Order 66/Legends

"The time has come. Execute Order 66."

- Palpatine

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 durring their growth. The Order branded the Jedi Order as traitors of the Republic and called for their immediate removal without question.

History
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 a "Jedi rebellion"; in reality, it was the culmination of a chain of events orchestrated by Palpatine himself over a period of decades, all designed to bring about the end of 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 a Sith Lord by Anakin Skywalker. Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin were quickly cut down by Palpatine, 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 the older man, Skywalker intervened, which gave the Sith Lord the opportunity to destroy the Jedi Master. The Jedi's actions provided the Chancellor with the excuse he needed to have the Order carried out.

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. The Jedi, who had been spread throughout the Galaxy across disparate battlefields, were caught totally unaware, and were gunned down with ease. Three years of warfare polluted the Force with the dark side, clouding Jedi perception even further. While the clones had no malice nor hatred, by merely following a legal order, they had no ill intent in their heart which might give 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 (Commander Neyo), and Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto (Commander Bacara). On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi was gunned down by Commander Cody, but managed to survive and escape the planet. He soon reunited with Master Yoda, who had also managed to escape peril on Kashyyyk.

As noted, of course, not all clone troopers obeyed the Order. On Murkhana, Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone were rescued from Order 66 by a clone commando unit, named Climber who initially questioned the validity of the Order, and even upon confirmation, refused to side with the government over those who had fought alongside them.



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, where they killed everyone they found&mdash;Masters, Padawans, even younglings. None within the building were spared.

Although Order 66 greatly decimated the Jedi Order's ranks, 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. Kenobi and Yoda, like many others, chose to go into exile&mdash;on Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively. There they managed to elude Imperial justice for many years; a feat few of their contemporaries could claim. Within two decades, the Sith Order had risen completely from the shadows, controlling the Galaxy through an impenetrable network of executive privilege, including organizations such as Imperial Intelligence, the Imperial Security Bureau, and COMPNOR, not to mention a system of powerful regional governors, all loyal to Palpatine himself.

Known victims

 * Stass Allie
 * Nem Bees
 * Bene
 * Cin Drallig
 * Zett Jukassa
 * Serra Keto
 * Plo Koon
 * Whie Malreaux
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi
 * Jocasta Nu
 * Barriss Offee
 * Aayla Secura
 * Simms
 * Shaak Ti
 * Traavis
 * Luminara Unduli

Known survivors

 * Klossi Anno
 * Ood Bnar
 * Empatojayos Brand
 * Bol Chatak
 * Tsui Choi
 * Ekria
 * Siadem Forte
 * Geith
 * A'Sharad Hett
 * Kai Hudorra
 * Ikrit
 * Jeisel
 * Dass Jennir
 * Jerec
 * Kai Justiss
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Ydra Kilwallen
 * Iwo Kulka
 * An'ya Kuro (The Dark Woman)
 * Drake Lo'gaan
 * Callista Ming
 * Garen Muln
 * Noirah Na
 * Deran Nalual
 * Ferus Olin
 * Qu Rahn
 * T'ra Saa
 * Echuu Shen-Jon
 * Roan Shryne
 * Ranik Solusar
 * Olee Starstone
 * Bultar Swan
 * Tholme
 * Halagad Ventor
 * Vergere
 * Vima-Da-Boda
 * Quinlan Vos
 * Yoda
 * Zao
 * Zonder

Unknown/MIA
There are some Jedi whose fate after Order 66 is unknown. Among them are:


 * Depa Billaba (comatose since the Battle of Haruun Kal)
 * Joclad Danva
 * Coleman Kcaj
 * Sha Koon
 * Even Piell
 * Saldith

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


 * Order 66 may take its name from 666, the Mark of the Beast and a sign of the Apocalypse.


 * It may also take its name from Executive Order 9066 issued by US 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 though secrecy and suddenly implimented.  Virtually all of the Templars in France were simultaneously arrested on October 13 (the unlucky Friday the 13th), 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 IV of France at this time also seized the Templar's treasurey for himself, putting an end to the monanstic 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.


 * Also consider The Auspicious Incident, the end of the Janissaries of Turkey.

When Revenge of the Sith first came out, it was believed that Order 66 was preprogramed into the Clone troopers. However, George Lucas has stated that it was a "last resort" order, not preprogramed.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Battlefront II