The Batch must infiltrate enemy territory to get to Tantiss.
Tropes:
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Rampart and the Bad Batch are able to bluff their way aboard the Imperial space station by having Rampart wear an Imperial captain's uniform and bluster his way in with "secret orders" from Governor Tarkin, with the Batchers acting as his clone "escort". It helps that, as a former Vice-Admiral, Rampart knows the right Imperial protocols to get the officers and TK Stormtroopers to stand down.
- Beneath Notice: Rampart should consider himself lucky he’s been "demoted" to captain, as his former rank of Vice Admiral would've been too high profile for their secret mission. Imperials usually won’t bother to remember the faces of those ranked captain or lower.
- Blunt "Yes": When Rampart asks if the Batch think he's lying about the information he's provided, Crosshair and Wrecker immediately answer "yes".
- The Bus Came Back: Echo makes his return after being absent for several episodes since "Extraction".
- Call-Back: Jax's failed escape is brought up when the children mention to Omega that escape from Tantiss is impossible.
- Call-Forward: Rampart mentions Tarkin's name to Lieutenant Holmes in order to help the Batch gain further passage in Imperial Station 003, which is what Hera will later do in the Rebels series premiere.
- Contrived Coincidence: The Rho-class transport shuttle Echo stole, Alpha-44, came with plenty of supplies, and conveniently among them was a fresh Imperial captain's uniform for Rampart to use.
- Crazy Enough to Work: The Bad Batch's plan to go to Tantiss is crazy by virtue of the risk of them failing being very high. One wrong move, and the whole mission is toast. Rampart has no such death wish, and calls for them to quit while they're ahead. After a few near-misses, Echo manages to disable the proximity sensors just as Hunter is about to attach the shuttle to the departing ship's hull.
- Crazy-Prepared: Just how heavily guarded is the location of Tantiss? First, ships cleared to fly there must transit through Imperial Station 003 to directly receive the coordinates. As an extra precaution, ships can only receive the coordinates after departure.
- Determinator: When extracting the coordinates to Tantiss before launch proves impossible, because the science vessel will only receive them after launch and is too heavily guarded for all of them to stow away undetected, Rampart suggests they call the whole thing off before they get killed. The Bad Batch, however, decide to push on, with Echo choosing to infiltrate the ship alone so he can disable the proximity sensors, allowing Hunter to attach their stolen Rho-class transport shuttle to the hull undetected and hitch a ride. They’ve already made it this far, and they can’t wait for another science vessel, since they want to make every second towards rescuing Omega count.
- Didn't Think This Through: Rampart honestly tells the Batch how to retrieve the coordinates to Tantiss, at least as far as he knows, and is blindsided by the reveal that ships destined for the research facility only get the coordinates by a direct transmission after they've left port. As he tells the Batch, they can't expect him to pay attention to such minutia when he was a Vice-Admiral.
- The Dreaded: When Lieutenant Holmes questions the Batch's presence, Rampart bluffs him by suggesting he take it up with Governor Tarkin; clearly too afraid of Tarkin to actually do so, the lieutenant lets them pass without incident.
- Exact Words: Rampart is told he will get his freedom once the Bad Batch gets the exact location of the Tantiss base. But, the Bad Batch can't extract the coordinates before the ship leaves, and they're Rampart's only ride out. The whole point was to get the coordinates first and then head there. Since their only option is to catch the ship itself, this means they physically can't let Rampart go, and by the time they get the location, they'll already be there.
- Fantastic Racism: Rampart openly snarls that he hates clones, surprising no one.
- Foreshadowing: Rampart (an ex-vice admiral who had prestige) isn't on board with wearing a captain's uniform, which is an indicator of how little regard Imperials of that rank or below receive due to being low on the food chain. Come the actual infiltration, no officer or mook bothers to know his name, and don't recognize him.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: Echo calls Rampart a "hydrosnake", when asking Hunter if the former Vice Admiral is trustworthy.
- Hope Bringer: Omega is this to the captive children on Tantiss, as they immediately go from being resigned to their fate to being willing to help her with her escape plan.
- I'm Standing Right Here: Echo asks Hunter if Rampart is trustworthy while Rampart is well within earshot. Rampart complains, but neither Echo nor Hunter bother to even acknowledge that they heard him.
- Just in Time: The Bad Batch manage to attach to the science vessel within a few moments of its jump, by necessity since they can't wait for Echo to disable the proximity sensors and risk it escaping with him aboard. At the same time, Echo manages to disable the proximity sensors just before they attach.
- The Men in Black: The Bad Batch pose as this, with their mostly-black armor and maintaining a stoic demeanor when questioned. "Captain" Rampart passes them off as clandestine clone troopers who are part of his personal division and are on classified business.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Invoked; Hunter pointedly reminds Rampart that the Empire threw him under the bus as an incentive not to consider betraying the Batch. Rampart doesn't engage with the idea, but he clearly understands that it isn't in his personal interest to betray them when the Empire likely wouldn't reward his loyalty.
- Moving the Goalposts: After it becomes clear that they can't get the coordinates to Tantiss from a departing science vessel, Hunter changes the plan to attaching their stolen Rho-class transport shuttle to the science vessel and hitching a ride; Rampart complains that that wasn't the plan (mostly because the previous plan included him being dropped off en route to Tantiss), but Crosshair unsympathetically informs him that plans change. It's not like they can take a detour now that they're in the middle of the plan.
- Nerves of Steel:
- Despite her imprisonment, Omega remains cool-headed and confident in her odds of making an escape, swiping one of Emerie's tools without her noticing, and easily covering her tracks even when Dr. Scalder nearly catches her red-handed.
- Although Echo has yet to disable the science vessel's proximity sensors and Rampart is calling for an abort, Hunter keeps his cool and follows through with the plan, fully confident in Echo's abilities.
- Only Sane Man: Ironically, it’s Rampart who ends up being the rational one. He was ambitious, but he’s not stupid. Once it becomes clear that extracting the coordinates to Tantiss from the science vessel’s navicomputer is next to impossible, the Bad Batch decides to catch the first ship headed to Tantiss. Rampart suggests they call the whole thing off, citing just how dangerous this move is, which isn’t unreasonable.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Rampart's "disguise" is wearing a captain's rank, plus his longer hair and beard. As for the Bad Batch, they simply strip off the coloured markings on their black clone commando armour, but otherwise wear the same gear they always do. Unsurprisingly, Lieutenant Holmes in Docking Bay 5-02 of Station 003 immediately tags them as being out of uniform, forcing Rampart to throw around Governor Tarkin's name to scare the officer away and justify them as being part of a clandestine division.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Though they steer the children from talking to each other or interacting with each other, the Tantiss scientists at least allow the children to take better care of baby Bayrn since he's only a baby and isn't really a potential escapee.
- Race Against Time: Time is not on the Bad Batch’s side here. They have to infiltrate Station 003 and finish their mission before their Rho-class transport shuttle is reported stolen, and the on-duty Lieutenant Holmes still flags a discrepancy in their port of origin. This becomes a non-issue once they discover ships headed to Tantiss only receive coordinates upon launch. Instead, their deadline is that they have to hitch a ride and disable the sensors on the vessel before it jumps.
- Skewed Priorities: Rampart is offended at being given a captain's uniform for the infiltration, as he was a vice-admiral. Never mind that his legitimate military career is over, he's been shanghaied into helping the Batch rescue Omega from his former employers, and the uniform is only a disguise anyway. He's bluntly told by Echo that he's been demoted.
- Swiss-Cheese Security: Heavily averted here. Science vessels have heightened security protocols, that sneaking aboard one isn’t easy. These vessels are equipped with proximity sensors that if they detect unauthorized ships that come in contact with them (even Imperial ones), they’ll trigger the weapon systems and shoot on sight. Additionally, there are restrictions on interacting with the ship’s systems that any unscheduled work will be flagged.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The alliance between the Bad Batch and ex-Admiral Rampart is tense and uncomfortable. Rampart's arrogance makes him a pain to work with, while the Batch blatantly don't trust him and rely on him having no other options to keep him in line. Once Rampart got them as far as he could enabling them to identify a science vessel bound for Tantiss, he should’ve overstayed his welcome. Since the Bad Batch’s only chance is to hitch a ride on the vessel, they can’t leave Rampart because they’re his only ride out of the station, and they can’t drop him off somewhere lest they risk losing their one shot at finding Tantiss. This means their guest will have to see their mission through to the end.
- The Only One: Since they all cannot sneak aboard the science vessel undetected, Echo is the only one who can do so and disable the proximity sensors. Rampart is against them betting their lives on Echo unless they call off the mission.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Once the Bad Batch decide to hitch the earliest ship to Tantiss, which is even more dangerous than infiltrating the space station, Rampart complains they’re all gonna die.
- Took a Level in Badass: Omega's growth is on full display; despite being imprisoned on Tantiss yet again, she's quickly taking stock of her surroundings and forming a plan to escape, playing the same protective and leadership role with the other imprisoned children that the Batch had previously taken with her.
- Villain Has a Point: Dr. Scalder questions Emerie's decision to allow Omega to interact with the other child prisoners. Emerie shuts down the challenge to her authority, but Scalder's criticism proves well-founded, as Omega quickly starts planning a break-out, fully intent on taking the other children with her. Once she decides to check but finds nothing unusual, she thinks she’s gotten a bit paranoid.
