- "Why do these epiphanies of yours always occur after we get into trouble, Tav?"
- — Quex
QX-1, as can be guessed by his odd designation, has the distinction of never being a stock R2 unit. He was built from scratch by Gerred Garvin, a well-known engineer for Industrial Automation and father of Tav Garvin, to help his family out around the house while he worked long hours for the company. Gerred opted for an R2 unit instead of one of IA’s household models for several reasons, not the least of which was the R2 unit’s known reliability and versatility, but the biggest was that he knew his son Tav would get a kick out of having an astromech in the house.
QX-1, soon to be dubbed “Quex” (pronounced “Kwex”), carried several of the standard tools used by most R2 units after he was first built, but Gerred included some key differences. One of the more telling was a complete immunity to restraining bolts. Quex’s programming was also slightly changed from that of a standard R2 unit so that it would always be protective of Gerred’s family, and Tav in particular, no matter what.
Needless to say, a young Tav bonded with Quex instantly and the two were almost inseparable. As time wore on, Quex’s changed programming manifested itself as a sort of overprotective guardian, but one that would follow Tav regardless if he took the droid’s advice or not. Tav would rarely admit it to Quex, but he came to value the droid’s prudence, which he knew was the perfect counterpart to his own recklessness.
When Gerred was seemingly killed after pirates destroyed his company transport, Tav left Corellia with Quex in tow. To make sure the R2 unit would be equipped to handle the more dangerous lifestyle that Tav knew was in store, Quex was further modified to carry a blaster in one of his compartments and was shielded to better withstand energy discharges up to and including those from an ion blaster.
One of the biggest modifications was giving Quex a vocoder with the capability to speak in something other than the default beeps and whistles known as Droidspeak. His programming was upgraded to understand and speak over a thousand of the most common languages in the galaxy, with the capability to learn more.
While the two will rarely agree on anything, one passion they both share is keeping the Starlight Sled in top condition. Much of Quex’s free time is spent checking on the Sled’s systems or performing routine maintenance that most ships in Tav’s line of work are rarely afforded with any regularity. Thanks to their diligence, the Sled has yet to fail them when they need it most.
Even though Tav’s actions drive Quex to the point of exasperation, the droid knows that he has a good owner and counts himself lucky that Tav treats him like an equal instead of like property. It might be for that reason above all others that Quex will follow Tav into the most dangerous spots in the galaxy. After all, as Quex sees it, if he doesn’t look out for Tav, then who will?