Between the years of 19 BBY and 18 BBY, Clone Force 99, accompanied by the pirate Phee Genoa, unearthed an age-old superweapon walker. This walker, a figure of myth, was long thought to be a city crafted by the Ancients, housing a precious crystal known as the Heart of the Mountain. Omega, a member of the Bad Batch, located a compass displaying the coordinates of the Kaldar Trinary system, and Genoa convinced the team to join her on a quest for treasure. Reaching Skara Nal within the system, the compass guided them into a mountain's interior. After navigating a series of traps, the group eventually arrived at a chamber containing the Heart of the Mountain. However, when Genoa extracted the crystal, Skara Nal's true nature was revealed: a colossal walker equipped with a superlaser that began to devastate its surroundings. Hunter then convinced Genoa to replace the crystal, as the Batch's starship, their mode of transport, faced imminent destruction if she didn't. Upon its return to the walker, the crystal melted, causing the war machine to malfunction and collapse, resulting in its permanent destruction. While all the humans survived, MEL-221, Genoa's droid, was destroyed, an event the pirate took in stride, having backed up Mel's memory on her ship, the Providence.
During the early Imperial Era, spanning from 19 BBY to 18 BBY, [Phee Genoa](/article/phee_genoa] operated as a pirate and self-proclaimed treasure seeker. She maintained a connection with Ciddarin Scaleback, an information broker who considered Genoa the most reliable pirate she knew. In that year, Genoa commissioned Scaleback to retrieve a crate from Aynaboni. Scaleback delegated this task to 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 initially encountered Scaleback while seeking assistance in identifying a bounty hunter who had attempted to abduct Omega, the Batch's newest member and 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 with Genoa her knowledge of the Batch's identities and their history with the Empire. The team first encountered the pirate upon their delayed return to Cid's Parlor on Ord Mantell after retrieving the crate. Hunter, the leader of the Batch, grew uneasy upon learning that Genoa was aware of their identities, as the Batch had successfully avoided the Empire's attention since being presumed dead during the fall of Tipoca City several months prior. Scaleback assured him that Genoa was trustworthy. Following Genoa's departure with her crate, Scaleback assigned the Bad Batch their next mission, which was based on intel provided by the pirate: a heist at Castle Serenno to steal a portion of the war chest that had belonged to the late Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The adult members of the team agreed to the mission, recognizing the value of having secure wealth in case they needed to escape if the Empire came to Ord Mantell, so they could secure a future for themselves. However, the mission proved unsuccessful due to strong Imperial resistance, and the Bad Batch left Serenno empty-handed.
Genoa became a regular presence at 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 became fascinated by Genoa and the allure of treasure and riches. The girl began collecting items of potential value to show Genoa whenever she had the chance. Eventually, Omega and Wrecker embarked on an errand to a junkyard to obtain a new compressor. While Wrecker collected the part, Omega gathered several trinkets to present to Genoa. Upon their return to Cid's, Tech dismissed one of Omega's items as worthless, but Genoa took notice of another. After inspecting the device, she noticed engraved coordinates and identified it as a compass. MEL-221, Genoa's droid, scanned the compass and revealed coordinates that Genoa recognized as belonging to the Kaldar Trinary system. Tech had no record of the system, but Genoa argued that the most valuable treasures are not typically found on maps.
Omega was intrigued by the possibility of treasure, and Genoa was confident that was what the compass led to. She invited the Bad Batch to come with her.
The Marauder followed the coordinates on the compass to Skara Nal in the system.
As the Bad Batch and Genoa headed back to the Marauder, Hunter expressed relief that the walker could no longer be activated. Omega expressed sympathy to Genoa over Mel's destruction, but the pirate was unconcerned, explaining that she kept the droid's memory backed up on her own starship because she was destroyed frequently. Genoa mentioned that she would have Mel rebuilt before their journey to Vadnay. Omega inquired about the location's significance, and Genoa revealed that she had a lead on an ancient chalice that had once belonged to the Kingdom of Elweys, sharing more details with an enthralled Omega. Hunter remained skeptical about another adventure with the pirate but was open to the idea, given Omega's excitement.