The 666th Legion, sometimes known by their nickname 'The Dark Legion', was a Clone legion in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars.
The legion was formed shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars and assigned to Jedi Master Urde Ra'akdoon, who set about learning the legion and its military workings. While on Kamino watching some clones train, he enquired about what happened to the unruly clones, and those that didn't pass muster. Upon hearing that they were destroyed, he decided that his legion would be one dedicated to recruiting the imperfect clones, to give them a chance.
Combined with his prior history, the Jedi secretly assigned him and his legion as effectively a penal battalion, where the outcasts and troublemakers were sent. Along with this, they made sure to place the 666th in dangerous positions that would likely incur heavy losses, which ended up training many of the men in the legion into crack highly skilled veterans. Their reputation grew during the Clone Wars as an elite legion who could be relied on as being the first in and last to leave, unwilling to give up until their job was done.
At the end of the Clone Wars, Ra'akdoon managed to escape his legion, which was absorbed into the Galactic Empire. Under a new, highly fanatical and ruthless commander, the legion was moulded into one to spread terror and fear across the galaxy. Continuing the previous tradition of informally treating the legion as a penal battalion, it was soon filled with other ruthless fanatics, criminals and dangerous misfits, who happily went about their assigned jobs without much of a second thought.
When the Galactic Civil War broke out, the legion was sent to the front lines against the Rebel Alliance in the galactic south, where they fought them with ruthless abandon. Little quarter was given to surrendered or injured rebels, and they soon had a reputation as murderers and tyrants. Being so far south, however, meant they soon encountered the first units of the Morsian Empire, who entered the war against the Empire. During the following half a decade or so, the Morsian Empire fought numerous battles against the 666th, often with high losses to the latter.
The legion continued to be pushed back by both the Morsians and New Republic alike, and were beaten but unbroken by the time the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty was signed in 19 ABY. With an uneasy peace now in place, the legion was pulled back to the territory held by the Imperial Remnant, where they were downsized while the remnant found its footing. Over the following few years, the legion was reorganized and reinforced with new recruits.
When the Yuuzhan Vong attacked in 25 ABY, the legion was one of the first remnant units to be sent to the front to stop them. Despite hard fighting and rear guard action, the legion and other remnant units were unable to stop the Vong, and it was practically wiped out in the opening stages of the war.
It would be several decades until the galaxy heard the stamping of feet under the banner of the 666th, when the Fel Empire underwent military rebuild and expansion, resurrecting a number of old units including the 666th. Under a new, fairer officer, the legion served with the Fel Empire.
History[]
Formation[]
The legion was created in 23 BBY, one year before the start of the clone Wars and assigned to Urde Ra'akdoon. Ra'akdoon spent some time with the Legion to begin to understand them and what he was now in command of. While learning about his men, with the help of Captain CT-25/07 'Cutter', he decided that he would try to only recruit the 'outcasts' or 'misfits' from the clone batches, clones who were seen as 'defective' or had caused problems that would have led to them being killed as defects. This gave Ra'akdoon a Legion of initially hard to control men, though these clones quickly turned into fiercely loyal troops who bonded together and with Ra'akdoon who gave them a second chance at life and living.
Early combat[]
After getting to grips with his new command, the legion first saw action in the First Battle of Geonosis, where several notable troopers gained notoriety in the legion. After his original second in command was killed, the legion was surrounded in a droid factory, where Ra'akdoon encountered a captured clone being experimented on. The clone had lost his recent memory of all points between finishing his training on Kamino and waking up in the droid facility on Geonosis. He was only known by his armor designation, which was nearby, leading to Ra'akdoon naming him 'Lieutenant'.
Also during the battle, CT-1945 had, during the battle, shown his affinity for any and all weapons, saving the lives of his squamates multiple times during the battle. CT-1346 and CT-441 had shown themselves to be excellent marksmen as well as being able to shut down droids easily via other methods. While Ra'akdoon was quizzing Lieutenant about how to came to be in the research facility, the droids attacked, with Captain Cutter being killed and CT-476 being quickly felled by an explosion, burning his face and damaging his helmet. Ra'akdoon, however, saved him using his Dark Side Force power to save him from death. After the battle was won and CT-476 had been treated by the medical droid, Ra'akdoon realised their worth and got them together with a proposal. CT-1945, CT-1346 and CT-441 were offered a position as the Legion's elite unit and Ra'akdoon's bodyguard, while CT-476 felt indebted to Ra'akdoon for saving his life, agreeing to join the squad. He dubbed them the 'Four Troopers of the Apocalypse' and gave them the nicknames of 'War', 'Disease', 'Famine', and 'Death' respectively.
During the siege of the factory, Ra'akdoon overheard two clones talking about programming and engineering, though keeping it quiet to avoid being overheard. Ra'akdoon kept it in his mind as the siege continued, making a mental note to search out the clones for some answers to this. However, near the end of the battle, CT-404 was felled by an explosion and the other clone, CT-1959, called for aid. Ra'akdoon recognised the two troopers as the ones who had been talking earlier, so once again used his Dark Side power to save CT-404. In the medbay of his Venator, Ra'akdoon found CT-1959 at the side of CT-404, concerned for his friend. While the medical droid prepared to install cybernetics into CT-404's head to save him, Ra'akdoon asked CT-1959 about what they were talking about. After trying to bluff his way out, he told Ra'akdoon that the two were deserters who had been designated to engineers to be kept away from the fighting, though they wanted to be infantry. As such, they stowed away with the 666th to see combat as infantry. When Ra'akdoon discovered this, he gave them an offer. Either they could both go back and face desertion of duty for running away with the 666th or Ra’akdoon could ‘convince’ people they were assigned to the 666th the whole time and they could reprogram captured droids for the Legion, as well as handle the more engineering or programming side of combat. CT-1959 agreed to the second option for the both of them and thanked Ra'akdoon for helping them. A bank of computers was placed in CT-404's head to replace the damaged part of his brain and Ra'akdoon named two troopers 'Data' and 'Chip' after that for their programming prowess.
Order 66[]
Ra'akdoon and his men were en-route to a new planet when Order 66 came about, to somewhat surprise to him. He knew that the war would end in an unorthodox way, just not this way. The clones on the bridge of his command ship, the Infiltrator II, turned their blasters to him in order to eliminate him despite their previous loyalty to him. Unwilling still to harm his men, he used the Force to knock them out or otherwise incapacitate them in order to facilitate his escape. Only six of his clones were unwilling to attack him, and they agreed to escape with him. Making it to the hangar of the ship, he boarded a small frigate along with Lieutenant, the four troopers of the apocalypse, Data and Chip, and fled the fleet while under fire.
Escaping mostly unharmed, the group was lost in their objective. The clones knew nothing outside of life in the Republic army, while Ra'akdoon didn't know where was safe. While flying away from the fleet, they heard the Morsian Empire broadcast their offer of sanctuary to any Jedi and loyal men who escaped with them. With nowhere else to turn and the promise of safety too good to pass up, they make a course for the borders of the Morsian Empire. The 666th did not give chase, instead following new orders which was to return to Coruscant for new assigning, which resulted in them being sent to the galactic north.
An Imperial propaganda poster, recruiting for the 666th legion. The bottom text reads: "Keep the galaxy safe!"
Build up to the Rebellion[]
With Ra'akdoon departed, the legion was assigned a new officer and given tasks to pacify the Outer Rim, where protesting was occurring against the rise of the Empire. In keeping with the original legion, which was comprised of troublemakers and problematic men that Ra'akdoon took to give a second chance to, the Empire used the 666th as little more than a veiled penal battalion. Any criminals or troublemakers from the army were cast into the 666th as one last chance to serve the Empire and save themselves from a firing squad or worse. Under the ruling fist of a fanatical officer assigned specifically to keep these men under control, they ruthlessly crushed any uprisings or protests against the Empire, no matter how peaceful these intentions were. Over the following years, the legion made its way along the Outer Rim, going clockwise from the galactic north to the galactic east and then finally towards the south. Along its path it left destruction, massacre and death as a part of the imperial campaign to keep the galaxy in line with fear.
Galactic Civil War[]
The legion was nearing the galactic south when the Galactic Civil War broke out in 2 BBY. Still under the leadership of a ruthless fanatic, the 666th was thrown into battle time and again against the Rebels, which quickly built them a reputation. With strict orders to show no mercy to the rebels and those who aided them, the legion gained a reputation as torturers, executioners, and mass murderers who showed very little mercy to those they fought and captured. Facing the legion, or knowing they were in the area, put fear into the rebels. The 666th was still an elite unit, and made easy work against the rebels most of the time, keeping a chunk of the Outer Rim under their firm control.
In 0 ABY this changed, however. The Morsian Empire declared war on the Galactic Empire, and a short while later their first units began to enter space controlled by the 666th. Over a series of harsh battles, the 666th was defeated with heavy losses and pulled back to elsewhere in the Outer Rim. The Morsian Empire gave pursuit and over a number of years, the two continued to fight hard and desperate battles against each other, with the 666th usually coming off worst. The legion continued to be one of their reoccurring foes, even into the last days of the war before the treaty was signed in 19 ABY.
Post-Galactic Civil War[]
The 666th was in poor shape by the end of the war. Constant brutal fighting, especially against the Morsians, had decimated their number. Despite receiving reinforcements, new and experimental equipment throughout the war, a lack of time to recuperate has resulted in the legion being a shadow of its former self both in strength and fighting prowess. The badly mauled legion was sent northwards to the area of the galaxy controlled by the Imperial Remnant, which was all that remained of the organized Galactic Empire. Within their borders, the legion was stationed on a planet and generally left to recover itself. To save manpower and logistics, especially during the early years of the Remnant, the legion was downsized and restructured into a sub-division of a larger imperial army.
In around 23 ABY, the Imperial Remnant decided to rebuild the 666th into a full strength legion again, issuing new equipment and more manpower to the legion while also training it back up to an elite formation. Their previous commander had been disposed of at the end of the war, and a fairer, less fanatical one put in their place. Even so, the stigma they had acquired over two decades with their previous commander stuck with them, and instilled fear both in the New Republic and even some within the Imperial Remnant.
Yuuzhan Vong War[]
In 25 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong launched their invasion of the galaxy, which placed their route nearly directly next to Imperial Remnant space. With a newly rebuilt 666th legion in their posession, the Remnant sent them to the front line in a hopes that they might be able to stop or at least slow down the Vong. The legion was dispatched to the Morsian Expansion Regions defenses, arriving at Genassa shortly before the Vong reached them. While the Morsians were distrusting of the Remnant and especially their old enemy the 666th legion, this was put to the side when the Vong made their arrival. Despite a dogged defence in the ensuing battle, the Morsians and 666th were unable to stop the Vong from capturing the planet. While some of the Morsian forces were able to escape the planet, the 666th was not as lucky, being for all intents and purposes wiped out.
Restoration[]
For several decades the 666th was considered destroyed, unable or unwilling to be resurrected or reformed by the Imperial Renmant. However, on the formation of the Fel Empire, the Imperial Military underwent expansion with new corps being formed and old units rebuilt with some appearing from even the time of the Clone Wars. One such unit was the 666th, newly selected for reformation. Under a new command, the legion was far less heavy handed in their duties with a fair career officer at their head.
Legacy[]
The Legion was considered one of the better Legions in the Grand Army of the Republic under Ra'akdoon. With him in command, the Legion had one of the least casualty rates of the entire Army, despite their disposition of serving under Ra'akdoon. Due to Ra'akdoon's past, the Jedi were keen to place him and his men in any sort of tight spot they could, which resulted in the Legion constantly seeing heavy fighting against often far superior odds. Despite this, the Legion came out on top every time, though they still were given the nickname 'The Dark Legion' by other clones and even Jedi due to Ra'akdoon.
During the reign of the Galactic Empire and beyond, public perception of the legion completely flipped. Where they once viewed it as a legion full of brave and heroic troopers, it became vilified as full of murderers and fanatics. Their actions both before and during the Galactic Civil War cemented the legion as being ruthless and genocidal, leaving death and destruction in its wake. During the war, any defeat suffered by the 666th was celebrated both by the rebels and civilians across the galaxy alike.
This acquired sigma remained with them after peace, their name still instilling fear into many in the New Republic, as well as various officers and troops of the Imperial Remnant. Their new officer was unable to shake their acquired reputation, despite his attempts, and it remained attached to them until their destruction in 25 ABY. Even after two decades of dissolution, the 666th was still vilified when it was resurrected under the Fel Empire. Their recreation was protested by the New Republic and some Morsians, while most in the Empire had largely forgotten about their previous deeds.
Behind the scenes[]
- The legion's number of 666th is a reference to the supposed 'number of the beast' and the fact that Urde Ra'akdoon was a former Sith.
- The main clone trooper's CT numbers are references to their nicknames.
- CT-1945 and his nickname 'War' is a reference to the end of WWII in 1945 AD and the only nuclear strikes carried out, mimicking the clone's affinity for all weapons.
- CT-476 and his nickname 'Death' is a reference to the fall, or 'death', of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
- CT-1346 and his nickname 'Disease' is a reference to the first occurrence of the Black Death in Europe in 1346 AD.
- CT-441 and his nickname 'Famine' is a reference to the first recorded famine in Ancient Rome in 441 BC.
- CT-404 and his nickname 'Data' is a reference to the well known internet error code '404' when a webpage can't be found.
- CT-1959 and his nickname 'Chip' is a reference to the year of the invention of the first integrated computer chip by Robert Noyce in 1959 AD.
- The name of Ra'akdoon's bodyguard clone group 'The Four Troopers of the Apocalypse' is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Gallery[]
