The Providence-class destroyer known as the Invisible Hand floated in the space above Coruscant, several of its "sisters" flanking her. Turbolaser shots screamed through the space between it and the defenders of the Republic's capital. Some missed entirely, others impacted onto the mighty shields of the ships in battle. Starfighters raced throughout the busy space, dogfighting with their enemies, sometimes attempting to strafe one of the large capital ships on either side only to be destroyed by the point-defense guns.

The closing battle of the Clone Wars had begun.

Inside of the main observation room in the Wizard's Tower on the Invisible Hand, a black-robed figure silently watched the ensuing chaos as it unfolded. His yellow eyes studying the movements of his enemies and his own troops, Darth Vader's mind raced. The Separatist invasion of Coruscant wasn't the final push into Republic territory like every one on the ground thought; instead, it was a rescue mission. Vader's master was close to being discovered, and the man that the entire galaxy knew as Chancellor Palpatine was about to be outed as the Sith Lord he was.

"Lord Vader," a gruff mechanical voice said from the turbolift doors in the observation room, "pardon the interruption, but it is time to descend to the surface."

"Thank you, General Grievous," Vader replied, causing the almost completely cybernetic military leader of the CIS to bow slightly before him. He pulled the black hood of his robe up and over his head before turning around. "We shall rescue Lord Sidious before the Jedi do find out his identity."

The shuttle soared through the skies of Coruscant minutes later, flanked on all sides by Vulture droids and Tri-fighters. The cover fire for the vessel slammed into Z-95's, the first responders to the assault on the capital. "Tell them to be on the lookout from more powerful starfighters," Darth Vader spoke as he watched from a chair adjacent to the pilot droid.

"Yes sir," the droid replied, the message to the droid control ship already relayed the second that Vader had spoken it.

"We must hurry," Vader mumbled.

The droid starfighters, moving in maneuvers limited to only the machine's aerodynamics instead of a living being inside of them, banked left and right to intercept the Republic's ARC-170 starfighters that had just been spotted by the sensors aboard the craft. A number of the Tri-fighters remained with the shuttle, still ready to provide cover when needed.

Ahead in the distance, the Galactic Senate was 13 kilometers away.

"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan Kenobi said inside of a private chamber in the Galactic Senate, "our droids in the library have confirmed the recent evidence. Palpatine is the Sith we're looking for."

The diminutive Jedi Master nodded his head sadly and then ran a three fingered hand through his balding gray hair. "Afraid of this, I was," he said to the Jedi Knight beside him. "Obi-Wan," he continued, "of Chancellor Palpatine's duplicity, warn the Senate. Notify the Order, I will. Remove the Sith from power, we must." To accent his final statement, the tip of his cane struck the ground.

Inside of his office, minutes later, Darth Sidious fingered his lightsaber impatiently. Things had gone wrong, and his plan to take control of the Republic by wile and cunning had failed. Now the thousand-year history of the modern Sith order was in vital danger. If Lord Vader couldn't rescue him in time… He looked toward his HoloNet transceiver near his desk, and the answer finally dawned upon him. It wouldn't wipe out as many Jedi as he had hoped, but it would reduce their numbers considerably. He walked quickly towards the device and thumbed it on. This message would be relayed to all clone leaders in the galaxy, and perhaps this defeat would easily be turned into a victory. "Commanders, Lieutenants and all others. The Jedi have betrayed the Republic. Execute Order 66…"