The Curious Case of Captain Howzer and his Men [Theory]

«Howzer» was a clone who served as a Clone Captain in the Grand Army of the Republic and eventually as a captain in a battalion of the Imperial Army of the Galactic Empire, shortly after its formation in 19 BBY. Stationed on the planet Ryloth with his squad, he worked with Senator Orn Free Taa and the former Twi’lek Resistance leader General Cham Syndulla to help maintain peace on the planet. Howzer stood with Syndulla when he implored the former resistance members to trust the Empire’s protection. Later, the captain returned Cham’s daughter, Hera Syndulla, to the general after she was caught trespassing, choosing not to report the incident.

After Hera and two Twi’lek Resistance fighters were caught smuggling weapons, Howzer arrived after their arrest and helped oversee their transportation. However, Cham and some other Twi’lek militants intercepted their HCVw A9 turbo tank to rescue their comrades. They defeated Howzer’s forces and held the captain and his colleagues, Vice Admiral Rampart and Senator Taa, captive. Howzer advised against Cham killing Taa before Imperial reinforcements arrived and captured the Twi’leks excluding Hera. Rampart thus ordered the captain to find Hera.

With Hera having not been found, Howzer joined Rampart at Cham’s prison cell, where the admiral exchanged barbs with the general and his wife. Rampart then ordered the captain to round up the Syndullas’ supporters, although Howzer believed the arrests were unnecessary. Howzer soon joined the admiral for an address to the people of Ryloth. Not long after, the pair argued about the necessity of the arrests, as the captain feared an uprising. Howzer soon approached Cham’s cell and requested Hera’s location in order to protect her, only to be denied by Cham, who did not trust him.

The rogue elite clone unit known as the «Bad Batch» attacked Ryloth’s Imperial doonium refinery, and Rampart left Howzer to guard the capitol building in Ryloth’s capitol, Lessu. Members of the Bad Batch broke out Cham and his fighters, and Crosshair set a trap outside the capitol after suspecting their breakout. Howzer stopped Cham’s group from falling into the trap and confronted Crosshair’s troops instead, openly defying the Imperial occupation of Ryloth and inspiring some clones to join him. Crosshair had the rebellious clones arrested as a result.