TC-14

A TC-series protocol droid with feminine programming, TC-14 was created by Cybot Galactica and served as the personal assistant to Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. To prevent her from leaking sensitive Federation information to rivals, TC-14 underwent memory wipes every two to three weeks, a practice fueled by her masters' paranoia. During a trade dispute in 32 BBY, she was stationed on the Federation's flagship, the Saak'ak, when the planet of Naboo in the Naboo system was blockaded under the orders of Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord.

Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi Master, and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, were dispatched by the Galactic Republic to negotiate an end to the blockade. Upon the arrival of the Republic's cruiser in one of the Saak'ak's hangars, TC-14 greeted the two Jedi at the hangar entrance. She then escorted them to a conference room on the flagship and departed to report to the bridge. She promptly informed the viceroy and Captain Daultay Dofine that the ambassadors were Jedi, much to the dismay of the Neimoidians. Gunray instructed Dofine to distract the Jedi while he contacted Sidious, but the captain refused and instead ordered TC-14 to keep the ambassadors occupied.

TC-14 returned to the conference room, bearing a tray of drinks for the increasingly impatient Jedi. As they each took a cup, the pair sensed the destruction of their cruiser in the hangar and swiftly drew their lightsabers. In shock, TC-14 dropped the tray and apologized as poisonous dioxis gas began to flood the room through its vents.

After some time, Gunray, who had ordered the death of the Jedi following instructions from Sidious, dispatched a squad of battle droids to assess the situation. They breached the sealed conference room, weapons raised, but only TC-14 emerged, once again carrying the tray. The protocol droid quickly moved aside, allowing the two Jedi to emerge from the gas and defeat the battle droids. The Jedi ultimately escaped from the flagship and the Federation, leading to the invasion of Naboo.

To erase any trace of the Neimoidians' assassination attempt on the Jedi, TC-14's next memory wipe was expedited. However, before it could occur, TC-14 was transferred along with Dofine to the Lucrehulk-class Battleship Vuutun Palaa, where she met her end when the ship was destroyed by Anakin Skywalker during the climax of the Battle of Naboo. R0-GR, a B1-series battle droid, later reflected on TC-14 in his Droidography book, suggesting that the Clone Wars might have been averted had she not adhered so strictly to her programming when interacting with the Jedi ambassadors.

TC-14's duties encompassed standard droid functions, such as greeting guests and serving refreshments. The Trade Federation subjected TC-14 to frequent memory wipes, exceeding recommended levels, resulting in a lack of personality, conscience, or recollection of any confidential information. This constant memory manipulation left her without life experience, leading to a perpetual state of confusion and a bewildered demeanor. Consequently, she found life aboard the Neimoidian vessels perplexing as her owners prepared for war, and she was confused by the assassination attempt on the Jedi while serving them drinks.

TC-14 was not programmed for deception or violence and often found herself ill-equipped to handle her work for the Trade Federation. The protocol droid experienced overwhelming stress when caught in the crossfire between the battle droids and the Jedi, despite her programming. She also questioned whether assisting in the assassination of diplomatic visitors fell within her duties, though she remained endlessly polite, diligently keeping the Jedi occupied and apologizing to the battle droids as she exited the gas-filled conference room. TC-14 was equipped with auditory sensors, a broadband antenna receiver, a logic functions computer, a microwave emitter/sensor, photoreceptors, and a vocabulator. She was plated in silver, had yellow photoreceptors, and stood 1.67 meters (five feet, six inches) tall.

John Fensom physically portrayed TC-14, while Lindsay Duncan provided her voice in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, a film from the prequel trilogy released on May 19, 1999. Doug Chiang, the design director, created concept art of TC-14 serving drinks to Obi-Wan Kenobi, completing it on April 16, 1996, after three days of work. Robin Gurland, the casting director, offered Duncan the role after she auditioned for Shmi Skywalker. Duncan received an artist's depiction of the character and recorded her lines in a relatively short time at a recording studio in London. George Lucas and Gurland were present during the recording and showed Duncan a rough cut of the film. She mentioned that this was the only work she had done that impressed her young son.

TC-14's costume was constructed using the same template as C-3PO. An alternative version of the scene where TC-14 greets the Jedi was animated, featuring two computer generated droids discussing the Republic cruiser's arrival. One of them remarked that it must be important if Gunray sent a "useless protocol gearhead" to greet them. This scene appeared in a revised fourth draft of the script dated June 23, 1997, which also referred to TC-14 as "TC-3" and used male pronouns for the character. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, TC-14 debuted prior to the release of The Phantom Menace in the film's novelization, penned by Terry Brooks and published on April 21, 1999.

TC-14 is featured in the 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, adapting her scene from The Phantom Menace with slightly modified dialogue. The droid later appears in Theed, the capital of Naboo, where she tells the player that she has lost all memory and asks them to investigate what happened in the quest "Mysterious Endeavor." If the player declines, she understands but realizes that the answers she seeks are unlikely to surface on their own. Upon the player's acceptance, TC-14 notices a masked Neimoidian observing nearby and requests that the player locate him after he flees. After questioning several citizens, the player finds the hiding Neimoidian and chases him down when he attempts to escape again.

Once the Neimoidian is apprehended, TC-14 joins the player as the Neimodian explains that he served with TC-14 on the Vuutun Palaa, but when the ship's destruction seemed imminent, he decided to flee. TC-14 refused to abandon her duties and join him in deserting, so he deactivated her and smuggled her into Theed before wiping her memory to prevent her from remembering that he had forced her to desert. TC-14 then reveals that she overheard the Neimoidian's confession, and after he apologizes and claims he intended to reveal the truth eventually, she forgives him, reasoning that she would have perished if he had not smuggled her off the ship and been unable to perform her duties. The Neimoidian then describes his actions as heroic, but TC-14 disagrees.

With the mystery solved, the droid thanks the player and offers to enter their service since she no longer has any duties. This completes the quest, unlocking TC-14 as a purchasable character for 35,000 studs. Later, in the Trade Federation hideout in Theed, the Neimoidian laments TC-14's departure: he had planned to ask her to stay as a helper droid; instead, he is left to do his own dishes and scrub his own floors, wishing he had remained on the Vuutun Palaa.