M-3PO military protocol droid

This article is about the military protocol droid. You may be looking for the maitre'd droid also known as Treedee.

The M-3PO military protocol droid, also known as the standard military protocol unit, was a variant of Cybot Galactica's successful 3PO-series protocol droid, designed for military applications. These droids were common sights in planetary garrisons and starfighter bases.

Description

The M-3PO military protocol droid was produced by Cybot Galactica and was a variant of their prolific 3PO-series protocol droid design. The units used standard 3PO-series bodies painted^[1] a nonmetallic^[2] black, and incorporated clamshell-shaped heads taken from Cybot Galactica's discontinued KW traffic controller. M-3POs had red photoreceptors that were nestled in between the upper and lower halves of the head.^[1]

M-3PO's utilized the same AA-1 VerboBrain as standard 3PO units.^[3] All of the droid's communications and sensor equipment, including auditory sensors were located in the clamshell head. A reset button and olfactory sensors were positioned on the neck. Due to the re-use of the standard 3PO chassis, M-3PO droids suffered the same physical limitations including stiff joints and poor balance.^[1] The unit's body and head were armored^[3] with plasteel,^[5] and M-3POs incorporated a translator unit, a holorecorder, and a vocabulator.^[3]

Despite being classed as military droids, M-3PO units were not designed to serve in a combat role^[1] although they were occasionally used in battle.^[6] They were intended to fulfil the role of an administrative organizer, being equipped with a Military Database Computer that was programmed with the rules and regulations of over six million military and paramilitary organizations, including honor codes, ceremonial protocols, and historical doctrines from militaries past and present.^[1]

M-3POs were tasked with requisitioning equipment, barracks billeting, duty roster planning and personnel file management. The droids were notoriously thorough, and insisted on maintaining procedure and filing paperwork through the "proper channels". Combined with the usual sluggish bureaucracies that most militaries operated under, it could take an M-3PO unit weeks to fill a regiment's simple order for two dozen blaster rifles.^[1]

History

A M-3PO military . — A Cybot Galactica M-3PO military protocol droid.

Following the success of the 3PO-series, Cybot Galactic hoped to capitalise on its accomplishment by producing and selling variants based on the droid. Most never moved past the design stage,^[5] but a junior executive believed that the military was an untapped market for the 3PO-series and its AA-1 VerboBrain.^[3] Following the introduction of the M-3PO^[1] centuries prior to the Galactic Civil War,^[2] they soon became common sights in planetary garrisons and starfighter bases across the galaxy.^[1] They did the job they were designed to do ably,^[3] but the soldiers assigned to the same facilities as an M-3PO droid were often dismayed by their presence.^[1]

Although the M-3PO units differed in appearance from their 3PO cousins, the soldiers often complained that they were no less annoying.^[1] M-3POs retained the same chattery, annoying traits that were the hallmark of the standard 3PO line. The production run was small, and the line was eventually scrapped.^[2] On more than one occasion, M-3PO droids were abandoned in the Outer Rim Territories by the soldiers they were assigned to. These rogue units often became soldiers themselves^[3] after taking the initiative to reprogram themselves.^[5]

M-3PO units were commonly found in military installations, including starships and space stations. In addition to their duties requisitioning supplies, organizing duty rosters, and managing personnel, some M-3PO units were used by commanders as strategic aides and training instructors due to their vast military knowledge. These droids gave briefings and lectures, and while the soldiers on the receiving end disliked being trained by M-3POs, the troops who listened and heeded their advice usually returned from combat alive.^[5]

During the early years of the New Republic, Rogue Squadron had an M-3PO unit named Emtrey who was the unit's quartermaster. Emtry had been assembled from three junked M-3PO units at Echo Base on the planet Hoth, and had been modified to include commodities-brokering software and a secondary personality that acted as a "scrounger", allowing the droid to engage in bribery, bartering, and black market trading to obtain supplies.^[1]