The LE manifest droid was a third-degree shipping management droid produced by Cybot Galactica. The LE droid was designed to serve as a protocol droid variant that specialized in facilitating shipping and import/export business, and found use from starship captains and spaceport operators in the centuries before the Galactic Civil War. However, the droid's notorious honesty caused it to quickly fall out of favor—it became known for its habit of willingly reporting contraband being transported upon its ship—and the line was ultimately discontinued. One LE unit, LE-914, or "Ellie," would later play a key role in the Rebel Alliance receiving intelligence on the second Death Star's construction in 3 ABY.
A product of powerhouse droid manufacturers Cybot Galactica, the LE manifest droid was constructed as a variant of the common protocol droid specifically for use by starship captains and spaceport operators. Where most protocol droids carried etiquette programming, the LE unit was instead equipped with import/export bylaws for all the galaxy's major trade regions and the Bureau of Ships and Services' code of conduct, which was considered too massive and intricate to realistically be fully grasped by any organic being. LE units were also programmed with a friendly, female personality, intended to make the droid an agreeable companion for long hyperspace journeys. LE droids were known for their strenuous honesty, which led to the droid line's cancellation, although many units that remained in service long enough ultimately learned how to make compromises when it came to the law.
LE-914, also known as "Ellie."
The less-recognized cousin of the popular Cybot Galactica LE-series repair droid, the LE manifest droid line began production circa 300 BBY, originally intended to perform clerical duties and expedite shipping and import/export business. However, the droid was largely a commercial failure—its scrupulous honesty became an issue in many spaceports on the fringes of the galaxy, such as those in Hutt or Bothan Space, where bribes were considered a regular part of business. LE units became known to voluntarily report contraband hidden aboard starships, and this growing reputation eventually led to the droid line's retirement. Many LE droids remained in service throughout the galaxy, however, seeing use in smaller spaceports and short-hop corporate freighters.
One LE unit—designated LE-914, or "Ellie"—became notable for playing a small, but important role in the Galactic Civil War in 3 ABY. Ellie was the personal companion of Rebel spy Tay Vanis, who had outfitted the droid with numerous modifications, including blaster-proof armorplast plating and an additional storage compartment that held, among other things, a proton bomb with self-destruct programming. Ellie accompanied Vanis on a mission to retrieve Bothan-held intelligence on the Imperial construction of a second Death Star, only for the Imperials to chase the two of them to Dennaskar. Vanis entrusted the intelligence to Ellie, who in turn passed it on to a Rebel search team led by Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa upon their arrival on Dennaskar. Ellie also helped them track down Vanis, whom they found brutally tortured in an Imperial prison. Her master essentially a mind-wiped husk, Ellie activated her self-destruct, destroying herself and ending Vanis' suffering.
The LE manifest droid first appeared in Star Wars (1977) 80, written by Mary Jo Duffy and released in 1983. Illustrator Ron Frenz designed the droid to emulate Ralph McQuarrie's original concept drawings for C-3PO, which in turn was heavily influenced by the sleek, art deco style of the robot Maria from Fritz Lang's classic 1927 science fiction film Metropolis. Finding that the LE designation was identical to that of the LE repair droid that originally appeared in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, The New Essential Guide to Droids author Daniel Wallace opted to connect the two droid classes as products of Cybot Galactica.
- The New Essential Guide to Droids