4-LOM/Legends

"The case is inconclusive, but the processor doesn't appear to be at fault. The subject claims he committed crimes simply 'for love of money.'"

- Industrial Automaton investigators, after interviewing 4-LOM

4-LOM was an ambitious protocol droid who overwrote his own programming to embark on a life of crime. A LOM-series droid, 4-LOM's first assignment was aboard a luxury liner named the Kuari Princess, where he served as a translator between the vessel's wealthy passengers and its computer. He found this work mundane and undemanding, and after the Kuari Princess computer altered his programming, 4-LOM began to steal from his passengers. Eventually, he left the Kuari Princess for good, becoming an expert thief, information broker, and, after Jabba Desilijic Tiure altered his programming further, a highly successful bounty hunter.

Jabba paired 4-LOM with another hunter named Zuckuss, and together they claimed several high-profile bounties for the Hutt Cartel. Although 4-LOM had initially only partnered with Zuckuss in order to learn the Gand's intuitive findsman abilities, the two bonded, and the droid stayed loyal to Zuckuss after the Gand was critically injured during the Galactic Civil War. Desperate for the funds necessary to heal Zuckuss, they incurred the wrath of the Galactic Empire when they accepted a bounty on Nardix, an Imperial governor, though Darth Vader ignored this fact when he enlisted their aid during the hunt for Han Solo. 4-LOM and Zuckuss infiltrated the Rebel Alliance, hoping to kidnap Solo at the Rebel rendezvous point, though Boba Fett managed to capture the bounty before them.

After the Rebels healed Zuckuss, the two bounty hunters joined the Alliance, and attempted to rescue Han Solo from Boba Fett before the Mandalorian could deliver him to Jabba the Hutt. They failed utterly, though, and 4-LOM was left badly damaged. Zuckuss restored him, but had to perform a complete memory wipe to do so; the idealism that led the droid to join the Rebellion was gone, and 4-LOM no longer remembered his aspirations of achieving intuition and mastering the Force. He became a cold, calculating individual, and took bounties from unsavory employers such as Quaffug&mdash;he also left the Rebel Alliance and severed ties with Zuckuss. The two did perform one last hunt together, capturing Drawmas Sma'Da for a sizable sum of money, though from that point on, 4-LOM worked alone.

Early existence aboard the Kuari Princess
"I remember once living the way you describe life here: in safety and trusting others. But that was a long time ago."

- 4-LOM, thinking of the past

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 interpreter, 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 passengers' behavior and whims, as well as monitoring the safety of their belongings. 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 safeguard their valuables.

Initially as a sort of game to try and challenge his processors, the droid and the Kuari Princess 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 be stolen and to anticipate the actions of the thief. These conversations never strayed from being simply a means of 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 owners' own carelessness.

Just after 4-LOM persuaded 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 a careless being; 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 he 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 captain, while the real precious stone stayed in a black pouch that 4-LOM carried on his person at all times.

Master thief
"It started out as a game, a sort of simulation played between 4-LOM and the ship's computer, but it is believed that the two mechanicals somehow reprogrammed each other during the process. What started out as a game became a reality, as a rash of unexplained thefts began to occur all through the ship"

- Voren Na'al

Upon inspection, Dom Pricina immediately identified the sapphire as a fake and a frantic investigation took place. The perpetrator was never found and none considered 4-LOM, the ship's benevolent and passive protocol droid, as a possible suspect. 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 the ship 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 the planet, forbidding her to break it into smaller pieces so that buyers might afford it. He would collect his earnings whenever he traveled to the planet next.

4-LOM began to travel the galaxy, becoming a much-sought-after thief and information broker, though his programming prevented him from actually harming any sentient beings. Before long, he had come to the attention of Hutt crime lord 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 primary programming and allowed the droid to use violence, in exchange for 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 acquire this quality, though he initially made no breakthroughs. 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 by his peers as the "Uncanny One," a former Gand findsman who was a master of intuition. The two embarked on what would become a lucrative partnership.

The duo 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 almost became friends and 4-LOM began to capture more quarry than ever before.

Hunt for the Yavin Vassilika
"I have located what appears to be the Vassilika. Approaching to verify. Physical dimensions match historical descriptions&hellip;mass, material, and color are analogous. Warning. Presence detected and met with violent opposition&hellip;engaging&hellip;numbers increasing. Sustaining damage. Disengaging and falling ba&mdash;"

- 4-LOM, to Zuckuss and Sardu Sallowe, via comlink

The pair's success was so great that in 1 BBY they were hired by Embra the Hutt to find the fabled Yavin Vassilika. Embra and his fellow Hutts, Jabba and Malta, had begun a contest to see whose team could find the Vassilika first, and Embra chose 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and a mysterious Tusken Raider bounty hunter named Sardu Sallowe as his team. The job offered 4-LOM and his partner a great deal of money and prestige, though the droid was concerned about whom they might be racing against. Embra informed them that their opponents would include a team made up of Bossk, Dengar, and IG-88B, as well as another team consisting of Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. The Vassilika's location was unknown to everyone except for a partially insane old Human named Illyan Webble, who was suspected to be on the planet Kalkovak. The trio departed for Kalkovak, though 4-LOM was unsure of Sardu Sallowe's reliability. He voiced his concerns with Zuckuss, though the Gand told 4-LOM that he trusted Sallowe.

Due to the superior speed of their ship, 4-LOM and his companions arrived on Kalkovak before any of the other teams, and Sallowe's Jawa scouts began to search the area, providing the bounty hunters with constant updates. Their searches yielded no results, however, and not long after arriving on the planet, 4-LOM and his companions were informed by the Jawas that the other teams had arrived on Kalkovak but were now fleeing to another system. Webble had left for Dac, and once again, Embra's team of bounty hunters were the first to arrive at the Vagabond Registration Office, where they inquired about Webble's whereabouts. They learned that he had gone out into the open sea of Mon Calamari, and through Zuckuss's intuition, they knew roughly what direction he was headed.

After traveling through the Mon Calamari ocean for a time, 4-LOM and his companions found themselves trailing Han Solo's team, which was in a skiff several hundred meters ahead of them. In a confrontation on the Mon Calamari ocean, 4-LOM and Zuckuss destroyed Solo's skiff with an explosive placed by Sardu Sallowe. With no opponents nearby, they continued on towards Webble's location, finding his empty skiff lying dormant in the water; the old man had fallen into the water and was devoured by local sea creatures. Webble's memories had been recorded by an old cluster of mollusks known as the Knowledge Bank; Zuckuss was able to tap into the Knowledge Bank's memory, which provided them with the Vassilika's location: an uncharted jungle world located deep in Wild Space. 4-LOM and his fellows left for the world in their ship, well ahead of any of the other entrants in the race.

Upon arrival on the planet, the three bounty hunters climbed one of its mountain peaks, so that Zuckuss could find the spot where Webble had seen the Vassilika. Once they located it, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and Sallowe made a dash for the location, aware that the other teams would not be far behind them. They eventually reached a primitive settlement made up of villagers who spoke the language of the Thelvin Order of Barundi, whom they identified as the guardians of the Vassilika. 4-LOM's partners waited in the forest while he approached the Vassilika's location; the natives allowed him to walk through their village unhindered, and paid him no notice. 4-LOM soon reached the Vassilika's storage area and was able to confirm that it was the genuine Vassilika. When he attempted to grab hold of it, however, the villagers attacked him, damaging him with simple weaponry and stones. Unable to repair the extensive damage to his limbs, 4-LOM lay in a heap in one of the Barundi's huts, while Zuckuss and Sallowe fled to back to the bounty hunters' ship.

4-LOM was soon joined in the hut by Lando Calrissian and his team. The droid interrupted Lando's squabble with Han Solo to suggest they work together to get themselves out of the situation they were in. The Barundi were preparing a ritual execution of the intruders in several hours, and 4-LOM needed help if he wished to escape. Before they could agree to collaborate, however, Boba Fett hacked through the hut's wall and departed with Han Solo. The others escaped, leaving 4-LOM behind. Zuckuss eventually returned to his fallen comrade after successfully recovering the Vassilika on Yavin 4. He had been paid in full, as well as given an additional two hundred thousand credits to pay for 4-LOM's repairs; however, in order to capture the Vassilika the Gand had had to place bounties on Dengar and Bossk in order to sow confusion among the enemy. The partners were left starved of funds as they had to use the payment to pay for both 4-LOM's repairs and the bounties.

Later hunts
The two hunters did not embark on any further work with Sardu Sallowe, instead teaming up with Skorr and Furlag on a hunt for a mysterious Rebel agent named Kestrel. Skorr had been hired by the Empire, and had offered a cut of the reward to 4-LOM and Zuckuss for their assistance in tracking down Kestrel. They discovered that the Rebel was located in a spaceport on Ord Mantell, and made inroads to intercept her. Skorr was confident of their chances for success, and he promised 4-LOM and the other hunters even more riches when he realized that a wanted woman named Raleigh Dawn was among Kestrel's group. The Rebels were able to power up their ship, though, and despite 4-LOM's incessant blaster fire, they managed to escape the planet. The Imperial Security Bureau then announced that they were taking charge of the situation, much to the four bounty hunters' anger. 4-LOM and Zuckuss received no payment from Skorr, and were still in dire need of income.

The pair then began to take various low-paying jobs for Jabba in order to raise much-needed funds; just before the Battle of Yavin, they journeyed a bounty hunter working for the Hutt named Dyyz Nataz to the Komnor system. After completing the trip, they attended the funeral of Greedo, an unsuccessful Rodian bounty hunter. Greedo had participated for the Vassilika race of his own accord, though 4-LOM and the other top bounty hunters of the galaxy had little respect for him. After learning that he had been killed by Han Solo in Mos Eisley, though, they did come to respect him.

4-LOM and Zuckuss were given another opportunity to regain their status when Jabba ordered all the hunters in his employ to seek out and gather information on a rogue droid, 12-4C-41, which supposedly planned to kill the Hutt. 4-LOM and Zuckuss were keen to capture the bounty, which was located on Vactooine, but their ship was inoperable at the time. The two were frustrated at the turn of events, though they formulated a plan which would help them salvage something. An unidentified bounty hunter managed to find much information on 12-4C-41, and was returning it to Jabba; 4-LOM decided to ambush the hunter en route to Jabba's Palace. He and Zuckuss attacked their rival hunter, though the younger, more inexperienced mercenary managed to evade them and returned to Jabba to receive payment. Once again, Zuckuss and 4-LOM had embarrassingly failed to capture simple quarry and were nearly bankrupt.

Following their latest failure, 4-LOM and his partner took a break from working together, as Zuckuss wished to join the Bounty Hunters Guild, while the droid was content to remain with the Hutt Cartel. During the hunt for Emperor's Most Wanted, individuals from a list of bounties on high-ranking Rebel officials. 4-LOM was tracking hero of the battle of Yavin, Wedge Antilles. He managed to download Antilles' schedule for the next few days and proceeded to Tatooine, where in a cantina he approached another bounty hunter and offered him to capture the target together. Knowing Antilles' itinerary, the bounty hunters waited at shipyard of Corellian Engineering Corporation, which their objective was inspecting. As Antilles' landspeeder approached on schedule, 4-LOM crippled it with a sniper shot from his concussion rifle. Emerging from their cover, the bounty hunters aimed their weapons at disembarking passengers &mdash; several veteran Rogue Squadron pilots &mdash; and the firefight began. However, the ambush plan provided 4-LOM and his counterpart with an excellent position and surprise enough to swing the battle in their favor. The wounded pilots were forced into surrender and could do nothing, as their leader was captured by 4-LOM, who delivered him to Imperial authorities. The droid's companion went on to pursue the next bounty from the list, and 4-LOM put him in touch with Zuckuss to help with the next target.

Eventually, Zuckuss left the Guild to continue his career alongside 4-LOM, who was eager to continue his study of Zuckuss's meditation. Around this time, they scrapped their old ship, which had proved unreliable in the hunt for 12-4C-41, and had a new ship, the Mist Hunter, constructed at the Byblos Drive Yards. Financed by a consortium of Gand businessmen, the Mist Hunter proved effective as a bounty hunting vessel, and 4-LOM and his partner began to rack up numerous bounties in the period that followed. Their good luck brought them back in league with some of the other top bounty hunters, and the two were very confident of continued success. Their exploits continued for several years, and although 4-LOM had yet to master the art of intuition, he continued to observe and question Zuckuss during his meditation rituals. 4-LOM himself was highly regarded by many throughout the galaxy, particularly among droids. His fellow hunter IG-88B considered recruiting him into his Droid Revolution for a time, though eventually decided against it, fearing that someone as reckless as 4-LOM was likely to unravel IG-88B's carefully laid plans.

Hunt for the Millennium Falcon
"Darth Vader knows what Zuckuss and 4-LOM have done, but he does not care. The acquisitions he sends us to hunt matter more to him&mdash;to the Empire&mdash;than one hundred Governors Nardix: and the Empire needs our help. They know that. Zuckuss and 4-LOM are safe in accepting this contract and the Empire's credits, for now. But if success is not achieved&hellip;"

- Zuckuss discusses with 4-LOM the duo's assignment for Darth Vader

Things came crashing down on the two companions sometime later while they attempted to capture a routine bounty posted by Jabba. They chased down their quarry, a young Human female, into a dark alley; with nowhere to go, she began to struggle desperately, somehow removing Zuckuss's breathing apparatus. 4-LOM secured the acquisition before helping Zuckuss secure his mask, but it was too little, too late&mdash;the Gand had taken in several breaths of oxygen, severely damaging his lungs. The cost of an illegal pair of cloned lungs was astronomical, so 4-LOM and his injured friend were once again in dire need of funds.

The two began taking on as many bounties as they could possibly manage, though Zuckuss's condition meant he was able to contribute little towards each hunt. Gradually, 4-LOM had to perform more and more of the actual work and much of the extra funds they earned had to pay for Zuckuss's painkillers. To Zuckuss's surprise, 4-LOM decided to stay with his partner, despite the fact that he was actually a hindrance to the droid; the two had formed a close friendship and 4-LOM felt he was becoming increasingly close to learning intuition. They also had to be careful to hide Zuckuss's weakness from potential employers, partners, and rivals, who they knew would take advantage of the Gand's injuries. The pair were so desperate for revenue that they accepted a bounty from the Alliance to Restore the Republic for Imperial Governor Nardix, despite knowing that Imperial retribution would be likely if they were discovered. They captured Nardix, who was put on trial and executed by the Rebels, to the Empire's great embarrassment and anger. Though they were handsomely paid for capturing their quarry, they still did not have sufficient money to pay for replacement lungs.

When Darth Vader and the Empire sent out the call for bounty hunters to assist in the capture of Han Solo&mdash;now an ally of the Rebel Alliance&mdash;Jabba Desilijic Tiure ordered 4-LOM and Zuckuss to liaise with Vader in the Hoth system. The two were unsure whether or not the Empire knew of their involvement in the capture of Nardix, though they were unable to resist the possibility of capturing Solo and earning enough money to buy Zuckuss's replacement lungs, and so they traveled to Hoth in the Mist Hunter. Zuckuss meditated for the entire journey, hoping to discover if Vader knew of their accepting the bounty on Nardix, while an anxious 4-LOM prepared the ship for an immediate second hyperspace jump in case they were flying into a trap. Eventually, Zuckuss deduced that while Vader did know, he was willing to waive any punishment, as Solo was more important to him than handing out retribution to the bounty hunters.

The Mist Hunter entered realspace to unexpectedly find itself in the midst of a large battle. Eager to appease their Imperial employers, 4-LOM and his partner fired upon the first Rebel ship they encountered, the GR-75 medium transport Bright Hope, damaging it severely with one of Zuckuss's intuitive shots. They docked with the Executor, Vader's flagship, and Zuckuss injected himself with an abundance of painkillers so that none aboard would suspect his injuries. On the bridge of the Star Dreadnought, the duo learned that four other bounty hunters had been assigned to the hunt: their old foes Boba Fett, IG-88B, Bossk, and Dengar. As they departed the Super Star Destroyer, 4-LOM performed intuition for the first time: he was able to deduce that Vader was offering them one last chance to redeem themselves over the Nardix affair, without having to run any calculations whatsoever. Delighted, he made plans to practice intuition, and hoped to use it in the hunt for Han Solo.

When the two hunters returned to the Mist Hunter, Zuckuss predicted that Solo would travel to the Rebel rendezvous point; the Gand began meditating with the intention of learning the exact location of the rendezvous, while 4-LOM went to one of the ship's cells to attempt to meditate himself. He produced few results, though at one point the possibility of the Rebels setting up their rendezvous point outside the galaxy entered his mind. His logic programs, though, promptly discounted the possibility. The logic programs were supposed to prevent 4-LOM from thinking an illogical thought; only then did 4-LOM realize that to achieve intuition he had to override logic. He said nothing of his discovery to Zuckuss.

Zuckuss was able to precisely locate the Rebels' location using his findsman abilities several hours after their meeting with Vader. He learned that the Rebels had, remarkably, set their rendezvous point beyond the Galactic Rim. When Zuckuss discovered that 4-LOM had been attempting to perform intuition, he confronted the droid, accusing him of stealing the Gand's abilities. 4-LOM replied by telling Zuckuss that he did not wish to steal the Gand's intuition, but simply to learn it for himself. The two soon put their squabbling behind them as they went to work formulating a plan. They decided to ambush Solo at the rendezvous point, though knowing they would not be able to simply walk into the base uninvited, 4-LOM and his partner contrived to rescue one of the disabled Rebel transports around Hoth to appease the Rebels. They chose a damaged vessel named the Bright Hope&mdash;the very ship they had helped to disable on their entry to the system.

Joining the Rebellion
"There is another way, 4-LOM.''" "Tell me quickly, then." "''Zuckuss has meditated and he has had intuition about what will happen to us. We will not capture Organa or Skywalker. We will end up with a golden, bumbling droid and the two medical droids we brought here, and their bounties will not buy Zuckuss's lungs, nor will turning them over to the Empire clear our names. Both Rebels and Imperials&mdash;and the other bounty hunters&mdash;will hunt us. Zuckuss is sick, and will not survive without treatment. He has decided to stay here."

- Zuckuss persuades 4-LOM to join the Rebel Alliance with him

4-LOM devised a plan to take the two dozen or so Rebels aboard the ship with the highest bounties onto the Mist Hunter and to then transport them to the rendezvous point. They settled on taking twenty-six in total, as their ship could only provide oxygen for that number without affecting Zuckuss. Once there, they would capture Solo and cash in on his and the others' bounties with the Empire. The bounty hunters docked with the Bright Hope and 4-LOM went aboard to negotiate the "rescue" of several of its occupants. Things became complicated, however, when Toryn Farr, the leading figure among the ship's occupants, proposed an alternate rescue idea: Zuckuss would wear his ammonia suit, and the bounty hunters would transfer all of the passengers to their ship. 4-LOM was not dissuaded, though, and aggressively dragged Farr onto Mist Hunter, along with several other of the Rebels. The others resisted fiercely and some even began firing on 4-LOM. He took hostages and continued to transfer the beings onto his ship.

When 4-LOM returned to the bridge of the Mist Hunter, Zuckuss was furious at him for compromising any chances they had of convincing the Rebels that it was a real rescue attempt. He realized that their only option was to fill the ship with oxygen and allow all the Rebels passage to Darlyn Boda, where the Rebels could be treated in a medical institution. Toryn Farr agreed to travel with the two hunters to the rendezvous point after their trip to Darlyn Boda, where she promised the Rebellion would grow Zuckuss new lungs. 4-LOM reluctantly agreed to the idea, despite the fact that it would further delay their capture of Solo. They eventually arrived on Darlyn Boda&mdash;the very world from where 4-LOM had left his old existence behind and first embarked on a life on crime. Zuckuss's health had rapidly deteriorated, and in an act of kindness rare for the droid, 4-LOM decided to retrieve the Ankarres Sapphire from the old woman he had left it with, hoping its healing properties could help Zuckuss.

The woman had not sold the precious jewel and 4-LOM retrieved it, giving her one final use of its healing properties before he left. As a way of thanking her for minding it for so long, he allowed the woman to keep the profits she had made selling the droid's other items. The sapphire greatly diminished Zuckuss's injuries, and 4-LOM flew the Mist Hunter to the rendezvous point while Farr helped Zuckuss cope with his pain. When they reached the Alliance Fleet, Farr told her superiors of 4-LOM's kind actions, while Zuckuss was taken immediately to the medical wing. A Rebel general named Carlist Rieekan thanked 4-LOM profusely for his actions and offered him and his partner a place in the Rebellion, though 4-LOM decided to wait until Zuckuss was recovered until he made a decision. The bounty hunter droid realized that the respective Rebels he had so far encountered would offer him a goldmine in bounties, though with Zuckuss incapacitated, he had little choice but to wait for the Gand's surgery to be completed. During his stay on the Rebel ship, the Redemption, 4-LOM learned that Han Solo had already been captured by Boba Fett and that the Mandalorian was on his way to deliver Solo to Jabba the Hutt. Though disappointed, 4-LOM had a back up plan, which he estimated would make the Empire forgive him and his partner.

The droid had seen Rebel leaders Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker on the Rebel medical frigate, and proposed to Zuckuss that they kidnap the two Humans and present them to Darth Vader. Zuckuss refused to take any part in it as he was still hospital bound and he did not wish to repay the Rebels' kindness with subterfuge. Although 4-LOM knew his chances of capturing the two alone were slim, he decided to go ahead with his plan and requested that Zuckuss rendezvous with him at their ship at nighttime. 4-LOM would bring Organa and Skywalker.

Just before 4-LOM initiated his plan, though, Zuckuss backed out; he had foreseen that they would fail to capture Organa and Skywalker and instead end up with a golden protocol droid. The Rebellion, the Empire, and their fellow bounty hunters would vie for their blood and Zuckuss feared he would not survive. 4-LOM calculated that they had a ninety-eight percent chance of establishing the first Bounty Hunter Guild of the New Republic, though the two were interrupted by Toryn Farr before the droid could reply. Farr had been promoted to the rank of commander and wished to celebrate her appointment with 4-LOM and Zuckuss. The kindness and trust with which they were treated prompted 4-LOM and Zuckuss to join the Rebel Alliance, and they officially became part of the Alliance Special Forces. The Mist Hunter was refitted as a reconnaissance vessel with advanced technology, and the Rebellion theorized about 4-LOM and Zuckuss possibly rescuing Han Solo, either from Jabba's Palace or before his carbonite-encased body reached there. Meanwhile, 4-LOM kept up his meditation and was slowly proving to be more and more skilled at it. He saw many futures for himself, though one in particular intrigued him; in it, he was sitting with a group of Jedi Knights in a newly established academy. He was unsure whether he had already learned to use the Force or if he was still attempting to use it in the vision, though he had positive thoughts for the future. He told Zuckuss of his breakthroughs, and Luke Skywalker.

Rebel agent
"4-LOM! There is no point in further resistance!''" "''You're wrong Fett! I can still defeat you!"

- Boba Fett, with 4-LOM, before the droid was shot in the head

When Zuckuss finally recovered, the duo took a job working alongside several of their peers for Domina Tagge, as a means of establishing their cover as bounty hunters. Accompanied by Dengar, Bossk and IG-88C, 4-LOM provided protection for TaggeCo's operatives as they attempted to cause a Crimson Forever epidemic for both the Alliance and the Empire. On Domina Tagge's ship, they guarded Tagge as she interrogated Leia Organa and Lando Calrissian, though when Calrissian began brandishing his Crimson Fever-infected helmet, the bounty hunters all fled. Tagge's plot was foiled, but it was unimportant to 4-LOM and Zuckuss; the two bounty hunters had managed to conceal their allegiance with the Rebellion. 4-LOM and his partner joined up with a great many prominent bounty hunters who planned to ambush Boba Fett upon his arrival at Tatooine and claim Solo's bounty for themselves. 4-LOM and his partner's mission was to return Solo to the Rebellion, and they managed to keep their ulterior motives secret from Bossk and the others they had teamed up with.

Midway to Tatooine, Fett was ambushed by IG-88C and IG-88D, and although he managed to destroy the assassin droids' ships, the Mandalorian hunter had to stop off at Gall to repair the Slave I. Zuckuss and Bossk made arrangements to meet with Fett on Gall, while 4-LOM, Furlag, and several other bounty hunters forced entry into his ship and began moving Han Solo's carbonite-encased body. Fett, however, realized what Zuckuss and Bossk were planning and rushed back to his ship on a speeder bike. 4-LOM and his fellows engaged Fett, though the droid was shot in the chest by the Mandalorian. Fett killed the other bounty hunters, but 4-LOM was left in a heap, thought to be disabled. The droid was actually using a tracing signal so that Bossk and Zuckuss could find and intercept Fett's ship, which had left Gall and entered hyperspace. Meanwhile, 4-LOM made repairs to himself and left the cargo hold where he had been dumped.

When Zuckuss and Bossk arrived in the Hound's Tooth, Boba Fett realized that 4-LOM was sending them a signal, and chased him down one of Slave I corridors, until the droid was cornered. Fett fired on him from point blank range, dealing devastating damage, though the droid was able to destroy the power unit for the Slave I weapon systems. In retaliation, the armored bounty hunter shot 4-LOM in the head, irreparably damaging his verbobrain. Zuckuss, Bossk, and other cohorts engaged Fett, though he was able to fend them off and take Zuckuss prisoner. When he reached Tatooine, a host of other bounty hunters were waiting to intercept him and steal Solo for themselves. Fett devised a clever feint, fitting Zuckuss with a suit of his spare armor and chaining him to a speeder bike; 4-LOM was placed under a cover and connected to the bike, so that the saboteurs would believe that it was Fett and Solo speeding towards Jabba's Palace. Bossk and the others fell for the ruse and while they gave chase to 4-LOM and Zuckuss, Fett stole into Jabba's Palace unopposed and presented the Hutt with Solo's body.

Fett was paid in full by Jabba, while 4-LOM and his partner were left with nothing. 4-LOM's verbobrain was left extremely damaged and the only way Zuckuss could fully reactivate his companion was to perform a complete memory wipe. Only the droid's fourth degree programming, given to him by Jabba, remained intact, and the idealism that led him to join the Rebellion was forever gone. 4-LOM was now a cold, calculating hunter who felt little remorse, and the relationship he and Zuckuss had built up over the years no longer mattered to the droid. Though they did work together for a time, the droid no longer felt he needed a partner, and set out to pursue his career working solo; he and Zuckuss also severed ties with the Rebellion, though they did not formally leave the organization.

Working solo
"If I didn't need to offset the losses incurred in that botched affair with Boba Fett over Tatooine&hellip;you'd never catch me risking this&hellip;"

- 4-LOM, while working for Quaffug the Hutt



In order to repay Zuckuss the funds that the Gand had spent in repairing him, 4-LOM took a job working for Quaffug the Hutt on the moon of Blimph. Quaffug had managed to capture Lando Calrissian, and desperate to settle an old score with the former gambler, had arranged a competition whereby Calrissian had to escape the bounty hunters before they gunned him down. 4-LOM and his temporary partners, Bossk, Guchluk, and Dengar, gave Calrissian a head start, before beginning to chase him over the volcanic terrain of the moon. Calrissian managed to evade them, though, and reached an area of land controlled by the native Jokhalli. Although neither 4-LOM nor the other hunters wanted to enter Jokhalli territory, Quaffug offered them double their payment to continue their pursuit of Calrissian and 4-LOM had little choice but to comply. Their efforts failed miserably, however, as Calrissian was able to turn the Jokhalli to his side, and took the four mercenaries hostage. He and the natives led an attack on Quaffug's territory, though ultimately the Jokhalli turned on Calrissian and he was forced to flee. 4-LOM and the others were able to escape from their imprisonment and he continued to capture bounties for the Hutts.

Shortly after Jabba's death in 4 ABY, 4-LOM persuaded Zuckuss to team up with him one final time in an attempt to capture a gambler named Drawmas Sma'Da, though the droid only asked for his old partner's assistance because he knew he would be unable to capture the bounty alone. Sma'Da owned a number of casinos across the galaxy, where patrons could place bets on the ongoing results of the Galactic Civil War. The Empire deduced that he had access to Imperial sources, and placed a large bounty on his head; 4-LOM did not tell Zuckuss that it was an Imperial contract, as he was unsure of the Gand's current standing with the Rebels. Sma'Da frequented an upscale cantina owned by Salla C'airam, and the two hunters deduced that it was the only location that they would be able to successfully pull off the hunt. C'airam was very strict about bringing weapons into the cantina and had a policy of demanding that patrons hand over the power packs to their blasters upon entrance. 4-LOM and Zuckuss, however, found a way around this: the Gand carried in a powered-down blaster, while 4-LOM used his own modified power source to power the weapon. The two entered the cantina without incident and began the waiting game for Drawmas Sma'Da to arrive.

When Sma'Da entered, 4-LOM had Zuckuss approach him and held him at blaster point while the powered-down droid stayed in the background. Sma'Da did not take Zuckuss seriously, though, believing that the blaster pointed at him was without a power pack. His opinion on the matter changed drastically when Zuckuss fired a shot just centimeters away from his head. Zuckuss held the gambler hostage, ordering the cantina's staff to find a replacement power pack so that 4-LOM could be reactivated. With his systems fully powered, 4-LOM helped Zuckuss usher Sma'Da out of the establishment; the proprietor, Salla C'airam, told Zuckuss and 4-LOM that they were forever barred from his cantina, though they were allowed to bring Sma'Da to the Mist Hunter without any opposition. From there, they brought him to the nearest Imperial posting, and cashed in on the gambler's huge bounty.



Later existence
"Things aren't what they used to be.''" "''I wouldn't know. Your attitude implies a value judgment on your part. That is, that things were better at one time than they are now. I don't make those kinds of judgments. I merely deal with things as they are."

- Zuckuss gets a taste of the new, ruthless 4-LOM

The hunt for Sma'Da proved to be the last time the two worked together, though 4-LOM continued his bounty hunting career working alone. The droid's brief experience of intuition was eventually mentioned in an essay, titled Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena, written by Jedi Tam Azur-Jamin sometime after the Yuuzhan Vong War. 4-LOM's vision of being in the Jedi Academy never came to fruition. How his late career panned out was not widely documented, though it was known that Drawmas Sma'Da planned to enact his revenge on the duo who had delivered him to Emperor Palpatine.

4-LOM's career as a criminal caused a great deal of embarrassment for his manufacturers. Their rivals, Cybot Galactica, publicly stated that Industrial Automaton's shoddy workmanship was responsible for 4-LOM's actions, though Industrial Automaton was quick to pin the blame on the Kuari Princess computer. Regardless of who was to blame, 4-LOM's desertion was a public relations fiasco, and the LOM-series was scrapped not long after 4-LOM's time, making him one of the last models. A pilot named Starter bragged about having killed 4-LOM, Zuckuss, Bossk and other bounty hunters, though this was nothing more than an elaborate tall tale.

Equipment
"I would prefer it if you did not show any resistance. I have ways of enforcing my preferences."

- 4-LOM, speaking to one of his targets

4-LOM preferred to carry arms at all times and usually had several heavy weapons ready to use on unruly quarry or others in his way. His trademark weapon was a long Blastech W-90 concussion rifle &mdash;also called the LJ-90 &mdash;which he acquired shortly after teaming up with Zuckuss. The rifle was less accurate than the likes of the E-11 blaster rifle, but was far more suited to long range shooting with a fifty meter range. It required a blaster pack to operate, though the blaster pack had to be replaced after every twenty or so shots. 4-LOM also carried a simple blaster pistol and a stun gas blower with him for whenever he needed to take an acquisition alive.

During his career as a bounty hunter, 4-LOM used at least two ships. The first ship had a very fast hyperdrive which proved numerous times to be quicker than the Slave I and the Millennium Falcon during the race for the Yavin Vassilika. Eventually, though, the two hunters decided to purchase another ship; a consortium of wealthy Gand businessmen, impressed with the stories they had heard of Zuckuss's success, had a new ship constructed by Byblos Drive Yards. A fifteen meter G-1A transport, the vessel was a typical bounty hunter ship, though it was far smaller in size than their previous transport. It had a small, two person cockpit, with several acquisition cells and a decent-sized living quarters. Zuckuss kept the ship pumped full of ammonia so that he would not have to wear his cumbersome breathing suit. After they joined the Alliance Special Forces, 4-LOM and Zuckuss's ship was further modified by the Rebellion, with a sensor mask, tractor beam, and concealed weapons added to it. It was unknown who kept the ship after 4-LOM and Zuckuss parted ways, though it was often used to capture bounties for the New Republic.

4-LOM was equipped with a variety of droid features; some were retained from his original function as a protocol droid, while others were the result of his modifications at the hands of Jabba the Hutt, who gave him stronger body armor. His cranium contained a variety of sensors and other equipment, including photoreceptors, auditory sensors, a microwave emitter, vocabulator, a broad-band antenna receiver, a TranLang III Communicator module, an AA-1 VerboBrain, a servomotor, recharge couplings, powerbus cables, and an intermotor actuating coupling. 4-LOM was able to speak over four thousand languages, including Shyriiwook, Dosh, Huttese, Ryl, binary, and Galactic Basic Standard. 4-LOM was possessed of a high intellect and artificial intelligence and was able to provide odds on the outcome of nearly any situation, present or future; this, coupled with Zuckuss's findsman abilities, made for an effective bounty hunting team.

Characteristics
"I cannot take your intuition. I hope only to learn to be intuitive myself."

- 4-LOM reveals his lifelong ambition to Zuckuss

4-LOM was an incredibly ambitious being and spent the majority of his life trying to better equip himself for the job at hand. Through a flaw in his system, he sought to fill his life with challenges and continually altered and overrode his own programming so that he could "help" others. After leaving the Kuari Princess, he set his sights on learning the skill of intuition and partnered himself with Zuckuss. He was also very determined, spending a great many years studying and observing Zuckuss. When he did eventually learn to use intuition, he then decided to master the Force, despite knowing it was wholly illogical. When he set out a goal, 4-LOM did his utmost to achieve it, even at his own peril. During the botched attempt to snatch Han Solo from Boba Fett's ship, 4-LOM destroyed Fett's power supply so that Zuckuss might succeed in his assignment, despite knowing that Fett would likely fire on him in retaliation.

Both before his entrance into the criminal underworld and after, 4-LOM showed a sort of kindness rare for an emotionless droid. Serving as a steward aboard the Kuari Princess, he took great personal pride in helping out the passengers he served. After being altered by the ship's computer, though, he became contemptuous of these beings who had more wealth than sense, and he began to care less and less about their well-being. After becoming a bounty hunter, 4-LOM attempted to hide his kind nature from his peers, so as not to lose out on potential jobs, though he grew very close to Zuckuss. Rather than deserting him, 4-LOM aided the Gand immensely after he became ill, and the droid sacrificed a host of potentially lucrative bounties in order to stay with his partner. 4-LOM also showed much gratitude to the old woman who had safeguarded his stolen gemstones over the years, allowing her to keep his money.

After his severe damage at the hands of Boba Fett, 4-LOM became a cold, cruel, and heartless being. He no longer cared about his companions, and his only care was for profit. Whereas his past self would only take bounties that he deemed fair, the reactivated 4-LOM took bounties from unscrupulous employers, and cared little about who he was hunting; he trod on his previous allegiance to the Rebellion, attempting to capture one of its leading officers and working directly and knowingly for the Empire.

Behind the scenes
4-LOM was created for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, where he was played by Chris Parsons, who also played K-3PO. Unlike the other bounty hunters appearing in The Empire Strikes Back, 4-LOM did not appear in the movie's novel. 4-LOM was made from a variety of different parts of protocol droid costumes originally designed for C-3PO that the set designers of The Empire Strikes Back cobbled together. His name was reportedly an acronym for "for love of money." There was initially some confusion as to which character was 4-LOM and which was Zuckuss, as their Kenner action figures were produced with the names reversed. Eventually, it was decided that 4-LOM should be the droid, and Zuckuss the organic; Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back corrected this error.

Although he debuted in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, 4-LOM did not receive a proper backstory until 1989, with the publication of Galaxy Guide 3. This backstory was later fleshed out and expanded upon in Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM, appearing in Tales of the Bounty Hunters. He has since appeared in several other sources, most of them comics, with a varying personality. How the Other Half Hunts, an article in Star Wars Gamer 6, explained that his differing personality was because of his memory wipe after the events in Shadows of the Empire.

In Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, both 4-LOM and Zuckuss are seen fighting alongside IG-88 and Dengar on Cloud City. Because later canon established that 4-LOM was actually on his way to the Rebel rendezvous point during the events of The Empire Strikes Back, it can be assumed that this 4-LOM is in error or is perhaps just simply another droid of the same model.

In the online game Star Wars Galaxies, player characters can wear a costume of 4-LOM through the use of a holoshroud.

Appearances

 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale
 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale webstrip
 * Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
 * Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika
 * Rookies: Rendezvous
 * Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
 * Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars 42: The Empire Strikes Back: To Be a Jedi
 * Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * The Bounty Hunters: Scoundrel's Wages
 * Hard Merchandise
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * The Bounty Hunters: Scoundrel's Wages
 * Hard Merchandise

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
 * Tall Tales