Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

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While Order 66 was essential to Palpatine’s coup, it was actually only one of over 150 contingency orders for the Grand Army of the Republic.

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Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Order 66 was a key component in Palpatine’s schemes in the Star Wars saga, but it was also only one of 150 contingency orders for the Galactic Republic’s Clone Army. The Clone Troopers were fundamentally good men with free will (despite the mental modifications that their Kaminoan creators made to them), but their true purpose was to help Palpatine eradicate the Jedi and transform the Republic into his authoritarian Galactic Empire. Out of all the contingency orders, Order 66 was the only one that Palpatine truly intended to use. Nevertheless, the contingency orders were known to all within the Republic military, even Jedi and non-Clone personnel.

Clone Troopers were specifically indoctrinated to follow Order 66, regardless of their belief in democracy and friendship with their Jedi leaders. When the order was given, most clones complied, wiping out most of the Jedi spread across the galaxy during the Clone Wars. The clones then became the original military force of the newly-christened Galactic Empire. Although Order 66 was largely a success, many Clone Troopers, through sheer willpower or other factors, retained their ideals and refused to follow the order, allowing some Jedi to survive and flee the Empire. Nearly all of Jango Fett’s ARC Troopers, due to their lack of mental modifications and indoctrination, disobeyed the order.

The existence of other contingency orders within the Republic military was revealed in the 2007 novel Republic Commando: True Colors. The full text of Order 66 was the following:

“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.”

The Jedi never suspected that Order 66 would need to be used, and the fact that it was buried among over one hundred other contingency orders likely prevented the order’s text from being closely examined. If a Jedi had looked at it closely, they’d see that Order 66 is alarmingly useful for staging a coup and destroying the Republic’s democracy.

Order 4

Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Order 4 was to be enacted to maintain the Republic military’s leadership if the Supreme Chancellor became incapacitated. As shown in True Colors, the full text is:

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“In the event of the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) being incapacitated, overall GAR command shall fall to the vice chair of the Senate until a successor is appointed or an alternative authority identified as outlined in Section 6 (iv).”

During the Clone Wars, the vice chair of the Senate was Mas Amedda, making him the temporary leader of the Republic military, should Order 4 be executed. Mas Amedda was a notoriously corrupt politician well before Palpatine’s career as Supreme Chancellor. He was also among the few within the Republic to know of Palpatine’s secret Sith identity of Darth Sidious, meaning that the Sith Order would likely remain in control of the Republic military, even if Palpatine was incapacitated. Order 4 may have been enacted during the Battle of Coruscant. As shown in Star Wars: Clone Wars and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine was taken prisoner by General Grievous during the battle. Though his captivity was brief, Order 4 may have been used before Palpatine was rescued at the end of the battle.

Order 5

Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Order 5 was another contingency related to the Supreme Chancellor, but in this case, it was to be enacted if Palpatine were to be declared unfit for command. The full text of Order 5 also appears in True Colors:

“In the event of the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) being declared unfit to issue orders, as defined in Section 6 (ii), the chief of defense staff shall assume GAR command and form a strategic cell of senior officers (see page 1173, para 4) until a successor is appointed or alternative authority identified.”

Of all the known contingency orders, Order 5 is one of the vaguest. The text simply refers to “Section 6” to explain who would declare Palpatine unfit to lead, and it doesn’t mandate any specific action for the Clone Army, other than their new commander being the Republic Chief of Defense Staff. It’s unknown who held this position during the Clone Wars. Order 5 is similar in many ways to Order 65, but the circumstances appear far less dire. Order 5 may have been intended for use if the Supreme Chancellor is removed via a Vote of No Confidence and a successor has yet to be elected.

Order 37

Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Order 37 was a terrifyingly brutal contingency order which mandated the use of civilians as hostages to force the surrender and capture of a fugitive. As shown in the novel The Last of the Jedi: The Desperate Mission, Order 37 was executed on the Core World of Bellassa one year after the Republic became the Empire. The Empire sought to capture the Jedi Padawan Ferus Olin, arresting numerous civilians and executing many of them (according to The Essential Atlas). Order 37 was also executed on the CIS-aligned Core World Rosha, as shown in The Last of the Jedi: Return of the Dark Side.

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Order 37 essentially declared martial law on a planet, and though it was only enacted twice (both instances taking place after the fall of the Republic), it’s disconcerting that the order existed during the Clone Wars. No Jedi or Clone would arrest and execute civilians for the sake of capturing an adversary. Order 37’s existence was one of many signs that the Republic was losing its way during the Clone Wars.

Order 65

Every Order Palpatine Had In Star Wars Legends (Besides 66)

Order 65, like Order 5, is a response to Palpatine being declared unfit to lead the Republic. The full text can be found in True Colors:

“In the event of either (i) a majority in the Senate declaring the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) to be unfit to issue orders, or (ii) the Security Council declaring him to be unfit to issue orders, and an authenticated order being received by the GAR, commanders shall be authorized to detain the Supreme Commander, with lethal force if necessary, and command of the GAR shall fall to the acting Chancellor until a successor is appointed or alternative authority identified as outlined in Section 6 (iv).”

While it’s an entertaining and cathartic scenario to imagine, it’s extremely unlikely that Palpatine would allow Clone Troopers to follow such an order. The order being the immediate predecessor to Order 66 may have been a measure taken by Palpatine to mask his true intentions from those who would inspect the contingency orders closely. It’s even possible that the Clone Troopers were indoctrinated against following Order 65, should the Republic discover the truth about Palpatine and attempt to defeat him with the order.

Order 151

This additional contingency order was not public within the Republic or Imperial military, as its purpose was to turn the clones against Darth Vader. The text of Order 151 is unknown and the order was never executed, but Darth Vader did discover its existence in the Star Wars: Dark Times comic series and killed Clone Commander Vill to cover up this knowledge. Given his position as a Sith Lord, Palpatine no doubt created Order 151 as a means to dispose of Vader or defend himself against him, as per the Rule of Two. As shown throughout the Star Wars franchise, Palpatine was a genius with plans for almost every possibility, and his contingency orders, especially Order 66, exemplified this.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-legends-palpatine-empire-contingency-orders-explained/

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