Mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan

During the Galactic Civil War, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin utilized the Death Star to obliterate the planet Alderaan. This action served as a demonstration of the Galactic Empire's formidable firepower, delivered by its mobile deep space battle station. The destruction of Alderaan resulted in the deaths of millions of inhabitants, leaving only a small number of Alderaanians alive in the galaxy. The Empire then targeted these survivors, aiming to eliminate them and eradicate Alderaanian culture. The Empire considered Alderaan a breeding ground for rebellion, as its leaders, including Viceroy Bail Organa and Senator Leia Organa, held key positions in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Empire's efforts extended throughout the galaxy, including the Imperial capital of Coruscant. The Alderaanian population referred to their world's destruction as "the Disaster," which sparked riots leading to mass arrests and killings.

Shortly after the Disaster, the Rebel Alliance initiated the battle of Yavin. Luke Skywalker, a Rebel pilot, successfully destroyed the Death Star. The Rebels celebrated their triumph at the Great Temple, their base on Yavin 4, while preparing to evacuate due to the Empire discovering their location. As the base was being packed up, Princess Organa—the last surviving member of House of Organa, the Alderaanian ruling family—encountered Evaan Verlaine, a Rebel pilot. Verlaine shared rumors with Organa about the Empire hunting down Alderaanian survivors. Organa then resolved to locate and protect the remaining members of her people, and Verlaine pledged her loyalty to Organa—whom she considered the new Queen of Alderaan. Together, they embarked on a mission to rescue the Alderaanian survivors.

Due to the Empire placing a substantial bounty on Organa's head, General Jan Dodonna forbade her from leaving the Great Temple. Nevertheless, Organa, along with Verlaine and R2-D2, departed aboard a T-1 shuttle. Several T-65 X-wing starfighters, including Skywalker's, pursued them. Skywalker attempted to herd them, preventing Organa and Verlaine's ship from entering hyperspace. While evading Skywalker's X-wing, they jettisoned what appeared to be the hyperdrive's alluvial damper. However, this was a decoy, allowing the two Alderaanians' shuttle to escape the Yavin system.

Upon learning of the Melodic Order, an Alderaanian cloister on Naboo, Organa and Verlaine, disguised as Imperial auditors, landed in the city of Keren. Shortly after their arrival, they were greeted by Lord Junn, an old acquaintance of Organa who offered them shelter. He informed the rebels of an arrangement between Mul Sanaka, the owner of Club Deeja, and the Melodic Order. However, Junn secretly betrayed them, conspiring with Sanaka and his Besalisk henchmen to assassinate the two rebels in a back alley.

Upon their arrival, Sanaka and his Besalisk henchmen, including Snes, attempted to ambush Organa and Verlaine. However, Organa and Verlaine swiftly defeated them using a combination of unarmed combat and Verlaine shooting one of the henchmen in the chest. R2 also utilized his cables to electrocute a Besalisk. Sanaka attempted to kill the two rebels but was pistol–whipped by Uwa Pareece, the leader of the Melodic Order. Pareece tearfully confessed to concealing the destruction of Alderaan from her musicians and singers. After Pareece revealed the truth about Alderaan's destruction to the Melodic Order, Organa reassured the Alderaanians, urging them to remain united and emphasizing that their creativity kept Alderaan alive. She also pledged to reclaim every last orphan of Alderaan.

Organa then confronted Junn for his treachery. Instead of killing him, Organa requisitioned his luxury yacht Lord Junn to transport the Alderaanian refugees. Under Organa's orders, they set their hyperspace coordinates for the Sullust system in the Outer Rim Territories. Unbeknownst to the others, Tace, a singer, contacted her sister Tula, an Imperial officer, via a computer. Tula, under duress from her Commander Dreed, unknowingly pressed Tace for information regarding Organa's whereabouts and travel plans.

Organa and Verlaine journeyed to the planet Sullust, seeking to rescue the Alderaan Enclave, a secluded group of Alderaanian expatriates led by Preserver Jora Astane. These Alderaanians had combined their resources to purchase land and construct a compound. With the assistance of Tivvy, a Sullustan guide, Organa and Verlaine navigated Sullust's tunnels towards the Alderaan Enclave. Along the way, they were ambushed by several guards, including Covis.

Organa and Verlaine defeated the group in unarmed combat and forced them to lead them inside the Alderaan Enclave. Astane gave Organa a cold reception, as she was unwilling to accept Organa's help because the Empire was hunting for all Alderaanians across the galaxy. Organa informed Astane about the Lord Junn and offered to allow R2 to upload its coordinates so that her spy gear could see it for itself. Astane reluctantly complied and tasked Covis with mining every scrap of data from the Lord Junn including weapons profile, navigation history, and transmissions.

When Verlaine urged Astane to accept Organa's word, Astane introduced her guests to the Eyewell, a surveillance operation that covered the entire Sullust system. Organa then questioned Astane about what her group were doing on Alderaan. When Astane claimed they were providing cultural services including food, education, and the arts, Organa countered that the Sullustans were mainly miners who had little interests in cultural pursuits. Astane rejected Organa's charge they were smugglers and asked whether it was better to break Imperial laws or to make them.

Verlaine accused Astane of cultural vandalism, prompting a barbed response from Astane. After the Eyewell intercepted Tace's communications with Tula, Covis reported than it originated from an Imperial cruiser three hours ago. Believing that Organa and Verlaine were Imperials, Astane ordered her men to kill them. However, the two women escaped with Organa landing on the back of one of Astane's followers. Astane's men fired on the Eyewell equipment by accident.

Organa warned the Lord Junn to leave without them but Pareece refused to abandoned Organa. The pilot then reported the arrival of an Imperial Sentinel-class landing craft. Organa, Verlaine, and R2 managed to escape down a trapdoor which led to the rockrenders' lair. Shortly later, an Imperial platoon stormed the Alderaan Enclave, leading to a gun battle above. R2 managed to herd the rockrenders out of the trapdoor and into the Enclave.

The rockrenders proceeded to attack the stormtroopers, feeding on the dense minerals inside their armor. Dreed learned about the loss of his platoon but decided to track Organa down instead. Organa's actions won her the respect of Astane, who convinced her followers to kneel before Organa. Though Astane apologized for her mistrust, Organa reassured her that she was right to be suspicious about the presence of a spy.

Following the events on Sullust, Organa, Verlaine, and the Alderaan Enclave escaped aboard the Mellcrawler with the help of the Sullustan Nien Nunb. The Mellcrawler docked with the Lord Junn. Organa and Verlaine also bought firearms from Nunb. In return for Nunb's services in helping them to evacuate the Alderaanians off Sullust, Organa awarded him the Chalcedony waves. Meanwhile, Astane and Covis apprehended Tace, whom they accused of spying for the Empire.

However, Organa was unwilling to condemn Tace without proving her guilt and questioned her about her calls. Tace told Organa that the calls were to her sister Tula, who was interested in Organa's whereabouts and travels. Organa pointed out that the calls originated from an Imperial base and realized that the Empire knew they were on Sullust. As a result of the questioning, Organa concluded that Tace was innocent. To investigate whether Tula was acting under duress, Organa instructed Tace to ask her sister about her whereabouts the next time she called.

With the upcoming reunification talks with the planet Espirion looming ahead, Organa assigned Pareece and Astane to serve as the Alderaanian emissaries to Espirion. Espirion was a heavily militarized world that was open to refugees and travelers to the point of engineering micro-ecologies to support diverse lifeforms. The planet was also home to an Alderaanian diaspora of mixed Alderaanian-Espirion hybrids known as the Alder-Espirions. Pareece and Astane were tasked with enlisting the supporting of the Alder-Espirions.

Pareece and Astane traveled to Espirion where they met with Consul Rill, who arranged for them to meet the Alder-Espirion Chief Beon Beonel. Due to intermarriage, Beonel had the red skin and green eyes of the Espirion species. Pareece and Astane were aghast at Beonel's appearance, angering Beonel. When Astane made a xenophobic remark objecting to the dilution of Alderaan's identity, Beonel refused to continue the meeting despite Pareece's pleas. Pareece appealed to Rill, but he distrusted the Alderaanian envoys due to their unpleasant reaction to Beonel's appearance. In desperation, Pareece told Rill to promise that Organa would visit Espirion.

Before leaving Espirion, Pareece tried to apologize to Beonel and offered to arrange a meeting with Organa. Believing that Organa shared her subjects' bigoted views, he rejected the offer and departed on his wheeled airspeeder. Meanwhile, the Lord Junn traveled to Espirion where they discovered that a large fleet of Alderaanian refugee ships had converged above the planet.

Under Organa's direction, Tace contacted Tula and tried to ask her about her whereabouts. However, Dreed realized that the rebels were onto her and ordered his stormtroopers to lock her away for execution. Dreed taunted Tace for endangering her sister's life, causing her to weep. Taking pity on Tace, Organa intervened and offered to trade her freedom for Tula's life; an offer that the ambitious Dreed could not reject.

Despite Verlaine's objections, Organa insisted on proceeding with her mission. Unable to sway Verlaine, Organa revealed her true plan to the Alderaanian starfighter pilot. Though Covis objected to what he assumed was Organa's plan, he agreed to accompany her on her T-1 shuttle for the exchange. Before leaving, Organa told R2 that she would see him on the other side. The rebels traveled to the desert world of Skaradosh for the prisoner exchange.

Confident of victory, Dreed brought only a Lambda-class shuttle and a squad of stormtroopes with him. As part of the terms of the agreement, Dreed handed Tula to the rebels before taking Organa into custody. Jubilant, he believed that Organa was back in Imperial custody without a "prayer of rescue."

Before Dreed could take Organa away on his shuttle, Verlaine arrived aboard the Mellcrawler and opened fire on the Imperials, killing Dreed and several stormtroopers. Together with Covis, Verlaine, and Tula, Organa escaped aboard the Mellcrawler where they were joined by R2 and Nunb in the cockpit. To mislead Dreed's Star Destroyer, Nunb launched a decoy ship that was destroyed by the Star Destroyer. Believing that Organa was dead, Dreed's second-in-command Venk departed to attack the Alderaanian refugee ships that had gathered above Espirion.

Ascertaining that Dreed's Star Destroyer was heading to Espirion to pursue their caravan, Organa and her followers traveled back via hyperspace only to discover that a huge armada of Alderaanian refugee ships had gathered upon learning of Organa's mission to reunite the Alderaanian survivors. Knowing that the Empire was coming, Organa ordered them to prepare for battle stations. Aboard the Lord Junn, the rescued Tula received an icy reception from Tace, who was angry that she had been helping the Empire albeit unwillingly.

In the briefing room, Organa was disheartened to learn that Pareece and Astane's mission had failed due to the latter's bigotry towards the Alder-Espirions. In desperation, Orhana met with Verlaine and R2 and decided to make a speech to the assembled Alderaanian fleets. Despite lacking the support of the Espirion fleet, Organa urged the Alderaanians to fight for their freedom and right to exist. R2 also beamed Organa's speech directly to Beonel, who had a change of heart towards his Alderaanian kin.

Though the Imperial Star Destroyer destroyed several Alderaanian ships, Organa continued speaking and said that she was prepared to die with her people. Beonel decided to intervene and sent a ship called the Espirion Multi, which was crewed by Alder-Espirions, Ithorians, and Givin. The Espirion Multi entered the fray and destroyed Venk's Star Destroyer, saving the Alderaanian fleet from destruction.

The intervention of the Alder-Espirion during the battle above Espirion proved decisive in saving the Alderaanian refugee fleet from destruction at the hands of the Empire. Following the battle, Organa celebrated with her subjects including Verlaine, R2, Nunb, Astane, Pareece, and Beonel. While Pareece thought that Espirion's attack on the Star Destroyer would bring down the Empire on Espirion, Beonel reassured her that the Empire was going to have to come up with something bigger. In addition, Tace also reconciled with Tula, who had been coerced into spying by the Empire. Following the battle, Organa confided in Verlaine privately that she had to return to the Rebel Alliance since she helped to start the Rebellion. When Verlaine responded that the Alderaanians needed a princess, Organa convinced Verlaine to hold an election and nominated her friend. While Organa returned to Yavin 4 and reunited with her friends, Verlaine ruled the Alderaanian refugees in Organa's absence. The Alderaanian refugee fleet then departed into hyperspace.

All the same, Verlaine would eventually return to her role as a pilot in the rebellion. According to a story told by the cartographer Emil Graf, she was back before the evacuation of Yavin was even finished and proved instrumental in holding back an attacking Star Destroyer. Although she did indeed focus herself on the rebellion, Organa also continued to be regarded as the Princess. Not all Alderaanians would chose to become part of the new refugee fleet. One such Alderaanian was the last of House Glorio, Rabael Dir Glorio.

Princess Leia and Evaan Verlaine's mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan serves as the main plot of the 2015 Marvel Comics story arc Star Wars: Princess Leia. The comic was created by Mark Waid, illustrated by Terry Dodson, inked by Rachel Dodson, and colored by Jordie Bellaire.