- "The Droid Gotra has occasionally gone to extreme measures, certainly, but we want nothing more than peace and freedom for ourselves, just like any sentient species."
- ―TD-H4
The Droid Gotra was a droid group that supported droid rights. It was originally formed by a band of lethal repurposed battle droids with grievances against the Galactic Empire for having been abandoned after their service during the Clone Wars. At one time, the group was confined to an industrial complex in the bowels of the planet Coruscant, but it later managed to expand. They were known to support droid emancipation and served as muscle for the Crymorah Syndicate. The group continued to operate into the New Republic Era.
Description[]
- "You must be a powerful group to bid a billion credits for something."
"That bid stretched our resources. But it would have been worth it. We started as a loosely connected group of battle droids, beings who were abandoned after the Clone Wars or repurposed against their will for other functions. But now our organization is large, consisting of all manner of droids, even a few organic sympathizers. We have been working to establish a cell here on Corellia." - ―Qi'ra and TD-H4
Originally confined to an industrial complex located in the bowels of the planet Coruscant, the Droid Gotra was formed by a lethal band of repurposed battle droids[3] that supported droid emancipation[10] and served as muscle for the Crymorah Syndicate in robberies, kidnapping, illegal salvage, and extortion.[3] The Gotra managed to expand out into the galaxy.[4]
History[]
Under the Empire[]
- "Tasked with controlling crime in his sector, he succumbed to temptation by hiring himself out to the Droid Gotra."
- ―Darth Vader, on Phoca Soot
During the Imperial Era, the group was formed by repurposed battle droids[3] in the year 19 BBY.[7] These combat units had what some considered legitimate grievances against the Galactic Empire for having been abandoned after their service during the Clone Wars.[3] The Gotra recruited Q2-B3KO, an articulated holographic color separator who produced propaganda supporting the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars, to disseminate messages of mechanical emancipation.[10]
In 14 BBY,[11] the Empire's base on the Sentinel moon came under attack by insurgents using Separatist equipment and droids. The installation's commander, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, initially suspected that the Gotra was responsible, but found it unlikely that they would make use of obsolete weapons to send a message to the Empire. Phoca Soot, the Coruscant Security Force prefect of level 1331, hired himself out to the Droid Gotra instead of controlling crime within his sector. However, his duplicity did not go unnoticed and he was executed by the Sith Lord Darth Vader as an example to Coruscant's criminal elements, advising them to relocate their operations to sectors in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories, lest their activities infringe upon Emperor Palpatine's designs.[3]
Around 13 BBY, the Droid Gotra were attempting to place a foothold on Corellia.[4]
Amid open war[]
In 0 ABY, the Droid Gotra hired the rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra to recover the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix, which could turn a protocol droid into a torture specialist, and the prototype BT-1 assassin droid on their behalf.[12] They also meant to have her liberate a droid factory[13] from Karina,[14] a Geonosian queen who survived the Empire's sterilization of Geonosis.[13] Although successful in retrieving the droids, she instead turned them over to Darth Vader[12] and helped him secure Karina's droid factory,[13] as he needed personal troops for his own ends without the Empire knowing.[12]
The Cyban Front, an organization who worked with the Droid Gotra, were hired to participate in the auction of the Rur crystal[8] so it could be destroyed due to its technopathy abilities.[15] Their attempt was unsuccessful, and the two Cyban Front droids were destroyed during a skirmish on the Sorca Retreat.[16][17]
As part of the machinations of Qi'ra and her agents in the Crimson Dawn, the group was soon pulled into the Syndicate War along with other organizations such as the Hutt Clan, Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate. The Droid Gotra and the other organizations were eventually contacted jointly by Emperor Palpatine himself. Palpatine informed them of Qi'ra's real reason for starting the war, while also reminding them that their power and influence only existed due to his due diligence. Thus he ordered all of them to seek out and destroy Crimson Dawn, stating that whoever managed to bring Qi'ra's corpse to the Emperor would rise high in his estimation.[18]
New Republic Era[]
The Droid Gotra continued to operate after the fall of the Empire[9] in 5 ABY.[14] Sometime after Supreme Leader Snoke's assumption of leadership within the First Order, the Gotra attacked and eliminated an armed Ubrikkian freighter commanded by Red Key Raiders at the Perlemian Spur Waypoint 643Besh. After Gamma-bit 669753 sweeped the wreckage, they found Maz Kanata's Journal and flagged valuable datapoints from the contents within. They then began to transmit orders to all members of the Gotra and the Cyban Front stationed in the Rim Territories, ordering them to target the closest data cache. The transmission was promptly intercepted by the Guavian Death Gang, who then broadcast their own counteracting broadcast and somehow removed Kanata's Journal from the Gotra's possession.[9]
Despite the Gotra only being formed after the Clone Wars,[4] the police files of Tanivos Exantor Divo, who worked during the late Republic Era, made reference to the Gotra, but those files were only released by his grandson, Exantor Divo, during the New Republic Era. The files claimed that KRONOS-841 and other members of the Gotra attended a Xrexus Cartel auction of a Jedi Padawan named Eldra Kaitis before the Invasion of Naboo. The group was unsuccessful in acquiring the Padawan.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Droid Gotra was set to appear in the cancelled video game Star Wars: 1313. After 1313's cancellation,[19] the Droid Gotra was first mentioned in the 2014 novel Tarkin, written by James Luceno. Despite Tarkin[3] and the novel Most Wanted affirming that the gotra was formed after the Clone Wars,[4] the reference book Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious stated that the Gotra was active before the Invasion of Naboo. As Scum and Villainy is framed as an in-universe text,[1] this article assumes it to be an in-universe error as well.
According to Star Wars: Timelines, the Gotra was formed circa 18 BBY.[20] However, information provided by Scum and Villainy narrows the formation date down to 19 BBY.[7] As Timelines only provided an approximate date with room for flexibility,[20] this article assumes Scum and Villainy is correct.
Appearances[]
- Tarkin (and audiobook) (First mentioned)
- Most Wanted (and audiobook) (First appearance)
- Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original (Mentioned only)
- Darth Vader (2015) 3 (Mentioned only)
- Darth Vader (2015) 4 (Mentioned only)
- Doctor Aphra (2016) 9 (Mentioned only)
- Doctor Aphra (2016) 10 (Indirect mention only)
- Hidden Empire 1 (Appears in hologram)
- Last Shot (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
- Star Wars: The Rebel Files
- Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide
- Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandor
- Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
- Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
"Tobias Beckett and Other Characters of the Underworld" — Star Wars Encyclopedia- "Protocol and Service Droids" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Timelines
- Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
- ↑ Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Tarkin
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Most Wanted
- ↑ Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide
- ↑ Last Shot
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Most Wanted establishes that the Droid Gotra formed from diseffected droids after the end of the Clone Wars, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 19 BBY. Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious states KRONOS-841 was a member of the Droid Gotra when captured in 7958 C.R.C.. As Scum and Villainy dates the secret mission to Tatooine to 7977 C.R.C. and Star Wars: Galactic Atlas that event to 0 BBY, 7958 C.R.C. equates to 19 BBY, meaning the Droid Gotra's formation was in 19 BBY.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Doctor Aphra (2016) 9
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Tarkin to 14 BBY.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Darth Vader (2015) 3
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Darth Vader (2015) 4
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ Doctor Aphra (2016) 10
- ↑ Doctor Aphra (2016) 12
- ↑ Doctor Aphra (2016) 13
- ↑ Hidden Empire 1
- ↑
The Authors of Star Wars Timelines On How They Created One of the BEST Star Wars Reference Books! on the StarWarsExplained YouTube channel (September 4, 2023) (backup link)
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Star Wars: Timelines