When Anakin arrived outside of the council chamber, the doors were shut and a squad of guardians formed a phalanx outside the doors, lightsabers drawn but not lit, sending a unsubtle message that the Council within were staging a top-secret meeting, likely on national security matters.

To his surprise the master leading the detachment raised a hand to his earbud when he saw Anakin, and said something too low for Anakin to hear before gesturing him forward, and opening the door for him.

Inside he saw Padme standing before the council, with Obi-Wan standing next to her. The masters' collective attention was focused on a small holoprojector which featured a still, but highly recognisable, image of galactic enemy number one, Darth Sidious.

Then Master Windu hit the play button.

"My Apprentice." Darth Sidious said. "Your orders are to proceed to the Chandrola system, and relieve the republic of its burden. I have ordered the withdrawal of all but a platoon of clones and two frigates from the system for a major push against our forces at Cato Neimoidia. Dispatch Invisible Hand and her battlegroup to the system, and both wings can be crushed with ease."

"Where did that come from?" Anakin asked, confused by the image. He remembered all too well the frantic battle he'd dropped his forces into to save the planet, and how many casualties they'd taken doing so.

"That recording came from a wiretap one of the senator's friends installed on a secure holotransmitter in the supreme Chancellor's private office." Obi–Wan replied, his voice pained. "Much as I deplore private espionage, I think in this case it has exposed high treason of the most heinous kind. The Senate Security Council is meeting in the main antechamber, debating order 65, and what order must be transmitted to enact it."

"Order 65?" Anakin asked. "I've never heard of that."

"Very few people have." His old master replied. "It requires and enables the Republic military to remove the supreme Chancellor. It was intended for mental breakdown or other mental health related reasons for removal, not outright treason."

"How long will it take them to pass it?" Anakin asked.

"They voted on it five minutes ago." Obi-Wan said. "It was passed unanimously, after they viewed that recording. The council are currently debating implementation, to be precise how many Jedi to send in order to effect the Chancellor's removal. Despite your friendship with the chancellor, your name is at the top of the list," he said, smiling wryly "as is mine. We will be accompanying Master Windu, Master Yoda and Master Drallig." When he processed the list of names, Anakin winced. The listed masters were, along with him, the Order's five best lightsaber duellists, and were all extremely strong in the Force to boot. The council was obviously rather serious about the expedition, which suggests they had absolutely no intention of giving the Sith the slightest chance of getting away all or pulling off a coup. "The Security Council has also officially impeached the supreme Chancellor, and removed him from the office of commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, which prevents him issuing a rather interesting emergency order that would instruct the clones to exterminate us on every battlefront in the Galaxy."

"Force," Anakin swore. "How did he get that past us?"

"He simply built into the clones order manual, directly below the power allowed them to remove him, instead. Somehow we overlooked it."

"I hope the council is currently going through the entire manual after that." Anakin said, before patting his old master on the back. "Come on master," he said "let's go bag ourselves a Sith Lord."

~0~

The strike team crammed itself into a LAAT for the flight, with Ahsoka and Master Drallig's padawan, Serra Keto taking the controls of the gunship for the flight, and to provide backup in the unlikely event it was needed.

With its doors closed for security and safety, the gunship's flight to the traffic lanes was uneventful, and within five minutes the craft was approaching the Senate security perimeter. As soon as the gunship arrived a flight of clone piloted V–wing interceptors dropped in behind it, although they didn't paint the craft with a target lock, the intention of the group was clear. Abruptly however the fighters peeled off, dropping into an escort formation around the gunship pilot of the lead aircraft gesturing for the gunship to proceed directly to the Senate tower.

Once the craft was directly outside the Chancellor's office, Ahsoka didn't waste any time bringing one of the wing mounted turrets around to bear on the Chancellor's office window, as Serra brought the craft to bear broadside on the building opening the port door at the same time.

A three second burst later, the window had fallen out its mounting and the five members of the strike team force-leapt as one into the office, landing with their lightsabers lit.

"Supreme chancellor Palpatine, under arrest by order of the security council, you are."

Yoda told the moderately surprised looking man sitting at the desk in the centre of the room.

"Master Yoda, what a pleasant surprise." The Chancellor said, appearing apparently unruffled by the removal of his office window and the sudden arrival of five angry looking Jedi in his office. "Can I ask what grounds Security Council has given you to remove me."

Obi-Wan removed a portable holo-transmitter from his tunic, and pressed the play button.

Chancellor watched the six inch high representation of himself silently, his hands clasped in front of him damning recording played itself out.

"I wish Fett had gotten her before the war started." He hissed, before one of the statues on his desk glowed, then exploded in a crimson flash. Suddenly, he threw himself over the desk, aiming at master Yoda with a crimson lightsaber in his hand. The aged Jedi master simply twisted aside allowing the blade to miss him by inches before all five Jedi suddenly found themselves fighting ferociously for survival.

Despite the suddenness of the attack, Mace Windu pressed forward, his purple lightsaber humming a counterpoint to the Chancellor's crimson blade as he pushed him back their lightsabers clashing at a speed only the most experienced of duellists could have followed, combining strokes and cuts in an organic fraction that astonished even the Jedi Temple lightsaber master as he and Obi-Wan cut around the left side of the ferocious fight looking to intervene.

Eventually the Chancellor overextended one stroke just a fraction of an inch, and Mace Windows lightsaber sheered through the emitter of his own cutting off the crimson blade, before the Jedi master's follow-through decapitated the Chancellor, sending his headless body toppling to the floor.