Unidentified Alderaanian stormtrooper This stormtrooper from Alderaan was a soldier and TIE pilot in the Galactic Empire . Although originally a servant in the household of the Royal family of Alderaan , he left the world to become a trooper in the Imperial Military . The soldier found a sense of belonging in the Empire , something that he had not been able to discover on his home planet . Eventually , the soldier received word of the Destruction of Alderaan , a massacre carried out by the Empire with the use of the Death Star . Although the Imperials had obliterated his home planet , the soldier still stayed loyal to the Empire . He was still working as a stormtrooper a short time before the Battle of Endor when he was assigned to the planet Yinchorr , under the command of Imperial Governor Marcellin Wessel . While serving under the governor , the soldier became involved in a plot to assassinate the Rebel leader , and fellow Alderaanian , Princess Leia Organa . Wessel lured Organa to Yinchorr on the pretense of a meeting with the native Yinchorri . When Organa arrived , her shuttle was shot down by the soldier , but she survived . The soldier rescued Organa from the wreckage , intent on bringing her back to Wessel for interrogation . During the trek back to Imperial headquarters , the soldier revealed that he was from Alderaan , gaining Organa ' s contempt due to his continued service to the Empire . During their trip across the Yinchorr desert , Organa eventually swayed the soldier ' s resolve . After turning Organa over to Wessel , the soldier was shocked when the governor decided to immediately execute the Rebel leader . Changing his stance , the trooper freed Organa , and asked to join the Rebellion . As the two attempted to flee Yinchorr in the " Millennium Falcon " , however , the soldier was hit by blaster fire as he was about to climb the ship ' s boarding ramp . Organa tried to hold onto the man as the " Falcon " departed the planet , but he proved too heavy . The soldier slipped from the princess ' fingers and fell to his death . Biography . Servitude on Alderaan . This man , who would eventually become a stormtrooper , was born on the planet Alderaan . He became a servant to the royal family , gaining familiarity with the Organas , including the young Princess Leia Organa . Eventually , the man left Alderaan to join the Galactic Empire . He had not found acceptance on his homeworld , and the Imperial service became more of a home to him than Alderaan had been . The man underwent training to become a stormtrooper as well as a TIE pilot , developing into a trained soldier for the Imperial war machine . In 0 BBY , the Empire destroyed Alderaan as a demonstration of the power of their new superweapon , the Death Star . The Alderaanian stormtrooper eventually received word of his home planet ' s destruction . However , his emotional detachment from the world kept him from taking any drastic measures , and he remained with the Imperial Military . Looking to justify the destruction and loss of life , the man blamed the event on the Viceroy of Alderaan , Bail Prestor Organa . He claimed that Organa knew what would happen if he stood against the Empire , and the viceroy ' s refusal to accept the Empire ' s authority was the sole cause of Alderaan ' s destruction . Sometime afterward , the Alderaanian trooper found himself on the planet Tatooine . A trader there had scavenged a chunk of rock from Alderaan ' s destruction . Wanting to own a reminder of his destroyed homeworld , the man bought the rock from the trader . The rock was attached to a chain and worn around the stormtrooper ' s neck , kept inside his armor for safekeeping . Assignment on Yinchorr . Sometime around 3 ABY , the Alderaanian trooper was assigned to the planet Yinchorr under the command of Imperial Governor Marcellin Wessel . Wessel was oppressing the native Yinchorri , and he eventually kidnapped the Yinchorri ' s Council of Elders . The Yinchorri were scheduled to meet with now Rebel leader Princess Organa about joining the Rebellion . Wessel blackmailed the Yinchorri , threatening to murder the Elder Council unless they delivered Leia Organa to him . Forced into a corner , the Yinchorri agreed , sending a Yinchorri commander to pick up the Rebel leader in a shuttle and turn her over to Wessel . The Alderaanian stormtrooper was sent to escort the shuttle into the atmosphere of the world . Flying TIE Fighters , he and his wingmate flanked the Yinchorri shuttle as the craft prepared to land in the Yinchorr desert . Wessel had decided to take no chances , however , and rather than capturing Organa , the governor ordered his men to simply destroy the shuttle and kill the Rebel leader . The trooper and his wingmate opened fire on the shuttle , catching the Yinchorri craft off guard . The shuttle began to take evasive maneuvers , flying close to the ground in an attempt to lose its attackers . In the midst of the chase , the ship began to return fire on the TIEs , eventually destroying the Alderaanian ' s wingmate . Even without his wingmate , the trooper was able shoot down the shuttle , causing it to plummet to the desert below . At the same time , the shuttle got off a parting shot , destroying his TIE ' s left solar array wing . The Alderaanian crash - landed in a rocky area of the desert , managing to avoid major injuries . Although battered and bruised by the crash , the stormtrooper extricated himself from the destroyed TIE and set off across the desert to complete his mission of killing all the passengers of the shuttle . Encountering Princess Leia . When the Alderaanian trooper arrived at the wreckage of the shuttle , he discovered all the Yinchorri crew members killed in the crash . Upon checking the ship ' s laser cannon turret , the trooper recognized Leia Organa from his days on Alderaan . The Princess had been knocked unconscious and had a cut across her forehead , but she was not seriously injured . Deciding to ignore his orders to kill the Rebel leader , the trooper began to work to free Organa from the shuttle ' s wreckage . Organa awoke to see the trooper attacking the wreckage with a metal pipe , and she immediately began to struggle to escape her enemy . To put Organa at ease , the trooper removed his helmet , asking her if she recognized him from his days as a servant on Alderaan . Organa had no recollection of the man , but was shocked to learn that he was from Alderaan yet still served the Empire . The two argued , with the trooper claiming that Organa , a member of the royal family , could not possibly sympathize with his scenario , and she had no idea what he had gone through . As they argued , the two were unaware of the approaching native predators , the Rolk - mangir . The trooper freed Organa from the wreckage , but she refused to let the issue of the destruction of Alderaan rest . Hoping to silence the princess , the trooper showed her his small pendant , his tiny piece of Alderaan . At that moment , one of the Rolk - mangir attacked , grabbing the trooper by the leg , and lifting him into the air . Unable to get to his blaster , the soldier was at the mercy of the predators . Organa decided to save the trooper , firing a blaster into the attacking Rolk - mangir ' s face , causing the beast to release him . However , the tough hide of the Rolk - mangir resisted the blaster shot , and it pursued Organa and the trooper across the desert . The Rolk - mangir slowly herded the two to the edge of a cliff , trapping them . Organa noticed a small ledge some distance below , and he ordered the trooper to jump down . The soldier obeyed , but when Organa followed him , she slipped from the ledge , nearly falling the rest of the way down the cliff . The trooper grabbed her by the hand , pulling her back onto the ledge , saving her life . Tired over their ordeal , the trooper lamented the fact that the two had to be enemies . Organa agreed with the trooper and asked for him to turn away from the Empire and join the Rebellion . Bringing up the small piece of Alderaan that the trooper owned , Organa pointed out that the necklace was a symbol for the murder of millions of innocent people . Confronted with the evil that he had done and helped perpetuate , the trooper ' s resolve began to waver . However , he was still unable to give up all that he had gained under the Empire . Disgusted with the trooper , Organa insulted the man for having no integrity . Offended by her statements , the trooper took the Rebel leader captive , intent on bringing her back to Wessel for interrogation . Defection . At the same time , Wessel had been searching the desert with his men , wanting to make sure that Organa had died in the shuttle crash . Spotting Wessel ' s vehicle , the trooper led Organa to the governor , turning her over to his commander . With the Rebel leader in his possession , Wessel ordered his men to execute the Yinchorri Elder Council , as there was no use keeping them any longer . Organa tried to protest , but Wessel claimed that Organa would be the next to die . The trooper , shocked at Wessel ' s brutality , protested , but Wessel assured him that every second Organa was alive was a danger to the Empire . Before Wessel could execute the Rebel leader , the " Millennium Falcon " arrived on the planet , intent on rescuing Organa . The ship destroyed Wessel ' s vehicle and landed on the planet ' s surface , opening the boarding ramp for Organa to make a quick escape . As Organa made a run for the " Millennium Falcon " , Wessel ordered his men to kill the escaping princess . The trooper , remembering his training , instinctively reached for his blaster , but in his haste , he inadvertently tore the small piece of Alderaan from his neck . Remembering Organa ' s words , the trooper decided to turn against the Empire . Before Wessel could shoot at Organa , the trooper fired at the governor , knocking Wessel ' s blaster out of his hand . The trooper told Organa that she was right , and asked if he could join her in escaping Yinchorr . Before the two departed , the trooper decided to kill Wessel for the atrocities he had committed , but Organa stopped him , claiming that there had already been too much killing . Leaving Wessel behind , the two ran to the " Millennium Falcon " , but before the stormtrooper could board the ship , he was hit by blaster fire from some of Wessel ' s other men . With the remaining Imperials still firing on them , the ship lifted off . The trooper , badly injured , was unable to get onto the ship , and he was barely able to hold onto Organa ' s hand as the " Millennium Falcon " fled from Wessel ' s men . Hanging off the end of the boarding ramp , Organa tried to hold onto the stormtrooper , attempting to lift him into the ship . Unfortunately for the new Rebel , he proved too heavy for the princess , and he slipped from her grasp , leaving only his rock necklace in her hand . Falling away from the ship , the trooper plummeted to his death . Aftermath . With the " Millennium Falcon " on a course away from Yinchorr , Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian , the two Rebels who had come to rescue the Princess , pulled Organa onto the ship , apologizing for the loss of the young man . The two attempted to ask Organa about the trooper , but she could only show them the rock necklace , the only link that she had with the man whose name she had never even learned . Personality and traits . This stormtrooper was a loyal soldier dedicated to the Galactic Empire . Even after hearing that his home planet had been destroyed by Imperial forces , he continued to serve . The trooper justified the destruction by placing the blame on Alderaan ' s viceroy , Bail Organa , for standing up to the Empire . However , he still felt some guilt over the events , especially concerning his loyalty to the Empire . As a result , he bought a small chunk of Alderaan from a trader on Tatooine as a remembrance of his lost home planet . Although he viewed the token as a sentimental souvenir of Alderaan , his attitude toward it changed when he met Leia Organa . The princess used the small piece of Alderaan to convince the man of the gravity of Alderaan ' s destruction , claiming that the token was only a symbol of the murder of millions of innocents . The trooper was originally very hesitant to act against the status quo . He was reluctant to turn his back on the Empire that had given him a sense of purpose and importance . Even after being convinced of the Empire ' s evil , he did not want to throw away his career for the Rebellion ' s dream of a future that might never come to pass . He eventually overcame his fears when faced with the possible execution of Organa at the hands of Marcellin Wessel . He turned against the Empire , betraying his commander and deciding to join the Rebel Alliance . However , this decision cost the man his life , as he was gunned down by his fellow Imperials . The trooper was also a talented pilot . During his pursuit of Leia Organa ' s shuttle , he was able to shoot down the fleeing craft , despite his wingmate being shot down and the shuttle weaving through rocky outcroppings . When he was shot down , even after losing his left wing , he controlled his TIE Fighter enough to survive the landing . Behind the scenes . The unidentified Alderaanian stormtrooper was created by Randy Stradley for use in the " Marvel Star Wars " comic " " . The character was never named in the comic , and he died at the conclusion of the story , leaving his identity in doubt . In the development of the story , Stradley was hoping for a tale with real emotion . As a result , he wanted to play off of a major event that was already established within the " Star Wars " universe . Stradley picked the destruction of Alderaan as the major event to play off of , and , as such , the stormtrooper in the story is a native of the planet Alderaan .