Leia Organa

"The last royal of Alderaan must be too strong to cower. Too certain to despair. And more than that, General, she must be too stubborn to quit if her subjects―and her culture―are to survive."

- Leia Organa

Leia Organa, a Force sensitive human female, was the daughter of fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Her mother died in labor and her father, the now-Sith Lord Darth Vader, thought Leia and her twin brother Luke Skywalker to be dead, and so Leia was adopted by Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha of Alderaan, where she was raised as a princess of the House of Organa. Eventually, she became a senator of the Imperial Senate, but also a key member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

During the Galactic Civil War, Organa was entrusted with the recently-stolen plans of the Death Star but also captured over Tatooine, but not before transferring the plans to an astromech droid, R2-D2, and sending him to meet Jedi Master Ben Kenobi. On the Death Star, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin forced her to disclose the location of the rebel base and had Alderaan destroyed. Awaiting for her execution, she was rescued by Kenobi, Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO; with their help, they brought the plans to the rebel base on Yavin 4, where the battle station was destroyed. In the aftermath, Organa enlisted the help of Evaan Verlaine and R2-D2 for a mission to protect all surviving Alderaanians from the Empire's hunt.

During the following years, Organa would continue to assist the Rebellion by doing missions or and overseeing operations, one of them being Echo Base on Hoth, where the Rebellion was forced to evacuate the planet. Organa left aboard the Millennium Falcon, to reach Cloud City on Bespin to repair the Falcon, but Lando Calrissian betrayed them to Vader, leading to Solo's capture and to Organa to declare her love for him. With the exception of Solo, Organa and her companions managed to escape and join with the Rebel fleet.

Organa aided in the successful rescue of Solo from Jabba the Hutt, just in time to join the Battle of Endor, where Organa fought alongside Solo and Chewbacca on the forested moon to destroy the shield generator protecting the second Death Star. During the campaign, Organa learned that Vader was her father, and Skywalker her brother. Months after the battle, Organa saw the birth of the New Republic.

Pre-birth
"There is another Skywalker."

- Serenity

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. These events not only alluded to the birth and destiny of Leia's twin brother, Luke Skywalker, but to what Yoda would tell Skywalker about Leia in his last words, before his death.

Early life
"It's a girl.''" "''Leia."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala

Leia Organa was born on the asteroid of Polis Massa two days after the end of the Clone Wars and the newly-established Galactic Empire's purge of the Jedi Order. She and her twin brother Luke, who was born shortly before her, were the children of Galactic Republic Senator Padmé Amidala, who died in 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.

Raised in the Royal Family of Alderaan, Leia adopted the last name Organa. Although it was common knowledge that she was adopted, she remained unaware of her biological parents' fates. She was, however, left with a lasting impression of images and feelings of her that her brother did not: that their mother was "very beautiful, kind, but sad."

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. The young Leia was also reared by a number of aunts, who gave her etiquette lessons and tried to turn her into a proper patrician, and lectured her about maintaining her appearance and the company she kept. Although Leia genuinely loved them, she refused to let them mold her into a pampered, simpering princess whose only aim in life was to find a suitable husband. Leia 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.

Because of her royal status, the princess was a natural target for abduction, and her family deemed necessary for her to learn the basics of self-defense. Consequently, Leia was allowed to receive some martial training with a personal instructor once she turned sixteen. 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. She was also taught how to ride, and she even became an Alderaanian junior champion in steeple-chase.

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, Leia 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 the queen―to carry on the legacy of Alderaan's harmonic culture with pride, even at the expense of what she wanted.

Imperial senator
"It will be  nice to  have  such  a  pretty face in the Senate."

- Emperor Palpatine

In her late teens, Leia followed into her adoptive father's footsteps, and she was  the  youngest  senator  ever  elected  to the Imperial Senate. Her aunts protested, arguing that she'd be better off finding a princely husband, but to no avail. Immediately after her election, the Viceroy proceeded to present her to the Emperor on the capital world of Coruscant, with all the other newly elected officials. The princess spent the days leading up to this event listing out her grievances, intent on addressing the Emperor directly and bluntly. However, when she did meet the Imperial ruler, the Princess of Alderaan was so impressed by his disturbing aura of evil that she could not say a single word and dropped into a half-curtsy.

Although the princess had entered the political arena with the sincere desire to real change and reform, she soon discovered that no other senator seemed to share her ideals. Contrary to its predecessor, the Republic Senate, the Imperial Senate was merely a ceremonial institution that sycophantically validated Emperor Palpatine's every decree. In fact, no delegate ever dared to test the Emperor's patience. In her early days at the Senate, Organa soon discovered that betrayal always from those who acted the friendliest to her.

The Princess of Alderaan, unable to understand how the other senators could ignore the Empire's crimes in the Outer Rim Territories, 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 the Imperial forces had burned to the ground. To her greatest annoyance, the media constantly reduced Leia Organa to her label of princess, paying no attention to her humanitarian work.

During her tenure as an Imperial senator, Leia Organa notably had to deal with Givin, a mathematically inclined species. At the time, she memorized a few equations that proved useful when she had to observed the Givin custom of greeting maths. Eventually, she was told about the existence of an Alliance to Restore the Republic that fought the Empire in the Galactic Civil War. Seeing her chance to actually help the galaxy, the princess joined the Alliance.

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

Following the transference of the Alliance's headquarters from Dantooine to Yavin 4, and a battle for the technical readout of the Death Star, Organa was entrusted with the recently-stolen plans. It was the princess herself who had volunteered for that mission, against the wishes of the Viceroy. While travelling back to her homeworld aboard one of her family's ships, the Tantive IV, the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator intercepted the corvette over Tatooine. 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.

The princess feigned ignorance of the Sith Lord's accusations, so he berated her for lying and had her imprisoned on the Death Star in Detention Block AA-23 in Cell 2187. There, 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 Grand Moff Wilhuff 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, yet Tarkin had Alderaan destroyed anyway to demonstrate the Death Star's power. Awaiting for her execution, Organa was taken to her cell once again.

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 stoormtroopers squadron, 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.

Yavin 4
"You're safe. When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst." "We've no time to be sorry, Commander. You must use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack. It's our only hope."

- General Willard and Leia Organa

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, who angered Organa for his lack of selflessness. Once in the Great Temple of Massassi, used as the Rebel base, Organa met with General Willard and had R2-D2's information analyzed to plan an attack on the approaching Death Star, with General Jan Dodonna debriefing everyone on the assault plans. At the command center, Organa subsequently witnessed the destruction of the Death Star at the hands of Skywalker.

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

After the surviving Rebel pilots returned from successfully turning the Empire's greatest weapon into nothing but a layer of dust orbiting around Yavin, the personnel of the Yavin 4 honored the heroes by orchestrating an award ceremony for them. Organa, wearing an Alderaanian gown, handed out the medals to newcomers Skywalker and Solo.

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 was aware of their location. Organa then shared a moment of banter with Solo, and a moment of rapport with Skywalker, when they parted ways. Left alone, Organa noticed a lone female pilot paying respects to the memorial statue of her parents, Bail and Breha.

Hunted by the Empire
"I am sorry my Queen." "Don't address me that w&mdash;" "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

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.

Defeated, she left and again briefly ran into Ackbar; after their conversation was finished, Organa noticed the Rebel pilot from earlier, Evaan Verlaine, talking about her cold attitude towards the loss of her parents. Though Verlaine showed formality in their conversation, she did so only preserve as much of Alderaan's culture as possible, and pledged herself to Queen Leia Organa of Alderaan. Organa rejected the title, but Verlaine insisted, for the Empire was currently hunting all surviving Alderaanians throughout the galaxy. Now aware of her people's situation, she enlisted both Verlaine and R2-D2's help. With the latter, she recorded a decoy hologram of herself, which they sent to the General's quarters during the night.

The trio made their escape from the planet in a T-1 shuttle to accomplish their mission—to save all the remaining sons and daughters of Alderaan from the Empire. However, as they departed, Verlaine noticed that they were being pursued by two X-wing starfighters, piloted by Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, who tried to box the shuttle in with a herding maneuver. Verlaine cunningly made them believe she had damaged the shuttle's alluvial damper, allowing her to make the jump into hyperspace to Naboo. They soon arrived on the planet and, posing as Imperial Auditors, landed in its capital city, Theed; Organa had her ship refueled and re-stocked under the alias First Minister "Solo", charging the fees to the Imperial Advisor's Office.

As she, Verlaine and R2-D2 moved further into the city, the princess was acknowledging her excitement when they came across a mural of the late Padmé Amidala (who unbeknownst to her was her biological mother); momentarily, Organa saw her in what she dismissed as an illusion. They were soon approached by Lord Junn, her old friend, who invited them to this his villa, where they ate together. On the princess' request, Junn arranged their meeting with Mul Sanaka, the owner of Club Deeja in the Marina District, and the employer of the Melodic Order, the cloister of Alderaanian musicians they had been looking for. They took the T-1 shuttle to the district, and made their way to the club, where they found Sanaka, with whom they tried to negotiate over the Alderaanians.

However, Sanaka and his Besalisk guards tried to capture them, already aware of her identity; as they resisted, Sanaka attempted to kill her, foiled only by the intervention of Uwa Pareece, the Melodic Order's leader, who had been discretely followed the princess until then. Ashamed of hiding Alderaan's fate to the others, Pareece believed she deserved to die, but Organa merely had her lead them to the Order, whom she invited to follow her on her crusade.

Once they agreed, Organa returned to Lord 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.

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 her ships' transmissions: Tace's innocent disclosing of their location to her sister, Tula, an Imperial under the watchful eye of Commander Dreed.

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, the Imperials defeated, Astane finally accepted Organa as their sovereign.

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 told Astane she intended to draw her sister out. She appointed Pareece and Astane to negotiate with the Alderaanians living in Espirion; she also 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. However, the Imperials were 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 the Star Destroyer on its way to destroy the Alderaanians on 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 mission to the planet below. Astane claimed responsibility for their failure, which angered Organa, for she had been counting on Espirion's military support against the incoming Star Destroyer. Following Verlaine's encouraging words, Organa sent an inspiring message to her fleet—which R2-D2 retransmitted to the Alderaanians on Espirion, prompting Beon Beonel to send the Espirion Multi to destroy the Star Destroyer.

After a celebration held among the surviving Alderaanians, Organa told Verlaine of her return to the Alliance, given she had never intended to abandon the Rebellion 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 the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4, where she reunited with Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca and C-3PO.

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

Sometime after returning to the Alliance on Yavin 4, Organa would return to the Alliance Fleet, hiding in the Sujimis sector over Orto Plutonia, where she would help coordinate the Rebel efforts with the rest of the Alliance's leaders, and in C-3PO's company. During her stay on the Redemption, Organa suggested to Ackbar and Mon Mothma 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.

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 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 instructed them to greet Bephorin with maths.

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.

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. Skywalker's arrival with Imperial slaves he had freed interrupted their conversation, however, with his determination to have the slaves escape with them. Though Organa was unsure of Skywalker's decision, Solo accepted it and prompted them to escape the facility as soon as possible.

Alerted by Chewbacca of Vader's arrival, Organa ordered the Wookiee to kill the Dark Lord 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 nad 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.

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.

Once outside, their walker only received more blaster fire; Organa, then, realized the Imperials had stopped the reactor's meltdown, only for Vader to catch up with them and destroy 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 talked to Skywalker and thanked for completing the mission, and tried to encourage him, but his morale was at rock-bottom.

An estranged wife
Before long, the Falcon rendezvoused with the Rebel fleet. 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.

Sometime later, Organa met with Solo, who inquired about several parts needed to repair his ship and why he needed to obtain her approval for that, 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/LN starfighters and Solo piloted the Invictus into an unnamed planed near the Monsua Nebula.

Once on its surface, 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, they noticed the arriving Cobra, only for Sana Solo to disembark and reveal herself to be Solo's estranged wife, much to Organa's shock. Though Solo tried to explain, Sana recognized her and the bounty on her head, for which Sana had the Invictus destroyed with her ship's voice-activated weaponry.

Holding the two at gunpoint, Sana contacted the Star Destoyer above to negotiate over Organa's bounty, while Solo tried to convince her to let them go. However, Organa had other plans—pushing Solo against Sana, unbalancing her, while she drew a concealed blaster from her clothes to aim it at both Solos. With the TIE fighters and TIE bombers already above them, and Imperial pilots closing in to arrest her, Organa resisted, whereas Han confessed he was also a Rebel (and so, bound to be captured), prompting Sana to take the two to her ship to escape the planet.

Hoth
"You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."

- Han Solo

Three or so years later, Organa was stationed at the Rebellion's recently-established Echo Base on the ice planet of Hoth. Following a run-in with one of Jabba's bounty hunters in Ord Mantell, Solo bade farewell to General Carlist Rieekan and Organa, bur 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. 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.

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.

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 big creature residing inside the asteroid, the Millennium Falcon was once again pursued by Imperial forces. Unable to make the jump to hyperspace due to technical problems, Solo decided to land on the back of the command bridge of a Star Destroyer, 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 head to Bespin, where an old acquintance 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.

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, unbeknowst to them, Calrissian had made a deal with Vader to hand over the rebels in exchange for non-interefence 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." .

On their way to Vader's ship, Organa caught sight a recenty-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, and setting the Rebels free. Though Chewbacca almost strangled Calrissian, Organa let the gambler live when he told them of Solo's location. With R2-D2 eventually joining them, they attempted to save the now-frozen Solo from being taken by Boba Fett, they were too late—the Mandalorian had already left on the Slave I with Solo, all the while Skywalker dueled Vader until losing his right hand and lightsaber, and learning of his connection to the Dark Lord as father and son.

Jumping down a shaft, Skywalker eventually ended up hanging on an antenna below Cloud City and called Organa out of instinct. The princess, who had escaped aboard the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO and Calrissian, sensed Skywalker's presence, and they turned around to retrieve Skywalker on Organa's insistence. Once they rescued Skywalker, the Falcon 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. Soon, they 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.

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, talking with Organa about her love for Solo

Following Mothma and the rebel leadership's order to scatter the Rebel Fleet, Organa and C-3PO were in 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 info on Solo's location, just before escorting her to the top clearance meeting.

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.

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 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.

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 their escape on the shuttle Tydirium, just as the Rebel ships from the rendezvous helped destroy the Shieldmaiden with cover fire.

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.

Solo's rescue
"We have powerful friends. You're gonna regret this."

- Leia Organa, to Jabba the Hutt

Following Calrissian, R2-D2 and C-3PO's infiltration at Jabba's Palace to rescue Solo a year later, 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. 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.

A couple of days later, Organa watched as Skywalker tried to bargain with the crime lord for his friends' liberation and was thrown with the 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 sail barge Khetanna, Organa was allowed to leave the Hutt's side momentarily to see as his friend were executed, and she patiently waited until Skywalker started retaliating with his new lightsaber to destroy the barge's controls to throw the vessel into darkness and jump over Jabba's tail.

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 headed for the top surface of the sil 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 sail barge exploded.

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 over Endor. As debriefed by Mothma, Ackbar and Madine, the Rebel fleet would distract the Imperial fleet while General Calrissian led a fighter attack against the space station, only after a small strike team deactivated the deflector shield generator on the moon. Though Organa was unaware of Solo's decision to lead the operation on the moon, she quickly volunteered after Chewbacca, along with Skywalker, who had just returned from the Dagobah system, and the two faithful droids.

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 Rebels 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, and reach his home, the Bright Tree Village.

After a few hours, she realized that her friends were to become the banquet in C-3PO's honor, whom the Ewoks thought to be their god, and 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.

It was then that Skywalker decided the time had come for him to leave Endor and face Vader; 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.

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. 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.

In the aftermath, Solo reassured Organa that Skywalker had surely survived, but she already knew it, as she felt her brother's presence though 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.

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

After a few months, 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 help with the defeat of the Empire.

Thirty years later
"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

Approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Organa served as a General and as leader of the Resistance against the First Order, an Imperial remnant. At some point, at a time when the two factions were on the brink of war, Organa was asked to record her memoirs by PZ-4CO, as prepared by Major Ematt. The protocol droid made seven requests in fourty-four days, and was rejected each, until Organa accepted to pass on a lesson about duty as regards to Operation Yellow Moon. When she was finished, Major Ematt interrupted them, for she was awaited in the command center to discuss Jakku.

Personality and traits
"Charming to the last."

- Wilhuff Tarkin

Organa was a sharp-witted diplomat who was unafraid to speak her mind, even when confronted by powerful figures like Darth Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin. 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. Furthermore, she never cared much for being royalty for her priority was to help those who needed her, and not wealth nor recognition.

Despite her commitment to Alderaan's values of pacifism, Organa believed in self-defense and in fiercely fighting for the galaxy's freedom. 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. 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.

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

Daughter of the Chosen One, Organa, like her older brother Luke Skywalker, was born Force-sensitive. 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." 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.

After Skywalker revealed on Endor that they were siblings, she was shocked but deep down, she had always knew this to be true. 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.

Competent with weaponry as she was with words, she had great accuracy when using blaster pistols. During her youth on Alderaan, she learnt how to ride, even becoming a Alderaanian junior champion in steeple-chase.

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.

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 Leia Organa came instead from Alderaan. 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.

Princess Leia's Theme is the name of the character's leitmotif introduced in the original film.

Name

 * The name "Leia" has a number of potential origins. It may have been derived from "Lay'a" which in Arabic means "weary". Alternatively it might mean "mistress'" or "ruler" in Assyrian. Additionally, a Talmudic source cites "Leila" as the "Angel of Night". A third origin could be the Greek word "basileia," meaning "reign". There was also a biblical character called "Leah" (which is pronounced as Leia) in the book of Genesis, she was Jacob's first wife. It could also have been adopted from the Hawaiian "Leia", which means "child of heaven".
 * In the Italian version of the films, "Leia Organa" was renamed to "Leila Organa".
 * In June 2005, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway admitted in an interview that the first name of her youngest daughter, Leah Isadora Behn, was inspired by Princess Leia.

Make-up and costumes
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."

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.

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.

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.

Non-canon appearances

 * Epic Yarns: A New Hope
 * Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi