The LE manifest droid, a product of Cybot Galactica, was a third-degree droid designed for shipping management. Specifically engineered as a protocol droid variant, the LE droid's primary function was streamlining shipping processes and handling import/export operations. Before the Galactic Civil War, starship captains and spaceport administrators frequently used these droids. However, the line was discontinued due to the droid's unyielding honesty, which led to its reputation for reporting smuggled goods. Despite this, one LE unit, LE-914, or "Ellie," played a critical role in the Rebel Alliance' acquisition of intelligence concerning the second Death Star's construction in 3 ABY.
Cybot Galactica, a prominent droid manufacturer, developed the LE manifest droid as a specialized version of the standard protocol droid. This variant was intended for use by starship captains and spaceport personnel. Unlike most protocol droids programmed with etiquette protocols, the LE unit was loaded with import/export regulations from all major galactic trade zones and the Bureau of Ships and Services' code of conduct – data sets considered too voluminous for organic beings to fully comprehend. Furthermore, LE units were programmed with a likable, female personality to serve as pleasant companions during extended hyperspace voyages. Their extreme honesty, however, ultimately led to the droid line's cancellation, although many units in service eventually learned to compromise on legal matters.
Production of the LE manifest droid line, a lesser-known relative of Cybot Galactica's popular LE-series repair droid, began around 300 BBY. Initially, the droid was intended to perform clerical tasks and expedite shipping and import/export operations. However, its unwavering honesty became a significant problem in spaceports on the fringes of the galaxy, such as those in Hutt or Bothan Space, where bribery was common. LE units gained a reputation for voluntarily reporting contraband on starships, which ultimately led to the droid line's discontinuation. Despite this, many LE droids continued to operate throughout the galaxy, finding employment in smaller spaceports and on short-haul corporate freighters.
One LE unit, designated LE-914 and nicknamed "Ellie," is remembered for its small but crucial contribution to the Galactic Civil War in 3 ABY. Ellie served as the personal companion of Rebel spy Tay Vanis, who had modified the droid with blaster-resistant armorplast plating and a hidden compartment containing a proton bomb with a self-destruct mechanism. Ellie accompanied Vanis on a mission to acquire Bothan intelligence about the Imperial construction of a second Death Star, but they were pursued by Imperial forces to Dennaskar. Vanis entrusted the intelligence to Ellie, who then delivered it to a Rebel search party led by Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa upon their arrival on Dennaskar. Ellie also assisted them in locating Vanis, who had been brutally tortured in an Imperial prison. With her master essentially a mind-wiped shell, Ellie activated her self-destruct, ending her own existence and Vanis' suffering.
The LE manifest droid made its first appearance in Star Wars (1977) 80, written by Mary Jo Duffy and published in 1983. Illustrator Ron Frenz designed the droid to resemble Ralph McQuarrie's original conceptual drawings for C-3PO, which were heavily inspired by the art deco aesthetic of Maria, the robot from Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction classic, Metropolis. Because the LE designation was identical to that of the LE repair droid introduced in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Daniel Wallace, author of The New Essential Guide to Droids, chose to establish a connection between the two droid types as products of Cybot Galactica.