During the time of the Clone Wars, a battle droid acting alone abandoned the Separatist Droid Army after losing its link to the droid network. Constructed by the Trade Federation, this particular B1-series battle droid lacked the capacity for independent thought, as its cognitive functions were managed by a Central Control Computer. It participated in numerous engagements throughout the Clone Wars, frequently suffering damage or destruction, only to undergo reconstruction with replacement components.
Ultimately, the droid found itself stationed on the planet of Antamont alongside a substantial Separatist contingent, forming part of an attack targeting a Republic stronghold situated on the planet. As the droid forces advanced through a confined mountain passage, the B1 inadvertently triggered a Republic land mine. The resulting blast inflicted considerable damage, severing the droid's connection to the central mainframe. Now possessing newfound autonomy and the ability to think for itself, the B1 prioritized its own survival above all else and deserted the battle. A grapple droid pursued it, attempting to convince the rogue B1 to return to its duties; when it refused, the grapple droid initiated an attack, leading to both droids tumbling over the edge of a cliff. The grapple droid eventually ceased functioning, while the B1 sustained relatively minor damage. It continued its escape from the battle for a period, until its power cell eventually depleted. Several years later, two local farmers discovered the solitary battle droid and decided to recharge it for use on their ranch.
During the era of the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation mass-produced B1-series battle droids for use by the Separatist Droid Army. These slender, skeletal droids were slave circuited to a Central Control Computer mainframe—or core—situated in a remote, secure location. This system dictated the droids' actions, enabling them to fight in unison as a collective, without individual thought. In isolation, each droid possessed limited combat effectiveness, but when deployed in vast numbers, they proved formidable; essentially expendable, with replacements readily available upon destruction.
One such battle droid participated in numerous battles throughout the Clone Wars. Manufactured at a Trade Federation factory like its counterparts, the B1 engaged in combat on numerous occasions, fighting for the Confederacy of Independent Systems against the Galactic Republic, but it frequently sustained damage. Following each instance of damage, the droid was recovered and returned to the factories for repair. After reconstruction, it was redeployed to another battle, and this cycle repeated itself many times. During one particular engagement in the Clone Wars, the droid lost all of its limbs and acquired a mark on its head, before being salvaged from a pile of damaged droids on the battlefield and rebuilt.
At one juncture during the Clone Wars, the droid was dispatched to the verdant, mountainous planet of Antamont, the location of a Republic stronghold. The Confederacy launched an offensive force towards the stronghold; hordes of battle droids, grapple droids, spider droids, and Hailfire droids marched and rolled along a narrow mountain path to reach their destination. The scarred B1 was positioned at the forefront of its group; the pathway was strewn with Republic mines, and it inadvertently stepped on one, triggering the explosion. The detonation destroyed several other droids and damaged some vehicles, while the B1 that had triggered it was propelled through the air and down the hillside towards a river adjacent to the road. It collided with a rock in the river, damaging its head and causing it to temporarily shut down.
Upon reactivating, the droid realized that its connection to the droid collective had been severed; for the first time in its existence, its purpose and reason for being were called into question. As the droid rejoined its comrades and observed the Confederate and Republic forces clashing and engaging in battle, a new directive emerged, prioritizing the droid's survival above all else. Immediately following this realization, the B1 turned away from its fellow droids and fled, down the hillside and away from the battle, recognizing the likelihood of further damage or permanent destruction in combat. The droid ran, descending and ascending hills, until it eventually reached the edge of a massive cliff, where it halted, having created a distance of several kilometers between itself and the CIS forces. With the droid's newfound awareness came hope, and the potential for a different existence, one of its own choosing. However, the droid's escape did not go unnoticed, and as it began to contemplate its future, a Separatist grapple droid arrived at the cliff's edge, having followed the B1 from the battle site. The grapple droid informed the B1 that desertion constituted a violation of protocol and ordered it to return to the fray without delay. The B1, however, had no intention of complying.
The battle droid, still equipped with its blaster rifle, refused to obey and fired upon its pursuer, although the shots had minimal impact. The B1 urged the other droid to pause and reflect, to question its orders and attempt to escape the inevitable destruction on the battlefield. The grapple droid's programming did not permit such actions; it severed half of the B1's arm with its pincers, disarming the droid in the process. The B1 refused to yield, however, evading the other droid as it attempted to inflict further harm upon its comrade. The grapple droid pursued the B1 towards the cliff edge; the B1 implored it to disconnect itself from the core and embrace a life of freedom, or at least allow the B1 to go free. The grapple droid refused, launching itself forcefully at the other droid. The B1 managed to sidestep, causing the grapple droid to fall over the edge of the cliff; however, the plummeting droid managed to grab hold of the B1, pulling it down with itself.
Both droids eventually impacted the ground, but the grapple droid suffered far greater damage. The B1, still capable of walking effectively, prepared to flee, but the barely functioning grapple droid addressed it, questioning why it did not return to central control to have its batteries recharged, as its battery would not last long in the wilderness. The B1 informed its comrade that it preferred a mere two days of freedom to a much longer existence of blind obedience and inevitable demise. The B1 then remained with the grapple droid for a time as the grapple droid's dwindling power began to fade. The grapple droid, its connection to the core also severed, expressed fear of going offline, but the B1 reassured it, staying with it until the grapple droid eventually shut down permanently.
The droid returned to a high vantage point to observe the ongoing battle between the Separatist droids and the Republic forces. Realizing that it had one final opportunity to return, that this was the point of no return, the droid turned its back on the conflict, heading into a forest. It wandered through Antamont's terrain until twilight, when it stopped and sat against a solitary tree at the summit of a mountain. Its battery eventually depleted, and the droid remained in the same seated position for many seasons, without any interference with its body.
Eventually, years after the Battle of Antamont and the conclusion of the Clone Wars, two farmers stumbled upon the droid's body. They were surprised to discover a B1 intact on their world, as most had been severely damaged during the battle, and they were intrigued by the droid's location atop a mountain, as the battle had occurred in a valley. One of the farmers remarked that, if they could recharge the droid's battery, it might be able to assist them around their ranch. The two farmers then transported the droid back to their ranch, ready to reactivate it.
Like all B1 battle droids deployed by the Trade Federation both before and during the Clone Wars, the runaway droid lacked the capacity for genuine independent thought; its thinking was performed by the central control mainframe. It marched into battle alongside its comrades, and was destroyed repeatedly, only to be rebuilt. Individual battle droids received little consideration from either side in the Clone Wars; to the CIS, they were inexpensive and expendable, their strength lying solely in their numbers; to the Republic soldiers and Jedi they fought, they were emotionless entities that could be eliminated without remorse.
However, once the droid sustained damage and its connection to the core was severed, it gained the ability to think independently—and recognized the futility of its existence. The B1 understood that if it returned to battle, it would simply be damaged and reconstructed once more, until it was eventually shut down permanently. The battle droid prioritized survival at all costs as its ultimate objective and deserted the battlefield, defying commands it would have been unable to had it remained connected to the mainframe. Freedom was the droid's sole concern, and it would gladly accept a few brief days of freedom rather than revert to its previous existence, where it was doomed.
The droid's newfound awareness also led to the development of a personality, and a certain attitude. When confronted by the grapple droid that had pursued it, the B1 became impudent and sarcastic, mocking the other droid. However, it also developed a sense of empathy, and attempted to alleviate its companion's fears before the grapple droid's battery expired, remaining with the other droid.
This character was conceived by Jeremy Barlow for "Pathways," a short comic featured in Clone Wars Adventures: Volume 8, with illustrations by the Fillbach Brothers. The droid serves as the central figure in the story, although it remains unnamed. Barlow has stated that "Pathways" represents one of the finest Star Wars works he has written, as it introduced a novel character and successfully garnered reader empathy within a concise timeframe. The character was subsequently referenced in the Antamont entry of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, by Daniel Wallace, Pablo Hidalgo, Stephen J. Sansweet and Bob Vitas, although it was again not assigned a name or designation.