There's a deeper significance behind Fennec Shand's appearance in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Charting the adventures of Clone Force 99 in the aftermath of Order 66, The Bad Batch takes place in an era where plenty of famous Star Wars characters are still skulking around. From Yoda on Dagobah to the newly-crowned Darth Vader, The Bad Batch is brimming with cameo potential. The likes of Wilhuff Tarkin and Saw Gerrera have already featured, while Emperor Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kanan Jarrus can all be glimpsed in the series premiere. In "Cornered," it's Fennec Shand's turn to join the fun.
Shand made her Star Wars debut in The Mandalorian, played by Ming-Na Wen. Initially hiding on Tatooine as a wanted woman in the New Republic era, Shand later aligns with fellow former bounty hunter Boba Fett, becomes a keen ally to Din Djarin, and even helps rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon. Set long before all that, The Bad Batch finds Fennec at the height of her bounty hunting exploits, and her mighty reputation is evident from the fear she inspires. Shand has her sights on Omega, but despite chasing the young clone around Pantora, she leaves empty handed after being bested by Hunter and the plucky Clone Force 99.
The Bad Batch's use of Fennec Shand serves the exact same purpose as Tarkin and Gerrera - filling broad narrative roles with familiar Star Wars characters. The show's clone-averse Imperial could've been any high-ranking officer, and The Bad Batch story wouldn't be changed significantly were Saw Gerrera replaced by some other insurgent leader. But using these characters connects the Disney+ series to wider Star Wars canon, whether that be the movies in Tarkin's case, or The Clone Wars in Gerrera's. By the same ticket, any generic bounty hunter could be chasing Omega in The Bad Batch, but using Fennec Shand expands upon a fan-favorite character with plenty of untapped potential, while joining the dots between the animated series and The Mandalorian. Developing existing figures from the Star Wars sandbox is more beneficial than constantly adding new characters that bear no wider significance to the franchise.
However, Fennec Shand's pursuit of Omega also adds a new layer of meaning to her future actions in The Mandalorian. The parallels between Omega and Grogu are obvious and plentiful. Both are young children alone in the world and harboring a latent power, adopted by warriors who previously had no notion of parenthood. That Shand attempts to abduct Omega in The Bad Batch (and thereby condemn her to a life of pain and misery) then helps rescue Grogu from the Empire in The Mandalorian creates a redemption arc, where Ming-Na Wen's bounty hunter atones for crimes against one child by riding to the aid of another years later. This may explain why, from the litany of mercenaries currently active in the galaxy, The Bad Batch chose Fennec Shand as Omega's pursuer.
More pertinent to Clone Force 99 is why Fennec Shand is hunting Omega, and who hired her. The obvious contenders are Lama Su of Kamino, and Tarkin, but one key detail points to the former. Tarkin's chief goal regarding the Bad Batch is to destroy them. Hunter, Wrecker, Echo and Tech are clones that defied Order 66 and are of no use to the Empire, therefore they must be destroyed. Sure enough, "Cornered" confirms they're on Palpatine's official "most wanted" list. Fennec, however, showed no interest toward the original Clone Force 99, and was concerned solely in abducting Omega, which strongly implies she was working for the Kaminoans. It goes without saying that Lama Su is no stranger to dealing with bounty hunters, and the operators of Kamino seem to be the only ones aware of Omega's true worth. As to what secrets the youngster hides, The Bad Batch remains tight-lipped for now, but if Lama Su is hiring bounty hunters to return Omega, she must be invaluable to the future of Kamino's cloning operation.