KZE 42A "Scarab" Droid

The KZE 42A Scarab Droid was originally conceived at Kabat-Zinn Engineering to be used as a utility and maintenance droid for large starships and facilities. After the droid series was field tested and put into production, a disgruntled engineer modified an existing 42 droid and attempted to use it as an assassin droid. When it was discovered, the executives of Kabat-Zinn liked the idea so much that they ordered an additional production line of the newly modified droids to be produced. The new 42A Scarabs were set to sold as another tool that could be used by bounty hunters and the Empire. KZE knew that professional assassins would utilize the droids also.

Tiny, quiet and unobtrusive, the insectile destroyers could locate and terminate a slumbering target without the victim ever stirring from a peaceful afternoon nap. Most household security systems aren't focused enough to detect the low profile, slender droids and when they do, they are often misidentified as a large, harmless garden beetles.

All scarab droids could fit comfortably in the palm of one hand. The later generations, in particular, tended to be gruesomely nasty, sporting spines, claws, and flesh-eating shredder mandibles. The simpler 42A Scarab Mark VI posted the best kill ratio and was the most widely produced of the various models.

Each 42A possessed a compact body, six jointed legs, and a hard head tipped with poison injectors. These piercing fangs connected to a small internal reservoir filled with fast-acting nerve toxins or hallucinogenic stimulants. In a notorious incident on Coruscant, one of Emperor Palpatine's senatorial critics abruptly appeared on the roof of the Imperial Bank and shrieked that he was being chased by a flame-eyed, snake-tongued Rodian Batwing. He then plunged two hundred and seventy stories to his death. The newsnets called it stress; those in the know recognized scarab-induced dementia.

Scarabs had specialized sensors to aid in locating their quarry. High-gain photoreceptors were keyed to work efficiently under dim lighting conditions. Heat detectors, pheromone sniffers, and biorhythm analyzers ensured that the droids made a positive ID on their quarry before beginning their evil work. In human subjects, the prime target area was the soft neck skin just above the carotid artery.

For maximum secrecy, a single scarab worked best. But a swarm of scarabs had its advantages in case something went wrong - even a fully alert subject would find it difficult to exterminate a dozen or more of the skittering beetles without suffering a fatal “bite”.

RPG D6 Stats
KZE 42A Scarab Droid

DEXTERITY 3D

Dodge 4D, (s)Melee Combat: Injectors 6D

KNOWLEDGE 1D

(s)Science: Anatomy 4D

MECHANICAL 1D

Sensors 5D

PERCEPTION 4D

(s)Search: Tracking 5D, Sneak 5D

STRENGTH 1D

TECHNICAL 0D

Equipped With:

Move: 4/8; 6/10 (jumping)
 * Infrared Sensor
 * Photoreceptor
 * Pheromone Receptor
 * Biorhythm Analyzer
 * 6 Multi-jointed legs
 * Small chasis/body
 * 2 Hypodermic Injectors

Size: .05

Cost: 5600 credits

Availability: 2,X