This post contains SPOILERS for the novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan
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One of the more curious aspects of the original Star Wars trilogy is how and why the young Princess Leia Organa is a key member of the Rebel Alliance, and the new novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray (set three years before A New Hope) looks to answer that question. At age 19, when her twin brother Luke Skywalker was working on his uncle's moisture farm, Leia was making a name for herself as a take-charge leader standing up to the Empire's corrupt and oppressive form of government. Growing up as a member of the Royal Family Organa, it isn't surprising Leia became so involved, and she was an integral part of the whole thing very early on.
Due to her upbringing, Leia never was an Imperial sympathizer and was always happy to push back. She embarked on multiple "mercy missions" across the galaxy, looking to provide supplies and resources to worlds in need. Leia even found loopholes in regulations to save the lives of refugees - much to the chagrin of higher-ups. Believing the best way to fight back against Palpatine is through channels like the Senate, Leia was eager to follow her father's footsteps to make a difference in the universe, but unbeknownst to her, her adoptive parents were taking far more serious strides to reestablish freedom in the galaxy.
Crait & Paucris Major Discoveries
Along with allies like Mon Mothma, Bail and Breha are at the forefront of a covert operation looking for a way to oppose the Empire. The elder Organas keep this a secret from their daughter out of concern for her safety. Bail and Breha felt if they were ever discovered, it would be better for Alderaan if Leia was completely innocent of wrongdoing. That way, she could be appointed to the position of Queen under the guise of a normal transference of power. Because of their secretive activities, Bail and Breha do not have as much time for Leia, which at times strains their relationship. As a result, Leia is left to her own devices frequently, and she eventually uncovers the truth through her own intuition.
Doing some late work for the Apprentice Legislature (an Imperial program where youngsters like Leia handle seemingly trivial tasks like selecting the site for a new academy), Leia stumbles across documents on Calderos Station - an outpost that had just been attacked by unknown forces. Curious to learn more, Leia peels back the layers and sees that an unusual amount of shipments was going from Calderos to the remote planet Crait (which will be seen in The Last Jedi). Commandeering the Organa's vessel, the Polestar, with pilot Ress Batten, Leia goes off to explore the salt-covered world and figure out what's going on. Upon arriving on the surface, she is captured and brought to a shelter, where she discovers her father is leading a resistance that was behind the incident at Calderos. Returning to Alderaan, Bail and Breha explain to Leia the basic outline of the rebellion, but refuse to allow her to become a meaningful part of it due to reasons described in the above paragraph.
Knowing what her family is really up to only makes things more difficult for Leia, who feels as if she's being held back. The best she can do, at least within the eyes of her parents, is befriend people such as Mon Mothma and form alliances with her fellow Apprentice Legislature members. That isn't enough for Leia, who once again takes matters into her own hands and does some snooping around the royal palace one night. Her mother is skilled at accounting and bookkeeping, so Leia does some digging around to learn more about the Alliance's funding. Discovering a file labeled "spaceport development," examination uncovered several credits being put into a project located at Paucris Major. Going on another expedition with Batten, Leia makes another startling discovery about what's being planned.
At this port, the two find the makings of a Rebel fleet; a plethora of transports and battleships (some refurbished from the Clone Wars era) that are being prepared for an imminent galactic war. Bail and Breha were among the Rebels that supported "controlled, directed military action" against the Empire, but Leia was under the impression they did not align with the extremist tendencies of Saw Gerrera. This, however, makes her reconsider that sentiment. While Leia was not supposed to learn of this, her inquisitive nature ended up being beneficial and saved the lives of countless people.
Evacuation of Praucis Major
Leia's involvement with the Apprentice Legislature periodically puts her in the company of one Grand Moff Tarkin, who is keen on grooming the next generation of Imperial leadership. One of the Empire's sharpest and best minds, Tarkin begins to suspect something is afoot when he crashes a lavish dinner party put together by Breha (which doubles as a "strategizing session" for the Rebellion). Keeping his skepticism to himself, Tarkin unintentionally revealed his hand in a private meeting with Leia, where he implied Bail and Breha's rule of Alderaan may soon come to an end and mentioned Paucris as one of the furthest systems the Empire hoped would be part of their perfect rule. Alarmed that Paucris was on Tarkin's radar, Leia rushed to inform Breha and Mon Mothma so they could plan accordingly.
With both tied up in official obligations and unable to make a move without raising more suspicions, it's up to Leia to lead the evacuation efforts. Hitching a ride with Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern's Last Jedi character), the two arrive in the system and warn Bail about an impending Imperial attack. Swiftly, Bail orders the ships to scatter and initiates self-destruct sequences on the repair stations to eliminate any trace the Rebels were there. It's at this moment the Alderaan senator realizes he can no longer keep his daughter in the dark and allows her to fight by his side. Through this, Leia had proven to her father she belonged in the conflict and demonstrated her immense worth.
What should have been a happy moment for Leia morphs into one of tragedy. After all the Rebel ships leave, Leia and Amilyn still pick up one vehicle on their scanners - a low-key cutter. The pilot is Kier Domadi, Leia's boyfriend who had come speeding to her rescue when he learned she could be in danger. Unable to move out of the explosion's path, Kier is mortally wounded as his ship is damaged and dies in Leia's arms. To make matters worse, Leia discovers Kier was recording the Rebel activity so he could out the Alliance to the Empire - a decision he felt was the right one because it would ensure Alderaan's safety.
It's easy to see why Bail said he would trust Leia with his life in Rogue One and why she got important missions like bringing the Death Star plans to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Throughout Princess of Alderaan, its titular subject constantly illustrates her fearlessness and willingness to do what's best for the galaxy at large. The Organas would have been foolish to not look to their daughter as an ally, and because they finally loosened up on their restrictions, the galaxy was saved from tyranny. It's easy to forget, but Leia's actions led to the Alliance's victory at Yavin - the first domino to fall as the Empire's stranglehold started to crumble.
Conclusion
From the beginning, Leia has always been portrayed as a person much more mature than her years, and it's fun for fans to learn more about her past in this latest addition to franchise canon. Luke's story was told in the original trilogy and Han Solo is getting a prequel film, so it only makes sense Lucasfilm would want to explore Leia's youth at some point. Like most of the non-movie materials, Leia: Princess of Alderaan may not be required reading to fully understand the films, but it works as a great supplement that fleshes out a fan-favorite character further. The amount of time spent with Bail, Breha, and Alderaan even makes its destruction at the hands of the Death Star that more poignant.
The novel is also part of the "Journey to The Last Jedi" line of publications, and while its place in the timeline makes any connections to the new movie brief, there are some to be found. Fans following the development of The Last Jedi know Crait as the site of an old Rebellion base, which is why the Resistance seeks refuge there while on the run from the First Order. It's probably a good thing Leia went snooping around, or there's a chance she may never have learned of the location. Depending on what transpires in Episode VIII, her intuition could benefit her friends some three decades later.
