Hello. I'm playing a campaign right now with 3 hero's. I was running Jarrod with 2 activation tokens. I would like to clear up a dispute I am having with the GM. First I will show you how the GM sees the rule. Then I will show you how I see the rule. I will use a combination of the RRG and the "companion" rules guide at the beginning of the Bespin Gambit book.

Here is the situation. Jarrod has 2 activation tokens. Before his first activation, he pays 2 strain to activate the Droid Mastery skill and deploy J4X (referred to as, Jax). Jax is deployed, and may activate before or after Jarrod, in the turn that Droid Mastery is used.

So my GM sees Jax as being:
Exhausted for the round, just like any other deployed character would be, and despite any rules that activates Jax during Jarrods activation, those rules may only apply while Jax is not exhausted. In otherwords, no amount of extra activations Jarrod currently holds will allow Jarrod to activate Jax a second time because Jax is exhausted. My GM sees all companions as deployments, which have their own activations, and become exhausted the standard way after activating, may only be allowed to activate once, and only during one of the controlling hero/group(s) activations.

The way I see it:
The companions rules clearly states that:
- Companions are a "support figure". NOT a deployment. Companions don't follow the same rules as a regular deployment
- Companions are tethered to the hero or group which deployed them. Companions do not get their own activations outside of their hero or groups activation
- The companion shares the hero's or group's activation, so when the hero/group activates, the companion activates.
- When a hero or group is defeated, the companion stays on the board, unable to activate

So therefore:
-Round 1:
--Jarrod activation 1: Jarrod spends 2 strain to activate Droid Mastery. Jax is placed on the board. Jax activates either before or after Jarrods round, according to the players choosing.
--Jarrod activation 2: This second activation readies Jax, according to the rule in the book that states "Companions share the hero's activation". Jarrod does NOT need to spend any strain to activate or deploy Jax. Jax is available to use because Jarrod simply activated a second time, in turn activating Jax a second time in the same round.
-Round 2:
--Jarrod activation 1: Jarrod activates, Jax is readied, and the cycle is repeated until Jax is destroyed, and Jarrod needs to spend 2 strain to re-deploy Jax in future activations.

So who is right here? Jax is exhausted? Permenantly for the round? Despite Jarrod having two activations? Or does Jax get activated every time Jarrod spends an activation token? Thanks for the prompt response.

Companions exhaust when they have activated. (They follow most of the rules for figures/groups.)

Heroes ready their exhausted cards (in their play area), including associated companion card(s) at the start of their activation(s). (Activation tokens and allies ready in the ready step of the status phase.)

Jarrod needs to suffer 2 strain to put Jax into play using Droid Mastery. Droid Mastery also tells how Jax can be activated. When Jax is in play, he activates at the start or end of Jarrod's activation. If he activates at the start, he cannot activate at the end because the companion cards is exhausted and Jax is not ready. ("or" isn't exclusive or in Imperial Assault.)

So, if Jarrod has 2 activation tokens, Jax can activate 2 times per round. With Mechanical Master Jax can activate 4 times per round.