The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II, known as a talker droid or talky, was a model of linguistics droid that was active long before the time of the Galactic Empire. It was a predecessor to the 3PO-series protocol droid, though it lacked the diplomacy modules of the later models. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, the talker droid had become obsolete, though one such droid was kept as an artifact in the Imperial Museum on Coruscant.
When attempting to devise an encryption code that the Empire would be unable to crack, the Rebel Alliance intended to steal the talker droid and utilize its knowledge of the extinct Trawak language. A team of rebels entered the museum and broke into the curator's private collection, stealing the droid. Upon the team's return to the rebel forces, the protocol droid C-3PO reactivated the ancient droid, discovering that it had become corrupted. The cyborg Lobot was able to connect with the talker droid and organize its circuits, allowing it to function coherently. Fearing that it would be deactivated once the rebels had no use for it, the droid refused to provide them with its Trawak module, but eventually agreed to translate their codes in exchange for Lobot keeping it active. The effort of doing so took a toll on Lobot, who began to die as a result.
The talker droid after being reactivated
A model of protocol droid and linguistics droid, the Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II—known in its time as a talker droid or talky—had memory banks that contained a repository of languages, including Trawak. However, the droid lacked the diplomacy modules that were included in later models, such as the 3PO-series protocol droid, of which the talker droid was a predecessor. As a linguistics droid, the talky saw its voice as its reason for its existence.
Upon being reawakened during the Galactic Civil War, the talker droid wished to preserve its existence and remain active—despite not being alive in an organic sense—refusing to give up its Trawak module out of fear that it would be deactivated once it was no longer useful. The droid stated that it was always on its own side; it was apathetic to the cause of the Rebel Alliance, serving the rebels only out of the interest of remaining online. When the hybroid Lobot began to die as a result of keeping the talker droid active, the droid was unconcerned with his survival, merely requesting that another hybroid be prepared to assist it. It refused to disconnect from Lobot, not wishing to lose its voice. However, the talky was willing to help Lobot and be useful once it was in danger. The droid was unable to comprehend modern droids' ability to perform tasks that it believed to be too complex.
The droid had gray plating and red sensors that were fitted into indentations on its face. Standing above a height of 1.75 meters, the droid had a bipedal humanoid form and five-fingered hands, with a raised layer of plating on its shoulders, lower arms, chest, and legs. Red lights were situated on the droid's chest, shoulders, and the joints on its elbows and upper legs. Its circuits could be accessed through a hatch on the top of its head. Prior to being reactivated, the droid's sensors had a pale red color and the light on its chest was yellow. The 3PO unit C-3PO considered its design to be blocky and inelegant compared to the streamlined designs of later models.
The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II was utilized long before the time of the Galactic Empire. One of the languages that it possessed, the Trawak language of the Trawaki species, became extinct over a thousand years prior to the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. By the time of the Imperial Era, the talker droid was no longer in use, having been discontinued. One such droid, which the protocol droid C-3PO believed was the only remaining droid of its type left in the galaxy, fell into the hands of the curator of the Imperial Museum, who kept the droid stored in his private collection within the museum on the galactic capital of Coruscant.
Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, the Rebel Alliance split its fleet into divisions, intending for the divisions to communicate with one another in order to reform. However, the Empire was able to crack the rebel encryption codes, and the Rebellion wished to devise a new method of secure communication. Aware of the Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II's existence, C-3PO suggested that the rebels use its knowledge of Trawak as the basis for a new code. In order to do so, the Rebellion planned a mission to steal the droid from the Imperial Museum, dispatching a team of Pathfinders, accompanied by the cyborg Lobot and former Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian.
The rebels successfully stole the talker droid, but found that it was corrupted.
After learning of the droid's location within the private collection, the rebels drew the curator out and kept him distracted so that Lobot could slice the door and allow them to break in. The rebels located the talker droid, returning it to the combined fleet of the Fourth and Seventh Divisions. Once it was aboard the rebel flagship, C-3PO reactivated the droid. However, the talker droid's speech was garbled, and C-3PO determined that its memory banks and primary cognitive functions had been corrupted, leaving the rebels without a solution to their situation.
The talker droid refused to give up its Trawak module, believing that the rebels would deactivate it.
Supervised by C-3PO and watched by several rebels, the astromech droid R2-D2 repaired the talker droid's circuits. The droid was successfully reactivated; however, it was still malfunctioning, speaking incoherently and rising up from the table it had been lying on. The talker droid threw C-3PO across the room and confronted R2-D2, who attempted to shock it. Overpowering the astromech droid's charge, the talker droid redirected it back at R2-D2 and continued to rampage through the room. Lobot, entering the room to face the talker droid, managed to connect with the droid and reorganize its circuits, removing the corruption from within it.
Upon awakening, the talker droid asked who the rebels were. C-3PO spoke with the ancient droid, informing it that it had awoken in the future and requesting that the linguistics droid prepared its Trawak language module for download. The droid refused, to C-3PO's surprise, not wishing to surrender the one reason that it had been brought back online. Interrupting C-3PO's outrage, Calrissian reminded the talker droid that it was functioning solely because of Lobot, who could undo what he had done to fix the droid. Calrissian offered to have Lobot keep the droid online in return for the droid translating for the rebels. Princess Leia Organa informed the droid of the ongoing war, asking that the talker droid encode the Rebellion's communications into Trawak.
The talker droid accepted the rebels' terms, agreeing to work for them as long as Lobot helped it work around the corruption in its processing unit. After making sure that Lobot was willing to do so, Calrissian told the talker droid that it would have to answer to him if anything went wrong. The rebels provided the talker droid with the code that they needed translated, which was given to the pilots of Starlight Squadron to be passed on to any rebel divisons they encountered. Able to see through its connection to Lobot, the talker droid determined that the hybroid had a stutter in the interface between his organic and calcutronic elements, a common problem in the droid's own time. Reaching out, the droid was able to briefly make Lobot—whose mind had previously been taken over by his implants—think and speak clearly.
However, the effort of maintaining the talker droid began to take a toll on Lobot. The talker droid estimated that Lobot had only hours left before system collapse, suggesting that the rebels prepare another hybroid for it to use. Despite the potential for Lobot's death, the rebels required further translations immediately, having lost contact with Starlight Squadron and wishing to transmit emergency protocols. Calrissian objected, insisting that they save Lobot, but Kes Dameron, one of the Pathfinders who had retrieved the droid, prevented him from intervening.
Despite Calrissian's outrage, Organa reluctantly ordered for the transmissions to continue. C-3PO provided the talky with a new series of emergency communications, and the ancient droid complied, again recommending that another hybroid be prepared. Calrissian punched Dameron and reached for the talker droid, demanding that it disconnect from Lobot, but the talky refused, not wishing to lose its ability to communicate. Dameron recovered and led Calrissian away, with Organa instructing C-3PO to continue.
However, C-3PO revealed that he had successfully compiled the Trawak language based on the talky's messages, thus being able to encode further communications without its help. The talky was incredulous, believing no droid could reconstruct Trawak due to its complexity. C-3PO informed the talker droid that he was far more advanced than it and criticized its self-interest before thanking the talky for its service and deactivating it. With the talky powered down and Lobot having survived the ordeal, Organa ordered for the ancient droid to be placed in storage.
Calrissian, concluding as a result of the incident that the Rebellion did not care for him or Lobot, decided to sell the talker droid, and thus the key to the rebels' new communications, to the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, to whom he owed a debt. He entered the storage room where the deactivated talky was kept, having incapacitated a rebel trooper inside, and informed Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, that he would find a way to send the droid to him. His opportunity to deliver the droid came when the rebels intended to rescue their friend Han Solo, who was frozen in carbonite and was to be sold at an auction by the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Calrissian stole the talky and smuggled it aboard the rebels' ship, the Millennium Falcon, before they traveled to the site of the auction, the planet Jekara.
While the Falcon approached Jekara, Calrissian and Lobot discreetly brought the droid to an airlock, activating it so Jabba's people could locate its processor. Once the talky was online, Calrissian informed it of what he intended to do, threatening that it would be acquired by Jabba and likely be tortured in his palace for the rebel codes. The talky protested, but Calrissian opened the airlock, ejecting the droid into space.
As the talky was pulled out of the airlock, it argued that it could be useful and fix the issue with Lobot's cybernetics. Like it had done previously, the talky reached out and pushed Lobot's implants back, allowing the hybroid to communicate normally and inform Calrissian of what the droid was doing. Calrissian, regretting his decision, hoped to be able to double back and bring the droid back aboard; however, the Wookiee Chewbacca, piloting the Falcon, performed a maneuver to approach the planet's surface undetected, unknowingly leaving the talky behind. Once the droid was out of range of the Falcon, it lost its connection with Lobot and its programming reverted to its incoherent state.
When the Scourge affected Lobot, Calrissian moved to recover the droid to save his friend once and for all.
The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II first appeared in the comic Star Wars (2020) 9, written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Jan Bazaldua, and published by Marvel Comics on December 9, 2020.
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