Elite Squad

"May I present our first Elite Squad. Top soldiers from across the galaxy."

―Rampart^[1]

The Elite Squad was a special forces squad of the Galactic Empire's armed forces that was led by Clone Commander CT-9904 "Crosshair" and composed of new recruits assembled by Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart. The squad initially consisted of Elite Squad Troopers ES-01, ES-02, ES-03, and ES-04.^[1]

In the wake of Clone Force 99's refusal to kill Saw Gerrera's rebels and subsequent defection from Imperial service, the newly anointed Governor Wilhuff Tarkin deployed Crosshair's Elite Squad to finish the mission, determined to see if Rampart's enlisted soldiers could succeed where the fugitive clones failed. The troopers successfully ambushed Gerrera's camp on Onderon, killing several insurgents.^[1]

However, Gerrera had already left the camp by the time of the squad's arrival. Crosshair ordered the troopers to execute the prisoners, but ES-01 refused to comply with a command to kill unarmed civilians, and was consequently killed by the commander. The squad's remaining members obeyed Crosshair, executing the prisoners while the clone watched. Despite the loss of ES-01 and the failure to locate Gerrera, Tarkin and Rampart considered the mission a successful field test.^[1]

By the time of Hunter's capture, two additional Elite Squad troopers had joined the squad. Surrounding the Bad Batch in the Tipoca City Training Facility, Crosshair offered Hunter and his old squad a chance to rejoin the Empire, and ordered the Elite Squad Troopers to stand down. Both the new members, as well as ES-03 and ES-04, refused the order and prepared to execute the Bad Batch. The four were promptly killed when Crosshair fired a ricocheting shot at the mirrors he installed around the room.^[3]

ES-02 was the sole survivor, having been earlier sent to locate Omega. She attempted to regroup with her squad only to find them dead and the Bad Batch engaged in a firefight with the training droids. She then informed Rampart of Crosshair's failure and evacuated Tipoca City after Rampart ordered her to let Crosshair die with the Bad Batch.^[3]