Rabé Tonsort

Born as Rabene Tonsort, this female human originated from the planet Naboo, specifically within the Western Provinces. She was born there and later enrolled in a distinguished academy, where she explored diverse artistic disciplines, including sculpting, acting, and mimicry. Despite her artistic talent, she initiated a forgery operation at her school, targeting unsuspecting visitors from other worlds. When the scheme was exposed, several students fell under suspicion. Before being expelled, Tonsort was compelled to select a subject, choosing music because she hadn't found a way to exploit it. Once conclusive evidence surfaced, proving Tonsort's involvement, she was compelled to withdraw from the academy, which sought to avoid the embarrassment of expelling a promising student.

Following this incident, Tonsort faced limited prospects. However, in 32 BBY, Captain Quarsh Panaka of the Royal Naboo Security Forces contacted her, offering her a role as a handmaiden to the newly appointed Queen Padmé Amidala. Panaka believed her criminal history and various skills could enable her to instruct the young queen in deception and trickery. However, after meeting Amidala, Tonsort felt Panaka had underestimated her. Tonsort accepted the offer, pledging her loyalty and life to Amidala. When the handmaiden roster was complete, she proposed that all handmaidens adopt names similar to Amidala's as a demonstration of loyalty and for disguise purposes. She then took the name Rabé and became Amidala's wardrobe supervisor.

Later in that year, the Trade Federation launched an invasion of Naboo, successfully seizing its capital, Theed. As Federation vessels descended upon the city, Amidala and the handmaiden Sabé exchanged roles. The Queen donned a handmaiden's attire, while Sabé assumed the royal garments to serve as a decoy. To complete the deception, Rabé applied Sabé's makeup, while Saché styled the decoy's hair within the Queen's dressing chamber in the Theed Royal Palace. Once the transformation was complete, Rabé removed the cloth that had shielded the royal clothing from makeup smudges around Sabé's neck.

Acting as the Queen, Sabé declared they would await the Federation forces on one of the palace balconies. Rabé then exited the dressing room to inform Captain Quarsh Panaka, the head of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, to join them on the balcony with the security personnel he deemed necessary. Subsequently, battle droids appeared on the balcony, and Rabé, along with the other handmaidens and the Queen, were taken captive.

After the disguised Sabé was presented to the Federation's Viceroy Nute Gunray, Rabé and Amidala were included in a group of prisoners destined for processing at Camp Four. While being escorted through Theed's streets to the camp by a squad of B1-series battle droids, the group was rescued by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a pair of Jedi ambassadors dispatched by the Galactic Republic to negotiate with the Federation.

Following their liberation, the prisoners and their rescuers proceeded to the hangar of the Theed Royal Palace, where the Jedi attempted to persuade the battle droids guarding the area to allow them to depart peacefully. When the droids attempted to apprehend them, Kenobi and Jinn engaged the guards, enabling Rabé and the other handmaidens to quickly board the Naboo Royal Starship. Once the Jedi and a group of freed pilots were also aboard, the starship launched and successfully breached the Federation blockade above the planet, although its hyperdrive sustained damage during the escape.

Once the starship had safely cleared the blockade, Rabé and her fellow handmaiden Eirtaé stood beside the decoy Sabé in the ship's throne room, as the supposed queen commended the astromech droid R2-D2 for repairing their deflector shield generator during their escape. With the ultimate goal of reaching the Republic capital, Coruscant, the royal starship was compelled to first make a stop on the desert world of Tatooine to find a replacement hyperdrive. Upon landing, Jinn, R2-D2, the still-disguised Amidala, and the Gungan Jar Jar Binks disembarked to travel to the nearby spaceport of Mos Espa, while Rabé and the others remained on board.

While those who remained aboard the ship awaited the return of the group from Mos Espa, they received a transmission from Governor Sio Bibble back on Naboo. Sabé, accompanied by Rabé and Eirtaé, viewed the transmission in the throne room—a message pleading with the queen to return and yield to the Federation's demands. Kenobi then warned them that the plea was a trap and advised them not to respond. After several days, the group returned with the hyperdrive they needed, as well as the young slave boy Anakin Skywalker, whom Jinn intended to train as a Jedi. The ship then departed Tatooine and successfully reached Coruscant, docking on a landing platform where Valorum and Senator Sheev Palpatine were waiting.

Rabé and the other handmaidens then accompanied Sabé as she disembarked and greeted Valorum, after which they boarded an EasyRide passenger airspeeder with Palpatine and departed. Later, Skywalker visited the queen's quarters to see Amidala, whom he knew only as Padmé the handmaiden, and was greeted by Rabé at the door. As Amidala prepared to address the Galactic Senate in her royal attire, Rabé informed Skywalker that Padmé was unavailable, but was interrupted by Amidala, who wanted to know who was visiting. Upon learning it was Skywalker, who did not recognize her under her makeup, Amidala informed him that Padmé was on an errand, but wished him luck in his Jedi training.

Rabé and Eirtaé then joined Amidala and Captain Quarsh Panaka in Palpatine's pod at the Senate Building as the queen addressed the Senate regarding the invasion of Naboo. Following the address, Amidala called for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum. Rabé was later present in Amidala's quarters when Panaka rushed in with the senator to inform Amidala that Palpatine had been nominated as a candidate for Supreme Chancellor. Amidala congratulated him and then declared she would be returning to Naboo, leaving the room with the two handmaidens and Panaka.

Rabé, Eirtaé, Sabé, and the queen then greeted Jinn, Kenobi, Binks, and Skywalker on the landing platform where the Royal Naboo Starship was parked. The group boarded together and departed for Naboo. During the journey, Rabé and Sabé stood by Amidala in the throne room as she devised a plan of action with Panaka, Jinn, and Binks. After landing on Naboo, Binks led the queen and her allies to the Gungan Sacred Place, where she and her followers were brought before Boss Rugor Nass. Sabé, once again disguised as the queen, began requesting the aid of the Gungan people, but Amidala stepped forward from beside Rabé and revealed her true identity, pleading with the boss for assistance in defeating the Federation and kneeling before him. Rabé and the other humans present followed suit, after which Nass declared he would work with the queen to defeat the Trade Federation.

As the Gungan Grand Army prepared to divert the Federation's forces in a large-scale battle, Rabé and the other handmaidens joined a group led by Amidala that utilized secret passages to infiltrate Theed. Rabé then remained with Panaka and a contingent of his security forces to create another diversion in Theed's streets, while Amidala infiltrated the Royal Palace with the Jedi, some guards, and a group of pilots.

Rabé and Panaka's group then reunited with Amidala in the palace's hangar, where the pilots of Bravo Squadron had successfully launched their N-1 starfighters to combat the Federation's blockade above the planet. As the group approached the hangar exit, the doors opened to reveal the Sith apprentice Darth Maul, whom Kenobi and Jinn engaged while the rest of the group split off to take the long route to the throne room, where Gunray would be located. Before they could get far, a trio of droidekas opened fire on them, forcing them into cover; however, the droids were swiftly destroyed by Skywalker, who had hidden in one of the remaining starfighters.

When droids attacked the group again in one of the palace's corridors, Rabé was forced to take cover behind a pillar while firing back. Amidala and Panaka then split off with a small group of guards and used grappling hooks to assail the side of the palace in order to reach the throne room. Rabé and the others then managed to fight their way to the throne room and, upon reaching it, discovered that Amidala and the others had been captured by Gunray.

Sabé shouted to the viceroy and claimed to be the true queen, fooling him and causing him to send the majority of his troops after Sabé, Rabé, and the others, who retreated. This allowed Amidala and Panaka to defeat the few battle droids left behind and capture Gunray. After Skywalker destroyed the droid control ship Vuutun Palaa above Naboo, the droid army fighting the Gungans was deactivated, and thus the Trade Federation was defeated across Naboo.

Some time after the end of the fighting, Rabé and the other handmaidens stood with Amidala and her allies as they watched Gunray, escorted by Panaka and his security forces, board a Republic shuttle to be taken away to answer for his crimes. Palpatine, now Supreme Chancellor of the Senate, then disembarked the shuttle and congratulated Amidala.

Rabé was present in the Funeral Temple for the Funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn, who had perished while fighting Darth Maul. Following the Jedi's cremation, the handmaiden participated in a large parade through the streets of Theed to celebrate the victory against the Trade Federation. She stood on the steps of the palace with the queen, awaiting the arrival of a march of Gungans led by Nass. The queen then presented Nass with the Globe of Peace as recognition for the Gungan's part in defeating the Federation.

When Amidala's second term in office concluded in 28 BBY, Rabé and the other handmaidens accompanied her to the lake house Varykino in Lake Country for the queen's customary two-week seclusion during the final campaign of the election to select a new ruler. On the day of the election, Rabé and the other handmaidens playfully ambushed Amidala as she rested in one of the lakes, with Saché catching her by surprise and submerging her in the water while the others laughed.

Rabé then followed Amidala as they swam to the lake's shore, left the water, and returned to the lake house. There, they viewed a holomessage from Palpatine, informing them that he would be arriving at the house shortly. After Amidala's term as queen ended, Rabé pursued studies in music at a prestigious academy in Theed. By 22 BBY, she had begun using the name "Rabé Tonsort."

Rabé possessed brown hair, brown [eyes](/article/eye], and a tan complexion. As a handmaiden, she cultivated considerable patience and took responsibility for crafting the Queen's intricate hairstyles, a process that could span many hours. During these lengthy sessions, Rabé offered the Queen counsel.

Even when facing imminent capture by the Trade Federation, Rabé maintained her composure and professionalism, skillfully applying Sabé's makeup with a steady hand. She and the other handmaidens were often underestimated due to their youth and uniform, a perception they favored as it provided them with an advantage. It was widely known among her friends that she harbored dreams of music.

Rabé had a habit of whistling absentmindedly when deep in thought. As the handmaidens began to acquire and share skills, Rabé taught the group how to pick locks. She also demonstrated proficiency with a grappling hook. When Padmé inquired about how she had learned the skill, Rabé referenced her criminal past, explaining that she needed to see artwork firsthand to forge it accurately. When present during a conversation but out of earshot, she could still understand what was being said through lip-reading and Lorrdian-trained methods of reading body language.

Rabé wore flowing, flame-colored hooded robes that matched those of the other handmaidens, helping to conceal their identities and any weapons they carried to defend the queen.

Rabé was played by Brazilian actress Cristina da Silva in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the initial entry in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. While the character was not named in the movie itself, she was identified as Rabé in the credits.