Star Wars: Please Do Not Resist The Full Story Of This K-2SO Breakdown
Of all the droids in the Rebellion, none may have been more critically involved in pre-war espionage than a former Imperial Asset: K-2SO.
It is often easy to overlook the droids of the Rebellion. After all, next to the larger than life heroes of the Rebel Alliance like General Han Solo or those who fought the Empire in their own ways, like Quinlan Vos and his Hidden Path, how could a humble GNK power droid hope to distinguish itself?
And yet, without the many droids of the Rebellion, the organic life fighting for freedom might never have won. This is especially obvious if you take more than even a cursory glance at the Alliance’s members. Take K-2SO, a KX-series security droid from the planet Vulpter that went from slaughtering civilians in an infamous massacre to being one of the heroes of the Rebellion behind the scenes.
But how did a KX-series droid go from tool of oppression to a liberator? The answer lies in the murky past, not long before the Battle of Yavin.
K-2SO: Design and Capabilities of a Droid Freedom Fighter
To understand K-2SO and what made him so effective at fighting the very Empire he once served, we must first understand the capabilities of a KX-series security droid. Originally designed by Arakyd Industries, KX-series droids were envisioned as enforcers. As such, they came with built-in comm packages, recharge ports, and computer interface arms that could enable them to be deployed across the galaxy with minimal refitting necessary.
With an exaggerated humanoid design, the KX-series had the obility of a “human athlete” but the endurance of a droid. They stood at 2.16 meters tall, towering over the Empire’s citizenry for the most part. The flexible design meant a KX-droid like K-2SO, could wield a variety of tools and weapons without becoming exhausted. K-2SO also had the KX models’ enhanced strength, a single KX droid was more than capable of picking up a humanoid in one hand and hoisting them off the ground. This was a signature move that the Jedi Cal Kestis is no doubt intimately familiar with. (At least, he is in my playthroughs of Fallen Order and Survivor)
A KX’ loadout was typically an E-11 medium blaster rifle, an E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifle, and a collapsible electro riot baton. Some carried a T-21 light repeating blaster, as well as a complement of sonic grenades that could incapacitate foes for capture or easier execution.
As enforcer droids, they were programmed to speak galactic basic so they could interact with people, warning dignitaries of danger and ordering civilians to surrender or lay down arms or various less savory Imperial orders.
From Vulpter to Ghorman: A Winding Path Towards Destiny
Previously, it was stated that K-2SO encountered the rebel Cassian Andor while on security detail of the planet Wecacoe. It was believed that while there, he attempted to arrest Andor, but Andor fought him off long enough for the allies of Andor to shut him down.
The actual events are a little more complicated, as was revealed in Season 2 of Andor. The droid, K-2SO was originally assigned to Coruscant. While there, he participated in a military party, during which the Emperor, Sheev Palpatine, was present. After this fateful parade, K-2SO was sent to the planet Ghorman, where the Empire was arranging events to arrest protestors.
As the events of the parade took a turn, and the Ghorman protests became the Ghorman massacre, K-2SO killed many individuals as the protestors began to flee. K-2SO was in hot pursuit of members of the Axis-network and in doing so came face to face with Cassian Jeron Andor. During a firefight, which K-2SO was winning, the droid was knocked out by a repulsorcraft and from there, taken in for reprogramming by Rebel technicians.
K-2SO in the Rebellion
The reprogramming was not without its benefits. In the attempt, several glitches and minor errors led to the droid becoming fully sentient when he was reactivated. And this led him to become a part of the Rebel Alliance. He served with Cassian almost exclusively.
An attempted raid on an Imperial freighter turned into Wookiee babysitting duty for K-2 when Andor left him in charge of their safety and undertook the raid himself. In other missions, having a reprogrammed Imperial security droid worked well to help the Rebels infiltrate Imperial bases while dressed as Stormtroopers.
And of course, K-2 and Cassian were responsible for extracting Jyn Erso from the Wobani Labor Camp in 0 BBY. This mission extended into helping Jyn find her father and Saw Gerrera for information regarding the Death Star.
The Death Star Plans
After collecting all of the information needed to locate the plans for the Death Star, K-2, Cassian, and Jyn joined the Rebel strike team that would become known as Rogue One. Their plan was to infiltrate the base on Scarif while disguised as Imperial officers, locate the plans, and send them off-world to Rebel command. While this happened the rest of the team would create a distraction. And the plan worked for a little while.
While inside K-2 accessed the base’s data from another KX security droid. And with a map in hand, the extraction team made their way to the secret-plans vault. By the time they had reached the vault and were accessing Project Stardust, the Imperial forces had become aware of their presence in the base. While Jyn and Cassian retrieved the plans, K-2SO distracted and even killed several Stormtroopers. Tragically, he was eventually taken offline permanently protecting his friends.
Thanks in part to his service, the Death Star plans were successfully sent to Princess Leia and the battle station was able to be destroyed.
What was your favorite K-2 moment or quote? Do you hope he makes an appearance in Andor? Who was your favorite Rogue One character? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
