A secret assignment on Coruscant, initiated by the combined efforts of the Clone Underground and Clone Force 99, unfolded on the planet of Coruscant. The objective was to secure a command log from vessel VZ-114; however, a brief conflict arose on board. This command log was then delivered to Senator Riyo Chuchi within the Imperial Senate chamber, intended as proof of Vice Admiral Rampart's culpability in the Destruction of Tipoca City and his overall corruption. Although Rampart faced arrest, the clones were also deemed responsible for the destruction of Tipoca City, leading to the enactment of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill. This legislation legally transitioned the Imperial Military from a clone-based army to one reliant on conscription.
In the year 19 BBY, during the final stages of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious, publicly known as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Republic, set in motion the clandestine protocol known as Order 66. This order compelled the Republic's clone troopers, influenced by behavioral modification chips embedded within their minds, to betray and attack their Jedi generals across the galaxy. With the vast majority of the Jedi Order eradicated and the few survivors scattered, Sidious declared himself Galactic Emperor before the Senate and established the Galactic Empire, with the clones becoming the initial generation of Imperial stormtroopers. In the days that followed the Empire's inception, Palpatine dispatched Governor Wilhuff Tarkin to Kamino to discuss the future of the clone program. With the Clone Wars concluded, the Sith Lord considered that the clones had largely achieved their purpose, and that the continued cloning of soldiers was financially unsustainable. Tarkin shared the Emperor's perspective, suggesting that a conscripted army could perform the clones' duties at half the expense. Collaborating with Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, Tarkin initiated Project War-Mantle and authorized the creation of an experimental unit of non-clone Elite Squad Troopers under the command of clone commando and sharpshooter Crosshair. The squad's initial successes impressed Tarkin, who delegated the project's continuation to Rampart.
In the subsequent months, Rampart diverted funds allocated for cloning operations on Kamino to Project War-Mantle. A clandestine training facility was established on Daro, an Outer-Rim planet, where non-clone stormtroopers were trained by clone commandos. Rampart repeatedly attempted to introduce the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill to the Imperial Senate, which would authorize the Imperial Military to legally begin mobilizing non-clone soldiers, but the bill faced repeated delays. Ultimately, the Empire's cloning agreement with Kamino was terminated, and after extracting valuable cloning equipment and essential personnel, Tarkin ordered Rampart to bombard Tipoca City with his fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers.
Rampart reintroduced the Defense Recruitment Bill to the Senate after several months had passed, this time gaining the backing of a greater number of senators. This was in part because many believed the Empire was vulnerable following the destruction of Kamino's cloning facilities, an event that was falsely attributed to a catastrophic storm. Rampart also proposed that aging clones be gradually removed from the Imperial Military as recruited soldiers began to take their place. However, some senators, most notably Pantoran senator Riyo Chuchi, opposed this proposal. Despite numerous discussions with Rampart to either withdraw or modify the bill to provide compensation for retired clones, Rampart dispatched an assassin known as Clone X to assassinate Chuchi. Rampart had previously deployed the assassin to eliminate two clone officers, Slip and Cade, who had served aboard his Venator during the bombardment of Kamino, because they threatened to expose his lies to the senate. Rogue clone Captain Rex, who had arrived on Coruscant to extract Slip before his death, ultimately saved Chuchi from the assassination attempt. Rex, acting in the best interests of his clone brothers, began working with Chuchi to prevent the Defense Recruitment Bill from passing and enlisted the help of the rogue commandos of Clone Force 99.
Rex and the Bad Batch infiltrated the Coruscant shipyard with the intention of stealing the command log from Rampart's personal Venator, which was docked and undergoing repairs. The command log contained a recording of Rampart's fleet destroying Tipoca City, which Chuchi intended to use to implicate Rampart before the Senate and prevent his bill from being passed. The rogue clones discreetly boarded Rampart's Venator and incapacitated the skeleton crew of clone stormtroopers assigned as security. To access the command log, commando "Tech" was compelled to activate the Venator. As starfighters, gunships, and clone stormtroopers surrounded the Venator, the command log was eventually retrieved, and Rex and the Bad Batch escaped via one of the ship's escape pods.
By morning, "Omega" delivered the command log to Chuchi at the Imperial Senate. As the command log played and the Senate witnessed Rampart's destruction of Kamino, Emperor Palpatine appeared to address the Senate. Manipulating the situation to his advantage, Palpatine declared Rampart a rogue element as he was arrested by clone shock troopers, but insincerely expressed his shock at Kamino's fate. Sowing seeds of doubt about clones, Palpatine condemned them for "blindly following orders" and participating in Kamino's destruction. Claiming that the galaxy would be best protected by a new army, Palpatine announced the age of the Imperial stormtrooper to the Senate, marking the first public use of the infamous term. The Imperial Defense Recruitment was passed following this speech, sealing the fate of the clones.
Following the chaos in the Senate, Rex and the Bad Batch reflected on how Palpatine had managed to manipulate the situation to his advantage. Rogue clone "Echo", believing his skills were now more crucial than ever, left with the Bad Batch to join Rex's resistance, as the clones faced an uncertain future. Senator Chuchi also pledged to continue advocating for clone rights in the Senate for as long as she could.
The consequences of the bill became apparent almost immediately after it was passed. While clones were still permitted to serve in the Imperial Military, some units were forcibly decommissioned for unknown reasons. CT-9904 "Crosshair" witnessed three clone officers being forcibly retired and escorted out of the Imperial Inspectorate HQ before embarking on a mission some time after the bill was passed. Elsewhere in the galaxy, "problematic" clones were being removed from Imperial ranks, with many ending up at the Tantiss Base on Mount Tantiss to be experimented on by Doctor Royce Hemlock and his Imperial Advanced Science Division. Hemlock further insisted during the summit on Eriadu that all decommissioned clones be given to him to take part in experiments.