Ten years ago,Star Warsrevealed thatPalpatineestablished an unexpected monument to Order 66. TheClone Wars were the ultimate Jedi trap, and Order 66 was the greatest revenge of the Sith. Almost ten thousand Jedi were slaughtered in an instant, cut down by the clone troopers they’d commanded moments ago.
With hindsight, it’s amusing thatOrder 66seems to have required a personal communication from Darth Sidious. I don’t think that’s a coincidence; this was surely a command that gave Darth Sidious great joy, and he’d have loved contemplating the deaths of Jedi in accordance with his orders.
But it seemsI underestimated the sheer extent of Palpatine’s delight in issuing Order 66. Charles Soule and Axel Maleev’sLandominiseries - published a decade ago - revealed the Emperor established an unexpected monument to the event.
Palpatine Wanted A Permanent Reminder Of Order 66
TheLandominiseries sees Lando Calrissian unwittingly steal Palpatine’s personal yacht - a vessel packed with Sith artifacts. Furious at the theft, Palpatine commands a bounty hunter named Chanath Cha to track down the yacht, usingDarth Maul’s old Sith Interceptor, the Scimitar. Chanath Cha is also given one of Palpatine’s personal droids, who seems aware of Sith secrets.
And here’s the delightful touch;Palpatine’s Sith droid has been given the designation O-66. It’s a fact that has slipped past me for years, but I spotted it rereading the issue and couldn’t help laughing aloud. Palpatine wanted O-66 as a permanent reminder of the Jedi slaughter, and he probably cracked a smile every time he spoke to the droid.
What Happened To O-66?
We don’t actually know much about O-66’s fate after the events of theLandocomic. The droid was apparently programmed to act as custodian of the Scimitar, and Chanath Cha suspected it was dangerous;she literally removed its head and dumped the body so it couldn’t betray her, planting a bomb to add further security.
Chanath Cha’s plan didn’t work out, though. O-66 abandoned the bounty hunter - and her marks - when the yacht’s self-destruct was set. The Scimitar hasn’t been seen since, and it’s reasonable to assume O-66 remained in Palpatine’s service until the Emperor’s death - and perhaps beyond.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn the Sith droid had found its way to Exegol by the time ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. No doubtPalpatinewould still enjoy having a permanent reminder to his greatest victory.
