One of the most prestigious planets of the Republic, the Core World of Alderaan was hailed for its natural beauty, support for the arts, and tradition of assisting those in need. During the Clone Wars, the ancient world was represented by Bail Organa.

Organa was a Loyalist Senator who supported Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. But he also tried to slow the galaxy’s rush to war and worked to bring relief to war-torn planets and assist the Republic’s refugees. During the Clone Wars, Alderaan was host to a conference convened by Organa to help war refugees.

Organa became alarmed by the increasing power accumulated by Palpatine and the growth of the Republic’s military-industrial complex. Alderaan’s Senator secretly began meeting with like-minded Senators, laying the groundwork for resistance against Palpatine if he refused to relinquish his wartime powers. Organa listened in despair as Palpatine declared himself Emperor, but remained part of the Imperial Senate, hoping to undermine the Empire from within.

Organa helped Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi escape the Jedi purge. He took Leia, the infant daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, home to Alderaan, where he and his wife Breha raised her as their own. Bail would groom Leia as his successor in the Imperial Senate and as an ally in the movement to overthrow the Empire.

As the Empire expanded and tightened its grip on the galaxy, Organa left Alderaan on missions to identify people who could play important roles in the Rebel Alliance. His agents included Ahsoka Tano, the Jedi exile who used the code name Fulcrum in her rebel activities.

Leia took over Alderaan’s Senate seat, but was caught by the Empire trying to bring the plans for the Death Star to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. After she refused to tell Grand Moff Tarkin the location of the principal rebel base, Tarkin decided to make an example of Alderaan, destroying it as a demonstration of Imperial power.

As Leia watched in horror, the Death Star’s superlaser incinerated her homeworld, killing Alderaan’s people and leaving nothing behind but a forlorn asteroid field. But the planet’s fate would become a rallying cry for those seeking to restore freedom to the galaxy.