Constructed automatons, referred to as droid workers, were essentially repurposed battle droids. These were created by the Geonosian queen Karina after the Galactic Empire rendered her sterile, aiming to perpetuate the Geonosian species. She regarded them not as mere droids, but rather as her own offspring. In the year 0 ABY, the Sith Lord Darth Vader pilfered the droid factory that Karina employed as a reproductive matrix, thereby halting her ability to generate more droid workers.
As modified versions of battle droids, the droid workers bore a resemblance to the Geonosians. This was evident in their brown armor plating, the red photoreceptors they possessed, and the pair of functioning wings situated on their backs. They were armed with E-5 blaster rifles.
During the time known as the Imperial Era, the Galactic Empire enacted a sterilization process on the planet Geonosis, which resulted in the death of almost all life forms residing there. Karina, the Geonosians' last surviving queen, found herself infertile and unable to replenish her population. Driven by desperation, she connected herself to a portable droid factory and began producing droid workers, perceiving them as her own progeny.
In the year 0 ABY, Darth Vader, along with a rogue archaeologist named Chelli Lona Aphra, and assassin droids 0-0-0 and BT-1, journeyed to Geonosis with the intention of acquiring the droid factory. Aphra dispatched the droids to explore and map the subterranean pathways. While navigating these routes, the two droids faced an onslaught of droid workers. However, BT-1 effortlessly neutralized them using its integrated weaponry.
Vader and Aphra proceeded to follow the droids further into the cavernous depths. There, they discovered Karina utilizing the droid factory to generate "eggs," which subsequently "hatched" into droid workers. In swift action, Vader used his lightsaber to sever Karina's connection to the factory. Karina then commanded all of her droid workers to intercept the four intruders and reclaim the factory. Despite their efforts, BT-1 and Vader decimated any droid worker that approached. Ultimately, Vader employed the Naboo Royal Starship to lift and remove the droid factory, thereby preventing the creation of any additional droid workers.
The debut appearance of droid workers occurred in Darth Vader (2015) 4, a comic book released in 2015. The comic's narrative was crafted by Kieron Gillen, with illustrations provided by Salvador Larroca. Their formal identification was first established in Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded, a reference book from 2017 authored by Adam Bray, Kerrie Dougherty, Cole Horton, and Michael Kogge.