Q9-series astromech droid

Jacen Solo: "R2-D2. […] I think he wants to know if you're the same kind of droid."

Q9-X2: "I am not. I will thank you not to make such a suggestion again."

Anakin Solo: "But you look like Artoo. Kinda. But he's shorter, and you can talk regular."

Q9-X2: "I am a Q9, a highly modified and experimental type based on the R7 version, itself a far more advanced version of the R2 series. […] I have nothing to do with the R2 series."

―the Solo brothers inquire about Q9-X2's model

Q9-series astromech droids were experimental astromech droids from Industrial Automaton. They were thinner than typical R-series droids.

Description

The Q9 series was an experimental design loosely based on the R7-series chassis, and unlike most astromech droids, the Q9 was designed with a fairly complex personality matrix to allow for rapid learning. The Q9 droids were also intended to serve more functions than those of an astromech droid, and its skills at data access could be used by most diplomats and scholars.

Industrial Automaton considered the Q9 series to be a total failure; the personality matrix programming was faulty in most production models, and only a few hundred were produced and sold. Also based on the R2-series, the Q9s were launched without sufficient testing, according to the statements of critics. One of the most famous droids of the Q9-series was Q9-X2, who over-modified himself with an array of gadgets and gizmos.

Appearances

• Ambush at Corellia (First appearance)
• Assault at Selonia
• Showdown at Centerpoint

Sources

• Cracken's Threat Dossier
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Guide to Droids ("Q9-X2")