Rookies

"Looks like we got ourselves a batch of shinies, commander."

- Rex

"Rookies" is the fifth episode of season one of Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It first aired on Cartoon Network on October 24, 2008.

Official description
Alone on a distant outpost, Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex must inspire their rookie unit to believe in themselves to stave off a Droid Commando invasion.

The best confidence builder is experience.

Plot Summary
On the remote Rishi moon, the small unit of rookie clones stationed there, including Hevy, Echo, Fives, and Cutup are restless and bored. Hevy wishes he could be on the front lines when Sergeant O'Niner reminds them that their listening post is vital to keep an eye on Separatist activities and make sure they don't try to slip past and launch a surprise attack on Kamino, the center of clone production and training. The Sergeant orders his men to prepare for an inspection by Captain Rex and Commander Cody, who are en route. Just then the station detects an incoming meteor shower and raises shields. But the meteors aren't all meteors&mdash;two of them are pod hunters carrying droid commandos.

With brutal efficiency, the droids infiltrate the base and kill the Sergeant and three rookie clone troopers, forcing the remaining four clones to flee the base. The commando droids report their success to General Grievous. Pleased, Grievous contacts Asajj Ventress on Kamino, where she is making secret preparations for a Separatist invasion.

Meanwhile, Cody and Rex contact the Rishi station as they enter the system. The commando droid leader adjusts his vocabulator to mimic a clone's voice, puts on a helmet, and tries to trick the two officers into canceling their inspection. Rex and Cody are suspicious, and continue toward the base.

Hevy, Echo, Fives, and Cutup emerge from a maintenance tunnel into a deep crater below the outpost and plan their next move. Suddenly a massive Rishi Eel silently emerges from one of the many caves in the crater, snatches Cutup in its jaws, and disappears back into its hole. Just then Cody and Rex's shuttle flies in for a landing high above. Hevy, Fives, and Echo are unable to make contact and warn them.

Up on the platform the clone officers are met by a peculiar "clone" who gestures awkwardly and talks like a droid. The rookies down below fire a warning flare and Rex shoots the impersonator, revealing it to be a droid commando in disguise. Suddenly more droids begin to attack them and destroy their ship. Under the cover of the explosion, Rex and Cody escape into the crater where they meet up with the rookie clones. Rex and Cody are determined to retake the base, and Hevy, Fives, and Echo are up for the task.

Rex poses as a droid in armor but they asks to see his face. He simply bends down and brings up a severed droid head to the eye camera, convincing the droids to open the door. The clones charge into the base and quickly regaining control. Unfortunately, the Separatist fleet led by Grievous has arrived, and when he can't make contact with the commandos Grievous sends down reinforcements. Not wanting the base to fall back into enemy hands, they resolve to blow it up with liquid tibanna gas, which would disrupt the all-clear signal to alert the Republic. Hevy grabs a repeater and fights against the droids. As the other clones escape through the tunnels, Hevy tries to arm the explosives but the remote doesn't work, so he decides to activate it manually. In a heroic last stand, he fends off as many of the droids as he can, then activates the explosives. The base is destroyed and the Republic is alerted. The Republic fleet jumps into the system and Grievous retreats.

When they return to the Resolute, Echo and Fives are granted medals and Rex inducts them in the 501st Legion. The rookies feel they don't deserve the honor, but Rex says they've earned it.

Cast

 * Dee Bradley Baker - Clone Troopers
 * James Arnold Taylor - Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Matthew Wood - General Grievous / Battle Droids
 * Matt Lanter - Anakin Skywalker
 * Tom Kane - Narrator / Wullf Yularen
 * Nika Futterman - Asajj Ventress
 * Gwendoline Yeo as Hologram VJ

Characters

 * Bettie-Bot VJ
 * Commander CC-2224 "Cody"
 * Captain CC-7567 "Rex"
 * CT-27-5555 "Fives"
 * CT-327
 * Cutup
 * Droidbait
 * Echo
 * Grievous
 * Hevy
 * Nub
 * O'Niner
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * R2-D2
 * Anakin Skywalker
 * Unit 07
 * Unit 08
 * Unit 09
 * Unit 26
 * Asajj Ventress
 * Wullf Yularen
 * Nahdarr Vebb {[Flashback}}

Creatures

 * Neebray
 * Eel
 * Rishi eel

Droid models

 * BD-3000 luxury droid
 * B1 battle droid
 * B2 super battle droid
 * Droid Commando
 * OOM-series battle droid
 * Plunk droid
 * R2-series astromech droid
 * TT-8L gatekeeper droid
 * Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid, Mark I

Events

 * Clone Wars
 * Battle of Tibrin
 * Battle of Mimban
 * Battle of the Rishi Moon

Languages

 * Aurebesh
 * Basic

Locations

 * Balmorra system
 * Hell
 * Mimban
 * Outer Rim
 * Kamino
 * Pastil system
 * Pastil
 * Tracking station
 * Rishi system
 * Rishi moon
 * Crater plain
 * Rishi station
 * Tibrin

Organizations and titles

 * Confederacy of Independent Systems
 * Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies
 * Galactic Republic
 * Grand Army of the Republic
 * 501st Legion
 * 224th
 * Mud-Jumpers
 * Clone Intelligence
 * Clone trooper captain
 * Clone trooper commander
 * Jedi General

Sentient species

 * Human
 * Kaleesh
 * Cyborg
 * Rattataki
 * Twi'lek

Vehicles and vessels

 * All Terrain Tactical Enforcer
 * C-9979 landing craft
 * Consular-class space cruiser
 * Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry
 * Lucrehulk-class battleship
 * Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship
 * Munificent-class star frigate
 * Nu-class attack shuttle
 * Obex
 * Separatist boarding craft
 * V-19 Torrent starfighter
 * Venator-class Star Destroyer
 * Resolute

Weapons and technology

 * Alert beacon
 * Droid attack flare
 * Blast door
 * Blaster
 * Blaster pistol
 * DC-17 hand blaster
 * Blaster rifle
 * Comlink
 * Communications system
 * Control
 * DC-15A blaster rifle
 * DC-15S blaster
 * Defensive shield
 * Detonator screen
 * E-5 blaster rifle
 * Electrobinoculars
 * Growth jar
 * Holoprojector
 * Kamino cloning chamber
 * Lightsaber
 * Long range sensor
 * Security camera
 * Vibroweapon
 * Vibroblade
 * Thermal detonator
 * Tibanna tank (fuel tank)
 * Vocabulator
 * Z-6 rotary blaster cannon

Miscellanea

 * Deck officer
 * Freezing cycle
 * HoloNet
 * Meteor shower
 * Regulation manual
 * Shinie
 * Sparky
 * Sun bonnet
 * Liquid tibanna ("LT")
 * Ventilation shaft
 * Work station

Behind the scenes
In the original showings of this episode on Cartoon Network, the word "Hell" was used as an expletive twice. During the replay on November 7, 2008, before Downfall of a Droid premiered, the word was censored. When broadcast in Canada, neither CTV nor the Space network censored it, however the series is rated 14A in Canada, roughly equivalent to PG-13.