ZN-A4

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"This droid's got more than a screw loose..."

―Cal Kestis^[1]

ZN-A4, nicknamed Zee,^[1] was a specialized research^[3] droid who served Jedi Master Santari Khri during the High Republic Era. She was trapped for centuries on the planet Koboh after being trapped underground during an Emergence above Koboh before being freed by Jedi Knight Cal Kestis in 9 BBY^[4]. After reawakening, Zee entrusted her job of awakening Dagan Gera to Kestis, but was dismayed to learn that Gera had fallen to the dark side. She was later kidnapped by the Bedlam Raiders and held within the forward control tower of their base, but was liberated by Cal Kestis and Bode Akuna. Zee later played a crucial part in helping the Mantis crew travel through the Koboh Abyss to reach Tanalorr. She later decided to stay at Pyloon's Saloon rather than move to Tanalorr, having decided that the saloon was her home.^[1]

History

High Republic Era

ZN-A4, or "Zee," was built sometime during the High Republic Era, a golden age of prosperity for the Republic and the Jedi Order. Her duties included cataloging datadiscs and collating star maps. She came into the service of the Jedi Master Santari Khri, who—during a cataclysm on the planet Koboh caused by an Emergence that shattered the planet's moon—purged the knowledge of how to travel through the Koboh Abyss from Zee's memory banks, gave her a tuner device, then ordered the droid to travel underground, stopping for no one, toward the Forest Array and activate it. Zee obliged and entered the Chamber of Duality, but became trapped in rubble and remained underground for centuries.^[1]

Age of the Empire

Awakening

Over two hundred years later, in 9 BBY,^[4] the deactivated Zee was found by the Jedi Knight Cal Kestis within the Chamber of Duality—which, in the present, was beneath Rambler's Reach Outpost and Pyloon's Saloon—and was restored to full functionality by Kestis. Whilst in the chamber, Zee informed Kestis about Tanalorr and explained that there was a Jedi temple on the hidden planet. She guided him out of the Chamber and back to the surface, and she subsequently gave Kestis the tuning device and entrusted him with her mission, as she was no longer in a condition to reach the Forest Array on her own. Zee thus remained at Pyloon's Saloon with the assistance of M-6NK, learning more about how the galaxy had changed in her absence. She took a liking to Pyloon's, and felt fortunate to have met Cal, despite being dismayed at his lack of traditional Jedi robes.^[1]

After M-6NK filled her in on the state of the galaxy, Zee couldn't understand how the shameful Empire could stay in power, and she quickly grew to find the Empire reprehensible and despicable. She said the noble Jedi Knights of her day fought at the frontier then and was heartened to see vestiges of the Order she remembered in Cal and his companions, but Cal had to remind her to keep that quiet.^[1]

Droidnapped

After Kestis fulfilled Zee's mission, awakening the fallen Jedi Master Dagan Gera, Gera joined his old ally Rayvis and his Bedlam Raiders. Wishing to return to Tanalorr, Gera ordered the kidnapping of Zee, in order to search through her memory banks for the location of the final Abyss compass. While Gera failed to find anything, he soon realized that Khri had hidden the final compass in her personal observatory. He subsequently decided to wipe Zee's memory in order to reprogram her into serving him.^[1]

Kestis soon arrived with Bode Akuna to rescue Zee from the Raiders' clutches. Just as he got one of her wrists free, he was confronted by Gera. Gera seemingly agreed with his assertions that the past couldn't be change before spontaneously attacking Zee, forcing Kestis to defend her. The two Jedi briefly dueled before telekinetically struggling over the tuner. Zee distracted Gera by shouting that Khri should've left him in his tank to rot, allowing Kestis to reclaim the tuner. At that same moment, Zee got her other wrist freed but her moment of elation was interrupted by Gera, who Force pushed the two of them out the window, leaving them dangling from overhead cables. Kestis managed to free himself and resumed his duel with Gera. Subsequently, Akuna arrived to back Kestis up, forcing Gera to collapse the platform to ensure his escape. Zee then praised both her rescuers before Akuna helped her down. After escaping the Raiders' core ship base via escape pods, Akuna returned Zee to Pyloon's Saloon.^[1]

Completing her mission

After Akuna betrayed Kestis and the crew of the Stinger Mantis and stole the Abyss compass, it was believed passage to Tanalorr was now impossible. However, a recording of Khri revealed one final method of reaching the hidden world. If one were to align the Forest Array, Shattered Moon Array, and her observatory's array, the three beams could create a safe pathway through the Abyss, though this would require someone to monitor the arrays. Zee volunteered so as to see Khri's dream realized, and subsequently managed the three arrays as the Mantis entered the Abyss. She was relieved to learn that the ship managed to survive and reach Tanalorr, where Kestis and the Mantis crew confronted and killed Akuna.^[1]

After killing Akuna, Kestis obtained the compass, and offered to take Zee to Tanalorr with him as the Mantis crew prepared to use Tanalorr for the purposes of the Hidden Path. However, Zee declined, having come to consider Pyloon's Saloon her new home.^[1]

A new life

Following her decision to remain on Koboh, she told Kestis not to bodge up Khri's work whilst he is setting up on Tanalorr in preparation for the Hidden Path taking refuge on the planet. She requested that Kestis come back to the saloon to visit her from time to time. Before he set off on his new mission, Zee told him that in her day, the Jedi would say that the Force is a river and every life a tributary that returns to the greater whole. Kestis replied that his old master Cere Junda once said that to live is to lose, but nothing is ever truly lost. Zee remarked that she would remember that phrase.

Personality and traits

"Master Khri should have left you in that tank to rot!!!"

―Zee chewing out Dagan for his betrayal.^[1]

ZN-A4 was a droid of unknown model with a feminine programming. She was highly loyal to her master, Santari Khri, but was often viewed by some, like Cal Kestis, as eccentric.^[1]

She believed people were more charitable to each other in the High Republic era compared to the age of the Empire. She regaled to Kestis that, on one occasion, she was running a time sensitive errand for Khri when her motivator blew. A friendly bystander diagnosed her predicament and promptly installed a replacement, and Cal said they would have scrapped her for parts if that were to happen in the present. Zee continued that she didn't get to pay the bystander for his efforts, but weeks later she was able to help someone else. She believed it was that chain of kindness that kept the Republic going for a while. She would often encrypt datadiscs that Kestis collected from his adventures across the planet.^[1]

Despite being captured by the Bedlam Raiders, she reconciled that the group didn't lack principle or dedication, and that they had a code despite being uncivilized thieves and brutes.^[1]

Behind the scenes

ZN-A4 was created for the 2023 video game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, developed by Respawn Entertainment. She was portrayed by Kendal Rae.^[1] ZN-A4 was designed by principal concept artist Theo Stylianides and modeled and textured by principal hard surface artist Tim Wallace under the art direction of Chris Sutton. Originally during development it wasn't always clear which gender programming ZN-A4 would ultimately have. Due to the balance of organic elegance and hard surface, Wallace called her one of the most challenging models they ever designed and named it as their most proudest work for the game.^[5]