The scavenger Rey came across the remnants of a J9 worker drone on the desert planet Jakku; this drone was rumored to have a treasure map stored in its head. Rey found that solely the droid's microwave sensors were functional, so she sold everything except the head to Unkar Plutt, a junk dealer. Roughly one or two months after this sale, the treasurer hunter Zool Zendiat and his Zendiat Collective abducted Plutt, seeking the J9 unit. Rey then saved Plutt from the Collective, allowing them to take the drone's head when she fled, since the scavenger had already examined it and determined that its memory was irreparably damaged and completely erased.
The initial appearance of the J9 worker drone occurred in the comic story titled "Better the Devil You Know, Part I." This story was featured in the first issue of the Star Wars Adventures series, released on September 6, 2017.