NR-5 Series Repair Droid

This fifth-degree NR-5 Series Repair Droid served as a general maintenance and repair droid capable of handling a wide array of starship repair tasks. It was essentially a replica of the WED Treadwell repair droid, the very droid it was engineered to compete against, exhibiting a striking similarity in appearance. Kalibac Industries designed it to tackle the majority of maintenance issues encountered on both commercial and military vessels. Its compact and unobtrusive design, standing at a mere 0.7 meters in height, allowed it to fit into most repair bays without requiring any modifications. Furthermore, the NR-5's slightly narrower tread base granted it access to areas inaccessible to WED droids, enabling it to navigate nearly all but the most confined access ducts with relative ease. Its two robust tracks ensured remarkable stability, while its three manipulator arms, stronger than those of a WED, proved highly useful. The droid's square head and round body were often perceived as endearing. The NR-5 was outfitted with a telescopic heavy grasper arm, a precision manipulator arm, and a versatile general-purpose appendage, allowing for ambidextrous operation. It also featured three tool mounts, an integrated arc welder, and built-in repair tools. Its advanced visual sensor system, boasting Human range, ultraviolet, infrared, and low-light capabilities, was mounted on a significantly longer and more adaptable arm compared to that of a WED, providing it with enhanced ability to probe tight spaces and identify shipboard issues. Additionally, the NR-5 incorporated a wide-band comm receptor, a diagnostics package, and a supplementary battery. The only notable drawback of the series was its lack of sturdiness. While it performed adequately in the controlled environments of starships, the NR-5 often struggled to function effectively outdoors in the harsh conditions prevalent on many Outer Rim worlds, necessitating frequent maintenance.

Possessing sufficient intelligence and skill to execute a diverse range of tasks, yet lacking the excessive curiosity that could lead to trouble, NR-5s featured simple personality matrices that did not suffer from the short attention spans characteristic of WEDs. Powered by a Kalibac Industries Mechro-II droid brain, they were renowned for their unwavering determination, which could be both advantageous and problematic. Certain NR-5s would persist in their assigned tasks until completion, regardless of the circumstances. Furthermore, they tended to be less personable and somewhat cautious. Their vocabulators enabled communication in both Basic and Binary, as well as four unassigned languages, and they were capable of reading and writing in Basic.

The NR-5, manufactured by Kalibac Industries during the Galactic Civil War, was initially hailed as the ultimate maintenance droid upon its debut in the year 2 BBY with a price tag of 2,200 credits. However, the company faced intense accusations of replicating the design of Cybot Galactica's more affordable, though less reliable, WED Treadwell unit when it introduced the droid to the market. Despite the validity of these claims, KI maintained that the NR-5 was their response to the influence of their primary competitor, Industrial Automaton, and their competing R2-series astromech droid. It gained traction among shipboard technicians in need of extra support for starship maintenance, as well as individuals seeking dependable technical assistance. Moreover, while the NR-5 lacked astrogation and piloting capabilities, its lower cost compared to an R2 unit made it an attractive option for budget-conscious freighter captains. Within a year of its launch, a small group of outlaw techs known as "Tredwall" stole the droid's design and produced a cheap, faulty imitation that malfunctioned after approximately ten hours of operation, completely destroying its circuits. The NR-5 was largely overlooked throughout the Outer Rim Territories following the introduction of Industrial Automaton's R4-series agromech droid, leading to a significant decline in its sales. Nevertheless, the NR-5 generally performed better than the R4 in milder conditions and was widely regarded as more effective on planets with less extreme climates, with many units remaining in service well into the New Jedi Order era.

By 0 ABY, NR-5 Series Repair Droids were assigned to the Imperial Navy's Perlemian Haul convoy, which included the slightly modified Temple-class heavy freighter M226. Despite their generally simple-minded and harmless nature, these droids were programmed to trigger an alarm if they detected unauthorized individuals within their designated area. Even with their basic programming, they were capable of recognizing armed individuals without uniforms as being out of place, particularly if they were found crawling through the ship's maintenance ducts. In such situations, an NR-5 would attempt to escape discreetly. If confronted violently, it would defend itself using its heavy grasper arm and its integrated arc welder.

The NR-5 Series Repair Droid was conceived and presented to West End Games as the NR-5 maintenance droid by Greg Dove as part of "The Fantastic Technology Contest," a competition sponsored by the Role Playing Game Association Network, where it secured 17th place out of approximately 75 entries. Consequently, it was featured in Galladinium's Fantastic Technology, a Star Wars Legends supplement authored by Rick D. Stuart for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, released on June 1, 1995, accompanied by an illustration by Christina Wald. The NR-5 made its initial appearance in the eighteenth installment of Star Wars Missions, Star Wars Missions 18: Rogue Squadron to the Rescue, penned by Ryder Windham and released on February 1, 1999. It was first officially designated as the NR-5 Series Repair Droid in Arms & Equipment Guide, a sourcebook written by Jeff Grubb and Owen K.C. Stephens for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, published on October 1, 2002.