A Distant Echo

"Rex's mission gains increased importance as he suspects that the missing-in-action soldier, Echo, may still be alive. The clone captain, accompanied by the Bad Batch and Anakin Skywalker, initiates a risky, clandestine rescue operation."

"On Skako Minor, Anakin Skywalker, Rex, and the Bad Batch stumble upon a startling discovery."

At Fort Anaxes, [Anakin Skywalker](/article/anakin_skywalker], a Jedi Knight, along with Rex, a Clone Captain, and Hunter, a Clone Sergeant, await authorization to proceed with a rescue mission to Skako Minor in order to locate Echo, an ARC trooper. Hunter notes the general staff's reservations about the mission. Rex emphasizes the urgency of their immediate departure upon receiving permission, but Anakin insists on making time for "that thing," a point of disagreement for Rex. Proceeding to the barracks, Rex gives Anakin his helmet and remains outside while Anakin enters. Once alone, Anakin places the helmet and a holoprojector on the floor and contacts his wife, Padmé Amidala. He expresses his concern to her that Rex's personal feelings are unduly influencing the mission. Padmé playfully questions where he might have learned such behavior and advises him to trust Rex's instincts, as Rex has consistently done for him. Outside, Rex notices Obi-Wan Kenobi approaching and knocks on the door to alert Anakin. Obi-Wan, already aware of Anakin's presence, dismisses Rex's fabricated explanation that Anakin is rechecking his gear independently. Upon Anakin's exit, he returns Rex's helmet, claiming the Captain damaged it. Obi-Wan reveals that the Jedi High Council has denied permission for the mission, but Anakin overrides him and decides to proceed regardless. Resigned, Obi-Wan calls after Anakin, "I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello," indicating his awareness of Anakin's activities and eliciting a brief frown from Anakin.

In space, Skywalker, Rex, and Force 99 prepare for their forthcoming attack. Force 99 are hesitant to divulge to whom they are responsible. Shortly after, they emerge from hyperspace above Skako Minor. Tech pilots the ship through a storm, successfully landing on the planet's surface. Tech informs his comrades and Skywalker that they have landed in an area of Skako Minor inhabited by the Poletecs, a primitive race who seemingly venerate large flying reptiles. Soon after, the Marauder is attacked by a keeradak.

Skywalker and the clones venture out to confront the keeradak, which carries a Poletecan rider. The keeradak seizes Anakin with its claws and takes flight. The clone trooper Crosshair manages to secure a grappling hook to the keeradak, and Hunter holds on. He tries to shoot it down, but his blaster is dislodged from his grasp. The keeradak attempts to strike Hunter against the rocks, causing Hunter to release his grip on a flat surface. Unharmed, he manages to locate Skywalker and his captors in a nearby Poletecan village. The villagers take Anakin prisoner.

Concurrently, the clones meet up with Hunter at the village's edge. After agreeing not to intimidate the villagers, the clones advance to rescue Skywalker. They employ a boulder to demolish several structures, impressing the Poletecans with their firepower. Eventually, the Poletec chief calls for a ceasefire, expressing his desire to keep their war off his planet. The chief explains that this motivated his kidnapping of Skywalker. With Tech translating, Anakin informs the Poletecans that Wat Tambor and his Separatists are responsible for bringing the war to Skako Minor. Rex then instructs Tech to convey their apologies for their actions. He also explains that they are there to rescue their comrade, Echo, who had fallen into Separatist hands. The chief provides the clones and Skywalker with scouts to guide them to Tambor's city, Purkoll, but offers no further assistance.

Meanwhile, Wat Tambor, a Minister, is contacted by Trench, an Admiral, who warns him that a clone infiltration team has traced the algorithm's signal to Skako Minor and that a Republic attack is imminent. Tambor asserts the Techno Union's corporate neutrality on the planet, but Trench cautions that it will not deter the Republic operatives, prompting Tambor to prepare for their arrival.

During the journey, Tech discovers his inability to trace Echo's signal. Hunter suspects a Separatist trap. When Crosshair suggests he would have abandoned Echo as just another "reg," Rex becomes enraged and attacks him, only to be stopped by Wrecker, who tells him to pick on someone his own size, which causes Rex to angrily say to Wrecker that he'll be a lot smaller when he's through with him. Anakin diffuses the situation by sending Force 99 to scout ahead while he speaks with Rex. While Rex remains confident in Echo's survival, Anakin advises him to prepare for the possibility of his death. Rex acknowledges Anakin's concerns but refuses to lose hope, stating that he will cope if Echo is dead.

In Purkoll, Force 99 locates Echo's signal within a tower. Shortly after, Anakin and Rex join them. Tech unlocks the door, and they ascend in a lift, despite Wrecker's hesitation. During the ascent, Anakin reminds the clones to maintain stealth and avoid unnecessary explosions. Upon exiting the lift, the clones are confronted by several D1-series aerial battle droids. Wrecker immediately engages the droids, and as the rest of the Bad Batch follows, Rex remarks to Anakin, "So much for stealth!" While exploring the facility, they lose Echo's signal again. Tech suggests that the signal is only detectable during data transmissions and that they must await further transmissions from Echo.

Anakin orders the clones to separate and search the facility. He enters a chamber where he eliminates several D-wing droids attempting to trap him, aided by Crosshair. Meanwhile, the clones search the chambers. Tech traces the signal to a specific chamber but finds its entrance sealed. The viewscreen next to the door activates, revealing Wat Tambor, who informs the clones that he anticipated their arrival and has set a trap for them. He claims to have used their algorithm to predict their every move in infiltrating Skako Minor, thereby violating the Techno Union's neutrality. Rex retorts that Tambor had already violated the Union's neutrality by bringing a Republic prisoner to Skako Minor. Tambor insists that Echo is dead, provoking Rex to call him a liar. The foreman commands approaching D-wing droids to execute the clones.

The clones battle the D-wing droids, assisted by Anakin, who helps them destroy all the droids. After defeating the droids, Tech opens the door on Anakin's orders. Rex and Tech enter a large lab and discover Echo confined within a stasis chamber. Echo is drugged and unaware of his surroundings. Several tubes are connected to him, and some of his limbs have been replaced by prosthetic parts. Rex and Tech deduce that the Separatists have been keeping Echo unconscious, remotely extracting information from his mind about the Republic's strategies on Anaxes. Rex comforts his old comrade, and he and Tech begin the process of freeing Echo.

Brent Friedman, the series writer who wrote "The Bad Batch" and the other three episodes of the arc, shared details about the episode through his Twitter account in May 2014. He revealed that Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi General, played a role throughout the arc, although the primary focus was on Rex and The Batch. Friedman emphasized that the "emotional hook" of the arc was Rex's bond with Echo, an ARC trooper who had seemingly died in the third season episode "Counterattack" but was brought back for this arc. The episodes were set on both Anaxes, a planet from the Star Wars Legends continuity, and Skako Minor. The finalized version of the episode was broadcast as part of The Clone Wars revival on Disney+ on February 28, 2020.

The finished version of the episode differs from the original story reel in several ways. The scene depicting Skywalker's disapproval of suggestive nose art of Senator Amidala on the Marauder has been cut and replaced with a scene featuring Skywalker and Amidala conversing via holo-call while Rex stands guard outside the barracks. While Rex is keeping watch, Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives, searching for Anakin. Rex attempts to cover for his general, who eventually emerges from the barracks. As Skywalker and Rex depart, Kenobi remarks to his former apprentice: "I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello," implying his awareness of their secret. This also marks Padmé's only appearance in the final season.

The scene in which Hunter suggests using the Marauder for the mission because it "doesn't scream 'Republic'" has also been removed. Another alteration is the delayed introduction of the scene where Trench contacts Wat Tambor. Furthermore, the reason for the brief altercation between Rex and Crosshair has been changed from Crosshair implying Echo's potential betrayal to his lack of sympathy for Echo's abandonment at the Citadel.

Additionally, the final version includes dialogue about the lift in the tower where Echo is held. Wrecker also initiates the attack before the droids announce the intruder, rather than after. Anakin Skywalker's line, "I don't know how, but it looks like we're still under the radar," has been omitted.

The credits in the story reel version incorrectly spell Wat Tambor's surname as "Tambour" and Poletecan as "Poltecan" when referring to the Poletecan Prisoner and Poletecan Villagers, although the word is spelled correctly for the Poletecan Leader.