Order 66/Legends

"The time has come. Execute Order 66."

- Palpatine to numerous clone commanders

Order 66 was one of a series of contingency orders that the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic were secretly trained to prepare for during their growth. The order branded the Jedi as traitors of the Republic and called for their immediate execution without question. Its issuing by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine marked the formal beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, the rise of the Galactic Empire and was chief among the atrocities that led to the Galactic Civil War.

Almost all of the Jedi were killed by Order 66, and most of the survivors were killed in the Great Jedi Purge that followed. The Jedi Order survived through acts such as Obi-Wan Kenobi's and Yoda's teaching Luke Skywalker the ways of the Force.

History
"I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor."

- Mace Windu

Prelude to Order 66
Order 66 could be found in the document entitled Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic: Order Initiation, Orders 1 through 150, GAR Document CO(CL) 56-95, a document containing a series of special contingency orders that covered any and all emergency situations, which the clones that comprised the GAR were secretly prepared to execute, immediately and without question, and only in specific cases of extreme necessity. The text of the order ran:

Order 66: In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established.

In 19 BBY, Order 66 was issued by Darth Sidious towards the end of the Clone Wars. The official reason given for its execution was the onset of an attempted Jedi coup against the Republic; in reality, it was the culmination of a chain of events orchestrated by Palpatine himself over a period of decades, all designed to end the Jedi Order and to bring about the domination of the Sith. Just days earlier, the Senate had passed the Security Act, which gave Palpatine authority to disband the Jedi Order.

After the destruction of General Grievous at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin stormed the Supreme Chancellor's office, intent on arresting Palpatine, who had been revealed to them as the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious by Anakin Skywalker. Kolar, Tiin and Fisto were quickly cut down by Sidious, but Windu was able to hold him off and eventually disarm him. Skywalker then arrived to find the Supreme Chancellor, looking defeated, attempting to surrender in exchange for his life. When it became evident that Windu was going to kill Sidious, Skywalker intervened, which gave the sith lord the opportunity to destroy the jedi master. Windu's "assassination attempt" provided the chancellor with the excuse he needed to have Order 66 carried out.

Execution of the Order


Palpatine sent word out via the office of the Chancellor to all of the clone commanders in the army. The commanders had a variety of reactions to the surprising order, but since it came from the Chancellor himself, virtually all of them carried it out without question or hesitation. On countless planets, Jedi were cut down by their troopers. The Jedi, who had been spread throughout the galaxy across disparate battlefields, were almost all caught totally unaware and gunned down with ease. Three years of non-stop intergalactic warfare polluted the Force with the dark side, clouding Jedi perception even further. Because the clones had no malice nor hatred, but were merely following a legal order, they had no ill intent in their heart, which might have given some warning to the Jedi via the Force.



Although it was impossible for Palpatine to have issued the order to every single commander individually, he did take the time to contact several personally before the Order was relayed throughout the army as a whole. Within the first minutes of the Order, several members of the Jedi Council had been killed; including Plo Koon on Cato Neimoidia at the hands of Captain Jag, Stass Allie on Saleucami at the hands of Commander Neyo, and Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto at the hands of Commander Bacara. On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding a varactyl named Boga when Commander Cody executed the order, ordering an AT-TE to fire on him, but Kenobi managed to survive and escape the planet. He soon reunited with Grand Master Yoda, who had also managed to escape an attack by Commander Gree on Kashyyyk. As noted, not all clone troopers obeyed the Order. On Murkhana, Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone were rescued from Order 66 by members of a clone commando unit. Led by Climber, they initially questioned the validity of the order, and even upon confirmation, refused to side with the government over those who had fought alongside them, having developed an affinity for the Jedi. As a result, they were punished harshly. However, that is the only evidence to date of a soldier disobeying the order; in all other recorded instances, clone commandos and ARC troopers obeyed it.

Raid on the Jedi Temple


"I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi Temple."

- Bail Organa

On Coruscant, Senate Emergency Response announced a state of martial law over Coruscant, and declared the Jedi Temple under military lockdown. Order 66 authorized Darth Vader and the 501st Legion to attack the Jedi Temple; however, deciding to take a more surprise-attack approach, a mission named Operation: Knightfall was devised where the 501st killed everyone they found in the Temple&mdash;Masters, Padawans, even younglings. They even mercilessly massacred non-Jedi staff, such as administrators, trainers, and guards, and threatened to attack Bail Organa when he arrived to investigate. None within the building were spared, but some escaped, including Shaak Ti.

"We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end."

- Palpatine after the death of Mace Windu.

Aftermath
"Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him back the bloody lightsaber?"

- Commander Cody, speaking of Obi-Wan Kenobi, after receiving Order 66

Although Order 66 greatly depleted the Jedi Order's ranks, with an estimated less than 100 Jedi surviving it, it was only the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, which stretched on for years. Nearly all of the surviving Jedi Knights were hunted down and murdered by Darth Vader, while Order 66 itself remained in effect indefinitely among the ranks of the Galactic Empire's newly-christened stormtroopers. Masters Kenobi and Yoda, like many others, chose to go into exile&mdash;on Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively. There they managed to elude Imperial forces for many years; a feat few of their contemporaries could claim.

Known victims
"Every single Jedi, including your friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic."

- Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker



The majority of the Jedi across the galaxy fell victim to Order 66. Below are just some of the many Jedi who were killed when Order 66 was executed. Included are some who died in the raid on the Jedi Temple.


 * Stass Allie
 * J'oopi Shé
 * Sors Bandeam
 * Nem Bees
 * Bene
 * Olana Chion
 * Cin Drallig
 * Zett Jukassa
 * Jurokk
 * Serra Keto
 * Plo Koon
 * Saras Loorne
 * Du Mahn
 * Whie Malreaux
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi
 * Jocasta Nu
 * Barriss Offee
 * Aayla Secura
 * Sev
 * Sian Jeisel
 * Simms
 * Three Jedi Masters
 * Holocron Jedi Master
 * Traavis
 * Luminara Unduli
 * Tru Veld
 * 10 members of the Soaring Hawkbat Clan

Known survivors
"The Jedi Order is as ancient as time itself. It would take the might of the entire galaxy to strike us down."

- Jedi Master Kreia

It was said that fewer than one hundred Jedi&mdash;approximately one percent of the entire Order&mdash;survived Order 66. However, it appeared that that was incorrect, as the number seemed to actually be above one hundred (close to two hundred). Nonetheless, many of these Jedi were killed over the following years during the Great Jedi Purge.

Unknown/MIA
There were some Jedi whose fate after Order 66 was unknown. Among them were


 * Depa Billaba
 * Iri Camas
 * Thracia Cho-Leem
 * Joclad Danva
 * Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy
 * Glynn-Beti
 * Bant Eerin
 * Kina Ha
 * Coleman Kcaj
 * Sha Koon
 * Voolvif Monn
 * Even Piell
 * Saldith
 * Etain Tur-Mukan
 * Ulu Ulix
 * Arligan Zey
 * Codi Ty

Behind the scenes
There are a number of theories regarding the origin of Order 66:


 * Order 66 may take its name from 666, the Biblical Mark of the Beast and a sign of the Apocalypse. This goes along with George Lucas' opinion that Palpatine is a representation of Satan, as stated in numerous interviews.


 * It may also take its name from Executive Order 9066 issued by United States President Franklin Roosevelt, which ordered the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.


 * Order 66 has a great deal in common with the historical elimination of the warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. Like Order 66, it was a command spread through secrecy and suddenly implemented. Virtually all of the Templars in France were simultaneously arrested on October 13 (leading some to believe that this is the source of the Friday the 13th superstition), 1307. Many were tortured and sentenced to death. In most every other country, the Templars were forced to leave the order or join other orders. A few Templars escaped and lived in exile, mainly in Scotland. King Philip the Fair at this time also seized the Templar's treasury for himself, putting an end to the monastic banking system. These events are largely seen as manipulated by Philip to gain greater powers. Like in Star Wars, this began an era of military fiat.


 * Order 66 may also have been inspired by the Night of the Long Knives, the Nazi Party's purge of opposition both within and outside the Party. On June 30, 1934, the SS conducted a wave of murders across Germany, destroying not only a major portion of the Nazi private army (the so-called "Stormtroopers" of the SA) but also such opposition politicians such as Kurt von Schleicher, Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor. The purge is seen as the penultimate step towards Hitler's establishment of a total dictatorship in Germany, as it was followed very closely by the death of President von Hindenburg, the consolidation of the posts of President and Chancellor (in the new post of Führer) and the imposition of a personal loyalty oath to Hitler by the German military. In much the same way, Order 66 and the Jedi Purge were the herald for the declaration of Palpatine's Empire and the transfer of the Chancellor's powers to the new post of Galactic Emperor. A similar Nazi purge would be the 1938 Kristallnacht, which marked the start of the Holocaust.


 * The Auspicious Incident in the Ottoman Empire bears some resemblance to the events in Revenge of the Sith. In 1826, the Osmanlı Sultan Mahmud II disbanded the Janissaries, the former elite troops of the Empire. His loyal troops, the Sipahis, rounded up the mutinous Janissaries and they were executed.


 * There is a similar scene at the end of The Godfather, when Michael Corleone arranges several murders, which take place during his nephew's baptism. Which leads to him, taking over as the leader, much the same way Darth Sidious has. Francis Ford Coppola, the films director, co-founded American Zoetrope with George Lucas

When Revenge of the Sith first came out, some sources stated that Order 66 was preprogrammed into the clone troopers. However, George Lucas has stated that it was a "last resort" order, not preprogrammed.The order preceding Order 66 is Order 65, which stated that the Supreme Chancellor (had Palpatine not won the seat) would be removed from office from by the GAR if the Galactic Senate declared him unfit for duty. The Jedi were obviously not aware of either order.

In one issue of Mad magazine there are several comics parodying Star Wars, including a comic parodying Revenge of the Sith. It contains a short "Execute Order 66" scene quoted as a rip-off of the end scene in The Godfather (called Baptism And Murder).

Appearances

 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Orders
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Star Wars Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * The Order of Outcasts
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Star Wars Dark Times 6: Parallels, Part 1
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Republic: Into the Unknown
 * Star Wars: Purge
 * Star Wars Dark Times: The Path to Nowhere
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: A Tangled Web
 * The Last of the Jedi: Return of the Dark Side
 * The Last of the Jedi: Secret Weapon
 * The Last of the Jedi: Against the Empire
 * Star Wars Rebellion: The Ahakista Gambit
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Star Wars Legacy 11: Ghosts, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 16: Claws of the Dragon, Part 3