4-8C

4-8C, achieving the rank of Grand Moff early in the Galactic Empire's history, held a place in the highly classified Imperial Redesign Team, a group of specialized agents tasked with the subjugation, and sometimes the elimination, of specific non-Human species. After his rapid promotion to Grand Moff, 4-8C acquired two older IG-series droids, IG-153 and IG-182, previously owned by Confederacy of Independent Systems General Grievous. Similar to Grievous, these two droids faithfully served 4-8C as bodyguards.

Driven by a desire to become a celebrated figure within the Empire, 4-8C began to develop a weapon designed to neutralize any opposition to Palpatine's New Order. He named his experiment "The Heart of Steel," and he recovered an old B-1 series protocol droid, B-1D4, and created what he believed was a highly sophisticated virus. This virus, when introduced to any computer in the galaxy, would force it to obey the carrier's commands. B-1D4 was programmed at a Redesign facility on Imperial Center to carry this virus and spread it to other computers via data link. Although the virus's effects were reversible, it had a 100% success rate of "infection" upon transfer and could not be overridden. In reality, 4-8C's virus was quite basic, but it was still effective. The project was conducted without the approval of anyone in Imperial High Command or Imperial Intelligence, and it is unlikely that even Palpatine was aware of it. Consequently, the project's secrecy was paramount for the Imperial Redesign Team, and research was confined strictly to its members. Despite this, some information brokers, like the elusive Phelon, knew of its existence.

However, 4-8C's plan went seriously wrong. Rebel Alliance forces attacked the Imperial cruiser transporting B-1D4. The Rebels decided not to salvage anything from the destroyed ship, which was fortunate for the Grand Moff, but a Skrilling merchant, Dilrath, came across the wreckage and recovered B-1D4. Upon learning of this, 4-8C took his ship, the Imperial state ship Zaker Besar, and the interrogator Burra Stone to Dilrath's vessel, hoping the merchant had kept the valuable droid. However, just hours before the Grand Moff's arrival, Dilrath had sold the droid to Captain Han Solo of the Millennium Falcon. Solo was a known Rebel sympathizer, which infuriated 4-8C. Arresting Dilrath, he ordered his men to destroy the Skrilling ship, eliminating all evidence of their presence. Before leaving, he received word that Kassihm's Pirates had captured the Falcon, and that Solo, with B-1D4, was in the Nikto pirate's custody on the M'hendosat. Realizing time was short, he raced to the M'hendosat's last known location.

Instead of finding the M'hendosat, 4-8C only found a field of debris. Fearing his painstaking research had been wasted, he ordered a scan of the area, which revealed nothing matching The Heart of Steel. The scan also indicated the Falcon had recently left the system, and that at least one escape pod had escaped the destruction. Assuming Solo and his companions had destroyed the M'hendosat, 4-8C had the escape pod picked up. Inside was Kassihm, former Captain of the M'hendosat. While Stone interrogated Kassihm and Dilrath, 4-8C constantly interrupted, desperate for answers and leads. As 4-8C resorted to waving a blaster in a victim's face, his modus operandi began to irritate Stone, who complained. 4-8C overruled him, however, and questioned each prisoner. Dilrath provided no information other than those who had destroyed the M'hendosat were likely the ones who had purchased B-1D4. Kassihm was much more helpful, confirming B-1D4 had been with the Rebels and offering to help apprehend Solo. Information from the Nikto's escape pod told 4-8C it had been headed for Dweem, and by logical deduction, the Falcon must have been headed there too.

After placing the Zaker Besar in orbit around Dweem, 4-8C had his men scan the planet for any trace of the Falcon. While the results were inconclusive, the Grand Moff believed Solo may have used Dweem's storms to hide his electromagnetic signature. Probes sent to sweep the planet found no trace of the Falcon, but did show a large power signature, possibly a generator for a base. Believing the Rebels may have been setting up their new base on Dweem, 4-8C had the Besar's AT-STs prepared for recon. 4-8C personally joined Stone and Kassihm on the planet surface, but their mission was fruitless, as the base was an abandoned Galactic Republic base defended by Iron Knights. Before escaping Dweem, however, the group encountered Dweemons: large, spydr-like creatures that blended into their environment. Despite this, 4-8C and his companions made it back to the Zaker Besar unharmed.

Enraged that the expedition on Dweem had been a wild bantha chase, 4-8C planned to kill Kassihm. However, the Nikto protested, claiming Solo did not expect any survivors from the destruction of the M'hendosat, and thus would not have attempted any deception. Realizing The Heart of Steel must have hijacked the Falcon, the Grand Moff surmised B-1D4 would return to Imperial Center, where she had served as a protocol droid for over a century, and also where The Heart of Steel virus was developed.

4-8C's assumption was correct, but the consequences of B-1D4's actions were more disastrous than he had imagined. The Heart of Steel had shut down Imperial Center's defenses, allowing Solo to elude capture. Despite this, Lord Darth Vader, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, had set a trap for Solo and his compatriots on Cheeyoom Matee, a local Rebel base where the Falcon had sought refuge. As a result the Rebels and B-1D4 were captured and thrown into Merakai prison.

Kassihm, devising a way to secure his own freedom, convinced 4-8C that B-1D4's presence in a Merakai prison could be quite disadvantageous for the Grand Moff; if the Merakai technicians started probing the droid's memory, they would discover 4-8C's unauthorized involvement. He offered to aid 4-8C in retrieving The Heart of Steel, as simply requesting it of the base commander would look suspicious. The Grand Moff accepted, accompanying Kassihm to ensure the pirate did not try and double-cross him. Stone also tagged along, in case Kassihm attempted to destroy the Grand Moff or The Heart of Steel.

Landing on Merakai in the Nikto ship Optitron, 4-8C was forced to don water wings for the operation. Along with Stone and Kassihm, he traveled through the planet's swamps, braving dangers such as bullet beetyls and sea slugs. Cutting through a grating, the group entered Merakai Prison through its sewage system and proceeded through the facility in their hunt for B-1D4. Choosing to masquerade as Imperial inspectors from the Department of Punishment, the group found the droid in the clutches of Merakai's droid torturer, who realized they were not, in fact, inspectors. With the prison alarms blaring, the group took the droid and freed all the prisoners, starting a substantial riot. Teaming up with Solo and his friends, they were able to get free of the prison walls and into a speeder. Solo protested and pursued, but a member of the Redesign team was able to convince him to flee. 4-8C's operation complete, the group returned to the Optitron.

Now that the mission was over, Kassihm knew 4-8C would kill him. Realizing his only path to salvation was joining the Alliance to Restore the Republic, he planned to turn the tables on the Grand Moff. Waiting until Stone was asleep in his stasis chamber, the Nikto retrieved a droid disabler he had stolen from the Merakai armory. While 4-8C was assessing the damage done to B-1D4, Kassihm crept up on him. Though the droid turned and drew a blaster with incredible speed, Kassihm was faster on the trigger. Deactivated, 4-8C fell to the floor, and was subsequently dismantled by the Nikto pirate.

As the only droid to reach the rank of Grand Moff, 4-8C wanted to prove himself to his colleagues and be the hero of the Empire. He wasn't afraid of combat, being an assassin droid, and constantly involved himself in Redesign missions. Eventually, he became obsessed with The Heart of Steel project and panicked when B-1D4 was abducted. Letting nothing stand in his way, he arrested sentients—particularly alien ones—without a second thought and believed recovering the droid was paramount to the Imperial Redesign Team.

4-8C was also excessively impatient, often waving blaster pistols in the faces of captured felons. This interrogation style irritated Burra Stone, who preferred using the Force to persuade captives. Stone often clashed with 4-8C, finding him unintelligent and tactless. In turn, the Grand Moff found Stone ineffective. 4-8C also strongly desired to kill sentients, but was often forced to let them live due to their usefulness, as in Kassihm's case. His mistrust of the Nikto pirate, however, was well founded, as Kassihm would indeed deactivate and dismantle him on the Optitron.

Dave Wolverton created Grand Moff 4-8C for the Star Wars Missions game book, Star Wars Missions 13: Prisoner of the Nikto Pirates. He is the primary antagonist of the fourth Missions arc, and a playable character in Star Wars Missions 14: The Monsters of Dweem and Star Wars Missions 16: Imperial Jailbreak. The character was unreferenced in any Star Wars media until Abel G. Peña mentioned him in The Story of General Grievous: Lord of War, the online supplement to the article Unknown Soldier: The Story of General Grievous, eight years after his original appearance. The web supplement originally called 4-8C "Grand Moff Grand Moff" in a typographical error, amusing many fans on the Jedi Council Forums. A LEGO minifigure similar to 4-8C appears in the set 10188 Death Star.