Type II loadlifter droid

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"Type two load lifters were a fraud. They were repurposed demolition droids prone to violence."

―Ahsoka Tano^[src]

Type II loadlifter droids were a model of binary loadlifter in use during the Clone Wars. The loadlifter droids were repurposed demolition droids, and as such were prone to violence. They were often commissioned by unscrupulous individuals in the underworld of the planet Coruscant, such as Lokann, who hired Level 1313 resident Rafa Martez to construct three Type II loadlifters.

Martez's sister Trace and the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano helped to build the droids, but one droid was activated without its restraining bolt and its violent nature led it to rampage through the city streets. Trace Martez and Tano eventually managed to subdue the droid, while Rafa sold the loadlifters to Lokann regardless of their issues.

Characteristics

"It's been a while since I built a droid. But it's not too difficult, just more moving parts."
"Just make sure you affix the restraining bolt to that pile of moving parts before you punch the power cycle."
"Got one right here. What's your worry?"
"I've had my fair share of run-ins with droids. The majority are fine, but some are just cross-wired from the start. And this is no astromech."

―Trace Martez and Ahsoka Tano^[src]

LoadlifterRampage — As repurposed demolition droids, Type II loadlifters were prone to violence.

A fifth class^[2] model of binary loadlifter,^[1] Type II loadlifter droids were repurposed demolition droids, and as such were prone to violence. A restraining bolt could be affixed to the loadlifter droids to inhibit their violence^[3] and also remotely deactivate the droids, though the loadlifters could still possess violent tendencies even with a restraining bolt. The Type II loadlifter had gray plating and a red sensor, with a large, hunched form. The droids possessed two arms with three-clawed hands and bent legs.^[1]

Type II loadlifters communicated through low-pitched grunts. The droids had the strength to both climb walls and hang upside-down. A blue button on the loadlifter's face plate served to switch it on and off; when switched on, two lights on the droid's face lit up before its sensor activated. The droids could also be fitted with a tracking device.^[1]

History

Underworld commissions

"I've got three droids that need to be rebuilt. My business partner brokered a deal with a… a Rafa Martez."

―Lokann^[src]

Type II loadlifter droids were utilized during the time of the Galactic Republic,^[1] often commissioned by unscrupulous business types in the underworld of^[3] the planet^[4] Coruscant.^[3] During the Clone Wars^[1] in 19 BBY,^[5] the underworld resident Lokann, claiming to represent his business partner, commissioned the construction of three such droids from Rafa Martez, a laundromat owner on Coruscant's Level 1313 who often undertook illegal jobs. Martez had Lokann take the droids to the back of her establishment, where they were to be built by her sister Trace and the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who had recently become acquainted with Trace.^[1]

Type2Awakens — A Type II loadlifter activates without its restraining bolt.

Working from a holographic schematic of the Type II loadlifter, Martez and Tano successfully pieced together the three droids. Tano activated the first after placing a restraining bolt onto it, but the droid proceeded to attack her regardless, knocking down one of the other loadlifters before Tano shut down its power. The third droid, however, was powered on before Martez placed its restraining bolt, and the droid escaped, rampaging through the underworld streets.^[1]

Rampage on Coruscant

"I am not going to dismantle those droids. A deal is a deal."
"They could hurt someone."
"Honestly, not my problem."
"You don't know what those droids could be used for. They're dangerous. One tore apart the sector."

―Rafa Martez and Ahsoka Tano^[src]

TypeIILoadlifterPinned-GwaT — Martez and Tano caught the loadlifter droid after a chase through the underworld, eventually powering it down.

Martez and Tano chased the Type II loadlifter through the city, and the droid leapt off of a bridge, landing amidst a crowd below. The droid continued to run, damaging various items on the street and nearby airspeeders. Tano returned to collect the droid's tracking device, joining Martez aboard a fork lift to pursue the loadlifter. As the two neared the droid's location, it ran toward them and jumped over their speeder. Pursuing the droid, Martez caught it with the fork lift's claws. The droid was pinned against the ground, but attempted to climb a nearby wall, pulling the speeder with it.^[1]

Forced to let the droid free, Martez leapt from the vehicle onto its back. As the droid reached the top of the wall it was climbing, lunging out at two underworld residents, Martez managed to reach its face plate, deactivating the droid. However, the droid proceeded to fall off of the wall, and Tano used the fork lift to catch it and Martez as they fell. The speeder's tow cable was not strong enough to lift the droid, and so Tano discreetly used the Force to pull both it and Martez to safety. The two returned the droid to the workshop, where Rafa refused to dismantle the droids, selling the droids to Lokann for double the price despite the danger they posed.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The Type II loadlifter droid was first pictured in a trailer for the seventh season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, released on January 22, 2020.^[6] They later appeared in the fifth episode of the season, "Gone with a Trace,"^[1] which aired on March 20, 2020.^[7] While the episode identified the droids as "type two load lifters,"^[1] their formal designation was provided in an entry on the StarWars.com Databank.^[3]

TCWLoadlifterConcept — Concept art for an earlier iteration of the Type II loadlifter.

Concept art for the Type II loadlifter, titled "Industrial Droid A," was created by JP Balmet and published on the StarWars.com episode guide for "Gone with a Trace."^[8] David Le Merrer created a previous loadlifter droid design for The Clone Wars,^[9] which was used for a droid in the Star Wars: Forces of Destiny episode "The Padawan Path,"^[10] released on July 6, 2017.^[11]