Sabé Andierre

"You were always more of a fighter than a diplomat."

- Grand Moff Panaka

Sabé Andierre was a citizen of Naboo, first handmaiden to Queen Amidala, the leader of the handmaidens during Amidala's reign as Queen, and in the early stages of their rebellion against the Galactic Empire, and a General in the Rebel Alliance

Early life (48 BBY to 32 BBY)
Born on her family's land holdings, Sabé spent the earliest years of her life free of cares, though her parents were secretly dismayed by her tomboyishness. She loved playing bolo-ball against her cousins, and her childhood ambition was to do it professionally. However, when she was 12, her parents convinced her put her name down as a possible handmaiden, and three years later, she was selected by Captain Panaka as the first of 13 Royal Handmaidens, contingent on then-Princess Amidala being elected as Queen. Very early in her training Sabé took to the role enthusiastically.

Royal Handmaiden (32 BBY to 24 BBY)
When the Trade Federation invaded Naboo early in Amidala's reign, Sabé assumed the role of the Queen for the latter's protection and sucessfully deceived the representatives of the Trade Federation, if not the Jedi who escorted her, the Queen, and other members of their entourage off Naboo. Sabé also cooperated with the Queen's idea of leaving Saché Aeyinson and Yané Carinda behind to harrass the Federation occupiers, though like Saché and Yané themselves, she was unhappy about Amidala depriving herself of her two fiercest guards. She continued to play the part of the Queen all the way to Coruscant, and then again on the journey back to Naboo, though when attempting negotiation with the Gunguns her limited diplomatic skill faltered, forcing Amidala to reveal herself to sucessfully form an alliance.

Recovering, and secretly relieved, Sabé spent the ensuing battle doing what she did best: frying battle droids into scrap metal, though she remained in her royal guise, which she used to distract Viceroy Gunray at a vital moment, drawing his guards out of the throne room and leaving Amidala free to take him captive.

After the battle, Sabé returned to the background in the palace, though outside of it she would take on a role in strengthening Naboo's military forces. She and Padme Amidala also grew very close during the following eight years.

Clone Wars (24 BBY to 19 BBY)
When Amidala stepped down as Queen and took up a seat in the Senate instead, Sabé would have gladly followed her there, but Naboo law forbade her to, because having been with her so long, she might have been identifiable in her own right. Instead she returned to her family farm, intending to retire and spend the rest of her life in cultural persuits, as was fashionable on Naboo. In 23 BBY she was married to Oklin Verderrie, a distant cousin-in-law.

By the time the Clone Wars broke out, however, Sabé was beset by restlessness. Though she never officially joined any fighting force, she participated in the fighting both times Naboo was attacked during the war. The years of the Clone Wars held other personal griefs for her also; she divorced Oklin after two years of marriage, and lost her father in the year before the war ended.

Further, Saché was killed during the second attack, as was one of the handmaidens serving Amidala as Senator, Dormé Costil. On the insistence of Amidala's one surviving active handmaiden, Motée Sensari, Sabé headed the panel of handmaidens that selected Ellé Okrest as her replacement. The end of the war was marred by the arrival of two more dead bodies on Naboo within as many days: another fellow roayl handmaiden, Ardré Kartik, and Padme Amidala herself.

Oath Against the Emperor
After marching in Amidala's funeral procession, the handmaidens gathered to hold a more private funeral for Ardré, at which Motée revealed to the others Amidala's secret marriage to Anakin Skywalker, and other details which had led her to believe that rather than being killed by a rogue Jedi, as the official stories claimed, the Senator had been murdered by Palpatine's agents, both to prevent her from giving birth to Skywalker's offspring and to neutralize her as a danger to his power in her own right. On hearing this, Sabé launched into an impassioned speech against the new Emperor and swore by the souls of her late mistress and all her murdered sister handmaidens, all of whose deaths she could now link back to Palpatine, that she would not rest until he was overthrown. She was followed in her oath by all the other former handmaidens.

Unfortunatly, one of the handmaidens, Rabé Excenil, secretly believed that they were wrong to do so. Shortly after the funeral, she betrayed one of the other handmaidens, Briné Salmune, to one of the Emperor's agents, resulting in the latter's murder. When Sabé found out, she condemned Rabé as a traitor, killed her to prevent her from getting any of the others killed, and threw her body into the sea so it would not be buried in the Handmaidens' Graveyard. She saw this as a necessary act, and yet the memory of doing it would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Flight From Naboo
At first the handmaidens attempted to work from Naboo, stealing information, hiding fugitives, poisoning officers, and subtly spreading dissent, though one of them, Coté Lanlin, was forced to go into hiding immediately, and all contact with her was lost. Another, Eirtaé Lasara, ran a shipbuilding business with her husband, Kitpat Arthi, and she and Yané worked together to smuggle ships and weapons to the rebels.

Then in 14 BBY, disaster struck. First Motée was arrested, forcing Ellé to flee Naboo. She was followed shortly by Kitpat Arthi and his and Eirtaé's son Morenjj Lasara, when Eirtaé was caught smuggling and arrested. Two weeks after their flight, the remaining former handmaidens met, and as one agreed to leave their homes and families behind. They first sought out those who had fled before them, eventually locating Kitpat, Morenjj, and Ellé. Then their two best pilots, Losté Dulks and Ené Vetamoid, stole two Y-Wings and used them to commendeer a small Corellian gunship, which they christened the Padme Amidala in honor of their late mistress. Sabé was named the ship's captain.

For the next eleven years, the crew of the Amidala took on refugees and flew them to safety. Amoung their passengers was Haali-Ola-Edi, a primary figure in the circulation of banned media about the galaxy, her daughter Enmi-Ola-Mundi, other members of her media ring, former Republic Major Nick Rostu, several fugitive Jedi, and even a member of the Costil family. They also participated in The Seige of Anchorhead, during which Sabé ran into and recognized Obi-Wan Kenobi, and identified herself to him as the fake Queen he had protected now many years ago. She ultimately failed to learn what his business on Tatooine was, but did succeed in fulfilling a much more personal desire which she had harbored since the Trade Federation had invaded Naboo. On his request she kept the knowledge of his being on Tatooine to herself.

Involvement in the Rebel Alliance (2 BBY to 4 ABY)
After the signing of the starwars:Corellian treaty, Sabé took her ship and crew to Mon Mothma and formally pledged them to the Rebel Alliance. The ship would continue to run refugees as before, though now they answered to superiors in the Rebel fleet, and also participated in raids on the Imperial fleet.

The destruction of Alderaan in 0 BBY shocked the Amidala's crew as it did everyone in the galaxy, but it would soon add a personal loss, on top of another one. Two days after the Battle of Yavin, in which Ené had been shot down, Sabé would be looking through the lists of people missing or confirmed as dead after Alderann's destruction, and find a profile for a certain Illi Madierre, attendent to Breha Organa, and attached to it a photo of a woman who was unmistakably Coté Lanlin. At the same time, she and the other handmaidens could not help but notice the arrival of Luke Skywalker from Tatooine, and she revealed to the other handmaidens her meeting with Obi-Wan, and her belief that he had hidden Amidala's son, who had been born after all. A fierce debate ensued, and ultimately the former handmaidens agreed not to approach Skywalker.

Shortly after the rebels' flight from Yavin, Sabé received two more additions to the Amidala's crew. First Ellé gave birth to her daughter, Amlé, whose father had been killed in the Battle of Yavin, then in the Battle of Skyrees, the new mother was reunited with another old lover and refugee passenger, former Jedi padawan Noirah Na, and on their request Sabé married them. Sabé herself played a valorous part at Skyrees, for which she was given the rank of Colonel.

During the evacuation of Hoth the Amidala's crew was split up, with only Sabé, Kitpat, and Morenjj on board the gunship to take it off the planet. Separated from the rest of the fleet, they were then taken captive early in 4 BBY by Sabé's old commander and mentor, Panaka, who had risen to become a Grand Moff. He attempted to persuade Sabé to switch sides, offering to release Kitpat and Morenjj if she did, but threatening to execute all three if she didn't. Sabé remained unmovable. All three were rescued by Yané, who also assasinated Panaka. Between their flight from Hoth and their return to the rebel fleet, Sabé and Kitpat fell in love, though remained reluctant to act on it, especially after Sabé was made a General for taking down Panaka, which left them hopelessly far apart in rank.

As a General, Sabé was given the Mon Naboo as her flagship, and she commanded it during the Battle of Endor. When shortly after this battle the fleet received two ambassadors from Naboo, asking for help to free their planet, she requested and was granted command of the mission. Under her leadership the rebels liberated Naboo, and when the battle was over, Queen Kylantha came to Sabé and officially offered her the crown. Though at first Sabé bulked, she was eventually persuaded to mind the throne for the rest of the year, until a new Queen could be properly elected. Her work done with both the Emperor dead and Naboo free, Sabé officially retired from military service.

Post-Rebellion
As Queen, Sabé took no new name, refused to wear the ceremonial make-up, and while Losté and Ellé also retired and insisted on attending on her, she would not let them swear themselves to her as was normal for handmaidens, as she did not want to set herself irrevocably above them. At the end of the year, she gladly stepped down, married Kitpat, and returned again to her parents' lands, which had been deserted since her mother's death in 1 BBY. Worn down, she and Kitpat lived peacefully there for 20 years.

The Yuuzhan Vong's invasion of Naboo in 28 BBY, however, returned her to public service. Fleeing Naboo, Sabé and Kitpat took roles in aiding their fellow refugees wait out the war elsewhere in the Chommell Sector and even fought the Yuuzhan Vong herself, despite now being seventy years of age. After the war she remained active in reconstructing Naboo, especially with regards to its farmlands. She also finally met with Luke Skywalker and his sister, and told them much about their mother. She died in 71 ABY, at the age of 119. Though forgotten by most of the greater galaxy, the Naboo remember her and rank her equal to her old mistress Padme Amidala as one of the most important figures in their planet's history.