Clone X

Clone X, also named Sniper X, was a conditioned clone trooper who worked as a clone X operative for the Galactic Empire. His identifying number wiped, he was deployed by Imperial officers to complete high-priority and covert operations for the nascent Empire. In 18 BBY, the early Empire had begun working towards phasing out their clone trooper army with a military of conscripted recruits. Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart proposed a recruitment bill in the Imperial Senate to finish the transition, but deployed Clone X to eliminate all individuals with knowledge of his secret previous attack on Kamino cities that would threaten the bill.
Though having killed the trooper Cade, a second trooper; Slip escaped with knowledge of the attack. Beginning a search for Slip across the planet Coruscant, the trooper spoke with Pantoran Riyo Chuchi after she told her fight against Rampart's bill to him and other troopers, revealing Rampart's destruction of the Kaminoan cities. Clone X had continued pursuing Slip, but received orders from Rampart to eliminate Chuchi as well, after learning her guards were also searching for the trooper. Finding both and killing Slip, the assassin chased Chuchi until he was stunned by the presumed deceased Clone Captain Rex, but killed himself with a suicide shocker while being questioned.
==Biography==
In 18 BBY, Clone X was dispatched by Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart to help cover up knowledge of the attack on Kamino and genocide of its population, in order to pass the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill. As part of this, he tracked clone trooper Cade, who had threatened to tell the Imperial Senate the truth about the fall of Tipoca City if Rampart did not do so himself. He killed Cade outside 79's cantina on Coruscant, but failed to kill fellow trooper Slip, who managed to escape on a speeder bike.
Clone X was then contacted by Rampart, who asked if he had located Slip. While he had been unable to, he had noticed that Pantoran guards had been searching for him too. Rampart ordered him to follow Senator Riyo Chuchi, in hopes that she would lead him to Slip. Rampart ordered him to eliminate anyone who potentially had knowledge of the conspiracy, including the senator herself.
The assassin successfully followed Chuchi to a rendezvous point, at which Slip was expecting to meet with Rex. He shot and killed Slip and one of the senator's guards. A standoff ensued and the remaining guard was able to hold off the assassin while the senator tried to make her escape. The assassin gave chase into a warehouse filled with smoke, where he killed the remaining guard, but was stunned by Rex, who had got to the rendezvous too late but followed the sound of blaster fire and was able to save Chuchi.
Clone X awoke to find that Rex had brought him to Trace Martez's repair shop, in the level 1313 of the Coruscant Underworld. Rex questioned him and he proved uncooperative, surprising Rex with knowledge of his name and telling him he was fighting the wrong battle. After referring to himself as "a believer," he took his own life via a suicide shocker, which killed him instantly.
His body was then transferred to a hoversled and shown to Clone Force 99, with Rex mentioning that his identifying number had been wiped.
==Personality and traits==
As a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, Clone X was a human male with tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes. As a clone trooper, he stood 1.83 meters tall. The assassin was cold in personality, in that he was able to execute fellow clones with ease and without remorse, as witnessed with his executions of Cade and Slip. Clone X was a firm believer in the Galactic Empire, which enhanced his abilities and desire to execute traitors and treasonous sympathizers.
==Skills and abilities==
Clone X was a skilled sniper, being capable of using a sniper rifle to shoot Cade from a nearby building and shoot Slip’s blaster out of his hand. He was also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and stealth.
==Equipment==
Clone X was outfitted with specialized armor, painted black. His helmet was pressurized and possessed a mechanized visor that would retract and protract as needed. He possessed a 773 Firepuncher rifle with a scope and wooden stock, for long-range targets, which also had a grappling line built in the bottom barrel. Clone X also had a suicide shocker hidden in his mouth in case of capture or when interrogated by enemies for Imperial secrets.
==Behind the scenes==
Clone X was introduced in "The Clone Conspiracy," the seventh episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch television series' second season, aired on February 8, 2023. The character was unidentified in the episode, but received his name as "Clone X" in the character's Databank entry. He was also identified as Sniper X in promotional images released by The Walt Disney Company on Getty Images. Clone X is described as a bounty hunter and mercenary in the online story gallery for "The Clone Conspiracy," only for later Bad Batch episodes to establish the Clone X trooper division as a mysterious part of the Empire's hierarchy. As such, this article assumes references to Clone X as a mercenary or bounty hunter are incorrect. His Databank page was later replaced with a page for the Clone X trooper division.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Clone X troopers
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Males
Category:Sharpshooters and snipers