Flash Strike

"Flash Strike" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. The episode premiered on April 24, 2024. 
==Official description==
Odds are against the Batch as they operate behind enemy lines.
==Plot summary==
===Descent into Wayland===
While traveling through hyperspace on the stolen shuttle Alpha-44 which is attached to the hull of an Imperial science vessel, Edmon Rampart warns the Bad Batch that Imperial scanners will detect them once they exit hyperspace. Hunter proposes detaching from the science vessel before then and infiltrating on foot. Crosshair warns the jungle is deadly, which Rampart agrees. Wrecker asks how Echo is going to get off the science vessel, prompting Hunter to reply he will find a way. The proximity alert sensor rings. 
Inside the science vessel, Echo accesses a computer and copies data. He hides as an RA-7 protocol droid approaches. At Tantiss Base, Dr. Royce Hemlock asks Clone Commander Scorch about the status of the science vessel. Scorch says the starship is approaching but warns of a security breach, explaining that Clone Force 99 infiltrated the orbital station with Rampart. Scorch says that they fled on a stolen shuttle when the science vessel departed and that they could be monitoring it. Hemlock scrambles starfighters to monitor the airspace. 
Descending into the planet Wayland's atmosphere, the clones detach their shuttle from the science vessel. They encounter three Imperial Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighter, which pursue them. Hemlock and Scorch receive news of the encounter at the Tantiss Base control room. Laser cannons inflict hits on the wings of the shuttle, causing it to descend into the jungle. 
At the Tantiss vault Omega, Eva, Sami, and Jax hear the sound of laser cannons, which Omega is familiar with. In the observation deck, Dr. Emerie Karr and her colleagues learn about the intrusion. Karr orders that lockdown procedures be implemented and tasks Dr Scalder with safeguarding the children. Scalder says that her concerns for the "specimens" is unwarranted. Omega tells the other children that her brothers have found her. 
===Crashlanding===
With deflector shields failing, Hunter redirects energy to the shuttle's cannons and shoots down one of the pursuing V-wings. Hunter sets the shuttle onto autopilot while the clones and Rampart descend into the jungles of Wayland using cables. Wrecker and Crosshair descend first followed by Hunter and Rampart. Rampart's cable malfunctions, prompting Hunter to severe it. Rampart falls but Hunter grabs him in midair. The two detach from the shuttle just as an Imperial pilot destroys the shuttle with a laser salvo. 
After an Imperial weapons technician confirms the stolen shuttle has been hit, Hemlock dispatches patrols to the crash site. Scorch informs him the science vessel is approaching. Hemlock orders that the ship and its entire crew be searched and scanned at the hangar. As the science vessel enters the hangar, Echo disguises himself as a TK stormtrooper. Before the ship captain Lieutenant Novitz and his troops can unload their cargo, Scorch and a detachment of Stromtroopers arrive to search the vessel and check their clearance per Hemlock's orders. Novitz complies reluctantly. 
In the jungle, Crosshair tells Wrecker they should maintain comm silence and head to Tantiss Base. Wrecker asks if he knows where he is going. Crosshair alludes to his imprisonment at Tantiss Base, prompting Wrecker to joke about Crosshair "breaking in." Crosshair is reluctant to return to Tantiss Base but is determined to honor Omega for not leaving him behind when she had every opportunity to do so. They are joined by Hunter and Rampart, who opines that the clones won't survive their mission. They take cover as a LAAT/le patrol gunship flies over them. Two patrol gunships approach the burned remains of the crashed shuttle. A clone commando confirms they found no one in the wreckage. His superior officer orders them to search the nearby jungle. 
===Behind enemy lines===
At the science vessel, Imperial stormtroopers search through the ship while a disguised Echo leaves the computer booth. He is confronted by protocol droid RA-7-81, who says he is not authorized to be here. Echo claims he was checking the manifest before shooting the protocol droid in the chest. Echo steals the droid's hand before exiting the ship through the astromech droid chute. He mingles among the stormtroopers, following them through a corridor. 
Meanwhile, Eva asks why the scientists and lab droids have not taken their vitals. Jax says he doesn't know and this is weird. Omega tells the other children she will go scouting and tells the other children to cover for her if she does not make it back in time. When Eva and Jax asks what she means, she tells them to stall the droids if they come snooping. When Sami asks how, Omega tells them to improvise and that she is counting on them. 
Omega crawls into the dumbwaiter system behind her cell, dodging lifts. In the jungle, Rampart chafes following Crosshair's orders to keep moving. When Rampart quips about good soldiers following orders, Crosshair replies that but depends who is giving them. Rampart doesn't think they can win against the Empire and suggests that both he and Crosshair are only loyal to themselves. Crosshair disagrees, saying he has changed. 
Inside the main terminal, Echo breaks away from the stormtrooper unit he was following and uses his cybernetic arm to access a network terminal. He uses it to locate a vault. Meanwhile, Omega climbs through the dumbwaiter structure. The Bad Batch and Rampart avoid a stormtrooper patrol and approach a large rockface. While the clones discuss their next plans, Rampart rests his head against a large furry Dryax. The clones and Rampart attempt to retreat but Rampart panics and flees into the jungle. 
As the dryax gives chase, Crosshair and Wrecker fight the beast. The dryax hurls Wrecker against a tree. The clones retreat with the beast in pursuit. Rampart gets separated from the group and walks past a stormtrooper patrol, who are alerted by the beast. The clones run into the path of the Stromtroopers, resulting in a brief gunfight. The dryax attacks the stormtrooper patrol, knocking out several Imperials. Rampart runs into the path of three stormtroopers from a separate patrol.
===Heart of Tantiss Base===
Jax asks how long Omega will take and if something went wrong. Sami alerts the other children to the arrival of a hovering Tantiss medical droid and Dr Scalder. The droid orders the children to head to their rooms. Sami carries Bayrn to his room before going to her room. Scalder and the droid collect Sami's sample. Sami claims she is hungry but Scalder says it will pass. Meanwhile, Omega uses the dumbwaiter system to find her way to the Zillo Beast's watery enclosure, where it is guarded by stormtroopers. The Imperials use satellites to harness its electrical pulses. 
Back in the vault, Eva tells Doctor Scalder she doesn't feel very good. Scalder orders the medical droid to scan SP-54. Omega heads back to her cell as Scalder and the droid assess Eva to be fine. Scalder orders the droid to monitor her more closely. As Scalder approaches Omega's cell, Jax offers to go next but the doctor tells him to wait his turn. Omega returned to her cell just in time for her blood test. 
Meanwhile, Echo enters Central lab and gains access to a computer with information about Omega's Midi-chlorian count. Dr Karr confronts him, telling him stormtroopers are not allowed in the laboratory. Echo claims it is a special security protocol but she notices his droid hand. As he leaves, Karr addresses him as Echo and tells him that Omega talked about him. She introduces herself as Emerie Karr, whom Omega is familiar with. Echo says the Bad Batch is not just rescuing her but to liberate the other prisoners she has been experimenting on. 
When Karr says she was just following orders, Echo is unmoved. He asks how she as a clone could be part of this project. Echo says that Omega vouched for her and hope she is right. Echo demands to know where Omega is. Karr confirms that Omega is inside the vault but says he will need her help to get there. She tells him to trust her in order to free the children. Karr explains that Omega is not the only child imprisoned in the base. Scalder finishes testing the children and leaves the vault. Omega tells the other children she found something big and that she had a plan. She asks them for their help.
==Credits==
==Appearances==
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==Notes and references==
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