The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II, also referred to as a talker droid or talky, represented a type of linguistics droid that existed well before the era of the Galactic Empire. Serving as a precursor to the 3PO-series protocol droid, it differed by lacking the diplomatic capabilities found in later iterations. By the time the Galactic Civil War erupted, the talker droid had become outdated, although one specimen was preserved as a relic within the Imperial Museum located on Coruscant.
In an attempt to create an unbreakable encryption, the Rebel Alliance planned to acquire the talker droid and leverage its expertise in the extinct Trawak language. A rebel team infiltrated the museum, breached the curator's restricted collection, and successfully extracted the droid. Upon the team's return to the rebel forces, the protocol droid C-3PO initiated the reactivation of the ancient droid, only to discover its corrupted state. The cyborg Lobot intervened, establishing a connection with the talker droid and reorganizing its internal systems to restore coherent function. Fearing deactivation once its usefulness expired, the droid initially withheld its Trawak module, but eventually conceded to translate their codes in exchange for Lobot's continued support. This endeavor proved detrimental to Lobot, leading to a decline in his health.
The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II, a protocol droid and linguistics droid model—commonly known as a talker droid or talky during its operational period—possessed memory banks filled with a vast collection of languages, notably including Trawak. However, it lacked the diplomatic functionalities integrated into later models, such as the 3PO-series protocol droid, for which it served as a prototype. As a linguistics droid, the talky regarded its vocal capabilities as fundamental to its purpose.
Upon being revived during the Galactic Civil War, the talker droid exhibited a strong desire to maintain its existence and remain operational—despite lacking organic life—and resisted relinquishing its Trawak module, fearing obsolescence and subsequent deactivation. The droid explicitly stated its self-serving nature, displaying indifference toward the Rebel Alliance's cause and only assisting them to ensure its continued functionality. When the hybroid Lobot began to perish due to sustaining the talker droid, the droid showed no concern for his well-being, simply requesting a replacement hybroid to maintain its operation. It refused disconnection from Lobot, determined to preserve its voice. However, the talky demonstrated a willingness to assist Lobot and offer assistance when he was in danger. The droid struggled to comprehend the advanced capabilities of modern droids, deeming their tasks overly complex.
The droid was characterized by gray plating and red sensors recessed into its facial structure. Standing at a height exceeding 1.75 meters, it exhibited a bipedal humanoid form with five-fingered hands and layered plating on its shoulders, lower arms, chest, and legs. Red lights adorned the droid's chest, shoulders, and joints on its elbows and upper legs. Access to its internal circuitry was available through a hatch located on the top of its head. Prior to reactivation, the droid's sensors displayed a pale red hue, and the light on its chest emitted a yellow glow. The 3PO unit C-3PO considered its design to be bulky and unrefined compared to the sleeker designs of subsequent models.
The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II saw use long before the era of the Galactic Empire. One of its stored languages, the Trawak language spoken by the Trawaki species, had become extinct over a millennium before the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. By the time the Imperial Era arrived, the talker droid had fallen out of favor and was no longer manufactured. One such droid, believed by the protocol droid C-3PO to be the last of its kind in the galaxy, ended up in the possession of the curator of the Imperial Museum, who kept it within his private collection inside the museum on the galactic capital of Coruscant.
Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, the Rebel Alliance fragmented its fleet into smaller units, intending to maintain communication for eventual regrouping. However, the Empire successfully deciphered the rebel encryption codes, prompting the Rebellion to seek a new, secure communication method. Aware of the Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II's existence, C-3PO suggested leveraging its Trawak language proficiency as the foundation for a novel code. To achieve this, the Rebellion organized a mission to steal the droid from the Imperial Museum, deploying a team of Pathfinders, accompanied by the cyborg Lobot and former Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian.
After pinpointing the droid's location within the curator's private collection, the rebels devised a distraction to occupy the curator while Lobot sliced the door, enabling their entry. The rebels secured the talker droid, transporting it back to the combined fleet of the Fourth and Seventh Divisions. Once aboard the rebel flagship, C-3PO initiated the droid's reactivation. However, the talker droid's speech emerged as garbled, leading C-3PO to conclude that its memory banks and primary cognitive functions had suffered corruption, leaving the rebels without a solution to their predicament.
Under the supervision of C-3PO and the observation of several rebels, the astromech droid R2-D2 undertook the repair of the talker droid's circuits. The droid was successfully reactivated; however, it continued to malfunction, exhibiting incoherent speech and rising abruptly from the table. The talker droid hurled C-3PO across the room and confronted R2-D2, who attempted to subdue it with an electrical shock. Overcoming the astromech droid's charge, the talker droid redirected it back at R2-D2 and proceeded to wreak havoc throughout the room. Lobot, entering the scene to confront the talker droid, managed to establish a connection and reorganize its circuits, effectively eliminating the internal corruption.
Upon regaining awareness, the talker droid inquired about the identity of the rebels. C-3PO engaged in conversation with the ancient droid, informing it of its awakening in the future and requesting that it prepare its Trawak language module for download. To C-3PO's astonishment, the droid refused, unwilling to relinquish the sole reason for its reactivation. Interrupting C-3PO's protestations, Calrissian reminded the talker droid that its functionality depended entirely on Lobot, who possessed the ability to reverse his repairs. Calrissian proposed that Lobot maintain the droid's operation in exchange for its translation services for the rebels. Princess Leia Organa briefed the droid on the ongoing war, requesting that it encode the Rebellion's communications using Trawak.
The talker droid accepted the rebels' terms, agreeing to cooperate as long as Lobot assisted in circumventing the corruption within its processing unit. After confirming Lobot's willingness, Calrissian informed the talker droid that it would be held accountable for any complications. The rebels provided the talker droid with the code requiring translation, which was subsequently distributed to the pilots of Starlight Squadron for dissemination to other rebel units. Through its connection to Lobot, the talker droid detected a stutter in the interface between his organic and calcutronic components, a common issue during its own era. Reaching out, the droid briefly enabled Lobot—whose mind had previously been compromised by his implants—to think and speak clearly.
However, the effort required to maintain the talker droid began to take a significant toll on Lobot. The talker droid estimated that Lobot had only hours remaining before system failure, suggesting that the rebels prepare a replacement hybroid. Despite the potential for Lobot's demise, the rebels urgently needed further translations, having lost contact with Starlight Squadron and requiring the transmission of emergency protocols. Calrissian objected, demanding that they prioritize Lobot's well-being, but Kes Dameron, one of the Pathfinders involved in the droid's retrieval, prevented his intervention.
Despite Calrissian's objections, Organa reluctantly authorized the continuation of transmissions. C-3PO provided the talky with a new set of emergency communications, and the ancient droid complied, reiterating its recommendation for a replacement hybroid. Calrissian struck Dameron and lunged for the talker droid, demanding its disconnection from Lobot, but the talky refused, unwilling to relinquish its communicative abilities. Dameron recovered and restrained Calrissian, while Organa instructed C-3PO to proceed.
However, C-3PO revealed that he had successfully reconstructed the Trawak language based on the talky's transmissions, enabling him to encode future communications without its assistance. The talky expressed disbelief, asserting that no droid could reconstruct Trawak due to its inherent complexity. C-3PO informed the talker droid that he possessed far superior capabilities and criticized its self-serving behavior before thanking it for its service and deactivating it. With the talky powered down and Lobot having survived the ordeal, Organa ordered the ancient droid to be placed in storage.
Calrissian, concluding that the Rebellion disregarded his and Lobot's well-being as a result of the incident, resolved to sell the talker droid, and consequently the key to the rebels' new communications, to the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, to whom he owed a substantial debt. He entered the storage room where the deactivated talky was held, having incapacitated a rebel trooper inside, and informed Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, that he would arrange for the droid's delivery. His opportunity arose when the rebels planned to rescue their comrade Han Solo, who was encased in carbonite and scheduled for sale at an auction orchestrated by the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Calrissian absconded with the talky and smuggled it aboard the rebels' ship, the Millennium Falcon, before their journey to the auction site on the planet Jekara.
As the Falcon approached Jekara, Calrissian and Lobot discreetly transported the droid to an airlock, activating it to allow Jabba's associates to pinpoint its processor. Once the talky was operational, Calrissian disclosed his intentions, threatening it with acquisition by Jabba and potential torture within his palace to extract the rebel codes. The talky protested, but Calrissian proceeded to open the airlock, ejecting the droid into space.
As the talky was expelled from the airlock, it pleaded for its usefulness and offered to rectify the issues with Lobot's cybernetics. As before, the talky reached out and realigned Lobot's implants, enabling the hybroid to communicate coherently and inform Calrissian of the droid's actions. Calrissian, regretting his decision, hoped to return and retrieve the droid; however, the Wookiee Chewbacca, piloting the Falcon, executed a maneuver to approach the planet's surface undetected, inadvertently abandoning the talky. Once the droid fell outside the Falcon's range, it lost its connection with Lobot, and its programming reverted to its incoherent state.
When the Scourge impacted Lobot, Calrissian moved to recover the droid to save his friend.
The Autonomous Translator Module, Mark II made its debut appearance in the comic Star Wars (2020) 9, authored by Charles Soule, illustrated by Jan Bazaldua, and published by Marvel Comics on December 9, 2020.