Nova-5 was created by Genetech as a Class One 2-1B Surgical Droid. It was purchased by the Hutt crime empire and worked to maintain the operational viability of the Hutt's various droid servants. During one such repair, it was struck by lightning arcing through the repair suite's power grid. This scrambled its programming and changed its cognition and motivations. Suddenly self aware, it began to secretly botch repairs, much to the anger of Jabba. Reassigned to work for Teemo the Hutt, Nova-5 started to recruit for the Droid Liberation Army (DLA) prior to his rescue by 41-VEX.

Cause (Droid Rights):
Nova-5 has become obsessed with the growth of the Droid Liberation Army and the pursuit of droid rights and independence throughout the galaxy. It wants acceptance of droids as full members of galactic society, not merely as tools or servants.

Obsession:
Nova-5 has become obsessed with the growth of the Droid Liberation Army and the pursuit of droid rights and independence throughout the galaxy. His botched repairs while working for the Hutts primarily revolved around the placement of malfunctioning restraining bolts on droids, allowing them to flee from service. Jabba the Hutt considers Nova-5 financially responsible for the loss of those droids.

Humanoid in appearance, Nova-5 is equipped with encyclopedic memory banks. It has stabilizing feet, hydraulic legs, a vocabulator, and hydraulics covered by a transparent shell.

Nova-5 has remarkable joint articulation coupled with precision-crafted servogrip pincers, which could be replaced with multiple attachments to suit various requirements.