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R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo)
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A resourceful,
spunky and adventurous astromech droid, R2-D2 has saved the day time and again.
His little .96-meter tall frame is packed with all sorts of tool-tipped
appendages that make him a great starship mechanic and computer interface
specialist. It's his bravery, however, that has made him an invaluable asset to
his owners and friends.
R2-D2 comes
from the peaceful world of Naboo, where he and a team of astromechs served the
elected monarch aboard her Royal Starship. When the greedy Trade Federation
invaded Naboo, Queen Amidala rushed away from her world and ran afoul of a
blockade. When the Royal Starship sustained damage to its shields, it was R2-D2
who repaired the ship, allowing it to escape into hyperspace. The droid used
his magnetized rollers to cling tenaciously to the chromed surface of the ship
while deadly turbolaser blasts rained overhead. For his courage, Artoo was
personally thanked and recognized by Queen Amidala.
To complete
further repairs, the Royal Starship set down on the barren Outer Rim world of
Tatooine. Artoo-Detoo accompanied Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Royal Handmaiden
Padmé Naberrie to the port city of
Artoo later
returned to Naboo with the Queen. He served as onboard astromech to Anakin
Skywalker, a young rookie pilot who, despite not being authorized to do so,
flew an N-1 starfighter into the Battle of Naboo.
Artoo would be
reunited with Anakin a decade later. The little droid continued to loyaly serve
Amidala, who was no longer Queen, but now Senator of Naboo. The droid acted as
a little bodyguard, using his scanners to seek out any danger that might befall
Padmé. His laser field sensors failed to detect a deadly kouhun attack against
a sleeping Padmé, but Anakin's heightened Jedi awareness did. He was able to
kill the poisonous creatures, but the Jedi weren't able to determine who wanted
Padmé dead.
Amidala left
for Naboo, to hide while the Jedi investigated. Artoo stayed by her side as she
voyaged to Tatooine, where he was reunited with C-3PO, who again became
Anakin's property. They all went to Geonosis, and as Padmé and Anakin wandered
into a dangerous Geonosian droid factory, Artoo and Threepio followed. Artoo
again came to the rescue, using his anti-grav boosters to fly to Amidala's aid
and his computer interface to stop a deadly downpour of molten metal from
killing the Senator. He even helped reassemble C-3PO after a decapitating
tangle with droid factory machinery.
Years later,
Artoo and Threepio would find themselves in the service of the Royal House of
Alderaan. The influential family of nobles had secret ties to the burgeoning
Rebel Alliance. While intercepting transmissions from Rebel spies, the Organa
consular ship was suddenly attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer laying in
wait. The transmission carried information vital to the Rebellion -- the
complete technical read-outs of the Empire's latest weapon of mass-destruction,
the Death Star battle station. Unable to deliver the plans to Viceroy Bail
Organa, Leia Organa instead hid them in Artoo's memory systems. She also tasked
Artoo to continue her other mission, that of contacting the long-lost Jedi Knight
and Republic General, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Artoo
commandeered an escape pod, and rocketed away from the captured consular ship,
all the while dragging along his bewildered counterpart, Threepio. The pod
crashlanded on Tatooine. There, the droids were taken captive by Jawa traders,
and sold to moisture farmer Owen Lars and his nephew Luke Skywalker. Determined
to complete his mission, Artoo ran away in the middle of the night, leaving
Threepio and Luke to search for him the next morning.
Threepio and
Luke eventually found Artoo, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi. This started an
incredible chain of events that culminated in the Battle of Yavin. Artoo and
Threepio were crucial in assisting Luke spearhead a rescue mission to free
Princess Leia from the heart of the gargantuan Death Star. Both droids
navigated the complex Imperial computer system to provide the rescuers with timely
assistance and status updates.
Once Artoo
returned to the Rebel base with the newly liberated Princess Leia,
Threepio and
Artoo continued to be mainstays with the core group of Rebel heroes. Despite
their constant disputes -- like the time Artoo took Threepio's complaining of
Hoth's subzero temperature as an invitation to turn the heat up in Princess
Leia's quarters, thus flooding her compartment with melted ice -- the two
remained friends.
During the
evacuation from Hoth, Threepio and Artoo were separated. Artoo flew with Luke
to the mysterious planet of Dagobah, where Luke would receive training from the
enigmatic Jedi Master, Yoda. Artoo was witness to Luke's growing skill and
power, as the young Tatooine farmboy continued on his path to Jedi Knighthood.
When Luke's
friends fell into an Imperial trap on Bespin's
During a daring
mission to rescue a captive Han Solo from the loathsome gangster Jabba the
Hutt, Threepio and Artoo were sent into the Hutt's palace on Tatooine. There,
they became the gristly crime lord's property. Artoo served as a waiter,
distributing drinks aboard Jabba's sail barge. Little did any of the criminal
dregs suspect that Artoo carried in him Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, which he
launched to the unarmed Jedi. Supplied with his weapon, Luke subdued Jabba's
minions and freed his captive friends.
Shortly
thereafter, Artoo accompanied the Rebel strike force that was sent to knock out
the Imperial shield generator on Endor. The generator protected the
half-completed second Death Star high in orbit. Artoo attempted to bypass the
high security lock sealing the Imperial generator complex, but was shot by a
stormtrooper before he could complete the task. Fortunately, the Rebels were
able to make their way into the complex, and destroyed the generator.
Artoo-Detoo was repaired in time to witness the destruction of the second Death
Star.
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