Lone battle droid During the Clone Wars , a lone battle droid deserted the Separatist Droid Army after being disconnected from the droid collective . A B1 battle droid forged by the Trade Federation , the droid had no independent thought , as its thinking was done by a Central Control Computer . It fought in numerous battles during the Clone Wars , but was continually damaged or destroyed , only to be rebuilt with new parts . The droid was eventually posted to the planet Antamont along with a sizable Separatist force , as part of an attack on a Republic stronghold on the world . As the droid forces marched through a narrow mountain walkway , the B1 activated a Republic land mine . The explosion caused great damage , and the droid ' s connection to the central mainframe was severed . With newfound freedom and independent thought , the B1 put its own survival by any means as its number one objective and fled the battle . It was followed by a grapple droid , who attempted to persuade the runaway B1 to return to duty ; when it refused , the grapple droid attacked , and the two ended up falling off the edge of a cliff . The grapple droid eventually shut down , but the B1 remained relatively undamaged . It fled further away from the battle for a time , until its battery eventually expired . Several years later , the lone battle droid was found by two local farmers , who decided to recharge the droid for use on their ranch . Biography . Cog in the war machine . During the Clone Wars , the Trade Federation produced B1 battle droids " en masse " for the Separatist Droid Army . The spindly , skeletal droids were slave circuit ed to a Central Control Computer mainframe — or core — located in another , secure location . It guided the droids ' movements so that they fought as one , with a hive - mind , and did not think independently . Alone , each droid was of little use in doing battle , but in huge numbers they were effective ; essentially disposable , when one was destroyed , two more took its place . One such battle droid fought in numerous battles during the Clone Wars . Constructed at a Trade Federation factory like all of its kind , the B1 marched into battle many times , fighting for the Confederacy of Independent Systems against the Galactic Republic , but was frequently damaged . Each time the droid incurred such damage , it was salvaged and returned to the factories for reconstruction . After being rebuilt , it was redeployed to another battle , and the process repeated itself manifold . During one particular Clone Wars battle , the droid lost all of its limbs and suffered a mark on its cranium , until it was salvaged from a pile of damaged droids on the battlefield and rebuilt . Desertion . At some point in the Clone Wars , the droid was posted to the green , mountainous planet Antamont , the site of a Republic stronghold . The Confederacy launched an attack force toward the stronghold ; hordes of battle droids , grapple droid s , spider droids , and " Hailfire " droids marched and rolled along a narrow path through the mountains to reach it . The scarred B1 was at the front of its particular group ; the pathway was littered with Republic mines , and it trod on one , detonating the mine . The explosion destroyed a number of other droids and damaged some vehicles , while the B1 who had set it off was sent sprawling through the air and down the hillside toward a river , adjacent to the road . It collided with a rock in the river , damaging its cranium and causing itself to shut down for a few moments . After reactivating , the droid realized that its connection to the droid collective had been severed ; for the first time in its existence , its role and reason to exist were in question . As the droid returned to its comrades ' sides and watched the Confederate and Republic forces meet and begin battle , a new directive took hold , placing the droid ' s survival above all else . Immediately after making this realization , the B1 turned away from its fellow droids and fled , down the hill side and away from battle , having realized it was likely to be damaged once more or permanently destroyed in battle . The droid ran , down hills and up hills , until it eventually reached the edge of a massive cliff , where it stopped , having put several kilometers between itself and the CIS forces . With the droid ' s new cognizance came hope , and the possibility of a different life , one of the droid ' s own choosing . However , the droid ' s flight did not go unnoticed and as it began to ponder its future , a Separatist grapple droid arrived at the cliff ' s edge , having trailed the B1 from the battle site . The grapple droid informed the B1 that desertion was violation of protocol , and ordered it to return to the fray post haste . The B1 , however , had no intention of doing so . Compassion . The battle droid , its blaster rifle still intact , refused to comply and fired upon its assailant , though the shots had little effect . The B1 implored the other droid to stop and think , to question its orders and try to save itself from the inevitable destruction on the battle field . The grapple droid ' s programming did not permit this ; it cut off half the B1 ' s arm with its pincers , disarming the droid of its weapon in the process . The B1 refused to submit , though , dodging the other droid as it attempted to inflict further damage upon its comrade . The grapple droid pursued the B1 toward the cliff edge ; the B1 besought it to disconnect itself from the core and live a free life , or to at least let the B1 go free . The grapple droid refused , launching itself powerfully at the other droid . The B1 managed to move aside , making the grapple droid fall over the edge of the cliff ; however , the plummeting droid was able to grab hold of the B1 , pulling it down with itself . Both droids eventually collided with the ground , but the grapple droid came off far worse . The B1 , still able to walk effectively , made to flee , but the barely functioning grapple droid spoke to it , asking why it did not return to central control to have its batteries recharged , for its battery would not last long in the wilderness . The B1 told its comrade that it would rather a mere two days of freedom than a much longer life of blind obedience and inevitable doom . The B1 then stayed with the grapple droid for a time as the grapple droid ' s little remaining power began to wane . The grapple droid , its connection to the core now severed , too , was afraid of going off - line , but the B1 eased its fears , staying with it until the grapple droid eventually shut down permanently . New life . The droid returned to a vantage point to survey the ongoing battle between the Separatist droids and the Republic forces . Realizing that it had one last chance to go back , that this was the point of no return , the droid turned its back on the warring , heading into a forest . It wandered through Antamont ' s terrain until twilight , when it stopped and sat against a solitary tree at the top of a mountain . Its battery eventually expired , and the droid remained in the same sitting position through many seasons , without anyone interfering with its body . Eventually , years after the Battle of Antamont and the end of the Clone Wars , two farmers stumbled upon the droid ' s body . They were surprised to see a B1 in one piece on their world , as most were badly damaged during the battle , and were intrigued by the droid ' s location atop a mountain , for the battle had taken place in a valley . One of the farmers remarked that , if they could charge the droid ' s battery , it might be able to help them around their ranch . The two farmers then took the droid back to their ranch , ready to reactivate it . Characteristics . Like all B1 battle droids deployed by the Trade Federation before and during the Clone Wars , the runaway droid was not capable of proper independent thought ; its thinking was done by the central control mainframe . It marched into battle with its comrades , and was destroyed time and again , only to be rebuilt . Individual battle droids were not given much consideration by either side in the Clone Wars ; to the CIS , they were cheap and expendable , their strength only in their numbers ; to the Republic soldiers and Jedi they fought , they were soulless entities whom they could cut down without remorse . However , once the droid was damaged and its connection to the core severed , it became capable of independent thought — and realized the futility of its existence . The B1 knew that if it returned to battle , it would merely be damaged and reconstructed yet again , until it was eventually shut down permanently . The battle droid set survival at all costs as its ultimate aim and deserted the battlefield , violating commands it would not have been able to had it still been connected to the mainframe . Freedom was all the droid cared for , and it would happily have taken a few short days of freedom than return to it prior existence , where it was doomed . The droid ' s new - found cognizance also led to it developing a personality , and something of an attitude . When faced by the grapple droid that had followed it , the B1 became impertinent and snarky , mocking the other droid . However , it also developed a sense of compassion , and tried to ease its companion ' s fears before the grapple droid ' s battery expired , staying with the other droid . Behind the scenes . This character was created by Jeremy Barlow for " Pathways , " a short comic featured in " " , illustrated by the Fillbach Brothers . The droid is the central character of the story , though it goes unnamed . Barlow has stated that " Pathways " is one of the best " Star Wars " pieces he has written , as it introduced a new character and got the readers to care about him in a short space of time . The character was subsequently referenced in the Antamont entry of " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , by Daniel Wallace , Pablo Hidalgo , Stephen J . Sansweet and Bob Vitas , though again was not given a name or designation .