Echo

"Comlink just relayed orders from&mdash;" "We all heard the orders, Echo!" "Stop calling me that!" "Stop repeating every order!"

- Echo, Cutup, and Droidbait during their training mission on Kamino

Echo, designated CT-1409, was a clone trooper who fought during the Clone Wars. Originally identified as CT-21-0408, he belonged to the Cadet unit Domino Squad during his training days, and though he barely made it out into the field, he became a notable member of the 501st Legion. He was given the nickname "Echo" because he tended to repeat orders and always dreamt of reaching the rank of ARC Trooper, which he eventually did. He fought alongside his only remaining squadmate, Fives throughout the war. They were both assigned on the deadly mission of infiltrating and rescuing Jedi Master Even Piell from the Citadel on Lola Sayu. The shuttle Echo was protecting was shot by a defensive turret, which destroyed the craft and consumed Echo in the blast, at which time he was presumed dead.

Unknown to the Republic, Echo survived the blast and was captured by the Techno Union, who then used him to access Rex's strategy algorithm to Admiral Trench's advantage during the Battle for Anaxes. Echo was then rescued by Captain Rex, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker from Skako Minor with the help of Clone Force 99, also known as the "Bad Batch." Using his knowledge of the algorithm and his newfound ability to slice into computer terminals, he helped bring about a Republic victory on Anaxes by sabotaging the Separatists' tactics. Afterward, he chose to join the Bad Batch rather than return to the 501st.

At the end of the war, Echo served with the Bad Batch on Kaller at the time of Order 66. Due to his cybernetic enhancement at the hands of the Techno Union, Echo was immune to the effects of his inhibitor chip and did not comply with the order. He later expressed outrage at how the other clones could have turned on the Jedi after serving with them for years. When the Republic turned into the Galactic Empire, Echo chose not to follow orders once more and defected with the rest of his squad (save for Crosshair, who remained loyal to the Empire). Hiding out on Ord Mantell, Echo and the squad worked for Trandoshan informant, Cid, carrying out jobs for her to keep their newfound member, Omega, safe from the Empire.

Appearance
During his cadet days, Echo wore standard clone cadet training armor with the identification number three printed on it. During the attack on the Rishi Moon Outpost, Echo wore standard Clone Trooper armor which bore a blue handprint, created by CaptainRex, and red macrobinoculars. After the attack on Rishi base, Echo's armor gained additional blue markings, displaying his newly achieved rank as a clone trooper of the 501st. Once Echo was granted the rank of ARC Trooper, he wore experimental Phase II Clone Trooper Armor, still retaining the handprint that he had kept throughout his career, although he made this himself, as he couldn't transfer his handprint to the additional chest armor. Echo is the only known ARC Trooper to don his ammo pouches on the left side of his chest.

Echo commonly used a DC-15 Blaster Pistol blaster in battle, also donning several Thermal Detonators on his person during some missions. He also had Twin DC-17 Blaster Pistols and a DC-15 Blaster Rifle, but they were not commonly seen in his hands. Like all ARC Troopers, he had additional protective plating below his pauldron, on his forearms, face, and shins. Also standard for ARCs, he had a double pauldron, a rangefinder, a kama, a life-support pack on his back, and pouches on his chest, kama, and on the back of his belt, along with ammunition for standard weapons on the front of his belt. Echo's chest pouch was on the left side as he kept his handprint design. He was the only ARC known to have it like this.

When Echo was severely injured on Lola Sayu, He was transformed into a Cyborg by the Separatists; his left arm had cybernetics.

Clone Cadets
"Guys, we have to follow orders, come on!"

- Echo after a failed attempt of the Citadel training mission.

Echo trained in Domino Squad on Kamino under the supervision of Shaak Ti, El-Les, Bric, and Commander Colt. His squad had different opinions on how to fight. Echo thought that you should follow every order closely and play to your training and never risk yourself. Hevy thought that you should just run-up to the enemy and shoot them because he was a specialist with a Z6-Rotary Blaster Cannon. Droidbait thought that you shouldn't stay in cover and just shoot at the enemy; Cutup was just someone who thought that all you needed to do was sit in cover and shoot the enemy and Fives was pretty much the same. They failed their practice run of the Citadel Quarters, and then they failed their proper test. El-Les, a Bounty Hunter, had asked Shaak Ti if Domino Squad could have another test try. Shaak Ti agreed and let Domino Squad have another try. 99, a cleanup maintenance clone, had lately inspired Hevy, and he had come to Domino Squad with confidence. They passed their final test with ease, and Shaak Ti said that they were one of the best Squads she had ever seen passed.

Rookies
After becoming a battle-ready clone trooper, Echo, and former Domino Squad members, were assigned their first off-world mission. Echo was stationed at a listening post located on a moon of the planet Rishi, under Sergeant O'Niner. Along with fellow troopers Fives, Hevy, Droidbait, Cutup, Nub, and CT-327, Echo maintained the listening post to warn the Galactic Republic of any impending Confederate attacks on the nearby Kamino. At one point, when Echo joined the other stationed rookie troopers in the control room of the listening post, SergeantO'Niner entered the room and alerted the clone troopers of a routine inspection that would soon commence. Unbeknownst to the group of clone troopers, however, the Confederate General Grievous planned to attack Kamino.

Grievous knew that if he attacked Kamino, the Rishi moon listening post would detect the attack, and the stationed clone troopers in the listening post would turn off the base's "all-clear" signal, which would alert the nearby Republic fleet. Grievous, therefore, deployed commando droids in Droch-class boarding ships to take over the listening post. Meanwhile, a clone trooper raised the listening post's shield to protect the base against what appeared to be an approaching meteor shower, which was a group of boarding ships. The droids soon left their transports and began their attack on the Republic base. Once commando droids shot and killed O'Niner and three other clones, the remaining clone troopers—Echo, Hevy, Fives, and Cutup—evacuated the command center by exiting through a ventilation shaft, which led them outside the listening post. Leaving the ventilation shaft, the four troopers were disheartened when a Rishi eel attacked and devoured Cutup, leaving only Echo, Hevy, and Fives to defend themselves. Eventually, the remaining rookie clone troopers sighted the attack shuttle flown by Commander Cody and Captain Rex.

The clone officers had arrived to inspect the listening post and were unaware of the droid attack. After the invading droids attacked the two clone officers, they escaped and met with Echo and the other rookie troops. Having encountered a droid commando disguised in clone armor during their skirmish with the droids, Rex demanded that the rookies remove their helmets to verify that they were clones. After the three rookie troopers obeyed and removed their protective headgear, another Rishi moon eel attacked them. This time, Rex used his hand blaster to kill it with one shot to the eye, a feat that impressed the rookies. Rex dubbed them "shinies," a term referring to the troopers' spotless armor that had not yet seen action in battle when talking with the rookie troopers. Rex also put his hand on a piece of Echo's armor, leaving a handprint from the eel's blood. Rex and Cody gave Echo and the other rookie troops their blaster carbines, and Rex suggested a plan to retake the listening post.

The group hid near the base's entrance while Rex impersonated commando droid unit 26 by using the droid's decapitated head. The Clone Captain successfully tricked the droids into opening the listening post's main door, allowing Echo and the clone troopers to ambush the remainder of the commando droids inside the base. Upon entering the command center, the clones defeated the droid units, including their leader. However, their victory was cut short when the clone troopers noticed that General Grievous's fleet had arrived above the moon. Due to the lack of response from the commando droids, Grievous sent more battle droids to the listening post. The clones inside the command center of the listening post were unable to turn off the "all clear" signal because the droids had hot-wired it. Soon, a droid landing craft descended through the moon's atmosphere and landed at the listening post. With the battle droid reinforcements outnumbering the clone troopers, Rex—to the surprise of the rookie troops—ordered the base's destruction.When a confused Echo told the Clone Captain that the clones' duty was to protect the base, Rex dismissed him, stating that if the base were destroyed, it would turn off the all-clear signal and alert the nearby Republic fleet of the impending Separatist invasion. To destroy the base, Echo offered highly explosive liquid tibanna, which was used as a fuel source at the station when the Rishi moon entered its freezing cycle. While Rex and Echo went to retrieve the plunk droids that stored the liquid tibanna, Cody, Hevy, and Fives grabbed weaponry from the listening post's supply room. With their new supply of weaponry, the clones attacked the invading battle droid forces, buying time for Rex and Echo to wire the three plunk droids together. Unexpectedly to the clones, however, the remote activator to detonate the tibanna did not function properly.

Hevy offered to stay behind and correct the problem before joining the other clones as they fled the listening post through a nearby ventilation shaft. Once outside, Rex found—to his surprise—that Hevy hadn't yet evacuated the listening post. He contacted Hevy via comlink, but Hevy refused to evacuate the listening post until he was able to repair the detonator. Unwilling to accept Hevy's decision, the clones ran to rescue the rookie trooper. Before they could reenter the facility, however, Hevy manually detonated the explosives. The listening post exploded, killing Hevy and destroying all of the droid forces inside. Shortly after that, Rex, Cody, Echo, and Fives were picked up by a gunship that carried them off the moon. Onboard the Resolute, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker awarded Echo and Fives medals for their service. Following the presentation of the medals, Rex inducted the two clones into the 501st Legion for their part in helping the Republic thwart the Separatist attack.

ARC Troopers
"Fives, keep firing! We can beat these guys!"

- Echo to Fives while taking out the attacking Aqua Droids

Several months after the destruction of the Rishi Station, Republic intelligence concluded that the Confederacy was about to invade Kamino. With Kenobi, Skywalker, Rex, and Cody, Echo and Fives departed to Kamino to prepare the planet's defense. While Kenobi and Skywalker met with Shaak Ti and Kamino Prime Minister Lama Su, Echo and Fives roamed through Tipoca City's military complex. After reminiscing about their time as clone cadets in the city, the two soon spotted their old clone trooper friend, 99, carrying a bundle of DC-15 blaster rifles. 99 was glad to see Echo and Fives but questioned where was Hevy. When Echo and Fives told him he had given his life to save them on the Rishi moon, 99 sadly showed the two Hevy's medal and told them that Hevy had given it to him. Changing subjects, Echo told 99 about the suspected Confederate invasion of Kamino, and 99 asked the clone if he could help them in any way. With Echo and Five's approval, 99 departed to the facility's weaponry room to gather weapons for the clone troopers, while Echo and Fives met with ARC Trooper Havoc in a docking bay.

ARC Trooper Havoc gave both 501st Legion clones a dangerous assignment—he wanted Echo and Fives to go outside on a platform bridge and "stay in a sniping position." Echo and Fives complied and left for the bridge. Once there, the two clones prepared their DC-15 carbine blasters and waited for the battle to begin. When the invasion began, Trident ships, led by the Confederate General Grievous and Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, climbed the outside structures of Tipoca City. As the ships caused structural damage to the buildings due to their drills, battalions of B1 battle droids and Aqua droids exchanged fire with stationed clone troopers. On the bridge, Echo and Fives utilized their carbine blasters to shoot down the nearby droids. After 99 visited the two clones and resupplied them with ammo and thermal detonators, battle droids stormed the area, although they were destroyed when Echo tossed a detonator at them. Not long after, a squad of clone cadets approached Echo, Fives, and 99. When the squad told the clone troopers that they separated from their clone cadet group, 99 offered to bring them back to the city's sleeping barracks.

Both Echo and Fives departed the platform bridge with 99 and the clone cadets and headed for the indoor barracks. Once there, Clone Commander Cody and Captain Rex joined the group and told them everyone in the room needed to fight off the droids. The clone cadets, however, disagreed due to their training being inadequate. Echo tried to boost the clone cadets' confidence by saying that they should defend it since Kamino was their home. 99 entered the conversation by telling the clones that he knew where the complex's armory room was, and if the clones could gather enough supplies, they would be able to hold off the droids.With the decision made, 99 gathered the supplies, and each of the clones equipped themselves with a firearm. Echo and the clones stood behind a door, which led to a sleeping barracks, and waited for any droid to walk by. Nearby, Grievous led a group of droids down the same hallway the clones wherein. After the cyborg General ordered the droids to open the doors, a droid opened the clones' door, which revealed them. Echo and the clones began to fire at the droids and lured them inside the barrack room. The clones took defensive positions behind crates as the droids continued their pursuit. As the firefight intensified, 99 tossed thermal detonators to Echo, Cody, and Rex for more firepower. Soon, however, the clones around the crates were being overwhelmed by the droids. Rex used his comlink to alert the clone cadets, hidden inside sleeping bunkers, to reveal themselves to the droids. As they began to fire at the droids, Echo and the others continued as well. However, 99 noticed that the clones ran out of thermal detonators.

Despite being told not to retrieve more by Rex, 99 ignored the order and ran toward a nearby door since it was too dangerous. Yet, battle droids noticed the fleeing 99 and fired at him, killing him instantly. Despite witnessing 99's death, Echo and the remaining clones destroyed the remainder of Grievous' droids. Echo and the clones gathered around Fives, who was cradling 99's body on the floor and mourned 99's loss. After Grievous and Ventress escaped Kamino, which ended the invasion, resulting in a Republic victory, Echo and Fives joined Cody and Rex inside a docking bay. Because of their accomplishments during the invasion, both Cody and Rex were proud of Echo and Fives. The two 501st Legion clone troopers were then allowed to become ARC troopers.

The Citadel
Echo was assigned next with Fives to rescue Master Even Piell from the Citadel, a large prison guarded by numerous traps and alarms. Echo didn't like the idea of being carbon frozen, but he, some other troopers, and the Jedi were frozen and were loaded onto a Separatist shuttle to the Citadel. On Lola Sayu, R2-D2 unfroze everyone, and the gang started walking. Artoo and his re-programmed battle droids stayed with the shuttle. Cody said the winds were too powerful for jet packs, so they free-climbed the wall. Echo was going to help Charger, but the latter slipped on a rock and fell, triggering an alarm. The gang sneaked in, and before Piell lost his good eye, Echo and Fives burst in and destroyed the commando droids guarding the cell and the operator droid.

After rescuing Piell, Osi Sobeck caught them, and commando droids confronted them, and their weapons got stuck to the ceiling along with Anakin's hand. Anakin broke the magnetic holder, and Echo got his blaster and shot some droids. Obi-Wan decided it would be better if the group split up, so Kenobi, Cody, and his troopers, Piell, and some clone officers as Anakin took Ahsoka, Tarkin, Rex, some troopers and officers, Echo, and Fives. They would rendezvous with the ship.

Counterattack
"This is our only chance! We've got to stop them!"

- Echo attempting to seize the shuttle prior the explosion that consumed him

When the group met at the landing zone, Echo and the group's survivors engaged in a battle with Separatist forces for control over it. Echo spotted a Citadel Commando Droid operating one of the blaster turrets, aiming at the shuttle, the group's only means of escape. To save the shuttle, Echo grabbed a nearby energy shield and tried to intercept the blaster turret. He was able to hold his ground on the shuttle for a moment, but the Commando Droid aimed for the shuttle instead with a resulting explosion, leaving Echo to be consumed in the blast and flew across the area before touching the ground.

Mortified, Fives looked as Echo's scorched ARC Trooper helmet landed on the ground before retreating. But unbeknownst to the team, Echo survived the blast and was taken into Separatist custody.

The Bad Batch
"The way the droids are countering us here, the strategies I'm using, they're all old battle plans Echo and I drew up together."

- Rex explains his theory to Cody

When the Republic suffered heavy losses during the Battle for Anaxes, Captain Rex theorized that Admiral Trench used his strategy algorithm to predict and counter their every attack. Rex believed that Trench learned the algorithm from Echo himself, as he had helped Rex design it years earlier. Rex's suspicions were confirmed when he and the Clone Commando squad, Clone Force 99, accessed the Separatists' Cyber Center on Anaxes and discovered a live signal from Echo on Skako Minor.

A Distant Echo
Following the signal traced from Anaxes to Skako, The Bad Batch, Anakin Skywalker, and Captain Rex managed to infiltrate the Techno Union's headquarters. Rex and Tech found him in a chamber severely injured, hooked to Tambor's machines. Echo managed to regain consciousness with his last memories from the Citadel, unaware of how he came to Skako.

Personality and Traits
"Personally, I like that it's so quiet out here. I can catch up on the reg manuals."

- Echo at the Rishi moon base

As a cadet, Echo was a member of the dysfunctional Domino Squad who always told the other squad members that they had to follow orders and always repeated orders from command, earning him his nickname. Echo, however, began to work well with his squad during the re-take of their final test and helped them succeed.

As a rookie, Echo was able to deal with the boredom of the Rishi Moon outpost better than some of the other rookies. When the attack on the station came, he tried to help shut off the all-clear signal, knowing that Kamino was in danger of being invaded, showing his care for his home planet and his clone brothers; examples being his sadness over Hevy and 99's deaths and helping to protect Kamino since it was his home planet and so many of his clone brothers were there.

Knowing how important the missions he was on were, he would do whatever he could to make the mission a victory for the Republic. This eventually led to him being taken out of action as he charged out into the line of fire of a turret to protect his team's escape ship on Lola Sayu.

He remained loyal to the Republic, despite his capture by the Separatists when he was presumed dead on Lola Sayu and became a hero on Anaxes.

Facts

 * Echo's designation changed several times throughout The Clone Wars. It was originally listed as CT-26-1409 in the reference book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Visual Guide Ultimate Battles. But the episode "Clone Cadets" showed the number CT-21-0408 on Echo's armor, which was reflected on StarWars.com, The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia, and the more recent reference work, Ultimate Star Wars. When Echo returned in "The Bad Batch," he was identified as CT-1409, partially retaining the original number. Since "The Bad Batch" and Ultimate Star Wars are both considered Canon, this article will assume that both are correct.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

 * "Clone Cadets"
 * "Rookies"
 * "ARC Troopers"
 * "The Citadel"
 * "Counterattack"
 * "Citadel Rescue"
 * "The Bad Batch" Voice only
 * "A Distant Echo"
 * "On the Wings of Keeradaks"
 * "Unfinished Business"

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

 * "Aftermath"
 * "Cut and Run"
 * "Replacements"
 * "Cornered"
 * "Rampage"
 * "Decommissioned"
 * "Battle Scars"
 * "Reunion"
 * "Bounty Lost"
 * "Common Ground"
 * "Devil's Deal"
 * "Rescue on Ryloth"
 * "Infested"
 * "War-Mantle"
 * "Return to Kamino"
 * "Kamino Lost"
 * The Bad Batch Season 2

Other media

 * Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Images only