ZN-A4, also known as Zee, was a specialized droid for research purposes, serving Jedi Master Santari Khri during the time of the High Republic Era. She found herself stranded on the planet Koboh for centuries, the result of being trapped underground during a cataclysmic Emergence event. Her freedom came in 9 BBY when Jedi Knight Cal Kestis discovered her. Upon her reactivation, Zee tasked Kestis with the mission of awakening Dagan Gera, only to be disheartened by Gera's corruption by the dark side. Subsequently, she was abducted by the Bedlam Raiders and imprisoned within the command center of their base, but was rescued by Cal Kestis and Bode Akuna. Later on, Zee played a pivotal role in assisting the Mantis crew in navigating the treacherous Koboh Abyss to reach Tanalorr. Ultimately, she chose to remain at Pyloon's Saloon rather than relocate to Tanalorr, having decided that the saloon had become her home.
Sometime during the High Republic Era, a period of great prosperity for the Republic and the Jedi Order, ZN-A4, or "Zee," was constructed. Her responsibilities included the meticulous task of archiving datadiscs and compiling astronomical charts. She entered the service of Jedi Master Santari Khri, who, amidst a planetary catastrophe on Koboh triggered by an Emergence that fractured the planet's moon, erased the knowledge of traversing the Koboh Abyss from Zee's memory. Khri then equipped her with a tuner device and instructed the droid to proceed underground towards the Forest Array, activating it without pause. Zee complied, entering the Chamber of Duality, only to become trapped by debris, remaining in subterranean isolation for centuries.
More than two centuries passed, and in 9 BBY, Jedi Knight Cal Kestis discovered the dormant Zee within the Chamber of Duality. At this time, the chamber was located beneath Rambler's Reach Outpost and Pyloon's Saloon. Kestis managed to restore her to full operational status. While inside the chamber, Zee shared information with Kestis about Tanalorr, revealing the existence of a Jedi temple on the hidden world. After guiding him out of the Chamber and back to the surface, she entrusted him with the tuning device and the responsibility of completing her original mission, as she was no longer capable of reaching the Forest Array independently. Consequently, Zee remained at Pyloon's Saloon, assisted by M-6NK, learning about the significant changes that had occurred in the galaxy during her absence. She developed an affection for Pyloon's and felt fortunate to have encountered Cal, although she was taken aback by his departure from traditional Jedi robes.
After M-6NK updated her on the galaxy's situation, Zee struggled to comprehend how the dishonorable Empire had maintained its power, quickly developing a strong disdain for the Empire. She recalled the noble Jedi Knights of her era who fought on the frontier and was encouraged to see remnants of the Order in Cal and his allies, but Cal cautioned her to keep such sentiments discreet.
After Kestis completed Zee's mission and awakened the fallen Jedi Master Dagan Gera, Gera allied himself with his former comrade Rayvis and his Bedlam Raiders. Driven by a desire to return to Tanalorr, Gera ordered Zee's abduction to extract the location of the final Abyss compass from her memory banks. Although Gera's initial search was unsuccessful, he eventually realized that Khri had concealed the compass within her private observatory. Consequently, he decided to erase Zee's memory and reprogram her to serve his purposes.
Kestis, accompanied by Bode Akuna, soon arrived to liberate Zee from the Raiders' grasp. Just as he managed to free one of her wrists, he was confronted by Gera. Gera appeared to agree with Kestis's assertion that the past could not be altered before unexpectedly attacking Zee, forcing Kestis to defend her. The two Jedi engaged in a brief duel, followed by a telekinetic struggle over the tuner. Zee diverted Gera's attention by proclaiming that Khri should have left him to decay in his tank, allowing Kestis to regain control of the tuner. Simultaneously, Zee freed her other wrist, but her moment of triumph was interrupted by Gera, who used the Force to push both of them out of the window, leaving them suspended from overhead cables. Kestis managed to free himself and resumed his duel with Gera. Subsequently, Akuna arrived to support Kestis, forcing Gera to collapse the platform to ensure his escape. Zee then expressed her gratitude to her rescuers before Akuna assisted her in descending. After escaping the Raiders' core ship base via escape pods, Akuna returned Zee to Pyloon's Saloon.
Following Akuna's betrayal of Kestis and the crew of the Stinger Mantis and the theft of the Abyss compass, it was believed that passage to Tanalorr was now impossible. However, a recording from Khri revealed a final method for reaching the hidden world. By aligning the Forest Array, Shattered Moon Array, and her observatory's array, the three beams could create a safe passage through the Abyss, although this required someone to monitor the arrays. Zee volunteered to oversee the arrays, eager to see Khri's vision realized, and successfully managed them as the Mantis entered the Abyss. She was greatly relieved to learn that the ship had survived and reached Tanalorr, where Kestis and the Mantis crew confronted and killed Akuna.
After eliminating Akuna, Kestis retrieved the compass and offered to bring Zee to Tanalorr with him as the Mantis crew prepared to use Tanalorr for the purposes of the Hidden Path. However, Zee declined, having come to regard Pyloon's Saloon as her new home.
After deciding to remain on Koboh, she advised Kestis not to ruin Khri's work while he was setting up on Tanalorr in preparation for the Hidden Path seeking refuge on the planet. She requested that Kestis return to the saloon to visit her occasionally. Before he embarked on his new mission, Zee shared that, in her time, the Jedi would say that the Force is a river, and every life is a tributary that flows back into the greater whole. Kestis responded that his former master Cere Junda once said that to live is to lose, but nothing is ever truly lost. Zee remarked that she would remember that sentiment.
ZN-A4 was a droid of an unspecified model with feminine programming. She was deeply devoted to her master, Santari Khri, but was often perceived as eccentric by some, including Cal Kestis.
She believed that people were more compassionate towards one another during the High Republic era compared to the age of the Empire. She recounted to Kestis an instance when she was on a time-sensitive mission for Khri and her motivator malfunctioned. A kind bystander identified the problem and promptly installed a replacement, while Cal commented that she would have been scrapped for parts if that had occurred in the present. Zee added that she didn't have the opportunity to compensate the bystander for his assistance, but weeks later, she was able to help someone else. She believed that this cycle of kindness sustained the Republic for a time. She would frequently encrypt datadiscs that Kestis acquired from his adventures across the planet.
Despite being captured by the Bedlam Raiders, she acknowledged that the group possessed principle and dedication, adhering to a code despite being uncivilized thieves and brutes.
ZN-A4 was created for the 2023 video game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Kendal Rae provided her portrayal. Respawn Entertainment developed her. Principal Concept Artist Theo Stylianides designed her, while Principal Hard Surface Artist Tim Wallace modeled and textured her under the art direction of Chris Sutton.