After failed attempts on Lau and Teth to capture the rogue clone Omega, the Imperial Advanced Science Division was successful in tracking her down to the peaceful planet of Pabu, where she surrendered herself in order to prevent the Empire from devastating the island. Omega was taken to Tantiss Base on Wayland where she was forced to aid Doctor Royce Hemlock on Project Necromancer. Desperate to rescue her, Clone Force 99, a group of defective rogue clone troopers, traveled to Erebus, and with the help of the pirate Phee Genoa, successfully liberated former Imperial Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart from an Imperial labor camp. In exchange for his freedom, Rampart was forced to help the clones find the location of Tantiss Base, which was extremely confidential information, even amongst Imperial personnel.
Following Rampart's rescue, the Bad Batch traveled to Bora Vio, where they awaited Echo at the cloning facility to join them. Rampart complained to Hunter about why they were waiting at such a "blasted" place but was silenced when the clone threatened to send him back to the labor camp. Rampart reiterated the deal between them, to which Hunter replied that he would only gain his freedom once the clones received the exact coordinates to Tantiss base. Shortly following the conversation, Echo arrived in a stolen Rho-class transport shuttle named Alpha-44. He explained to Hunter that all the supplies they needed would be inside the ship, but voiced his mistrust towards Rampart. Hunter stated that Rampart was the best chance at finding Omega. The group then entered the shuttle, where Wrecker pressed Rampart for questions about Tantiss Base. The ex-imperial reaffirmed that the base was Hemlock's most tightly guarded secret, and explained to the clones that any shuttle wishing to go there must dock at the Imperial Station 003 in orbit over Coruscant, where the base's location was directly transferred to the navigation computer. The Bad Batch then arranged plans on how to reach the base, where they decided they would pull the coordinates from a ship heading there. A reluctant Rampart stated that infiltrating the station would be difficult even with the stolen shuttle and clearance codes, to which Echo presented an imperial captain's uniform for Rampart.