XJ-2 airspeeder

The XJ-2 airspeeder was a Narglatch AirTech customized vehicle owned by Bail Organa during his tenure as Senator of the Alderaan Sector, and Viceroy of Alderaan itself. After seeing fellow Senator Simon Greyshade's XJ-6 airspeeder, Organa purchased the custom XJ-2, which sported a red and silver color scheme. The airspeeder became a hobby of Organa's and he would work tinkering with it when he was not pressed to attend to Senatorial duties. With the advent of the Clone Wars, Organa took the XJ-2 with him to Coruscant, where he found himself spending most of his time.

He registered the speeder under the alias of "Org Banelli," allowing him to operate without the attention of the authorities. Along with several other Senators, Organa was considering ousting Supreme Chancellor Palpatine at the conclusion of the war, and he needed to be able to move covertly. When the war did conclude, Organa used the speeder to rescue Jedi Master Yoda from Palpatine's clutches. Returning to Alderaan, Organa found himself dedicated to forming the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and as a result, the speeder gathered dust. He gave it to his adopted daughter, Princess Leia, and taught her piloting skills when she came of age. The speeder was eventually destroyed when the Death Star I obliterated Alderaan.

Purchase
Narglatch AirTech, a small independent company, developed custom kits for airspeeder development. Their products were aimed at the upper class and more prestigious inhabitants of the Republic, such as Senators and Core World aristocracy. The XJ-6 airspeeder model was purchased by Senator Simon Greyshade of the Vorzyd Sector, and his tendency to display it before his peers inspired Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan to buy his own Narglatch speeder, the XJ-2.

Modifications
Modification of the speeder became Senator Organa's hobby and when he was not being called upon to address matters of State, he could be found in his garage on Alderaan, working on the XJ-2. Deciding that it would be wise to keep a means of covert movement, Organa registered his speeder under the false name of "Org Banelli".

Usage
With the Separatist Crisis demanding Organa's full attention as a Senator, he found little time to work as an aspiring mechanic, and so the XJ-2 received less and less modifications. When the Clone Wars broke out, Organa spent most of his time on Coruscant, and he brought his speeder along with him. As the war progressed, he grew weary of Palpatine's constant amendments to the constitution, and so met with other Senators, such as Mon Mothma and Giddean Danu for frequent airing of grievances. The "Banelli" ruse allowed him to escape the notice of Palpatine's offices, and travel to the designated meeting points with a minimum of fuss.



As the Clone Wars came to a sudden halt in 19 BBY, the XJ-2 saw considerable use during the chaos of Order 66. When fires broke out at the Jedi Temple, Organa sped there in his speeder to investigate. He was stopped by CC-1119, who advised him to leave. After watching CC-1119 and the 501st Legion gun down Zett Jukassa, a Jedi youngling, the horrified Organa fled the scene in the XJ-2.

In the following days, Organa witnessed Palpatine's Declaration of the New Order. Disgusted with what he saw, he aided and abetted Jedi Master Yoda's assassination attempt on now-Emperor Palpatine. The attempt failed, however, and Organa once more used the speeder to help Yoda escape the clutches of the Emperor's clone troopers. The "Org Banelli" registration helped Organa avoid arrest, and allowed him to return to Alderaan, with the speeder, in peace. For a short while, he resumed his modification of the vehicle, but the forging of the new Alliance to Restore the Republic meant that the XJ-2 would eventually gather dust.

Bail gave the XJ-2 to his daughter Leia as a birthday present when she was old enough to pilot it. The young Princess learned how to drive the speedy vehicle under the supervision of her father. The airspeeder was finally destroyed during the Destruction of Alderaan.

Behind the scenes
This vehicle's backstory appearing in the Databank was developed by Hyperspace member Master Devwi through the What's The Story? feature.

This airspeeder's designation, the XJ-2, follows a trend of naming with the XJ-6 airspeeder owned by Senator Simon Greyshade. This, however, appears to be only coincidental, as the XJ-6 was a custom-made by Greyshade's mechanics.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / comic