BB-8

"Such a clever little droid."

- Agent Terex

BB-8, sometimes spelled and pronounced Beebee-Ate and nicknamed BB, was a BB-series astromech droid who operated approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor. It had a dome head, similar to that of R2 series astromech droids, with the bulk of its body made up of a ball on which the droid's head rolled. BB-8 was mostly white, with some silver and orange on its body, as well as a black photoreceptor. The droid belonged to Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, whom he accompanied during his flights on his T-70 X-wing starfighter.

New Republic service
A BB-series astromech droid who operated in 34 ABY, BB-8 became the companion of the New Republic Commander and flight leader of Rapier Squadron, Poe Dameron. During one of Rapier Squadron's routine patrols in the Mirrin sector, BB-8 and Poe's squadron responded to a distress message from the freighter Yissira Zyde, which had been boarded and hijacked by the First Order, a remnant of the Old Empire. Rapier Squadron failed to stop the First Order from escaping with the Yissira Zyde and its cargo of high-capacity charging areas. One of the Rapier pilots Muran was killed when the hyperspace wave generated by the Yissira Zyde slammed into his T-85 X-wing.

Despite receiving orders from Major Lonno Deso not to intervene, Poe Dameron decided to track down the Yissira Zyde. BB-8 accompanied Poe on an errant mission to pursue the First Order. Prior to departing on the mission, Poe got his fellow pilots Karé Kun and Iolo Arana to comlink their astromech droids to his starfighter and upload all telemetry from the Suraz engagement into BB-8. Using the combined data stored in BB-8, Poe decided to randomly visit the five places that the Yissira Zyde had traveled to. At the third stop, BB-8 picked the OR-Kappa-2722 star system. BB-8 squealed in fright when their ship exited hyperspace near a fleet of First Order Navy warships.

BB-8 managed to track down the stolen freighter to one of the Star Destroyers. Following a pursuit, Poe managed to escape into hyperspace and return to Mirrin Prime. Upon returning to the Mirrin Prime Republic base, BB-8 and Poe were detained by Shore police, who brought Poe before General Leia Organa, the leader of splinter faction of the New Republic military that monitored the activities of the First Order. BB-8 followed Dameron when he left the New Republic fleet and joined the Resistance. Poe was joined by Karé and Iolo.

Poe and his fellow pilots later undertook a secret mission to hijack Senator Erudo Ro-Kiintor's yacht Hevurion Grace in order to obtain data that he was planning to transmit to the First Order. BB-8 did not take part in the mission because Poe had to fly a vintage Z-95 Headhunter which lacked an astromech socket. As a result of the mission, the Resistance discovered that Ro-Kiintor was colluding with the First Order and the existence of the explorer Lor San Tekka, whom Leia believed could help them find her brother Luke Skywalker.

Mission to Ovanis
Following the events of Operation: Sabre Strike, General Organa assigned Poe Dameron on a secret operation to search for Lor San Tekka. BB-8 accompanied his master on this operation. They were joined by the Galactic Civil War veterans Temmin Wexley and L'ulo L'ampar, Karé Kun, and Jess Pava, whom Poe formed into a squadron called Black Squadron. For their first mission, Black Squadron traveled to the rocky world of Ovanis where Lor San Tekka had visited the Crèche a long time ago. While Poe talked with the Crèche elder, BB-8 discovered a tracker on Poe's T-70 X-wing starfighter. Poe realized that the First Order had learned of their mission and convinced the Crèche cultists to hide him and BB-8.

While the Crèche elder tried to distract Agent Terex and his stormtroopers, Poe and BB-8 hid with their starfighter in one of the smaller caves within the Cave of the Crèche. When Terex torched the Crèche egg, Poe surrendered himself and confronted Terex. After the Crèche egg hatched and released a large blue winged creature that attacked everyone, BB-8 stole Terex's blaster when Poe attacked him. Poe tried to force Terex to call off his forces from Ovanis but Terex fought back. The blue winged creature was then attacked and killed by a black winged creature. BB-8 managed to stun Terex with his electro-pod.

Poe managed to force Terex to call off his forces from Ovanis. BB-8 was present with Poe and the other Black Squadron pilots when Poe made the decision to release Terex and his surviving stormtroopers in order to avoid war between the New Republic and First Order. After the Crèche cultists departed for their new home on the back of the black winged Crèche creature, Black Squadron refueled their starfighters and departed into space. Once in space, Poe reassured BB-8 that the Crèche elder had told him where Lor San Tekka had gone when he had left Ovanis.

Mission to Megalox Beta
After returning to the Resistance base on D'Qar, Poe chatted with BB-8 about the First Order tracker on his ship. Poe reassured BB-8 that he believed that none of his fellow Black Squadron pilots were traitors. He also told BB-8 that General Organa had assigned C-3PO and his droid spy newtork to ferret out the spy. Poe told BB-8 to focus on flying straight and not to go "all droid detective." For their next mission, BB-8 accompanied Black Squadron to Megalox prison on the planet Megalox Beta. Poe planned to question the prisoner Grakkus about Lor San Tekka's whereabouts.

While Poe and the other pilots ventured into the prison, BB-8 and the other astromech droids O-R10N, R2-HA, and R4 stayed with their starfighters aboard the space station. After the mission was complicated by the presence of Terex, Poe instructed BB-8 and the droids to implement Operation Upside. To gain leverage over both Grakkus and Terex, Poe planned to use the droids to deactivate the space station's gravity field, which protected the prison from Megalox Beta's heavy gravity. Poe wanted to rescue Terex in order to obtain the information about Lor San Tekka.

Proceeding with their mission, the droids began accessing a control panel. When several prison guards arrived, they activated their rocket boosters. When R4's rocket booster's malfunctioned and crashed into a guard, the other droids were forced to knock out the guards. The four droids soon made their way to Deck Twelve but their presence was noticed by a security droid. The security droid crushed O-R10N and threw him down the bridge. BB-8 managed to fight the security droid and used his electric cable to electrocute the droid, short-circuiting it.

The three surviving droids were then able to deactivate the deflector shield, foiling Terex's plan to storm Grakkus' fortress with hired criminals. Black Squadron, who donned gravity belts, were able to rescue Grakkus and convinced Warden Luta to let them leave with the Hutt. BB-8 and the other droids then reunited with their pilots. BB-8 personally informed Jessika Pava about the loss of O-R10N. After leaving on their starships, BB-8 remotely reactivated the station's gravity field. When Terex attacked the space station and blasted several shuttles, Black Squadron turned around and attacked his ship Carrion Spike, forcing Terex to retreat. They then returned to the Resistance base.

Mission to Kaddak
Following the events on Megalox Beta, Poe suspected that he had a spy among their ranks and distrusted his fellow Black Squadron pilots. BB-8 stayed behind at the Resistance base on D'Qar while Poe undertook a solo mission to meet with the journalist Suralinda Javos, who had incriminating information on the First Order. While Poe was working out in the gym, he confided his suspicion that Terex had a spy among Black Squadron. Poe admitted he was sad and angry at Terex for sowing discord among his friends.

After General Organa assigned Poe to escort her spymaster C-3PO on a mission to recover a droid spy on the planet Kaddak, BB-8 accompanied Poe, C-3PO and the Resistance technician Oddy Muva, the only one whom Poe trusted. They traveled to Kaddak in a freighter to avoid drawing attention. Unknown to everyone else, Oddy Muva had been blackmailed by Agent Terex into spying on Black Squadron. Terex had taken Oddy's wife Sowa Chuan hostage.

On Kaddak, BB-8 and the others headed to a cantina on the Sliver's Level 45. When the group encountered a mouse droid, BB-8 allowed the droid to access his terminal while C-3PO explained that the mouse droid had found that their spy droid had been captured by the Ranc gang. The group traveled to the Ranc gang's headquarters where the gangsters stunned Poe and surrounded the rest of the part. However, C-3PO turned the tables on the gangsters by activating his hidden spy droids. As a result, they were able to rescue the spy droid N1-ZX, a BX-series droid commando. N1-ZX refused to give the information until he had safely been delivered back to the Resistance base.

Heading back to the freighter, the group were pursued by locals who wanted to collect Terex's bounty on Poe. They were separated from Oddy Muva but managed to return to the freighter. The droids and Poe traveled in Poe's T-70 X-wing Black One; with BB-8 sitting in his astromech socket and the other droids residing in storage compartments built into the ship's S-foils. Oddy Muva meanwhile stowed aboard Terex's ship Carrion Spike, intent on rescuing his wife Sowa Chuan and breaking Terex's grip on his life.

During the journey, BB-8 and C-3PO listened as Poe voiced his suspicion that Oddy Muva was Terex's spy and that the information that N1-ZX was carrying was a ploy by Terex to find the Resistance base. Poe dropped out of hyperspace above a desert planet to test the latter theory. As expected, Terex's ship Carrion Spike and a fleet of Ranc gang "Uglies" appeared. Poe's X-wing was shot down and crashed on the desert planet.

BB-8 and his comrades managed to evade Terex's Uglies by fleeing into a cave. Once inside, BB-8 sought to delay Terex and his landing party by attaching himself to a stalactite. When Terex and his gang arrived, BB-8 collapsed a stalactite on top of the group. BB-8 used his cable to dodge the gangsters' blasters. Terex however recognized BB-8 from their encounter on Ovanis and shot down the cable holding the droid. BB-8 fell much to the distress of Poe and C-3PO.

Later, BB-8 resurfaced and electrocuted Terex before he could kill Poe during in a confrontation in the cave. Poe thanked BB-8 for saving his life and patted him. Meanwhile, Oddy Muva managed to free his wife Sowa and the slaves aboard the Carrion Spike. Poe's Black Squadron comrades arrived and fought with the Ranc gang fleet. Despite the death of L'ulo, the squadron managed to provide covering fire for Oddy's escape pods to land on the desert planet. Terex's criminal fleet was wiped out by a First Order fleet led by Commander Malarus. Malarus had been dispatched to apprehend Terex for insubordination. BB-8 was present when Poe handed Terex to Commander Malarus.

Meeting Kazuda
"I know, BB-8. I can't believe the kid's still in one piece. This TIE's a real ace, but I'll take care of him."

- Poe Dameron, to BB-8

After accompanying Dameron on many missions for the Resistance, six months prior to the conflict with the First Order, Poe and BB-8 found Kazuda Xiono, a young New Republic X-wing pilot, squaring off against the First Order TIE pilot Major Elrik Vonreg, who had ambushed him and his companions while they were transferring critical information from the New Republic to the Resistance. Struck by Kazuda's bravery and skill, Poe instructed Kazuda to work as a spy on the Colossus refueling station on the planet Castilon, and also loaned BB-8 out to him.

After arriving on Castilon, Kazuda and BB-8 met some of the Colossus' residents, including mechanics Jarek Yeager and Tamara Ryvora, the Nikto Neeku Vozo, the pilot Torra Doza, and the shop owners Flix and Orka. BB-8 assisted Kazuda in repairing the broken ship the Fireball, which Kazuda planned to use for racing. He also assisted Kazuda in getting accustomed to life in this unfamiliar area.

The "triple dark" storm
"Keep an eye on this kid, BB-8. I think he's capable of big things."

- Poe Dameron, to BB-8 on Kazuda Xiono

On one occasion, BB-8 saved Kaz from being accosted by the Aleena criminal Grevel and two Snivvians. After escaping these thugs, the two visited Flix and Orka's Office of Acquisitions where Kaz obtained a CX-19 compressor. When the pirate Kragan Gorr's Warbird gang raided the Colossus during a Triple dark storm, BB-8 used his grappling line to pull Kaz and Grevel to safety. Later, the droid helped retrieve the pirate agent Hallion Nark's comlink, which Kaz used to jam the pirates' transmissions.

Rucklin's web
BB-8 remained by Kaz's side during his brief friendship with the racer Jace Rucklin. While Kaz was won over by the easy-going Rucklin, BB-8 was suspicious of Rucklin. His suspicions were proven when Rucklin took advantage of Yeager's friendship to steal a container of hyperfuel from Yeager. BB-8 later used his grappling line to pull Xiono and Rucklin to safety after Rucklin's racer exploded and crashed into the sea.

Kaz's backup
BB-8 later accompanied Xiono and his colleague Ryvora into Doza Tower, the residence of the Doza family and the elite Ace Squadron. Their visit coincided with the arrival of a First Order delegation headed by Major Vonreg seeking to convince Captain Imanuel Doza to accept a First Order presence on the Colossus. Kaz managed to plant a comlink inside Doza's office but was spotted by First Order stormtroopers. Kaz fled onto the roof while being pursued by stormtroopers. BB-8 helped the spy to escape by opening a blast door.

Orphans of Tehar
BB-8 also accompanied Kaz and Neeku during their search for Kel and Eila, two orphans from Tehar who had a bounty placed on their heads by the First Order. With the help of the Chelidae engineers and mechanics who lived in the engineering deck, Kaz and his friends managed to locate the children. They learnt that the children were orphans who had survived a First Order massacre on Tehar. Kaz helped the children to hide from First Order forces led by Commander Pyre, who had come to capture or kill the children. The children found refuge among the Chelidae.

Danger in Sector Six
BB-8 accompanied Kaz on a "salvage run", which turned out to be training exercise with Poe Dameron. For that exercise, BB-8 flew in Dameron's X-wing while a second BB-8 unit CB-23 flew in Kaz's X-wing. While doing starfighter exercises, they responded to a distress call from a Darius G-class freighter in Sector six. While exploring the ship, BB-8 had friction with CB-23, who was jealous of BB-8. However, the two became friends after BB-8 drove a Kowakian monkey-lizard from CB-23.

After fighting off Kowakian monkey-lizards and a Kowakian ape-lizard, they managed to rescue a crew member named Synara San. Following a brief dogfight with pirate ships, they managed to return to Castilon safely where they were picked up by Yeager's Star Commuter 2000 shuttle. BB-8 accompanied Kaz back to Castilon and waved goodbye to CB-23. Unknown to everyone, Synara San was a member of Kragan Gorr's Warbird gang and became their spy on the Colossus.

A "goose chase"
Following BB-8 and Xiono's adventures in Sector six, Yeager sent BB-8 to find Xiono because he wanted to show him how to operate a targeting computer. BB-8 searched the Colossus marketplace before visiting Aunt Z's Tavern but found no sign of Xiono. The droid returned to Yeager's repair shop only to find Xiono working on the targeting computer. Xiono asked BB-8 to find Yeager, causing the droid to bow his head in exasperation.

The second pirate raid
Later, BB-8 helped Xiono, Vozo, and Ryvora repair a tracking computer for the Colossus' anti-air defense system as part of a job from Captain Doza. Since the Ace Squadron was escorting a supply convoy, Yeager's team had a few hours to repair the tracking computer. Since they lacked a CoMar Tri-Tracker chip, Yeager sent Xiono, Ryvora, and BB-8 to obtain one.

The trio first visited the Office of Acquisitions but the store lacked the supplies they needed. They then visited Synara San, who managed to salvage one from a sunken cruiser. Despite their efforts to maintain secrecy, Synara learnt that the Colossus' air defense system was down and alerted Kragan Gorr. Before they could repair the tracking computer, Warbird speeders and starfighters began attacking the Colossus.

Since Xiono and Ryvora had befriended Synara, Ryvora was worried about her friend's safety. Xiono sent BB-8 to accompany Ryvora to the loading docks while he helped Yeager to install the tracking computer in the anti-air defense system. Arriving at the docks, Ryvora fought off several pirates and managed to find Synara, who was holding herself well. Synara expressed gratitude that her friend had come to help her. Meanwhile, Xiono and Yeager managed to reactive the air defense system, forcing the pirates to retreat. While Ryvora trusted Synara, BB-8 had his doubts about her.

Mission to Jakku
"You take this. It's safer with you than it is with me. You get as far away from here as you can. Do you hear me? I'll come back for you! It will be alright."

- Poe Dameron, to BB-8

Poe later traveled to the Colossus to collect BB-8 for his upcoming mission the following day to Jakku. He went with his master to Tuanul on Jakku to meet with Lor San Tekka. While Dameron spoke to Tekka in his hut, BB-8 waited outside and saw four First Order Atmospheric Assault Landers approach. He then alerted his master of the Order's arrival, so Tekka handed Dameron a memory drive containing a map to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's location. BB-8 and Dameron then fled to their T-70 X-wing starfighter, but before they could escape, stormtroopers disabled its engines. Unable to escape, Dameron gave BB-8 the map and an order to get as far away as possible, which BB-8 did.

On the Run
"It's easy, buddy. You do good things, and good things will come back to you."

- Poe Dameron to BB-8

With BB-8's tracking mode disabled prior to landing on Jakku, the droid had no choice but to find his own way through the desert alone, presuming his master dead and the success of the mission resting solely on him. Resting in a wreck for the night, BB-8 recalled how Poe Dameron had told him that good things happened to those who did good things for others.

Setting off across the desert the next morning, BB-8 encountered a Teedo begging for help in freeing his luggabeast from a sandpit. Remembering Poe's words begging who proceeded to capture him and feeling sorry for the two, BB-8 went to help. Unfortunately it was a ruse. Falling though a trap door hidden in the sand, BB-8 found himself trapped in an underground cell, where Teedo planned to keep him to disassemble him for his parts.

Inside the cell, BB-8 befriended Teedo's other prisoner, a large loading droid named F3-ZK. F3-ZK belonged to a droid ship on a scouting mission before he was captured. The ship would be leaving that afternoon. Using a loose panel in the cell's floor, BB-8 and F3-ZK tricked Teedo into falling into a hole allowing them to escape. However, that didn't hold Teedo for long, as he was able to pursue the two droids as they raced for the ship.

However, the droids had bigger problems when they encountered a flock of steelpeckers. Knowing BB-8 had an important mission, F3-ZK made the birds follow him, leaving BB-8 to continue to the ship alone. Along the way, he encountered a Aleena scavenger family. The mother begged BB-8 for help finding food for her two children. Remembering that there had been ration packets in the wreck he'd spent the night in, BB-8 took them back to that wreck. Despite it being in the opposite direction of the droid ship, BB-8 hoped he could make it if he hurried.

Leaving the Aleenas with the rations, BB-8 went on his way again. En route, he found a happabore who'd injured its leg. Remembering that he had passed a wrecked medical ship with first aid supplies. However, going back for them would probably delay him enough that he would miss the droid ship's takeoff. However, the happabore's pain from its injuries made BB-8 decide to help anyways. Retrieving a medical kit, BB-8 bandaged the happabore's leg, receiving a lick and kiss from the grateful creature.

Despite all the delays, BB-8 made it to the droid ship just as it was ready to take off, as had F3-ZK, who had escaped the steelpeckers. Unfortunately, Teedo had also caught up with them and blocked the way. Remembering how F3-ZK had saved him from the steelpeckers, BB-8 ordered F3-ZK to leave on the ship while he ran out into the desert, leading Teedo with him. As the droid ship left Jakku, Teedo caught up with BB-8, capturing the little droid in a net. Dragged away by Teedo's luggabeast, BB-8 wondered why things had gone so wrong, despite him following Poe Dameron's advice.

Meeting Rey
"Yes, there's a lot of sand here. Beebee-Ate? Okay. Hello, Beebee-Ate. My name is Rey. No, just Rey. Look, you're not going to talk all night, are you? Because that won't work. You know how humans recharge. We don't plug in: We sleep. Good. Keep that in mind and we'll get along 'til morning."

- Rey to BB-8

BB-8 struggled to escape from Teedo's net. The commotion attracted the attention of scavenger, who intervened and convinced the Teedo to leave BB-8 alone. Straightening his bent antenna, although she wasn't able to completely fix it, the scavenger casually asking where he had come from. Claiming that that was classified, she didn't probe any further, then gave him directions to Niima Outpost.

However, BB-8 insisted on traveling with the scavenger. After protesting, she reluctantly relented, agreeing to let him stay for the evening before sending him on his way the next morning. Lead to the walker she used as a home, BB-8 introduced himself to the scavenger by name, who identified herself as "Rey." Unbeknownst to them, BB-8 had become the target of a determined search by the Resistance, the First Order and the galactic underworld.

The Nightwatcher Worm
"How did I find you? I'm just lucky, I guess. Unlike you, my little friend."

- Rey to BB-8

Shortly into their journey, BB-8 and Rey were followed by a nightwatcher worm seeking its next meal. The pair were pursued, with BB-8 being briefly swallowed by the worm and then spit out. Rey and BB-8 were then able to make it to Rey's walker. Seeing that the worm was just a creature trying to survive in the desert, just like them, Rey kindly gave it some spare scrap to eat instead. The worm took the scrap and peacefully left. BB-8 and Rey then went inside the walker to clean off the slime they had gotten on themselves. BB-8 spent the night in the walker quietly, save for being briefly "awakened" by Rey going out for some air after a nightmare.

Bandits
"Turns out you're quite a popular droid."

- Rey to BB-8

The next morning, Rey prepared to take BB-8 to Niima Outpost on her speeder; the settlement was the most likely place that anyone looking for BB-8 would go to. However, before they could start out, a glint of metal caught Rey's attention; Teedo had come back for BB-8 and he had brought two bandits with him as backup.

Fleeing on the bike with BB-8 in tow and Teedo's bandits in pursuit, Rey was able to force two of the bandits to crash into each other's speeder bikes in the Graveyard. Teedo wasn't so easy to shake off, though. At BB-8's suggestion, Rey piloted them to the nightwatcher worm's den in the bowls of a wrecked Star Destroyer. Parking the speeder, Rey and BB-8 waited as Teedo followed them in. Before the bandit could shoot them with a blaster, the worm surfaced, eating the bike. Thrown clear, Teedo fled. Thanking the worm, BB-8 and Rey continued on their way to the outpost.

Niima Outpost
"Plutt wants droid. We take droid. Female don't interfere''" "The droid is mine. I didn't sell him. Plutt knows that." "''You right. Plutt knows that. You didn't sell. So he take."

- Unkar Plutt's thugs and Rey

Reaching Niima, Rey assured BB-8 that he couldn't give up despite his master not being found right away, drawing a parallel to her own personal wait for her family to come back to Jakku. In the meantime, she had the little droid follow her while she went to sell salvage to Unkar Plutt. On the way, BB-8 caught Rey crying (thinking about her missing family), which the scavenger denied. BB-8 gently teased her about it all the way to Plutt's stand, by which point Rey herself was able to laugh at it, too.

When their turn at Plutt's stand arrived, the Crolute became interested and offered to buy BB-8; while tempted, Rey declined the offer, to Plutt's anger.

Immediately leaving Plutt's stand, Rey took BB-8 on a meandering course until they had put enough distance between them. Profusely thanking Rey for not selling him, BB-8's steady stream of chatter was interrupted by the young scavenger; she couldn't help him further if she didn't know what exactly he was waiting for. Thinking for a moment, BB-8 asked if he could trust her, earning an angry response from Rey at being asked that after all she had done for him since they met. Apologetic, BB-8 told her everything, about Poe, the Resistance, the First Order, and the destruction of the Sacred Village. His story was interrupted by a pair of thugs who had come to steal BB-8 for Unkar Plutt, who put him in a sack. Despite warning her not to interfere, Rey fought back.

Defeating the thugs, Rey helped BB-8 out of the sack. He immediately noticed a man nearby wearing Poe's jacket, prompting Rey to chase after the man, Finn. Knocking him over with a staff, Rey questioned Finn while BB-8 shocked him with one of his tools. Finn was finally explained that he had met and helped Dameron escape the Finalizer, but that Dameron had apparently perished during their crash, to BB-8's distress. Finn also claimed to be with the Resistance.

Just then, two stormtroopers noticed BB-8 and called in an airstrike. As two TIE fighters began firing at them, the three fugitives managed to board the Millennium Falcon. BB-8 hung on for the bumpy ride as Rey piloted the ship through the Graveyard until Finn could shoot the TIE fighters chasing them. Home free, the Falcon flew into space, leaving Jakku behind.

Journey to the Base
"You're ok. He's with the Resistance. He's going to get you home. We both will."

- Rey to BB-8

While in the Jakku system, Rey had to repair the Falcon, and asked Finn where the Resistance base was. Not knowing the answer, he admitted to BB-8 (but not to Rey) that he wasn't part of the Resistance and asked where the base was. After some consideration, BB-8 revealed the base's location in the Ileenium system. Just then, the Falcon was caught in a tractor beam and captured by a larger ship.

Aboard the Eravana
"Get below deck and stay there until I say so -- don't even think about taking the Falcon.''" "What about BB-8?" "''He stays with me -- until I get rid of the gang, then you can have him back and be on your way."

- Han Solo to Rey

Believing themselves to have been captured by the First Order, the three hid in a compartment, preparing to release gas to neutralize any boarding stormtroopers. Instead, they encountered Han Solo and Chewbacca, the Falcon’s former owners. Rey and Finn recognized Solo and Finn told him about BB-8's map, with the droid displaying the fragmented map in a hologram.

However, Solo and Chewbacca's current freighter, the Eravana, was boarded by members of the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub. While Rey and Finn hid, BB-8 remained with the famed smugglers as insurance, but this resulted in Guavian member Bala-Tik recognizing BB-8 and demanding Solo hand the droid over. But as Rey accidentally released the Eravana's cargo (three rathtars) and a firefight began, BB-8 fled with Solo and Chewbacca to the Millennium Falcon, where they met with Finn and Rey and escaped.

Takodana
"No, you can't. You have to go back. You're important. Much more so than I am. They'll help you to fulfill your mission, more than I ever could. I'm sorry"

- Rey to BB-8

Solo took Finn, Rey, and BB-8 to meet his old friend Maz Kanata at her castle on the planet Takodana. There, spies for both the Resistance and the First Order recognized the droid and alerted their organizations. BB-8 followed Rey into a basement room, where she found the lightsaber that had belonged to Luke Skywalker and his father Anakin before him. Upon touching it, she received a vision, which frightened her and caused her to run off into the woods.

BB-8 followed Rey until she stopped. He then asked her where they would go next. BB-8 had decided to stay with Rey permanently, despite her instances that he couldn't, being too important and being able to get help from the others in completing his mission. When they saw First Order ships streaking through the sky, they returned to find the castle under attack. Spotted by stormtroopers, Rey told BB-8 to go further into the woods, while she drew them away. When the battle was over, Rey had been captured by Kylo Ren. While a Resistance counter-attack forced the First Order to retreat, but with Rey having seen the map, Ren decided that they could get it out of her and would no longer need BB-8.

Solo, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB-8 were brought to the Resistance base on D'Qar by General Leia Organa. There, BB-8 eagerly was reunited with Poe, who had managed to survive the crash on Jakku. BB-8 also removed the cover off of R2-D2, hoping to get a response, but C-3PO explained that Artoo had been in low power mode since Master Luke had gone into exile. BB-8 wondered if Artoo had the rest of the map in his backup memory, to which Threepio replied that it was unlikely.

Battle of Starkiller Base
BB-8 accompanied Poe Dameron during the Battle of Starkiller Base, navigating for Poe in his custom X-Wing Black One. The X-wings would attack the base's thermal oscillator after the shields had been disabled by Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Finn, which could cause the charged weapon to become unstable and self-destruct. BB-8 flew with Dameron as he led the X-Wings on an initial attack on the oscillator, but it failed to do significant damage. After the first attack run, General Armitage Hux of the First Order ordered all TIE squadrons to attack. During the battle, over half of the Resistance's attack force was destroyed, and the X-Wings failed to do any significant damage to the thermal oscillator. However, Chewbacca detonated several explosives along the oscillator, providing Dameron with an opening. With less than a minute to spare, Poe and BB-8 flew down a trench to the regulator, squeezing through a very narrow opening into the regulator itself, where Poe fired several proton torpedoes into the infrastructure. The damage was enough to destroy the regulator, destabilizing the planet-weapon's core, ripping apart the surface and destroying the planet.

After the battle, the X-Wings returned to D'Qar, along with the Millennium Falcon carrying Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey, with Han Solo having been killed during the mission. Upon Rey's arrival, R2-D2 woke up from his low-power state. He revealed the map to Luke's location, with only one piece missing. BB-8 then projected its piece, fitting it into the hole in Artoo's map and revealing Luke's location: Ahch-To. Shortly before Rey's departure from D'Qar, BB-8 recorded Rey saying goodbye to Finn, who was in a coma, and that she would see him again before kissing him on the forehead. With the location discovered at last, BB-8 and the others bid farewell to Rey, Chewbacca, and Artoo as they set off to find the fabled Jedi.

Evacuation of D'Qar
"I've got a bad feeling about this!''" "''Happy beeps here, Buddy! Come on!"

- BB-8 and Poe

Shortly after returning from Starkiller Base, BB-8 was called into service with Dameron again when the First Order launched an attack against the Resistance Base on D'Qar. Facing down three Resurgent-class Star Destroyers and one Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought in the astromech slot of Black One, BB-8 remarked that he had a bad feeling about it, while Poe urged him to remain positive.

In order to stall for time, BB-8 patched Poe through to Hux on board the Finalizer, and activated the X-Wing's sub-light boosters, blasting the ship towards the dreadnought at high speed. When Black One's weapons systems went offline, preventing Poe from clearing out the dreadnought's surface cannons, BB-8 repaired the weapons systems by ramming his head into the faulty wiring, causing the droid to be briefly shocked.

After the attack on the Fulminatrix succeeded, Poe and BB-8 returned to the Resistance flagship Raddus, and BB-8 informed Poe that Finn was awake and wandering the halls of the Raddus. BB-8 was present on the Raddus ' bridge when the First Order fleet, led by the Supremacy, caught up with the Resistance fleet after tracking them through hyperspace.

BB-8 went ahead of Poe to prepare Black One to engage the fleet again, but Kylo Ren launched a pair of mag-pulse warheads from his TIE Silencer that destroyed Black One and the entire hangar bay. The blast knocked BB-8's head off of his body, but the droid managed to put himself back together.

Mission to Canto Bight
BB-8 accompanied Finn and Resistance maintenance worker Rose Tico in their mission to disable the First Order's hyperspace tracker. To do this, Finn and Rose planned to enlist the help of a Master Codebreaker on Cantonica who could get them onto the Supremacy.

At the Canto Bight Casino, the drunkard Dobbu Scay mistook BB-8 for a lugjack slot machine, and put several cantocoins into the droid's ports. When Finn and Rose were arrested for parking their shuttle illegally, Canto Bight police officers threw BB-8 out of the casino. BB-8 made his way to the Canto Bight police headquarters and located Finn and Rose's cell.

When the thief "DJ" opened every cell door in the facility, BB-8 managed to bind and gag several CBPD officers in the ensuing chaos. BB-8 soon met up with DJ. The two were confronted by prison guards, but BB-8 took one down by launching the cantocoins Scay had put inside him at the guard. When DJ attempted to collect the coins, BB-8 stopped him, and the two obtained the yacht Libertine, and used it to pick up Finn and Rose. BB-8 would claim that DJ stole the vessel, but DJ insisted that both of them were responsible for it.

Infiltrating the Supremacy
BB-8 joined Finn, Rose, and DJ aboard the Supremacy in the final stages of their mission. To disguise the droid, Finn placed a garbage receptacle on top of him. Though BB-8 attempted to blend in by imitating the noises made by MSE-6 series repair droids, the First Order BB-unit BB-9E saw through the rebels' subterfuge, and alerted the First Order to their presence. Finn, Rose, and DJ were apprehended, but BB-8 avoided capture.

When Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo sacrificed herself to save the Resistance, using the Raddus to ram the Supremacy at light speed, BB-8 took advantage of the confusion in the Supremacy hangar bay by hijacking an AT-ST walker and shooting many stormtroopers. BB-8 then used the walker to carry Finn and Rose to a Xi-class light shuttle that they used to join the remnant of the Resistance on the surface of Crait.

Crait and beyond
After their shuttle crashed in the decommissioned Rebel outpost on Crait, BB-8 shared a loving reunion with Poe. BB-8 performed an analysis of the outpost and learned that, save small natural openings, the only way in and out of the outpost was through the massive bunker door: an entrance now cut off by the advancing First Order.

However, BB-8, along with the rest of the Resistance followed Poe when he realized that the vulptices must have found an alternate way out of the base. They came to a wall of boulders too heavy to move by hand. BB-8 then witnessed as Rey, on the other side of the wall, used the Force to lift the boulders out of the way, allowing the Resistance to escape on the Falcon and survive another day.

On board the Falcon, BB-8 reunited with Rey, who told him that his antenna looked good.

Characteristics
"You're a true friend."

- Rey

A BB-series, BB-8 had a dome head, similar to that of R2 series astromech droids, with the bulk of its body made up of a dense, well-sealed ball on which the droid's head rolled. BB-8 was mostly white, with some orange and silver on its body, as well as a black photoreceptor.

Though BB-8's self-preservation protocols meant the droid was skittish and easily frightened, its experiences formed a strong loyalty subprogram. BB-8's manifest personality was, to his master and friend Poe Dameron, somewhat of an unpredictable one: while most droids were predictable to certain stereotypes (bossy, sullen, grumpy) within their respective programming, BB-8 was his own case, sometimes childlike, sometimes precocious. In fact, Dameron sometimes wondered if the droid daydreamed, even though that implied the absurd—that BB-8 had an active imagination. When communicating, BB-8 spoke in 27th generation droidspeak code, a compressed version of binary.

BB-8 was courageous and daring enough to put his existence on the line to aid his Resistance comrades. On one occasion, he used a cable to hang on to the top of a cave while he collapsed a stalactite on top of Agent Terex's Ranc gang. While BB-8 was shot down, he survived the fall and electrocuted Terex, saving Poe's life a third time.

Poe Dameron
BB-8 was loyal to his master Poe, who regarded him as a confidant. When Poe could not trust the rest of his squadron, he turned to BB-8 as a "sounding board." BB-8 knew how to operate a T-70 X-wing and was familiar with the model's design and accessories. BB-8 also knew how to fight. On two occasions, he helped Poe outsmart and disarm the First Order Agent Terex. BB-8 also played a supporting role in Poe's operations. On one occasion, he led the other astromech droids on a successful operation to disable Megalox Beta's gravity shields. BB-8 also outwitted and defeated a security droid during the course of the Megalox mission.

Kazuda Xiono
Poe placed BB-8 in charge of looking after the novice Resistance spy Kazuda Xiono during his mission aboard the Colossus platform. BB-8 looked after Xiono, saving him from danger on several occasions including falling overboard twice and escaping First Order stormtroopers.

CB-23
BB-8 and CB-23 initially had an antagonistic relationship. BB-8 feared that CB-23 was going to replace him as Poe Dameron's best friend while CB-23 had a "stuck-up" attitude towards BB-8. The two put aside their differences after BB-8 saved CB-23 from a Kowakian monkey-lizard. As a result of their adventures aboard a derelict Darius G-class freighter, BB-8 and CB-23 came to appreciate each other better and became friends.

Equipment
"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator..."

- Rey, to Kylo Ren

All of BB-8's equipment was stored within six swappable, circular tool-bay disks embedded in the ball, that could be replaced or upgraded with minimal reprogramming. Being an astromech droid, BB-8 had several features such as an arc welder, a welding torch. and a holoprojector. Like all BB units, he had a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator. His white-and-orange paint scheme was described by his master as being a "one-of-a-kind" design for his model.

BB-8 was also equipped with a grappling line which she used to rescue Xiono on a few occasions.

Behind the scenes
"They never cease to amaze me with what they’re able to come up with, you know? I said, 'How are you ever gonna top R2-D2, the most adorable droid in movie history?'"

- Mark Hamill on BB-8

BB-8 was first revealed in the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens on November 28, 2014. Its name was revealed by Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive trading card. The character was realized by the Pinewood Studios creature shop as a practical, functioning robot.

BB-8's name was chosen by Episode VII director J.J. Abrams because of the droid's round and bouncy look. Abrams also said, "I named him BB-8 because it was almost onomatopoeia. It was sort of how he looked to me, with the 8, obviously, and then the two B's." The name was conceived early in Episode VII's production and was one of the few that was never changed.

BB-8 is performed by Dave Chapman and Brian Herring. BB-8's voice includes digitally altered sounds created by actors Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz, who are credited as "BB-8 Vocal Consultants." The vocalizations were produced in post-production, with the crew deciding between beeps and voice.

Seven different BB-8 units were used in the making of Episode VII. Each was given its own nickname, such as "Bowling Ball" and "the Puppet." Another nickname for the droid was "Surly."

Non-canon appearances

 * Jakku Spy
 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
 * Jakku Spy
 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes