There are certain (what we now call) “canon events” that define Star Wars, and there’s no doubt that one of them is “Order 66,” the infamous command code given by Emperor Palpatine, which signaled the commencement of the Great Jedi Purge that would last for sixteen years. Palpatine (who was secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious) knew that to seize absolute power and bring the Republic down, he had to get rid of the Jedi Order – but that wasn’t his only plan to ensure his rule.
Below, we break down some of the other plans that the Emperor had at the ready, long before the moment to strike came. Known as the “Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic”, these sets of orders were set in place, and many of them would come with wording that the Empire later used to deem its horrific actions to be in line with the law of the Republic. The list even includes one secret order that Palpatine eventually added, as a contingency for his own apprentice, Darth Vader.
(NOTE: These plans are now considered to be part of the Star Wars “Legends” lore that isn’t a part of official canon – but they’re still pretty fun to peruse.
Star Wars’ Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic, Explained
There were at least half a dozen known “orders” that appeared in various Star Wars Legends content (books, comics, video games, appendices, etc.).
The Emperor’s Successor – Order 4 was issued to create a clear line of succession, in case anything should happen to Emperor Palpatine. It decreed that “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 alternative authority identified.” That would’ve meant that Palpatine’s Vice Chair of the Senate, Mas Amedda, would’ve been next in line to lead the Empire.
The Shadow Council – Order 5 decreed that if the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) was ever incapacitated or deemed unfit to issue orders, then “the Chief of the Defense Staff shall assume GAR command and form a strategic cell of senior officers until a successor is appointed or alternative authority identified.” It basically moves leadership of the Empire to a cabal of military and/or inteillgence officers. It sounds a lot like the canonized orders that helped form the “Shadow Council” of Imperial Remnants (as seen in The Mandalorian), during the New Republic era.
Extreme Means to Ends – Order 37 Should give a chill to anyone who reads it. It’s the official language of facism, that proposes there’s some “greater good” worth trampling over people’s rights and liberties. It basically dictates that the Empire only needs to identify a single criminal or terrorist in any given location to justify “the mass arrest and threatened execution of a civilian population.” This is the kind of directive that let Imperial officers justify some of the Empire’s darkest acts, such as the Ghorman Massacre (seen in Andor) or the total destruction of Planet Alderaan in A New Hope. Even Maul – Shadow Lord made it clear that a single call for assistance is all the Empire needed to take over an entire planet (Janix), and started superseding (even killing!) the law enforcement powers already in place. Even more chilling are the “follow-up directives,” to this order: “scenarios for body disposal of civilian casualties and suppression of communications.” Dedra Meero would be proud.
Kill the King – Order 65 is interesting, in that it essentially gives Imperial forces a pathway to removing the Emperor, if needed: “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 or her 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.” The order then appoints that an “acting Chancellor,” “successor,” or “alternative authority” gets appointed to the leadership position. It would have been interesting to know if Palpatine would’ve manipulated events to enact this order, had he been unsucecesful in manipulating the Galactic Senate (read: Jar Jar Binks) into democratically appointing him as Supreme Chancellor.
The Jedi Purge – Order 66 exists in both canon and Legends, and it pretty much goes the same way in both versions: “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.” It’s very official wording to cover up the horrible genocide that we witnessed begin in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and have watched continue throughout animated series like Star Wars Rebels and Maul – Shadow Lord (currently streaming), as well as numerous novels and coics.
The Kill Order For Darth Vader: Order 151
In Star Wars Legends lore, Darth Vader stumbled across a contingency order he didn’t know about: Order 151. Vader had growing suspicions that his master, Darth Sidious, had a plan to kill him, should the need arise; at the time, Vader was leading the infamous 501st Legion of Elite Troopers, going from planet to planet and wiping out pockets of resistance wherever they were found.
The 501st Legion hepled in the Imperial conquest of Planet Bandomeer, Vader cornered a Clone Trooper, Commander Vill, and questioned him about whether or not he was programmed with a contingency order about eliminating Vader. Vill tried to hesitate and deflect, but that was all the confirmation that Vader needed: he Force pushed the trooper off a cliff and let him die, to protect the fact that he was on to Palpatine. It made sense for Order 151 to exist: Palpatine had already used the Clone Troopers to kill off the Jedi Order, so why not have them take out one of the last remaining former Jedi too?
Even in canon lore, Palpatine had a never-ending conveyor belt of schemes designed to either test Lord Vader; punish him or yank his leash, or help him learn the power of the Sith in the most painful, torturous ways possible. Star Wars novels and comics have also established that Vader and Palpatine echoed the fatal flaw in the Sith Order: each Sith Lord trying constantly trying to betray and/or kill the other, for personal gain. Order 151 is just one of those examples.
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