4-A7

4-A7 was constructed by Confederacy of Independent Systems sympathizers within Arakyd Industries, an organization secretly supporting the Confederacy. He was a RA-7 protocol droid and a prototype spy droid created early in the Clone Wars, a significant galactic conflict between the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic in 22 BBY. In that year, 4-A7 was presented to Count Dooku, the Separatist Head of State, as part of a scheme to persuade the Hutt Clan to join the Confederacy, granting the Separatists exclusive access to the Hutts' concealed hyperlanes and area of space. Dooku, intending for the droid to aid in this operation, then assigned 4-A7 to his personal assassin and apprentice, the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, who had also kidnapped Rotta, the son of Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure.

Ventress traveled to the Wild Space planet of Teth and quickly took the kidnapped Huttlet to a derelict B'omarr Order Monastery previously used by the criminal faction of Ziro Desilijic Tiure, a crime lord with whom Dooku had allied to orchestrate Rotta's abduction. Confederate forces occupied the monastery, and Ventress stationed 4-A7 there with a contingent 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 anticipated, the Republic eventually discovered Rotta's location, leading to the Battle of Teth. The Republic's Torrent Company, aiming to rescue the infant and forge their own alliance with the Hutts, attacked the Separatist stronghold, swiftly overcoming the droids' initial defenses. However, this assault was part of the Confederate strategy; with the battle droids fulfilling their role, Ventress, standing alongside 4-A7 on a balcony overlooking the battlefield, dispatched the spy droid to meet with the Republic forces.

4-A7 was instructed to gain the trust of the Republic forces, particularly the Jedi, to deceive them, before Ventress allowed them to proceed further into the monastery. He pretended to be the monastery's elderly caretaker droid and guardian, approaching the Republic forces and alerting them to his presence with a loud noise. He greeted Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi General, claiming that the Republic had liberated him from the Droid Army and informing them that Rotta was held in the monastery's dungeons. After warning the Jedi Knight about the dangers of the prison level, 4-A7 feigned confusion, mistaking Skywalker's Padawan, Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, for a servant girl, and suggested she should not descend. In response, she activated her lightsaber—startling 4-A7—and declared herself a Jedi. Throughout their presence at the monastery, the clones and even the two Jedi largely disregarded 4-A7, remaining unaware of his true identity as a secret agent.

Beyond simply lulling the Republic into a false sense of security, 4-A7's primary and crucial role in the Separatist plot was to implicate the Jedi Order in Rotta's kidnapping and create the impression that they intended to harm him. With the Republic forces paying little attention to the droid, 4-A7 retreated to Ventress and concealed himself from their enemies' view on a balcony. Upon Ventress's command, the droid secretly began recording 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 conversations, specifically extracting certain statements from Skywalker. Due to his history as a slave to Gardulla the Hutt, a crime lady, Skywalker expressed considerable animosity towards Rotta and Hutts in general.

While extracting Skywalker's sentences, 4-A7 also employed editing software to fabricate evidence suggesting the Jedi were responsible for the kidnapping. He generated entirely fabricated images of the Jedi and ultimately ensured his manipulated footage depicted the Jedi seemingly plotting to murder the Huttlet. He then stood alongside Ventress during her holographic communication with Dooku and transmitted the recording to the count, which had been further edited by her and 4-A7 into a montage that portrayed Rotta as being abused. On Tatooine, a desert world in the Outer Rim, Dooku presented the footage to Jabba, falsely claiming that the Jedi were behind Rotta's abduction, achieving the desired effect as Jabba quickly became enraged. Confident in 4-A7's capabilities, Ventress and Dooku were certain that the droid's recording was ready to be presented to Jabba without requiring further verification.

Another detachment of the Droid Army arrived at the monastery, intending to recapture Rotta under the pretense of rescuing him, initiating another clash with the Republic. Having completed his mission, 4-A7 was instructed to prepare an old G9 Rigger-class light freighter—a starship known as the Twilight, owned by Ziro the Hutt—for departure from a landing pad on a building across from the monastery. Accompanied by an escort of three B1 battle droids from his platoon, the droids began loading the craft and preparing for takeoff. However, Skywalker, Tano, Rotta, and Skywalker's astromech droid R2-D2 escaped from battle after spotting the Twilight, assuming it 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, inspecting a box, Tano noticed the protocol droid, claiming to have wondered about his whereabouts but continuing to assume he was a caretaker droid. Although 4-A7 was surprised to hear her voice again, he initially attempted to maintain his caretaker act. However, Tano discovered the spy's true allegiance when she saw the three battle droids, one of whom reported that everything was aboard and they were ready to depart. In an attempt to prevent Rotta's rescue, 4-A7 ordered the combat droids to fire upon Tano and then attempted to flee up the ship's ramp. However, the Padawan swiftly destroyed the three B1s, glaring at the droid as she pointed her lightsaber directly at him. Despite 4-A7's pleas not to be destroyed, Tano quickly decapitated the protocol unit. Repeating his last words, 4-A7's head tumbled down the ship's ramp and landed in front of Skywalker. Tano, Skywalker, R2, and Rotta then boarded the freighter, with the astromech droid nudging 4-A7's head out of his way, causing it to emit a final groan.

Despite 4-A7's success in executing his part of Dooku's plan, the Republic ultimately secured the Hutts' allegiance. Skywalker and Tano flew the Twilight off the platform and eventually to Tatooine, returned Rotta to his father. After learning that the Jedi were not behind the kidnapping, Jabba permitted the Republic to travel through his territories. 4-A7's remains were collected and transported back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, a city planet in the Core Worlds, for analysis. This provided the Republic with intelligence that aided in establishing the finalized treaty with the Hutt Clan. The analysis also revealed new information about other Confederate plots to the Jedi.

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.

4-A7, an RA-7 protocol droid with masculine programming from the early Clone Wars, stood 1.7 meters tall and possessed 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.

4-A7 was a basic yet efficient droid and a loyal servant of the Separatist Alliance, 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 made his initial appearance in the new Star Wars canon through his minor role in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was released on August 15, 2008. Before the movie's release, the droid was featured in its second theatrical trailer, which is also known as the "dark trailer." James Arnold Taylor, who also voiced Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi in the film and television series, provided the droid's voice. The film's closing credits revealed the droid's designation. However, in the Star Wars Legends continuity, 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 DVD's audio commentary for the movie, editor Jason Tucker remembered the difficulty in finalizing the scene where 4-A7 recorded Rotta. Apparently, many crew members offered different ideas on how to stage the scene, which led Director Dave Filoni to mention that the original plan was for 4-A7 to be concealed behind pillars. When executive producer George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, expressed his desire for Ventress and 4-A7 to be positioned on a balcony, the team had to design a balcony specifically for that shot. Filoni later stated that 4-A7's death scene was a later addition because they felt it was a shame his fate was not shown. He characterized the protocol droid's demeanor in that scene as somewhat sarcastic, and Producer Catherine Winder pointed out that Ahsoka's final line to 4-A7, "Why, you tin-plated traitor!," was considered an "Ahsoka-ism." Lucas encouraged these "Ahsoka-isms," which were instances where Ahsoka, amidst a serious battle and while being sincere, would use what Winder called "pretty funny nicknames" towards her adversaries. Winder further explained that Ahsoka invented these nicknames herself.

The animation models employed for the RA-7 series in several episodes of The Clone Wars bear a striking resemblance to 4-A7's model. Notably, the color scheme of a model featured in the Season One episode "Downfall of a Droid" and another model seen later in the Season Three episode "Evil Plans" closely mirrors that of 4-A7. For the Season Five episode "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much," 4-A7's animation model underwent an update to more accurately reflect the RA-7 units as they appeared in the original Star Wars film, Episode IV A New Hope, released in 1977. This enhanced model was then utilized for the droid R-A7 in "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much." Chris Glenn created R-A7's character illustration, dating it to November 2011 and titling it "4A7 Droid asset."

Despite not making an appearance in the episode, 4-A7's name was included in the credits for The Clone Wars Season One episode "Rising Malevolence," which originally aired on October 3, 2008. Later, the 2017 Droid Directory from the eleventh issue of Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 magazine, along with the 2022 reference booklet "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War," asserted that 4-A7's role in the Separatist scheme involving Rotta was to frame the Jedi for kidnapping and murdering the Huttlet. However, in the film itself, 4-A7 only records evidence supporting the former claim, as the Confederacy's intention was to "rescue" Rotta from the Republic. Dooku's plan to eliminate Rotta was only conceived after the Jedi escaped Teth, by which time 4-A7 had already met his demise. Consequently, this article adheres to the events as they are portrayed in the film. Furthermore, "Assassin, Security, and Combat Droids," along with the 2021 reference booklet "Boba Fett and Other Characters of the Underworld," erroneously refer to 4-A7 as "4A-7," a designation that was used for the character within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

"Boba Fett and Other Bounty Hunters and Criminals" also asserts that 4-A7 began broadcasting footage that gave the impression that the Jedi were actively in the process of kidnapping the Huttlet. However, the film clearly establishes that his footage was used to suggest that the Jedi had already completed the kidnapping. The Highlights of the Saga section of the Star Wars Helmet Collection magazine's forty-fifth issue, published in 2017, stated that 4-A7 recorded and edited footage that made it appear as though the Jedi were holding Rotta captive and plotting to kill him, all while Ventress initiated a droid counterattack. In contrast, the film depicts Ventress standing alongside 4-A7 as he records the video, with her launching the counterattack afterward. This article follows the events as they are depicted in the movie. Moreover, the 2021 reference booklet "The Clone Wars Begin" later claimed that Ventress was alone when she hid from the Republic forces to film and edit the footage, despite the film and previous sources unequivocally establishing 4-A7's involvement in these events.

"Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" also suggests that 4-A7 was among the earliest prototypes of the RA-7 protocol droid line. Based on timeline information found in Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 11 and Star Wars: Timelines, 4-A7's creation can be estimated to around 22 BBY, implying that the RA-7 series was still relatively new during that period if the claim in "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" is accurate. However, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode "Justice"—which premiered on October 26, 2022—features an RA-7 unit that was active several decades prior to 22 BBY. Consequently, this article operates under the assumption that the information presented in "Assassin, Security, and Other Droids of War" is incorrect.