Chapter 11: The Revenge of The Sith

Kashyyyk

Yoda watched his former apprentice Mace Windu, who was discussing that it may be necessary to remove the Supreme Chancellor if he refused to surrender his emergency powers that almost made him a dictator. The Council had sent the Jedi Battle Master to catch Grievous and word had trickled back that Grievous had fallen.

"When are you going to confront the Chancellor?" Yoda inquired.

"Immediately," Mace answered.

"Careful you must be. The Sith Lord has played both sides of this war; reveal himself he may," Yoda said.

"I will take the Council members who are here to confront him," Mace answered.

Yoda closed his eyes and sighed. "Do not rush to get there and may the Force be with you."

Mace nodded and closed the transmission.

Yoda sighed. Time to play his last card. He reached deep into the Force.

Outer Rim sieges

Master A'Sharad Hett could not shake the nasty feeling that something was about to happen, but so far things were going according to plan. His task force, made up of several Jedi commanders and their padawans, were in their fighters preparing to land and give support to their troops. The plan called for each commander to take a separate part of the task force and break through the lines. If the planet could be opened it would break the last of the sieges and leave the Republic a straight line right into the heart of Separatist space.

Master Hett was about to land his ship when he felt the presence of the Jedi Grandmaster reach out to him, and, to his shock, from halfway across the galaxy send a message. "To all Jedi: we have been deceived by the Sith. Get away from your troops. They all have chips that the Sith lord is about to use to send an order to kill all of you. The Republic is about to fall; do not attempt to engage with this Sith lord, and do not return to Coruscant. Get to safety quickly and may the Force be with you."

Master Hett registered the message slowly and opened a com unit to Depa who was in the task force. "Am I losing it or did you hear that too?"

"I heard it," Depa said grimly. "I take it we need to make a hasty retreat."

"Indeed." Master Hett said, as he pulled his yoke back to send the ship for space."

"It appears everyone heard it. I see our companions also breaking off," Depa said.

"Good," Master Hett said. "Do you think we should split up or try to stick together?"

"Together for now probably, if we keep to small groups," Depa said. "Any idea of where we should go?"

After a moment of thinking, Master Hett gave her coordinates to a remote location in the outer rim. She sent an acknowledgment and he watched to make sure she and Caleb made it into hyperspace before entering it as well.

Chancellor's office

Palpatine was getting more nervous by the second. He could sense that Mace and his gang were on their way over when he felt a shift in the Force. He had no time to discover what was going on, but it was obvious something in his plans was off. Anakin had not returned to Coruscant, and he could find no indication of where he was. He had this one last act to go through before he could claim the Jedi were attempting a coup d'etat.

Mace Windu walked in with several other Jedi masters.

"Ahh, Master Jedi. I assume we have had good news from the front," Palpatine said.

"Indeed, General grievous is dead. The war, for all intents and purposes, is over," Mace said

"That is indeed excellent news," Palpatine answered.

"Since the war is over, it is now time to surrender your war time power and resign from the role of Supreme Chancellor."

"Well, these things take time, Master Windu. There are the negotiations to engage in with the Separatist leaders, the naming of war heroes, and the celebration that the war is over- not to mention, it will take some time to transition the Senate back into taking on these powers," Palpatine said.

"Not in this case. You said you would surrender your power when Grievous was dead; he is now dead, so either immediately resign and surrender your war powers or be escorted out of the building."

"So it's treason, then," Palpatine said darkly.

With a war cry, the Sith leaped from his seat and ignited his saber, rapidly killing the three other Jedi. Mace advanced, attempting to use his Vaapad form on the darksider. Sidious, however, had other plans in mind. Without Skywalker nearby he had no reason to engage in a full lightsaber duel with Mace. He Force choked the Jedi master, who instinctively closed off his lightsaber and reached for his throat. The Dark Lord hit him with a major blast of Force lightning before throwing him out of the window.

Sidious breathed hard. He had thought, based on the shift in the Force, that the fight would have been a lot more difficult than it was. He wasted no time in raising his hood and going to the communication terminal to contact Commander Cody.

"Commander, the time has finally come. Execute Order 66."

"Yes, my Lord," was the response from the commander of Kenobi's legions.

The order would play out across the Grand army of the Republic with special orders not to kill Skywalker.

When Palpatine finished sending the message, he frowned at a new communication from his mole in the Jedi Temple. Palpatine read it quickly and his blood froze. The troll had figured it out. Approximately 15 minutes before Order 66 went out, the Grandmaster had sent out a message saying to get away from the Clone troops.

Millennium Falcon Hyperspace

Everybody was in the living area except for Ahsoka who was sleeping so she could pilot the Falcon on the next watch when the Jedi all heard Yoda's message. Anakin and Obi-Wan both turned pale as Anakin said in horror, "Fives was right."

Rex looked up quickly. "Did you figure out what he was talking about, sir?"

Before Anakin could answer, Vestara threw both troopers hard against the wall and knocked them unconscious.

"Was that necessary?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Until we certain they won't murder us in our sleep, yes," Vestara said as she grabbed Rex by the shoulders and dragged him towards the med bay, while Ben did the same with Jesse.

"Why would Rex and Jesse want to kill us?" Padme said, watching the scene with confusion.

"They wouldn't. The chip in their brains, though, wouldn't give them much choice," Ben answered.

"Tup," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin was still detached, running the strategy scenarios in his head. "Not a parasite, the last person Fives talked to was- oh no! It can't be."

Obi-Wan, by this point, had caught on to Anakin's train of thought and was similarly horrified by the implications.

Anakin looked on as Ben and Vestara worked with the ship's medical droid to remove the chip from Rex's head. "You knew. Why you didn't tell anyone?"

"We did. We told Yoda," Ben said, concentrating with the Force as he searched for the chip. "Which is why we are getting a warning message in the Force and not the feeling of 9,000 Jedi knights dying in an instant moment of time."

The medical computer scan finally detected the anomaly and Rex went into the machine to receive his surgery.

Padme, by this time, was furious. "Could someone tell me what is going on?"

"He gained his objective in the Naboo crisis," Anakin said in a whisper with a tear rolling down his eyes. Padme looked at him for more explanation.

"The Sith Lord behind the war was involved in the Naboo crisis all those years ago. We thought we won with Maul being defeated, but he accomplished his main objective," Anakin said. "All those times he tried to assassinate Padme. He had Qui Gon killed ." The horror in Anakin's eyes was growing as was his despair.

Padme was concerned and said, "I thought we already knew that the Sith targeted me multiple times. But what was his objective for the Naboo crisis?"

Anakin looked at her, barely able to speak. "To become Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."

Padme's eyes opened wide. "I was the one who called for the no-confidence vote on Chancellor Valorum."

Ben winced when he heard that last bit. He hadn't known that. Padme's record had been somewhat scrubbed during the Imperial days. Meanwhile, Rex's operation was finished, and they laid Jesse down for his.

"And a Senator named Binks gave him his emergency powers," Vestara said. "I'm afraid the blame game can go on to infinity."

Padme paled. "Senator Binks was my hand picked representative while I was in protective custody. Which the Chancellor also ordered."

Anakin shook his head. "No, this doesn't make sense. If he was the powerful Sith Lord, why didn't we sense him?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know. The Council suspected the Chancellor was starting to crave power and would try to hold onto it when the war ended, but we never thought he was Darth Sidious.

"That question is actually rather easy to answer, I'm afraid," Vestara said.

Padme, Obi-Wan, and Anakin all looked at her. Vestara closed her eyes. Within a moment, in spite of themselves, Anakin's mouth dropped open, and Obi-Wan gave a low whistle.

"What are we looking at?" Padme asked.

"Knight Khai is a very powerful Jedi. Looking at her through the Force, I would say she is as powerful or has the potential to become as powerful as most of our Council members. But she just made herself appear in the Force as a non-force user," Obi-Wan explained.

"Did you know that was possible?" Padme asked.

"No?" Anakin said. "It's possible to close off our Force presence so it appears someone is dead or to sneak up on someone. But this is not a matter of opening or closing up our Force presence. This is like camouflage. Normally you can sense a person attempting to sneak up on you when they get close enough but it always shows that person as a Force user. What other kind of weird powers do you guys have?" Anakin asked.

Ben noted the remark as likely trying to avoid the implications of the subject at hand.

"That's for us to know and for you to learn," Ben said as lightheartedly as he could now.

At this moment, Rex began to stir and groan as he felt his head. Ben reached and administered a dose of painkiller to his neck. "Sorry, Captain. I believe you will forgive us when we explain."

Rex opened his eyes. "Yeah, well, it better be good."

At this moment, Rex's com link lit up with a prerecorded message. The Chancellor appeared in a hood and spoke, "Captain, execute Order 66. That includes Ahsoka Tano, but leave Skywalker alive."

Rex stared at the com link for a moment. Vestara looked ready to blast him into the wall again.

"Fives, the chips. That slimy critter." Rex took his helmet and threw it into the wall. He looked at Ben and Vestara. "You don't exaggerate when you say nosebleed levels, now how did you know?"

"My father had the displeasure of running into him in his non-public persona," Ben answered. "He barely survived the encounter."

"Too bad he didn't kill him," Rex muttered.

"Just a student at the time, I'm afraid. But we believe Palpatine has only been the ruling Dark Lord since just before he become Chancellor. We don't know who his master was other than his by his Sith name."

"What was it Darth Monstrous?" Rex asked.

"Darth Plagueis," Vestara said

Anakin turned pale at that. "That was the Sith's name that supposedly discovered the power of healing via midi-clorians."

Ben looked at him. "The so called 'legend' who hasn't been dead fifteen years?"

"Hego Damask of Damask holdings," Padme said grimly. "I remember he died the night before Palpatine was sworn into office. He gave a moving speech for him."

"That doesn't surprise me, but I bet he didn't mention he killed his 'friend' in his sleep the night before," Vestara said.

Padme shook her head.

Anakin, at this point, had his head lowered. He started to walk to the door.

Kenobi saw him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Anakin, I'm sorry, but don't blame yourself. He had us all fooled."

"Yes, Ani," Padme said, "I've known him since I was a child, I believed him to be my mentor and friend. He helped make sure I was elected Queen."

Anakin sighed. "But neither of you trusted him like I have; especially over the last few years."

A sharp yell from Ben woke them from their pep talk. The Jedi Master was on the ground. The great power he possessed and inherited was turned on him as he felt multiple bright lights winking from existence.

Vestara knelt next to him, worried. She put her hand on his shoulder.

Ben looked at her, shaken. "It's begun."

By this point, Anakin had started to feel it as well.

Rex looked at him. "Sir, what's wrong?"

Ben looked at Rex. "What are the chips made for now that you have the pieces together, Captain?"

"The entire Grand Army of the Republic has been ordered to hunt down and kill the Jedi knights," Rex said sadly. "You can feel their deaths even from here?"

"Yes, trained Force users have large presences even if we can't sense where they are. Feeling so many of them be snuffed out so quickly is something I've only felt once before, and it was too recent for me to rebuild my shielding properly apparently," Ben said, as Vestara guided him to a chair.

It was about this time that Ahsoka flew into the room. "Something's wrong! I can feel the Force screaming. But there's no news over the holonet of anything going on."

She looked at Ben, who was sitting in a chair shaken, and at Jesse, who was on the operating table. "What did I miss."

"Did you not receive a message from Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked her.

"I felt him speak in a dream but I thought it was just that- a dream or a vision," Ahsoka said.

"No, it wasn't. He communicated the same message across the entire Jedi order," Obi-Wan said.

"Is that why Jesse is on the table?" Ahsoka asked.

"Why am I on the table?" Jesse murmured, coming conscious.

"Brother," Rex said, "You're not going to like this."

"That's always a reassuring way to start a conversation," Jesse said.

"We are now probably traitors," Rex said.

"On what justification?" Jesse asked.

"On the justification that a Sith Lord now controls the Republic and the entire GAR has been ordered to hunt down and kill the Jedi knights," Rex answered.

"Wonderful. Don't tell me our brothers are obeying that order," Jesse pleaded.

Rex looked down. "The chips. That's what fives figured out. It was a conspiracy to wipe out the Jedi knights,"

Jesse blinked. "Ok. So, tell me who the traitor was so I can put a blaster bolt between his eyes."

"Palpatine," Rex said.

Jesse looked at him blankly. "Well that isn't good. Too many Senatorial guards, and you have that weasel Commander Fox in the way."

"Assuming the younglings were evacuated from the temple beforehand, how long would it take to evacuate the Temple?" Vestara asked Obi-Wan.

"Normally an hour, but with the Order stretched so thin by the war, the Temple has been relatively empty of all but the Temple Guard and the ones on leave. I would say under half an hour."

"There was a little over 15 Minutes between the time the warning came and Order 66 came down. Assuming they had to organize an army to raid the Temple, that would take how long?"

Anakin looked thoughtful, having temporarily gone into General mode. "The Senatorial guard and the legions on leave being the 501st and 212nd, assuming the Council didn't send them after Grievous. It would take probably another 10 minutes to organize and least another 10-15 to move into position. The bigger question is, how quickly they were able to put up guns to stop ships from evacuating."

"How long would it have taken you?" Vestara asked.

"Given the Temples defenses, an attack by air would be futile so gunships or fighters are out, at least in the vicinity of the temple. You also risk getting impeded by Coruscant traffic, so it would have to be a ground assault. Once the order came down, there would be a question of who is in command. With me, Rex, and Jesse off Coruscant, the 501st might would likely fall under the command of Commander Fox. The guns would have to be retrieved from deep storage since this is Coruscant and they're not on standby. That's 5-6 minutes, with transportation another 3-5, and set up time which could be up to a minute. So, under optimal conditions, anywhere from 8 to 11 minutes minimum. Knowing an attack was coming, I imagine the Temple Guard would have put up a fighter screen quickly

"So, let's just say 23 minutes to safely evacuate they should have been able to evacuate most of the Temple by that point," Obi-Wan said hopefully. "With the traffic on Coruscant though having been normalized after the battle, there's also no way the Navy can blockade the planet."

"Let's go help them," Anakin said.

"We won't make it in time, and keeping you and Padme away from Coruscant is important in disrupting whatever plan he was hatching," Ben said.

"So, the Sith have won," Anakin said.

"Sure, they have won the battle and taken over the galaxy, but they haven't won the war. Yoda's message should be enough for many Jedi to escape when they certainly would have perished, and that will make it so the Sith will have a very difficult time sleeping at night," Ben said.

Coruscant

Kollama Ree Captain of the Temple guard was in charge in the few situations like now when Cin Drallig was on assignment. Of course he had to be gallivanting on the other side of the galaxy just when history would remember who was in charge when, for only the second time in history, the Coruscant temple fell to the Sith. With luck he might live long enough to regret it. The Temple was nearly evacuated, so far his pilots and the automatic turrets had kept artillery and ion cannons from being installed to stop their ships from leaving. Fortunately the Sith had apparently not yet gained complete control of the military, just the Clones. The Coruscant air fleet was still largely civilian and had a longstanding history with the Order. Master Che and the hospital staff and patients were the first out with the elderly and guards followed by everyone else. As of now they had less than 20% of the Temple, including the Guard, to evacuate. He would be the last out the door. He almost wished they had self-destruct system built into the temple. The Temple's automatic weapons systems should keep out a major assault long enough to get the rest out if it came to a firefight. As of now his sources were saying the 501st was gearing up for a ground assault and would be here shortly. Ree's calculations indicated the evacuation would take less than 10 more minutes. The Temple's ion cannons and shields would deter orbital bombardment, and they should be in the clear. With that thought, he activated the Temple's point defense systems and was about to leave when he heard a lightsaber ignite. Looking down, he slowly realized the yellow lightsaber had run him through as he slipped unconsciousness.

The figure behind Ree turned off his lightsaber to let the body of the Captain fall before deactivating the Temple's defenses. He also pressed the button, sealing the blaster door to the hanger. He pulled out a commlink and the Chancellor stood before him hooded. "It is done. The defenses are down and the remaining Jedi are trapped in the hanger bay."

"Good. Lead the assault. Commander Fox has orders not to kill you. Spare only those who may be willing to join the new order."

"It will be done, my master."

Chancellor's Office

Sidious could feel the turmoil Order 66 was causing throughout the Galaxy but he sensed rather than knew this would not be the victory he had long believed it would be. Many had already escaped the Temple and though he could feel the death toll on the Jedi, he would be lucky if 60% of the order would die today. Those numbers sounded good, but it was a far cry from the estimated 98% that were expected to die within 12 hours. His hands clenched into fists. Yoda figured it out. There was no other explanation. But how? He paced his office. It all started to fall apart about the time he sent an order asking for Skywalker to be put on the Council and appointing him as his liaison. Instead of listening, the Council sent him out with Kenobi, two green Jedi, and Senator Amidala for who knows what and where. Unfortunately, his source on the inside was very low on the totem pole since Skywalker was usually the one he got information out of. Dooku had supposedly taken care of the Sifo-Dyas trail, supposedly being the operative term, though it's possible he was sloppier than he thought he was. Sidious frowned: Dooku. Perhaps he had underestimated the old man's treachery, and he had prepared for his own death with a kill switch. A kill switch that would send all the information about Order 66 and the Sith grand plan to one little green master.

That would imply, though, he knew that Skywalker was to be his replacement, rather than the new third wheel that Sidious had implied. Dooku had certainly tried hard enough to kill him in the past against orders. It was either that or Yoda had finally figured it out. He wondered if that was the case, why didn't Yoda come himself to find out? Palpatine flipped to the other side of the mental chess board to see what he would have done if it were himself on the other side. He grudgingly acknowledged he would have don: e nothing differently: no, a strategic retreat right when your enemy is committed. 1,000 years of planning, and for himself, several decades of waiting for the right moment and the enemy wised up just quickly enough to figure the plan out. Too late to stop him, but perhaps even more dangerous, too late for him to improvise, He must proceed on with the plan as it was, even though there was still a Jedi order in existence filled with war veterans who would all now see through his schemes and be collectively motivated to destroy all the Sith in the galaxy. The thought filled him with dread.

Author's Note

So order 66 has finally happened Yodas Force power is inspired from the EU whee Luke Skywalker uses the force to summon all jedi to Ossus i figures that could be reversed and tell everyone to head for cover.

Thanks again for the reviews favorites and follows.

Ben