Around 3970 BBY, Mission Vao was born. She would grow up on Taris, where anti-alien prejudice, vertical class segregation, gang power, and the absence of reliable family support shaped her childhood. By age fourteen she could navigate the Lower City and Undercity, repair equipment, slice systems, bargain with criminals, and survive alongside her closest friend, the Wookiee Zaalbar.
3970 BBY · Legends · Source analysis
Youth and the Lower City
What the historical record establishes
Mission Vao was born around 3970 BBY and eventually grew up on Taris. Her childhood was marked by precarious family support, the city's class divisions and prejudice against alien residents. The teenaged Mission known to players in Knights of the Old Republic lives alongside the Wookiee Zaalbar and later assists Revan. The actions she takes in 3956 BBY should not be retroactively attributed to her as a newborn.
People, institutions and consequences
The source places competence and social survival in the setting of unequal opportunity. Mission became adept at negotiating hazards and working with equipment, rather than gaining security through wealth or formal status. Her partnership with Zaalbar crossed species boundaries and shows a relationship of mutual loyalty. It should not be used to suggest that their city treated Twi'leks and Wookiees equally.
Source trail: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), Mission Vao dialogues and Taris encounters; Legends biographical chronology. Original publication or game reference → Supplementary chronology →. IDS interpretations are marked as analysis; illustrated hero is original symbolic artwork, not an official scene.
Childhood in a stratified city
Mission's Taris separated elites, ordinary citizens, alien communities, gangs, and the poorest residents through both law and physical architecture.
Her competence developed in a setting where knowing routes, people, and informal rules could matter more than official status.
Family instability
Mission's older brother Griff cared for her imperfectly and later abandoned her while pursuing his own plans.
She rebuilt social security through the Hidden Beks and especially through her friendship with Zaalbar.
Why Mission belongs in a war chronology
Mission was not a commander or soldier in 3970 BBY. Her importance is generational: she represents children whose lives unfolded inside a galaxy repeatedly reorganized by wars they did not choose.
Explore the event
Why include a birth as its own timeline page?
Because Mission's age later matters historically. She is fourteen when Taris falls in 3956 BBY, which makes her a direct example of a child whose whole life occurs inside the Old Sith Wars.
Was Mission from Ryloth because she was Twi'lek?
No. Species ancestry and lived home are different. Mission identifies with Taris, where she grew up.
Quick facts
| Born | c. 3970 BBY |
|---|---|
| Species | Twi'lek |
| Childhood home | Taris |
| Closest companion | Zaalbar |
Anthropological assessment
Mission's life separates ethnicity from place. Being Twi'lek did not make Ryloth her social home; Taris did.
Her survival also shows how friendship networks can substitute for weak or absent family and state protection in unequal urban environments.
Historical judgment · 3970 BBY
Test your historical interpretation
Choose two answers. Your assessment includes an explanation and a correction for each question, not just a score.
Sources and further reading
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
- Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide.