Order 66: A Star Wars Story

Order 66

'Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy!' Darth Sidious had said with thunderous intent, under the hood of his black cloak. 'Only then will you be strong enough in the dark side to save, Padme.' The way Sidious said her name was gentle, but overemphasised, as if Vader didn't already know he had to become a beacon of the dark side in order to keep his love alive.
    Anakin and Vader were two very different people sharing the same body. Anakin Skywalker was "The Hero With No Fear." This is how the republic saw him. He was Obi-Wan Kenobi's best friend, his brother, his son, his everything. He was Padme Amidala's husband, her lover, and the father to her children. Anakin was fiercely loyal to his friends such as Obi-Wan, Padme, Rex and Ashoka.
Darth Vader though... Vader was entirely different. He was selfish, power hungry, obsessive, controlling, and more to it, he was the key to destroying the Jedi.
Sidious had explained the plan to him in great detail over communications. Any single Jedi is to be executed. No matter who they were. A Jedi Master? Execute them. A Jedi Knight? Execute them. A Jedi Padawan? Execute them. The one thing that struck Vader though was that even the younglings were to die. Children no older than eight standard years. Vader questioned his master over communications about this and how killing children would bring peace to the galaxy. Sidious made a compelling argument to Vader. His explanation was that the Jedi had indoctrinated them since they arrived, therefore, breaking their traditions and beliefs would be nigh on impossible. Anakin was different because he had a life before the Jedi order, therefore, he could be "saved" as Sidious put it.

His gut was churning inside and out. Each step he took felt heavier and heavier. Along with the thousands of footsteps he heard behind him, he could feel the darkness within him growing by the second.
For Padme. Anakin told himself. That's what would help. But it didn't. He had to allow Vader to take control. He had to think selfishly, and without remorse.
Vader and thousands of 501st clone troopers were ascending the massive stairway that led directly inside the Jedi temple. Night was at its prime which was perfect as they would "catch them off balance" as Sidious put it. The Jedi would never see this attack coming from anyone, let alone "The Hero With No Fear" and his own army of troops.
Two troopers planted charges on the main doors which would expload on Vader's command. With a nod from under his hood, the trooper to his right clicked the detonation button and the explosion knocked a few clones off their feet. Vader however was stood perfectly minus fragments of dust caking his robe.
Hundereds of Jedi were in the temple, and two dozen in the main area. They all looked in shock and horror to see one being among what seemed like an endless amount of clone troopers. They were in the midst of studying or searching for knowledge on their missions as this was the same area Obi-Wan Kenobi learned of the Kamino systems just prior to the clone wars.

It all had happened so fast. Blue laser bolts whizzed past Vader's head and many met their targets, however, most were already deflected by different lightsabers. Blue and green sabers would catch and disintergrate the bolts, or would send them back towards the clones that fired them. Vader took out Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber and ignited a long blue blade from the top of the hilt, ready to kill his former friends.
    Vader moved with astounding speed. He leapt high up in the air, clearing at least thirty meters worth of walking distance and landed beside a female Jedi Knight who wielded a single green lightsaber. Her name was Astra Noom. She had fought in a few battles during the clone wars along side her master, Keetar Shruk, and was adept in using the force and a lightsaber, but she was no match for Vader.
    Their blades clashed together, causing the lightsabers to cry out when Astra saw who she was fighting.
    'Skywalker?! What is going on?' She exclaimed. Though her face changed from confusion to pain, then to horror when she looked down and saw a line of blue plasma piercing her gut.
    Two more Jedi advanced towards Vader, both male Zabraks that wielded single blue lightsabers. These two were keen on the lightsaber form Ataru, simply known as Form IV. Famously used by Jedi Grand Master Yoda. However, as skilled as these Jedi were, they were no where near Yoda's caliber.
    Anakin was never a defensive fighter, only relying on it when absolutely necessary. He preferred to attack. Vader was the exact same, however, Vader knew some defensive tactics and switched from Form V to Form II, otherwise known as Makashi.
    Makashi was a form used famously by Count Dooku, a fencing style in which raw strength and power were exchanged for balance and precision.
    Allowing the lightsaber to become slightly more loose in his grip, Vader deflected each blow from either sides with elegance even Dooku may appreciate.
    Vader saw an opening for an attack, switching straight back to Form V, Djem So/Shien and cut one of the Zabrak's horizontally at the waist, causing the torso to fall to the ground first quickly followed by the legs.
    The remaining Zabrak looked at his brother and turned to Vader, attacking with a ferocious fury usually used by Sith.
    'Give in to your hatred. It makes you stronger, believe me.' Vader said as they locked their blades together.
    The Zabrak said nothing and instead shifted to the left, twirled and placed his left foot behind Vader and gave a force push hard enough to crack a brick wall.
    Vader went over the foot of the Zabrak but as he fell, he called upon the force to assist him in flourishing in mid air as he backflipped and landed back on his feet.
    The Zabrak was on Vader once more with powerful Djem So strikes.
    Vader would meet each blade with ease before deciding was time to end the fight.
    With a flick of his wrist, Vader lopped the Zabrak's wielding arm. The Zabrak's had fell to the floor, still clutching the now deactivated lightsaber.
    Vader called upon his rage, and gripped the Zabrak by the throat using an invisible hand, lifted the Zabrak a clear meter off of the floor, and with a quick clench of his cost, a horrible snapping sound came from the Zabrak's neck.

'Traitor!!!' A female voice roared from the upper levels of the halls.
    Vader spotted a female Jedi holding a green lightsaber in a reverse grip on the upper levels catwalk. She was slim, wore tight clothing and had short black hair. This Jedi was non other than the apprentice of the battlemaster Cin Drallig. Her name was Serra Keto. She was an aggressive reversed gripped fighter who excelled in using Form IV, much like Anakin's apprentice, Ashoka Tano. Both Ashoka and Serra were equally gifted in the force and in lightsaber skill, however, Serra was often quick to anger, Which for a Jedi, is weakness. It seemed to make Serra stronger though, and Vader understood more now than ever why that was.

To be continued...