Smelter Droid

A lanky smelter droid, during the time of the Empire 8D8 assisted EV-9D9 in terrorizing Jabba the Hutt's droid operatives. But after the fall of the Empire, under Boba Fett's employ 8D8 was reassigned to assist with strategy and diplomacy.

The supervisor of Jabba the Hutt's droid pool, EV-9D9 was a gangly mechanical with a quirk in her programming that made her enjoy tormenting and dismembering other droids. She turned a dank work area in the depths of Jabba's palace into a grim torture chamber.

Tatooine is harsh desert world orbiting twin suns in the galaxy’s Outer Rim. In the days of the Empire and the Republic, many settlers scratched out a living on moisture farms, while spaceport cities such as Mos Eisley and Mos Espa served as home base for smugglers, criminals, and other rogues. Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker both once called Tatooine home, although across the stars it was more widely known as a hive of scum and villainy ruled by the crime boss Jabba the Hutt.

Jabba the Hutt was one of the galaxy’s most powerful gangsters, with far-reaching influence in both politics and the criminal underworld. There were no second chances with Jabba, something Han Solo would find out -- though the slug-like alien would ultimately fall victim to his own hubris and vengeful ways.

A single, winding dirt-swept road curves up into the crook of a rocky canyon, leading to a lone structure in the desert wastes beyond the Dune Sea of Tatooine. Here stood the palace of Jabba the Hutt, an immense curving building of sandblasted metal and pitted stone. Inside, the dregs of the galaxy congregated to do all manner of illicit business, to curry favor with the grotesque crime lord, or to avoid his fickle wrath. Jabba reclined atop a stone dais within the throne room of his palace, a bustling chamber that overlooked a secret pit that contained his favorite beast, the vicious rancor monster.

Little more than walking batteries, gonk power droids trundle along as directed by their owners or their programming, recharging vehicles and machinery. They get their name in imitation of their simple vocalizations. There are many different models of power droid, most of them similar in appearance and habits as the well-known gonk. Power droids are common sights throughout the galaxy and little noticed despite their critical importance to both military and civilian life.