Wilco
Wilco was a distinguished soldier, identified as a clone trooper, who advanced to the position of a stormtrooper Clone Captain in the military forces of the Galactic Empire. His military career commenced following the cessation of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY. Wilco was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the safe transport of Count Dooku's wealth from the Count's palace situated on the planet Serenno. Despite his efforts, Clone Force 99 "Bad Batch", a team of undisciplined and rogue clones, attempted to pilfer some of the looted possessions.
Upon learning of this attempt, Wilco expedited the process of transporting the items to their intended destination and redirected his subordinates to eliminate the threat. In an attempt to capture the two renegades, Hunter and Wrecker, Wilco led a security detail into the palace, but to no avail. The duo escaped into the dilapidated ruins of Serenno City beneath the palace, prompting Wilco to initiate pursuit. He and his troops then endeavored to apprehend the pair by sealing off the city. However, during the engagement, Wrecker operated a tank gun and subdued Wilco's unit. Eventually, the Bad Batch fled Serenno, and Wilco submitted an official report on the incident.
Upon reviewing the report, Vice Admiral Rampart questioned the involvement of the Bad Batch and demanded that their participation be omitted from the record. Wilco, unwilling to compromise the integrity of the report, refused to comply with Rampart's request. As a consequence of his defiance, the Vice Admiral fired a fatal shot at Wilco, putting an end to the Clone's life.
Post Clone Wars Clone
As the Clone Wars drew to a close in 19 BBY, the Galactic Republic transitioned into the Galactic Empire. Wilco, along with his fellow clones, continued to serve in the newly established Imperial Army, donning their new identity as stormtroopers. The Empire tasked Wilco with a mission to the planet Serenno, which had previously been allied with the Separatist Alliance. The planet was subjected to a siege by the Empire, as they sought to acquire the war chest of the deceased Count Dooku from his palace.
In this military operation, Wilco was responsible for managing the transfer of the coveted wealth from the captured palace. He and his team successfully executed the operation, and Wilco was recognized for his efforts by achieving further distinction within the Imperial Army. At the palace courtyard, the captain oversaw the transfer of the valuables to three class four container transports [1], which were being escorted off-world one by one by Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters. [2]
As Wilco ordered around his clone stormtroopers, the transportation remained on schedule. However, after the departure of the second class four transport, the renegade clone squad Clone Force 99, also known as the "Bad Batch," began infiltrating the final transport, Transport Three to steal some of the plunders. The stormtrooper sentry CT-8801 was stunned when investigating sound from the group. [3] With the sentry not reporting in, another trooper reported such to Wilco, who tried to contact CT-8801 himself. Receiving no response, the captain ordered the stormtrooper to find the missing sentry. [4] That was when two of the docked V-wing starfighters were detonated by Bad Batch leader Hunter as an effort to distract the troopers. [5] Wilco bought the distraction and directed his security team to go and contain the explosion. Hunter and Wrecker hung off of the launching transport, but ultimately jumped off and onto the top of the palace. [6]
Flushing out Dooku's palace
As his stormtroopers opened fire at the top of the palace, where Hunter and Wrecker had taken a moment to perch, Wilco ordered for the area to be locked down; taking his security team into the palace to flush the pair out. [1] As he traveled through the palace passageways, he was informed by Transport Three's crew that there were intruders aboard their vessel. The captain thus ordered for the transport's escape pods to be jettisoned to prevent the Bad Batch's escape. [2] He then continued to the palace's great hall, where stormtroopers had already engaged the fleeing Hunter and Wrecker. [3] Wilco and his troops advanced into the hall in a three-pronged assault [4], but when Wrecker threw a smoke bomb [5], the two rouge clones were lost, able to escape through the lift behind the hall’s main console. [6]
Wilco and his forces followed their enemies' trail to the palace's shuttle bay. As the captain entered, one of his troopers reported that the cargo of Transport Three had been jettisoned thanks to the onboard Bad Batch members, scattering throughout the upper forest region by the palace where squads had already been dispatched to search for them. While the stormtrooper was doubtful that the Bad Batch members had survived using the containers as an escape route, Wilco wanted confirmation. [7] Another trooper handed him a grappling hook, indicating that Hunter and Wrecker had descended from the palace's shuttle bay to the ruins of a former Serennian city that was located below. [8] Wilco thus ordered for the forces at the palace to be redirected with shuttle support and full comm channel monitoring. [9]
Pursuit in the City
After arriving in the ruined city, Wilco was informed that half of the jettisoned containers had been found and an encoded transmission had been intercepted. [1] The captain concluded that the intruders in the containers had survived and ordered for the search squads to be divided so that all fifty containers were monitored. [2] Another stormtrooper then informed him that the city perimeter was secured, and so he ordered for a radial sweep to be made to box in Hunter and Wrecker. [3] Wilco and his forces soon located the enemy pair and begun stalking the two as they moved through the city. [4] They began to engage the duo when they stopped to investigate some Separatist tank wreckage, the captain calling on air support [5].
Hunter threw another smoke bomb as a distraction while Wrecker took a tank gun and powered it up with a vehicle battery. The latter rogue clone used the gun to eliminate an incoming V-wing before firing on Wilco's unit. Wilco and his stormtroopers began retreating, but the captain was knocked down by the cannon-fire, the rest of his squad being taken down as Hunter and Wrecker made their escape. [6] After coming around again, Wilco removed his helmet and inspected the stormtroopers that had not survived Wrecker's attack. [7] Another squad arrived, one trooper reporting that the "intruders" had retreated to the eastern ridge. The captain ordered for air support to be rerouted to intercept them. [8]
The Last Order of Business
Despite reinforcements from Wilco's forces, the Bad Batch escaped from Serenno. Wilco thus made and submitted a mission report on the Bad Batch incident and turned back to recovering all of the jettisoned crates, finding eighty-five percent of the lost war chest. Imperial Vice Admiral Rampart arrived at the palace and received a report from the captain about the matter at the palace courtyard, the stormtrooper promising to recover all of the war chest. Rampart, though, specified that he had come to address an inaccuracy in Wilco's report, stating that the Bad Batch was meant to have been eliminated during the destruction of Tipoca City on Kamino.
Wilco reaffirmed his report, adding that he had his own visual confirmation on two of the Bad Batch. [1] With that confirmation, Rampart noted that he would be at risk if Governor Wilhuff Tarkin learned of his failure to eliminate the rogue clone squad, asking that a new report be submitted without mention of the Bad Batch. Wilco refused to falsify his report [2], and in response Rampart drew his RK-3 blaster and pointed it at the captain's chest—stating that he would instead falsify the report himself. As Wilco attempted to lunge at Rampart [3], the admiral shot him, sending him falling over a railing and plummeting into the chasm below the palace. [4]
Personality and traits
As a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, Wilco was a human male with tan skin, short flat-topped black hair, and brown eyes. As a clone trooper, he stood 1.83 meters (6ft) tall. Wilco was loyal to the Galactic Empire, but was unwilling to falsify a report to the favor of Admiral Rampart.
As a captain, Wilco was very capable and adept at effectively commanding his troops. He was a quick-thinking and decisive decision maker, skills that helped him outsmart Clone Force 99 multiple times throughout their encounter, cutting off many potential solutions the squad had intended to use to escape him.
Equipment
Wilco was equipped with standard white Phase II clone trooper armor, devoid of any markings save for a black comlink on his wrist. He wore a black pauldron to denote his rank as a stormtrooper Clone Captain. He also wielded a DC-15A blaster carbine, and used a datapad while on Serenno.
Behind the scenes
Wilco first appeared in the first episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch's second season, which premiered on January 4, 2023.
