Sabé

Tsabin was born on Naboo in 46 BBY, into a family of hallikset players. As per family tradition, she was sent to study music at the Theed Conservatory, a school known for training traditional musicians, as her older brothers had studied there. Though she hid it well, she strongly disliked following the path laid out for her, with no hope of anything more than a supporting role in any orchestra on Naboo.

In 32 BBY, the year she turned fourteen and was old enough to vote, Tsabin was expected to take up an apprenticeship, she was approached by Captain Quarsh Panaka of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, who asked her to hold off on accepting an apprenticeship until after the upcoming election, although he provided no details. Tsabin, looking up the candidates running for queen, discovered that she had a strong resemblance to one of the candidates, the girl called Amidala, and suspected what Panaka might have in mind.

After Amidala won the election, Tsabin accepted Panaka's offer to become her body double. She was introduced to Amidala, who entrusted her with her given name, Padmé, and became the new Queen of Naboo's first handmaiden. The two discussed Panaka's plan for Tsabin to act as a decoy and a bodyguard for Amidala, and Tsabin proposed to the queen that her handmaidens should be loyal to her, rather than to Panaka.

In the early days after Amidala's election, before the official transfer of power at the Day of Ascendancy, Tsabin and Amidala shared a room in the palace. Despite growing pains as Amidala struggled to balance her roles as queen and friend when relating to Tsabin, the two quickly began planning how Amidala's staff of handmaidens would protect and conceal the queen if necessary. Tsabin began to show Amidala the breath control exercises hallikset players learned to help her conceal her emotions the way that Tsabin did, and to learn to imitate the queen's physical mannerisms. Panaka, meanwhile, worried that their plotting together without including him would make it harder to protect Amidala.

At the end of the week, Tsabin helped Amidala prepare for her Ascendancy, painting the royal symbols onto her face for the first time. While the new queen approached the former queen, her first handmaiden faded into the background in robes dyed to match her queen's dress. Tsabin and Amidala moved to the royal apartments that day, where the two intended to share the largest bedroom. There, Amidala pushed back against Panaka's security recommendations for the first time. After a tense moment, he agreed that her handmaidens would be her only guards in her rooms, and Amidala and the handmaidens would begin combat training.

Two weeks after Amidala assumed power, Panaka presented four other girls, Rabene Tonsort, Eirtama Ballory, Suyan Higin, and Sashah Adova, to her as potential handmaidens as well, and the Queen took them to her apartments in the Theed Royal Palace for a private discussion. There, Amidala shared her personal name with them, and the girls decided what roles each would have in Amidala's service. At Tonsort's suggestion, the handmaidens changed their names as Amidala had for their privacy, some prestige, and so that Amidala going undercover as one of her own handmaidens would be less noticeable; with similar names, they would be more forgettable. The last to pick her new name, Tsabin became Sabé.

During a summit hosted by Amidala on Naboo for the leaders of the planet in the Chommell sector, Sabé met Harli Jafan the daughter of Jafan's planetary director, who had sent his daughter as an ambassador in his place. During this time Sabé and Harli became close and developed romantic feelings for one another.

Later, Harli invited Sabé and her friends to see the band Neurotransmitter Affection, who were playing at the Theed Odeon. Although Harli most likely just meant Sabé's fellow handmaidens, Amidala also came in disguise, with the youngest handmaiden, Saché, staying behind at the palace due to a stomach ache. While at the concert Sabé danced with Harli, but eventually Sabé, the other handmaidens, and Amidala were forced to return to the palace as Panaka had learnt of the girls sneaking out from Saché, whose period had accidentally set off the blood-sensitive sensor in Amidala's bedroom.

The next day, the handmaidens were unable to remove the glitter on Amidala's hand from the glitter-lit that had broken on her the night before. As the handmaidens did not wish for anyone to know that the queen had snuck out and wearing gloves would be offensive to the delegates from Kreeling, Sabé was forced to fill in for Amidala as queen. At the end of the day Sabé received a hurtful note from Harli who had mistaken the disguised Amidala for Sabé and had attempted to kiss her only for Amidala to recoil. Sabé, realising what had happened, confronted Amidala on ruining her budding relationship by hurting Harli, which caused a temporary rift between the two.

Sabé was one of five handmaidens that served Queen Amidala during the Trade Federation's blockade and subsequent invasion of Naboo. As the blockade began Amidala gave Sabé her locket but instructed her to give it back once the crisis was over.

When Federation forces captured the Theed Royal Palace, Sabé switched roles with the queen, who posed as a simple handmaiden, going by her less commonly known name, Padmé. Sabé, pretending to be the queen, rejected Viceroy Nute Gunray's efforts to have her sign a treaty that would make the invasion legal. She and the rest of the royal retinue were then escorted by battle droids to a separate holding facility.

On the way, they were rescued by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. Proceeding to a nearby hangar, Jinn insisted that the queen be taken to Coruscant to plead her case to the Galactic Senate. After conferring with her handmaiden Padmé, the real queen, Sabé agreed. She subsequently left Naboo aboard the Royal Starship with the Jedi, taking Padmé, Panaka, as well as Eirtaé and Rabé, with her.

They eventually managed to get through the Federation blockade and leave the Naboo system. Sabé—as the queen—commended R2-D2 for maintaining their ship during its escape, and ordered Padmé to clean the astromech droid. However, the Royal Starship's hyperdrive was heavily damaged. Forced to land on the desert planet Tatooine, Sabé remained on the starship while Jinn and Padmé sought a new T-14 hyperdrive generator.

When they reached the galactic capital of Coruscant, Sabé was presented as the queen to Supreme Chancellor Valorum and Senator Sheev Palpatine, who represented Naboo in the Galactic Congress. She then switched back with the queen, and attended to Amidala before she went to speak to the Senate.

Sabé once again switched places with Amidala when they sought help from Gungan forces, and began negotiations with their leader, Boss Nass. However, Padmé quickly revealed the deception as a confidence-building measure, and the two parties finally agreed to work together in order to free their planet from the Trade Federation. Despite being exposed, Sabé remained disguised as Queen Amidala during the mission to reclaim the palace. When Padmé was captured, she played an instrumental role in deceiving Viceroy Gunray. Showing up suddenly at the door to the throne room, Sabe proclaimed the Viceroy's occupation over and blasted two of his droids before fleeing with her group. Gunray ordered his troops to follow Sabé, believing she was the real queen. This provided Padmé the opportunity to retrieve her blaster and take the Neimoidian into custody, liberating the planet.

Sabé was later present when the queen welcomed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council to Naboo, and at the parade celebrating the freedom of Naboo and the reconciliation of its human and Gungan populations.

With the invasion over Sabé attempted to return Amidala's locket to her as instructed but Amidala had since changed her mind and told Sabé to keep it as a thanks from a planet that would never fully appreciate what she'd done. Instead Amidala's token became the japor snippet gifted to her by Anakin Skywalker on the trip to Coruscant.

In 28 BBY, Sabé was present when Amidala decided against allowing a change to the constitution which would allow her to stay in office beyond her two terms. Sabé later asked Amidala if she was tempted to which Amidala responded that of course she was tempted but she knew that it was wrong to do so. The pair never spoke of it again.

Sabé along with the other handmaidens, several members of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, Quash and Mariek Panaka stayed with Amidala at Varykino Villa during the elections when Amidala's second term as queen had ended and was present for the announcements of Saché becoming a member of Naboo's planetary legislative assembly and the re-election of Réillata as Queen of Naboo. Sabé was also present for the second coronation of Réillata and saw the new queen offer Amidala the chance to succeed Senator Oshadam in representing the Chommell sector in the Galactic Republic.

After Amidala left the throne, Sabé was the only handmaiden to remain in her service. Among other tasks, Amidala sent Sabé back to Tatooine in an effort to free slaves. Although Amidala had specifically requested that Sabé locate Shmi Skywalker, the handmaiden could not find her. She brought the slaves she did free to a new life on the planet Karlinus. She was helped by Tonra, with whom she began an on-again, off-again relationship. Sabé and Tonra then journeyed to Coursant to help Amidala as she began her career as a senator.

After discovering that Senator Mon Mothma planned to stage a distraction at a party she was hosting in order to have a secret discussion with her allies Sabé disguised herself as Amidala for the party and poured a glass of Toniray on her dress to distract the press and guests while Amidala watched as Mothma discussed her suspicions about Senator Mina Bonteri with Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and Senator Onaconda Farr of Rodia whom Sabé was familiar with.

Sabé flew as Hazard One in Hazard Squadron, a starfighter squadron set up by the Galactic Republic to protect starship convoys transporting materials to Bromlarch as part of the Mid Rim Cooperation Motion. Following Bromlarch Sabé and Tonra spent more time apart than they did together with Sabé building her network and Tonra working more closely with Gregar Typho and Mariek Panaka protecting Amidala and them usually only meeting up for a specific operation that Amidala was running or because Sabé needed backup as well as them spending time with others.

By 22 BBY, the handmaiden Cordé had taken on the role of Amidala's decoy, but she, along with another of Amidala's handmaidens named Versé, was killed during a plot to assassinate Senator Amidala.

As the Clone Wars erupted, Sabé returned to Tatooine with Tonra to continue their work to free slaves. They posed as a married couple named Sabon and Arton Dakellen who were middling successful traders. Sabé worked at a while Tonra worked at a cantina with him bringing food back for him and Sabé though he tended to add his own seasonings. This time there attempt to free slaves was a more gradual proses with them attempting to become members of the community.

A few weeks into the war, Amidala commed Sabé asking her to returned to Coruscant to act in Amidala's place while she investigated a company operating on the frontlines. Though Sabé found herself feeling a bit resentful due to the secretive way Amidala had been acting since the Battle of Geonosis she agreed and return to Courscant to impersonate the senator something no handmaiden had done for an extended period of time.

While there, Sabé learned how much the Amidala role had changed with her becoming more isolated and her new handmaidens Ellé and Moteé taking on more traditional handmaiden roles as well as the staff having a new routine, Amidala's evenings being free, her handmaidens sleeping on the floor below instead of the penthouse suite like they used to and no longer having daily dinners with her security personnel.

After returned from a soirée hosted by Bail Organa at Cantham House she was awoken by Skywalker after Skywalker snuck into Padmé's Apartment during the night but found Sabé in her place causing Sabé to realize that the changes to her friends household were in order to spend more time on her marriage though she didn't realize that it was a marriage and not an affair until after a conversation with Skywalker at a garden in the Jedi Temple. While Sabé was there the Sith Lord Darth Sidious used the dark side of the Force on Sabé which caused a pool in the garden to dry up.

Unable to keep up with the changes, she resolved to never again act in Amidala's shadow and told her as such upon her return, after confronting her about not telling Sabé of her marriage, but the two spent the night together laughing and thinking back on their friendship. Both were saddened by the sudden end of their close friendship once they departed each other's company, and Sabé returned to Tonra on Tatooine to continue the work of freeing slaves with the White Suns.

Despite their falling out, Sabé still considered Amidala her friend and kept up to date with her actions in the Senate. In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars came to an end after Palpatine transitioned the Republic into the First Galactic Empire. As a result of her husband's fall to the dark side, Amidala lost the will to live and died after giving birth to her children, Luke and Leia. The funeral took place in Theed shortly after, which was attended by Sabé and Padmé's other surviving handmaidens. Every handmaiden, including Sabé, barely spoke during the procession, as their grief was profound and difficult for outsiders to understand.

Following Amidala's funeral, Sabé went home to be alone with her thoughts. However, she was eventually startled by a knock on the door. Although she initially believed it might be one of her many enemies, she soon realized that it was Captain Tonra of the Naboo Royal Security Forces, a dear friend of Sabé's. After letting Tonra in, Sabé finally let her emotions flow freely, conveying anger and confusion at Amidala's death and the formation of the new Empire. After her outburst, Tonra asked Sabé what she would do. Sabé thought to herself that if Tonra's question had come from her parents they would've been asking what Sabé would do without Padmé, however considering how well Tonra knew her Sabé understood that he was asking what she would do in Amidala's memory.

After consideration, Sabé told Tonra that she was going to investigate what had happened to Amidala, starting on Coruscant despite her previously certainty that she was done acting as the woman's shadow. She believed she couldn't merely relax on Naboo now that so many of her friends were dead. Tonra, wanting the same thing as Sabé, asked if he could accompany her on her journey. Considering their previous compatibility in the field, Sabé agreed to Tonra's request but warned him that they would have to change their identities and make sure there was no indication they were from Naboo. The pair began immediately organizing for their trip. Tonra informed Sabé that he could get them a ship or at least a journey off-world and requested that Sabé create the false IDs while he packed her bag. In return, she told him that he should call in any untraceable favors he was owed, as they would need every bit of help they could get in their investigation. Sabé also realized that she would need to leave behind her locket so that no one would realize that they were from Naboo. She decided to leave it somewhere safe until she could return for it.

Sabé went to her workstation and briefly glanced over the files she had been looking over. A majority of these files were pertaining to the many years of work Amidala had put into improving the galaxy, as well as the policies she never had the chance to petition. As she looked them over, her emotions began to swell, and she sought to know more than ever why Amidala had died. Her contemplation was soon interrupted by her comm unit chiming, although Sabé decided not to answer it. Tonra answered it and insisted that Sabé talk to the caller. Sabé relented and accepted the call, which was being sent by Organa. Sabé asked Organa what he wanted.

Shortly after Padmé's funeral, Sabé and her allies broke into Padmé's Apartment on Coruscant and stole the chamber's security recordings. Believing there could be a clue on the recordings, Sabé attempted to decrypt the footage. However, before she could do so the Empire showed its true colors, and Sabé went to fight in the rebellion. She hid the recordings on Naboo where they would be safe until Sabé could continue the investigation.

During the Galactic Civil War, sometime after the Duel on Cloud City in 3 ABY, Sabé and her team were in a base on Vendaxa when the facility was breached by the local Vendaxan land squids. Her team were swiftly massacred by the creatures. The last of Sabé's soldiers, a Gungan, requested that she evacuate the base. Sabé refused, as she didn't want to leave without the crew, and as such had to watch as the Gungan soldier was also killed by the land squids. When it seemed as though Sabé would be overrun, a dark figure entered the facility with a lightsaber in hand. The man dressed in black used his lightsaber to make quick work of the land squids, clearing the immediate vicinity of the creatures. Upon seeing Sabé, the man spoke the name "Padmé" in disbelief.

Sabé, who had her blaster trained on the man, demanded to know what he had just called her and who he was. A forensics droid that was accompanying the man remarked on the resemblance between Sabé and the deceased Padmé and introduced the man as Darth Vader, an agent of the Emperor. In response to the revelation that the dark figure was a servant of the Empire, Sabé immediately fired on Vader. However, the Sith Lord merely deflected the laser with the Force and telekinetically disarmed Sabé, leaving her defenseless against him. Vader inquired the identity of Sabé, who informed Vader that she was in fact Amidala back to haunt him from the grave. Angered by Sabé's response, Vader used the Force to lift and choke the rebel. However, after a short while, Vader, who was secretly the former Jedi Anakin Skywalker, released her after experiencing memories of his deceased wife Amidala.

Sabé grasped her blaster and fled deeper into the facility, where the land squids still remained. When Vader followed, the squids attacked him, although he was still able to defeat them with relative ease. Hoping that the land squids could defeat Vader with enough numbers, Sabé opened a gate in the facility that led into the main nest. Vader soon caught up with her and used the Force to prevent her from escaping. Vader again demanded to know Sabé's true identity, assuring her that she didn't have to be afraid of him. Once again, Sabé avoided the question, simply telling Vader that she was angry not afraid. Fortunately for her, Vader came to the realization that Sabé must be one of Amidala's former Handmaidens.

With this new information, the forensic droid accompanying Vader managed to identify her as Sabé. Vader queried Sabé on why she had broken into Amidala's apartment on Coruscant years ago and what she had learnt from the investigation. Sabé asked Vader what kind of game he was playing, as she was under the impression that the Emperor had killed Amidala. The droid took note of the fact that Sabé was not entirely sure if her accusation towards the Emperor was true or not, and introduced himself as ZED-6-7. As the droid began to ramble, Vader ordered him to stay silent and revealed to Sabé that someone had stolen Amidala away shortly before her death and that the person/persons responsible were considered enemies of the Empire.

Vader asked Sabé to join his investigation into Amidala's death, as he knew that she too wanted revenge against those responsible for the Senator's premature demise. Sabé, seeing a Vendaxan land squid approach Vader from the opened gate, blasted the squid and agreed to help him. Sabé and Vader then fought side by side against the mass of land squids emanating from the main nest. After every squid was dead, Vader complimented Sabé on her fighting skills and urged her to follow him.

As they exited the facility, Vader informed the death troopers waiting outside that they would leave the planet immediately. However, Sabé refused as she wished to bury the corpses of her deceased crew before leaving. Vader allowed it, and tasked ZED-6-7 with assisting her at Sabé's behest. After the burial was completed, Sabé solemnly remarked that they had been good soldiers who had walked with her during Amidala's funeral. She then remarked to Vader and the other Imperials that it was time to leave and boarded Vader's shuttle. On the shuttle, Sabé informed Vader that she and her allies had indeed broken into Amidala's apartment after the funeral and stolen the chamber's security recordings, although she was never able to decrypt them, and so hid them on Naboo.

Upon their arrival on Naboo, Sabé led Vader to the Naberrie lake retreat. As soon as they stepped foot inside, Captains Tonra and Typho began to shoot at Vader. Sabé quickly talked everyone down, introduced Vader to her allies, then chided them for shooting, since she had given the all-clear signal prior to entering. Typho said that they had assumed she was under duress. Sabé informed Vader that he needed Tonra and Typho if he was going to get the security recording, because she had given it to them to hide once it became clear they couldn't decrypt it. The captains led them downstairs to a room with a parked submarine, and together they set off to retrieve the recording.

As they traversed Naboo's waters, ZED-67 and Vader questioned the men on their time serving Amidala. Tonra revealed that he and Sabé had been sent undercover to Tatooine, where they tried and failed to retrieve Anakin Skywalker's mother. Sabé described the failure as the greatest shame of her life. Soon after, the submarine was attacked by a colo claw fish, which cracked open its hull. Luckily, the group was near enough to their destination, a hydrostatic bubble, to swim the rest of the way. Once inside, Sabé pointed out a mural depicting the celebration after the Battle of Naboo and told Vader that Skywalker, included in the picture, had served Amidala from his childhood until his disappearance after her death, and that she and her comrades mourned his loss along with Amidala's.

When Vader became impatient and demanded the security recording, Tonra handed a recording device over. Though at first it showed footage of Amidala's apartment, it quickly switched to a recording of Sabé, Tonra, Typho, and others as she declared the formation of the Amidalans and together they swore to find whoever murdered Amidala and kill them. The three Amidalans revealed that because the last time Typho saw Amidala she was headed to Mustafar, and Mustafar was Vader's base, they had come to the conclusion that he killed both Amidala and Skywalker. Vader confirmed that he had, and on Typho's signal, Tonra triggered a . In response, a massive sando aqua monster appeared and attacked the bubble.

As the aqua monster attempted to break through the bubble, Typho and Tonra began blasting Vader. Sabé noted that they already knew he could deflect direct blaster bolts; they would need to get more creative to beat him. So saying, she turned her blaster on the rock promontory Vader stood on. As it crumbled away beneath him, he fell from the hydrostatic bubble and into the beast's jaws.

Sabé then met up with Eirtaé, Saché, Rabé, and Dormé in Theed. They were in place at Amidala's tomb in time to intercept Vader. Vader was accompanied by ZED-67, who identified the other handmaidens causing Vader to experience flashes from his shared past with them. Vader paused for a moment before he told them to leave if they did not want to be killed; they chose instead to attack him. They held their own briefly, but after he was overwhelmed by visions of Amidala, ended up Force-choking them, then simply threw the former handmaidens away from him, leaving only Sabé at the tomb entrance with him.

Sabé proceeded into the tomb with Vader. Despite her horrified protests, he approached Amidala's coffin and began to move it with the Force. When he relented, ZED-67 scanned the coffin and found a med implant which the droid traced to Polis Massa. Sabé rejoined the other former handmaidens outside the tomb and hailed the rest of the Amidalans to pass on these new coordinates. Prompted by ZED-67, one of the death troopers who had come with Vader prepared to shoot at the Amidalans. Vader put a stop to it and exhorted Sabé to bring her comrades to meet him at Polis Massa.

The Amidalans arrived at Polis Massa Base with a fleet of ships, and once more attempted to confront Vader. Their ships proved an obstacle as Vader attempted to reach the medical facility there, but he drew their fire and gave the death troopers enough time to fire on the larger ships and bring one crashing down. Vader fought his way through and ultimately escaped the Amidalans unscathed.

After Vader returned to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant to answer his master's summons, Darth Sidious repeatedly struck him with Force lightning while Grand Vizier Mas Amedda spoke on the emperor's behalf, condemning Vader for his failure to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side and his failure to kill Sabé. Amedda judged these actions to be treasonous and punishable by death. As Sidious choked Vader with the Force, Vader remembered doing the same to Sabé, Padmé, and other beings.

At a later point in time, Sabé returned to the ruins of the Polis Massa Base. There she found a Chroon-Tan B-Machine midwifery droid that she determined had been investigated by someone. Wondering what the individual had been looking for, the droid managed to replay a partial holographic recording of Padmé Amidala's last words before her death, the sight of which caused Sabé to tear up. The upper half of ZED-6-7 who had been laying amongst the ruins came online at that moment, noticing her and recognizing her from previous encounters. The droid queried as to whether Sabé had found what she was looking for. Sabé answered in the negative, clarifying that she was there looking for Vader. The droid then asked her what she planned to do when she found him. To this, Sabé replied that she had yet to come to such a definite decision before she revealed a badge of the Crimson Dawn criminal organization that lay pinned on her chest, underneath her cloak. In truth, Sabé did not care about the Dawn or its plans, having simply infiltrated it for her own purposes.

Sabé then reprogrammed a few mouse droids and used them to repair ZED-6-7 and free him of his preprogrammed loyalty to Vader. After rewatching the footage of Padmé, Sabé told the droids to reactivate him. Upon awakening, ZED-6-7 expressed surprise at the handmaiden rescuing him. He then warned her not to ask him about his previous mission or else he would self-destruct, to which Sabé pointed out that ZED-6-7 had already done so and nothing had happened. She informed the droid that he was free, that she had joined Crimson Dawn, and had saved him to get close to Vader. When Sabé asked ZED-6-7 about Vader's interest in Padmé, he explained that Luke Skywalker, the rebel who had destroyed the Death Star, was the son of Padmé and Anakin Skywalker. Vader's original mission had been to discover who had kept Luke hidden from him as a child. Sabé then decided that until she knew Vader's true objectives, she would use him rather than destroy him, which ZED-6-7 casually went along with.

Three weeks later, Sabé infiltrated a Crimson Dawn base on Laecor and planted a false list of Crimson Dawn collaborators within the Empire. As Vader and his followers entered the base, Sabé escaped amidst the blaster fire and met back up with ZED-6-7. They then watched as Vader exited the base along with his followers and flew off in the Sith Lord's Lambda shuttle. As they left the planet, ZED-6-7 confirmed that they were heading for Coruscant, confirming that they had taken the bait. Later, Sabé and ZED-6-7 broke into a building where Ochi of Bestoon, one of the Emperor's assassins, was confronting Sly Moore over the list of false names. After ZED-6-7 shocked them into submission, Sabé told them they would do as she said or else she would inform Vader of their allegiance to Crimson Dawn. Ochi tried to fight off his attackers, only for the droid to shock him again.

Sabé then revealed that she was with the Dawn as well and wanted to make sure that Ochi and Moore knew that she was in charge. She went on to ask them what Vader wanted, to which Ochi said he wanted her due to her planting the list of false names. Sabé welcomed the challenge and specified that she wanted to know what drove the Sith Lord. Ochi said that Vader wanted power, while Moore said he had promised to bring the Emperor order. To this, Sabé decided they would use the Dark Lord to bring chaos. After causing friction between Vader's forces and the rest of the Empire, Ochi's loyalty to the Dawn was discovered and he fled in a ship to Naboo. Vader followed Ochi there and, after regaining his allegiance, confronted Sabé and told her that he would now use her. He then took her badge from her and claimed that he was the Dawn.

Shortly after, Vader took Sabé, Ochi and ZED-6-7 to the carcass of the sando aqua monster he had slain. He then threw Sabé and Ochi out of the shuttle and watched as they were attacked by a pack of ravenous creatures. As they defended themselves, Vader asked Sabé why she believed in Crimson Dawn, to which she said that she had merely infiltrated the syndicate. When Vader asked her if she intended to serve the Empire, Sabé said she didn't as long as the Empire served chaos. Sabé went on to claim that she and Vader wanted the same thing; order. To this, Vader levitated the creatures with the Force and told Sabé that if she killed one monster, a thousand more would replace it.

He then explained that one would have to either make the monsters agree or deal with them all. With that, Vader threw the creatures at a group of long-necked beasts as they sprouted from the ground. Understanding Vader's plan, Sabé brought him to a Crimson Dawn outpost. Upon arriving at the outpost, Sabé informed the Dawners there that they served Vader now. To this, the Dawners attacked Vader and were easily cut down by the Sith Lord. Vader then had Ochi use his followers as bait to draw the remaining Dawners and traitorous Imperials to Oro Sankeria. As the Dawners and Imperials fought one another, they were suddenly wiped out by a pulse bomb, thus eliminating many of Vader's enemies. Vader informed Sabé that Crimson Dawn and Romodi feared him now. When he asked Sabé if she was scared, Sabé asked him why she should be scared of his true identity; Anakin Skywalker.

Vader claimed Skywalker was dead, but Sabé explained how she had determined who he was. Vader had appeared after Skywalker had allegedly died, Vader and Skywalker were obsessed with order, Vader nearly ripped open Amidala's tomb to find out how Skywalker's wife had died, and despite everything, Vader still refused to kill Sabé. Sabé then revealed that she had been to Polis Massa and had heard her queen's final words about their still being good in Vader. Vader held his lightsaber to Sabé's throat and demanded to know what she wanted. She went on to explain that years ago, she and Tonra had freed hundreds of slaves from Tatooine and brought them to a colony on Gabredor III. But now, the corrupt Imperial ruling the planet, Governor Tauntaza, was neglecting the refugees while secretly working for Crimson Dawn. Sabé told Vader that if he helped her liberate the colonists from Tauntaza, he would get to kill another Crimson Dawn mole and prove that his wife had been right about him. Vader begrudgingly agreed, deactivating his lightsaber and warning her that she alone was responsible for where her chosen path took her. They then boarded their shuttle and departed for Gabredor III.

Once they reached the planet, they were met by Tauntaza's flagship. Vader asked ZED-6-7 if they had been detected. When the droid said they hadn't, Vader ordered him to take them to the planet's surface. Sabé suggested summoning Vader's own flagship to blast Tauntaza's, but Vader said that he wished to see the colony first to confirm her story. They soon landed near the colony and Vader, Sabé and ZED-6-7 exited the shuttle. ZED-6-7 ordered the colonists to listen to Vader's instructions and to lead him to their protocol droid. One of the colonists, Kitster Banai asked Sabé what was going on, to which Sabé said that this was about helping the colony. Another colonist, a Rodian named Wald explained that their protocol droid had broken down and that their astromech droid Em-Sevenbee now kept track of everything for them. ZED-6-7 then learned from the droid that Tauntaza hadn't delivered the colony all of their promised supplies and had also forcibly conscripted a few of them to work her. Wald explained that they had tried to contact Sabé, but Tauntaza had blocked their communications and confiscated all of their space-faring ships. When ZED-6-7 pointed out a podracer in their possession, Kitster and Wald explained that they had built the vehicle from scratch, but still lacked the ability to fly anywhere far. Sabé, ZED-6-7, Kitster and Wald then followed Vader into a nearby forest, which he sensed was disturbed.

They and the colonists were then attacked by a pack of clawed beasts. Sabé ordered the colonists to stay back while she and Vader fought them off, though Kitster and Wald still aided in killing them. Sabé asked Vader if he had seen enough and urged him to take out Tauntaza. However, Vader told Sabé she wasn't ready, explaining that the colonists had disobeyed her. When Sabé said that everyone made their own choices in the end, Vader claimed they would have to obey her if she wanted them to live. Later, a second Imperial shuttle arrived and ZED-6-7 hurried her onboard. She was then outfitted with a set of Imperial armor and officially conscripted into the Imperial Military with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, giving her authority over all of Vader's present forces. When Sabé asked Vader if they would go after Tauntaza, Vader ordered for his shuttle to be prepared. Sabé then told ZED-6-7 to get the names, skills and expertise of the conscripts from Em-Sevenbee and extrapolate their likely locations. The droid then revealed that the flagship's traffic comm was still accessible, allowing him to scan the ship's logs. He then explained that a ship titled Imperium One had left the flagship two days ago while guarded by four TIE Defenders and now rested in a facility about three hundred kilometers north.

Kitster explained that the facility had been the old science colony, which hadn't been running in years. With this information, Vader, Sabé and the rest of their forces stormed the facility and fought through dozens of battle droids and Crimson Dawn guards to reach Tauntaza. A few of the kidnapped conscripts began to run away, but Sabé assured them she was there to help. She then caught up to Vader and watched as he was stunned by one of Tauntaza's weapons. Sabé and her forces were then surrounded by the droids and guards, but they were quickly saved by Ochi. Vader began to choke Ochi for allowing Tauntaza to escape, but Sabé interrupted him and took him to the scientists who had helped build Tauntaza's weapons. One of them, Doctor Aira explained that Tauntaza had been developing a weapon that could drain the energy from living things. Said weapon had already been used to drain the life from the planet Karolia. Aira expressed regret over how he'd helped develop the weapon, though Sabé assured him and the rest of the conscripts that they hadn't what Tauntaza had hired him to create. Vader then took Ochi's speeder and went after Tauntaza. As Ochi bragged about how helpful he had been, Sabé silenced him and ordered him to evacuate the conscripts before they destroyed the facility.

Ochi told Sabé they would need their own transport to catch up with Vader, but Sabé explained that Vader would have commanded them to join them if he wished for that. ZED-6-7 then said that he would access the data bank containing the information on what Tauntaza was using to drain the energy from Gabredor III. Ochi said he would go find himself a transport, but Sabé told him he was going to stay and follow her orders. When her forces threatened him, Ochi claimed he could kill them all and asked them if they were going to take orders from a rebel sympathizer. To this, ZED-6-7 and Sabé reminded Ochi that she had authority over all of Vader's forces there, including him. As Sabé and the rest of them exited the facility, Kitster arrived on a speeder and told Sabé that they had to leave before a storm arrived. But Sabé told him they couldn't leave until they found what was draining the planet's energy.

ZED-6-7 then said that he had located the facility that was draining Gabredor III. When Sabé asked him where the facility was, he pointed toward the approaching sandstorm. When Ochi suggested waiting for the storm to blow over before they left, Sabé revealed that Tauntaza's technology had created the storm. ZED-6-7 confirmed this by stating that a naturally occurring sandstorm would be moving with the wind rather than against it. Sabé told Kitster to escort the conscripts back to the settlement, but Aira said he and the other scientists might be needed to dismantle the device. To this, Kitster said he would first go with Sabé and then come back for the conscripts once they found out what they would need. Sabé, Ochi and Kitster and a few stormtroopers then drove into the storm on speeders and eventually reached the facility. Kitster was then pulled into the storm, prompting Sabé to look for him. Ochi told her to leave him, but she continued to search for him until a large tank struck her speeder and she was pulled in as well. Buried beneath the tank by the blowing sand, Sabé and Kitster were soon rescued by Vader, who had the Executor fire on their location while they took cover beneath the tank. Once the tank was destroyed, the sandstorm dissipated and Vader carried Sabé back toward the colony with Kitster in tow.

Once they returned to the colony, ZED-6-7 informed Vader and Sabé that Tauntaza was using the energy drained from the planet to power her facility's shields. When Sabé asked what its weakness was, ZED-6-7 explained that since the facility was absorbing energy from below, its underside was unshielded. With that, Vader took Em-Sevenbee with him towards the facility. When ZED-6-7 pointed out that the technology only absorbed organic life energy, Sabé asked what would happen to Vader. ZED-6-7 said he couldn't say if Vader would survive, but knew that the colony wouldn't once the facility arrived. To this, Sabé ordered the colonists and her forces to take cover in the forest while she followed Vader towards the facility. Soon after Sabé arrived, the Executor fired on the facility, destroying it and leaving Vader severely damaged. ZED-6-7 contacted her and told her that he couldn't connect with Vader, to which Sabé explained that his armor had shut down. As Vader lay at her feet on the brink of death, Sabé admitted that she had dreamed of killing him for years. She went on to say that even though her queen had believed there was still good in him, she now doubted that she ever knew Vader at all. However, Sabé conceded that her queen had said what she said for a reason and chose to give Vader one last chance.

Using the machinery around her, Sabé reactivated Vader's armor and walked with him back toward the colony. Once they returned, ZED-6-7 informed them that Tauntaza had been receiving her orders directly from the Emperor himself. When Vader asked Sabé why she was smiling, she explained that she knew why she had saved him. After sending Ochi to locate Tauntaza, Sabé met with Vader on the bridge of the Executor, where Vader was surprised to see she had not left him. When Sabé explained she was fulfilling the role he had given her, Vader decided against killing her, much to her relief, and demanded an update on the hunt for Tauntaza. When Vader asked her what she advised they do when she recalled that the governor had been following Palpatine's orders, Sabé told Vader he should do what he always did: directly confront the issue. Arriving at Coruscant, Vader and Sabé entered the Imperial Palace and confronted the Emperor, who asked Vader what his heart told him. Vader proceeded to hold Sabé in the air with the Force as the Emperor laughed and exclaimed that she had only reminded Vader of his weakness. Dropping her, Vader refused to assist Sabé as the Emperor had his Royal Guards attempt to destroy her. Once she outwitted them in combat, the Emperor killed the guards with Force lightning and, seeing her worth as an agent, allowed Sabé to continue working with Vader.

As they returned to their shuttle, Vader and Sabé were informed by ZED-6-7 of their next mission. Jul Tambor, the grandson of Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor had overthrown Vader's established regime on Skako Minor and enlisted pirates to blockade the planet and stockpile technology to be used against the Empire. As such, their mission was to end the Skakoan's uprising and restore Imperial control over Skako Minor. Upon reaching the planet, they discovered a crashed commercial transport from Corellia. ZED-6-7 explained that the ship had been boarded and those inside were killed by the planet's poisonous atmosphere. As they traversed the terrain, Vader killed a pack of cliff worms, saving a group of pirates. When he noticed a pile of corpses on the ground, he struck down the pirates, while Sabé hesitated and allowed one of them to escape. When Vader asked her if the pirates deserved mercy, Sabé admitted she didn't know who did anymore. Vader reminded her that she was his shadow now and she said they would need one of the pirates alive in order to locate Tambor. To this, Vader instructed Sabé to follow the surviving pirate and find Tambor while he took care of the rest.

Following the pirate while Vader was busy with the final stages of the war against Crimson Dawn, Sabé tracked Tambor to Brentaal IV, where she found him speaking with a group of fellow Skakoans about his cause. However, they were then ambushed by the Droid Crush Pirates of Bestoon, who Sabé assisted Tambor with subduing. Tambor thanked Sabé for her help and explained the Empire's oppression of his people. The droid mercenary Gee-Ninety then arrived to warn Tambor that Sabé was in Vader's service, to which Tambor lamented that he was trying to win her over to his side. When Tambor told Sabé he would kill Vader for what he did to his father and his people, Sabé warned him that Vader would kill him and his people. When Tambor refused to listen, Sabé begrudgingly blasted him in the chest. As the surrounding crowd fired on her, Sabé narrowly escaped with Tambor aboard a ship piloted by ZED-6-7. Once the droid resuscitated Tambor, Sabé explained that she had blasted him in order to prevent him and his followers from marching to their deaths. While Tambor insisted that he would kill Vader himself, the ship was boarded by an escape pod. The pod opened and revealed a small army of B1 and B2-series super battle droids, along with Gee-Ninety. Tambor explained that the droids had all been destroyed by Vader and that he had rebuilt all of them while using their memories of Vader's attacks to study and counter his fighting style. When Sabé insisted that Vader didn't have any weaknesses, Tambor claimed he did have at least one weakness: Sabé. He then took Sabé hostage and sent a message to Vader, telling him to come and get her.

In private, Vader had come to see corrupting Sabé and the other handmaidens, who sided with the Dark Lord of the Sith in the name of rescuing Sabé from Tambor, to his side as a way to finally have his idealized life with Amidala and his son Luke Skywalker. As Vader fought his way to Tambor's location, Sabé tried once more to convince Tambor to stop. She told him that Vader would wipe out his people in retaliation, though Tambor countered that Vader's forces would be wiped out first. Soon after, Vader broke into Tambor's hideout and was met by Gee-Ninety, who used magnetic spheres to magnetize Vader into submission. However, the handmaidens then came to Vader's aid, using their own magnetic devices to release him. While Tambor fled in a ship, the handmaidens unlocked Sabé's cage and insisted that she leave Vader's service. But Vader choked the handmaidens with the Force and asked Sabé if she wanted to allow Tambor to escape and leave the locals to suffer.

Once they returned to base, the handmaidens insisted that Sabé leave with them and abandon the Empire. To this, Vader reiterated that she would only have the power to stop Tambor if she remained in his service. Vader then reached out his hand to Sabé. But before she could take it, Dormé tackled her out of the way while the rest of the handmaidens opened fire on Vader. They then took her outside and used their antigravity devices to fly her up toward their ship. When Sabé reminded them of Tambor's plans, the handmaidens assured her they would stop him together without Vader or the Empire. Realizing her fellow handmaidens would be outmatched and still wanting to fulfill Amidala's wish that the light existed in Vader, Sabé regretfully said goodbye before pulling away from the handmaidens and falling back down toward Vader, who caught her with the Force as they made their escape. Vader then called off his forces and returned to the Executor along with Sabé.

While aboard the flagship, Vader and Sabé were informed of three gunships flying towards the planet's surface. When Vader redirected the reports to Sabé, as this was her mission, she asked how many life forms were aboard the gunships. As the crew said they would have to check, Sabé told them to prepare her shuttle. Figuring out a way to weaken Tambor's forces, she used her ship to gather twelve of the Skakoan refugees that Tambor had been assisting. She then contacted Tambor and told him that while Vader was at the Imperial base he was targeting, there were also Skakoan refugees there and that he should wait until Vader left the area. Tambor then asked how many refugees there were, to which she said twelve. Tambor then thanked Sabé for her help and had his gunships level the area. When Sabé accused Tambor of allowing his own people to die, Tambor said his people knew their place and that they would rejoice beneath his rule. Sabé then showed Tambor the very refugees she had been talking about. When she asked them if they would rejoice, they showed outrage at how Tambor had been willing to let them die.

Following a decisive victory over Tambor's droid forces, in which Sabé killed Gee-Ninety, Sabé reported to Vader on the Executor that the Skakoan refugees had abandoned Tambor's regime, discrediting him and leaving him powerless. Vader then asked Sabé how it felt to hold such power, to which she admitted that she didn't know what Amidala would do anymore. Vader then told her that she had chosen to be stronger while the rest of the handmaidens had fled. To this, Sabé explained that she hadn't informed them of Vader's true identity in order to ensure that they wouldn't have stayed and tried to kill him. Now, although their hearts were broken, they would continue to live their lives away from her and Vader. Sabé then said that this way, only one of them would lose their soul as she left Vader to meditate by himself.

However, as she walked from the room, Vader began to tear apart the Executor as he lost control over his Force powers because of the Force Wave, which had returned after being first unleashed at the end of the Crimson Dawn war. Sabé quickly realized Vader had lost control of the Force as the ship crumbled, ordering the officers and stormtroopers around her to clear the hallway and seal its doors, thereby throwing the out of control Vader into space. When an officer refused to, Sabé pushed past and did it herself, much to that officer's horror, before contacting Vader comlink to ask that he hold on for a moment. Instead, Vader, who was also dealing with Palpatine taunting him in his mind about whether he would turn his hate into power or suffering, Force choked Sabé before he was sucked out into space.

Sabé quickly rushed to a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle and collected the Sith Lord's body with two Prowler 1000 seeker droids. She also decided to bring Vader to an uninhabited astronomical object, where the Sith Lord could take his time in rediscovering his powers without hurting anyone. Although Sabé asked him to hold it back for just a minute longer, Vader's out of control powers destroyed the shuttle around him as they entered hyperspace, resulting in them crashing to the astronomical object once they exited hyperspace. Sabé quickly grabbed a wing backpack and jumped out of the crumbling ship to rescue the falling Vader, who grabbed her hand shortly before both crashed into the sea. Sabé lost her grip on Vader and sank beneath the waves.

Sabé awoke on a beach and followed the footprints in the sand and path of destruction to Vader, who pushed the handmaiden back and demanded that she leave him behind. Sabé, instead, noted that she had specifically brought him to the astronomical object and offered that it could finally be a chance to take control of his life, calling him "Anakin" once more in the process. Vader unleashed a blast of energy that forced Sabé to throw herself back, only to grab her with the Force to turn the test his master had for him on her: out of hate, he demanded to know if she she would choose power or suffering. Sabé refused to answer and wanted to focus on figuring out a way for Vader to control his powers, but Vader brought her into an embrace and declared the only way to be safe was to remain in the center of the storm with him. At that moment, Vader allowed Sabé to see a Force vision of what he claimed was her own desires.

In the vision, Sabé chose power and used it to bring order to the galaxy upon fully embracing the Empire. In particular, she led the Empire in arresting Tambor and his remaining supporters, fought a group of slavers, and took part in the yet to occur Battle of Endor against the Rebel Alliance, where her armor increasingly grew bloodied as she fired on her enemies. Returning to Naboo under the guard of two stormtroopers, she would then watch as her fellow Handmaidens and their family spoke to Padmé Amidala's tomb about Sabé's success. As she lived through the battle against the Rebels, however, she rejected the vision and confronted Vader, declaring that it was not the future she wanted for herself. One of her fellow Handmaidens tried to tell her Vader was not Anakin Skywalker when she asked him what he was doing, but Sabé chased after the Sith Lord after declaring he would always be Skywalker, no matter what he claimed. Instead of finding Vader, however, Sabé found visions of Amidala and Vader's son Luke, which she believed meant there was still good in Vader after all, just as Amidala had declared, as she believed she was within Vader's mind.

Again claiming that it was Sabé's vision and not his own, Vader suddenly emerged and cut down both his wife and son before turning his blade against the Handmaidens, who tried to defend Sabé but were cut down while Vader declared the vision was filled with lies. When Vader offered her a new future by abandoning her past, Sabé rejected his offer and tumbled out of the vision, again trying to tell Vader to focus on controlling his powers. Instead, she was thrown back by Vader, who offered Sabé the choice to take either suffering and power one last time: as he noted, he would kill her if she defied him again simply because he could not control his greater-than-ever-before, but still out of control, power. Recoiling at the memory of Vader killing the illusions of his own wife and son, Sabé rejected the choice all together: she would simply refuse to hate. Sabé turned to walk away, which resulted in Vader throwing her out into the sea in his next blast of power.

Like Amidala, Sabé was a human female who stood at 1.65 meters. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin. Sabé was personally and professionally loyal to Queen Amidala, becoming her friend in addition to serving as her bodyguard and decoy in crisis situations despite the considerable risk of injury, capture, or even death. As a member of Amidala's royal retinue of handmaidens, Sabé was handpicked to aid the Queen of Naboo. Like all Naboo handmaidens, she learned self-defense and was also trained to remain vigilant against all threats to her monarch. When she impersonated the Queen and Amidala disguised herself as a handmaiden, the pair relied on a system of subtle signals in order to secretly communicate without undermining the deception of their switched roles.

Having fallen in love with Amidala, Sabé's love and loyalty towards her friend led her to place Amidala's needs above those of any other beings, including her own, although she knew Amidala could not reciprocate. Although she once advised Amidala to return romantic love to someone who understood her, she was certain Amidala would never return her feelings and assumed her friend would chose something larger than a person to love, such as a planet or species, which left her shocked to discover she had married Anakin Skywalker. She preferred being Amidala's second to being first to anyone else, although this made it difficult to maintain relationships with lovers who could not understand that they would never be more important to her than Amidala; Tonra understood and accepted it before they became intimate, but her brief relationship with Harli Jafan did not last. Sabé was more often interested in fellow humans than beings of other species, though she sometimes found nonhumans attractive, usually if they were interesting females.

After joining with Darth Vader to foster and fulfill Amidala's belief that the light still existed within him, Sabé found herself at a crossroads of her own as her continued service to Vader and the Empire compromised her own morals. She saw she could dedicate herself fully to bringing Imperial order to the galaxy in the name of protecting those she loved and the innocent, but she only stayed with the Empire because of her devotion to redeeming Vader. Indeed, she saw all she did in his service as her losing her own soul, taking solace in the fact that her handmaiden sisters did not join her. During the Force Wave, Vader decided to test his new disciple by making her choose if she would turn her hatred into suffering or, in the choice that would bound her to his service, power. Vader even showed her a vision of herself as an effective Imperial commander who brought Imperial order to the galaxy, claiming it was her own wish. Sabé, however, rejected that future. When Vader demanded that she turn her hatred into either suffering or power one last time, she decided not to hate altogether.

Sabé was a capable markswoman, taking off the head of a battle droid at one point with a single shot.

During her time as a handmaiden, Sabé carried a standard ELG-3A blaster pistol like the queen and her fellow handmaidens. During the Imperial Era, she carried a blaster rifle that was either a pulse cannon or DLT-20A blaster rifle.

Sabé first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, portrayed by English actress Keira Knightley. Sabé was originally going to be filled by a stand-in, until casting director Robin Gurland came across Knightley, who bore a striking resemblance to Natalie Portman, who portrayed Padmé Amidala in the film. Knightley's role was kept quiet by The Phantom Menaces marketing department in order to heighten the surprise of there being a decoy queen when the film was released and the queen's costumes were specifically designed to hide any height and shape differences between Portman and Knightley, so much in fact that even Portman's own mother couldn't distinguish between the two on set.

When asked years later about the role she had played in Star Wars, Knightley was confused that her character's name was Sabé and not Padmé, as she was young during filming and has not viewed the movie since. Knightley joked in response to whether she would reprise her role that she had not been asked to return as a character whose name she had forgotten.

• William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First