OOC: APPLICATION

[swissarmybot]

CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: R2-D2
SERIES: Star Wars EU
RESERVED: Yes.
WISHLIST: No.
PERSONALITY: Yes, in spades. Programming can hardly explain it. He was built by Industrial Automaton to be courageous and loyal to the point of self-sacrifice - important traits in a droid whose primary function was to risk life and limb as a mechanic and co-pilot on starfighters and other ships. He does in fact have a sense of caution, and of common sense, but some things are simply important enough to override that - he has a strong sense of duty and of loyalty for those he considers friends. R2 units are in general accommodating in personality as well as clever and witty, and although there are some exceptions Artoo goes above and beyond all of that.

His personality is nearly human in its complexity, full of little quirks that make his acquiescence to human orders seem due more to a happenstance of camaraderie than obedience to a master. It is possible that he considers himself an independent being rather than property, but he desires human companionship and to be useful. He is capable of what might be considered a disturbing amount of independent thought for an android, possibly owing to his having run for 30-odd years without a memory wipe. For a droid, he's unusually empathic and able to pick up on emotional cues. R2 units in general are very good at this but, as in most cases, Artoo is a little more empathic than most. He's also a bit sentimental, holding onto recordings and things long after they have outlived their usefulness.

Artoo comes off as cheerful and even cute in person and without a translator, owing in part to his high-pitched voice and the wide variance in sounds he is capable of making. However, he's a bit more than that. He has quite a foul vocabulary, and no reservations about speaking and behaving in a frank and straightforward manner - not that most people can understand what he's saying, anyway. In fact, despite being fairly chatty, he never seems to explain himself even to his counterpart, Threepio. Although he has a wide mischievous streak and a sense of humor, it isn't enough to impact his sense of duty. In other words, he knows when to be a troll and when to be serious.

TIMELINE: After Return of the Jedi.
BACKGROUND: R2 began life as property of the Royal Engineers of Naboo, already with several aftermarket additions by the time of his service on the Naboo Royal Starship. He was one of six astromechs on board when the ship attempted to break the Trade Federation blockade and flee Naboo, but he was the only one to survive maintenance on the ship's shield generators when it was attacked. After attempting modesty while being thanked by the (handmaiden posing as the) Queen, R2 pretty much followed main characters around and was mostly a bystander in the events that followed. He met and befriended Anakin's unfinished protocol droid, C-3PO, the two of them making candid commentary on events from the sidelines. Later, when the group was storming the palace, he was pulled into the astromech slot of a starfighter that Anakin was taking refuge in. As though they were taking part in a PSA about how you shouldn't let children hide in starfighters, Anakin managed to activate the autopilot while looking for the guns. R2 eventually disabled the autopilot by hacking into the fighter's computer, but by that time they were well out into the middle of a space battle with the Trade Federation. Artoo instructed Anakin to return to Naboo, but Anakin refused. The ship was hit and they were forced to make a landing in the inexplicably open hangar bay of the Trade Federation's Droid Control Ship. On their way out again, Anakin accidentally fired into the main reactor of the ship, destroying it.

R2 later transitioned into Padme Amidala's personal service over the next ten years, even after her tenure as queen ended and she transfered to the Galactic Senate. Three years after becoming a senator, Amidala brought him with her on a journey to Coruscant to vote on a proposed Military Creation Act. Several attempts were made on her life and, despite a very cute surveillance program, R2 failed to detect one such attempt. Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi were able to neutralise it, but Chancellor Palpatine nonetheless decided as a result that it was too dangerous for Amidala on Coruscant so she, Anakin, and R2 left for Naboo and later Tatooine. Once arriving at the Lars family farm to search for Anakin's mother, R2 was instructed to remain on the ship and wait. However, while he was hacking performing maintenance on the ship's computer he received a message from Kenobi that needed to be relayed to the Jedi Council on Coruscant. He immediately left to inform Skywalker and Amidala, but it was necessary for Threepio to translate. The four (Anakin received Threepio from Owen Lars) went on to Geonosis to rescue Kenobi.

While on Geonosis, Artoo proceeded to be an awesome top to Threepio, first deciding to follow Skywalker and Amidala against the protocol droid's protests and then pushing the poor droid off of a ledge when they arrived at the factory. He then activated his booster rockets and flew around the factory, using his hacking skills to save Amidala from having molten lead poured on her. A battle happened soon after, and Artoo proceeded to roll right into the middle of it like nothing was happening in order to repair Threepio by reattaching his head to the correct body. (His head and body had been mixed up with those of a battle droid as a result of being pushed off the ledge.) Shortly thereafter, the two droids were the sole witnesses to the wedding of Skywalker and Amidala, during which Threepio was so caught up in the romance of the moment that he rested his hand affectionately on Artoo's dome, completely oblivious to the fact that this marriage was the worst idea ever.

Artoo continued to be a bystander for much of the Clone Wars, serving first Amidala and then later being given to Skywalker as a gift when he graduated from being a Jedi Padawan. At one point, when Skywalker crash landed on Bothawui, R2-D2 was recovered by a scavenger and later sold to General Grievous for the contents of his memory. The little droid attempted to escape and contact Skywalker, but he was eventually taken and disassembled. Skywalker managed to track down his whereabouts and came to his rescue, and the two of them fought their way out of the Separatist space station they were on. Skywalker's replacement astromech turned out to be a Separatist spy and confronted Artoo during the battle, but Artoo defeated him using his arc welder and rotary saw.

Towards the end of the Clone Wars, Artoo accompanied Skywalker on a mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine from where he was being held hostage by Count Dooku. After hacking into the Invisible Hand's computer and locating the Chancellor, R2 stayed behind while Skywalker and Kenobi went off to go find him. While awaiting orders, two battle droids were alerted to his presence and he responded by dousing them in oil, which he set ablaze using his booster rockets. Once the Chancellor had been recovered, R2 went to join the others but found them imprisoned in a ray shield. Before he could hack into the computer to disable it, more battle droids showed up and brought the four of them to General Grievous. During the confrontation with the General, he suddenly shrieked and opened up all of his panels. This provided a distraction which allowed the Jedi to recover their lightsabers. Once all of the battle droids were subdued and the General escaped, the Invisible Hand broke in half and R2 helped pilot it to a relatively safe crash landing on Coruscant. Afterwards, when Skywalker was reunited with Amidala, Artoo ran into Threepio again and told his newly brass-plated friend all about the battle.

In the days following, R2-D2 holographically recorded every conversation between Skywalker and Amidala to his memory banks, possibly out of his confusion at his master's strange behavior. Skywalker inexplicably stopped speaking to him at this point, as Chancellor Palpatine courted him as a Sith apprentice. The astromech became increasingly confused and disturbed by the events going on around him, even snapping back irritatedly at Skywalker (now Darth Vader) when he was ordered to stay with the ship upon their landing on Mustafar. After Amidala and Kenobi arrived, he holigraphically recorded Vader using the Force to strangle Amidala, as he was helpless to do anything to stop it at the time. Once Kenobi and Vader had left the platform to duel with lightsabers, he and C-3PO managed to carry Amidala back onto her ship and attempted to stabilize her condition. Ultimately, Amidala died after giving birth to Luke and Leia and the droids were put in the care of Captain Raymus Antilles.

Approximately 19 years of shenanigans occurred, during which Artoo and Threepio were assigned together as counterparts aboard the Tantive IV. While assigned there, Artoo was used more than once to retrieve or decode Imperial intelligence. They were separated from the ship a number of times and had some really weird but ultimately unimportant adventures - it was during this time that R2's booster rockets became inoperable, one of his temporary masters having dismantled it for parts. The droids passed from owner to owner, helped take out a Gammorrean dictator, rescued a prince, and had supporting roles in a number of minor revolutions. Of note, Artoo once replaced Threepio's damaged leg with one that changed his personality. Threepio went on to lead a droid revolution against a Hutt, but after it was over Artoo changed him back; the personality change, though braver and more effectual it made him, was not the protocol droid he knew and (though he might not admit it in so many words) loved.

They were on board the ship, however, when it was attacked and boarded by Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer. Princess Leia, who now owned the ship and the droids, stored the plans for the Death Star I inside R2's memory, along with a recorded holographic message asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. R2 then jettisoned in an escape pod, bringing his counterpart along for the ride. Once the droids got to Tatooine they had a fight and broke up decided to go in opposite directions in search of help. They were then both captured by Jawas and purchased by Owen Lars, Luke Skywalker's uncle and guardian.

While cleaning the droids, Skywalker discovered the message to Obi-Wan Kenobi, which R2 first feigned ignorance of and then convinced (awestruck, lonely teenaged) Skywalker that he could not play the whole thing back because of the restraining bolt he had been fitted with. Once it was removed, he again feigned ignorance of the hologram and escaped the compound the moment no human eyes were on him. C-3PO, whose restraining bolt was still intact, was unable to follow and he and Luke did not catch up with the astromech until the next day. After an attack by Tusken Raiders, during which Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared and saved Luke and Threepio's asses, R2 finally played the holorecording in full to its intended recipient. The four of them decided to go to Alderaan and headed to Mos Eisely, where they expensively hired Han Solo to transport them in his smuggling ship, the Millenium Falcon.

Unfortunately, when they got to Alderaan, it turned out to be exploded. The Falcon was then captured by the Death Star I. They later escaped, and R2 was successfully delivered to Yavin Four, bringing the Death Star I plans with him and allowing the Rebel Alliance to defend themselves. In the ensuing battle, R2 was badly damaged by Vader, but he was able to be repaired by Rebel mechanics.

R2 remained in service of the Rebel Alliance, mostly staying with Luke and going on adventures with him. He came along when they moved their base of operations to the icy planet of Hoth. He was separated from his usual companion, C-3PO, when the protocol droid boarded the Millenium Falcon with Han, Chewie, and Leia while R2-D2 was installed in Luke's X-Wing. Luke and Artoo then went off to Dagobah for a while instead of wherever the others were all going, but they later went off to Cloud City on Bespin because Luke had a crazy vision about his friends. When Artoo realizes that they're going to meet with the others, his first question is about whether Threepio will be there. When they arrive, however, Threepio is in pieces and also kind of a douche, at one point instructing R2 to plug his dataport into an electrical socket. Before their escape from Bespin, Artoo learns from the city's computer that the hyperdrive on the Falcon has been disabled, and is able to fix it at the last minute, enabling the ship to escape from the Empire.

In the intervening months, the group had a number of adventures, one of which involved Artoo instructing Threepio on how to fly the Millenium Falcon, to somewhat dubious result. After about six months, they were ready to put into motion a plan to rescue Han, who was frozen in carbonite and being used as a form of decoration in Jabba's palace. Artoo and Threepio presented the crime lord with a holographic recording stating that they were a gift to Jabba - much to Threepio's surprise - and they were immediately put to work there. Jabba later captured Luke, Lando, and an un-frozen Han and attempted to feed them to a Sarlacc. However, they made a daring escape, facilitated by R2 using his pneumatic launchers to toss Luke's lightsaber up in the air for him to catch. Afterwards, R2 joined the Rebel strike team on Endor, where he helped bring down the Death Star II's deflector shield. He was severely damaged in the process, but was able to be repaired by that evening to join in the celebrations after the Empire was basically defeated.

ABILITIES: R2 is extremely adaptable and has shown usefulness in just about every situation the main characters have come across in their travels. Mechanical aptitude is what he was built for, and his aftermarket programming in combination with learned skills have made him an extremely good hardware and software hacker. This includes information retrieval, and self-modification as deemed appropriate. Astronavigation is another one of his primary functions, so he has a perfect memory for locations and coordinates. He has also practiced throwing things with his pneumatic launching system (originally designed for emergency flares) to pinpoint accuracy. He can magnetically lock himself to a deck in order to function normally in zero gravity and travel across irregular terrain with greater ease than one would assume from looking at him, though stairs and the like give him trouble.

His sensors are more varied and more sensitive than human senses, or those of most other kinds of droids. He can "see" beyond the visible light spectrum, so invisibility and cloaking generally do not work on him.

Given the right modifications to his pneumatic tubes, floatation devices and some sort of propellor, he can become neutrally buoyant enough to swim in water. However, he can't very well go around with all possible modifications stuffed into that small chassis of his, so he normally sinks. However, he functions perfectly well when submerged, as in the vacuum of space. Modifications are usually removed and taken apart, sometimes being scavenged for parts, when not needed.

As a droid, he can be dismantled, even have crucial parts swapped out, and then reassembled and reactivated without problems. If someone inserts a datacard into him, he can read its contents, project them holographically, or record them to his massive memory banks.

As far as equipment goes, he has a number of seemingly random but useful devices packed into the relatively small space of his frame, including:

• Small rotary saw
• Electric pike
• Fusion welder
• Thruster jets (non-functional)
• Hologram recorder/projector
• Cable gun
• Oil injector apparatus (and chambers for same, which will be full of cocoon goo on birth)
• Fire extinguisher apparatus (see oil injector)
• Claw arm
• Internal comlink
• Periscope
• Storage compartment/pneumatic ejector
• Lariat
• Collapsible Umbrella
• Droid Deactivator
• Computer Interface Arm
• Charge Arm (taser)
• Life-form Scanner
• Polarity sink (for venting excess magnetism that could damage hard drives)
• "Confetti Creation Device"