3B6-RA-7

3B6-RA-7, nicknamed "Threebee," was a personal-assistant droid that worked as a spy, care-giver, and farmhand, serving masters as diverse as Grand Moff Dunhausen and the moisture farmer Sholh Dorr. Originally in the possession of the Imperial Security Bureau, 3B6-RA-7 was programmed to work as a protocol and spy droid simultaneously, resulting in mass incompetence while fulfilling the former duties. Hoping to keep tabs on the Grand Moff, the Bureau presented the droid to Dunhausen, who quickly tired of 3B6-RA-7's ineptitude. Rumors about the RA-7 line being used as spies persisted, and soon enough Dunhausen sought to dispose of the droid.

On Tatooine, 3B6-RA-7 was captured by the Jawa Jek Nkik, and constant attempts were made to sell him off to the customers of the scavenger race. The attempts failed, and 3B6-RA-7 would become a mainstay of Nebit's sandcrawler, deriding and mocking any newcomers the Jawas managed to steal. Eventually, he was sold to aging farmer Sholh Dorr at the annual Droidfest. Over time, 3B6-RA-7 began to genuinely care for Dorr, but was nonetheless passed on once more, when the farmer decided to sell him at Eport. By that stage, 3B6-RA-7 was a collectors' item, since most of the other droids of his make had been destroyed at Yavin, when the Death Star had been destroyed.

Imperial service
Initially in the possession of the Imperial Security Bureau, 3B6-RA-7, much like fellow RA-7 unit 5D6-RA-7, was programmed to serve as a spy. To mask his true purpose, the droid was made to appear incompetent and clumsy. His programming was intentionally overtaxed by having to deal with both spy and protocol duties. 3B6-RA-7 was presented to Grand Moff Dunhausen as a "gift" by the Bureau, so they would be able to keep tabs on the governor. The droid served Dunhausen as a personal assistant, though his tendency to forget important engagements and his inability to record certain dictations exasperated the governor. Stories of the RA-7 model's inadequacy spread throughout the ranks of Dunhausen's colleagues, coupled with the rumors that they were working as spy droids.

Hoping to get rid of the droid, Dunhausen took a "vacation" to Tatooine. 3B6-RA-7 was sent on errands to Mos Eisley, without any kind of guard or companionship whatsoever. Thirty minutes into his trip, the droid was attacked by Jek Nkik, a Jawa scavenger. Hit by a shot from Nkik's ion blaster, 3B6-RA-7 was stolen and taken to Nebit's sandcrawler. Realizing what Dunhausen had done, 3B6-RA-7 planned to contact the Bureau and report the governor, but Nkik removed the droid's data transmitter before he could do so.

Captive of the Jawas
In the possession of the Jawa scavengers, 3B6-RA-7's black shell was stripped back to its metallic undercoat to prevent overheating under Tatooine's twin suns. As time went by, the droid began to develop a bitter disposition, verbally abusing newcomers to the sandcrawler's hold. He would constantly be trotted out for sale by the Jawas, but his surly nature wound up costing the scavengers several profitable transactions. Eventually, the Jawas stopped putting him on display, instead opting to leave him in the sandcrawler when visiting the moisture farmers.

When Imperial stormtroopers attacked Nebit's sandcrawler and slaughtered the Jawas, 3B6-RA-7 had no remorse whatsoever. Much to his surprise, though, the troops were not in fact looking for him, but R2-D2 and C-3PO, who had recently been acquired and sold by Nebit. The droids were harboring top-secret information on an Imperial installation, which had earned them such attention from the Imperial armed forces.

Serving Sholh Dorr
Abandoned once more, 3B6-RA-7 was salvaged by another Jawa clan and sold off at the annual Droidfest. Sholh Dorr, an aging farmer, purchased the droid, and put him to use as a care-giver. Dorr had been injured in 22 BBY while trying to save Shmi Skywalker Lars from a clan of Tusken Raiders and, as a result, needed help around his farm.

Eventually, 3B6-RA-7 began to genuinely care for Dorr and came to consider the farm his true home. He looked forward to the day his program priority cycle would allow him to forget his past and provide Dorr with years of loyal servitude. Dorr, however, had other ideas. He saw 3B6-RA-7 as an investment&mdash;made all the more wise when, following the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star, RA-7s became collectors' items, since most of their number had been on board the battlestation. 3B6-RA-7 was subsequently sold on Eport at an auction for over a thousand times the price Dorr had originally paid.

Personality and programming
As with all droids of his make, 3B6-RA-7 had fifth-degree primary programming, giving him low intelligence and capability to do only menial tasks. At first, due to the duality of his programming, 3B6-RA-7 was startlingly incompetent as a protocol droid, failing to complete the simplest of tasks for Grand Moff Dunhausen. Despite this, he was aware enough to realize what was happening when Dunhausen abandoned him on Tatooine. His abandonment, subsequent capture, and deformation by the Jawas caused him to develop a surly and unpleasant demeanor, and as a result, 3B6-RA-7 would often verbally lash out at newcomers to the sandcrawler's hold. At first, the droid felt nothing toward sentients, as he had little sympathy for his temporary Jawa owners when they fell under Imperial guns. However, working for Sholh Dorr, 3B6-RA-7's attitude changed, and he began to have a true sense of purpose and belonging.

Features and functions
Insectoid in his chromium appearance, 3B6-RA-7 possessed broadband photoreceptors, a magnetic sensor, a vocoder sounding box, and a communications antenna that was accompanied by a data transmitter. In addition to that, he possessed an interface connection port and magnetic grip foot-plates. 3B6-RA-7 initially had dual roles as both a spy and a protocol droid, although his skills in the latter area suffered due to his multi-tasking. Later, he would find work as an assistant farmer and a care-giver, with whom the droid was far more content.

Behind the scenes
3B6-RA-7 first appeared in George Lucas' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as an unnamed droid in an early scene aboard the sandcrawler. The droid would later be identified as an "RA-7" unit in the "A New Hope Limited" set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. Several years later, the droid would be given the further identification of "3B6," and a backstory by Adrick Tolliver (writing as "TalonCard86") through the StarWars.com Hyperspace feature, "What's The Story?" Tolliver tied 3B6-RA-7's story into various elements from the Expanded Universe, such as Grand Moff Dunhausen and the Droidfest from the Jedi Prince series, Sholh Dorr from R. A. Salvatore's novelization of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Eport from the Star Wars Tales story, Outbid But Never Outgunned.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novelization
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope