Mara Organa Skywalker

Mara Organa Skywalker (born Mara Jade, also known as Her Royal Highness, Princess Mara Organa and Her Excellency, Senator Organa) was a Human female Jedi in the New Jedi Order, a hero of the Galactic Civil War, and an influential political figure of the New Republic. She was the adoptive daughter of Bail and Breha Organa, making her a princess of Alderaan. She was also the wife of Luke Skywalker.Her birth parents had been two Jedi who had broken the Jedi Code and fallen in love prior to the Great Jedi Purge. Born while her parents were on the run from the Empire, they entrusted her safety to an aide of the Organa family and were killed shortly thereafter by agents of the Empire.

The Organas loved and raised the young Mara as their own daughter, proclaiming that she would be the next queen of Alderaan and grooming her to succeed Bail in the Senate. She became close friends with Winter Retrac, the daughter of on of her father's aides; the two would later work together on early missions for the Alliance to Restore the Republic. As a child, Mara was very restless and curious, developing a keen interest in flying and the old Jedi Order, which proved worrisome to many of her family members.

Mara was also very outspoken and determined, leading her to follow in her father's footsteps as a Senator and later as a leader of the Rebel Alliance. In the Senate, she became friends with Senator starwars: Pooja Naberrie of Naboo, and her sister, Queen Arandala, a friendship that would later prove vital to the survival of the Rebellion.

In 0 BBY, Mara was on her way to a special Senate session, presumably to discuss the sending of aid to Naboo refugees displaced by unrest in the Chommell Sector. Mara was tasked with to important charges: 1) to safely transport Queen Arandala to Coruscant, and 2) to recieve the final part of the stolen Death Star plans fron the queen and transmit them to the Alliance.

Unfortunately, her ship was intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer in the Tatooine system before she reached her destination. The Princess managed to get the queen (disguised as one of her handmaidens) and the droid carrying the plans safely to the planet's surface in an escape pod. Mara and the queen's decoy were captured and detained aboard the Death Star. Mara was tortured for information by Darth Vader, but refused to give the location of the Rebel base. As a final effort to get her to reveal the location, the princess was threatened with the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan. She gave a false location, but was forced to witness the destruction of her planet despite her efforts. Though she was unaware of the cause at the time, Mara experienced brief mental and physical pain caused by feeling the deaths of the inhabitants of Alderaan through the Force. The experience was very heartbreaking for Mara, as her entire family, as well as her friend Winter, persished at the hands of the Empire that day.

Mara and Arandala's decoy were later rescued by none other than the queen herself, accompanied by smuggler Han Solo and Jedi Padawan Luke Skywalker. After escaping the Death Star, Mara disobeyed orders by piloting a Y-Wing in the Battle of Yavin, during which Skywalker managed to destroy the battle station. Despite her disobedience, Mara was awarded the Medal of Bravery for her valiant efforts both during the battle and her torture.