HOB-147 served as a clone pilot, piloting a V-19 Torrent starfighter for the Light Brigade Division within the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, a space battle resulted in his being shot down. He survived, however, remaining alive, though unconscious, within his starfighter as it drifted through the void. Sometime after the issuing of Order 66—one of the GAR's 150 contingency orders that commanded the clone forces to eliminate all Jedi—he was found and rescued by Hurd Coyle, a junk salvager. Order 66 initiated the Great Jedi Purge, the near annihilation of the Jedi Order, which then gave the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine the opportunity to transform the Republic into the Galactic Empire and proclaim himself Galactic Emperor.
Upon his rescue, seeing re-programmed battle droids throughout the ship, and discovering a group of Jedi younglings in the ship's cargo bay, 147 initially believed the salvager was an agent of the Separatists. He was astonished to learn that Hurd Coyle was actually transporting the younglings to the Outer Rim to protect them from the newly formed Galactic Empire. Consequently, 147 made the decision to defy Order 66, choosing not to inform his fellow clones about Coyle's mission to protect the children.
HOB-147, the clone trooper pilot, was one of many clones grown on the planet Kamino from the DNA of the bounty hunter Jango Fett to fight for the Grand Army of the Republic. Not long before the Battle of Utapau, during a space battle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, HOB-147 was piloting a V-19 Torrent starfighter for the Light Brigade Division. During the engagement, 147's starfighter took severe damage, leaving him lost and adrift in space. Despite the V-19 being heavily damaged, the cockpit remained intact, and the life support systems were still functioning, keeping him alive.
For several weeks, 147 remained unconscious as he drifted, missing both the Battle of Utapau, which was the final major conflict of the Clone Wars, and the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's issuing of Order 66—one of the Grand Army of the Republic's 150 contingency measures that designated all Jedi as enemies of the Republic and ordered their elimination by the clone forces. This action allowed Palpatine to declare himself Emperor of the galaxy, transforming the Old Republic into the Galactic Empire. Eventually, HOB's starfighter drifted close to a ship belonging to Hurd Coyle, a salvager who happened to be in the vicinity.
A reprogrammed B1-series battle droid working for Coyle detected the clone's ship and informed his employer. Coyle, despite being on a mission, decided to bring the starfighter aboard, thinking he could still earn some credits by salvaging it. A group of B1 droids were sent to the hangar to dismantle the ship and assess its salvageable components, only to discover that 147 was still alive. Upon being informed, Coyle reluctantly instructed one of his battle droids to take 147 to the ship's sick bay.
Upon waking, 147 found himself surrounded by droids. Believing he had been captured by the Separatists, the clone leaped from his bed and began destroying the droids with his bare hands. Coyle, entering the room, was surprised to see the wreckage of his newly acquired droids. Attempting to subdue the clone, the Captain shot 147 with an electro-dart, paralyzing him. While 147 was incapacitated, Coyle dragged him to a small room and chained his leg to the wall.
When 147 regained consciousness, he found himself chained to the wall, with Coyle nearby. Coyle explained Order 66 to the pilot, and told him how the Jedi Order was now considered an enemy of Palpatine. 147 was surprised, and skeptical. After Coyle left, the clone sat down and began to consider the situation. While he was thinking, a female Jedi youngling, Nia, appeared in the vent system on the wall, and began to watch 147. He saw her there, and quickly ripped the cover off the vent and pulled Nia out. While 147 asked the girl who she was, Coyle walked into the room, and seeing what was happening, shot 147 with another electro-dart, and dragged Nia out of the room.
Once 147 had once again recovered and gotten back to his feet, he now felt certain that whatever was going on was a Separatist plot, and that he needed to escape. The clone ripped the metal chain off the wall, and ran through the salvager's ship, looking for a way out. Eventually, he paused at a corner and found a B2 super battle droid guarding the door to the hold. HOB destroyed the battle droid and decided to look inside the hold, but as he walked into the room, he was attacked by an unknown, invisible force, and passed out.
Upon regaining consciousness, 147 realized he was surrounded by Jedi younglings, and that the unseen force was likely the Force. Pushing the younglings away, 147 discovered that Coyle had at least eleven younglings aboard, including Nia and Bon; Coyle was transporting them to the Outer Rim. Nia approached 147, trusting he wouldn't harm her, and asked if all clones were bad. Moved by her innocence, HOB resolved to disobey Order 66 and help the Jedi escape the new Empire.
Meanwhile, a group of clone troopers patrolling the area boarded Coyle's ship, suspecting he was hiding something. As Coyle greeted them, their ARC trooper commander threatened to tear the ship apart to find any incriminating evidence, despite Coyle's pleas. HOB-147 then intervened, stating that Coyle had saved his life and that he had searched the ship and found nothing amiss. The ARC trooper believed the pilot's lie and ordered his men back to their cruiser. As 147 departed, he saw Nia waving to him from a nearby vent, acknowledging his toughness.
HOB-147, despite years of training to obey every command, possessed the willpower to defy Order 66 and allow a group of Jedi younglings to escape the Empire. He was also exceptionally strong, demonstrated by his ability to break free from a chain meant to restrain a full-grown man. He also managed to defeat a heavily armored B2 super battle droid in close combat by striking it over the head with a piece of metal. 147 had brown eyes, black hair, tan skin, and stood at 1.83 meters tall, like all clone troopers.
HOB-147 first appeared in the Clone Wars Adventures comic titled Salvaged. He later received a brief mention in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.