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4-LOM

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a rogue droid bounty hunter conscripted by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, it was one of the first LOM-series protocol droids ever prodcued. 4-LOM was purchased for service as an interpreter on the Kuari Princess. He was equipped with a TranLang III communications module so that he could interface between the ship's guests and its computer. Because both 4-LOM and the ship's computer knew the exact locations of the passengers' valuables, they began simulating the "perfect theft." However, both of them soon began to discover how to alter the other's programming, and a series of thefts began to be reported aboard the Princess. One of the first such thefts was that of the Ankarres Sapphire, stolen from Dom Pricina. 4-LOM initially took the stone to protect it from Dom Pricina's careless handling of the stone. However, 4-LOM realized that most humans were careless as Dom Pricina had been, and taking the stone opened up new programming routines to 4-LOM. The continued interaction between 4-LOM and the ship's computer enhanced and widened the droid's own sentience, and 4-LOM began to grow bored of the simple thefts. 4-LOM left the ship when it t made port, and began working as an information broker and master thief. He worked for Jabba the Hutt for a while, and the Hutt eventually made 4-LOM a deal it couldn't refuse: in return for a complete refit that would allow the droid to perform violent actions, 4-LOM would agree to become one of Jabba's personal bounty hunters. Jabba paired 4-LOM with Zuckuss, and the two became Jabba's favorite hunters. 4-LOM became obsessed with learning how to use intuition, and studied Zuckuss during the Gand's mediations. 4-LOM even thought about trying to understand the Force. When Vader put out the bounty on Han Solo's head, Jabba sent the two to the Executor as unofficial emissaries to the Empire. Note that, although The Essential Guide to Characters indicates Jabba sent them, Tales of the Bounty Hunters tells that the two sought out Vader after Zuckuss discovered the bounty during a meditative trance. The droid and the Gand never got involved with the hunt for Solo, as they discovered that the Alliance would help them more than the Empire. They eventually joined the Alliance, after saving the crew of the Bright Hope near Hoth. While waiting for Zuckuss' lungs to heal, 4-LOM had a form of prescient insight, and thought he saw himself working with a group of Jedi trainees. Once Zuckuss' lungs healed, the pair left to intercept Boba Fett and recover Solo. Even though Boba Fett was the one to capture Solo, the other bounty hunters tracked Fett to try and bargain with him. Led by Bossk, 4-LOM and the others intercepted Fett at Gall. Fett managed to escape, but 4-LOM was disabled and left in the hold of Slave I. When 4-LOM reactivated itself, it signaled the others to give them Fett's location. However, Fett discovered the transmission and shot 4-LOM through the head. Fett then used the inert droid as a stand-in for Han Solo's frozen form, and he used Zuckuss for a stand-in of himself. Fett sent them out of Slave I on Tatooine, to draw off any of Jabba's minions who would have stolen Solo's body and claimed the bounty themselves. Zuckuss later managed to get 4-LOM repaired, but the memory wipe required to reactivate its droid brain left 4-LOM without any semblance of its former personality. Both Zuckuss and 4-LOM chose to cut off their relationship with the Alliance. The droid no longer felt that it needed a partner, although it chose to work with Zuckuss during the capture of Drawmas Sma'da because it needed a partner to carry out the capture. Note that the Essential Guide to Characters indicates that Jabba retained the services of 4-LOM and Zuckuss until his own death, despite the destruction of the droid in Shadows of the Empire.