3B6 - RA - 7 3B6 - RA - 7 , nicknamed " Threebee , " was a personal - assistant droid that worked as a spy , care - giver , and farmhand , serving masters as diverse as Grand Moff Dunhausen and the moisture farmer Sholh Dorr . Originally in the possession of the Imperial Security Bureau , 3B6 - RA - 7 was programmed to work as a protocol and spy droid simultaneously , resulting in mass incompetence while fulfilling the former duties . Hoping to keep tabs on the Grand Moff , the Bureau presented the droid to Dunhausen , who quickly tired of 3B6 - RA - 7 ' s ineptitude . Rumors about the RA - 7 line being used as spies persisted , and soon enough Dunhausen sought to dispose of the droid . On Tatooine , 3B6 - RA - 7 was captured by the Jawa Jek Nkik , and constant attempts were made to sell him off to the customers of the scavenger race . The attempts failed , and 3B6 - RA - 7 would become a mainstay of Nebit ' s sandcrawler , deriding and mocking any newcomers the Jawas managed to steal . Eventually , he was sold to aging farmer Sholh Dorr at the annual Droidfest . Over time , 3B6 - RA - 7 began to genuinely care for Dorr , but was nonetheless passed on once more , when the farmer decided to sell him at Eport . By that stage , 3B6 - RA - 7 was a collectors ' item , since most of the other droids of his make had been destroyed at Yavin , when the Death Star had been destroyed . Biography . Imperial service . Initially in the possession of the Imperial Security Bureau , 3B6 - RA - 7 , much like fellow RA - 7 unit 5D6 - RA - 7 , was programmed to serve as a spy . To mask his true purpose , the droid was made to appear incompetent and clumsy . His programming was intentionally overtaxed by having to deal with both spy and protocol duties . 3B6 - RA - 7 was presented to Grand Moff Dunhausen as a " gift " by the Bureau , so they would be able to keep tabs on the governor . The droid served Dunhausen as a personal assistant , though his tendency to forget important engagements and his inability to record certain dictations exasperated the governor . Stories of the RA - 7 model ' s inadequacy spread throughout the ranks of Dunhausen ' s colleagues , coupled with the rumors that they were working as spy droids . Hoping to get rid of the droid , Dunhausen took a " vacation " to Tatooine . 3B6 - RA - 7 was sent on errands to Mos Eisley , without any kind of guard or companionship whatsoever . Thirty minutes into his trip , the droid was attacked by Jek Nkik , a Jawa scavenger . Hit by a shot from Nkik ' s ion blaster , 3B6 - RA - 7 was stolen and taken to Nebit ' s sandcrawler . Realizing what Dunhausen had done , 3B6 - RA - 7 planned to contact the Bureau and report the governor , but Nkik removed the droid ' s data transmitter before he could do so . Captive of the Jawas . In the possession of the Jawa scavengers , 3B6 - RA - 7 ' s black shell was stripped back to its metallic undercoat to prevent overheating under Tatooine ' s twin suns . As time went by , the droid began to develop a bitter disposition , verbally abusing newcomers to the sandcrawler ' s hold . He would constantly be trotted out for sale by the Jawas , but his surly nature wound up costing the scavengers several profitable transactions . Eventually , the Jawas stopped putting him on display , instead opting to leave him in the sandcrawler when visiting the moisture farmers . When Imperial stormtroopers attacked Nebit ' s sandcrawler and slaughtered the Jawas , 3B6 - RA - 7 had no remorse whatsoever . Much to his surprise , though , the troops were not in fact looking for him , but R2 - D2 and C - 3PO , who had recently been acquired and sold by Nebit . The droids were harboring top - secret information on an Imperial installation , which had earned them such attention from the Imperial armed forces . Serving Sholh Dorr . Abandoned once more , 3B6 - RA - 7 was acquired by another Jawa clan and sold off at the annual Droidfest . Sholh Dorr , an aging farmer , purchased the droid , and put him to use as a care - giver . Dorr had been injured in 22 BBY while trying to save Shmi Skywalker Lars from a clan of Tusken Raiders and , as a result , needed help around his farm . Eventually , 3B6 - RA - 7 began to genuinely care for Dorr and came to consider the farm his true home . He looked forward to the day his program priority cycle would allow him to forget his past and provide Dorr with years of loyal servitude . Dorr , however , had other ideas . He saw 3B6 - RA - 7 as an investment — made all the more wise when , following the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star , RA - 7s became collectors ' items , since most of their number had been on board the battlestation . 3B6 - RA - 7 was subsequently sold on Eport at an auction for over a thousand times the price Dorr had originally paid . Personality and programming . As with all droids of his make , 3B6 - RA - 7 had fifth - degree primary programming , giving him low intelligence and capability to do only menial tasks . At first , due to the duality of his programming , 3B6 - RA - 7 was startlingly incompetent as a protocol droid , failing to complete the simplest of tasks for Grand Moff Dunhausen . Despite this , he was aware enough to realize what was happening when Dunhausen abandoned him on Tatooine . His abandonment , subsequent capture , and deformation by the Jawas caused him to develop a surly and unpleasant demeanor , and as a result , 3B6 - RA - 7 would often verbally lash out at newcomers to the sandcrawler ' s hold . At first , the droid felt nothing toward sentients , as he had little sympathy for his temporary Jawa owners when they fell under Imperial guns . However , working for Sholh Dorr , 3B6 - RA - 7 ' s attitude changed , and he began to have a true sense of purpose and belonging . Features and functions . Insectoid in his chromium appearance , 3B6 - RA - 7 possessed broadband photoreceptors , a magnetic sensor , a vocoder sounding box , and a communications antenna that was accompanied by a data transmitter . In addition to that , he possessed an interface connection port and magnetic grip foot - plates . 3B6 - RA - 7 initially had dual roles as both a spy and a protocol droid , although his skills in the latter area suffered due to his multi - tasking . Later , he would find work as an assistant farmer and a care - giver , with which the droid was far more content . Behind the scenes . 3B6 - RA - 7 first appeared in George Lucas ' as an unnamed droid in an early scene aboard the sandcrawler . The droid would later be identified as an " RA - 7 " unit in the " A New Hope Limited " set of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game . Several years later , the droid would be given the further identification of " 3B6 , " and a backstory by Adrick Tolliver ( writing as " TalonCard86 " ) through the StarWars . com feature , " What ' s The Story ? " Tolliver tied 3B6 - RA - 7 ' s story into various elements from the Expanded Universe , such as Grand Moff Dunhausen and the Droidfest from the " Jedi Prince " series , Sholh Dorr from R . A . Salvatore ' s novelization of " " , and Eport from the " Star Wars Tales " story , " Outbid But Never Outgunned " .