The XJ-2 airspeeder represents a uniquely tailored Narglatch AirTech vehicle. Bail Organa possessed this vehicle while serving as both a senator representing the Alderaan sector and as the Viceroy governing Alderaan. Inspired by fellow Senator Simon Greyshade's XJ-6 airspeeder, Organa acquired his own custom Narglatch AirTech prefabricated kit, distinguished by its red and silver color scheme. The airspeeder evolved into a cherished pastime for Organa, who dedicated time to its maintenance and modification whenever his senatorial obligations permitted. As the Clone Wars erupted, Organa brought the XJ-2 to Coruscant, where he increasingly spent his time.
To maintain a low profile, Organa registered the speeder under the pseudonym "Org Banelli," allowing him to operate without attracting undue attention from authorities. He was part of a group of senators who were considering removing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from power at the war's conclusion, so he required the ability to move discreetly. Once the war ended, Organa utilized the speeder to facilitate the rescue of Jedi Master Yoda from Palpatine's control. Upon his return to Alderaan, Organa committed himself to the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which resulted in the speeder being largely unused. Eventually, he gifted it to his adopted daughter, Princess Leia, and imparted piloting skills to her as she matured. The speeder met its end when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, but Narglatch AirTech later introduced a production line based on its design during the Galactic Civil War.
The XJ-2, a customized airspeeder, was a compact, two-seat vehicle measuring 5.9 meters in length. The seating was upholstered with blue-tinted leather. Senator Bail Organa chose its distinctive red and silver color scheme. In the hands of a skilled pilot, the speeder was capable of achieving high, potentially dangerous velocities. To enhance maneuverability, the steering mechanism was modified to allow for tighter turns. Although constructed from a brand-new Narglatch AirTech prefabricated kit, the design drew inspiration from an older airspeeder model. Organa's original vehicle was unique when it was first built. Subsequent reproductions of the speeder offered excellent handling and impressive speed, excelling in both acceleration and climbing. A variant with a different color scheme, featuring blue and yellow, was used on worlds like Onderon.
Narglatch AirTech, an independent company of modest size, specialized in creating custom airspeeder development kits. Their target market consisted of the affluent and prestigious members of the Republic, including senators and the aristocracy of the Core World regions. Simon Greyshade, the Senator representing the Vorzyd sector, frequently showcased his custom-built XJ-6 airspeeder to his colleagues. Greyshade's displays prompted Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan to acquire and assemble his own Narglatch AirTech kit.
The modification of the speeder became a hobby for Organa. Whenever he was free from official duties, he could be found in his garage on Alderaan, working on the XJ-2. Recognizing the value of having a means of discreet transportation, Organa registered his speeder under the alias "Org Banelli."
As the Separatist Crisis demanded more of Organa's attention as a senator, he had less time to pursue his interest as an amateur mechanic, and the XJ-2 received decreasing amounts of attention. With the onset of the Clone Wars, Organa spent the majority of his time on Coruscant, the galactic capital, and he brought his speeder with him. In 22 BBY, Organa learned from a contact that the Sith were plotting to destroy the Jedi Order, so he piloted his speeder to the apartment of Senator Padmé Amidala in an attempt to coordinate a meeting with the Order through her. Around 21 BBY, while working to defeat a bill that would escalate the war effort, Organa was attacked by the bounty hunters Robonino and Chata Hyoki, who ambushed him as he prepared to depart from the Galactic Senate's speeder hangar. While police droids and Alderaanian troopers worked to apprehend the hired guns, Organa attempted to flee the hangar in his XJ-2 speeder, only to crash it into the hangar entrance when the vehicle was struck by laser fire from Hyoki. Although Robonino and Hyoki were apprehended, Organa sustained injuries from the crash and was unable to deliver a speech to the Senate.
XJ-2 airspeeders were also popular on worlds such as Onderon, which was under the control of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the Battle of Onderon around 20 BBY, the Onderon rebels—who were fighting against the Confederacy in the capital city, Iziz—loaded an XJ-2 speeder with explosives and left it in the path of a Separatist battle droid patrol on one of Iziz's streets. Once the droid patrol arrived, the rebels detonated the bomb-laden speeder, tricking the Separatists into sending reinforcements to the site in the form of an Armored Assault Tank, which the rebels then used to destroy Iziz's power generator.
As the war progressed, Organa became increasingly concerned about Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's frequent changes to the Constitution, leading him to meet regularly with other senators, such as Mon Mothma and Giddean Danu, to discuss their concerns. The "Banelli" alias allowed him to avoid the scrutiny of Palpatine's staff and travel to these meetings with ease. As the war ended abruptly in 19 BBY, the XJ-2 was used extensively during the chaos of Operation: Knightfall, which was part of Order 66. When fires erupted at the Jedi Temple, Organa rushed there in his speeder to investigate. He was stopped by Clone Commander CC-1119, who advised him to leave. After witnessing CC-1119 and the 501st Legion kill Zett Jukassa, a Jedi Padawan, a horrified Organa fled the scene in his XJ-2.
In the following days, Organa witnessed Palpatine's Declaration of a New Order. Disgusted by what he saw, he aided Jedi Master Yoda's assassination attempt on the now-Emperor Palpatine. When the attempt failed, Organa once again used the speeder to help Yoda escape the Emperor's clone troopers. The "Org Banelli" registration helped Organa avoid arrest and allowed him to return to Alderaan with the speeder. For a short time, he resumed modifying the vehicle, but the creation of the new Alliance to Restore the Republic meant that the XJ-2 would eventually be neglected.
When Organa's adopted daughter, Leia, came of age, he gifted her the XJ-2 as a birthday present. He used the airspeeder to teach her basic piloting skills, which were essential for handling such a fast and dangerous vehicle. When Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin chose to use Alderaan as a demonstration of the destructive power of the Death Star, the XJ-2 was destroyed when the planet exploded. The craft was later mass-produced by Narglatch AirTech and saw service during the Galactic Civil War. The speeder was considered stylish, and its users were highly regarded. The Corellia Times also published a consumer report on the speeder on the HoloNet. Corellia Times gave it a good rating overall, particularly praising its acceleration and climbing capabilities.
The XJ-2 airspeeder was conceived for George Lucas's 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, where it served as Bail Organa's mode of transportation. Lucas based the speeder's design on the 1948 Tucker Sedan as a reference to Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The vehicle's backstory was later expanded upon by "Master Devwi" through the StarWars.com Hyperspace feature "What's The Story?" Devwi's Databank entry explained that Organa's speeder belonged to the same model line as the XJ-6 airspeeder, which appeared in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Devwi's entry also connected the XJ-6 to the broader Expanded Universe, including the character Simon Greyshade from 1978's Star Wars (1977) 18; Greyshade had been associated with the XJ-6 by the HoloNet News website.
The speeder was featured as a "loot card" in the 2008 Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game set Champions of the Force, which players could redeem for a speeder in the computer game Star Wars Galaxies. After a brief appearance in the 2008 novel The Clone Wars: Wild Space, the airspeeder appeared in "Pursuit of Peace," an episode from the 2010 third season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. A recolored version of the speeder also appeared in the 2012 fifth season episode "Front Runners."