Transponder mask

A transponder mask was a component that cloaked a starship's transponder code, making it difficult to pinpoint a ship's location or heading. By 3 ABY, the Galactic Empire had made possession of such a device a crime, however this did not stop various starship mechanics in the Outer Rim Territories and the Mid Rim Territories from offering to install such a device.

In 3 ABY, the scoundrel Kay Vess paid a starship mechanic one thousand credits and supplied them with ten Cargo signature scramblers in order to install a transponder mask in the Trailblazer, her EML-850 light freighter, allowing her and her companion ND-5 to more effectively smuggle certain types of illicit cargo.

Text and facts from the “Transponder mask” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.