Mayday

Mayday was the name of a Clone Commander who was stationed on the icy planet Barton IV during the Imperial Era. By 18 BBY, he and CT-9904 "Crosshair" were tasked by Imperial Lieutenant Nolan with recovering Imperial supplies that had been stolen by local bandits. The mission ended up being unsuccessful but Crosshair refused to abandon his brother. In an attempt to save Mayday from the injuries he had sustained from an avalanche, Crosshair brought him back to the planet's Imperial depot, despite the freezing conditions they both had to endure. However, Mayday was denied medical support by Nolan and died in front of a helpless Crosshair, an act which caused Crosshair to desert from the Empire.^[3]

Biography

Assigned to Barton IV

Mayday was born on^[1] the extragalactic^[5] planet Kamino, as a genetic clone of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, and as such was enlisted into Galactic Republic service, as a clone trooper^[1] and Clone Commander^[6] in their ground forces, fighting for them in the Clone Wars against the Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[1] Dedicated to serving as a Republic soldier,^[6] in 19 BBY,^[7] Mayday and the other clone troopers received direct orders from Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. In accordance with Order 66^[8] and enforced by behavioral modification biochips,^[9] the clone army was commanded to exterminate the Jedi Order,^[8] as they were branded traitors to the Republic state. Not long after, the Clone Wars had abruptly ceased and the Republic was reorganized by the Chancellor into the Galactic Empire.^[10]

Following the transition, the clone troopers continued their military service with the Empire,^[3] as stormtroopers^[11] of the Imperial Army. Clone service was, however, to be eventually retired with a cost-effective military^[3] of conscripted soldiers,^[10] formed from the passing of the Defense Recruitment Bill in the Imperial Senate.^[12] Although clones were gradually being replaced, Mayday was dispatched with a squad of troopers to the snow-covered planet Barton IV, to defend a critical supply depot and secure storage of important shipments, crucial to the Imperial Military. Attacked continuously by local raiders, the commander filed requests for equipment such as replacement sensor beacons, as they had degraded in the planetary conditions and he had presumed the raiders were bypassing them. With all of his requests going unanswered by the Empire, still ordered to protect the cargo unwaveringly, Mayday was forced to improvise in certain situations against the raiders.^[3]

Arrival of reinforcements

A year into his assignment,^[2] the attacks from the raiders had begun to progress, with recent ambushes catching the Imperial troopers off-guard. Left with only himself and two other troopers—Hexx and Veetch—and memorializing the fallen with their helmets, Mayday transmitted a request for reinforcements on Barton IV. After thirty-six rotations had passed on the ice-covered world, Imperial Lieutenant Nolan was dispatched from the capital planet Coruscant with four clone troopers to assist Mayday, one of whom was clone commando CT-9904. Though the quarry remained in Imperial possession, Nolan declared^[3] his^[13] displeasure with Mayday's failures in defending the depot and his command over the operation, while the clone commander revealed that most his troopers were killed as well as expressing his irritation over the lieutenant's late arrival without a notice.^[3]

Sending Hexx and Veetch to get the lieutenant situated, Mayday remained to acquaint himself with Crosshair by speaking of his annoyance of Nolan, the latter of whom explained^[3] he^[13] knew the officer for about two hours. Both revealing their names to each other, the two left the depot to give Crosshair the lay of the land. Mayday told his assignment on Barton IV protecting the cargo for the past year, and had hoped its off-world transportation would allow he and his squad to leave. Asking who was attacking the depot and the contents of the crates, finding out that it had been local raiders supposedly bypassing the degraded sensors, Mayday explained that it was above his pay grade to view the cargo. Telling Crosshair to be paired if scouting and to not travel far, as the temperatures or inhabitants would kill him, Veetch contacted the commander that raiders were attacking from within the depot's perimeters.^[3]

Heading to the west while Crosshair took the east, wanting to flank the raiders, Veetch reported that Hexx had been killed and that three raiders were approaching the shuttle. Blowing up the shuttle and killing Veetch in the explosion, the raiders departed with a snow skiff carrying two cargo shipments onto the western ridge, while Crosshair pursued an injured one himself. Entering a dug-in cave, Mayday came up behind and believed the attackers had fled into the mountains until he realized they used the cave to bypass the Imperial defenses. Honoring the two deceased troopers, with only himself remaining from his squad, Nolan ordered Mayday to send Hexx and Veetch to retrieve the stolen cargo when the commander revealed they were killed in the attack, and that they lacked manpower and equipment for a retrieval mission beyond the perimeter. Asking for Nolan's troopers for the mission, the lieutenant disagreed and ordered Mayday and Crosshair to recover the cargo themselves.^[3]

Tracking the cargo

Following the blood trail left from one of the raiders, Crosshair and Mayday entered a cave system. While traversing the caves, Crosshair stepped on a pressure mine, but Mayday assured him that it could be disabled before it exploded. As he worked on disarming the mine, Mayday expressed his dissatisfaction with the Empire's treatment of the clones, and considered the mission to guard the depot and its cargo to be menial. After disarming the mine, the duo came across the raiders' camp. After silently taking out two sentries, the two Imperials opened fire on the camp as the raiders were gathered around a fire. After managing to dispatch the raiders, Mayday looked upon the stolen cargo and realized that it contained supplies for the ever-prevalent TK stormtroopers, who were intended to be the eventual replacements for clone stormtroopers after the passing of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill. Mayday expressed his shock that his squad had spent over a year protecting equipment that they could have worn, before reflecting on the sacrifices that the clones had made for both the former Republic and the Empire.^[3]

Before the supplies could be collected, however, an avalanche buried Crosshair and Mayday despite their attempt to flee. Crosshair quickly recovered and managed to dig Mayday, who was now weak and injured, out of the snow. Though Mayday told Crosshair to leave, the commando instead lifted the trooper out of the snow, and the two weakly started going back to the Imperial depot.^[3]

Death

As night fell, Crosshair and Mayday collapsed behind a rock and huddled together in an attempt to stay warm. Stranded, Mayday's condition worsened throughout the night. By morning, the blizzard had calmed, and Crosshair and Mayday approached the Imperial depot, now garrisoned entirely by TK stormtroopers. Upon noticing the arrival of the clones, Nolan denied Mayday medical attention despite Crosshair's pleas, as he believed it would be a waste of Imperial resources. As Mayday succumbed to his injuries and died in front of the two, Nolan proclaimed that the clone had fulfilled his service as a soldier to the Empire before he reminded Crosshair that, as a clone, he was expendable. Nolan further demanded that Crosshair return to work and threatened that the commando would meet a similar fate as Mayday. Angered, Crosshair shot and killed Nolan before falling unconscious as a group of TK stormtroopers rushed over to disarm him.^[3]

Legacy

At least six months later, Crosshair would return to Barton IV after escaping from Imperial imprisonment at Mount Tantiss on the planet Wayland and reuniting with his old squad, Clone Force 99. As his squad members searched the now-abandoned and partially buried depot for information regarding Tantiss, Crosshair came across Mayday's helmet, which had been discarded in a corner along with the helmets of his men. Crosshair picked up Mayday's helmet and stared at it wordlessly before placing it on a supply crate, after briefly pausing to look at his old friend's helmet once more, Crosshair picked up and arranged the helmets of Hexx and Veetch along with the other clone helmets, in an effort to recreate the small memorial that Mayday had previously set up for his deceased men.^[14]

Personality and traits

As a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, Mayday was a human male with tan skin, overgrown black hair, and brown eyes. As a clone trooper, he stood 1.83 meters tall. Though Mayday was loyal to the Galactic Empire, he considered the mission to guard the Imperial depot on Barton IV to be menial and was especially unsatisfied with the Empire's treatment of clones. Mayday cared greatly for the troopers under his command, and kept the helmets of his deceased squad mates displayed inside the Imperial depot.^[3]

Equipment

As a clone stormtrooper, Mayday was equipped with standard-issue Phase II clone trooper armor. After a year of being stationed on Barton IV, Mayday's armor was disheveled and supplemented with various fabrics to combat the weather conditions. He armed himself with a DC-15A blaster carbine, which was equipped with a glowrod. He also carried a small hammer to disarm pressure mines, which he learned despite lacking the proper equipment to do so.^[3]

Behind the scenes

As it can be unclear what real world terminology is "allowed" to be used as in-universe language within Star Wars material,^[15] Lore Advisor Pablo Hidalgo was unsure for a period of time as to whether Mayday could be given his name.^[16]

Appearances

• Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "The Outpost" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "The Return" (Armor only)

Sources

• This Week! in Star Wars From a Certain Point of View Cover Reveal, Star Wars Celebration LIVE!, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
• "Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season Two Companion" — Star Wars Insider 223
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
• Clone Commander Mayday in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references