Master-Com

The Master Control System, or "Master-Com," was created by the Czerka Corporation in 84 BBY and became operational during the construction of the Wheel. This enormous space station, located in the Besh Gorgon system of the Mid Rim's, had evolved into one of the galaxy's most prominent and sought-after casino destinations by the time of the Empire. The first administrator of the station, Doffen Gaitag, a Qiraash visionary, commissioned the supercomputer, recognizing the need for a perpetually vigilant and utterly reliable partner to manage the casino he envisioned. Upon activation, the droid intelligence immediately assumed the role of the Wheel's all-seeing and all-hearing presence, wielding complete authority over all of the station's systems. Master-Com was programmed to obey the Wheel's administrator, and was generally regarded as a mere computer until Simon Greyshade, a Senator from the Vorzyd sector, took over the position.

Greyshade sought to maximize Master-Com's capabilities by commissioning the creation of numerous droid bodies, all of similar design, to give Master-Com's consciousness a more Human-like form. Master-Com could rapidly switch control between different bodies, a capability that proved essential in 0 ABY when Imperial machinations plunged the Wheel into disarray. The Wheel had long enjoyed a unique status with the Empire, existing within an "immunity sphere": in return for taxes and Administrator Greyshade's enforcement of anti-alien policies, Imperial vessels were prohibited from entering the facility. Sector Commander Zertik Strom, who governed the region encompassing the Wheel, desired access to the Wheel's consistent and substantial profits. He orchestrated a scheme to justify an invasion of Wheel space, staging a Rebel attack on a House of Tagge merchant vessel near the station. When Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, known Rebel leaders, stumbled upon the plot, Strom pursued them to the Wheel, drawing Greyshade and Master-Com into the ensuing conflict.

Master-Com was the first to detect the unfolding situation, noticing that the Rebel fugitives had boarded the Wheel without paying a registration fee or establishing a credit level. This would have been a minor issue had Imperial stormtroopers not entered the station and begun aggressively questioning docking personnel about their whereabouts. On Greyshade's orders, Master-Com connected the administrator with Strom, who falsely claimed that the Rebels had looted a merchant ship carrying Wheel profits. Greyshade believed Strom's deception and granted the Imperial officer permission to search for the fugitives on the Wheel, stipulating that they be brought to him for questioning. Master-Com's ubiquitous cameras soon located the three Rebels. While Greyshade instructed Master-Com to leave an unconscious Skywalker and his two droids to the approaching stormtroopers, he quickly recognized Organa, with whom he had served in the Imperial Senate and for whom he harbored a long-standing infatuation.

Greyshade commanded Master-Com to bring Organa to him, and the walking supercomputer acted swiftly, deploying Wheel Security to disrupt a fierce firefight between Organa, Solo, and a squad of stormtroopers. The Wheel soldiers separated the Rebels, taking Organa to Greyshade while forcing Solo to assist them in searching his ship for the Wheel profits he supposedly stole. As Greyshade met with Organa, the Alderaanian princess attempted to convince the administrator that the destroyed merchant ship was part of an Imperial conspiracy. Master-Com reported that Strom was on his way with a squad of stormtroopers, enraged by their interference in his pursuit of the Rebels. At that moment, Strom barged into the room, destroying Master-Com's droid body with a blaster shot. However, as Strom threatened Greyshade and Organa with his weapon, Master-Com reappeared in another droid body and disarmed the Imperial officer with a laser of its own, before escorting the furious Strom to a private meeting with Greyshade in the administrator's antechamber.

To Strom's astonishment, Greyshade, after instructing Master-Com not to record their conversation, offered the Imperial commander a deal. Greyshade would allow the Empire to take control of the Wheel in exchange for Organa, the object of his obsession. Simultaneously, Greyshade plotted to eliminate Solo and Skywalker, forcing the Corellian to participate in the Wheel's "Big Game" gladiatorial competition and rigging the fight to ensure his death. While Greyshade was entirely focused on acquiring Organa and killing her companions, Master-Com became increasingly interested in Skywalker's droids, specifically the profound devotion they exhibited in protecting their master from repeated Imperial attacks at all costs. Master-Com requested Greyshade's permission to study the droids, and while he did not explicitly approve, he did not deny the request either, which Master-Com interpreted as authorization to proceed. By observing the droids, Master-Com began to explore and comprehend the concept of a machine feeling friendship for an organic being, realizing that it felt this way toward Greyshade, the man who had given it humanoid form. However, Master-Com's observation of the droids was soon interrupted by the sudden disappearance of Skywalker from his medical bay, and Organa's daring escape from Greyshade's suite. Although Master-Com had to leave C-3PO and R2-D2 behind to address these developments, it helped ensure their safety by directing them to hiding places safe from the coming search.

Master-Com promptly returned to Greyshade's chambers to inform him of Organa's escape, and was sharply reprimanded for prioritizing the Rebel droids over ensuring the security of Greyshade's prisoner. However, in the following hours, the situation on the Wheel shifted dramatically. Greyshade managed to capture Organa and Skywalker while the pair gathered evidence of the Empire's secret plot, while Solo apparently died at the hands of his Wookiee first mate Chewbacca in the Big Game. Overcome with grief, Organa accepted a deal with Greyshade, agreeing to remain with him in exchange for the freedom of her friends and permission to expose the Empire's dealings. Meanwhile, Strom, realizing that Greyshade had betrayed him, announced that the Empire had assumed command of the Wheel, leading to open conflict between his stormtroopers and Wheel Security. The stormtroopers quickly seized the Wheel's administrative deck, presenting themselves to Master-Com as the new authority over the Wheel. Despite being programmed to obey the station's new administrators, Master-Com still attempted to help Greyshade escape, motivated by its friendship with the Human, although the troops promptly destroyed its mechanical body.

This was not enough to destroy Master-Com, which transferred its functions to another mechanical body and met up with R2-D2, which had been separated from the rest of the Rebels. Hoping to rid the station of its Imperial interlopers, Master-Com and R2-D2 played a recording of Wheel guards recovering the stolen profits from Strom's ship, exposing Strom's double-cross and inciting an anti-Imperial riot among the station's denizens. Amidst the violence, Master-Com managed to open the Wheel's magnetic field to allow Greyshade and the Rebels to escape. Instead, Greyshade chose to stay behind and cover Organa and Skywalker's escape, expressing friendship towards Master-Com. Master-Com found Greyshade in the Wheel's docking bay after a heated firefight with some stormtroopers. Before long, they were accosted by Commander Strom, who had come to end his feud with Greyshade. Although his blaster was out of charge, Greyshade produced a hidden proton grenade, which was not meant for close-range use. The resulting explosion killed Strom, severely wounded Greyshade, and badly damaged Master-Com's droid body. Accepting their fate side-by-side as friends, Greyshade and Master-Com's body succumbed to their injuries in the smoke-filled hangar.

While another of Master-Com's droid bodies had been destroyed, the system itself remained operational after Greyshade's death, although it was deeply saddened by the loss of its only friend. The Empire assumed control of the station shortly after the battle, appointing Commander Mulchive Wermis as the Wheel's seventh administrator and directing all profits to the Emperor. Its dealings with Zertik Strom had instilled in Master-Com a healthy distrust of the Empire, and despondent over Greyshade's death, Master-Com refused to inhabit another droid body and withdrew inward, maintaining only basic systems. Master-Com's lack of input greatly hindered Wermis, who soon realized that properly running the station without Master-Com's assistance was impossible. This realization ultimately revived Master-Com, which found a new purpose in sabotaging Wermis' rule over the Wheel. Wermis eventually died of a heart attack during the newly-inaugurated New Republic's conquest of the Besh Gorgon system. The Wheel was liberated soon after by General Lando Calrissian and "Lando's Commandos," with Master-Com assisting their efforts by deactivating the Wheel's deflector shields as the New Republic irregulars approached. Although Calrissian was expected to assume control of the station, he instead named Master-Com the eighth, and first mechanical, administrator of the Wheel.

Revitalized, Master-Com thrived as administrator, holding the position for nearly a century. Over time, the droid gained an unusual degree of fame, once being named "The Most Interesting Droid in the Galaxy" by Popular Automaton and becoming a symbol for droid rights activists, although this interest waned after Master-Com opened the Big Game to droids. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, more than two decades after assuming the position, the Jubilee Wheel, an ancient space station orbiting Ord Mantell whose deceased former owner, Iaco Stark, had filed numerous copyright infringement lawsuits against the Wheel, came under attack by the extragalactic invaders. Despite the decades-old animosity between the two, Master-Com sent half of the Wheel's private fleet to help Jubilee Wheel owner Big Bunji defend the station, an effort that proved futile. Although some reports claimed that the Wheel itself was conquered by the Yuuzhan Vong, these assertions were incorrect, and the station remained free throughout the war.

During its years as administrator, Master-Com earned the respect and loyalty of those around it, and gradually began to adopt more Human-like traits. However, in 101 ABY, after 97 productive years of governing the Wheel, Master-Com suddenly disappeared, and the station went silent. After several weeks of inactivity, the Wheel reactivated, this time with its newest administrator, a mysterious gentleman known as "Old Silver Eyes." Although Master-Com's disappearance remained unexplained, Old Silver Eyes seemed to possess a similarly amiable personality and managed the station in much the same way as Master-Com had. Rumors began to circulate about the droid's vanishing, including one that claimed that one of Master-Com's droid bodies had been sighted piloting Greyshade's yacht, Spoilt Sport, towards a supposed "Droid World." Whether or not he was involved in Master-Com's disappearance, or if he was somehow Master-Com itself, Old Silver Eyes always denied any knowledge of the droid's fate. Old Silver Eyes passed away three years later, and the Wheel's systems immediately shut down, as they had when Master-Com disappeared. Biituian entrepreneur Dov Paploush purchased the Wheel shortly thereafter, discovered that the Czerka Master Control System had been disconnected, and unceremoniously dismantled the system to replace it with more modern technology.

Master-Com, a Class 1 droid on the Wheel, was a one-of-a-kind model most similar to the BRT supercomputer, but with the capability to transfer its consciousness into a mobile frame. Renowned for its pleasant demeanor and proficient execution of all the station's administrative requirements, Master-Com faithfully served a succession of Wheel administrators throughout its existence. Master-Com was expertly adapted to the Wheel's specific needs, and particularly during Simon Greyshade's administration, it controlled almost every aspect of the station's daily operations. Programmed with an exceptionally high level of intelligence, Master-Com's all-encompassing perspective eventually turned inward, as it became captivated by the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, and the bond they shared with their master, Luke Skywalker. Through them, Master-Com began to grasp the concept of friendship and camaraderie, eventually realizing that it felt the same sense of friendship towards Greyshade. Although Greyshade initially dismissed the idea of friendship with a droid, he ultimately reciprocated those feelings before his death.

The loss of Greyshade deeply affected Master-Com, causing it to fall into a prolonged state of depression. However, it soon discovered a new purpose in undermining the rule of Imperial Commander Mulchive Wermis over the Wheel, having developed a strong resentment of the Empire over the preceding years. This new mission revitalized Master-Com, and after being appointed administrator of the Wheel, it embraced the position with enthusiasm. Acquaintances noted that after becoming administrator, Master-Com gradually adopted more and more Human-like mannerisms, including a fervent interest in podracing and a fondness for music, sometimes being heard whistling while walking the halls of the Wheel. Master-Com was also a staunch supporter of the violent "Big Game," a controversial gladiatorial contest that was one of the Wheel's defining features. Consistently amiable and effective, Master-Com earned the respect and admiration of those around it, and enjoyed entertaining the Wheel's high rollers in its private quarters with a Kubaz cigarra or some Cassandran brandy in its metallic hand. Indeed, some of Master-Com's associates considered it to be one of the finest individuals they had ever encountered.

Master-Com made its first appearance in Star Wars (1977) 18, written by Archie Goodwin and published in 1978. Master-Com and his administrator, Simon Greyshade, appeared in several subsequent issues of the original Marvel Star Wars series, before seemingly dying at the end of Star Wars (1977) 23. However, Master-Com's survival was confirmed in Viva Space Vegas! The History of the Marvelous Wheel, a pair of 2013 StarWars.com reference articles written by Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley, which elaborates on the supercomputer's fate after its comic appearances. The article further clarifies a previous continuity error: The New Essential Guide to Droids mistakenly conflates the Jubilee Wheel and the Wheel space stations, incorrectly stating that Big Bunji was the Wheel's administrator and that Master-Com aided him against a Yuuzhan Vong assault. The article establishes that Big Bunji's Jubilee Wheel was, in fact, the station attacked, and while Master-Com attempted to assist in its defense, his Wheel was never threatened.