Galactic Histories: Heroes of the Clone Wars – 91ˢᵗ Mobile Reconnaissance Corps

Welcome to the latest instalment of my Galactic Histories series, a series of articles that looks at events and characters throughout the Star Wars canon. Generally speaking, this will often focus largely on characters or events that go beyond the movies, to help people get to know the wider canon a little better and see if there is anything that catches their interest.

Within this series, this will be latest of a miniseries subtitled Heroes of the Clone Wars. In the live action movies, we only get to see the beginning and the end of the conflict, and yet the war raged over 3 years. Now when you hear about heroes of the Clone Wars, I imagine that your mind automatically goes to the Jedi, who are the focus of the movies, but I will instead be focusing on the clones of Jango Fett, who were born to fight and die for the Republic. In this miniseries, I will be looking at many of these clones and their histories, breaking things down by looking at a specific unit per article. Of course, some clones I will be covering will have featured in more than 1 of these units, so I will be specifically focusing on their exploits in the unit I am covering at that time.

This will contain spoilers for The Clone Wars

Heroes of the Clone Wars

For this article, I am looking at the 91ˢᵗ Mobile Reconnaissance Corps. Also known as the 91ˢᵗ Recon Corps was an elite unit during the Clone Wars. Fighting under the command of Mace Windu Adi Gallia and Stass Allie at different points in the conflict, the 91ˢᵗ were probably most famous for their role in the Liberation of Ryloth, but also saw action in the Battle for Malastare and the Siege of Saleucami, during which they received Order 66.

Ponds

CT-411, nicknamed “Ponds” was a clone commander and the commanding officer of the 91ˢᵗ’s famous unit, Lightning Squad. One of the original batch of clone officers, Ponds received training from Jango Fett himself, before being sent as part of the initial clone forces to Geonosis for what would become the First Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the Clone Wars. It was in this battle that Ponds was first assigned to Mace Windu and quickly became his second-in-command. Ponds served during the Liberation of Ryloth, leading the advance towards the capital of Lessu while Windu sought an alliance with the Twi’lek Resistance and playing a key leadership role in the capital’s liberation. Ponds was present at a number of other campaigns, including (but not limited to) the Battle for Malastare and was part of the group who first discovered the existence of the Zillo Beast following the use of the new experimental superweapon, the electro-proton bomb. When Boba Fett’s attempt to assassinate Windu led to the Endurance crashing on Vanqor, Ponds was on of the troopers who chose to stay behind on the ship. He survived the crash but was taken prisoner by Fett’s group and used as bait to draw Windu into their trap, eventually being executed by Aurra Sing.

Razor

CT-6910, “Razor”, was a clone trooper within Lightning Squadron. As part of Lightning Squadron, Razor helped clear the way for the rest of the 91ˢᵗ to advance towards Lessu, before accompanying Windu on his mission to ally with the Twi’lek Resistance. With the alliance formed, Razor played a key role in the liberation of Lessu, which resulted in him earning a commendation for valour.

Stak

Another member of Lightning Squadron, Stak helped clear the way for the rest of the 91ˢᵗ to advance towards Lessu. While the rest of the unit advanced on Lessu, Stak partnered with Razor in accompanying Windu on his mission to ally with the Twi’lek Resistance. With the alliance formed, Stak and Razor continued working together, playing a key role in the liberation of Lessu.

Trapper

A member of the 91ˢᵗ during the early stages of the Clone Wars, Trapper was present at the Battle for Malastare, which saw the Republic test its experimental new superweapon, the electro-proton bomb. When the bomb accidentally opened a giant sinkhole, Trapper was one of the troopers to accompany Windu and Ponds into the sinkhole in search of survivors, leading to the discovery of the Zillo Beast. Trapper would later be transferred to the 212ᵗʰ Attack Battalion’s 212ᵗʰ Recon Division ahead of the Second Battle of Geonosis.

Hawkeye

A trooper in the 91ˢᵗ during the early stages of the Clone Wars, Hawkeye was present at the Battle for Malastare, where he was one of the troopers to accompany Windu and Ponds into an accidentally created sinkhole in search of survivors, leading to the discovery of the Zillo Beast. Unfortunately as the troopers attempted to escape from the sinkhole, Hawkeye was trampled by the Zillo Beast

Neyo

Another clone commander within the 91ˢᵗ, Neyo was a part of the unit from the start of the war and became the commanding officer following the death of Ponds. Neyo was the second-in-command to Stass Allie during the Siege of Saleucami. At the time that Order 66 was given, Neyo was on a scouting mission with Allie and a second clone trooper, each on their individual BARC speeders. Getting the message through their helmet communicators, Neyo and his fellow trooper dropped back behind Allie and used the BARC speeders’ blasters to take her out.

Thanks for reading. Good soldiers follow orders….