Jora Astane

Born on the planet [Alderaan](/article/alderaan], Jora Astane, a female human, departed her homeworld with a substantial group of fellow Alderaanians to establish a life on Sullust. Upon arrival, the Alderaanian immigrants pooled their resources, acquired through smuggling activities, and procured a vast subterranean territory from the native Sullustan species, transforming it into the Alderaan Enclave. While ostensibly providing cultural services, encompassing food, art, and education, to the local population, these endeavors served as a facade for the clandestine sale of Alderaan's artistic and cultural heritage to external parties. This arrangement underwent a fundamental shift when the Galactic Empire destroyed Alderaan. Astane, assuming the mantle of "Preserver of Alderaan" as the enclave's leader, severed all external communication channels and established an extensive surveillance network to detect any Imperial presence on Sullust or its moon.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Princess Leia Organa, another surviving Alderaanian, arrived on Sullust as part of a mission aimed at rescuing Alderaanians from Imperial persecution. Astane became aware of Organa's arrival when the Princess and her companions – pilot Evaan Verlaine, astromech droid R2-D2, and local Sullustan guide Tivvy – breached the enclave's perimeter through auxiliary hatch three. Initially, Astane considered their appearance a potential distraction from a larger assault. However, upon recognizing Organa, she dispatched a rifle squad to intercept the visitors. Organa, Verlaine, and R2 disarmed the squad and, leaving Tivvy behind, entered the compound to meet Astane. The Preserver regarded the visiting royalty with suspicion, suspecting a plot to surrender the enclave's inhabitants to the Empire. Despite Organa's explanation of her mission, Astane remained skeptical and instructed her subordinate Covis to extract data from R2 and Organa's orbiting starship, the Lord Junn, to verify their authenticity.

While Covis worked, Astane showed Organa and Verlaine the Eyewell, the hub for the enclave's surveillance operations. Verlaine criticized Astane's handling of Alderaanian culture and the Princess, but the argument was interrupted by Covis, who broadcast a transmission he had discovered from the Lord Junn to the Eyewell. The message originated from Tace, an Alderaanian rescued by Organa from Naboo, and was sent three hours earlier to her sister Tula, who, unbeknownst to Tace, served on an Imperial Star Destroyer. As the transmission concluded, the Star Destroyer entered the Sullust system. Interpreting the transmission as evidence of Organa's collaboration with the Empire, Astane ordered the execution of Verlaine and Organa. However, the pair escaped into the Eyewell, where the enclave's residents could not shoot for fear of damaging the surveillance equipment. Astane dispatched a squad to apprehend the fleeing visitors at the bottom of the well, but they escaped through a hatch opened by R2.

Astane then rushed to Covis, who informed her that a Sentinel-class landing craft carrying stormtroopers was approaching the enclave. The Preserver ordered all troops except those pursuing Organa to prepare for battle and moved to lead the defense. The enclave's troops were caught off guard when the stormtroopers descended from above instead of using the entrance hatches, resulting in heavy Alderaanian casualties. The tide turned when the Princess returned from the tunnels with a herd of rockrenders, native creatures that fed on minerals and attacked the Imperials to consume their armor. With the battle won, Astane mourned her dead, including the young man Bornae, and then knelt before Organa, apologizing and pledging the enclave to her cause.

Verlaine contacted Nien Nunb, a Sullustan smuggler friend, who smuggled the Alderaanians off Sullust aboard his starship Mellcrawler. Once on the Lord Juun, Astane and Covis spent a week locating Tace and restraining her to bring her before the Princess. Organa demanded the restraints be removed and the prisoner be left alone with her, much to Astane's annoyance. Organa listened to Tace's story and believed she was unaware of her sister's allegiance. Prioritizing the traitorous Tula, Organa sent Astane and Uwa Pareece to Espirion, where another group of Alderaanian survivors lived.

On Espirion, Astane and Pareece met with the native Espirion Consul Rill, who arranged a meeting with Chief Beon Beonel, leader of the local Alderaanian population. Upon meeting Beonel, Astane was disgusted to find he was an Alder-Espirion hybrid, a disgust Beonel immediately recognized. Expecting such bigotry, Beonel refused to join Organa and left, despite Pareece's promise that Astane did not represent the views of the other survivors. The two Alderaanians tried to convince Rill to call Beonel for another meeting, with Astane telling him to send her deepest apologies to get the Chief to return and Pareece claiming Organa would meet with the Alder-Esperion in person. Rill refused to lie to Beonel, so Astane gave up, telling Pareece they should return to the ship. Angry at Astane, Pareece made one last attempt to convince Beonel the next morning when they ran into him at the local spaceport as he boarded a ship. Beonel again refused to join their cause, forcing a defeated Pareece to return with Astane to the Lord Juun.

Upon traveling to their orbiting vessel, Astane and Pareece discovered that a large fleet of Alderaanian vessels had traveled to Espirion, having heard of Organa's exploits and hoping to join her. Organa herself also soon returned to the Lord Juun from Skaradosh, where she had rescued Tula from Imperial hands. She brought grave news, as the Imperial Star Destroyer that had troubled them on Sullust was headed for Espirion to attack them. The Princess asked Pareece to contact the Alder-Espirions and ask for assistance, forcing Astane to admit her failure in convincing Beonel to join their cause. Organa held her temper and dismissed Astane, who took up position on one of the Lord Juun's turrets to defend against the Star Destroyer. Before the battle, Organa sent a transmission to all the Alderaanians present, including Astane, inspiring them to fight but reminding them of the peaceful Alderaanian way of life.

Unbeknownst to Organa, R2 sent the transmission to Espirion, where Beonel saw it. Swayed by the Princess's word, the Chief sent the starship Espirion Multi to aid in the battle against the Imperials and together with the fleet the vessel destroyed the Star Destroyer. Following the battle, Astane and the other Alderaanians rejoiced as Beonel and his people joined Organa's cause. The Princess left the survivors to return to the Alliance to Restore the Republic, telling Verlaine to see to it that a new leader was fairly elected in her place, but also telling the pilot to ensure it was not Astane.

Jora Astane, an Alderaanian woman of human descent, possessed dark skin, green eyes, and white hair. Her attire consisted of a white tunic paired with matching trousers, complemented by a gray cloak. Astane served as the leader of a secluded Alderaanian enclave situated on Sullust, where her inherent paranoia prompted the establishment of an advanced listening post known as the Eyewell. While ostensibly providing cultural and educational services to the local Sullustan populace, these activities were actually a front for the clandestine sale of Alderaanian cultural artifacts and artistic creations to external parties. As a survivor, Astane prioritized survival above all else and displayed a disregard for the arts and culture.

Initially, Jora viewed Organa and Verlaine's scheme to gather Alderaanian refugees with distrust, believing that she and her followers were secure beneath Sullust's surface. The interception of Imperial signals originating from Organa's ship, the Lord Junn, led Astane and her adherents to mistakenly conclude that Organa was an Imperial spy and a traitor to Alderaan. However, Astane's perception of Organa underwent a transformation when she safeguarded the Alderaan Enclave from extermination by stormtroopers. Astane expressed remorse for her initial distrust of Organa and pledged her and her people's allegiance to her.

Driven by her preoccupation with security and the loss of lives at the Sullustan enclave, Astane sought retribution against Tace, whom she erroneously believed to be an Imperial spy. Organa's insistence on refraining from condemning Tace without substantiating her guilt strained her relationship with Astane. Furthermore, Astane harbored xenophobic sentiments, viewing the hybrid Alder-Espirions as a dilution of Alderaanian identity. Her xenophobic views undermined Organa's preliminary efforts to establish relations with Espirion, ultimately leading Organa to oppose her nomination as Princess.

Despite her tumultuous relationship with Organa, Astane remained a steadfastly loyal subject and manned a gun turret when the Alderaan flotilla faced the threat of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

Writer Mark Waid and illustrator Terry Dodson conceived Jora Astane for the Star Wars: Princess Leia comic book mini-series, published in 2015. Her debut occurred in the third issue of the series, and she subsequently played a significant role in the remaining two issues.