Legendary Adventures: Order 66 – A Republic Commando Novel

The Legendary Adventures continue as the galaxy reaches it’s breaking point: the end of the Clone Wars and the Sith’s endgame. What happens to the clones who are caught up in Sheev Palpatine’s end game? Find out in today’s Adventure, the final one of 2018, as we navigate the treacherous Order 66!

In our last Adventure, we covered the end of the Clone War in Revenge of the Sith. Order 66 ranges a bit more broadly than the previous novel, starting a few days before the invasion of Coruscant and ending a bit after the execution of Order 66. We find that Kal Skirata, former clone trainer on Kamino, has convinced his clone squadrons, including Delta Squadron, Omega Squadron, and some Null ARC troopers, to defect. he and his clone sons must finally leave the Republic and seek a peaceful civilian life. Even Jedi Knight Etain Tur-Mukan is considering leaving the Jedi Order with the clone troopers. Their new destination, where they plan to live a peaceful life? None other than Mandalore itself! Yes, that Mandalore. Somehow, despite its history of violence and warfare, Skirata sees it as a far more peaceful haven for their new lives after the war.

The previous Adventures in this series have covered a bit of why the clones, alongside a handful of Jedi, would be willing to defect from the Republic. Two major events push the Commandos and ARCs in this novel: the loss of Sev and the creation of a private clone army on Centax-2. Etain leads Delta Squadron on an assault on Kashyyyk, presumably in response to the droid attack on the Wookiees, which ends in disaster. Sev, one of the members of Delta Squadron, is caught in a fight and is presumed dead. Yoda, from Coruscant, orders the Jedi and her clones’ retreat, forcing them to leave Sev behind. This angers Scorch to no end, eventually driving him to murder some Separatist war criminals for their part in the death of many clones – and presumably, Sev’s.

Over the course of the Republic Commando novels, Republic agent Bessany has been uncovering secret funding for what seemed to be a second army of clones. Both Omega and Delta Squadrons encounter far less capable clone troopers. This raises concerns among the clones both about how the Republic would be defended and how long they would still be useful for the Republic. (Remember, we’ve already seen the Republic start to turn their backs on the clones.) The clones suspect, rather simply in retrospect, that the clones were ill-trained and rushed. But when the clones admit that they’ve never seen rain on their home planet, it doesn’t seem like they are simply Kaminoan rejects. In fact, they were bred on Centax-2 from Spaarti cloning cylinders (remember these!), which allow them to grow to fully maturation in only one year!

These clones become instrumental in the defense of Coruscant as the Separatists invade in their most daring plan ever. As Mace Windu and Shaak Ti investigate clues about the identity of the second Sith and Obi-Wan and Anakin rush home from the Battle of Belderone, Omega Squadron and the Spaarti-created clones fight the droid forces on the ground. After five grueling days of battle, the Separatists withdraw as Grievous retreats to Utupau and Dooku is killed aboard the Invisible Hand. Omega Squadron, technically, does not fully participate in the battle. Instead, they spring a Republic agent from Republic prison, alongside Arla Fett, Jango Fett’s heretofore unknown sister.

Skirata is desperate at this point to return to Mandalore and take his clone children and Etain with him. The combination of losing Sev (and Yoda’s subsequent demand to leave him) and the replacement clones solidifies his decision. He has gained most of the information that he needs in order to prolong the clones’ lives (thanks in part to former Separatist bio-weapon designer Ovolot Qail Uthan), but this has put a target on his head. Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine has put an order out for his arrest, possibly fearing what Skirata could learn from the info. Unfortunately, Skirata’s plan is delayed by the creation of the Empire and Order 66. (Sad how those types of things can put a crimp in your day!)

If Darth Vader is the Empire’s greatest tool, Order 66 was the one that cleared the space for him to operate more effectively. Clones across the galaxy put their former Jedi generals and friends in their crosshairs, pulling the trigger. Darth Vader marches on the Temple, killing multitudes of Jedi and bringing the clones completely under the heel of the Empire’s control. Arligan Zey, Jedi General previously introduced in this series, is mortally wounded, but does not succumb to those wounds until revealing to some clones that Palpatine is a Sith and this was his plan all along. (Truthfully, based on some of the clones’ comments throughout the series so far, I doubt many were too bummed to pull the trigger, if we are to take their comments at face value.)

Etain Tur-Mukan’s decision to leave the Jedi Order almost spares her from the destruction of the Order. She rejected the idea of joining the Altisian Jedi, whom we met before. These Jedi eschewed traditional Jedi vows of celebacy, vowing themselves to marriage. They also refused to participate in the war, instead dedicating their lives to altruistic works of service. Etain rejects the idea of joining them, claiming that they might be a better option as they are still marked by the same ills that the Jedi are. (At this rate, it is hard to know what the alternative is. If the Altisian Jedi don’t have the answer, is this novel claiming Order 66 was good for the galaxy? It’s hard to say for sure, but I wouldn’t entirely rule it out at this rate.)

Unfortunately, the compassion and mercy that Etain learned from the Jedi get in the way of her making an escape. She returns to Coruscant dressed as a civilian. As the clones sweep Coruscanti streets for rogue Jedi, Omega and Delta Squadron search for her in order to extract her. She runs into a group of only partially hidden Jedi and falls in with them right before they encounter a clone trooper check point. The check point is designed to suss out remaining Jedi, and unfortunately, it works. The clones and the Jedi fall into a skirmish, threatening not only their lives, but the lives of civilians.

This is where the moral core of the Republic Commando series starts to break down. As one of the Jedi ignites their saber to fight a trooper aiming a blaster at them, Etain jumps in the path of…the lightsaber. To defend the stormtrooper. Who serves the Empire. I get that Traviss has spent a while humanizing the clones and making them sympathetic, but I don’t think that carries to them becoming shock troopers for the new Empire. Etain, leaving the Jedi, is more concerned with defending agents of the Empire than people she recently considered brothers and sisters. It is hard to take in Traviss’s overall statement with a shift like this in that the novels don’t consider that the clones have now become the bad guys. (And, spoiler alert: Imperial Commando: 501st, the next book in the series, doesn’t address it much better, either.)

Honestly, I am happy that, for the most part, the Legendary Adventures are moving out of this series. They have been a slog in that they were so focused on military and sci-fi adventures that they didn’t really capture the heart of Star Wars. Their moral messaging was inconsistent and hard to follow and didn’t seem to track with the rest of Legends or the films. But! Thanks for sticking around this year as we move out of the Clone Wars. In January 2019, we move into the Dark Times and the Rise of the Empire!

Legendary Travel Tips:
-Sev’s ultimate fate is unknown as it is not revealed in Imperial Commando, nor did Karen Traviss elect to finish the series.
-Scout, from Dark Rendezvous, makes another appearance at the end of the novel, but we’ll have to wait to hear more from her.
-This novel is preceded by, and takes place during, Revenge of the Sith and is followed by John Jackson Miller’s excellent Kenobi!

You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!

Movie Reviews:
The Last Jedi