Alderaan/Legends

"Any time is the time to visit Alderaan, how can one not enjoy a planet where peace and beauty are common pre-occupations and art and learning are the popular pastimes."

- Lord Tion

Alderaan was the second planet in the Alderaan system, and the home of many famous heroes, including Princess Leia, Bail Organa and Ulic Qel-Droma. It was destroyed by the Death Star on 0:3:7 BBY.

Terrain
Considered the "Shining Star" of the Core Worlds, wild grasslands and old mountain ranges dominated the planet's land surface. Large oceans and scattered inland seas provided the planet with ideal conditions for a large variety of flora and fauna to develop. As such, Alderaan was the homeworld of some of the galaxy's most famous animals, such as the nerf and the thranta. Alderaanian cities were often built with great care taken to protect nature. One city was built on the walls of a canyon, nearly invisible from above. Other cities were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital, Aldera, known for its university, was built on a small island in the center of a caldera.

Alderaan was home to more than eight thousand subspecies of grass and an even larger amount of wildflowers. Its flora also included a massive variety of spices, herbs, and grains. The planet had no major oceans, but it had a single polar ice cap. The rest of Alderaan's surface water was composed of thousands of lakes and connecting waterways.

Society
The Alderaanian culture valued education, the performing and fine arts, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts. They placed high value in their participation in the Galactic Senate, and its short-lived Imperial equivalent. The Alderaanians constantly sought a harmonious existence with their surroundings, evident their integration of their society into the natural terrain of Alderaan.

The average Alderaanian was very educated and cultured. Poets and artists thrived on Alderaan. The beauty moved the pens of poets, while the vast grasslands served as a canvas for grass paintings. Alderaan was also famous for its cuisine. The large variety of spices and herbs allowed chefs to expiriment and create some of the finest dishes in the galaxy. Steamed Alderaanian spiced wine was a favored beverage among many.

Some of Alderaan's major exports included wine, art, and luxury goods.

Government
Although a democratic society, Alderaan was headed by a hereditary constitutional monarchy, with the Royal House of Organa presiding over the High Court and legislative High Council of Alderaan. Its monarchs have variously borne the titles "Prince", "First Chairman", and "Viceroy". Traditionally, the heir of the Alderaan throne also serves in the High Council of Alderaan and a term as Senator of Alderaan. A vizier helped the monarch rule.

Alderaan's government deliberately halted itself from so much as questioning spacecraft leaving or arriving on the planet.

Several decades before the Clone Wars, a political conflict between the high houses of Alderaan arose. This conflict, known as the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention, was the result of the inability of the great families (among them the House of Organa and the House of Antilles) to choose the next Viceroy of Alderaan. Three separate votes yielded no winner, and so the Alderaanians asked for Jedi mediation to resolve the contention. The Jedi, including Jorus C'baoth, considered the intricacies of the situation, and decided that House Organa bore the rightful claim to the throne.

Bail Organa was the leader of Alderaan and was on the planet when it was destroyed, while his heir and (secretly adopted) daughter Princess Leia served as Senator of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate.

History
The indigenous Killiks built the Castle Lands of Oroboro circa 35,000 BBY. At some point, the Killiks colonized nearby Alsakan. They were taken away from Alderaan 30,000 BBY by the Celestials after consuming all of Alderaan's natural resources, and long believed extinct by humanity until reencountered in the Unknown Regions. Human colonists came to the planet from Coruscant in 27,500 BBY and built a peaceful civilization in harmony with nature. Alderaan was a Core Founder of the Galactic Republic in 25,000 BBY and one of the anchor points for early hyperspace exploration. Alderaan was headquarters of Alderaan Royal Engineers, an early Republic shipwright.



As a whole, Alderaan strongly opposed the Military Creation Act, but remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Alderaan allowed Refugee Relief Movement settlement by displaced exiles from Ando and other Separatist worlds whom wished to remain Republic citizens. With the rise of the New Order, Queen Breha Organa and Senator Viceroy Bail Organa adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker. Shortly afterwards, Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla led a remnant of the Caamasi people to settle on Alderaan after Palpatine desolated Caamas. Ylenic served as Trustant of the Caamasi Remnant and advisor to the Organas.

After the horrors of the Clone Wars, Alderaan's frigates and light cruisers were dismantled and the world's weapons were placed aboard the armory warship Another Chance. The ship was programmed to continually jump though hyperspace until called home by the High Council. They would not have the opportunity. Immediately after the formation of the Empire, Alderaan was wracked by anti-Imperial protests, mainly from alien refugees who were now forced to pay an exorbitant tax to return home.



When Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma formally created the Rebel Alliance, many Alderaanians volunteered their resources and lives, despite the still fresh memories of the Clone Wars. Many of the early warriors of the Alliance, and subsequently, many of its leaders and officers, were Alderaanian.

Alderaan was the first strategic target of the first Death Star. In a demonstration of its power to Princess Leia, Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the destruction of her home. While having no weapons, Alderaan was not defenseless. The planet was protected by a powerful deflector shield. This shield made Alderaan almost invincible to attack by any conventional fleet, however, it could block the Death Star's superlaser for only a fraction of a second. The plan backfired, driving thousands of beings to the Alliance cause and sending some planets in the Mid Rim into open rebellion. The Imperials attempted to pin the blame for Alderaan's destruction on the Rebels, keeping a number of people loyal to the Empire, however it didn't convice many.

Fauna

 * Nerf
 * Grazer
 * Thranta
 * Stalking bird
 * Woolly moth
 * Oozle

Known Senators of Alderaan

 * Senator Ravein (? BBY)
 * Senator Bail Antilles (? BBY &mdash; 32 BBY)
 * Senator Bail Organa (32 BBY &mdash; 1 BBY)
 * Senator Leia Organa (1 BBY &mdash; 0 BBY)
 * Senator Leia Organa (5 ABY &mdash; 11 ABY)
 * Senator Hrekin Thorm (11 ABY &mdash; 17 ABY)
 * Senator Cal Omas (17 ABY &mdash; 28 ABY)

Appearances

 * The Cestus Deception
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Empire at War
 * The Paradise Snare
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope