The battle droid dispenser was a B1-Series battle droid dispenser used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic. Stationed on Lucrehulk-class droid control ships, they were moved around on transport lines and could be launched onto enemy vessels using built-in repulsors. Trandoshan enslavers were provided with the devices during joint operations with the Confederacy.

Delta Squad, an elite squad of Republic clone commandos, encountered many battle droid dispensers during their deployments, such as the opening engagement of the Clone Wars at the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY. Other encounters included a mission to rescue the Acclamator-class assault ship Prosecutor from Separatist and Trandoshan hands in 21 BBY and a mission to the planet Kashyyyk to rescue the Wookiee chieftain Tarfful in 19 BBY.

Description[]

Battle droid dispensers stood over 1.93 meters tall^[2] and were beige or brown-colored. A semi-cylinder–shaped device, it continually dispensed a supply of B1-Series battle droids from three circular hatches mounted on its sides. Limited to dispensing up to three droids at a time, each deployment took approximately nine seconds, faster than the super battle droid dispenser's deployment of B2 super battle droids. The B1 droids were stored in a deactivated, folded position, unfolding into a standing position upon exiting the device's center.^[1]

The device was resistant to blaster bolts but could be destroyed using explosive charges such as a detonation pack or through the use of the laserfire of the anti-personnel laser cannons of an AT-TE walker. The dispensers were also equipped with repulsors, allowing them to be launched into other starships from the Lucrehulk-class droid control ships aboard which they were held. They were carried on transport lines through the superstructure inside the droid control ships.^[1]

History[]

Early usage in the Clone Wars[]

The Confederacy of Independent Systems used battle droid dispensers during the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic. During naval battles, the droid dispensers were launched onto Republic ships, deploying B1s to board and overrun them. They could also be placed on landing pads on planetary surfaces. In its joint operations with Trandoshan enslavers, the Confederacy provided the Trandoshans with droid dispensers. Delta Squad, an elite squad of Republic clone commandos, encountered many of the units during their operations. Battle droid dispensers were often used alongside super battle droid dispensers and occasionally droideka dispensers.^[1]

In 22 BBY,^[3] at the First Battle of Geonosis^[1] that marked the start of the Clone Wars,^[4] Separatist core ships carried a number of droid dispensers. When Delta Squad infiltrated one such ship, the commandos split up to target and incapacitate crucial systems in the vessel. They reunited in a corridor, above which the dispensers were being carried on a transport line. The clone squad engaged several waves of B1 battle droids and droidekas in the corridor, and in the resulting blaster fire, the transport line was damaged and dropped a dispenser, which then activated. Upon first encountering it, commando Sev questioned what the item was, to which fellow commando RC-1140, also known as Fixer, replied by explaining the device's function and scolded Sev for not having read the mission briefing. The commandos then used a detonation pack to destroy the battle droid dispenser.^[1]

Delta Squad leader Boss subsequently shot down another droid dispenser from the transport line, destroying the dispenser and killing four battle droids in the resultant explosion.^[1]

Chaykin Cluster[]

In 21 BBY,^[3] Trandoshan enslavers working with the Separatists attacked the Republic Acclamator-class assault ship (RAS) Prosecutor while it was patrolling the Corellian sector in order to salvage parts from the ship for Separatist uses. Several weeks later, the ship reappeared in the Chaykin Cluster and Delta Squad was sent to investigate its disappearance. When the Trandoshans were notified of Delta Squad's presence, they unloaded the droid dispensers from their dropships. Republic commando Scorch attempted to rendezvous with Boss, who was trapped behind a door in a small corridor aboard the Prosecutor. Entering from a connecting hallway behind Boss, an enslaver pushed a droid dispenser into the opposite end of the corridor, with the device subsequently activating, and the clone was forced to hold the droids off while Scorch sliced the door panel. Several minutes later, Scorch succeeded, and the two destroyed the dispenser.^[1]

When the squad eventually made their way to the Prosecutor's hangars, a Separatist droid control ship exited hyperspace to finish the salvaging job. Delta Squad then set traps around Hangar B, anticipating battle droid dispensers and super battle droid dispensers sent from the enemy ship. When the craft finally landed, Delta Squad fought off the boarding party, placing a demolition charge on the hangar's force field regulator to re-activate the field and stop the enemy advance in Hangar B. The squad moved on to the next hangar to combat additional forces, and as they arrived in Hangar C, they also encountered a deployed battle droid dispenser.^[1]

While clearing out Separatist forces in Hangar C, a member of Delta Squad sliced a terminal to start a docked 74-Z speeder bike. The bike's engines fired up, and it raced forward until it crashed into a droid dispenser, destroying both the dispenser and the speeder bike.^[1]

The squad defeated the incoming invasion force and used a similar tactic to destroy the hangar's regulator. En route to Hangar D, the group encountered several dispensers that had already been deployed. However, clone advisor CC-01/425 instructed Delta Squad not to engage the dispensers directly, and the commandos took cover at the rear of the hangar as more dispensers landed, including droideka dispensers. The squad then sliced a lift terminal to bring an AT-TE walker to the hangar. Once the lift arrived, Boss fired the walker's laser cannons, destroying the dispensers and the regulator. The commandos subsequently boarded the lift, where they contacted Captain Talbot of the RAS Arrestor for reinforcements. Moving through the maintenance tunnels and overcoming entrenched droid forces, the clones eventually reached the gun control station, where they activated the automatic defenses and saved the ship with the help of Talbot.^[1]

Mission to Kashyyyk[]

In 19 BBY,^[5] Delta Squad was dispatched to the planet Kashyyyk to rescue the Wookiee chieftain Tarfful and destroy both Separatist supplies and the Kachirho Bridge. As Delta Squad made its way through a Trandoshan compound, it destroyed a battle droid dispenser on a Separatist launchpad. Eventually, the squad rescued Tarfful and destroyed the bridge, as well as an opposing Recusant-class light destroyer. Immediately thereafter, a Republic fleet entered the planet's airspace, with CC-01/425 advising them that the Battle of Kashyyyk had begun.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The battle droid dispenser appeared in the 2005 LucasArts video game Star Wars: Republic Commando.^[1] Prior to the game's release, the device was mentioned on LucasArts.com's Star Wars: Republic Commando webpage.^[6]

In the game, droid dispensers will continue deploying droids until the dispenser itself is destroyed. The "Guerrilla Warfare" trophy can be achieved in the "Infiltration of the Core Ship" mission as part of the Geonosis campaign. It is achieved if the player shoots down a transported droid dispenser and drops it onto at least four enemies. In the "Save the Ship" mission of the RAS Prosecutor campaign, the player may choose to instruct a team member to slice a console connected to a speeder bike in Hangar C. Upon slicing the console, the bike will start and then crash into a droid dispenser, allowing the player to gain the "That Model Is A Death Trap" trophy.^[1]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Republic Commando (First appearance)

Sources[]

• Star Wars Republic Commando Official Site on LucasArts.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (First mentioned)
• Star Wars: Republic Commando: Prima Official Game Guide

Notes and references[]

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