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PLNK-series power droid

< PLNK-series power droid
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"Plunk. Plunk."
―A plunk droid — (audio) Listen (file info)[src]

PLNK-series power droids, nicknamed "plunk droids" for their distinctive vocalizations, were four-legged power droids manufactured by Industrial Automaton during the Clone Wars. They spoke a form of droidspeak similar to Gonkian and functioned as containment and refueling units for liquid tibanna gas, which they equipped various starships and equipment with. Though not built with the near-limitless capacity of standard power droids, their tibanna-driven generators were enough to provide the Grand Army of the Republic's listening posts with sufficient power to execute their needs. The droids served the Republic Navy, working aboard Venator-class Star Destroyers; as well as the Confederacy of Independent Systems, counting freighters that passed through the Separatist blockade of the Gwori system. PLNK-series units were also used on Republic-affiliated worlds such as Coruscant, Rodia, and Mandalore.

Characteristics

PLNK-series power droid

A PLNK-series power droid

The PLNK-series power droid was designed for storing and refueling liquid tibanna gas.[1] They were additionally built for refueling starships and equipment and performed simple tasks in spaceports and military bases.[3] To increase their capacity for tibanna, the droids were based on a "stretched" designed of the GNK power droid and had four legs, as opposed to the two of the GNK series.[1] Lacking both weapons and a programmed gender, the PLNK-series were equipped with feet that allowed them to waddle along.[3] They had a slow moving pace, weighed down by a heavy internal tibanna tank and tibanna-powered generator. A single unit carried an internal pump for loading and discharging liquid tibanna through its externally mounted hose and nozzle;[1] the fuel hose ran from the droid's left side to the nozzles holstered on its back.[5] Their actions could be controlled by a main panel for system diagnostics located on their front side.[3] The droids spoke a form of droidspeak similar to Gonkian,[4] saying "plunk" as they shuffled about and hence earning them the nickname "plunk droids." They also understood Galactic Basic Standard but were unable to speak it.[1]

Although unequipped with the near-limitless power generation of a standard power droid, each PLNK-series model possessed a tibanna-driven generator that was capable of supplying enough power to satisfy the needs of Republic listening posts until its tibanna supply ran out.[1] Three plunk droids were enough to power a single listening post and could alternatively be used as detonators to destroy an outpost in case of enemy insurgency.[5] In the service of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, plunk droids were thought to have some defective circuits that led to miscalculation.[8] Like other power droids, plunk droids were encased in heavy shielding,[1] mainly over their fuel reservoirs,[3] and colored duranium plating[1]—ranging from dark green[4] to gray,[5] brown,[6] and gold[7]—to safeguard their highly flammable tibanna contents. To further protect their cargo, the units featured heightened security and safety protocols, but were still restricted by highly limited programming and artificial intelligence. The droids' self-preservation programming sometimes gave them cause to run away from their owners when "spooked" or agitated.[1]

History

"One of those plunk droids probably miscounted again. Their circuits are defective."
―A B1 battle droid[src]

PLNK-series power droids had begun to be manufactured by Industrial Automaton by the time of the Clone Wars.[1] They were in the service of the Separatists, counting freighters passing through the blockade of the Gwori system to the Gwori Revolutionary Industries shipyards. When B1 battle droids noticed one too many freighters in a convoy, they dismissed it as a calculation error made by the plunk droids, whom they claimed possessed defective circuits.[8] Plunk droids were also used by the Republic Navy to refuel BTL-B Y-wing starfighters,[3] bombers introduced during the war[10] that, unlike most starfighters, relied on liquid tibanna instead of fusion generators as a power source.[3] The droids served aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute in the Open Circle Fleet of the Republic Navy[4][6][11][12] and could be seen shuffling about the hangar bay of the vessel, where Y-wing bombers,[4] LAAT/i gunships,[6] Delta-7B interceptors, and V-19 Torrent starfighters were housed.[11]

Plunkplunk

Clone Captain Rex ushers a plunk droid in Rishi Station.

A trio of plunk droids, containing liquid tibanna, served as the power source for the Grand Army of the Republic listening post Rishi Station on the Rishi moon, which was used to monitor a portion of the Outer Rim Territories for possible invasion by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. When Separatist BX-series droid commandos captured the station, the clone troopers manning the facility decided that it was necessary to destroy the installation to warn Kamino, the site of the Grand Army's cloning facilities, of the impending Separatist attack. The troopers rounded up the three plunk droid units[5] and wired them together[13] in order to detonate them using a thermal charge. When the remote detonator failed to sync up with the charge, clone trooper Hevy sacrificed himself to manually trigger the device, destroying the three plunk droids along with the installation.[5]

Plunk droids were used on the planet Rodia, where one such droid stepped in to fuel Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's Delta-7B interceptor after he landed in Kay-Tap square to intercept the bounty hunter Cad Bane.[14] The droids were additionally employed by the Republic on Coruscant and were involved in preparations for the departure of the Royal Naboo J-type star skiff, which was to take Senators Padmé Amidala and Rush Clovis to a diplomatic meeting with Senator Lott Dod on Cato Neimoidia.[7] Shortly afterward, plunk droids were dispatched with a Republic fleet sent to invade the planet Geonosis and halt the production of Separatist battle droids in Archduke Poggle the Lesser's droid foundries there. The power droids were present aboard the Star Destroyers of the fleet when the initial body of troops was deployed.[9] Sundari, the capital city of Mandalore,[15] made use of plunk droids[16] in one of its spaceports,[15] where the units were sometimes observed by Mandalorian civilians during their operations.[16][17]

Behind the scenes

Plunk droids were created for the 2008 animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and first appeared in the background of the episode "Shadow of Malevolence," which aired on October 10. The droids were first named in the StarWars.com episode guide for "Shadow of Malevolence." They later had a more active role in the October 24 episode, "Rookies," and could be seen once again ambling around a hangar bay in "Jedi Crash" as well as "Storm Over Ryloth." They were also used in the series' second season, appearing extensively in the background of scenes in multiple episodes. They were given the "PLNK-series power droid" designation in the 2009 Scavenger's Guide to Droids, published by Wizards of the Coast, which also greatly expanded the droids' features. The appearance of plunk droids is very similar to that of the GNK and EG-6 droids of the original Star Wars trilogy. In an interview published in Star Wars Insider 115, The Clone Wars Supervising Director Dave Filoni states that the name "plunk droid," as well as the sound that the droids make, is a play on the name of designer Kilian Plunkett.[18] Plunk droids also appeared in the 2011 non-canonical video game LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars that adapted "Rookies."

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Scavenger's Guide to Droids
  2. ↑ Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids specifies that power droids are fifth-degree droids.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Shadow of Malevolence"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Rookies"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Jedi Crash"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Senate Spy"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Clone Wars: Shipyards of Doom
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Landing at Point Rain"
  10. ↑ The Clone Wars: Procedure
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Storm Over Ryloth"
  12. ↑ TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Cargo of Doom"
  13. ↑ StarWars The Clone Wars Episode Guide: Rookies on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  14. ↑ TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Children of the Force"
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 StarWars The Clone Wars Episode Guide: The Mandalore Plot on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Mandalore Plot"
  17. ↑ TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Duchess of Mandalore"
  18. ↑ SWInsider "Ready for Battle" — Star Wars Insider 115
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