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Warning: This infobox has missing parameters: parents, pronouns, children, siblings, partners, families, feathers and unrecognized parameters: era
- "I would rather be a monster that believes in something, that would sacrifice everything to make the galaxy better, than be someone who sits on the sidelines and watches as if it has no consequences to them."
- ―Princess Leia Organa
Leia Organa (born Leia Amidala Skywalker) was a Force-sensitive human female who served as princess of Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate, a general in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and New Republic, and the founding general of the Resistance. Through it all, she became instrumental in the defeat of the Galactic Empire in the Galactic Civil War and led the fight against the First Order. She was born nineteen years before the Battle of Yavin as the daughter of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala. After her mother died and her father fell to the dark side of the Force to become Darth Vader, Leia was adopted by the House of Organa. She took the place of her adoptive father, Bail Organa, in the Senate and helped lead the fight against the Empire.
During the war with the Empire, Organa was entrusted with the stolen plans to the Death Star, an Imperial superweapon capable of destroying entire planets. She also met and became friends with Luke Skywalker—who, unknown to either of them, was her twin brother—Han Solo, and Chewbacca, who helped her escape from captivity on the Death Star and return the stolen plans to the Rebellion. After the Death Star was destroyed during the Battle of Yavin, Organa continued to help lead the war effort and coordinate the operations of the Alliance.
After the Battle of Hoth, Vader captured Organa and Solo on Cloud City to use them as bait to lure Skywalker there. Solo, with whom Organa had fallen in love, was captured by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, but the others managed to escape and rejoin the Alliance Fleet. Not long after, Organa aided in the successful rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, in which she killed the crime lord and earned the title of "Huttslayer." Following Solo's rescue, she participated in the Battle of Endor as part of General Solo's team, with the objective of destroying the Death Star's shield generator. During the campaign, Organa learned that Vader was her father, and Skywalker her brother. Vader and the Emperor, Darth Sidious, perished during the battle.
The Battle of Endor left the Empire in chaos, and Organa assisted in the formation of the New Republic. When the war came to a close, Organa disagreed with the Republic's decision to disarm its military, believing that the remnants of the Empire could not be trusted to honor the peace treaty it signed with the Republic. During this time, Organa and Solo were married and had a child, Ben Solo. The boy struggled with the dark side and Organa sent him to be trained by Skywalker as part of a new generation of Jedi, but Ben turned against his uncle and destroyed the new Jedi, taking on the name Kylo Ren and becoming an apprentice of Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Organa urged the Republic to take the threat of the First Order seriously and she formed the Resistance, an unofficial military group secretly funded by the Republic, when the Galactic Senate chose to ignore her warnings. After the Resistance destroyed the First Order superweapon known as Starkiller Base, an operation that resulted in Solo's death at the hands of their son, Organa sent a young Force-sensitive named Rey, who had helped destroy the Starkiller weapon, to find Skywalker and bring him back from his self-imposed exile to help save the galaxy.
Biography
Pre-birth
- "There is another Skywalker."
- ―Serenity
Yoda and the Force Priestesses
During the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Yoda set out on a journey to discover the secrets of immortality. His journey took him to Moraband, the ancient Sith homeworld, where he faced visions of the future. At the end of his journey, the Force Priestess, Serenity, who guided his journey told him that there was another Skywalker, and Yoda heard his voice from the future say so as well.[13] These events not only alluded to the potential he would sense in Leia,[14] but to what Yoda would tell her twin brother, Luke, about Leia in his last words, before his death.[9]
Early life
Birth
- "It's a girl."
"Leia." - ―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala
Organa and her brother are born.
Leia Amidala Skywalker[15] was born on the asteroid of Polis Massa[2] two days after the end of the Clone Wars and the newly-established Galactic Empire's purge of the Jedi Order.[3] She and her twin brother Luke, who was born shortly before her, were the children of Galactic Republic Senator Padmé Amidala, who died straight after labor, and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who had recently fallen to the dark side of the Force. To protect the children from the Empire and the now-Sith Lord Darth Vader, Senator Bail Organa agreed to adopt the infant Leia together with his wife, Queen Breha of Alderaan, while Obi-Wan Kenobi personally watched over Luke, who would live with their father's stepbrother Owen Lars and his wife Beru, on the planet Tatooine.[2]
Out of the two Skywalker children, Yoda felt that Leia was most suited to be a Jedi, owing to her natural strength, will and clarity, (as opposed to her brother who was impetuous, headstrong, unruly, and inattentive) wanting very much to train her.[14]
Princess of Alderaan
- "My wife and I will take the girl. We've always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us."
- ―Bail Organa
Leia as an infant
Through adoption, Leia Amidala Skywalker became Leia Organa, heiress of the Royal Family of Alderaan.[15] Although it was common knowledge that she was adopted,[16] and everyone assumed that she was just another of the many, many children left orphaned by the Clone Wars,[17] she remained unaware of her biological parents' fates.[2] She was, however, left with a lasting impression of images and feelings of her mother that her brother did not: that their mother was "very beautiful, kind, but sad."[9] When Leia was an infant, she was mesmerized by the fish in an aquarium while her adoptive father read secret files concerning the former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano's presence on the agrarian moon of Raada. Bail later carried her after reading the files.[18]
During her childhood, Organa was taught by her father to appreciate the effort of Alderaan's workers, but also the importance of her duties as the planet's eventual queen.[19] She was also reared by a number of aunts, who gave her etiquette lessons and tried to turn her into a proper patrician,[20] and lectured her about maintaining her appearance and the company she kept.[10] Although Leia genuinely loved them, she refused to let them mold her into a simpering princess whose only aim in life was to find a suitable husband.[20] Organa would often stand alongside her parents, waiting through Alderaan's endless royal ceremonies, knowing that she could let no emotion show on her face; she once complained to one of her aunts that being a princess had to be about more than silently doing one's duty, but her aunt replied with a sad smile that she had just described most of a princess's job.[10]
In 10 BBY, the nine-year-old princess ran away from the royal palace for the first time. She hid in the woods for a week, until her parents' guards finally managed to track her down. She would later remember that incident as the "best week of her life."[21]
Once warned to stay away from Wilhuff Tarkin by her father, the Grand Moff made an official visit to Alderaan when she was thirteen. Organa crept along the halls of the palace behind the two men, listening to their cold, tense conversation. During the occasion, she realized he was nothing more than a merciless murderer and slaver.[20]
Learning skills
The young Leia was given many kinds of lessons, from combat techniques to languages.
Once she turned sixteen, Organa was allowed to receive some martial training with a personal instructor—her family had deemed necessary for her to learn the basics of self-defense, given her royal status and risk of abduction. The princess thoroughly enjoyed that training, which not only made her feel physically strong, but also allowed her to be released from the tension of her etiquette lessons. Thanks to her instructor, the princess learned to keep her mind clear and focused on the moment.[20] She was also taught how to ride, and she even became an Alderaanian junior champion in steeple-chase.[10]
On one occasion, the princess was sparring against one of her family's servants outside the city, instead of being in language study, when her father picked her up; during their trip, Organa expressed her lack of enthusiasm in the politics her mother had to deal with, when the Viceroy explained to her what Alderaan meant, and what she would have to do one day as its queen—to carry on the legacy of Alderaan's harmonic culture with pride, even at the expense of what she wanted.[19] Bail also told her tales of the Jedi, defenders of the old Republic; the young princess also overheard him talking of Darth Vader's powers.[20] In her late teens, Leia followed her adoptive father's footsteps into politics, becoming a junior legislator by the age of fourteen.[7]
Bounty of Trouble
- "Leia, you keep fighting on the inside. I'll keep fighting on the outside."
"I hope one day we can fight together. " - ―Sabine Wren and Leia Organa
Around three years before the Battle of Yavin, the sixteen-year-old Organa was escorted by two stormtroopers in Garel City on the planet Garel. As the group passed a doorway, the Mandalorian rebel Sabine Wren distracted the troopers with a yellow paint bomb and kidnapped the princess via a lasso. Before the stormtroopers realized what had happened, Wren shut the gate. Inside the gate, Sabine introduced herself to Leia and tells her that she had been sent to "capture" her and collect a data-tape valuable to the rebellion. Organa told Wren that she had hidden the data-tape from the Empire to prevent the government from learning she was working with the rebellion.[22]
Meanwhile, the stormtroopers were using an arc welder to cut through the door. With their time running out, Organa and Wren retrieved the data-tape from an interface unit, with Leia telling Sabine that the tape would provide the rebellion with the locations of several Imperial bases. Before they were allowed to escape, the droid bounty hunter IG-88 cornered them with a blaster. Wren detonated a second paint bomb and confused the bounty hunter. The duo returned to the blaster, with Wren hiding in a corner away from the stormtroopers. When the troopers managed to get through the door, Organa told them to defend her from IG-88. While the troopers and the droid bounty hunter exchanged fire, Leia and Sabine snuck outside. Organa handed Wren the data-tape. Sabine thanked Leia before the princess headed back to the building, hoping that one day they could fight together.[22]
Relief mission to Lothal
- "But you're a princess, you don't have to risk your life doing this!"
"I feel like because I can fight, I have to, for those who cannot. And I think you might be the same way." - ―Leia Organa and Ezra Bridger
Princess Leia with the disguised Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger
Sometime after, Organa whilst serving as her father's aide in the Imperial Senate, devised a plan to give the rebels three Hammerhead corvettes, ostensibly by going on a relief mission on Lothal where the rebels would apparently steal the ships. She was greeted by Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, who were respectively disguised as a stormtrooper and an Imperial cadet, as well as Lieutenant Yogar Lyste, who knew that Leia often had a large majority of her ships become 'stolen' by rebel agents. In consequence, Lyste implemented stricter security measures against what he assumed another "meddling delegation from Alderaan." Ultimately complicating her plan to transfer the cruisers to the rebels by placing gravity locks on the ships, along with ordering two AT-ATs to guard them.[23]
Leia then requested she use Lyste's shuttle, and she flew with Kanan and Ezra to former governor Ryder Azadi's hideout. Upon arrival, they found stormtroopers had apprehended Ryder. The Ghost appeared and opened fire: Kanan, Ezra and Leia feigned being taken hostage by Ryder and the crew. On board, Leia bonded with Ezra after learning he had recently lost his parents, assuaging his fears the rebellion might not be worth fighting. They then resolved to find a way to steal the corvettes.[23]
Still disguised, Kanan and Ezra used the Phantom to escort Leia back to the depot, distracting a surprised Lyste while Ryder, Sabine Wren and C1-10P disabled the gravity locks and commandeered the ships. During the ensuing firefight, she saw Kanan use his lightsaber to down an AT-AT, and Ezra use telekinesis to disarm a pair of stormtroopers, which gave her the opportunity to grab one of the rifles and use it against the troopers. When Ezra boarded the last corvette, she ordered him to make it appear they were struggling and stun her. When Lyste came to her aid, she berated him for his failure, and requested a shuttle home, taunting Lyste as to having lost his own.[23]
Imperial senator
- "It will be nice to have such a pretty face in the Senate."
- ―Emperor Palpatine to Leia Organa
Leia eventually took her father's place in the Imperial Senate, becoming the youngest senator elected. Her aunts protested, arguing that she'd be better off finding a princely husband whereas the press claimed she was a "princess playing dress-up" and not a real diplomat and politician. The public, however, came to care about her, enough that any whisper of mistreatment would "set the HoloNet on fire."[20]
Leia Organa soon discovered that the Imperial Senate was little more than a facade.
Spending the days leading up to her election listing out her grievances, intent on addressing the Emperor directly and bluntly, Organa was presented by her father to Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant, with all the newly elected officials. However, when she met the Imperial ruler, Organa was frightened by his disturbing aura of evil that she was left speechless and dropped into a half-curtsy. Eventually, Organa also met the Emperor's right hand, Vader (both unaware of their blood ties), and dealt with him.[20]
Despite her sincere desire to real change and reform, she soon discovered that no other senator seemed to share her ideals,[20] as the Senate had become a mere ceremonial institution that sycophantically validated Palpatine's every decree,[24] and no delegate ever dared to test the Emperor's patience.[20] In her early days at the Senate, Organa soon discovered that betrayal always came from those who acted the friendliest.[25] Unable to understand how the other senators could ignore the Empire's crimes in the Outer Rim Territories, Organa devoted herself to aid the suffering all across the galaxy. On one occasion, she rescued an orphaned baby Wookiee from the ruins of a village destroyed by Imperial forces. Yet, to her annoyance, the media continued to reduce her to the label of princess, paying no attention to her humanitarian work.[20]
During her tenure as an Imperial senator, Organa had to deal with the Givin, a mathematically inclined species. At the time, she memorized a few equations that proved useful when she dealt with Givin and their custom of greeting maths.[25]
Rebels in the base of Yavin IV.
Eventually, Leia would join the Alliance to Restore the Republic, seeing it as her chance to actually help the galaxy, shortly before her mission to Tatooine.[20] Weeks before the mission, Organa attended a reception and ball at the Imperial Palace, like many other members of the Imperial Senate. This was just a few days after she delivered a speech in the Senate about increasing Alderaan's mercy missions to outlying systems the Empire had forgotten or neglected. Despite the princess's popularity, her speech received mixed criticisms, as many in the Core Worlds believed that the Empire was already providing the necessary aid and that Alderaan's "meddling" was becoming too important. During the ball itself, she danced with Imperial cadet Thane Kyrell; he, however, noticed she was paying little attention to him, likely because she was distracted and had a lot on her mind.[26]
Galactic Civil War
Mission to Scarif
- "Your Highness. The transmission we received… What is it they've sent us?"
"Hope." - ―Raymus Antilles and Leia Organa
During the Galactic Civil War, after the transference of the Alliance's headquarters from Dantooine to Yavin 4, and a battle for the technical readout of the Death Star,[27] Organa volunteered for the mission to transport the plans, against the wishes of her father. He reluctantly allowed her to go, but requested that she seek General Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine after intercepting the plans.[20]
Leia receives the plans from Captain Antilles aboard the Tantive IV.
Originally it was intended that Admiral Raddus was to escort Organa to Tatooine to meet with Kenobi. Raddus's ship[28] the Profundity[29] however was diverted to Scarif once the fighting began.[28] After barely escaping an ambush set by Imperial reinforcements and Darth Vader himself,[27] Leia and her ship managed to set a course for Tatooine after gaining the plans for the superweapon. However, Vader managed to spot the Rebel ship and began tracking it to Tatooine.[5] Before jumping to lightspeed, Captain Antilles personally handed her the datacard carrying the plans and asked her what they had been sent by the Rogue One squad; smiling, she replied "Hope."[27]
Death Star prisoner
- "I don't know what you're talking about. I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan—"
"You are a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor. Take her away!" - ―Leia Organa and Darth Vader
Leia gives the plans to R2.
After Leia and her ship made it to Tatooine, the entire system was swarming with Imperials, and the ship she was traveling aboard, the Tantive IV, was intercepted by the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator, who earlier almost managed to capture the ship back on Scarif. As stormtroopers led by Darth Vader boarded the Tantive IV, Organa stored the plans in the astromech droid R2-D2, and recorded a message for Kenobi, pleading him to return from exile to deliver the plans to her father on Alderaan. While R2-D2 used an escape pod to land on the planet's surface, Organa was stunned, captured, and escorted to Vader.[5]
Leia is threatened by Tarkin
The princess feigned ignorance of the Sith Lord's accusations. However, she was unaware that Vader very well knew from his earlier encounter on Scarif that she was helping the rebellion, and was thus berated for lying and forced aboard the Devastator.[5] She, however, was able to escape her escorts and make her way to a shuttle, but Vader had anticipated Organa's moves and caught her.[20] Transporting her to the Death Star, Vader had her imprisoned in Detention Block AA-23 in Cell 2187. Following the Senate's dissolution, Organa was tortured by Vader so that she would reveal the Rebel base's location, but she proved resilient to the mind probe-equipped interrogator droid. Afterwards, once the Death Star entered the Alderaan system, she was taken to see Tarkin, who threatened to use the station to destroy her homeworld unless she disclosed the base's location. The princess claimed the base was on Dantooine, but Tarkin had Alderaan destroyed anyway to demonstrate the Death Star's power. Awaiting for her execution, Organa was taken to her cell once again.[5]
Organa, with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, on the Death Star
The arrival of Millennium Falcon, however, led to her rescue at the hands of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca, with the three bursting into her detention block, disguised as stormtroopers, while Kenobi deactivated the tractor beam preventing their escape. Unimpressed by their rescue once they were cornered by stormtrooper squads, she took Skywalker's rifle and blasted open a garbage masher to make their escape. Though momentarily trapped in a compactor, they escaped with the help of R2-D2 and C-3PO, and made their way to Solo's freighter, only for them to witness Kenobi's death at the hands of Vader as they escaped on the Millennium Falcon.[5]
Yavin 4
- "You're safe. When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst."
"We've no time for our sorrows, Commander. You must use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack. It's our only hope." - ―General Vanden Willard and Leia Organa
Leia in the rebel base during the battle of Yavin.
As the Millennium Falcon made its way to Yavin 4 on Organa's instruction, the princess discerned Vader had let them go to following their tail, in opposition to Solo, who had great faith in his ship as much as he was reluctant to keep assisting the Alliance beyond dropping their passengers on Yavin and getting his reward, and angered Organa for his lack of selflessness. Once in the Great Temple, used as the Rebel base, Organa met with General Willard,[5] and commended Skywalker for his skills, prompting Willard to arrange a flight simulator test to join the Rebel Alliance Starfighter Corps.[20] After R2-D2's information was analyzed and the station's built-in flaw identified, General Jan Dodonna debriefed everyone on the plan to counterattack the approaching Death Star. At the command center, Organa subsequently witnessed the destruction of the Death Star at the hands of Skywalker.[5]
Aftermath of the Disaster
- "We have much to be grateful for today. Thanks to your courage, we have delivered a telling blow to the Empire with the destruction of their Death Star. But our casualties were not small. Let us take a moment to honor the lost souls of Alderaan. To honor Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa. May they forever be remembered."
- ―Leia Organa
Leia at the Royal Award Ceremony.
After the surviving Rebel pilots returned from successfully turning the Empire's greatest weapon into nothing but a layer of dust orbiting around Yavin,[30] the personnel of the Yavin 4 honored the heroes by orchestrating an award ceremony for them. Organa, wearing an Alderaanian gown,[31] handed out the medals to newcomers Skywalker and Solo.[5]
The time for celebration would soon be over. Painfully aware of the loss of Alderaan, she asked the Rebels to take a moment of silence to honor and remember all those who had died when her homeworld was destroyed. It lasted little for Dodonna announced their need to evacuate Yavin 4 since the Empire now knew of their location. Organa then shared a moment of banter with Solo, and a moment of rapport with Skywalker, before they parted ways. Left alone, Organa noticed a lone female pilot paying respects to the memorial statue of her parents, Bail and Breha.[32]
Hunted by the Empire
- "I am sorry my Queen."
"Don't address me that w—"
"It must be, my test will come soon. As we speak the Imperial are hunting down all surviving Alderaanians."
"All? How do you know?"
"Word travels through the Rebel forces too much to be simply rumor." - ―Evaan Verlaine and Leia Organa
Leia and Evaan discuss their differences.
Afterwards, Organa changed into a less luxurious outfit and asked Admiral Gial Ackbar to have an audience with Dodonna. The Mon Calamari pointed her in the right direction, and she approached Dodonna, who was busy currently perusing a location for the new Rebel base. She informed him that she yearned to take action, to scout for a new base location, but the General disagreed. Telling her the best thing for her to do at the time was to grieve her recent loss, given that the Empire had placed a 10,000,000 credit bounty on her just hours before, he stated the Princess would not leave Yavin "under anything less than a full military escort" and dismissed her.[32]
Defeated, she left and again briefly ran into Ackbar, but they quickly parted ways.[32] She continued to assist in the evacuation, but then she received word from Lieutenant Caluan Ematt, leader of the Shrikes—who was alone after the death of his team, and on the run from the Imperial Security Bureau. Organa then asked Solo to run an errand for the Rebellion, and rescue Ematt from Cyrkon. Ultimately, Solo accepted the mission, and he and Chewbacca rescued Ematt with the Falcon.[33]
Organa then focused on the evacuation effort once again, when she met the Rebel pilot from earlier, Evaan Verlaine, who revealed that the Empire was rumored to be hunting all surviving Alderaanians throughout the galaxy. Now aware of her people's situation, she enlisted both Verlaine and R2-D2's help for a self-imposed mission to save the survivors of Alderaan. With the astromech, she recorded a decoy hologram of herself, and sent it to Dodonna's quarters during the night, to apologize for disobeying his orders. Meanwhile, the trio made their escape from Yavin on a T-1 shuttle, but as they departed, they were pursued by Skywalker and Wedge Antilles on their X-wing starfighters.[32]
Nevertheless, Verlaine outsmarted them and made the jump to Naboo,[32] and landed on its capital, Theed. Posing as Imperial auditors, they came across a mural of the late Padmé Amidala (who unbeknownst to her, was her biological mother), and Organa momentarily saw the images' head turn to look at her, in what she dismissed as an illusion. They were soon approached by Lord Junn, her old friend, who invited them to his villa. Organa requested that Junn arrange their meeting with Mul Sanaka, owner of Club Deeja in Keren, and employer of the Melodic Order—the cloister of Alderaanian musicians they were looking for. When he did so, Organa, Verlaine and R2-D2 made their way to the club and met Sanaka, with whom they tried to negotiate over the Alderaanians.[19]
Leia confronts Lord Junn in his palace.
However, Sanaka and his Besalisk guards tried to capture them, already aware of her identity. As Organa and her companions resisted, Sanaka attempted to kill her, foiled only by the intervention of Uwa Pareece, the Melodic Order's leader, who had been discreetly following the princess until then. Organa then had her lead them to the Order, whom she invited to follow her on her crusade. Once they agreed, Organa returned to Junn's palace, and made him explain why he had betrayed them to Sanaka. Finally, Organa demanded a luxury yacht with enough capacity to relocate the Melodic Order, and he agreed to give her the Lord Junn. Soon thereafter, the gathered Alderaanians departed for Sullust in the Outer Rim.[19]
Alderaan's survival
- "We're not our enemy. We are Alderaan. We answer rage with wisdom. We answer fear with imagination. We answer war with hope. If one life with a single drop of Alderaanian blood survives, Alderaan survives. If one life with passion for Alderaanian creativity survives, Alderaan survives. And we are, each of us, important. And whatever happens, I bow to all of you, and to our future."
- ―Leia Organa
The two starships soon arrived in the Sullust system, where Organa, Verlaine and R2-D2 engaged the Sullustan Tivvy, who led them to the Alderaan Enclave. During the journey, an Alderaanian rifle squad tried to apprehend them, but Organa and her companions quickly disarmed them, and requested to see their leader, Preserver Jora Astane, who refused to submit to Organa's authority. She suspected her to be a traitor—particularly so after the replay of one of her ships' transmissions: Tace's innocent disclosing of their location to her sister, Tula, an Imperial under the watchful eye of Commander Dreed.[34]
Organa and Verlaine enter the Alderaan Enclave on Sullust.
Learning that Dreed's Imperial cruiser had entered Sullust's orbit, Astane ordered her men to kill Organa and Verlaine, forcing the two to escape into a polluted waterway beneath the Eyewell. From there, they herded rockrenders to attack stormtroopers in the battle against the Alderaanians in the Enclave above. Once the skirmish was over, and the Imperials had been defeated, Astane finally accepted Organa as their sovereign.[34]
On her request, Nien Nunb successfully led the Alderaanian survivors off of Sullust, and Organa awarded him chalcedony waves from her late mother, only for Astane and Covis to bring Tace before her. Organa discussed the problem with Tace over some tea; knowing her to be innocent, Organa decided to draw her sister out. She then appointed Pareece and Astane to negotiate with the Alderaanians living in Espirion, and had Tace ask Tula about her location. The plan backfired when Dreed threatened to kill Tula because of the inquiry, prompting Organa to trade herself for Tula on Skaradosh, where she met Dreed as she placed herself back in Imperial custody.[35] The Imperials were soon attacked by a group of her followers, including Verlaine and Nunb, before she could board Dreed's shuttle. On his Mellcrawler, Nunb smuggled them out of the system, outrunning Dreed's Star Destroyer on its way to destroy the Alderaanians on Espirion.[36]
Organa addressing her fellow Alderaanians over Espirion.
Although surprised to see Espirion's orbit filled with starships of Alderaanian survivors who had gotten her message, Organa told the fleet to take battle stations. She also witnessed Tace and Tula's reunion, just before meeting with Pareece and Astane to talk about their failed mission to the planet below. This angered Organa, as she had been counting on Espirion's military support against the incoming Star Destroyer, but after Verlaine's encouraging words, Organa sent an inspiring message to her fleet—which R2-D2 retransmitted to the Alderaanians below, prompting Beon Beonel to send the Espirion Multi to destroy Dreed's cruiser.[36]
After a celebration held among the surviving Alderaanians, Organa told Verlaine of her return to the Alliance, given she had never intended to abandon it forever, for their people would never be safe as long as the Emperor was in control. Verlaine claimed they needed their princess, but Organa suggested that she should elect one then, appointing Verlaine as her would-be successor. Ultimately, Organa and R2-D2 returned to Yavin 4, where she reunited with Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca and C-3PO.[36]
Aboard the Promise
- "When you get betrayed, it's never by someone who looks like Vader. Betrayal always comes wrapped up in a friendly cloak. It's one of the first things I learned in the Senate."
- ―Leia Organa to Luke Skywalker
With the Alliance Fleet hiding in the Sujimis sector over Orto Plutonia, Organa helped coordinate the Rebel efforts with the rest of the Alliance High Command, and in the company of C-3PO. During her stay on the Redemption, Organa suggested to Ackbar and Chancellor Mon Mothma that they sent someone to open a secret supply of weapons for the Alliance with the Chekkoo clan of Rodia, a mission for which Skywalker volunteered.[25]
Following his return from Rodia, Organa and Ackbar met with Skywalker as soon as he landed the Desert Jewel on the Promise to talk about his encounter over Llanic, during which he had saved a Kupohan ship from Imperial attack. Though he apologized for it, Organa revealed he had done the right thing, as the ship carried vital intelligence about a Givin cryptologist from Denon, Drusil Bephorin, willing to help the Alliance, if the Rebels were able to safely transport her and her family to Omereth. Organa and Ackbar assigned Skywalker, Nakari Kelen and the Desert Jewel to the mission, though Organa warned Skywalker not to trust blindly on Kelen. After their return from a errand for Kelen's father and the Jewel’s modifications, Organa and Ackbar further debriefed Skywalker and Kelen, and she specifically instructed them to greet Bephorin with maths to earn her trust.[25]
Cymoon 1
- "Remind me never to attack another weapons factory."
- ―Leia Organa
Alongside Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Organa took part in a mission on the Imperial factory world of Cymoon 1, where they would infiltrate and destroy Weapons Factory Alpha. After capturing a shuttle whose passenger was an emissary of Jabba the Hutt sent to negotiate with the Empire on shipping raw materials from Hutt-controlled space to Imperial facilities, Organa and Skywalker disguised themselves as bodyguards to escort Solo (who, they agreed, would pose as the envoy) with R2-D2 into the factory. Greeted by Overseer Aggadeen, they managed to enter the facility only for them to reveal themselves as rebels, incapacitate Aggadeen's stormtroopers, with the Overseer revealing the power core's location, before Organa knocked him out as well.[37]
The Rebels make their way to the main power core.
Once the four made their way to the central power station, Organa, Solo and R2-D2 rigged the power core. As they awaited for Skywalker to return, Organa thanked the Corellian smuggler for taking such a risk for the Alliance, yet questioned Solo if he had an ulterior motive for doing so. Their conversation was interrupted by Skywalker's arrival with Imperial slaves. Though Organa was unsure of Skywalker's decision and determination to have the slaves escape with them, Solo accepted it and prompted them to escape the facility as soon as possible.[37]
When they were alerted by Chewbacca of Vader's arrival, Organa ordered the Wookiee to kill the Dark Lord of the Sith even at the expense of them, blaming him for Alderaan's destruction. However, Vader sensed danger and protected himself for Chewbacca's shot, putting the entire moon on alert of their presence. Completely surrounded and having lost contact with Chewbacca, they came across a hangar and, though Organa noticed Skywalker's absence, she and Solo procured an All Terrain Armored Transport walker for themselves, just as Skywalker engaged Vader in combat.[37]
Han and Leia argue while escaping the factory aboard the stolen AT-AT.
Organa, Solo, R2-D2 and several slaves boarded the AT-AT, and Solo piloted it through the factory before stepping on a subterranean corridor, almost crushing Skywalker and Vader. Once Solo almost stepped on a Twi'lek slave, Organa called him out on it, but he claimed only wanting to get them out of there, while R2-D2 and a pair of Jawas worked to have its cannons operational. Though the Sith lord almost tore the walker apart with the Force, the astromech droid informed them that the cannons were ready and Organa hit the button to fire. Not only they temporarily incapacitated Vader, but they also blasted their way out of the facility.[8]
Once outside, their walker only received more blaster fire; Organa, then, realized the Imperials had stopped the reactor's meltdown, and Vader caught up with them and destroyed the walker's legs with his lightsaber, throwing it off. From the rubble, Organa carried Solo and led the slaves to safety, when Skywalker met with her and told her he would finish their mission. Disobeying Organa's orders, Skywalker used his stolen speeder bike to destroy the power core. Soon enough, they made their way to the Millennium Falcon and barely escaped with their lives. On the ship, she thanked Skywalker for completing the mission, trying to encourage him, but his morale was at rock-bottom.[38] Before long, the Falcon rendezvoused with the Rebel fleet.[39]
An estranged wife
- "And here I thought one Solo was bad. Now I get to listen to two of them. Lucky me."
- ―Leia Organa
Confronted by Solo over the parts needed to repair the Millennium Falcon.
Organa met with the rest of the Alliance High Command, and expressed her desire to continue the offensive against the Empire; however, Ackbar and Mothma dissuaded Organa from her course of action since they believed she was overtaxing her team. The princess next met with Skywalker, who asked her to let him (and R2-D2) go to Tatooine in search of Kenobi's home.[39] Later, Solo inquired about several parts needed to repair his ship, but Organa told him that he needed to work to obtain what he wanted—offering him a mission to be her copilot while they scouted for possible locations for the new Alliance base. Aboard a stolen Lambda-class shuttle, the Invictus, they had a run-in with a pair of TIE fighters and Solo piloted the Invictus into an unnamed planet near the Monsua Nebula.[40]
Upon landing, Organa followed Solo's lead to one of his smuggling dens, where in he offered the princess some Corellian wine to celebrate their survival. Organa, however, misinterpreted his gesture and refused to drink the wine, stormily leaving the den at once. As Solo followed suit, claiming he would rather seduce a gundark, the Volt Cobra arrived; Sana Starros disembarked and revealed herself to be Solo's estranged wife, much to Organa's shock.[41] Though Solo tried to explain, Starros recognized Organa (and the bounty on her head) and had the Invictus destroyed with her ship's voice-activated weaponry.[42]
Holding the two at gunpoint, Starros contacted the Star Destroyer above them to negotiate over Organa's bounty, while Solo tried to convince her to let them go. However, Organa had other plans—pushing Solo against Starros, taking her by surprise, while she drew a concealed blaster from her clothes to aim it at both "Solos". With the TIE fighters and TIE/sa bombers already above them,[42] and Imperial pilots closing in to arrest her, Organa resisted, whereas Solo confessed he was also a Rebel (and so, bound to be captured), prompting Starros to take the two to her ship to escape the planet.[43] While on hyperspace, Organa contacted the Alliance, and was informed of Skywalker's captivity on Nar Shaddaa. She convinced Starros to transport them to the moon, by agreeing to let her recover her 'husband' once they reached the "Smuggler's Moon."[44] Solo disliked the deal and confronted Organa about it, but she refused to listen to his explanation.[45]
Organa using a lightsaber on Nar Shaddaa.
Upon arrival at Nar Shaddaa, they located C-3PO and Chewbacca, who had engaged the bounty hunter Dengar after refusing to reveal Solo's location. Outgunned by Organa and Solo,[45] Dengar was defeated when Chewbacca threw him off the roof; thus, they carried on with their original objective: to free Skywalker from Grakkus the Hutt. Organa, Solo, Chewbacca and Starros made their way to Grakkus' palace arena, and realized their blasters had been disabled by an EMP charge, Imperials were swarming the place and a beast was wreaking havoc. Separated from Starros, they instead found R2-D2 who provided them with lightsabers; they promptly used the weapons to reach Skywalker at the center of the arena. However, instead of reuniting with him, Organa sought Starros and rescued her from under a pile of rubble. Starros then explained she was not Solo's real wife, and the two women reached an understanding before escaping Nar Shaadda.[46]
Eneb Ray's Infiltration
- "If this fails, we'll have no agents left on Coruscant. This is an enormous risk."
"So was Yavin." - ―Leia Organa and Eneb Ray
Sometime after the Battle of Yavin, Organa sent rebel spy Eneb Ray to Coruscant to infiltrate the Imperial Senate, pretending to be the senator Tharius Demo. After he uploaded shipping and procurement data for the Core sectors to the rebellion, he contacted Leia via hologram. She gave him the mission to extract Nadea Tural and other rebel-sympathetic senators from Arrth-Eno Prison Complex and prevent them from being executed. After the conversation ended, Ray made his way to the prison complex on Coruscant. After breaking in, Eneb found the prisoners, who informed him that the Emperor would be coming to the complex.[47]
Ray discovered another spy within the complex, who helped him to formulate a plan to assassinate the Emperor. The two contacted Organa, who called the plan "an enormous risk." However, Ray and several other operatives attacked the Emperor, but the Sith Lord escaped. Eneb went after him and killed him. However, the real Emperor revealed that the person that Ray had killed was a mere decoy. Ray turned around and watched as the prison complex exploded, killing all inside. Palpatine proceeded to electrocute Ray, leaving him unable to complete any mission he had left.[47]
Vrogas Vas
- "You can kill me but you can't kill what I stand for... and you won't stop justice."
- ―Leia Organa, to Darth Vader
When news reached the Alliance Fleet that Darth Vader had made his appearance over Vrogas Vas and his ship had been forced to crash-land by Skywalker, Dodonna deployed a battalion to back the company of the Vrogas Vas refueling base. When Organa heard this, she immediately set out to assist them, as did Solo, Chewbacca and C-3PO, on the Falcon.[48] Soon after they arrived, Organa and Solo were told that Skywalker had brought Vader down at the cost of crashing his X-wing as well, but in spite of her worry about him, she would not spare any speeders. As a Commander, she coordinated the effort and deployed Cyan Squadron, of which another ship was taken down by Vader.[49]
The princess is reminded by Solo that her priorities should remain with Skywalker-not getting revenge against Vader.
Subsequently, Organa decided to go to where he was spotted last, along with a platoon of other Rebel soldiers. Amidst the thick layer of mist, she and other troopers advanced, until Vader Force choked her two companions and confronted her.[50] After a tense moment, however, Vader apparently sensed an ambush, allowing Organa to escape and tell her friends where she was (and thus, lure Skywalker to him). She escaped and found C-3PO, who handed her a comlink; she used it to order all surviving rebel pilots to come to her position and hit it with everything they had at her signal. Organa then ordered C-3PO to return to Skywalker, and waited for Vader to appear before her again, and signaled all fighters to bombard their location.[51]
Organa and her friends escape Vader and Vrogas Vas aboard the Millennium Falcon.
However, Imperial enforcer Karbin arrived with a fleet and destroyed Amber wing.[51] Karbin himself went to the encounter of Organa and Vader, and proceeded to duel each other. Organa used the opportunity to escape from their reach into the Jedi Temple and waited to get a clear shot.[52] However, C-3PO called her through the comlink and informed her that Solo, Chewbacca and Skywalker were in trouble. Confronted with their loss, she let Vader and Karbin to their devices. Instead, Organa located the Millennium Falcon and found Solo, Skywalker, the droids and Chewbacca cornered by Vader's ally, Dr. Aphra. As she had implemented a minefield of micro-mines to trap them, Organa snuck up to her and knocked her out with a punch. With Aphra captured, Organa ordered all remaining Rebel forces to evacuate the planet; then, they boarded the Falcon and escaped.[53]
Sunspot Prison
- "I want you to know... I won't give up on you. I'll get you help you need, Eneb. Whether you want it or not."
- ―Leia Organa to Eneb Ray
After weeks of interrogation and four escape attempts, Organa and Starros brought Doctor Aphra to the Sunspot Prison, a Rebel Alliance penitentiary. Organa, Starros, and the prison's warden debated about how to interrogate the new prisoner. Meanwhile, a team led by former rebel spy Eneb Ray made their way to into the prison, attacking the guards. This was reported to the warden, as well as Leia and Sana.[54]
Organa and Starros engaged the invading droid forces, destroying many of them. Leia contacted the control room, wanting to know if they were given an all clear. However, instead of a response from the warden, Eneb Ray responded. He had taken over the control room and was holding the warden hostage. He proceeded to send IG-RM droids to execute prisoners. Organa disabled them, but not before they opened fire. Afterwards, Ray released other prisoners, forcing Organa and Starros to engage them. After fighting many of the prisoners, Leia placed them in a single cell. Ray deactivated the sun shields in that cell, incinerating all of the prisoners within it. Ray continued to make threats. Because of this, Organa freed Doctor Aphra, needing her to help retake the prison.[55]
Soon after being freed, Aphra began to reprogram one of the enforcer droids while it was attacking Starros. Organa disabled it before it could kill the smuggler. After a brief argument, the three continued to make their way through the cell blocks. Meanwhile, Ray was personally going to cells and killing the inmates himself, revealing the truth about Emperor Palpatine to one inmate in particular. Aphra, Sana, and Leia finally reached the control room and engaged the droids defending it. The trio, as well as the enforcer droid that Doctor Aphra reprogrammed, managed to retake the control room. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker arrived on the base in the Millenium Falcon, only to be captured by Ray.[56]
Sana, Aphra, and Leia managed to find Ray with the captured Skywalker and Solo. Ray had wrapped the duo in thermal detonators, and threatened to kill them unless Leia shot Doctor Aphra. He then proceeded to reveal his identity, which had been previously hidden. Having thought him dead, Leia was surprised. Organa had R2-D2 activate an ion pulse, which took out the prison's gravity, as well as the trigger to the thermal detonators. Ray and Organa began fighting in midair. Through the combined efforts of Leia, Aphra, and Sana, Ray was defeated and arrested.[57]
Afterwards, the remaining staff and prisoners were evacuated. However, Doctor Aphra managed to escape, thanks to the indifference of Organa and Starros. As Ray was escorted in binders, Leia told him that she hadn't given up on him. However, Ray was so broken mentally that he told her that the rebels had no chance of winning, and that she will eventually wish that she had listened to him.[57]
Hijacking of the Harbinger
Some time after Eneb Ray's assault on Sunspot Prison, Organa and Skywalker attended a meeting with Jan Dodonna, Gial Ackbar, and Mon Mothma aboard a medical frigate. Ackbar reported that the planet of Tureen VII was under siege from the Empire. The planet had been providing aid to the rebellion secretly, and it was considered time for the Alliance to repay their debts to Tureen VII. The high-ranking members noted that the planet had come under a blockade, with the people of the world starving. After three attempts to break through the Imperial blockade failed, Skywalker and Organa came up with the idea to steal a Star Destroyer to infiltrate the blockade and provide relief to the people of Tureen VII. Although General Dodonna was initially hesitant, due to the large crew needed for operating such a vehicle, Leia asked for as much crew as could be spared. Due to the high rank of Organa and Skywalker, they were given permission to go through with this mission.[58]
After the meeting, Leia took the Millennium Falcon, along with Han Solo, Chewbacca, Sana Starros, R2-D2, and C-3PO to attack the Star Destroyer known as the Harbinger. Luke took the pilots of Red Squadron to also engage in the assault. The Falcon was used to fire proton bombs at an area near the Destroyer's main engine reactor. Red Three, Wedge Antilles, fired also fired torpedoes towards the main engine reactor. Although the shots hit their mark, the reactor did not overload. Skywalker flew into the main engine reactor in an attempt to overload it. He did manage to achieve that. The Imperial crew of the Star Destroyer proceeded to abandon ship, giving the crew of the Millennium Falcon the opportunity to capture it. The ship flew into the Destroyer's hangar, with the crew of the Falcon attacking the ship from the inside. Meanwhile, Skywalker secured the reactor room as the sentients made their way there. As a space battle raged outside, an explosion came from the Harbinger, making the Empire think it had been destroyed.[59]
A week afterwards, a patrol of two TIE fighters briefly spotted the stolen Star Destroyer, but were quickly destroyed. Skywalker noted that the Empire may have known their location. However, Organa stated that if the government had known, there would have been more ships sent. At the time, the Destroyer was running on its secondary reactor and it had no captain. Solo and Organa argued with each other about who was to be the captain. Skywalker attempted to calm the duo by telling them of the situation at hand, noting that it would most likely be the last flight of the Harbinger.[59]
Days later, a reactor overload was becoming more and more likely. Luke, R2-D2, and Chewbacca were attempting to fix the issue as quickly as possible. However, an explosion occurred, and the astromech droid jettisoned the reactor, allowing the Star Destroyer to go to hyperspace. Han noted that the group had officially stolen their own Star Destroyer, with Leia responding that the hard part was yet to come.[60]
After the Harbinger got out of hyperspace, the engines died. Chewbacca attempted to fix the the backup reactor in order for the Destroyer to simply get to Tureen VII. Solo attempted to order the crew to change course to the Monsua Nebula in order to give the crew more time to fix it. However, Organa order the crew to belay that order, knowing that the people of Tureen VII were dying and there was not enough time to stop and make repairs. The duo continued to argue about the merits of their ideas and who should be temporary captain of the ship. Solo proposed a race to the bridge of the Destroyer to determine who was to be the captain. Although Leia seemed to think that was a bad idea, she kicked Solo in the shin as a way to give herself a headstart.[60]
As the two made their way through a hangar, Solo rode a speeder bike as a way to get a lead on Organa. After being hit by the bike, Leia asked a member of the crew where the spacesuits were kept. She later donned one of the spacesuits and made her way to the bridge, getting there before Solo and declaring herself captain. As she was doing that, a rebel shuttle with the dead Admiral Verette tied to the front. Sana Starros destroyed the ship, thinking it was a trap. Meanwhile, an Imperial shuttle carrying Task Force 99 managed to sneak onto the Star Destroyer and board it.[60]
Afterwards, Solo noted that the Star Destroyer's hyperdrive, backup reactor, shields, and ion cannons were all malfunctioning in some form, calling the Harbinger "the worst Star Destroyer in the entire galaxy." Organa wanted to know the status of the ion cannons, asking the Destroyer's maintenance team what the status was. Due to the fact that the team had gone missing, a group lead by Luke and Sana went to check it out. Han still wanted the Harbinger to stop for repairs, but considering all the options, Leia pressed on. Noting that the situation was ludicrous, Organa told Solo that she wanted him as the Destroyer's helmsman, calling him "the craziest pilot in the galaxy."[61]
As this conversation took place, Starros and Skywalker found Task Force 99 in the hallways of the ship. The squadron proceeded to attack Skywalker's group. Luke engaged the leader, Sergeant Kreel, while Starros and the other members of the group dealt with other members of the squadron. Organa and Solo, meanwhile, were defending the bridge from the members Aero, Misty, and Mic. Solo steered the Harbinger towards Tureen VII, ramming it into the planet's base security Star Destroyers. As a result, the Destroyer's front shields and an engine were lost. The Rebel Alliance sent Blue Squadron to defend the Star Destroyer, and as they engaged the base's TIE fighters, Darth Vader arrived in his own personal TIE fighter, destroying many of the Alliance x-wings.[61]
Organa ordered Red Squadron to defend the Harbinger in order to give the Star Destroyer more time to release the supplies to the surface of Tureen VII. Solo attempted to get the Destroyer's ion cannons online. Han and Leia attempted to hold the bridge, to no avail. Meanwhile, Skywalker engaged Sergeant Kreel, eventually using the Force to disable him. Later, the reactors came back to full power when Chewbacca tossed Task Force 99 member Zuke into the reactor. Although the reactor power was restored, the controls specifically were disabled. R2-D2 was flying the ship remotely and operating the ion cannons because of that fact. Meanwhile, Starros and Chewbacca made their way to the Millenium Falcon and Skywalker made his way to an x-wing in order to defend the Harbinger. C-3PO, on the other hand, was accidentally left behind, allowing himself to be captured by Task Force 99.[62]
As the invading members of the task force made their way through the bridge, Solo detonated a thermal detonator on the bridge, allowing him and Organa to escape. The duo grabbed breath masks to give them oxygen in the vacuum of space. The two began to argue about their survival when the Millenium Falcon arrived to pick them up. Meanwhile, R2-D2 made his way to an escape pod and saved himself. The Harbinger finally was destroyed by the constant barrage of Imperial fire. Red and Blue Squadron, as well as the Falcon, jumped to hyperspace before any more destruction could take place.[62]
Temporary Outpost
- "It's absolute chaos in here, Luke. We're still trying to get on our feet here and one of our cargo vessels is still missing."
- ―Leia Organa to Luke Skywalker
Some time after the hijacking of the Harbinger, the Rebel Alliance established a temporary outpost by the name of LX-Robynsun V on the Outer Rim planet Reamma. The Alliance was still adjusting to the new outpost when a cargo vessel went missing. Leia assigned Luke Skywalker to double back and search for it, as it was carrying vital medical supplies and other cargo. However, as Skywalker and R2-D2 prepared the search, the cargo vessel arrived, cancelling the mission.[63]
Saponza's Gang
Organa was responsible for recruiting Saponza's Gang to the Alliance. Working with her, Solo, Mothma, Jennica Pierce, and the criminal underworld, the gang successfully rescued former Senator Johhar Kessen from Imperial custody. They also disrupted Kosh's contraband smuggling operation, and liberated Tatooine from Imperial control. Following the gang's final victory at Fort Ironhand, Organa sent the gang a congratulatory holo message.[64]
The Dragon Void Run
- "Don't give up hope just yet. If there's one thing I'm sure of... Han Solo is a survivor. And he'll survive this."
- ―Leia Organa to Airen Cracken
Some time after the outpost was established on Reamma, Organa sent rebel operatives Adame and Selentia after Solo and Chewbacca with a specific mission in mind for the smugglers. Leia sent a holographic message to Solo, telling him that the Alliance needed his ship and that there would be a reward.[65]
Rejecting the idea, Han confronted Leia on a rebel frigate. The two argued about the fact that she wanted to use his ship. As the duo continued to argue as they made their way through a hallway, General Airen Cracken, the head of Security and Intelligence for the Rebel Alliance, intercepted them. Cracken was unsure about Solo and the mission in general. Organa, however, vouched for him, even telling the general that he could do the mission himself. Although Cracken was hesitant, he agreed with Leia. They informed Solo of the mission, which was to find rebel informants, find a mole within the ranks, and prevent them from being murdered. They told him of the legendary Dragon Void Run, a dangerous race that made its way to three planets, all which had a rebel informant on them. Due to the race's legendary status, Solo agreed. In order to make his reason for leaving convincing, Leia punched Han in the face, telling him to never come back. Solo and his co-pilot left the Alliance frigate and made their way to the race.[65]
When Solo and Chewbacca arrived on the first planet, Solo was promptly arrested by Imperial authorities. Organa and Cracken watched this on a viewscreen. Although Cracken thought the mission was compromised, Leia called Han a "survivor," knowing that he could get out of this situation. Chewbacca, however, found the first informant, a Duros named Bot. However, Solo was let go by the Imperials and the race continued.[66]
Solo and Chewbacca continued the race and met another informant, Dorae, on the second planet. After making their way to the third planet, the duo found the final informant, an Elomin by the name of Aran, and his bodyguard, a Falleen named U'Il. When they left the third planet, everyone but the Elomin made their way to the cockpit. As Solo continued to race, the group found Aran murdered.[67] Through deduction, Han realized that it was Bot who had committed to crime under the influence of brainwashing. The Duros was subdued and the race was finished. Solo and Chewbacca brought the remaining informants back to the Alliance. It was revealed that the bodyguard U'Il was the informant carrying a master list with names the rebellion needed to keep safe. She gave the list to Organa. She and Solo talked about him staying with the rebellion longer than he initially thought he would.[68]
Tibrin
Leia and Luke then undertook a mission to Tibrin. Posing as diplomats from Naboo's House Berenko, Leia hoped to recruit the Ishi Tib to the Rebel Alliance.[69]
Hoth
- "Han, we need you!"
"We need?"
"Yes."
"Well, what about you need me?"
"I need? I don't know what you're talking about."
"You probably don't." - ―Leia Organa and Han Solo
Organa in Echo Base.
Three or so years later, Organa oversaw operations at the Rebellion's recently-established Echo Base on the ice planet of Hoth. Chewbacca was later missing. Organa and R2-D2 went looking for him in the corridors he was last seen. One of the doors appeared to have been severely damaged. Organa entered and found Chewbacca in the arms of a wampa. Organa woke the Wampa accidentally. As Chewbacca and R2-D2 tried to repair the door, Leia distracted the wampa. She ran out into the corridor. The wampa followed, but with her little droid's help, the door closed in on the wampa cave.[70]
Following a run-in with one of Jabba's bounty hunters in Ord Mantell, Solo bade farewell to General Carlist Rieekan and Organa, but her lack of honesty about her feelings angered him. Soon enough, Solo set out to find a missing Skywalker during the night, worrying Organa, but was soon relieved when they returned to the base. However, as an Imperial probe droid had alerted Vader and the Imperial fleet of their location, arriving soon on Hoth, Organa helped coordinate the ensuing evacuation, giving instructions to pilots,[71] and signaled the ships to leave the planet.[72] Once the base was overrun by Imperial ground forces, Organa and C-3PO were forced to escape Hoth aboard the Millennium Falcon with Solo and Chewbacca.[71]
Escaping the Empire
- "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."
- ―Han Solo
Organa and Solo's first kiss.
With a damaged hyperdrive, the Falcon was unable to leave the system and escape the Imperial blockade, which prompted Solo to pilot the ship into a nearby asteroid field, hoping that the Imperials would be unwilling to follow them, to repair the ship in the cave of an asteroid of great size. Organa helped in repairing the ship, when Solo appeared; drawing himself closer to her before both ended up in a passionate kiss that lasted until C-3PO's arrival. Organa withdrew and walked away, conflicted. Afterwards, Organa would reflect upon what happened in the cockpit when the ship was attacked by mynocks.[71]
Rushing to shoo them away, Organa, Solo and Chewbacca exited the ship, but Solo quickly realized that they were in fact inside of something else than a cave. Narrowly escaping the inside of a exogorth residing inside the asteroid, the Millennium Falcon was once again pursued by Imperial forces. Unable to make the jump to hyperspace due to unfinished repairs, Solo decided to land on the back of the command bridge of the Avenger, shutting down all systems to avoid detection. The plan worked exactly as planned; as the Imperial fleet prepared to exit the Anoat system, Solo detached the ship from the hull. With a faulty hyperdrive, the group decided to go to the Bespin system, where an old acquaintance of Solo, Lando Calrissian, owned a mining colony. However, they were unaware that they were being tracked by Boba Fett, one of the mercenaries hired by Vader to locate them.[71]
Cloud City
- "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us, among the clouds."
- ―Lando Calrissian
Arriving on Bespin, Organa and the others were greeted by Calrissian. He agreed to repair the hyperdrive of the Millennium Falcon, and in the meantime, Organa and the others stayed at Cloud City. However, unbeknownst to them, Calrissian had made a deal with Vader to hand over the rebels in exchange for non-interference from the Empire. Captured by Vader, where the Dark Lord awaited for Skywalker's arrival, Leia and the others were taken to a carbon-freezing facility, where Solo was to be frozen in carbonite to test if the chambers were suitable for trapping Skywalker. As the smuggler was lowered into the freezing pit, Organa's parting words were "I love you," to which Solo responded "I know." (Listen ).[71]
Organa senses Skywalker's distress.
On their way to Vader's ship, Organa caught sight a recently-arrived Skywalker and tried to warn him, but she, Chewbacca and C-3PO were taken away by Imperial forces. Before long, Calrissian betrayed Vader by disarming the stormtroopers with the help of his men, setting the Rebels free. Though Chewbacca almost strangled Calrissian, Organa let him live when he told them of Solo's location at East Platform. With R2-D2 joining them, they attempted to save the frozen Solo from being taken away by Boba Fett, but they were too late—the bounty hunter had already left on the Slave I with Solo, all the while Skywalker dueled Vader until he lost his right hand and lightsaber, and learned of his connection to the Dark Lord as father and son.[71]
Jumping down a shaft, Skywalker eventually ended up hanging on an weather scanner vane below Cloud City and called Organa out of instinct. The princess, who was escaping aboard the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO and Calrissian, sensed Skywalker's presence through the Force, and they turned around to retrieve Skywalker on her insistence. Once they rescued Skywalker, the ship was chased by TIE/LN starfighters into orbit and confronted by the Executor. Thanks to the astromech droid, the hyperdrive worked and the Falcon managed to escape the Imperial threat. They soon rendezvoused with part of the Rebel fleet, where Organa accompanied a recovered Skywalker—who had received a prosthetic hand—and watched as Calrissian and Chewbacca left to find Solo aboard the Millennium Flacon.[71]
Operation Yellow Moon
- "You make the Alliance proud every day. By representing our cause—and by doing your duty. But duty won't give you comfort, Leia—and you need that. We all do. The comfort of friends—and of love. You were Bail and Breha's greatest joy, Leia—the love you shared was what sustained them through the dark years. Don't deny yourself another chance at love because of what the Empire did to them. Don't give Palpatine that victory, too."
- ―Mon Mothma, encouraging Organa not to give up her love for Solo
Following Mothma and the Rebel leadership's order to scatter the fleet, Organa and C-3PO were on Captain Volk Aymeric's Nebulon-B frigate, the Remembrance, when the ship and the rest of the convoy were attacked by TIE fighters; despite the Ranolfo’s critical condition, Aymeric was forced to abandon them in order to protect Organa. She was then informed that she had to rendezvous with the rest of the Alliance leadership on Zastiga, her transport pilots being Nien Nunb and Lieutenant Ematt. On the Mellcrawler, they reached the planet, wherein Organa was greeted by R2-D2 and Skywalker, who told her that Calrissian was attempting to infiltrate Jabba's Palace to acquire more information on Solo's location, just before escorting her to the top clearance meeting.[10]
Meeting with Alliance High Command.
During the gathering, Organa and the Generals were informed of the construction of the second Death Star, located over Endor—which, they knew, had to be destroyed before it became operational. After swearing to secrecy, Organa was escorted by Skywalker to her quarters, where she devised a strategy to present at the meeting the day after—Operation Yellow Moon—to divert the Imperial attention to her, instead of the upcoming mission to Endor. After a confidential exchange with Mothma, Organa was allowed to take part in the mission, her crew consisting of Nien Nunb, Kidi Aleri, Antrot and Major Lokmarcha.[10]
They soon reached Basteel's capital, Eladro City, where she met with Bon Yoth to know where to place the first hyper-transceiver—in the cave system above his house. Successful in their ordeal, but now tailed by Khione and her Shieldmaiden, they continued onto the Sesid system, where they placed another transceiver in a volcanic island on Sesid but were soon chased by Imperials until the intervention of Aurelant and his Draedan pirates on the Daggadol. Thanks to his maneuver to get them off-planet on Sesid's special escape pods, they made their way to Jaresh, where they met with Nyessa, placed the last transceiver and took part of the Riot on Jaresh, after which the Shieldmaiden tried and failed to hail the Mellcrawler.[10]
Prisoner of the Shieldmaiden
With her team's support, Organa decided to change the operation, and decided to warn any incoming Rebel ships to abandon the place. Once in the rendezvous point on Galaan's orbit, they warned the Sapphire Rogue and other ships before being caught in the Shieldmaiden’s tractor beam. Forced to board the Star Destroyer, Lokmarcha and Antrot sacrificed themselves to allow her, Aleri and Nunb's escape on the shuttle Tydirium, just as the Rebel ships from the rendezvous helped destroy the Shieldmaiden with cover fire.[10]
With Aleri's help, Organa then contacted Skywalker, who informed her that most of the fleet was nearly assembled, and that Solo was still frozen in carbonite in Jabba's palace. They arranged a rendezvous on Kothlis, where he would inform her of his plan to rescue Solo.[10] Although Mothma tried to talk Organa out out of the dangerous plan,[17] they nevertheless carried on with it.[9]
Solo's rescue
- "We have powerful friends. You're gonna regret this."
- ―Leia Organa, to Jabba the Hutt
Organa watches as Skywalker tries to reason with Jabba.
Following Calrissian, R2-D2 and C-3PO's infiltration at Jabba's Palace to rescue Solo, Organa (posing as bounty hunter Boushh) arrived with Chewbacca as her "prisoner" to collect part of the bounty Jabba had put a price on Solo's head. After much bargaining (including Organa threatening Jabba with a thermal detonator), the Hutt settled on a deal, and had Chewbacca imprisoned. Later that night, Organa released Solo from his carbonite coffin, only to be caught by the Hutt and his minions,[9] prompting her to use her armor to signal Skywalker and Calrissian that she had been caught.[17] Ignoring Solo's pleas, Jabba had him thrown in prison with Chewbacca, and forced Organa into becoming his slave; wearing a demeaning outfit, Organa was collared and chained to Jabba's throne to stay with him at all times.[9]
A couple of days later, Organa watched as Skywalker tried to bargain with the crime lord for his friends' liberation and was thrown into a pit with a rancor. Surviving his ordeal, Jabba ordered for Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca to be taken to the Dune Sea where they would executed in Great Pit of Carkoon and eaten alive by the sarlacc over the course of a thousand years. On the Khetanna, Organa was allowed to leave the Hutt's side momentarily to see as his friends were executed, and she patiently waited until Skywalker started retaliating with his new lightsaber. She destroyed the barge's controls to throw the vessel into darkness and jumped over Jabba's tail.[9]
Organa chokes Jabba the Hutt to his death.
Grabbing the slack of the very chain with which Jabba had enslaved her, Organa threw its length around the crime lord's huge neck, braced her legs against his back, and leaned back hard while pulling the chain, slowly but forcefully strangling him to death. R2-D2 then broke her chain and they headed for the top surface of the sail barge, where the astromech droid and C-3PO jumped off the vehicle's edge and Organa met with Skywalker. Pointing the guns toward the heart of the vehicle, the two began the barge's destruction together and swinged to the skiff where Calrissian, Chewbacca and Solo awaited for them. Picking the two droids, they drove the skiff off just as the Khetanna exploded.[9]
Endor
- "Luke, don't talk that way. You have a power that I don't understand and can never have."
"You're wrong, Leia. You have that power, too. In time, you will learn to use it as I have. The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And… my sister has it. Yes. It's you, Leia." - ―Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker
Organa later departed for Sullust with the rest of the crew (except for Skywalker and R2-D2) aboard the Millennium Falcon to reunite with the rest of the Rebel Alliance's fleet, assembling for its greatest operation yet—the assault on the second Death Star, located in the Endor system.[9] During the briefing, she volunteered for Solo's ground assault to deactivate the deflector shield protecting the space station, as did Chewbacca and Skywalker (and his droids).[9] Before the mission, Mothma tried to talk some sense into Organa, in behalf of her deceased parents, even though she knew that Organa would refuse to listen to her advice.[17]
Organa meets the Ewok, Wicket, on Endor.
Aboard the Tydirium, the team managed to land on the moon, as willed by Vader, well aware of his son's presence on the shuttle. Making their way through the forest, they came across Imperial scout troopers whom Organa and Skywalker pursued on a stolen speeder bike. Though they took care of the troopers, the two were separated as Organa was thrown off her speeder and knocked unconscious. An Ewok, Wicket, woke her up and Organa quickly befriended him. Though they were discovered by other two scouts, Organa and Wicket managed to get rid of them.[9] While on their way to Wicket's home, the Bright Tree Village, they came across two other Ewoks who were had been stopped by two stormtroopers. Wicket climbed a nearby tree in order to trap the stormtroopers in a vine, which he did successfully with help from Organa. When Organa, Wicket, and the two other Ewoks arrived at Bright Tree Village, they presented her with a dress as a gift for helping them escape the stormtroopers.[73]
After a few hours, she realized that her friends were to become a banquet in C-3PO's honor, whom the Ewoks thought to be their god. She tried to intervene, but they threatened her with spears. They were only freed after Skywalker used the Force to levitate the protocol droid as a proof of his deific "magic" to the tribe. Later that night, Organa listened as C-3PO told the Ewoks their story, prompting Chief Chirpa to proclaim them a part of the tribe.[9]
Organa learns the truth of her parentage.
It was then that Skywalker decided the time had come for him to leave his friends and face Vader, and Organa followed him out of the tribal gathering and asked him what was troubling him. Skywalker then revealed that not only was Vader his father but hers as well, and that he was her brother, something she had somehow always known; he then left the village to face the Sith lord in combat alone. Solo then appeared to question Organa, and became jealous of Skywalker, but soon apologized and comforted her.[9]
The next day, Organa fought alongside the rest of the team in the battle that followed their initial infiltration at the shield generator and subsequent capture by Imperial reinforcements. While the Ewoks provided a distraction long enough for them to take ahold of their position at the doors, Organa was injured with a blaster wound and Solo confessed his love when she protected him from two stormtroopers. With Chewbacca's stolen All Terrain Scout Transport, they tricked the officers into letting them enter and destroy the shield generator, which in turn allowed Calrissian and Nunb, along with Antilles, to fly into the Death Star's core and destroy it from the inside.[9]
Organa with Han Solo after the Battle of Endor.
In the aftermath, Solo reassured Organa that Skywalker had surely survived, but she already knew it, as she felt her brother's presence through the Force. Solo told her he would not interfere in their relationship, but Organa informed Solo that Skywalker was her brother, and they shared a kiss. Afterwards, they arranged for the Alliance to join them at Bright Tree Village, where they celebrated their victory, and where Skywalker ultimately reunited with them.[9] Soon after this, during the celebrations on Endor, Organa tried to discourage their Ewok allies from eating captured stormtroopers, and so she sent for Solo and Chewbacca to meet with General Hera Syndulla to gather food rations from her. Syndulla agreed but Solo had to admit that the Ghost was a better ship than the Millennium Falcon, and Solo reluctantly agreed. When Solo and Chewbacca returned with the food portions, Organa eased Solo by stating that the Millennium Falcon was the better ship, and distributed the food portions to the Ewoks.[74]
Later, Leia and Han had a small wedding ceremony that was attended by those they trusted. They did not keep the ceremony a secret but did not make it publicly known.[75]
New Republic
- "Be patient. Be strong. Fight back where you can. The Imperial war machine falls apart one gear, one gun, one stormtrooper at a time. The New Republic is coming. And we want your help to finish the fight."
- ―Leia Organa's holovid
Naboo
Twenty days after the Battle of Endor, following the Beltire Liberation and the Battle of Cawa City, in the company of Lieutenant Shara Bey, Organa was tasked by Mothma to conduct a diplomatic mission to Naboo—to recruit the assistance of the old Republic member in restoring the Senate and founding the New Republic. Her first return to Naboo in years, they were greeted by Governor Donta Gesset on behalf of Queen Sosha Soruna. Led into the Theed Royal Palace, the Queen eagerly accepted Organa's invitation. It was then that a planet-wide blackout, with all orbital sensors jammed, was caused by Imperial climate disruption arrays, as part of Operation: Cinder, spearheaded by Lerr Duvat.[76]
Organa saving Shara Bey above Naboo.
Alerted by Captain Korro, Bey and Organa correctly surmised that it was the work of the Imperial remnant, and asked for pilots and ships. The demilitarization of Naboo years before, however, forced them to use N-1 starfighters left in the palace that dated back to the Invasion of Naboo thirty-six years before, and to manually pilot the ships without the assistance of astromech droids. Momentarily sensing a dark presence, this being Darth Maul, Organa volunteered for the mission, while the Security Forces evacuated the city. Alongside Soruna and Bey, she set out to destroy the Imperial satellites, with Bey acting as a distraction for the incoming TIE/LN fighters.[77]
During the battle, Organa saved Bey. They were, in turn, saved from a new wave of TIE fighters by Calrissian and Nunb on the Mellcrawler II and by other ships of the Rebel Fleet, which had been alerted of Operation: Cinder after an assault on a ISB black site. Just as Soruna destroyed the last of the satellites, the fleet destroyed Duvat's Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Torment, saving Naboo and letting Organa and Bey reunite with Solo and Kes Dameron, respectively.[77]
However, the surviving Imperials were still intent on carrying out Operation: Cinder and the rebels were forced to protect the city of Theed from them. Leia devised a plan to vanquish the Imperials by triggering an ion pulse, a security system installed years prior and which would deactivate all weapons and vehicles outside the Theed Royal Palace. However, the power relays necessary to activate it had been damaged and needed repairing. Joined by Danger Leader Shriv Suurgav and recent Imperial defectors Iden Versio and Del Meeko, Leia took Del and together the two teams managed to restore power. Leia then took up a position on the front lines and ordered all rebel forces to fall back to the palace as the pulse was detonated, rendering all Imperial tech useless and saving the day. After the battle was over, Leia revealed that she knew both Iden and Del were members of Inferno Squad, a unit which had caused more than a bit of trouble for the rebellion in the past. However, she surmised that fighting the Empire meant something to both of them and formally welcomed them into the New Republic after they expressed a desire to fight for the right side.[78]
A few months later, shortly before a Imperial emergency summit on Akiva, Organa recorded a propaganda holovid to announce the destruction of the second Death Star, the death of Emperor Palpatine, and the birth of the New Republic to the whole galaxy, encouraging people to contribute to the defeat of the Empire.[11]
Balancing family and service
Following the rebellion on Akiva, Princess Leia served as a Senator in the reconstituted Galactic Senate in Chandrila's Hanna City. As Senator, Leia arranged for the wrecked pieces of the second Death Star to be diverted to the Alderaan Flotilla, which used them to build a space station that became their new home. Knowing that her husband Han and his co-pilot Chewbacca had undertaken a campaign to liberate to Kashyyyk, Leia tried unsuccessfully to marshal support in the Galactic Senate for troops and ships to free the planet. However, the New Republic was too preoccupied with fighting the Empire and holding on to liberated worlds.[75]
While her husband Solo had received information from the smuggler Imra that the Empire had reduced their military presence on Kashyyyk, Leia warned that Imra could not be trusted. Leia's warnings proved to be right when Han and Chewbacca stumbled onto a trap on Kashyyyk. While Han managed to escape, Chewbacca was captured and locked inside the automated prison of Ashmead's Lock. Han later contacted Leia while traveling on the edge of Wild Space. Their conversation was interrupted when Han came under attack from Imperial forces.[75]
Despite the family crisis with Han, Leia accompanied Chancellor Mon Mothma on a secret meeting with the Imperial Grand Vizier Mas Amedda on the ocean planet of Velusia. When a dejected Amedda offered to surrender, Chancellor Mothma and Princess Leia rejected his offer and ordered him to find a way to secure the Galactic Empire's surrender. After returning to Chandrila, Leia requested an audience with the New Republic starfighter pilot Norra Wexley. When the New Republic military refused to help her find Solo, Norra resigned from the Navy and embarked on a mission to find Han with her son Temmin Wexley, his B1 battle droid Mister Bones, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, and Devaronian bounty hunter Jas Emari, and the New Republic soldier Jom Barell.[75]
Princess Leia later attended a high-level New Republic meeting with Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, and the advisers Hostis Ij and Auxi Kray Korbin to discuss the war effort. Though Leia was frustrated with the endless bickering within the New Republic leadership, she regarded it as a lesser evil to the dictatorial rule of the late Darth Sidious. While meditating with a potted plant from Endor, Leia receives a revelation that her unborn child would be a boy, a fighter, and an angel.[75]
Following the successful New Republic capture of the planet Kuat and the vital Kuat Drive Yards, Princess Leia contacted Admiral Ackbar by hologram to congratulate his victory. They were then joined by Chancellor Mothma, who informed them that she had been contacted by Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, the leader of the Galactic Empire. With the Empire facing defeat, Grand Admiral Sloane agreed to participate in bilateral peace talks on Chandrila. While Leia was skeptical that Sloane was the mysterious Operator, she reluctantly joined her comrades in accepting Sloane's offer.[75]
Liberation of Kashyyyk
Later, Princess Leia and Chancellor Mon Mothma received the liberated rebel prisoners from Ashmead's Lock, who had been freed by Norra and her team. While at Hanna City Spaceport, Leia asked Norra about her husband Han. Norra reassured the Princess that Solo and Chewbacca were safe but that they had stayed behind on Kashyyyk to free the Wookiees. Unknown to Leia and Mothma, the prisoners were part of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax's plot to assassinate the New Republic military and political leadership on Chandrila. Rax, who was the Operator, had secretly fitted the prisoners with inorganic bio-chips that would allow him to remotely control their actions.[75]
A month later, the Galactic Senate accepted Rae Sloane's offer for bilateral peace talks between the Republic and the Empire. Chancellor Mothma timed the peace talks to take place after Liberation Day, a public holiday held to celebrate the rescue of the Ashmead's Lock prisoners. Sympathetic to the plight of the enslaved Wookiees, Leia tried to lobby the Chancellor into sending military forces to liberate Kashyyyk. However, Mon Mothma refused to launch an official incursion to avoid jeopardizing the upcoming peace talks. When Mothma offered to negotiate the liberation of Kashyyyk with Sloane, Leia insisted that the freedom and dignity of the Wookiees was non-negotiable.[75]
Prior to the Liberation Day celebrations, Leia received news from the New Republic slicer Conder Kyl that a New Republic probe droid in the Kashyyyk system had intercepted of the Imperial Grand Moff of Kashyyyk Lozen Tolruck ordering the Star Destroyers orbiting Kashyyyk to bombard the planet after the Wookiees had revolted enmase. Wanting to rescue her husband and Chewie, Leia convinced the Alderaanian pilot Evaan Verlaine to fly as her co-pilot aboard the Millennium Falcon to Kashyyyk. This timely decision saved her from being assassinated by Rax's unwilling agents.[75]
Leia later contacted Captain Wedge Antilles via hologram to request the help of his squadron on Kashyyyk. Upon arriving in Kashyyyk, Leia's ship the Millennium Falcon and Phantom Squadron flew rings around the Imperial Star Destroyers Dominion, Vitiator, and Neutralizer. Their starships were soon reinforced by Admiral Ackbar's flagship Home One. Solo and his team managed to hijack the Dominion and use it to destroy the Vitiator. As a result, the Neutralizer surrendered to the New Republic, ending Imperial rule on Kashyyyk.[75]
Leia then had an emotional reunion with her husband aboard the Dominion's hangar bay. After exchanging jokes about rescuing each other, the couple reaffirmed their love for each other. When Solo asked about naming their baby, Leia insisted that their child was not a bandit and called him an angel. The couple then kissed. Later on Kashyyyk, Leia and Han farewelled their friend Chewbacca, who stayed behind on his homeworld to reunite with his family. After learning of the recent attack on Chandrila, the couple returned to the capital with Wedge in tow.[75]
Later, Princess Leia gave Norra and her team her personal and financial backing during their hunt for Grand Admiral Sloane, whom they believed was responsible for the attack on Chandrila. Due to her actions at Kashyyyk, Leia had become a political pariah with the New Republic establishment. While the New Republic was no longer offering bounties for Imperial fugitives, she still vowed to do everything that was necessary to help her new-found friends.[75]
Tidings from Jakku
Several months later, Leia was heavily pregnant and expecting child. She was tended to by a protocol droid called T-2LC ("Elsie"), who served as her nanny and called her "Mum." At the advice of Doctor Harter Kalonia, Han bought his wife jogan fruits. While talking with her husband about political developments in the wider galaxy, the two received news via hologram from Norra Wexley that the Imperial fugitive Grand Admiral Sloane had fled to the barren Inner Rim world of Jakku. Leia encouraged Norra to continue her investigation but to be careful.[79]
Norra and her team traveled to Jakku where they discovered that most of the Galactic Empire had relocated there. While Norra, Jas Emari, and Mister Bones infiltrated Jakku, Sinjir and Temmin returned to Chandrila with news about the Imperial presence. After receiving Sinjir and Temmin, Leia contacted Chancellor Mothma and told her to come to her domicile. After Mothma had questioned Temmin and Sinjir, Leia defended their mission. Chancellor Mothma responded that the New Republic was responsible for hunting Sloane, not Princess Leia and her friends. However, Mothma praised Leia for her efforts to liberate Jakku.[79]
Leia opined that the New Republic had the chance to end the war now that the Empire was gathered on Jakku. Chancellor Mothma agreed to raise the matter with the Galactic Senate but decided to send a fact finding mission first. Unknown to Leia, Mothma's political rival Senator Tolwar Wartol had installed a listening device inside T-2LC. Seeking to discredit Chancellor Mothma, Wartol leaked information about the Imperial presence on Jakku to the media. Later, Leia and Han allowed Temmin and Sinjir to borrow the Millennium Falcon and travel to Jakku. However, Wartol sent guards to stop them from leaving in an effort to sow discord among Mothma's allies.[79]
War's end
While watching the morning news with her husband, Leia and Han saw Senator Wartol informing the media about the Imperial presence on Jakku. After meeting with Sinjir and reassuring him that they had not double-crossed him and Temmin, Leia shared Sinjir's assessment that there was a listening device inside her domicile. Sinjir enlisted the services of his lover Conder, who was a slicer that had previously helped Leia. Conder found a listening device inside T-2LC and Solo managed to remove it. Leia and Solo promptly informed Chancellor Mothma, who went to confront Senator Wartol.[79]
Leia and her unborn child stayed behind on Chandrila while Han, Sinjir, Temmin, Conder, and Jom Barell undertook an undercover mission on Nakadia, the new capital of the New Republic. The five investigated five senators who had opposed Chancellor Mothma's resolution to send New Republic forces to Jakku. They subsequently uncovered a conspiracy by the Black Sun and Red Key crime syndicates to prolong the Galactic Civil War by bribing and coercing the senators. Han and his team managed to foil the conspiracy by rescuing Senator Nim Tar's child. Sinjir then posed as an adviser to the Chancellor and offered them pardons and political favors if they changed their votes. This ploy worked and the New Republic dispatched military forces to Jakku, beginning the final battle of the Galactic Civil War.[79]
While awaiting her husband's return, Leia found that she could sense her unborn son through the Force. She likened his presence to a pulsing living band of light. Sometimes that light dimmed and other times it was thrust through a vein of darkness. Leia also found that her son could sense her emotions. After Solo returned from Nakadia, the couple talked about the Battle of Jakku. When Solo remarked that it felt weird staying back, Leia reassured him that they had their own adventure and were seeing the start of a new era. Leia then felt her baby turn inside her again, troubled by something she could not feel and understand.[79]
With the Battle of Jakku turning in the New Republic's favor, Chancellor Mothma received a peace overture from Grand Vizier Mas Amedda. Leia along with Chancellor Mothma and her new advisers attended the surrender ceremony which took place on the crystal cliffs north of Hanna City, under an ancient tintolive tree. Leia watched as the Chancellor and Grand Vizier signed the Imperial Instruments of Surrender and the Galactic Concordance, which formally ended the Galactic Civil War and facilitated the Empire's surrender. During the signing, Leia entered into the third hour of her labor. However, she only told Han after the ceremony. They then rushed off to the birthing chamber at the heart of Hanna City.[79]
Motherhood
- "I just never should have sent him away. That's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both."
- ―Leia Organa to Han Solo, on their son, Ben
Organa with her husband and their infant son, Ben
Leia gave birth to her son Ben Solo on the day the Empire surrendered to the New Republic. Leia and Han were visited by several friends and families. There were rumors that her brother Luke visited before departing on an untold mission. Others claimed that his absence was conspicuous. Stories of Ben's birth circulated within the public sphere. One story claimed that the Princess underwent three entire days of labor. Another tale claimed that it was a fast and painless birth: with Leia merely needing to calm herself and meditate to make the moment as untroubled as a mountain lake. Other stories claimed that her son was born with a full shock of black hair and a full set of teeth. Leia found Ben to be a normal baby who went through the normal range of emotions.[79] As Ben grew, he shared his mother's Force sensitivity. However, he struggled with the dark side. Organa sent her son to train under her brother, as Skywalker had begun to rebuild the Jedi Order, in the hope that he would learn to control his obsession.[6]
New Republic senator
An unlikely ally
- "I don't have time for a conversation about galactic politics with someone so profoundly ignorant of their greater implications."
"Nor do I have time to discuss these matters with someone so intolerant of other points of view." - ―Leia and Casterfo exchanging views about the Galactic Empire
Twenty-three years after the Battle of Jakku, Organa was a senator in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic on Hosnian Prime.[7] As she did in the Imperial senate, she represented the Alderaan sector in the Galactic Senate.[80] She was part of the Populists, a powerful, yet unofficial, political faction. The Populists believed that individual member planets should retain their full sovereignty, while the Centrists favored a stronger galactic government and a larger military. After Mon Mothma, former chancellor, left the office, the tension between the two factions began to threaten to cripple the Senate.[7]
During this period, Organa attended a dedication ceremony of a new statue of her father, Bail Organa, on Hosnian Prime. At this ceremony, Organa addressed the Senate and attempted to inspire the senators to stop bickering and begin to act. However, her efforts proved unsuccessful, further proving that the Senate was no longer effective. Losing faith that the government could function any longer, Organa resolved to quit as senator once her term was up.[7]
Following the ceremony, Leia met privately with the Centrist senator Lady Carise Sindian, who informed her that Lord Mellowyn, the Supreme governor of Birren had died without leaving any heirs. Since Mellowyn was a distant kinsman of her adopted father Bail Organa, Leia was his next in line to inherit the position per the rules of the Elder Houses. While Leia was not interested in matters relating to loyalty, Lady Carise wanted to preserve that tradition. Leia then reassured Lady Carise that she would have her staff to look into the matter immediately.[7]
Later during a session of the Senate, Organa was present when Yendor, a Twi'lek emissary from the planet Ryloth, appeared before the Senate to ask for help in investigating a Nikto cartel that was threatening his home planet. The cartel was run by a Kajain'sa'Nikto known as Rinnrivin Di, who operated from the planet Bastatha. After Yendor's request was made, the Senate began to debate whether Yendor's accusations were true and whether or not the Senate should act upon them. Feeling partially responsible that she was part of the government that allowed this to happen, Senator Organa volunteered herself to personally investigate Rinnrivin Di's cartel on Bastatha. She was pleased to think that she would see some action again before she retired, until Senator Ransolm Casterfo, the junior senator from the Centrist planet Riosa, suggested that the investigation to be bipartisan and volunteered himself to accompany Organa.[7]
Soon after the session of the Senate ended, Organa went to visit Casterfo in his office; contrary to senatorial protocol where he would be expected to visit her in the morning. Upon her visit, Casterfo welcomed Organa into his office, which she discovered to be full of Imperial memorabilia. Disgusted by his infatuation with the Empire, Organa and Casterfo entered a heated debate where Casterfo showed his support not for Palpatine, but the dream of the Empire, and that he wished that the Empire had been reformed under better leadership. Organa began to argue that Palpatine was not the only problem with the Empire, and that he had only been a child while she was fighting in the war. Organa then left Casterfo's office, the two of them agreeing that C-3PO and the rest of Organa's staff would make arrangements for their trip to Bastatha at another time.[7]
Mission to Bastatha
- "Rinnrivin Di, I presume?"
"Princess Leia Organa. I apologize for your unorthodox journey here. However, I thought you unlikely to accept a straightforward invitation" - ―Leia's first meeting with Rinnrivin Di
A few days later, Organa and Casterfo, along with Leia's chief of staff Greer Sonnel, 16-year-old office intern Korr Sella, X-wing pilot Joph Seastriker, and C-3PO, began to prepare their trip to Bastatha. The trip on board Organa's personal ship the Mirrorbright was an awkward one, as Casterfo and Organa attempted to avoid each other after their confrontation in Casterfo's office earlier. However, by the time they reached the planet, Castefo apologized for being insensitive to Organa's personal experiences in the war, and they agreed to leave the past in the past so that they could do what they came to do.[7]
Organa and Casterfo remained civil with each other as they exited the Mirrorbright to greet the local authorities, and they were welcomed to Bastatha by Nikto Magistrates Tosta and Xun. The senators and their staff were all welcomed to dinner, and they were taken to a luxurious casino. The group was offered a splendid meal, but Organa insisted on playing her hand in a game of Sabacc. The Niktos believed that she would likely lose some money in the challenging game, however Organa, having learned the game from the best, intended to impress her hosts with her cunning rather than her decorum.[7]
While Leia's actions won the favor of her Nikto hosts, Ransolm was uncomfortable with his colleague for fraternizing with what he regarded as "lowlives." During their time at the casino, Leia noticed a party of visitors from the planet Daxam IV. One of the party was an elderly woman who appeared to be watching her while trying to remain unnoticed. After exiting the casino, Organa and Casterfo argued about her style of fraternizing with constituents and the alleged "terrorist" activities of the Rebel Alliance. Later, Leia received news from Greer that a "business delegation" was coming to meet her.[7]
This "business delegation" turned out to be a party of kidnappers sent by Rinnrivin himself. Without firing shots, Rinnrivin's underlings spirited Organa away on a hoversled for a private audience with Rinnrivin at his underground headquarters. The crime lord attempted to ingratiate himself with the New Republic senator by serving vintage Toniray wine from Alderaan and presenting a holocube of her killing Jabba; an act which had won her the respect of the Nikto species who called her "Huttslayer." However, Leia rebuffed Rinnrivin's attempts to bribe her into persuading the New Republic to ease its ban on the sale of illegal spices.[7]
Organa's meeting with Rinnrivin was interrupted by Casterfo, who had managed to track her down using a tracking device he had planted in her cloak. Following a brief scuffle with Rinnrivin's guards, the two senators escaped on a hoversled and managed to alert the Bastatha authorities. Rinnrivin and his henchmen escaped before the Bastatha security forces could secure his underground lair. However, Leia and her team managed to find information about Rinnrivin's operations including his funnelling of funds to shadow corporations in the Outer Rim. They suspected that Rinnrivin was part of a larger criminal network.[7]
First Senator and the Napkin Bombing
Following their return from Bastatha, Organa and Casterfo addressed the Galactic Senate and called for further investigations into Rinnrivin's cartel. Their speeches were greeted by partisan infighting with the Populists accusing Casterfo of endangering Leia's life and the Centrists accusing Leia of withholding critical information. Later, Lady Carise took the floor to advocate the creation of "First Senator," a powerful position that would wield considerable power over the economy and military. While many senators distrusted Lady Carise's motives, Casterfo managed to sway the Senate into adopting the motion by pointing to the endemic deadlock in the New Republic. As a result, the Populist attempt to block the motion was defeated.[7]
While Organa and her Populist colleagues Tai-Lin Garr and Varish Vicly were dismayed by the results, they decided to change tactic by nominating a Populist for First Senator in order to prevent a Centrist from holding that position. Since Organa was considered a powerful and charismatic senator, Tai-Lin and Varish convinced her to run for First Senator. Despite her reluctance, Organa agreed to form an exploratory committee to consider the possibility at the urging of her staff including C-3PO, her aide Korrie, and her pilot Greer Sonnel. Leia later contacted her husband Han by hologram to discuss the recent developments. Though Han expressed disappointment, he understood her devotion to keeping the New Republic in one piece.[7]
A propaganda poster supporting Organa as First Senator.
The following day, Leia met with Lady Carise to conclude their discussion on the Supreme governorship of Birren. During the meeting, Leia revealed that she had been adopted by Bail and Breha Organa. Since Leia and her son Ben had little interest in inheriting the governorship, Leia agreed to support Lady Carise's claim to the title in return for keeping her parentage a secret. While conversing with Lady Carise, Organa admitted that the position of First Senator might not be such a bad idea. In addition, Leia dispatched Greer and the starfighter pilot Joph Seastriker to the watery planet Pamarthe to investigate whether Rinnrivin was hiring pilots from there. Instead, the two Republic pilots learned that Rinnrivin was hiring a shadowy militia group known as the Amaxine warriors, who operated from a base in the Centrist world of Daxam IV.[7]
Greer and Joph discussed their findings with Leia and noted that the Amaxines tended to operate in predominantly Centrist worlds. Suspecting that several Centrist senators were colluding with Rinnrivin's cartel, Organa decided to turn to Casterfo for help since she regarded him as the only Centrist she could trust. During a private dinner at Hosnian Prime's Hanging gardens, Organa discussed her concerns about the connection between the Amaxines and Rinnrivin's cartel with Casterfo and managed to convince the senator to visit Daxam IV. During the dinner, Casterfo confided in Leia and told her about his harsh childhood on Riosa which had led him to hate Darth Vader and the Emperor. In return, Leia told him about her torture at the hands of Vader but omitted to mention that the late Sith Lord was her father. As a result of this meeting, the two became unlikely friends.[7]
The following day, Leia and Tai-Lin met in the New Republic senatorial complex's banquet hall to discuss her planned nomination for First Senator. There, Leia discovered a hand-scribbled note with the word "RUN." Acting quickly, Leia managed to evacuate the senatorial complex's conference hall moments before a bomb destroyed half of the building. While nobody was killed due to Leia's quick thinking, several senators and staff were wounded by the blast. Leia herself survived the bombing unscathed apart from some concussion. After receiving treatment for concussion, Leia transmitted a voice message for again to assure him that she was safe.[7]
Missions to Ryloth and Harloff Minor
Following the bombing, the Populists and Centrists began accusing each other of staging the bombing for political capital. Despite this bickering, Organa and Casterfo resolved to continue their investigation into Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxines. After news footage showing an alleged Twi'lek bomber, Leia decided to travel to Ryloth to search the planet's archives with C-3PO, Korrie, and Joph for information about Rinnrivin's cartel. Meanwhile, Casterfo and Greer would travel to Daxam IV to investigate the Amaxine presence there under the pretext of purchasing an old Imperial artifact from a local dealer.[7]
On Ryloth, Leia and her entourage were greeted by Emissary Yendor, a veteran of the Galactic Civil War who was familiar with the former rebel leader. In the Ryloth archives, Leia and her team discovered that Rinnrivin had been a lowly spice dealer who had risen to power under unusual circumstances in the past seven years. Leia and Korrie pondered whether Rinnrivin's sudden fortunes were connected to the Centrists. Later, Senator Organa attended a private dinner hosted by Yendor. In her absence, C-3PO, Joph and Korrie contacted Casterfo, who informed them about Rinnrivin's secret satellites above Ryloth. C-3PO managed to slicer into one of the satellites and discovered that Rinnrivin was hiding on the Expansion Region planet of Sibensko. While Leia was annoyed with Joph for acting without consulting her, she was pleased that he had pinned down Rinnrivin's location.[7]
After departing Ryloth, Leia and her team discovered that Rinnrivin was visiting the upmarket planet of Harloff Minor, which lay near the former galactic capital Coruscant. Seeking to question him, Leia delayed her return to Hosnian Prime and took the Mirrorbright to Harloff Minor. Organa and Rinnrivin met at a comfortable restaurant where they exchanged conversation. Rinnrivin denied any role in the "Napkin Bombing" and condemned the incident as a terrorist act. While Leia accepted Rinnrivin's compliment that she would make a worthy candidate for First Senator, she rebuffed his second attempt at bribery and also took the opportunity to return her "Huttslayer" holocube on the grounds that she did not need to be reminded of the past. However, Leia had secretly fitted the holocube with a transmitter to keep an eye on Rinnrivin's movements.[7]
Upon returning to Hosnian Prime, Organa learned that her colleague Varish was recovering from her injuries. She also received a hologram recording from her husband Han who informed her that he was heading to the fourth stage of the Five Sabers race. After listening to news reports of the Populist and Centrist media blaming each other for the Napkin Bombing, Leia chatted with her aide Korrie, who feared the collapse of the New Republic. Addressing Korrie and Joph, she theorized that the current infighting in the Senate could possibly lead to a schism. In private, Leia feared that another war was imminent.[7]
After Casterfo returned to Hosnian Prime later that night, the Senator briefed her about the Amaxine warriors he had encountered on Daxam IV. Casterfo explained that he had managed to gain the trust of the Amaxines and convince them that he was an Imperial sympathizer. He revealed that the Amaxine warriors had amassed considerable forces and starfighters in preparation for a war. Having determined that the Amaxines and Rinnrivin's cartel were connected, the two decided to investigate whether the Amaxine warriors were responsible for the Napkin Bombing. Rinnrivin also informed her that the Amaxines' main base was located on Sibensko, which was also Rinnrivin's hideout. Leia agreed to steer the official investigation into the Napkin Bombing into the "right direction" while Rinnrivin agreed to investigate whether his fellow Centrist counterparts were colluding with the Amaxines.[7]
Secret Revealed
With Leia's approval, Joph and Greer traveled to the seedy space station of Chrome Citadel to arrange a smuggling "cover job" to Sibensko, which had a reputation as a seedy place. Since Leia's nomination as the Populist candidate for First Senator was scheduled to take place within a few weeks, Organa began to make preparations for her trip to Sibensko. She discussed her travel plans with Senator Casterfo, who advised her that New Republic law prohibited them from using New Republic pilots and ships for illegal work such as traveling to a known criminal hub like Sibensko. Leia invited Casterfo to accompany her on this trip into order to give their mission more credibility in the eyes of the divided Galactic Senate.[7]
While Leia's friendship with Casterfo blossomed during this time, a major crisis emerged from an unexpected quarter. While visiting Birren, Lady Carise had uncovered a keepsake chest and a music box which revealed Leia's true parentage as the daughter of Darth Vader. As a clandestine agent of the First Order and a leading Centrist politician, Lady Carise saw an opportunity to both create a wedge between Casterfo and Leia and to destroy Organa's political credibility. Knowing Casterfo's hatred for Darth Vader, she informed Casterfo about Leia's parentage.[7]
Feeling betrayed by Leia, Ransolm upstaged the Senate hearing on Organa's nomination for First Senator by revealing her true parentage as Darth Vader's daughter. After Casterfo presented her keepsake chest and music box as evidence, Leia confirmed that she was indeed Darth Vader's daughter. This revelation turned much of the Galactic Senate with the exception of her friends Tai-Lin Garr and Varish Vicly against her and effectively destroyed her political career. After barricading herself and her staff in her senate office, Leia consoled herself by watching a holographic recording of her late adopted father Bail Organa. She then penned a message to her son to comfort him about the recent revelations concerning their family's ancestry.[7]
While Korrie stormed off in outrage at Leia's perceived indiscretion, C-3PO along with Joph and Greer remained loyal to her. Leia and her remaining team resolved to stop Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxine warriors. The following day, Leia marched into Casterfo's office and confronted her former friend. Casterfo responded that he had been a fool for sharing his most personal and painful life stories with Leia, never guessing that she was Vader's daughter. When Leia revealed that she had not shared her true parentage with her son, Casterfo pointed out that Ben was no longer a child but a man. After destroying one of Casterfo's glass display cases and knocking a noodle carton out of a servant droid's hands, Leia stormed out of Casterfo's office.[7]
After regaining her composure, Leia addressed the Galactic Senate to formally withdraw her nomination for First Senator and to seek permission for leave. She also took the opportunity to clarify her and her brother Luke Skywalker's origins as the offspring of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the man who had become Darth Vader. Organa also identified her birth mother as the late Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala. Following her speech, Lady Carise took the opportunity to cast doubt on Luke Skywalker's integrity since the Jedi Master had kept a low profile for many years. In response, Leia pointed out her brother's services for the Rebellion and the New Republic including his role in destroying the first Death Star.[7]
Fortunately for Leia, Tai-Lin Garr spoke in Luke's defense and reiterated that the New Republic did not blame children for the sins of their parents. While accepting the withdrawal of Leia's candidacy, he defended Leia's past record and stressed that she retained his personal friendship and support. The Senate then discussed her request to obtain a brief leave of absence from her duties. After some deliberation, the Senate reluctantly approved her request. Guilt-stricken over his actions, Ransolm did not oppose her request and remained silent throughout the deliberations. Leia and her team then made preparations to depart on a junker ship for Sibensko. Despite Greer succumbing to a bloodburn attack, the team was able to proceed with their mission.[7]
Mission to Sibensko
For their mission to Sibensko, Leia disguised herself as an indentured servant who wore heavy robe and veil. Greer and Joph posed as a Mandalorian and Ubese bounty hunter respectively while C-3PO pretended to be Leia's minder. The New Republic team docked their junker ship in an underwater city in Sibensko's southern axis. Using a tracker, Leia detected that Rinnrivin was somewhere in the underwater city. Upon landing, Leia and team discovered that they were transporting a cargo of detonators to Hosnian Prime. While Greer and Joph loaded the cargo, Leia and C-3PO headed into the city.[7]
The two managed to access a computer terminal in a cantina. C-3PO managed to download banking records proving that the Amaxine warriors had transferred billions of credits in start-up capital to Rinnrivin Di's cartel over the past seven years. In addition, C-3PO found that Rinnrivin was linked to nameless sources on Cetnrist worlds. Leia feared that the Amaxine warriors were planning a major military buildup or that a coalition of Centrist worlds was preparing for war. In addition, C-3PO uncovered information about a large Centrist base within the underwater city.[7]
Leia contacted Joph and informed him about the Amaxine military presence on Sibensko. She decided to send C-3PO back with his data to rendezvous with the pilots while she went to spy on the Amaxine military base. Since Joph and Greer were scheduled to depart in an hour, Organa planned to stay longer in order to spy on the Amaxines. C-3PO reluctantly left to return to the freighter. Before Leia could proceed further, she cornered by Rinnrivin and two of his bodyguards, who had managed to detect Leia's tracking device on his holocube. Since Leia had accessed classified information regarding his operations, the crime lord intended to kill the intruders.[7]
However, Leia shot one of the Nikto henchmen with her blaster and then targeted the central strut supporting the hydraulic tunnel above Rinnrivin; crushing the crimelord and his remaining bodyguard to death. Leia then reiterated her orders for Jophn and Greer to leave with C-3PO. Unknown to Leia, the Sibensko base served as the Amaxine warriors' headquarters and contained their entire army. Leia then took a lift down to the Amaxine base and discovered that it housed a squadron of starfighters. She then encountered six Amaxine warriors, who attempted to apprehend her. However, Organa fled up a landing platform that took her to the surface of the ocean.[7]
Shortly later, Leia was attacked by a Y-wing and B-wing starfighter. Before the Amaxine starfighters could finish her off, Han arrived in a modified racer and shot down the Y-wing. After boarding Han's racer, the wife and husband shot down the remaining B-wing fighter, which crashed into the underwater city's ammunition depot. This triggered a massive explosion that wiped out the entire Amaxine base and eliminated the Amaxines and Rinnrivin's cartel as threats to the New Republic. However, the explosion also destroyed much of the hard evidence on the two faction's financial records, which concealed their link to several Centrist senators and the First Order.[7]
Warning the New Republic
After returning to Hosnian Prime, Leia confided about the political fallout resulting from the revelations of her parentage to her husband Han Solo. While many of her former Populist allies had abandoned her for being Darth Vader's daughter, she expressed relief that Tai-Lin, Varish, and her former rebel comrades Ackbar, Nien Nunb, Lando, and Mon Mothma had stood by her. Leia also discussed her mixed feelings about Ransolm Casterfo's motives for betraying her. Solo advised his wife to resign from the Senate once her term was up and to join him traveling around the galaxy for a change. Leia then informed Han that she planned to address the Senate about her investigation into Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxines but that she needed to obtain a quorum.[7]
Due to the political fallout resulting from the revelations of her parentage, Leia struggled to obtain a quorum to address the Senate. However, Casterfo cast a deciding vote in her favor. Leia related this turn in fortunes to her husband, who was preparing to depart for the hyperspace championship round of the Five Sabers which had been postponed due to family commitments. After Han had left, Leia discussed her plan to address the Senate with her remaining friends Tai-Lin and Varish, who express suspicion about Ransolm's motives for voting in her favor. Tai-Lin then informed Leia that he was planning to stand as the Populist nominee for First Senator.[7]
The following day, Senator Organa briefed the Galactic Senate about her investigation into Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxine warriors. She revealed that Rinnrivin had been funding the Amaxine warriors, who were responsible for the Napkin Bombing. To back her testimony, Organa's chief of staff supplied each senator with an extensive data packet. Leia's testimony evoked finger-blaming between the Populists and Centrists. In addition, Organa submitted visual logs from her Sibensko mission and reported that Amaxine base had been destroyed during the firefight with the Amaxine fighters. When a senator accused her of justifying murder like her father, Leia warned the Senate that her investigation had foiled a conspiracy by the Amaxine warriors to wage war on the Republic. She warned that the Amaxine warriors were not the only threat to the New Republic and urged her colleagues to end their political bickering and not to let their views of her cloud the evidence.[7]
Leia's former friend Senator Casterfo then addressed the Senate to support her findings. He vouched for Senator Organa's integrity and then offered visual logs from his trip to Daxam Four, which showed the Amaxines' training facilities and some measure of their military might. He also testified that the Amaxine warriors advocated war and admired the "Old Empire." Casterfo's testimony vindicated Leia's findings and aroused several senators. Due to Casterfo's courage and selflessness, Casterfo regained Leia's respect. However, Casterfo's action earned the ire of Lady Carise, who was covertly working with the First Order to undermine the New Republic.[7]
Tying up loose knots
- "The sun is setting on the New Republic. It's time for the Resistance to rise."
- ―Leia Organa
The day after Senator Organa's final address to the Senate, Casterfo visited his former friend. The two reconciled with Casterfo praising her for her good work in the Sibensko mission. Ransolm then announced is intention to support further investigations into the Amaxines and Rinnrivin's cartel. While Leia did not thank him for supporting her testimony, she praised the junior senator for putting the greater good ahead of his own political faction and ambitions. She told Casterfo that he was the kind of politician that the galaxy needed. With Leia's political career at an end, she counselled Casterfo to work with other like-minded senators to prevent a war; even if it meant leaving the Centrists. Casterfo agreed to do his best to protect the Republic before departing.[7]
Ten days following her final speech to the Galactic Senate, Leia accompanied Tai-Lin Garr on his first campaign rally for the position of First Senator. While visiting one of Hosnian Prime's parks, Leia encountered her former aide Korr Sella, who apologized to the Senator for abandoning her. She offered to serve Organa again; a request which Leia accepted. While Tai-Lin was mingling with the crowd, Leia spotted Arliz Hadrassian, the woman she had earlier encounter on Bastatha and witnessed in Ransolm's holos of Daxam IV. Before Leia could react, Hadrassian assassinated Tai-Lin with a blaster. Before turning the blaster on herself, Hadrassian told the Senator that she was lucky that Hadrassian was thinking strategically.[7]
Following Tai-Lin Garr's assassination, the Galactic Senate unanimously declared an official period of mourning. Based on the data from Sibensko, both Populist and Centrist senators believed that Hadrassian was the mastermind behind the Napkin Bombing, Rinnrivin's rise, and the Amaxines. While most senators believed that Hadrassian's suicide ended the danger to the Republic, Leia disagreed and urged the authorities to investigate the source of Hadrassian's money; pointing out that a former Imperial soldier and small-time businesswoman could not bankroll an entire militia. During Tai-Lin Garr's memorial service, she raised the matter. However, her friend Varish was more concerned with mourning Tai-Lin Garr's loss.[7]
Two days after Tai-Lin Garr's assassination, Leia heard a news report that her friend Casterfo had been arrested for aiding Hadrassian and the Amaxine warriors. After consulting Greer, Organa ascertained that the Centrists had framed Casterfo by planting fake footage of him shaking hands with Hadrassian. Before Casterfo was deported to face imprisonment, trial, and sentencing on his homeworld Riosa, Leia spoke to him and offered to help her former friend. While Casterfo was pessimistic that her help would succeed, he apologized for breaching Leia's trust. In return, Leia apologized for initially assuming that he was an Imperial loyalist. Based on her final conversation with Casterfo, Leia determined that the Centrists were behind the recent crisis and were eliminating dissenters among their ranks.[7]
Before resigning as Senator, Leia took the opportunity to settle scores with Lady Carise for revealing her parentage and conspiring against Casterfo. On the grounds that Lady Carise had violated her oath to secrecy as Supreme Governor of Birren, Organa convinced the Elder Houses to strip the Lady of all her royal titles permanently. A smug Leia personally delivered the news to a distraught Carise and chastised the younger woman for her obsession with royalty and privilege. Later that evening, Leia organized a private meeting in the Senatorial complex hangar bay that was attended by several New Republic military personnel including Joph, Greer, Nien Nunb, Caluan Ematt, Admiral Ackbar, Dr Harter Kalonia, Snap Wexley, and Zari Bangel. With the Galactic Senate too preoccupied with petty squabbles to defend the New Republic, Leia announced the formation of a new paramilitary organization called the Resistance.[7]
Cold war
- "You are a symbol of the Resistance and an inspiration to all soldiers who follow our cause and do their duty in hard times."
- ―PZ-4CO, to Leia Organa
Organa in the Resistance command center.
Following the formation of the Resistance, Leia Organa became its leader and began to be addressed as General rather than Princess.[81] In the wake of the revelations about Leia and Luke's true parentage[7], her son Ben became obsessed with carrying on the legacy of Darth Vader, all the while under the influence of Snoke, Supreme Leader of the First Order. Ben took the name Kylo Ren, became a Knight of Ren and proceeded to murder his peers, all of Skywalker's Jedi students. Abandoning his former identity, Kylo Ren assumed a high-ranking position in the First Order, a remnant of the Old Empire. Each blaming themselves, Solo and Organa separated, whereas Skywalker went into exile, though Organa and Solo suspected he had gone to the first Jedi Temple. While General Organa continued leading the Resistance, her husband Han and Chewbacca resumed their smuggling operations.[6]
Prelude to Jakku
- "The problem with a reputation is that it can become a legend. Don't be deceived, Poe. I'm not a legend."
"You're not sitting where I'm sitting, General." - ―Leia Organa and Poe Dameron
As the brewing conflict against the First Order advanced, Organa was informed of the Rapier Squadron's involvement in a dogfight against First Order vessels over Suraz 4, in an attempt to protect the Yissira Zyde, which ultimately was captured by the First Order. Interested in any information about the Order, Organa traveled to the squadron's base of operations in order to meet the squadron's leader, Poe Dameron—who had gone to investigate the whereabouts of the NK-Witell-class freighter by himself and had ultimately located it at a First Order staging point in OR-Kappa-2722.[82]
When Dameron finished talking about the encounter, Organa noted that he had been very foolish, but his need to do what was right (partly to find adventure) and his piloting skills reminded Organa of her brother, and so, she offered Dameron the chance to join the Resistance. He accepted immediately, and in the following months, as he carried out missions for the Resistance,[82] Dameron became one of Organa's most-trusted operatives.[83] Eventually because of his skills and determination, Organa recruited him for Operation: Sabre Strike so that he would steal the Hevurion Grace (and its navicomputer data) from its owner, Hevurion senator and First Order sympathizer Erudo Ro-Kiintor.[82]
Search for Lor San Tekka
Organa sends Resistance pilot Poe Dameron on a mission to find Lor San Tekka, who she believes may lead them to Luke's whereabouts.
After he, Karé Kun and Iolo Arana managed to complete the mission despite the odds, Organa assigned C-3PO to see what he could get from the flight computers while she congratulated Dameron. Afterwards, as he rested, Organa analysed the information obtained from the Hevurion Grace. The following morning, she summoned Dameron to her office, and asked what he felt about the dilemma; when he remembered the hopelessness of the Imperial era that his parents had told him about. Thanks to him, she resolved to find her brother and restore hope to the galaxy. Organa then resolved to find Lor San Tekka, whom Organa believed held a clue to her brother's location.[82]
Following Operation: Sabre Strike, General Organa dispatched Poe Dameron on a quest to find the explorer Lor San Tekka. When Poe assured her that he knew what was at sake, she explained that he had grown up in a galaxy where the Empire had already been defeated and that he had only learnt about the Empire others. When Poe recounted his previous encounter with the First Order, the two agreed that the faction was not yet as powerful as the Old Empire. During the briefing, Organa praised Poe for intercepting information from the Hevurion Grace before it could reach Supreme Leader Snoke. She told Poe that they could not allow the First Order to find her brother Luke Skywalker at any cost.[84]
Leia told Poe that Tekka held the key to finding Skywalker and that she trusted him to accomplish the quest. For the quest, Leia allowed Poe to select a small squadron consisting of four more pilots and a technician. Leia believed that Poe would not run into trouble due to D'Qar's remote location. When Poe reassured her that he would pick good people, Leia warned him to be careful since she knew that missions could fall apart easily. For the quest, Poe handpicked his fellow Black Squadron pilots Temmin Wexley, Karé Kun, L'ulo L'ampar, Jessika Pava, and the technician Oddy Muva.[84]
For their first mission, Poe and his comrades traveled to the rocky planet Ovanis where Tekka had visited the Crèche cult years earlier. However, Poe was followed by the First Order Security Bureau Agent Terex.[85] With Leia's help, Poe and his comrades managed to bribe their way into Megalox prison on the high gravity world of Megalox Beta. Poe wanted to question Grakkus the Hutt, who had encountered Lor San Tekka years ago. However, Terex followed them there as well.[86]
After helping Grakkus escape offworld, Poe discussed the information that Grakkus had shared with General Organa. After reading the information on her datapad, Leia opined that the information was legitimate. When Poe asked if he wanted her to take Black Squadron to visit the worlds that Lor San Tekka had traveled to, Leia confided that she suspected that a spy had been leaking Black Squadron's movements to the First Order.[87]
Spy Games
Poe Dameron later embarked on a solo mission to obtain information about the First Order's illegal rearmament efforts in violation of the Galactic Concordance from the Galaxy Beacon journalist Suralinda Javos. Javos wanted to use the story to boost her own career. However, Javos and Poe were ambushed and captured by the First Order agent Lieutenant Kreel. After escaping Kreel, Javos returned with Poe to the Resistance base. General Organa met with Javos, who apologized for exploiting Poe. Experiencing a change of heart, Javos decided to join the Resistance and provide whatever information she had about the First Order.[88]
Later, one of the Resistance's droid spies on the Outer Rim world of Kaddak obtained a trove of intelligence about the First Order including the location of Supreme Leader Snoke. General Organa dispatched her spymaster C-3PO, Poe, and the technician Oddy Muva to Kaddak to recover the droid.[89] On Kaddak, they discovered the spy was the BX-series droid commando N1-ZX, who insisted that he could disclose the information once he had been delivered back to the Resistance base.[90] Poe soon realized that this was disinformation planted by Terex to uncover the Resistance base and that Oddy Muva was a spy.[91] Black Squadron and Terex's Ranc gang proxies were subsequently involved in a battle over a desert planet.[92]
Map to Skywalker
- "I saw him. Leia, I saw our son. He was here."
- ―Han Solo to Leia Organa
Thirty or so years after the Battle of Endor, with the two factions on the brink of war, Organa sent Dameron to Tuanul, in Jakku, to find San Tekka—who possessed a fragment of the map who led to Skywalker's location at the first Jedi Temple.[6] At the same time, Organa, who had been asked to record her memoirs by PZ-4CO (as prepared by Major Ematt) and had rejected all seven of her requests in forty-four days, agreed to pass on a lesson about duty as regards to Operation Yellow Moon. When she was finished, Ematt interrupted them, for she was awaited in the D'Qar command center.[10]
As they waited for news, Organa conversed quietly with Captain Temmin "Snap" Wexley and an attendant droid, until Lieutenant Taslin Brance handed her a readout that informed her that Tuanul had been wiped out, Tekka had died, and Dameron's X-wing fighter had been destroyed (likely killing Dameron in the process). However, she suspected Dameron's astromech unit, BB-8, had survived and told C-3PO to use the tracking system to locate the spherical droid. Afterwards, she met with her personal envoy, Commander Korr Sella, and sent her to the Senate to try and convince them to take action against the First Order.[93]
Organa and Solo are reunited.
In the meantime, C-3PO managed to locate BB-8 within Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana thanks to his droid network. Alerted to the finding, Organa prepared to recover the droid until news reached her[93] that the First Order had used its superweapon, Starkiller Base, to destroy the Hosnian system,[6] then-current seat of the New Republic.[81] After Organa felt a disturbance in the Force, she deployed a Resistance squadron to Kanata's castle, with the recently-returned Dameron as its leader.[93] In the aftermath of the Battle of Takodana, Organa was reunited with her husband, Solo,[6] for the first time in years. He told her about Finn and Rey, who had tried to take BB-8 back to the Resistance, but that the latter had been abducted by Ren on Takodana.[93]
Afterwards, Organa conversed with other senior Resistance officers, and using Finn's information about Starkiller Base, they planned an attack to the superweapon. While they waited for Wexley's reconnaissance flight to return to base,[93] Solo talked to Organa and they discussed their son. Afterward, when Solo was about to depart to Starkiller Base to deactivate its planetary shields, Organa approached him and both recognized they still loved each other even after everything that happened; Organa asked him to try and bring Ben back home if he saw him. Yet, during the assault, as she oversaw the operation, she felt Solo's death at the hands of their son through the Force and collapsed into a chair in grief as curious and concerned Resistance personnel watched. However, Solo's actions had allowed the starfighter attack, led by Dameron, to destroy the thermal oscillator and, with it, Starkiller Base.[6]
Organa wishes Rey luck as she sets out to find Skywalker.
When those who had been involved at Starkiller Base arrived back at the Resistance base, Organa gave Rey, who had witnessed Han's death, a sympathetic hug. Upon their return, it was revealed that R2-D2 had the rest of BB-8's missing part of the map that would reveal Skywalker's location. Organa looked on with fellow members of the Resistance as the two hologram maps fit together, revealing the location of her brother. Sometime after, Organa wished Rey luck by telling her "May the Force be with you" before she departed D'Qar. Organa and the rest of the resistance bid Rey, Chewbacca and R2-D2 goodbye as they set off in search of Skywalker.[6]
Evacuation of D'Qar
In the wake of the destruction of Starkiller Base, the Resistance was forced to abandon their base on D'Qar, fearing a counterattack from the First Order. Organa commanded the Resistance fleet from the cruiser Raddus, while Dameron was intended to distract First Order forces long enough for the Resistance transports to escape. The escape was interrupted by the arrival of a First Order fleet consisting of several Resurgent-class star destroyers and one Mandator IV-class orbital bombardment platform, the latter of whose defense systems were neutralized by Dameron shortly after the base had been completely evacuated.[94]
Leia aboard the Raddus as the Resistance cruiser exits hyperspace.
Though the fleet was able to successfully make the jump to hyperspace, Dameron disobeyed Organa's direct order not to continue with any further attacks on the dreadnought, resulting in casualties that reduced Resistance forces to 400 personnel aboard four ships. Furious at the losses, Organa slapped Dameron and demoted him to Captain in response to his actions. Shortly after, the fleet was attacked by a First Order armada led by Snoke's ship, the Supremacy and Organa realized that they had somehow been tracked through lightspeed. In the midst of the attack on the Raddus, the ship's bridge was targeted by a squadron of TIE fighters led by Kylo Ren. Sensing his mother's presence aboard the ship, Ren hesitated to fire as Leia also sensed his presence. However, Ren's escorts took the shot instead and Leia closed her eyes as the torpedoes obliterated the bridge, killing Admiral Ackbar and many of the other Resistance leaders and blowing Leia out into the vacuum of space.[94]
Despite having been ejected into the lethal vacuum, Leia managed to survive by using the Force to float back to the ship but was left critically injured and hospitalized, leaving her old friend Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo in command of the remaining Resistance forces.[94]
Battle of Crait
- "We fought until the end but the galaxy lost all its hope. The spark is out."
- ―General Leia Organa
Though incapacitated, Leia was able to share brief mental contact with her brother Luke, who re-opened his previously closed connection to the Force, and she said her brother's name. Shortly after, Leia awakened, fully recovered, to discover Dameron and some of the other crew members had revolted against Holdo and were holding her hostage in disapproval of her leadership. Organa neutralized Poe and joined the remainder of the Resistance forces, who were evacuating the Raddus. Holdo offered to stay behind, eventually sacrificing herself to ram the Raddus into the Supremacy at lightspeed, cleaving it in half and destroying much of its escort fleet instantly.[94]
The remaining Resistance forces escaped to an old Rebel Alliance base on the planet Crait, which was subsequently attacked by the First Order after Resistance fighters Finn and Rose Tico were betrayed by a slicer named DJ. During the battle, the Resistance broadcasted a distress signal to their allies, but received no response, with Leia lamenting that the galaxy had lost hope.[94]
In that moment, she was reunited with her brother Luke via Force projection, during which she was comforted and given Han Solo's dice from the Millennium Falcon. Her brother reassured her that "no one's ever really gone" before engaging in combat with Kylo Ren, thus allowing Leia and the others to escape. Collapsing from the mental toil required to sustain such a lifelike illusion, Luke died on Ahch-To, becoming one with the Force. However, he died contented and at peace, which Leia sensed.[94]
Meanwhile, Leia and the others escaped on the Falcon. Rey, reunited at last with Organa, expressed her doubts in what was left of the Resistance. Organa, however, reassured Rey that the rebellion had everything necessary to rise again.[94]
Personality and traits
- "I don't doubt your capabilities, not even for a moment. Taking on all these responsibilities… they've shaped you into a glittering star. You are remarkable. But this is too dangerous, Leia."
- ―Bail Organa, before her mission to Tatooine
Organa was not afraid to fight for her convictions
Of commanding presence,[20] Leia Organa was a sharp-witted diplomat who was unafraid to speak her mind, even when confronted by powerful figures like Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin.[5] Fierce, outspoken and headstrong, she would accomplish whichever task she imposed on herself, for she would try to put duty before her own personal needs—likely, as a result of her upbringing.[19][10] Furthermore, she never cared much for being royalty for her priority was to help those who needed her, and not wealth nor recognition.[36] In spite of her self-discipline, Organa had a fiery temper she often struggled to control, and was eager to prove herself, to be recognized for what she could do, and not her title of nobility.[20] Stubborn, brave and smart, she only 'gave as good as she got,' which was one of the reasons why Han Solo had taken a liking to her.[33]
Despite her commitment to Alderaan's values of pacifism, Organa believed in self-defense and in fiercely fighting for the galaxy's freedom.[36] With remarkable leadership qualities, Organa was also known for being able to keep her composure even in humiliating situations to perform daring feats, like diving into a garbage chute or strangling the infamous Jabba the Hutt.[5][9] A woman of action, eager to get things done and making positive differences in the world, Organa was impatient, a trait she shared with her brother Luke.[10]
Powers and abilities
- "I'm sure Luke wasn't on that thing when it blew."
"He wasn't. I can feel it." - ―Han Solo and Leia Organa after seeing the Death Star II had been destroyed
As the daughter of the Chosen One, Organa, like her twin brother Luke Skywalker, was born Force-sensitive, immensely strong in the Force.[72] After her birth Organa was left with a lasting impression of images and feelings of her mother, that she was "very beautiful, kind, but sad."[9] When Skywalker failed to contact Kenobi while hanging underneath Bespin's Cloud City, weak and helpless, he called out to Organa with the Force, apparently out of instinct. Organa sensed him, and was able to direct the Millennium Falcon to his location.[71]
Organa has been shown to possess a strong Force sense. After Skywalker revealed on Endor that they were siblings, she was shocked but deep down, she had always known this to be true.[16] Skywalker also revealed that she was strong in the Force like he was and could learn how to use it in time. After the second Death Star blew up, Organa assured Solo that Skywalker had not been on it at the time, actively demonstrating the ability to sense her brother's presence.[9] A few days later, she was able to sense the lingering dark presence of Darth Maul in the Theed Royal Palace, dating back to his duel against Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn during the Battle of Naboo.[77] She felt a disturbance in the Force when the Hosnian System was destroyed by Starkiller Base.[93] She later was able to sense Han Solo's death at the hands of their son through the Force, while she was present on D'Qar and the event happened on Starkiller Base.[6]
Organa's brother Luke believed that her strength of will, which allowed her to continue on despite events such as the destruction of Alderaan and the loss of her son, was a manifestation of her power in the Force.[81] Luke also believed that her strong "gut feelings" were another manifestation of her Force abilities. However, she also admitted to herself that some of her strength was fueled by desperation and even hatred at times, as she remembred unconsciously drawing upon the dark side to gain the sheer strength to compress the neck of Jabba the Hutt with a chain to the point of asphyxiation. [7]
After being blown into space, Organa was able to use the power of the Force both to remain alive in the vacuum and navigate to the safety of a vessel, the exposure and effort leaving her alive but in vital need of medical attention.[94]
Other abilities
Organa, renowned for her diplomatic skills, was a capable mediator,[76] and had training in public speaking, being able to give speeches, thanks to her aunts' insistent lessons, as well as in self-defense—including how to resist interrogation.[20] Competent with weaponry as she was with words, she had great accuracy when using blaster pistols, rarely missing her shots.[5][71][9] During her youth on Alderaan, she learnt how to ride, even becoming a Alderaanian junior champion in steeple-chase.[10]
She also had years of flight training;[20] indeed, she could pilot a Lambda-class shuttle,[42] and the Millennium Falcon,[38] even admirably by evading TIE/LN starfighters while Solo and Chewbacca hastily tried to repair its hyperdrive during their escape from Hoth.[72] Organa was also able to manually pilot a Naboo N-1 starfighter through Naboo's planet-wide storms without an astromech droid, much like seasoned Rebel pilot Shara Bey, and destroy several climate disruption arrays before saving Bey from a TIE fighter.[77] She rarely used such skills, though, as she was usually provided with, or resorted to, help from pilots to get to her destinations.[5][32][76][10]
Organa was a good shot with blasters of all shapes and sizes, being able to shoot several stormtroopers during her escape from the Death Star. She also was able to destroy a TIE fighter with an All Terrain Armored Transport's heavy laser cannons during the Attack on Cymoon 1.[38]
Behind the scenes
Princess Leia was portrayed by Carrie Fisher. In Revenge of the Sith, the infant Leia was played by Aidan Barton (the son of editor Roger Barton), who also played her brother Luke. Julie Dolan voices her in the video game Star Wars: Uprising, the animated series Star Wars Rebels and the LEGO series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Leia was played by Ingvild Deila.[95] In the animated microseries Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, Leia was voiced by Shelby Young.[96]
Following Fisher's death in December 2016, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson confirmed that Fisher had completed shooting all of her scenes the previous July and that Leia will appear in Episode VIII. It is not yet known how Fisher's passing will be handled for Star Wars: Episode IX or future Star Wars films.[97] On January 6, 2017, it was reported that Disney was "scrambling" in the wake of Fisher's death and that Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow would soon meet with Kathleen Kennedy and other executives to determine how to adjust the story of Episode IX, which would in turn could possibly affect Episode VIII.[98] Soon after that meeting Lucasfilm announced that they had ruled out recreating Fisher's character digitally for any future films.[99]. On March 24, 2017, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Fisher's role in The Last Jedi has not been altered following her death, and that her performance remains as was planned.[100] On April 7, 2017, Carrie Fisher's brother Todd Fisher stated that Leia Organa would appear in Star Wars: Episode IX via already recorded footage.[101] However, Kennedy soon confirmed that Fisher will not be in the film,[102] and that the team had "pretty much started over" on it in light of her passing.[103]
In George Lucas's rough draft of the original film, Leia was a 14-year-old princess (the same age as Queen Amidala in The Phantom Menace), the spoiled daughter of King Kayos and Queen Breha of Aquilae. In that draft, she had two brothers, Biggs and Windy, whose identities were substantially revised into their current form by the fourth draft (though they did not appear in intervening versions). The later story synopsis established her as Leia Antilles, the daughter of Bail Antilles from the peaceful world of Organa Major. In the fourth draft the names were turned around so that came instead from Alderaan.[104] Interestingly, when George Lucas was writing background material for licensees in 1977, he wrote that she had several brothers, and that she was unaware whether her parents had escaped the destruction of her homeworld. No-one from the House of Organa, however, had reached the Rebels as yet.[104]
Princess Leia's Theme is the name of the character's leitmotif introduced in the original film. In the Italian version of the films, Leia Organa was renamed to "Leila Organa". According to George Lucas in his commentary on the 2004 DVD release for A New Hope, Leia Organa got her Ph.D. at age 19.[105]
Make-up and costumes
Leia's signature A New Hope hairstyle
George Lucas commented on Leia's "cinnamon bun" hairstyle in Time magazine: "In the 1977 film, I was working very hard to create something different that wasn't fashion, so I went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico."[106]
The costume designer for the films had a "no lingerie in space" policy, which prevented Fisher from wearing a brassiere. To maintain decorum, adhesive tape was used in place of the banned garment.[107]
The iconic Slave Leia costume worn in Return of the Jedi is a popular cosplaying choice.
Her real mother
- "The part that I never really developed is the death of Luke and Leia's mother. I had a backstory for her in earlier drafts, but it basically didn't survive. When I got to Jedi, I wanted one of the kids to have some kind of memory of her because she will be a key figure in the new episodes I'm writing. But I really debated on whether or not Leia should remember her."
- ―George Lucas
George Lucas stated that he wanted one of the Skywalker twins to recall their mother, hence Leia describing her as "very beautiful, kind but sad" in Return of the Jedi.[108]
When Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith came out, many people did not understand how it was possible that Leia claims to remember her mother although she had known her for barely a minute. There has been some debate about whether Leia is discussing her real mother, Padmé Amidala, or her foster mother. The official Star Wars website stated in a "Q & A" section that Leia is remembering Padmé, but this may no longer be canonical.[109]
Feminist icon
In January 2017, images of Leia, both as a princess and a general, were prominently featured during the Women's March not only in the United States, but also overseas. According to feminist writer Anne Thériault, Princess Leia was the most empowering feminist character of all, one who "keeps fighting when things seem impossible."[110]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
- William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge: Star Wars Part the Third
- Angry Birds Star Wars
- William Shakespeare's Star Wars
- William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back
- William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return
- Star Wars Epic Yarns: A New Hope
- Star Wars Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi
LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Exit from Endor"- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Crisis on Coruscant" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Mission to Mos Eisley" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Flight of the Falcon" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Gambit on Geonosis"
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III
- LEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises — "Poe to the Rescue" (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises — "Hunting for Han" (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sources
Notes and references
External links
- SDCC 2014: "The Heroes of Star Wars Rebels" Panel – Liveblog on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Princess Leia #3 – Exclusive Preview! on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Marvel, Lucasfilm, and a New Era of Star Wars Comics on StarWars.com (backup link)
- 11 Revelations from Claudia Gray on Leia, Princess of Alderaan on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Princess Leia on Wikipedia
- Princess Leia Organa at the Internet Movie Database
