PD-28
- "My first master always told me to help others, and they'll help you someday."
- ―PD-28
PD-28, nicknamed Peedee by his Ewok friends, was a pilot droid of uncertain origins. After being stolen from his original master by the Galactic Empire, he became the property of Dr. Raygar. In 3 ABY, he accompanied the scientist as a servant on his mission to Endor to steal the mystical Sunstar from the Ewoks.
Characteristics
Unlike cylindrical Industrial Automaton droids, such as the R-series astromechs, PD-28 had a small spherical body with two arms, three non-retractable wheeled legs, and a large head. He could also communicate in natural languages such as Galactic Basic Standard or Ewokese, rather than being restricted to Binary. It is unclear if PD-28's features were standard to his model of droid, or if he was a unique custom design crafted by his first master. His first master also instilled a strong sense of morality in PD-28—a characteristic which, strangely enough, Raygar did not bother to remove with a memory wipe.[1]
Biography
Keeping PD-28's personality intact turned out to be a mistake on Raygar's part. After discovering that Raygar had imprisoned four young Ewoks—Princess Kneesaa, Wicket Wystri Warrick, Teebo, and Latara—on board his vessel, he felt honor-bound to help them. After talking with Wicket, he agreed to help the Ewoks escape to their village, and to "accidentally" escape with them. Taking an auxiliary pod from Raygar's ship, the five of them flew to Bright Tree Village, only to find that Raygar had already taken the Sunstar.[1]
PD-28 and the four young Ewoks set out in the auxiliary pod for Admiral Kazz's Star Destroyer to get the Sunstar (though they left hastily, thanks to Latara's accidental activation of the pod's engines.) After docking with Kazz's ship, he instructed the Ewoks to hide while he talked to the Admiral. PD-28 claimed that he had escaped from the Ewoks who had captured him, but Kazz, unimpressed by the droid's story, responded that a proper Imperial droid would not have been captured and ordered PD-28 to be recycled.[1]
PD-28's new friends did not abandon him, however. Wicket and Kneesaa rescued the droid from the ship's recycler, and the three of them worked together to recover the Sunstar from Raygar. During the struggle, Raygar's Sunstar-powered weapon misfired and hit Emperor Palpatine's shuttle. PD-28 and the two Ewoks escaped with the Sunstar just before Kazz's stormtroopers arrived to arrest Raygar for treason. They left the Star Destroyer in the pod without attracting any more attention, stopped to pick up Teebo and Latara (who Raygar had earlier stuffed in a small capsule and shot into space), and returned to Endor.[1]
The Ewoks of Bright Tree Village were grateful for the little droid's help in recovering their most sacred artifact, and would gladly have let him live among them for good. However, PD-28 knew that his original master was still out there somewhere. The loyal droid left in his new pod, intending to return to his true master.[1]
Appearances
Ewoks—"Battle for the Sunstar" (First appearance)