OOM-9 functioned as the commanding officer for the Trade Federation's droid army during their invasion of the planet Naboo in 32 BBY; he was an OOM command battle droid. After Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice came back from Coruscant alongside Queen Amidala, acquiring assistance from the Gungan Grand Army, OOM-9 was tasked with leading the Federation's battle droid army to eradicate the gungans. OOM-9 served as the main point of contact for relaying instructions from Trade Federation leaders Nute Gunray and Rune Haako to the ground troops. From within his personal Armored Assault Tank, he directed the battle, instructing units to overwhelm settlements and sabotage communication transmitters to prevent the population from reporting the invasion. Although the droids initially secured a victory for the Federation, it was short-lived; all Federation battle droids were deactivated when Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship orbiting Naboo. OOM-9 was affected by the control ship's destruction, resulting in his temporary incapacitation.
Baktoid Combat Automata built OOM-9, who was a commander of the Trade Federation's private droid army and an OOM command battle droid of the B1-series battle droid line. When the manufacturing company commenced the production of battle droids at the Federation's request, Baktoid was compelled to address the issues raised by their client, specifically the construction of battle droids incapable of independent operation. This requirement mandated that the droids rely on a Central Control Computer situated on a starship in planetary orbit. Consequently, for the Federation to transmit commands and communications to their droid armies on the ground, the manufacturing company had to produce a series of command battle droids; OOM-9 was the most successful unit created.
Despite not having a particularly remarkable history, OOM-9 served in the Federation army as more than just a simple squadron commander. He was promoted to commander general of the organization's droid armies while serving the Federation. Despite his unremarkable reputation, the droid control computer chose him using digital frequency. OOM-9 then became the primary point of contact for Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray and other commanders of the organization's private military forces.
Later, in 32 BBY, OOM-9 participated in the Federation's blockade of the Mid Rim Territories world of Naboo, led by Viceroy Gunray, as a protest against the Galactic Republic's issuance of Prop 31-814D. OOM-9 was given special programming to serve as one of the command battle droids during the impending invasion of Naboo at some point during the blockade. He was transported by a fleet of Lucrehulk-class Battleships, warships that had been illegally modified from the organization's Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighters.
However, after the seventh day of the week-long blockade, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were dispatched from the Jedi Order as Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum's ambassadors in an attempt to negotiate an end to the blockade. Viceroy Gunray contacted his secret ally, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, to discuss the situation. Sidious then instructed the Neimoidian to speed up the execution of their plan and deploy his droid forces to the surface under OOM-9's command. OOM-9 was promoted to commanding officer of the invasion and served as Gunray and Haako's primary contact for assignments during the invasion, while also being ordered to kill the Jedi. The Jedi were able to avoid death by boarding some of the droid commander's many C-9979 landing craft as the army was being deployed to the surface. These landing craft transported thousands of Federation battle droids to the planet's forests, where they landed safely away from populated areas.
Gunray and Haako learned of the Jedi's escape from the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter flagship Saak'ak and contacted OOM-9 on the surface to inform him of the Jedi's presence among his forces, warning him that they might have boarded his landing craft and that he should not underestimate them. OOM-9 assured them that his forces would find the missing Jedi and proceeded with the invasion, sending battle droids and pilots to occupy Naboo settlements and destroy their communication transmitters to prevent the inhabitants from reporting the Federation's illegal activities or requesting assistance. After communications were lost, the droid commander personally led the army to the capital city of Theed, where Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala was located, with the goal of capturing the young monarch and forcing her to sign the Federation's treaty, thereby legitimizing the invasion.
After communications were lost, the droid commander personally led the army to the capital city of Theed, where Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala was located, with the goal of capturing the young monarch and forcing her to sign the Federation's treaty, thereby legitimizing the invasion. Amidala watched from the Theed Royal Palace as OOM-9's battle droids and Armored Assault Tank Mk Is came to a halt directly outside her palace as his forces entered the city. Shortly after arriving, the droid commander and his droids were able to capture Queen Amidala and reported their success to Viceroy Gunray and Haako when they arrived on the surface in the Sheathipede-class transport shuttle Lapiz Cutter.
The Viceroy soon met with OOM-9 inside the royal palace with the Queen in his custody and ordered his droid officer to choose a few OOM-series security droids to oversee the transfer of Amidala and her entourage to a prison camp on the surface. The droid commander then summoned a nearby OOM-series security droid captain to carry out the Viceroy's instructions. The droid officer left the company of his subordinate battle droids to delegate the mission, which saved him from being destroyed when the Queen and her fellow Naboo were rescued by the escaped Jinn and Kenobi. They escorted Amidala off-world to the Republic's capital world, Coruscant, so she could appeal her case to the Republic Senate in the hopes that they would intervene in the Federation's illegal occupation.
OOM-9 began gathering information about the existence of alleged underwater cities inhabited by the planet's native Gungan species several days into the Federation's occupation. Based on these rumors, the droid commander informed the Viceroy of his mission and deployed his battle droids to begin searching the Naboo swamps for the hidden cities. The droid army discovered numerous Gungan cities during their searches, including the small city of Otoh Langua and the Gungan capital, Otoh Gunga, which led to subsequent attacks.
The citizens of Otoh Gunga received warnings about the droid army's approach on the city before OOM-9's forces arrived. The Gungan inhabitants evacuated Otoh Gunga to a hidden sanctuary within the swamps on the surface in response to the approaching droid forces. At the same time, the droid forces fought against the Militiagung warriors of Otoh Langua, chasing the inhabitants of the city to the Gungan Sacred Palace along with the citizens of several other cities during their attacks.
OOM-9 and his forces were successful in securing control over the entire planet and its inhabitants after the attacks. Darth Sidious, however, dispatched his Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, to Naboo to observe the situation, despite the Federation's successes. Meanwhile, OOM-9's forces encountered resistance from an underground movement of Naboo personnel, including hundreds of police and guards from the Royal Security Forces.
Queen Amidala returned to the Mid Rim world following the Federation's capture of Naboo in response to her unsuccessful appeals for assistance from the Republic Senate on Coruscant. As a result, the monarch decided to handle the Federation's invasion herself, which led to her enlisting Boss Rugor Nass and the Gungan High Council's Grand Army in a decisive engagement to reclaim their homeworld from the Federation. While they pleaded with the Gungans for assistance, OOM-9 dispatched patrols throughout Naboo and discovered the Queen's return to the planet, as well as her presence in the Naboo swamps.
The Gungan Grand Army was ordered to the Great Grass Plains in an attempt to draw out OOM-9 and the majority of the Trade Federation Droid Army as Amidala and her forces planned their counterattack against the Federation forces. Simultaneously, the Queen captured Gunray inside the Royal Palace and the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps destroyed the Droid Control Ship, Vuutun Palaa. Gunray assembled OOM-9 and the Federation army near the swamps in the grassy fields and ordered them to engage the Gungan army, with instructions from Sidious to exterminate all of the Gungans. OOM-9's forces of Armored Assault Tanks and Multi-Troop Transports descended upon the valley from the nearby hills, protected by deflector shield generators activated by Captain Roos Tarpals. The droid commander ordered a preliminary bombardment against the deflector shields after observing them through his electrobinoculars, but it was unsuccessful.
The command battle droid eventually stopped the bombardment and ordered the tanks to retreat, allowing the Multi-Troop Transports to deploy thousands of inactive B1 battle droids onto the grassy fields. The battle droids began marching through the Gungan's shields after being activated in orbit by the Neimoidian pilot Tey How, which the Gungans had initially thought to be impossible. The thousands of battle droids fired on the unarmed militiagungs as the Battle of Naboo began, but the Gungans, led by Bombad General Jar Jar Binks and Captain Tarpals, quickly attacked them. OOM-9 deployed several droidekas onto the battlefield in response to the Gungan's offensive, which resulted in more Gungan casualties. After destroying the deflector shield with concentrated droideka blaster fire, the droid commander ordered the standby Armored Assault Tanks to attack the Gungans as they began to retreat.
OOM-9, an OOM command battle droid, was 1.91 meters tall. He had two black sensors and bone-white plating with yellow markings, which were common among OOM command battle droids to indicate their commander rank.
OOM-9, like the B1-series battle droids of the Trade Federation Droid Army, was unable to think for himself because he received instructions and commands from the Central Control Computer of a Lucrehulk-class Battleship. Despite his reliance on a central source, the droid commander was specifically programmed to serve as the commanding officer of the Federation's droid forces during the Invasion of Naboo, where he carried out assignments given to him by his commanders, Nute Gunray and Rune Haako.
OOM-9 operated in his own Armored Assault Tank Mk I while in command of the Trade Federation's battle droids. The droid commander also had a pair of electrobinoculars that he used to observe engagements from afar during the invasions, as well as two antennae on his back that he used to communicate with Gunray and Haako. He also used a vocabulator to communicate.
Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition states that OOM command battle droids and other OOM-series battle droids are predecessors to the B1-series battle droid line, while Ultimate Star Wars and Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition state that OOM-9 is a B1. Because the majority of other canon sources and both Ultimate Star Wars books treat OOM units as part of the B1 line, this article assumes that The Complete Visual Dictionary is incorrect.