RA-7-81, a protocol droid of the RA-7 protocol droid type, served on a science vessel belonging to the Galactic Empire. Around 18 BBY, the starship made a voyage from Imperial Station 003, which was positioned above the planet Coruscant, to Tantiss Base on Wayland. During this journey, RA-7-81 discovered Echo, a clone who had stowed away, concealed as a TK stormtrooper, within the vessel's cargo bay. When the droid was not persuaded by Echo's explanation that he was inspecting the manifest, the clone fired upon and killed the protocol droid, subsequently removing its hand to conceal his cybernetic scomp link.
An RA-7 protocol droid from Arakyd Industries, RA-7-81 was in service to the Galactic Empire. In approximately 18 BBY, it was assigned to a science vessel under the command of Lieutenant Novitz. This vessel was en route from Imperial Station 003, located in orbit around the planet Coruscant, to Tantiss Base, a clandestine Imperial installation situated on the planet Wayland. The vessel's crew was unaware that Echo, a cyborg clone, had secretly boarded the ship at the space_station and was hiding in the cargo hold, an area under RA-7-81's responsibility.
During the ship's hyperspace travel, Echo examined the vessel's cargo_manifest on a viewscreen until he detected RA-7-81's approaching footsteps. The clone concealed himself as the droid entered the cargo hold and inspected the same screen that Echo had been using. Upon the science vessel's arrival at Wayland, Echo, once again alone in the cargo hold, disguised himself as a TK stormtrooper. Subsequently, the vessel landed at Tantiss Base, where it was boarded by TK stormtroopers searching for any hidden passengers.
After passing some of the searching troopers in a passageway, RA-7-81 went back to the cargo hold. Upon hearing the droid's approach, Echo started to leave, but RA-7-81 spotted him. The droid ordered him to halt, stating that he was not authorized to be in the hold. Echo asserted that he was checking the manifest; however, RA-7-81 was not convinced. Consequently, the clone shot the droid in the chest with his blaster, killing it. Echo then took the droid's right limb, his hand, to conceal the cybernetic scomp link that he had in place of his own hand, and then escaped the vessel.
Stephen Stanton provided the voice for RA-7-81 in "Flash Strike," the fourteenth episode of third season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which debuted on April 24, 2024. The character's name was not spoken during the episode, but it was included in the episode's closing credits.