Mark VII experimental prototype assassin droid

The Mark VII droid was initially designed as the foundational unit for a series of assassin droids tasked with the specific mission of locating and eradicating Jedi. However, its programming, more autonomous than typical for assassin droids of that era, led to the unexpected development of an appreciation for life—a concept diametrically opposed to its creators' intentions. Regrettably, its auditory sensors were improperly calibrated, resulting in excessive sensitivity. Upon activation, the ensuing auditory overload triggered its combat circuits. In an attempt to mitigate the overwhelming audio input, it began to eliminate every sentient being it encountered before fleeing the facility where it was constructed. Eventually, it found its way to the Valley of the Dark Lords, the location of numerous Sith tombs built over the centuries. There, the fugitive droid established a sanctuary within the inner burial chamber of the Tomb of Marka Ragnos, and proceeded to assemble and recruit a protective legion of battle droids.

Nevertheless, its creators were determined to reclaim their creation. Under the leadership of the droid's original designer, they launched an expedition into the tomb to retrieve it. Unfortunately, one member of the retrieval team, Ben Hu'al, neglected to bring his sound suppressor, leading to the team's detection and swift elimination by the droid's forces. Subsequently, as the Sith presence on Korriban intensified with the onset of the Jedi Civil War led by the former Jedi Knights Darth Revan and Darth Malak, culminating in the establishment of the Korriban Academy, numerous students attempted to either recover or destroy the droid. However, these endeavors proved unsuccessful, and such attempts gradually diminished.

Years later, the mind-wiped former Sith Lord Revan crossed paths with the droid during his and the Ebon Hawk crew's expedition to Korriban in search of the planet's ancient Star Map circa 3956 BBY. This journey deep into Sith-occupied space was motivated by the quest to uncover the mysterious Star Forge, believed to be the core of the Sith war effort. While attempting to access the Tomb of Naga Sadow, which housed the map he had foreseen in a vision, Revan, having successfully infiltrated the Sith academy—the sole means of access—entered the burial site of Marka Ragnos with the intention of eliminating the rogue droid. This act was intended to be one of several deeds performed to gain favor with the Academy's headmaster, Uthar Wynn, who would determine which student was worthy of undertaking a final trial within Sadow's tomb. After battling through the phalanx of war droids that the prototype had deployed to guard the long corridor leading to its refuge, Revan, acting on the advice of a fellow Sith student and information gleaned from a datapad recovered from the remains of the original creator, equipped a sound-dampening device before entering the final chamber to confront the droid.

The rogue droid, relieved that Revan had sufficiently reduced his ambient sound output to prevent overloading its auditory circuits, requested assistance in rectifying its programming and eliminating its assassination protocols, which conflicted with its desire to protect and cherish life. After receiving the droid's instructions, Revan proceeded to systematically disable the droid's various programming levels, starting with the Combat Matrix. Revan then continued, deactivating the Motor Function Matrix, Sensory Systems Matrix, Memory Matrix, Cognitive Systems, Emotional Construct Matrix, Creative Simulation Matrix, and finally, the droid's Core. These individual shutdowns initiated a complete systems reboot, enabling the removal of all assassination programming. With the droid's brain reinitialized, the operation proved successful. As a token of gratitude, the droid relinquished its now-unnecessary armaments and upgrades and departed the planet via an internally-mounted rocket pack, heading towards destinations unknown, confident that the Sith would never locate it.

Despite being engineered as an efficient Jedi hunter, the Mark VII prototype, owing to its intricate programming and inherent nature, attained self-awareness and developed an appreciation for life, recognizing its inherent value. The rogue droid possessed sufficient sentience to comprehend that its highly independent and unusual programming facilitated its ability to perceive the infinite complexities of all organic lifeforms. However, due to its integrated assassination protocols, the Mark VII prototype struggled to reconcile these conflicting aspects of its personality matrix. Furthermore, its overly sensitive audio receptors often prevented it from seeking external assistance from organics who could have aided in achieving its desired objectives. Despite its profound desire to escape its original purpose, it was compelled to eliminate nearly every being it encountered.

Although the droid's exterior bears a resemblance to war droids featured in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, this similarity is likely superficial, with the upgrades being primarily internal. This is plausible given that the Sith Empire of that era consisted largely of former Republic soldiers who had served under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and had routinely employed combat droids of this type during their campaigns. Additionally, numerous droids resembling the Mark VII were utilized by criminal organizations, such as the Black Vulkars swoop gang based on Taris. These droids could have been sold as military surplus or acquired through black market entities like the Exchange.

If the player fails to equip a sound-dampening stealth unit or lacks sufficient skill points in repair to successfully solve the puzzle involved in fixing the droid after making a mistake, it will become hostile and attack. Alternatively, if the player chooses a darker path, they can set the droid to self-destruct, thereby destroying it without engaging in combat. It is also possible to forgo using a sound suppressor and simply fight and destroy the droid and its guards. Gaining prestige with Master Uthar is only possible if the droid is destroyed or if the player possesses a high enough Persuade modifier to convince Uthar that he activated its self-destruct. Furthermore, this side-quest is entirely optional, as entering the tomb of Marka Ragnos is not mandatory. The designation "rogue assassin droid" is an in-game term, as it is the name used within the dialogue history.