyed, though the pirate was not concerned because she had backed up Mel's memory on her ship, the Providence.
During the early Imperial Era, specifically between 19 BBY and 18 BBY, Phee Genoa operated as a pirate and proclaimed herself to be a treasure hunter. She had a working relationship with Ciddarin Scaleback, an information broker, who regarded Genoa as the most trustworthy pirate she knew. In that specific year, Genoa commissioned Scaleback to retrieve a crate from Aynaboni. To accomplish this task, Scaleback enlisted her "top team": the Bad Batch, a group of former Galactic Republic clone commandos who had deserted the Galactic Empire shortly after its establishment. The squad had first encountered Scaleback when they sought her assistance in identifying a bounty hunter who had attempted to abduct Omega, the Batch's newest member. Omega was a unique female clone created as a special project by Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se. Subsequently, the Batch began working for Scaleback as mercenaries.
Scaleback shared her knowledge of the Batch's identities and their history with the Empire with Genoa. The team's initial encounter with the pirate occurred when they returned late to Cid's Parlor on Ord Mantell after retrieving the crate. Hunter, the leader of the Batch, was disturbed to discover that Genoa knew their identities, as they had successfully remained undetected by the Empire since being presumed dead during the fall of Tipoca City several months prior. Scaleback insisted on Genoa's trustworthiness. Following Genoa's departure with her crate, Scaleback assigned the Bad Batch their next mission, which was based on intel provided by the pirate. The mission involved a heist at Castle Serenno to steal a portion of the war chest that belonged to the late Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The adult members of the team were all convinced to participate due to the potential benefits of having secure wealth in case they needed to escape if the Empire arrived on Ord Mantell, allowing them to secure their future. However, the mission ultimately failed due to strong Imperial resistance, and the Bad Batch left Serenno empty-handed.
Genoa became a regular visitor to Cid's Parlor, becoming acquainted with the Bad Batch. Despite her tendency to tell ever-changing stories of her adventures, which annoyed Hunter, Echo, and Tech, Omega developed a fascination with Genoa and the idea of acquiring treasure and riches. The girl started collecting potentially valuable items to show Genoa whenever she had the opportunity. Eventually, Omega and Wrecker embarked on an errand to a junkyard to obtain a new compressor. Wrecker collected the part, while Omega gathered several trinkets to present to Genoa. Upon their return to Cid's, Tech dismissed one of Omega's trinkets as worthless, but Genoa took notice of another. Examining the device, she noticed coordinates engraved on it and identified it as a compass. MEL-221, Genoa's droid, scanned the compass and revealed coordinates that Genoa recognized as being in the Kaldar Trinary system. Tech had no record of the [system](/article/star_system], but Genoa argued that the most valuable treasures were typically not found on maps.
Omega was captivated by the possibility of treasure, and Genoa was confident that the compass would lead them to it. She extended an invitation to the Bad Batch to accompany her.
The Marauder followed the coordinates on the compass, leading them to Skara Nal within the system.
As the Bad Batch and Genoa made their way back to the Marauder, Hunter expressed his relief that the walker could no longer be activated. Omega offered her sympathy to Genoa regarding Mel's destruction, but the pirate remained unfazed, explaining that she kept a backup of the droid's memory on her own starship because she was frequently destroyed. Genoa mentioned that she would have Mel rebuilt before their journey to Vadnay. Omega inquired about what could be found there, and Genoa explained that she had a lead on an ancient chalice that once belonged to the Kingdom of Elweys, further captivating Omega. Hunter remained skeptical about embarking on another trip with the pirate but was open to the idea given Omega's enthusiasm.