Evaan Verlaine

"First among the legacies I pledge everything to preserve is the life of Your Highness."

- Evaan, to Leia Organa

Evaan was a Human female pilot who served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. She was born on Alderaan and was one of the few Alderaanian youths mentored by Queen Breha Organa, which cultivated a deep respect for the House of Organa. Evaan, a committed royalist, followed in the footsteps of her homeworld's leaders and became a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, serving as a pilot.

After the Galactic Empire's deep space mobile battle station, the Death Star, destroyed Alderaan, Evaan heard whispers that the Empire was hunting down surviving Alderaanians. Following the destruction of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, Evaan pledged her loyalty to Princess Leia Organa. The two defied the orders of the Rebel leadership and set out on their own mission to find and protect surviving Alderaanians from the Empire.

Early life
"I was one of the lucky Alderaanians mentored directly by your mother. She taught me much about the heritage of Alderaan. What she never taught me&mdash;what she, rather, earned&mdash;was my lifelong respect for the throne."

- Evaan, to Princess Leia Organa

Evaan was born on the planet Alderaan many years before the Battle of Yavin. At a young age, she was one of only a few Alderaanian youths to be mentored by Queen Breha Organa, the planet's ruling monarch. Through her time with the queen, Evaan learned much about the culture and heritage of her homeworld and formed a life-long respect for both the queen and House of Organa. She became a committed royalist, believing in the Alderaanian monarchy, and followed in the footsteps of the planet's leaders by joining the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

As a member of the Rebellion against the rule of the Galactic Empire, Evaan became a Rebel pilot. She served in the Great Temple of Massassi, the Rebel base on Yavin 4, when Alderaan was destroyed. The destruction, known to Alderaanian survivors as "the Disaster," was carried out by the Death Star, the Empire's deep space mobile battle station, and led to the death of Queen Organa and her husband, Viceroy Bail Organa, one of the founders of the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels gained a quick victory, however, when Princess Leia Organa, the queen's adoptive daughter, brought stolen Death Star schematics to Yavin 4. Once the plans were analyzed and a weakness in the station was discovered, a small fleet of Rebel starfighters launched the Battle of Yavin and destroyed the Death Star.

Mission with Princess Leia
"As we speak, the Imperials are hunting down all surviving Alderaanians." "All? How do you know?" "Word travels thorugh the Rebel forces. Too much so to simply be rumor."

- Evaan and Leia Organa

After the Battle of Yavin, only a small group of the initial task force returned. Luke Skywalker, the pilot who fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star; and Han Solo, a smuggler who helped Organa bring the Death Star plans to the Rebel base and aided Skywalker in the battle, both received medals in a ceremony held in the Great Temple of Massassi. Evaan was in attendance at the ceremony. After the medals were presented, Organa said a few words in remembrance of her parents and her homeworld. Her words were measured and lacked emotion, leading some of the assembled Rebels to refer to her as the "ice princess." When the ceremony ended, Evaan remained behind and paid her respects to Queen Organa and Viceroy Organa at a memorial statue.

Because the Empire learned of the location of the Rebel base before the Battle of Yavin, Rebel General Jan Dodonna ordered the evacuation of the Great Temple. Evaan and some of her fellow Rebels packed supplies in the base's hangar that would be loaded into the Rebel fleet that arrived at Yavin 4. While working, she and another Rebel discussed Organa's cold demeanor. The princess overheard them and approached, at which point the other Rebel quickly left, leaving Organa and Evaan to talk on their own. Evaan explained her loyalty to House of Organa and to the late queen, and she pledged her service to the princess, despite her initial reservations about how the princess was handling her duties in the aftermath of Alderaan's destruction. Evaan also told Organa about rumors suggesting that the Empire was hunting down all surviving Alderaanians, rumors that Evaan believed. Between Evaan's concerns about Organa's leadership and the rumors, Organa decided to leave the Rebel base without a Rebel escort, in defiance of General Dodonna's orders, and find the surviving Alderaanians to protect them. Evaan agreed to go with her in order to preserve their planet's culture.

Evaan, Organa, and the astromech droid R2-D2, left Yavin 4 aboard a T-1 shuttle, which Evaan piloted. Before they left, Organa sent a holographic recording to General Dodonna informing him of why she had to leave the Rebel base in violation of his orders. Evaan disagreed with sending the message as she believed it would lead the Rebels to send their forces to stop them from leaving, a concern that was proven right when Skywalker and Wedge Antilles&mdash;the only two members of Red Squadron who survived the Battle of Yavin&mdash;intercepted the shuttle and ordered them to turn back. Evan and Artoo quietly worked out a strategy in which they would lead the X-wing pilots to believe that they had intercepted the shuttle and then release a part of the ship that the pilots would believe was an important part of the hyperdrive, but that was in actuality a decoy. They did not tell the princess, as the pilots were listening into their conversations. Organa was irate once the plan was enacted, believing that Evaan had recklessly compromised the mission by damaging the ship when it struck Antilles' X-wing. However, when the fighters backed off to avoid the presumed damage, Evaan jumped the ship into hyperspace.

Once the ship was safely in hyperspace, Evaan admitted to the princess that the maneuver was a trick. Organa thanked her for her efforts and the two made their way towards the planet Naboo.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Princess Leia