M4-78, a planet of droids shrouded in legend, was rumored to have existed since the era of the Old Republic. During his time on Drongar, I-5YQ once made a lighthearted remark about his supposed former status as the overthrown monarch of this world.
The detailed history of this planet remains largely obscured; however, it is documented that droids were dispatched to the planet with the purpose of exploiting its resources and laying the groundwork for future colonization. The droid overseeing this undertaking was an advanced intelligence designated M4-78, who received support in the colonization efforts from two additional intelligences: IS-24, an industrial Archon, and ES-05, an environmental Archon. As the colonization progressed, the Sith appeared, asserting their claim as the planet's original colonists. M4-78, programmed to obey these "colonists" upon their arrival, commanded the planet's droid population to provide the Sith with any assistance required. After recognizing the planet's abundant natural resources and the droids' proficiency in extracting and refining them, the Sith instructed IS-24 to initiate the production of a massive droid army. To conserve resources and energy, the Sith deactivated M4-78.
Eventually, Master Lonna Vash and her apprentice Kaah Ohtok journeyed to M4-78, with the intention of putting an end to the Sith occupation. Kaah, possessing expertise in computer systems, successfully infiltrated the colony's environmental systems, where he and Vash ultimately managed to convince ES-05 that the Sith were imposters. Kaah and ES-05 formulated a strategy to inundate the colony with radiation, eliminating all the Sith inhabitants and leaving only the droids.
However, before their demise, the Sith managed to accomplish two objectives. Firstly, they intentionally disrupted the connection between IS-24 and ES-05, making it difficult for the two Archons to easily reactivate M4-78. Secondly, a contingent of Sith managed to locate and assault Kaah and Vash's position. Vash was rendered unconscious, resulting in the separation of the Master and Padawan. Upon losing contact with Vash, Kaah presumed her death, which motivated him to embark on an ill-conceived mission to prevent any Sith from reclaiming M4-78.
Upon their arrival on M4-78, only droid companions were permitted to explore the planet until they successfully mitigated the radiation released by Kaah and ES-05. When the Jedi Exile finally gained access to certain areas of M4-78, she encountered IS-24, who informed her that ES-05's consent was also necessary for M4-78's reactivation. As the Exile traversed the environmental zone to communicate with ES-05, she was contacted by Kaah, who was posing as ES-05. Kaah accused the Exile of being a Sith Lord and refused to heed anything she had to say. He dispatched numerous waves of droids to attack her, attempting to thwart what he perceived as the resurgence of a Sith occupation. Eventually, the Exile reached Kaah, where his true identity as Vash's apprentice was exposed. The Exile then had the choice of guiding him back to the light, eliminating him, or pushing him to the point of self-destruction. With Kaah finally removed from the equation, the Exile was able to converse with the genuine ES-05, who agreed to reactivate M4-78.
With M4-78 now operational, the Exile gained entry to the Main Behavior Core, the location of M4-78's central processing unit. It was here that the Exile was destined to reunite with Vash. Vash recounted to the Exile that she had been rescued by L5-65, one of the droids the Exile had encountered patrolling M4-78's Central Zone, following her confrontation with the Sith. L5-65 had transported her to M4-78, where she had been confined ever since. The Exile was presented with the option of killing Vash at this point or agreeing to meet her on Dantooine alongside the other Jedi Masters.
Darth Sion, having discovered the Exile's whereabouts, traveled to the system and seemingly killed the Exile. On the Ebon Hawk, the main characters discussed the future of the galaxy. Kreia stated that with the Jedi now eradicated, the Sith would inevitably turn on each other.
Aboard Darth Nihilus's vessel, the Ravager, Sion confronted Nihilus, asserting his superiority now that the Jedi were gone. He ignited his lightsaber, but Nihilus reacted swiftly, attacking him with the Force. Sion realized he was not as powerful as he thought and departed in disgrace.
Some time later, T3-M4 revived the Exile, who was not dead after all. They returned to the Ebon Hawk and departed M4-78.
When the Mirialan Padawan Barriss Offee inquired about his memory restoration progress, the protocol droid I-5YQ jokingly expressed his hope of discovering that he was the ousted ruler of M4-78. Offee smiled, recognizing the location as the fabled planet of droids, rumored to date back to the Old Republic, while also being amused by I-Five's unexpected sense of humor.
The planet achieved canon status through its mention in the short story MedStar: Intermezzo. Despite being showcased during an E3 event, it was ultimately removed from the final game due to a variety of factors. A primary reason for this decision was that Obsidian was under pressure from LucasArts to complete the game by Christmas, necessitating certain cuts to ensure timely completion. M4-78 was among the casualties of these cuts.
Additional factors contributing to its removal included the perception that other planets in the game lacked sufficient content, leading to the relocation of many elements originally intended for M4-78 to other planets. For instance, the shuttle-docking puzzle on Nar Shaddaa was initially designed for M4-78. Another reason for its removal was the striking similarity between its plot and the Peragus Mining Facility section of the game.
While extensive dialogues, and in some instances voice-overs, exist within the game's files for Vash, Kaah, IS-24, and ES-05, nothing remains or was ever implemented for M4-78 itself, significantly impeding modders' ability to fully comprehend its role in the narrative.
M4-78 was structured into 7 modules: Landing Arm (the Ebon Hawk's landing site), Central Zone (initially saturated with radiation, serving as a gateway to other areas), Environment Control Zone (also initially saturated with radiation, where Kaah first impersonated ES-05), Industry Control Zone, Archon I Behavior Core (housing ES-05, where the PC encountered Kaah), Archon II Behavior Core (housing IS-24), and Main Behavior Core (housing M4-78, where the PC encountered Vash).
M4-78 has been brought back to life as a mod. [1]