Assassin droid/Legends



"Clarification: 'Assassin droid,' is such a crude term, master, reserved for durasteel drones uploaded with only the most archaic kill programs."

- An HK-50 droid, on Peragus

Assassin droids were droids constructed for the purpose of killing sentient beings.

History
When a crime lord, corrupt politician, or bounty hunter required an individual to be eliminated, they deployed or hired an assassin droid to execute their will. These droids generally performed with unflinching loyalty to their masters, but rogue assassin droids were not unknown. Since their missions generally required a far higher degree of independent skill, savvy, and judgment than normally possessed by simple war droids, their programming subroutines, circuitry, and memory cores were of correspondingly higher sophistication and quality.

Equipped with an array of weapons, assassin droids were also used as elite infantry when the need arose for skillful and quickly adaptable soldiers with unquestionable loyalty, as with the Confederacy assassin droids deployed during the Second Battle of Jabiim.

The Jin'ha also produced cortosis assassin droids for the Trade Federation prior to the Battle of Naboo.

The planet Caprioril was the site of the infamous assassin droid tragedy shortly before the fall of the Old Republic, in which a droid slaughtered 20,000 humanoids and aliens at a swoop arena in a massive explosion in order to assassinate Governor Amel Bakli. It was during the rise of the Galactic Empire that Emperor Palpatine ordered all assassin droids banned throughout the galaxy because of how they were constantly used against him and his forces.

Ten years after the Battle of Yavin, assassin droids flooded the market thanks to Lannik Racto, a small time crime lord on Coruscant, but his operation was ended by Jedi Jaden Korr. These assassin droid models featured hand energy weapons and a powerful nimbus of electricity that delivered a near fatal shock upon contact. The droids could not fire and maintain the nimbus at the same time however.

An inordinate number of assassin droids achieved sentient independence, including IG-88 and C-3PX. This is presumably due to the higher level of autonomy that is incorporated into an assassin droid's droid-"brain" processor design, since independence is a functional requirement. These droids with no masters typically fund their independent existences through the use of their innate abilities, plying their trade as bounty hunters.

Some assassin droids included HK-47, the HK-50 series, IG-88, ASN-121, 2-124, C-3PX, SCr-114, A77, and the Human Replica Droid Guri.

One year after the Battle of Geonosis, General Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Cestus to investigate production of the JK-13 droid line by Cestus Cybernetics. The JK-13 were also known as Jedi Killers among the criminal classes and possessed shields. The JK droids were sold for almost a year throughout the galaxy.

Listed in Peterson's Guide to Droids of the Republic, Vol. VII: The Great Corporate Expansion Era, the Tac-Spec Footman droids are considered legendary, among the deadliest personal service units ever created combining fanatical loyalty and an impressive kill ratio. These droids were both enormously expensive and a limited production run.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Hidden Past
 * Star Wars: DroidWorks
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars Republic: Honor and Duty
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando
 * Star Wars Republic: The Battle of Jabiim
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika
 * Star Wars: Lethal Alliance
 * Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
 * Payback: The Tale of Dengar
 * Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
 * The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett
 * Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever
 * Star Wars 71: Return to Stenos
 * Star Wars 72: Fool's Bounty
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Battle of the Bounty Hunters
 * A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett
 * The Mandalorian Armor
 * Star Wars 85: The Hero
 * Darksaber
 * Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
 * The Bounty Hunters: Kenix Kil
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Kenobi's Blade
 * Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth