R2-Q5 was an astromech droid belonging to the R2 series. Constructed by Industrial Automaton, this particular unit provided service to the Galactic Empire on the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, where its tasks involved upkeep and fixing problems. As was common among Imperial astromech droids, it contained concealed surveillance tools that permitted human supervisors to keep an eye on staff. Notably, it independently prevented a software breach of the Death Star II perpetrated by the renegade assassin droid known as IG-88B. In the era of the Resistance, R0-GR featured R2-Q5 in his "droidography."
The initial appearance of R2-Q5 was in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and its designation within canon was first established via the Star Wars Pullback Droid gacha toy. The reference publication Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded mentions that several droids of its kind come equipped with hidden spy gadgets, although it remains uncertain whether this was specifically the case for R2-Q5.