User:AdmirableAckbar/bench

Early existence aboard the Kuari Princess
4-LOM was a LOM-series protocol droid, manufactured by Industrial Automaton for use by a variety of alien species. He was roughly Humanoid in build, with a head shaped to resemble that of the insectoid species he was expected to work with. Fluent in over seven million languages, 4-LOM was programmed to serve as an interpretor, valet, and Human-cyborg relations droid aboard a luxury passenger liner named the Kuari Princess. He was tasked with learning as much as he could about the passenger's behavior and whims, and monitoring passenger's belongings and whether or not they were safe. As he acted as a translator between the ship's central computer and its wealthy occupants, 4-LOM knew exactly where each passenger was and what they were doing at all times. He continued to carry out his duties as he had been programmed to do for a time, though, due to a kink in the droid's programming, he found the mundane tasks unchallenging, and became frustrated at the passengers' hapless attempts to safe guard their valuables.

Initially as a sort of game to try and challenge 4-LOM's processor, the droid and the Kuari Princess 's computer began to engage in a series of conversations in which they outlined scenarios whereby the safety of passengers' valuables was being threatened. 4-LOM decided it was his duty to analyze the ways an item of value could do stolen, and to anticipate the actions of the thief. These conversations never strayed from being simply entertainment until the two began to alter each others' programming. 4-LOM decided that he would begin to steal the passengers' valuables, so as to safeguard them from their owner's own carelessness.

Just after 4-LOM steeled himself to steal the passengers' items, an incredibly wealthy woman named Dom Pricina boarded the Kuari Princess, bringing with her the immensely valuable Ankarres Sapphire, a jewel fabled for its healing powers. Pricina was extremely careless; just days into her voyage, 4-LOM had already returned two items of jewelery to her, after she left them lying around the ship. The droid became increasingly concerned for the safety of the Ankarres Sapphire, which he reckoned was far too valuable and important to be left in the hands of one as incompetent as Dom Pricina. He calculated where and when the jewel was likely to be stolen, and had a false jewel, in which was embedded a tracking device, put in its place. Later that day, two Corellian thieves stole the replacement jewel; they were apprehended and imprisoned after the tracking device sounded an alarm. The imitation jewel was returned to Dom Pricina by the Kuari Princess 's captain, while the real precious stone stayed in a black pouch which 4-LOM carried on his person at all times.

Master thief
Upon inspection, Dom Pricina immediately identified the sapphire as a fake, and a frantic investigation took place. The perpetrator was never found, and no one thought to ask 4-LOM, the ship's benevolent and passive protocol droid. Part of 4-LOM reasoned that he should return the jewel to Pricina, though another part of him countered this, believing that it was far safer in the care of a droid. The Ankarres Sapphire intrigued 4-LOM, who spent a great deal of time studying it, and even touched it to his forehead, experimenting to see if it would heal him. As he had expected, it had no effect, though he kept it anyway. Over the course of several months, 4-LOM stole from dozens of passengers; he told himself it was for their own good, though in truth it excited and exhilarated him. His intelligence began to expand, and before long he became bored of the ease with which he was able to steal goods on the Kuari Princess. When the cruiser stopped on the world of Darlyn Boda, 4-LOM left it forever, sold most of the jewels he had stolen, and embarked on a life of crime. He gave the Ankarres Sapphire to an old woman running a pawn shop on Darlyn Boda, forbidding her to break it into smaller pieces. He would collect his earnings whenever next he traveled to the planet.

4-LOM became a much sought after thief and information broker, though his programming prevented him from actually harming any sentients. Before long, he had come to the attention of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, who realized that such an intelligent droid would make an excellent bounty hunter. The Hutt provided 4-LOM with a state of the art programming upgrade, which bypassed his programming and allowed the droid to use violence, in exchange for the his services as a bounty hunter. 4-LOM accepted, and became one of few droid bounty hunters in the galaxy. His intelligence was now supplemented by a desire to commit crime, and the only thing 4-LOM lacked was intuition. He made it his goal to achieve intuition, though he initially made no breakthrough. Jabba frequently placed 4-LOM in a bounty hunting team, usually partnering him with less intelligent and far more crude hunters, and 4-LOM reeled in many successful bounties. Eventually, Jabba suggested that 4-LOM team up with Zuckuss, known as the "Uncanny One," a former Gand findsman who was a master of intuition. The two embarked on what would become an extremely lucarative partnership.

The two combined their respective abilities&mdash;4-LOM's intellect and Zuckuss's findsman powers&mdash;to become one of the best bounty hunting teams in the galaxy. Jabba was particularly fond of the duo, though they were also known to work for the Galactic Empire, Embra the Hutt, TaggeCo, and others. During their time together, 4-LOM obsessed about discovering how to use intuition, and studied Zuckuss while he meditated. Initially, 4-LOM intended to work with Zuckuss only for as long as it took to master intuition, though the two eventually became close friends, and 4-LOM began to capture more quarry than ever before.

Appearances

 * Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika
 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale
 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale webstrip
 * Rookies: Rendezvous
 * Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
 * Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
 * Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * The Bounty Hunters: Scoundrel's Wages
 * Hard Merchandise
 * Tall Tales
 * Hard Merchandise
 * Tall Tales