Order 66
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In the Star Wars series of science fiction films, Executive Order 66 was a military directive central to the plot of the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and, hence, to the entire fictional Star Wars universe. It was a pre-arranged command directing that all Jedi should be killed with extreme haste, thus beginning the Great Jedi Purge.
[edit] Reasons
The order was issued by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, not long before he proclaimed himself Emperor at the end of the Clone Wars. It was justified as a military response to what was shown by the Emperor and the senate as a rebellion by the Jedi. After the attempted arrest of Palpatine by Jedi Council members Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin, Palpatine claimed that the Jedi had planned to overthrow the galactic leadership and kill all the members of the Senate. However, as Palpatine was Darth Sidious, this was a pretext. The Jedi began searching for clues of the second Sith, up until they were betrayed by their clone troops, who were conditioned to follow any and all orders given.
The true reasons the Emperor had were much darker; being the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, he had meticulously orchestrated his final move against the Jedi. In fact, the Senate did not trust the Jedi Order. The key to the Order's demise was the spreading out of the Jedi—keeping them away from the core worlds by assigning them to distant battlefields. By doing this, he ensured that they were absolutely unable to save themselves from the massive number of clone troops attacking them. The order, sent to clone trooper commanders across the galaxy, dictated that all Jedi were to be killed. Thousands of troopers turned on their Jedi generals, beginning the Great Jedi Purge.
Palpatine was able to master his final stroke against important Jedi masters renowned for their ability to detect traps by utilizing the absolute devotion of his army to the Republic and its Chancellor. As clones were incapable of malice, there was no hostility in their minds for a Jedi to sense, and therefore very few were able to save themselves (only Yoda was shown in the film to have become aware in time to save his life). The soldiers were completely loyal to the Chancellor instead of the Jedi and had no reservation or feelings on the morality of Palpatine's commands whatsoever. In the novelization, for example, Commander Cody's only regret upon receiving Palpatine's holo-message was: "Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him [Obi-Wan Kenobi] back the bloody lightsaber...?" However, Star Wars: Battlefront II's single-player storyline, which is told from the perspective of a clone trooper, shows that some of Aayla Secura's troops did have reservations about their upcoming orders: "It's a good thing we [the clone troopers] were wearing helmets, because none of us could bear to look her in the eye."
[edit] Execution
Order 66 began with Darth Vader's march to the Jedi Temple with the 501st Clone Trooper Legion, led by Commander Appo. Vader and the 501st Clone Trooper Legion killed all the Jedi in the Temple; Vader personally killed the younglings.
As his new apprentice led the assault on the Temple, Palpatine contacted all clone commanders across the galaxy and ordered the extermination of the Jedi Order once and for all, with Order 66.
- On Utapau, Commander Cody received Palpatine's command and ordered his men to shoot down his former friend, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. A blast from an AT-TE hit the cliff face beneath the Jedi Master's varactyl and they fell seconds later. Together, they fell hundreds of feet into a lake far below. While the varactyl was killed, Obi-Wan managed to survive and escape the planet. Part of Obi-Wan's success in escaping was the clones' inability to perform an extensive search; although Cody demanded that his body be found, his men thought that surviving the fall was impossible.
- On Mygeeto, Commander Bacara received the same order. He and his soldiers immediately opened fire on Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. Ki-Adi managed to deflect the first few blaster bolts with his lightsaber, and kill a couple of troopers, but he was overpowered, therefore being shot in the chest multiple times.
- On Felucia, Commander Bly and his men opened fire on Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. She was shot in the back by Bly, then the other troops fired on her. The video game Star Wars: Battlefront II hints that the clones made an attempt to ensure it was a quick death, as Aayla had been an exceptional leader to them. Elsewhere on the planet, the newly-Knighted Barriss Offee was killed by a single blast from an AT-AP.
- On Kashyyyk, Luminara Unduli, former Jedi Master of the deceased Barriss Offee, was conversing with eight clone officers when the order came. Pulling blasters from concealed holsters, the clones quickly shot their general in her stomach, chest, and head. Shortly thereafter, Master Quinlan Vos, standing tall atop a clone turbo tank, was engulfed in a ball of flame as his tank was destroyed by another. However, Master Vos was not killed but badly wounded and managed to escape into the jungle wilderness of Kashyyyk.
- On Cato Neimoidia, Jedi Master Plo Koon was leading an aerial assault against Separatist forces in his Jedi starfighter. His wingmen, led by Captain Jag, piloting advanced ARC-170s, dropped back onto his tail while Plo Koon was looking for a landing pad and destroyed him.
- On Saleucami, as Jedi Knight Stass Allie patrolled the rocky terrain on her 74-Z speeder bike, Commander Neyo, riding a more heavily armed BARC speeder pulled behind her and fired his blasters, killing her and destroying her speeder bike.
- Also on Kashyyyk, Commander Gree received the order to terminate Master Yoda. He and one of his men (a BARC trooper) tried to assassinate Yoda from behind, but the aged Jedi Master decapitated them both. With the help of the Wookiees Chewbacca and Tarfful, Yoda managed to escape from the planet.
At the Jedi Temple, the Jedi were overpowered by clones. The clones used a surround-and-shoot tactic, knowing that Jedi could not deflect blaster bolts coming in from all directions at once. The Jedi were not prepared to fight against elite soldiers, such as the 501st Legion, this event explains that the ultimate fall of the Jedi was accomplished by the use of strategy, cunning and deception.
Darth Vader had his own fair share of kills: Murdering Gate Master Jurokk, Whie Malreaux, Bene and Cin Drallig, Cin Drallig's Padawan Serra Keto, Archive Master Jocasta Nu, and finally cutting down all the Jedi Apprentices that were sent to hide in the Council Chambers. Countless others were also killed fighting Vader, as depicted in the novel, movie and the videogame.
Bail Organa, while investigating the reason behind the attack on the Temple, witnessed Zett Jukassa attempting to escape. Jukassa killed a few clones and injured Commander Appo before being shot. Bail fled the scene amid laser blasts as the clones were supposed to ensure that there were no witnesses to any of the Jedi killings. However, 501st Sergeant Fox had grown tired of killing and ordered Vader's Fist not to kill Organa.
These events were carried out across the galaxy; troopers turned against their Jedi generals, and the Sith Order prevailed, this time in control of the galaxy and the Senate. The senate also considered the Jedi Order enemies of the Republic. Though the Jedi Order was almost completely destroyed, the Emperor's Jedi Purge would continue for years as, one by one, the surviving Jedi were hunted down and killed by Darth Vader and the Empire. The Dark Times— for the Republic —had begun.
However, it is known that at least one group of clone commandos did not carry out the order. The reason is suspected to be because the clones had served alongside the Jedi and they gave them a chance to escape. They were executed by Darth Vader for treason following the accomplishment of Order 66.
The following Jedi are known to have survived the initial execution of Order 66. Some, but not all, perished in the Purge, while others fell to follow Vader:
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