A spindly humanoid pilot droid, FA-4 helped
Count Dooku escape the devastating first battle
of the Clone Wars by flying his Solar Sailer to
the safety of Coruscant.
The droid, which spoke in a strange lang-
uage of what sounded like mechanical gibber-
ish, acted as a robotic chauffeur to Dooku. FA-4
would ferry him across the galaxy while the
Count made use of his ship's library of Sith lore,
or rested in the ship's upper level. The FA-
series acted as a navigator in the vein of an
astro-droid, and was occasionally referred to
as such. If the droid needed assistance, a
chair could rise from the logitudinal access
shaft for a living co-pilot to sit on. However, this
feature was little used: pilot droids such as the FA-series were popular among aristocrats, who liked to sit back and relax during long journeys.
The droid was stationed in Dooku's secret hangar on Geonosis, tasked with making sure his solar sailer was ready to fly at all times; the nature of his business on Geonosis meant the Count needed to make a hasty retreat when required. When the Army of the Republic descended upon Geonosis, Dooku fled to his hangar, followed by two Jedi. As Dooku battled Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, FA-4 retreated up the ship's ramp and into the cockpit. After Master Yoda engaged Dooku in a fierce lightsaber duel, the Count knew he was beaten, and made his escape. FA-4 ensured Dooku got away from Geonosis without trouble from Republic ships blockading the planet, and headed for Coruscant. There, FA-4 landed the solar sailer in an abandoned warehouse used by Darth Sidious as a secret hideout. Though he was only a simple pilot droid, FA-4 was one of the few in the galaxy who knew of Dooku's true identity as a Sith Lord, and his plans with Sidious concerning the future of the Republic. |
