The Old Republic shipping fleet,[3] also known as the Old Republic merchant fleet[1] or simply the Republic merchant fleet,[4] was the merchant fleet of the Galactic Republic.[2] It was comprised of bulk cruisers and container vessels. Industrial Automaton exclusively sold their prototype P2-series astromech droids[4] to the Republic for use aboard their merchant vessels on a trial basis,[2] the droid manufacturer having specifically designed them for the fleet's capital-scale space transports.[5] Despite their flaws, most captains were pleased with the P2 units[1] and the astromech droids would go on to serve the shipping fleet well.[3]
Behind the scenes
The Old Republic shipping fleet was first mentioned in "The History of R-Series Astromech Droids," a 1995 article written by Pablo Hidalgo and illustrated by Matt Busch that was published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7.[3]
Sources
"The History of R-Series Astromech Droids" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 (First mentioned)- The Essential Guide to Droids (First identified as Old Republic merchant fleet)
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 21 AST 1-2: P2 and R1 Astromech Droids
- Arms & Equipment Guide
- The New Essential Guide to Droids (First identified as Republic merchant fleet)
- The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
- P2 prototype astromech droid in the Databank (original site is defunct)
