4-A7

Manufactured by Confederacy of Independent Systems sympathizers in Arakyd Industries, which itself was secretly supporting the Confederacy, 4-A7 was a RA-7 protocol droid and prototype spy droid produced early in the Clone Wars, a major galactic conflict fought between the Confederacy and Galactic Republic, in 22 BBY. During that year, 4-A7 was given to the Separatist Head of State, Count Dooku, as part of a plan to manipulate the Hutt Clan into joining the Confederacy, which would give the Separatists exclusive access to the Hutts' secret hyperlanes and area of space. With the droid being intended to help the operation, Dooku then gave 4-A7 to his personal assassin and apprentice, the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, who also kidnapped Rotta, the son of Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure.

Traveling to the Wild Space planet of Teth, Ventress quickly brought the kidnapped Huttlet to an abandoned B'omarr Order Monastery that saw use by the crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure's criminal faction, with whom Dooku had allied to orchestrate Rotta's kidnapping. With Confederate forces occupying the monastery, Ventress also took 4-A7 to the monastery, where he remained stationed with a force of battle droids. One platoon of battle droids was assigned to escort the spy droid only for 4-A7 to prove himself far superior to his security detail. As the Separatists had planned, the Republic eventually discovered that Rotta was there, leading to an engagement known as the Battle of Teth. Hoping to rescue the infant to make their own alliance with the Hutts, the Republic's Torrent Company attacked the Separatist base, quickly taking out the droids' outer defenses. However, their assault had been part of the Confederate plan; with the battle droids having played their role, Ventress, standing next to 4-A7 on a balcony overlooking the battlefront, sent the spy droid to meet with the Republic.

To trick their enemies into a false sense of security, 4-A7 had been ordered to gain the trust of the Republic forces, especially the Jedi, before Ventress allowed their enemies to venture deeper into the monastery. Pretending to be the monastery's old caretaker droid and guardian, he approached the Republic forces, alerting them to his presence with a large noise, and greeted their Jedi General, Anakin Skywalker, claiming that the Republic had liberated him from the Droid Army and telling them that Rotta was in the monastery's dungeons. After warning the Jedi Knight that the prison level was dangerous, 4-A7 claimed to think Skywalker's Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, was a servant girl and stated that she should not go down; she responded by activating her lightsaber—which startled 4-A7—and stating she was a Jedi. As their presence at the monastery carried on, the clones and even the two Jedi largely ignored 4-A7 and remained unaware of his status as a secret agent.

Beyond luring the Republic into a fake sense of comfort, 4-A7's vital and main role in the Separatist plot was to frame the Jedi Order in the kidnapping of Rotta and make it seem like they intended to harm him. With the Republic forces not paying the droid much mind, 4-A7 moved back to Ventress and hid away from their enemies' sight on a balcony. Upon being ordered to do so by Ventress, the droid began to secretly record Skywalker and Tano after they rescued Rotta from the dungeons. As the two Jedi struggled to place the uncooperative and screaming infant into a backpack, 4-A7 recorded their actions and discussion, specifically extracting several sentences from Skywalker. Due to his past as a slave to crime lady Gardulla the Hutt, Skywalker displayed a great deal of anger towards Rotta and Hutts in general.

While extracting Skywalker's sentences, 4-A7 also utilized editing software to make it seem like the Jedi were responsible for the kidnapping. He created outright fake images of the Jedi and ultimately ensured his doctored footage showed the Jedi apparently planning to murder the Huttlet. He then stood by Ventress when she spoke with Dooku via hologram and sent the count the recording, which had also been further edited by her and 4-A7 into a montage that made it seem like Rotta was being abused. On the Outer Rim desert world of Tatooine, Dooku presented the footage to Jabba and used it to claim the Jedi were the ones behind the kidnapping of Rotta, earning the desired effect as Jabba quickly became angry. Due to their confidence in 4-A7's abilities, Ventress and Dooku knew the droid's recording was ready to be shown to Jabba without even double-checking it.

Intending to recapture Rotta back under the guise of rescuing the Huttlet, another detachment of the Droid Army arrived at the monastery, kicking off another skirmish against the Republic. 4-A7, having completed his mission, was thus ordered to prepare an old G9 Rigger-class light freighter—a starship known as the Twilight owned by Ziro the Hutt—for takeoff from a landing pad on a building across from the monastery. Accompanied to the docked ship by an escort of three B1 battle droids from his platoon, the droids began to load the craft and prepare to depart. However, Skywalker, Tano, Rotta, and Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2 escaped from battle after spotting the Twilight, which they assumed to be abandoned. Just as the B1s were finishing loading everything they needed before takeoff, the two Jedi arrived on the landing pad atop a can-cell.

As 4-A7 walked beside the light freighter and inspected a box, Tano spotted the protocol droid, claiming to have wondered what happened to him but continuing to assume he was a caretaker droid. Although 4-A7 had been surprised to hear her voice again, he initially tried to continue his caretaker act, but Tano discovered the spy's true loyalties when the three battle droids entered her gaze, one of which reported that everything was aboard and that they could leave. In an attempt to stop Rotta's rescue, 4-A7 ordered the combat droids to shoot Tano and then tried to flee up the ship's ramp. However, the three B1s were quickly destroyed by the Padawan, who glowered at the droid as she pointed her lightsaber directly at him. Despite 4-A7 demanding that she not destroy him, Tano quickly decapitated the protocol unit. Repeating his last words, 4-A7's head fell down the ship's ramp and landed in front of Skywalker. Tano, Skywalker, R2, and Rotta then boarded the freighter, with the astromech knocking 4-A7's head out of his way, causing it to utter a final groan.

Although 4-A7 had been very successful in carrying out his part of Dooku's plot, the Republic ultimately won the battle for the Hutts' loyalties; flying the Twilight off the platform and eventually to Tatooine, Skywalker and Tano returned Rotta to his father, and after learning the Jedi were not behind the kidnapping, Jabba allowed the Republic to travel through his territories. 4-A7's remains were collected and transported back to the Jedi Temple on the city planet Coruscant in the Core Worlds to be analyzed, securing the Republic with intelligence that helped it establish the finalized treaty with the Hutt Clan. The analysis also gave the Jedi new information about other Confederate plots.

Nonetheless, due to his successes in his mission on Teth, 4-A7 was remembered as an early success of the RA-7 line, although the droid model never succeeded in making a headway in the protocol droid market. Despite that, Arakyd Industries later managed to secure a close business relationship with the Galactic Empire, the successor state of both the Republic and the Confederacy at the end of the Clone Wars. Likely inspired by 4-A7's effectiveness during the Battle of Teth, the Empire purchased large quantities of RA-7 units to spy on its own personnel.

An RA-7 protocol droid with masculine programming from the early Clone Wars, 4-A7 stood 1.7 meters tall and had a gray body with the plating of a 3PO-series protocol unit. While he was loyal to the Separatists, 4-A7's appearance did not directly convey his allegiance, making Tano question if he was an adversary or ally when they first met. Upon learning his true loyalties, she compared the droid's plating to tin as an insult. Due to his stealth, intellect, and ability to act independently, 4-A7 proved to be an exceptional spy and was far superior in functionality to the battle droids who escorted him. Having come to hate working with the Confederacy's droid troops, Ventress found 4-A7 to be different; she could be certain the droid was capable of carrying out missions in a reliable manner, which quickly earned him her trust.

Equipped with special components and programming, 4-A7 was also programmed as a spy but retained the RA-7's distinctive, albeit ominous, insectoid head, which featured a vocabulator containing a sounding box. As such, he was also able to speak in a number of dialects and languages despite his vocabulator's cheap components. Additionally, possessing large broadband photoreceptors, he was able to see across a very wide band and operate in almost complete darkness. These photoreceptors were among 4-A7's more impressive components. Additionally, 4-A7 was equipped with a holographic recording camera known as a holocamera, which was built into his head. 4-A7's large photoreceptors hid the camera and a narrowband communication system for encrypted transmissions. The suite of editing functions included in 4-A7's software gave the droid the ability to manipulate recorded footage whenever he wished to doctor a recording for his masters.

A basic yet efficient droid who was a loyal servant of the Separatist Alliance, 4-A7 followed the orders Ventress gave him and had no issue with lying to his enemies by pretending to be an innocent and humble caretaker droid. Speaking in a low voice, he said the Confederate battle droids were dreadful and that he was thankful to be free. Trying to appear as a droid that would be willing to reveal where the Huttlet was, 4-A7 showed respect toward Skywalker, calling him mighty and a friend. When the Jedi Knight asked where Rotta was, RA-7 was willing to answer and even warned him that the dungeons were dangerous. 4-A7 also claimed to confuse Tano for a servant girl and, after she ignited her lightsaber, offered to give a thousand apologies.

Having information that could incriminate the Republic in Rotta's kidnapping was a vital part of the Separatist plan on Teth, with Dooku even stopping Ventress from killing Skywalker and Tano, as he still needed the data. 4-A7 fulfilled that part of the plan by recording the Jedi with his built-in holocam and using his suite of editing software. He was later surprised to hear Tano's voice again and, after calling her "young one" and correcting himself, attempted to keep up his caretaker masquerade. After his true loyalty was revealed, Tano accused him of treason, but 4-A7 raised his voice and showcased that he was willing to kill his enemies as he told the B1 battle droids to open fire. His show of force was short-lived, however, as he then attempted to flee before being confronted by Tano. He showed defiance in his last moments, ordering Tano to not kill him, which his severed head repeatedly uttered as it fell.

4-A7 first appeared in the new Star Wars canon through his minor role in the the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was released on August 15, 2008. Prior to the movie's release, the droid was featured in its second theatrical trailer, which is also known as the "dark trailer." The character was voiced by James Arnold Taylor, who also voiced Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi in the film and television series. The droid's designation was revealed in the film's closing credits. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, however, the character was identified as 4A-7. Prior to the film's release, 4A-7 saw his first appearance through its novelization and its junior novelization, which were both released on July 26, 2008.

In the film's DVD audio commentary, editor Jason Tucker recalled that the scene involving 4-A7's recording of Rotta had been difficult to finish as a number of the crew had been putting forth ideas on how to set it, prompting Director Dave Filoni to state that 4-A7 was originally meant to be hiding behind pillars. When executive producer and Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted Ventress and 4-A7 to be on a balcony, the crew needed to design one for the scene. Later, Filoni recalled that 4-A7's death scene had been added in later on as they had been disappointed that his fate was not revealed. He described the protocol droid as being slightly snarky in the scene, and Producer Catherine Winder revealed that Tano's last line to 4-A7, "Why, you tin-plated traitor!," was what they called an "Ahsoka-ism." These were pushed by Lucas and were when Tano, while in the middle of a serious battle and being earnest, would use what Winder described as "pretty funny nicknames" against her enemy. Winder stated that Tano had come up with these nicknames herself.

Animation models used for the RA-7 series in various The Clone Wars episodes look very similar to 4-A7's model. In fact, the colorization of a model seen in the Season One episode "Downfall of a Droid" and one later seen in the Season Three episode "Evil Plans" are also very similar to 4-A7's own. For the Season Five episode "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much," 4-A7's animation model was updated to better match the RA-7 units seen in the first Star Wars film, Episode IV A New Hope, from 1977. This updated model was used for the droid R-A7 in "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much." R-A7's character illustration was done by Chris Glenn and is dated to November 2011 under the title "4A7 Droid asset."

Even though he did not appear in the episode, 4-A7's name was listed in the credits of the The Clone Wars Season One episode "Rising Malevolence," which first aired on October 3, 2008. The 2017 Droid Directory for the eleventh issue of the Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 magazine and the 2022 reference booklet "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" later stated that 4-A7's role in the Separatist plan for Rotta was framing the Jedi in the Huttlet's kidnapping and murder. In the film, 4-A7 only records evidence for the former lie, for the Confederacy intended to "rescue" Rotta from the Republic, and Dooku only planned to kill Rotta after the Jedi escaped Teth, by which point 4-A7 had been killed. As such, this article follows the film's version of events. "Assassin, Security, and Combat Droids" and the 2021 reference booklet "Boba Fett and Other Characters of the Underworld" also incorrectly refers to 4-A7 by the name "4A-7," which was the name given to the character in the Star Wars Legends continuity.

"Boba Fett and Other Bounty Hunters and Criminals" also claims 4-A7 began to broadcast footage that made it seem like the Jedi were actively kidnapping the Huttlet, when the film instead establishes his footage was used to claim the Jedi had already completed the kidnapping. The Highlights of the Saga department of the Star Wars Helmet Collection magazine's forty-fifth issue, which was released in 2017, stated that 4-A7 recorded and edited footage that made it look like the Jedi were holding and planning to kill Rotta while Ventress launched a droid counterattack. However, the film depicts Ventress standing with 4-A7 while he records the video and her launching the counterattack afterward. This article follows the movie's version of events. Later, the 2021 reference booklet "The Clone Wars Begin" stated that Ventress was alone when she hid from the Republic to film and edit the footage despite the film and prior sources clearly establishing 4-A7's role in the events.

"Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" also claims that 4-A7 was one of the first prototypes of the RA-7 protocol droid line. Based on timeline information provided by Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 11 and Star Wars: Timelines, 4-A7's creation date can be narrowed down to 22 BBY, suggesting that the RA-7 was still new in that time if "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" is correct. However, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode "Justice"—which first premiered on October 26, 2022—features an RA-7 unit active several decades before 22 BBY. Therefore, this article assumes "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" to be incorrect.

• Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 11
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 45
• Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy