Mission Vao

Mission Vao was a Rutian Twi'lek who was awarded the Cross of Glory in 3,956 BBY, at the age of 14, for her part in the triumph of the Galactic Republic over the Sith Empire in the Jedi Civil War. She joined the crew of the Ebon Hawk following her encounter with Revan and the destruction of Taris, parting ways with him after the defeat of Darth Malak.

Childhood
"I'm Mission." "I'm Fool's Errand."

- Mission and Zayne Carrick

Mission grew up as an orphan, having never known her parents, with just her elder brother Griff to look after her. Griff was a scam artist, a gambler, and a drinker, always borrowing credits for his schemes of easy riches which regularly failed, leaving him in debt and on the run. Mission was only five years old when they escaped to Taris, smuggling themselves inside a packing crate in a star freighter's cargo hold, barely having enough supplies to make the trip.

On Taris, Griff and Mission had to live in the Lower City due to the alien ban that restricted access to the Upper City. Around 3,963 BBY, her brother Griff was a member of one of the Lower City's swoop gangs known as the Hidden Beks. Taris was still reeling from the shock of the murders of the four Jedi Padawans, the blame of which was on the fugitive Zayne Carrick, when the Mandalorians invaded. Zayne Carrick came back to Taris to try to help the resistance against the invading Mandalorians, where he found the Hidden Beks' secret hideout. She introduced herself to Zayne after he was through talking to Marn Hierogryph, and despite her brother's warning to stay away from him, developed a crush on Zayne. She then told him that she "knew a secret" and asked that he follow her. She led Zayne to follow Griff; at the time she thought that he had a "pet" that he was feeding. While they were spying on Griff, Gryph found them and inadvertently gave away their position to Griff. Meanwhile, Brejik attempted to kill Zayne with a vibroblade. Zayne was struggling to disarm Brejik when Mission bit his leg, causing Brejik to drop the blade. When he did, Griff came up behind her and pulled her away from the fight. Brejik then pulled out a blaster pistol, telling Zayne that he would tell eveybody that he was killed "trying to escape". Del Moomo then appeared from behind and pinned Brejik to a wall before he was able to kill Zayne. Mission, Zayne, and Gryph then discovered that the "pet" was not a pet at all; inside the container were the missing Constable of Taris' children. After they got the two children out of there, they brought them back to the Hidden Beks' leader, Gadon Thek. Mission then helped feed the two children. While Gadon was enraged at Griff and Brejik for kidnapping the children, it gave the Hidden Beks an opportunity to open up negotiations with the "True" Resistance, and then eventually join them.

Griff and Mission were regulars of the Lower City cantina when Griff met Lena, a Twi'lek dancing girl, and started dating her. Lena, however, used to date Tarisian nobles, and Griff could never give her the kind of lifestyle she was used to. Eventually, he had to leave Taris, escaping his debts once again; this time together with Lena, leaving his twelve-year-old sister behind&mdash;although he promised her he would return as soon as they earned enough credits to live like royalty. Since then, Mission hated Lena, believing it was her who made her brother forget about her, and thought of her as a "busty, credit-grubbing cantina rat." She had no doubt their relationship wouldn't last long.

Encounter with Zaalbar
"With my street smarts and his muscle, we make a great team."

- Mission

After her brother deserted her on Taris, Mission got by on her own, until one day she made friends with a Wookiee by the name of Zaalbar. Zaalbar was being hassled by members of the Black Vulkars, a major Lower City swoop gang, when she lost her temper and charged at them. She was smacked down by one of the Vulkars, but then Zaalbar yanked him a meter up off the ground, scaring the others away.

Despite such unusual circumstances of their meeting&mdash;or perhaps because of them&mdash;Mission and Zaalbar (whom she nicknamed "Big Z") quickly forged an alliance. For two years they got by in the Lower City, never hearing anything from or about Griff, sometimes even feeling brave enough to explore the sewers of the Undercity.

Entanglement with Revan
In 3,956 BBY, near the end of the Jedi Civil War. Carth Onasi and memory-wiped Revan found themselves stranded on Taris after the Sith destroyed their ship, the Endar Spire. During their search for Bastila Shan, a Jedi from the Endar Spire whose escape pod landed in the Undercity, they entered the Lower City cantina where they found an unusual pair&mdash;a Wookiee, and a fourteen-year-old Twi'lek girl who preferred speaking Galactic Basic Standard rather than her people's native language.

Seeing that Revan was a newcomer in the Lower City, Mission provided him with information about the city, the swoop gangs, and guided him to the base of another swoop gang, the Hidden Beks&mdash;she considered the Beks to be more honest and reliable than the Vulkars. Mission and Zaalbar then left the cantina to seek more adventures in the Undercity sewers.

The leader of the Hidden Beks, Gadon Thek, provided Revan with authorization papers needed to get past the Sith guard at the elevator to the Undercity. He also informed Revan that Mission would be the person to find in order to break into the Vulkar Base. Immediately after Revan exited the gates of the Undercity village, heading to the wilderness, he ran into a very distressed Mission. She explained that her friend Zaalbar had been caught by Gamorrean slavers in the sewers and agreed to put her invaluable skills at Revan's disposal if Revan helped her free the poor Wookiee.

Revan saved Zaalbar from the slavers, and from that moment, Mission and Zaalbar assisted Revan during his journeys. They followed him aboard the Ebon Hawk, a smuggling ship Revan stole from the local crimelord Davik Kang, just in time to escape the Sith bombardment of Taris. Although Mission was distressed to see her homeworld destroyed before her eyes, the mind-wiped Revan calmed her down after their landing at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Because of her age, Mission was often looked down upon by Revan's other companions. Carth Onasi was particularly disgusted at first about a fourteen-year-old living by herself in a dangerous area and fought with her occasionally during their time together on Taris. Soon before departing Taris, however, Carth and Mission apologized to each other about what they had said and started to work together as a team for the first time.

Travels on the Ebon Hawk
During Revan's travels to Dantooine, Mission encountered Lena. Lena explained to Mission that she dumped Griff, leaving him on Tatooine, where he was working for Czerka Corporation. She also said she had actually wanted Mission to follow them, and even offered to pay for her ticket, but it was Griff who wanted to leave his sister behind. It turned out that Griff had lied to them both, having told Mission that it was Lena's decision, and having told Lena that Mission didn't want to leave Taris.

Mission refused to believe her, but nevertheless was relieved to hear that her brother was still alive. On Tatooine, Revan and Mission found Griff as a prisoner in the local Sand People enclave. It was the conversation that ensued there that made Mission realize the truth in Lena's words. Even after his liberation, Griff didn't give up his half-baked business projects&mdash;his latest one, in which he tried to use tach glands collected by Revan to brew Tarisian ale, also failed, and in addition he got himself into trouble with the Exchange.

Mission initially felt betrayed by her brother, and she realized that nobody was perfect, especially after witnessing Griff continue his get-rich-quick schemes. Instead of fruitlessly trying to "improve" her brother, she learned to accept him as he was. Despite their previous tensions, Griff and Mission parted as friends, being seemingly happy with their reunion.

With the revelation of Revan's true identity as Darth Revan, the former Dark Lord of the Sith, Mission was initially at a loss for words, much like the rest of the Ebon Hawk's crew. After first questioning how much Revan remembered of his past life, Mission reaffirmed her faith in Revan, choosing to believe in Revan's programmed identity would overcome his former persona, though much to the chagrin of the paranoid and distrustful Carth.

Mission followed Revan to the end, even to the monstrous Star Forge, and was present at the celebration of the Star Forge's destruction and the Republic's victory over the Sith, where Revan's companions were proclaimed as saviors of the Republic and awarded the Cross of Glory.

Personality
"Who designed those Sith uniforms anyway? A blind Rodian with a sick sense of humor?"

- Mission Vao

Despite her harsh upbringing and abandonment, Mission was a sunny and optimistic girl. She believed the best of people most of the time, and was the first to rally to Revan's defense after the party's escape from the Leviathan, as she had been convinced by Revan's actions over the course of their mission that he was a true friend. She had a strong sense of fairness, as evidenced by her anger with Chuundar and Czerka's treatment of the Wookiees, and her loyalty to the Hidden Beks after Brejik's betrayal. She was also courageous and impulsive, charging three Vulkars by herself to try and save Zaalbar, or mouthing off at – and trying to bite – armed Sith troopers.

Her chief annoyance, however, was when people dismissed her on the basis of age. This earned her several arguments with Carth and Bastila, the latter using the Force to trip her. She also constantly teased Zaalbar like a bratty little sister.

Talents and abilities
"He showed me how to slice into a computer's security system; how to get inside a locked building without the entrance codes, and how to spot a wealthy mark for a quick shell game."

- Mission about her brother Griff

After Mission joined Revan's fellowship, she had the chance to apply her knowledge and skills to different ends from what she was used to in the streets of Taris. Her fine sleight of hand gained Revan entrance to the Black Vulkar Base from the sewers of the Undercity, for which she had picked the codes off the pocket of a Black Vulkar. Her expertise as a slicer and proficiency in stealth proved to be an invaluable asset to Revan's party during the quest to stop Darth Malak and his Sith.

Behind the scenes
In the appearance in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mission was voiced by Cat Taber.

Early drafts of the game had Mission as a male Twi'lek rather than a female. Also, the concept art of Mission's face did not satisfy the art director, who was seeking more of a more teenage appearance. Furthermore, the name Mission Vao may have been derived from the name of the city Mission Viejo, California.

The Mission Vao/Zaalbar duo is possibly a tribute to Han Solo and Chewbacca from the original trilogy. Zaalbar is a Wookiee, like Chewbacca, and Mission's in-game character class is "scoundrel", which is what Leia Organa occasionally called Han Solo. Furthermore, Mission is the game character who repeats the classic line, "I have a bad feeling about this", as Han Solo uttered in A New Hope.

A tribute is made to Mission with Astraal Vao and Shado Vao, in that they were both raised in the Imperial Mission. (Astraal is even called "Missionary Vao" at one point, which was explicitly confirmed by Jan Duursema to be a reference to Mission Vao). It has been confirmed by the writers that Mission is not related to them, but it is a tribute nonetheless.

Alternatively to Mission coming to terms with her brother's character and forgiving him, the player could convince her to embrace her feelings of anger and betrayal. She cuts all ties off with Griff and leaves him to whatever fate the Exchange has for him.

Alternate dark side ending
While the ending where Revan is redeemed and the Republic triumphant is considered canonical, there is an alternate ending of the game where Bastila seduces Revan to the dark side of the Force on Lehon. When Revan and Bastila return to the Ebon Hawk, Mission refuses to follow the self-proclaimed Dark Lord of the Sith. Mission didn't believe that Revan had truly fallen back to the dark side, and that if she didn't attack first Revan wouldn't be able to bring himself to kill her in cold blood. However, she had sorely underestimated the ruthless Sith Lord, and Revan declared that her best friend Zaalbar kill her for him instead. Naturally Zaalbar refused at first, but by manipulating him with the Force and his life-debt, Revan finally convinced him to slay the dumbstruck Mission with a single mighty blow. As if to signify that Revan's fate was now forever set down the dark path, Bastila applauds his callousness and comments that Revan is as dark now as Malak ever was.

It is also possible to attack Mission without convincing Zaalbar to kill her. In this case, Zaalbar abandons his life debt to Revan and protects Mission. Both are killed at the hands of the newly-reborn Darth Revan.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 22: Knights of Suffering, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Notes and references
Mission Vao