Attack on Kamino

The attack on Kamino, which included the destruction of Tipoca City and decommissioning of the Kaminoan cloning facilities, was carried out by Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart and the clones under his command around 19 BBY following an operation to withdraw all useful assets from the planet, leading to the majority of the Kaminoan population being killed. Though the attack was secretly part of his plans to expand the Imperial Military and control the Kaminoan's cloning technology, Galactic Emperor Palpatine denounced Rampart and the attack as a rogue action.
After the Clone Wars, Vice Admiral Rampart oversaw the removal of clone stormtroopers, clone cadets, scientists, and cloning technology from Kamino before his forces destroyed the Kaminoan civilization by order of Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The attack was part of a wider effort from the Galactic Empire, including Rampart's Project War-Mantle, to eventually replace the clone troopers of the former Galactic Republic with non-clone stormtroopers recruited from the Empire's populace. The Kaminoan Chief Medical Scientist, Nala Se, was also moved to Wayland where she was forced to join the Empire's own cloning program. The Kaminoan Prime Minister, Lama Su, was arrested and imprisoned on Coruscant.
==Prelude==
===Rise of Kamino===
During the final years of the Republic Era, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas foresaw a galactic-scale conflict, and advocated that the Jedi and Galactic Republic would need an army. Believed to be too extreme, he was removed from the Jedi High Council. Undeterred, Sifo-Dyas secretly contacted the reclusive Kaminoan cloners, claiming he was officially operating at the request of the Jedi and Republic. However, the Sith, the ancient enemy of the Jedi, also plotted in secret. Finding out about Sifo-Dyas' plans, they killed him and hijacked the creation of the clones, having the Kaminoans implant them with inhibitor chips which they claimed were a safety measure against the clones being given orders by rogue Jedi. In actuality, the chips were programmed with Order 66, which would force the clones to execute the Jedi when activated, paving the way for the Sith to rule the galaxy.
When the Clone Wars broke out between the Republic and the Separatist Alliance in 22 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas the Republic and the Jedi Order had only recently discovered the existence of the clone army on Kamino, and the clone troopers quickly became invaluable. The Kaminoans continued to create clones, although the death of clone template Jango Fett at the onset of the war forced them to stretch what remaining DNA samples they possessed. Kamino was able to parlay its creation of the Grand Army of the Republic into a seat in the Galactic Senate. Although most clone troopers followed the same genetic template, Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se created some irregular clones as experiments: the original members of Clone Force 99, who believed they were defective; and a female clone named Omega, who was the only clone besides Jango Fett's clone son Boba who had "pure" DNA.
===Beginning of the end===
In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars ended abruptly when Republic Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, truly the Dark Lord of the Sith, issued Order 66 and had his new apprentice shut down the Separatist Droid Army. As very few clones were immune or otherwise unaffected by the chips, almost all of the Jedi were killed, and the survivors were forced into hiding as Palpatine reorganized the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Most of Clone Force 99 was immune thanks to their mutations or, in newest member Echo's case, cybernetics implanted while a Separatist prisoner.
The one exception was Crosshair, the team's sniper, whose mutations affected the functionality of his chip, but not enough to make him immune. Admiral and Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, suspicious as to whether the squad had truly carried out Order 66 on Kaller, sent them on a mission to test their loyalty, but most of them refused after finding out their targets were civilians and former Republic fighters. They returned to Kamino to rescue Omega, who had recently made the group's acquaintance, but were captured, and Crosshair was taken away to have his chip amplified, making him totally loyal. The rest of the so-called "Bad Batch" escaped, forced to leave Crosshair behind as he had tried to kill them.
The Empire also planned to cancel its cloning contracts with Kamino, despite Prime Minister Lama Su's protests, ostensibly on the grounds of cost. Beyond that, there was an endless supply of recruits the Empire could pull from. The fact that the clones had been made for the Republic in specific was also a concern, with Tarkin himself having noted the independence the clones took on from the Jedi. Rumors quickly reached clone trooper Ding, which the soldier shared with fellow clone trooper Kicker, that the Kaminoan facilities had already been shut down, with only the last batch of clone troopers to be trained before the era of cloning reached its end.Darth Vader (2017) 2 While the facilities would stand for a short time longer, Ding and Kicker were both correct in realizing that the Empire intended to quickly brush aside the Clone Army. To that end, the Empire initiated Project War-Mantle, spearheaded by Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart under Tarkin's orders. Rampart proposed having elite clones train the new recruits, and to that end, Crosshair was placed in charge of the first unit of Elite Squad Troopers. The unit's first mission was a success, although Crosshair executed trooper ES-01 for refusing to kill civilians.
With the operation an Imperial victory, Tarkin authorized Rampart to continue with the project. In secret, the Empire prepared to destroy the Kaminoan civilization to ensure they could not use cloning against the Empire once the contracts were up. The Kaminoans were desperate to retain the Empire's interest and, seeing Omega as the key to that, hired bounty hunters to recapture her. However, after Lama Su decided to have Omega terminated once the necessary genetic material had been extracted upon her capture by Cad Bane, Nala Se sabotaged the planned handoff as she did not want Omega to die. Vast numbers of TK troopers began to be recruited, trained by clone commandos at bases such as the secret facility on the officially-uninhabited planet Daro.
The Bad Batch eventually found out about the existence of their inhibitor chips, and had them taken out on Bracca at the insistence of fellow rogue clone Captain Rex. Their presence was discovered on Bracca and they were confronted by forces led by Crosshair, during which Hunter and Omega attempted to get through to him that he was being controlled, but failed. Crosshair was seriously injured by the backblast of an ion engine when the Batch escaped, but he too had his chip removed at some point.
Nonetheless, he remained loyal to the Empire, believing they would not get rid of him because he was superior to "reg" clones and that the Empire gave him purpose his former squad lacked. He also resented having been left behind by the Batch during their initial escape. Although he had initially shown disinterest in the Batch, Rampart became interested in potentially exploiting their abilities after witnessing the destruction the rogue commandos had caused while rescuing members of the Free Ryloth Movement from Imperial custody, and he gave Crosshair permission to hunt them down.
==The operation==
===The evacuation===
The Empire finally canceled the Kaminoans' cloning contracts. Wanting to ensure that they could not create clones for other galactic factions, Rampart had the clone stormtroopers stationed on Kamino reassigned offworld. By granting the job to Rampart, the Empire also ensured that, should the coming attack be discovered, it would be blamed on the unimportant Vice Admiral, who could be regarded as a rogue agent. After Crosshair reported that they were ahead of schedule, Rampart ordered that all viable clones be mobilized. The two watched the transports flying out from the hangars, to be received by the three Venator-class Star Destroyers above the city, while Prime Minister Lama Su stood behind them. Aware that Lama Su had been observing the conversation, Rampart also ordered Crosshair to keep an eye on the Kaminoans until further notice.
Nala Se escorted a unit of clone cadets out of the city, one of whom was curious why they were leaving as it was against protocol. However, she promised them they would finish their training elsewhere and still have the opportunity to be soldiers. Seeing the Prime Minister approaching, she excused herself from the cadets. Speaking in private, Lama Su informed Nala Se of the cancelled contracts, and admitted that the Empire was not like the Republic, and that the Kaminoans had empowered the Empire to their own detriment. Nala Se asked if they might be able to find new clients elsewhere, but the Prime Minister doubted the Empire would allow them to. He ordered her to gather the necessary personnel while he arranged for their departure.
Despite their attempt to leave, the Kaminoans' preparations did not go unnoticed by the Empire. The Elite Squad arrested Nala Se after Rampart discovered that she had been collecting medical personnel to flee. Rampart confronted Lama Su about the preparations, informing him that, while he had use for a scientist like Nala Se, he had none for a politician, stating the Prime Minister's service was at an end before leaving him to two of the Elite Squad Troopers and taking Nala Se away.
Crosshair, however, was not involved directly in this dispute as he had left Kamino due to matters involving the fugitive Bad Batch: squad leader Hunter had been captured on Daro, where the Batch had gone on Rex's request to extract a clone commando named Gregor, who had tried to desert from the Imperial facility there. Hunter had been separated from the others and had ordered them to escape without him. Imprisoned in the Daro base, Hunter was faced by Crosshair, who said that he had hoped for the whole squad in Imperial captivity, but that he would do.
===An empty city===
Crosshair brought Hunter back to Kamino after almost all of the remaining clone troopers had been extracted, leaving squads of TK troopers to do the final sweep of the city. Nala Se was also secured and transported offworld, along with any other scientists and Kaminoans deemed of use. Those who resisted were killed. Tipoca City's droids were also deactivated en masse, although the medical droid AZI-345211896246498721347 managed to escape and hide in Nala Se's private lab beneath the city. Additionally, all the data on the city's computers was erased.
Crosshair activated Hunter's comlink to lure the rest of the Batch to Kamino, knowing they would come to rescue him even if they recognized his trap. Rampart gave Crosshair permission to deal with them as he saw fit, as long as he remained on schedule. However, the Elite Squad Trooper ES-02 suspected her commander's personal motives and made Rampart aware of this. The Vice Admiral ordered her to monitor the situation, stating that none of the Bad Batch clones would be a problem if Crosshair's plan failed.
As the remaining equipment was loaded onto shuttles and taken away, the Batch arrived on Kamino and infiltrated Tipoca City via Nala Se's lab, meeting up with AZI-3, who informed them on what was happening. They saw the TK troopers as they snuck through the city, eventually tracking Hunter's location to the training facility. There, a confrontation ensued between them and Crosshair's squad. Omega, left below the training area, was located at gunpoint by ES-02, who was commanded by Crosshair to take the girl to a shuttle heading offworld. However, AZI-3 managed to knock ES-02 out by opening one of the room's storage cabinets into her.
Turning against his Elite Squad Troopers, Crosshair killed his subordinates with one shot to try to persuade the Bad Batch to join him in the Empire. In an attempt to save her friends, Omega activated the facility's training droids and sent them into the arena. As the Batch and Crosshair fought the droids, ES-02 regained consciousness and discovered Crosshair's apparent betrayal. Retreating, she reported to Rampart that Crosshair had lost control of the situation, and he ordered her to evacuate with all remaining forces, deciding to leave the clones to die together. ES-02 dashed to the last shuttle, waiting in an otherwise empty hangar, which departed Tipoca City as soon as she embarked it.
===Aerial bombardment===
On board the lead of his group of three Venator-class Star Destroyers, the Venator VZ-114, Rampart reported to Tarkin via hologram that all essential personnel had been evacuated from Kamino. Tarkin asked about Nala Se and, told she had been secured, gave permission for Rampart to fire upon Tipoca City when ready, before ending the transmission. The Vice Admiral ordered his Star Destroyers towards the city. Every other Kaminoan city and facility on the world was targeted as well. In the training facility, Tech detected the approaching ships and alerted the Batch that they had to depart immediately. Hunter directed Wrecker to carry Crosshair, whom he had stunned unconscious after a standoff.
When the ships were in position, Rampart commanded the aerial bombardment to begin, with the Venators firing a steady barrage from their starboard and port dual medium turbolaser cannons, first blasting a landing bay and causing a power outage. Caught in the destruction, the Batch ran towards the turbolift at platform five, to escape to the underwater level, but were forced back inside as the cannon fire destroyed a bridge to the building they were trying to reach. The Vice Admiral observed the devastation intently from the bridge of his Venator. The intense barrage ripped into Tipoca City's domed structures, shredded through the various catwalks and landing pads between the facilities, and compromised several of the stilts that supported the city, forcing the burning ruins to sink into the ocean, sending up great streams of water on impact. All across Kamino, the Empire destroyed Kaminoan facilities and cities, destroying the civilization and leaving its buildings sink into the waters they stood atop.
Clone troopers Cade and Slip took part in the destruction of Tipoca City as crew aboard Rampart's destroyer. Vice Admiral Rampart's Star Destroyers persisted in their turbolaser fire, knocking down the building containing the Tipoca City Military Complex, which the Bad Batch were attempting to evacuate. The complex was rocked by many explosions and, with its stilts blown apart, lurched to one side before crashing beneath the waves. The Batch were trapped in the now sinking facility, trying to evade the underwater perils. After some time, the Venators stopped firing. While audibly upset at the loss of his home, a clone trooper reported to Rampart that the cities had been destroyed and that all Kaminoan facilities had been lost to the ocean. Satisfied, the Vice Admiral withdrew his Venators to rendezvous with the fleet. The remnants of Tipoca City continued to burn and sink, groaning as seawater enveloped the structures, while the Star Destroyers departed.
==Aftermath==
===All gone===
With the barrage of Kamino and other recent events, nearly every aspect of the Clone Wars-era galaxy had been swept away. The Bad Batch was able to escape after a harrowing underwater journey through Kamino's secret tube system, reaching the surface by using medical capsules from Nala Se's lab as makeshift flotation devices. When they had reached the landing platform where they had left their shuttle, the Marauder, the sun had risen and the storm had dissipated. Omega gazed across the open sea, where only a few columns of smoke rising to the sky could be seen at the place where Tipoca City once stood. Despite their entreaties, however, Crosshair refused to turn away from the Empire, and they left him behind on the secret landing platform, believing that he would eventually be discovered by Imperial scouts.
Nala Se was escorted by clone commandos to an Imperial facility on the mountainous planet of Wayland. There, she was escorted by an Imperial royal guard detachment, and was greeted by a human medical officer named Scalder who stated that she and her team were great admirers of Nala Se's work. As the Kaminoan was escorted inside, the medical officer said that the Empire had great plans for her. Crosshair was stranded on the landing platform for thirty-two rotations before his recovery by the Empire, after which he spent time on medical leave.
The Bad Batch were reported dead with the destruction of Tipoca City. Indeed, they worked to remain off the Empire's radar, carrying out jobs like the Crab Heist to avoid Imperial entanglements. Several months after the operation on Kamino, however, their survival was nearly revealed by Clone Captain "Wilco" after he filed a report on the unit's attempted heist at Castle Serenno. Upon reading Wilco's report, Rampart journeyed to Serenno and demanded the captain falsify a new report, leaving out the survival of the Bad Batch to ensure Tarkin would not grow upset with him. When Wilco refused, Rampart resolved to write the report himself and killed the clone trooper officer, shooting him with his RK-3 blaster.
===Twisted truth===
Clones like Cade and Slip became increasingly distressed at their role in destroying their home. The Empire suppressed information on the attack, claiming that the cities had been destroyed by a massive storm. During the Imperial Senate's deliberations on the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, which planned to introduce conscription to replace the now-absent cloning facilities, Senator Riyo Chuchi discussed the legislation with clone troopers. Upon meeting Slip, she found learned that Kamino had been attacked by the Empire. A fugitive Clone Captain, Rex, helped her in pursuing that information, bringing in the similarly fugitive Clone Force 99 on a raid on VZ-114 while it was berthed on Coruscant. The recovered command log allowed Senator Chuchi to accuse Rampart of orchestrating the attack; he was then arrested by command of Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, who claimed Rampart acted as a rogue agent. Galactic Emperor Palpatine himself then condemned the attack, but manipulated the incident to blame the clones and support the bill, obfuscating the whole truth of the Empire's operation.
==Behind the scenes==
The attack on Kamino was first mentioned within author Alexander Freed's 2016 novelization of the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where the event was referenced as the "decommissioning of the Kaminoan cloning facilities."Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization The comic Darth Vader (2017) 2Darth Vader (2017) 2—which was written by Charles Soule, drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, and released on June 21, 2017—later featured an indirect reference to the decommissioning effort, with clone trooper Ding fearing that the facilities had already been shut down. The 2019 novel Pirate's Price by Lou Anders expanded on the mystery of Kamino's fate, as pirate Hondo Ohnaka would make reference to seeing less Kaminoans in the galaxy during the Imperial Era.Pirate's Price Additional background to and the first depiction of the decommissioning would finally be seen with the 2021 Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, where the looming end of clone trooper production was teased as early as the series debut episode, "Aftermath," on May 4, 2021.
After further teases across the show's first season, the episode "War-Mantle," which debuted on July 30, 2021, began to depict the Imperial withdraw from Kamino before the event culminated in the two part season finale, the episodes "Return to Kamino" and "Kamino Lost," which first aired on August 6 and August 13, respectively. As first teased in "War-Mantle" and then depicted within the two-part finale, The Bad Batch revealed that the "decommissioning" of Kamino in fact entailed an Imperial bombardment of all Kaminoan facilities and, as later confirmed in the Season 2 episode "The Clone Conspiracy," cities. "The Clone Conspiracy" first aired on February 8, 2023, alongside the episode "Truth and Consequences," both of which depicted the political fallout of the Imperial bombardment. "The Clone Conspiracy" also featured the debut of the name "attack on Kamino."
==Appearances==
*Darth Vader (2017) 2 
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*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Kamino
Category:Battles of the early Imperial campaigns
Category:Evacuations
Category:Genocides and massacres
Category:Orbital bombardments