Mission Vao

Mission Vao was a female Rutian Twi'lek who lived as a street urchin on the ecumenopolis of Taris during the Mandalorian Wars and the first half of the Jedi Civil War. She preferred speaking Galactic Basic Standard rather than her people's native language and was the closest friend of the Wookiee Zaalbar.

She joined the crew of the Ebon Hawk following her encounter with Revan and the destruction of Taris, and was awarded the Cross of Glory in 3,956 BBY, at the age of 14, for her part in locating the Star Forge and the triumph of the Galactic Republic over the Sith Empire at the Battle of Rakata Prime. She parted ways with Revan 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 everybody 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 children of Taris' Constable. 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. He told her that Lena didn't want his little sister tagging along, but promised he would return as soon as they earned enough credits to live like royalty. Since then, Mission hated Lena, believing she 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. But in reality, Lena wanted her to come along.

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

- Mission

After her brother, Griff, deserted her on Taris, Mission got by on her own, until one day she made friends with Zaalbar, a Wookiee cast-off from Kashyyyk. 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 the Wookiee 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 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. She nicknamed Zaalbar "Big Z".

Entanglement with Revan
In 3,956 BBY, near the end of the Jedi Civil War, decorated war hero and legendary soldier Carth Onasi was stranded on Taris with an amnesiac Revan following the attack on the Endar Spire, a Republic warship under the command of the Jedi Bastila Shan. The entire war effort against the Sith relied on her skill with Battle Meditation, so as soon as possible Carth and Revan made for the Undercity, where her escape pod had crashed. They passed by Javyar's 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, Davik Kang and Calo Nord. She spoke of the Hidden Beks as a more honest and reliable gang than the Black Vulkars. Mission and Zaalbar then left the cantina to seek more adventures in the Undercity.

At the Hidden Bek Base, the leader of the gang 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, where Bastila was being held. Once off the gates of the Outcast village of the Undercity, Revan ran into a very distressed Mission. She explained that her friend Zaalbar had been caught by Gamorrean slavers in the sewers and agreed to show Revan a secret entrance into the Vulkar Base if he helped her free the helpless Wookiee.

Revan saved Zaalbar from the slavers, and as customary to his people, the Wookiee swore a life debt to him. Mission was not about to part ways with the only family she had since her brother left, so she too joined Revan. They followed him aboard the Ebon Hawk, a smuggling ship Revan stole from the local Exchange boss Davik Kang, just in time to escape the destruction of Taris. Although Mission was distressed to see her homeworld destroyed before her eyes, she told Revan she would find a way to deal with it, and that whatever help she could offer him against Darth Malak and the Sith she would. 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 occasionally the two found themselves at odds in a father-daughter fashion.

Travels on the Ebon Hawk
After the destruction of Taris, Mission accompanied Revan and his companions aboard the Ebon Hawk and assisted Revan in his journey to destroy the Star Forge.

During these travels with Revan, Mission encountered Lena, who explained what had happened after she and Griff left Taris. She had dumped Griff, leaving him on Tatooine, where he was working for Czerka Corporation. She also said that she had actually wanted Mission to come with them, and even offered to pay for her ticket, but Griff told Lena that Mission wouldn't leave Taris. In reality, Griff had lied to them both and even though Mission wouldn't believe Lena at first, she realized that she had been misguidedly idolizing her brother.

Mission still questioned the validity of Lena's statements and when Revan took the Ebon Hawk for a landing on Tatooine in search of the Star Map, they found Griff had been taken prisoner Tusken Raiders. In the enclave where he was being kept, a conversation ensued that allowed Mission to 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 he also got himself into trouble with the Exchange.

Mission was angry with Griff, especially after witnessing him continue his get-rich-quick schemes. Eventually she realized, though nobody was perfect, her brother was a little less perfect than most for he never learned from his own mistakes; therefore instead of fruitlessly trying to "improve" her brother, she learned to accept him as he was. Mission was happy that her brother was alive, but now she didn't feel as though she owed him anything anymore.

After escaping the Leviathan, Revan revealed his lost identity to the crew, which shocked Mission. But as he was a completely different person than the power-hungry Dark Lord he was, Mission accepted him.

Mission followed Revan to the end of his quest, even to the monstrous Star Forge. She 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 were each awarded the Cross of Glory. When Revan departed for the Unknown Regions, Mission did not accompany him.

Personality
"Kids are like that?? Listen you&hellip; oh, I get it. Okay, you got me."

- Mission, to Republic pilot Carth Onasi

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 he was revealed as the former Dark Lord of the Sith in the skirmish aboard the Leviathan, as she had been convinced by Revan's actions over the course of their mission that he was a true friend. She was initially at a loss for words, much like the rest of the crew of the Ebon Hawk, but seeing how he didn't remember anything about being the Dark lord she concluded that it didn't really matter anymore, much to the chagrin of the paranoid and distrustful Carth.

One trait she shared with her brother Griff was smooth talking, and she could be forward with cute boys such as Zayne Carrick. 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, suggesting he take a bath, brush his teeth, dye his hair, or even wear a suit.

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. Her slender shoulders may have been where Revan laid the fate of the crew of the Ebon Hawk for the prison break on the Leviathan. She could speak Basic and understand Shyriiwook, Rodese, and possibly other languages she may have grown accustomed to during her time on the Coruscant of the Outer Rim. Mission was also a great in both ranged and melee combat.

Behind the scenes
For her appearance in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mission Vao 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 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 commanded 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 Mission Vao