“Deceit is the weapon of greed.”

CRISIS AT THE HEART
Corruption discovered at the core of the Banking Clan!
Reunited, Rush Clovis and Senator Amidala discover the
full extent of the deception. Anakin Skywalker is sent
to the rescue – he refuses to trust Clovis, and asks
Padmé not to work with him. Determined to save the
banks, she refuses her husband’s request, throwing
their relationship into turmoil. Voted for by both the
Separatists and the Republic, Clovis is elected new
leader of the Galactic Banking Clan. Now all attention
is focused on Scipio, as the important transfer of
power begins….

Rush Clovis and Padmé Amidala return to Scipio on a Republic frigate, escorted by several Republic gunships and clone Commander Thorn. They are greeted at the landing pad by Senator Bec Lawise, the leader of the Separatist Senate – he tells Clovis that they have great hopes for him. Clovis stresses the neutrality of the banks and that no troops of either side will be permitted into the neutral zone during the exchange proceedings monitored by Amidala and Lawise.

As Clovis enters the Main Vault chamber with the Senators, a Muun judge is declaring the verdict of the Muun people on the former Core Five – they are found guilty of embezzlement and are to be imprisoned. Clovis asserts that he is not interested in power, merely in restoring order to the banking system, and the Muuns applaud him.

Sitting in his office, Clovis is contacted by Count Dooku, who congratulates him on his appointment. Clovis thanks him for his assistance, but Dooku announces he wishes to collect the return on his “investment.” Clovis refuses, saying he and the bank must remain neutral. Dooku threatens to reveal his role in Clovis’s investigation but remains adamant. Finally, Dooku tells Clovis that the Separatists will not pay the interest on their loans as promised. Clovis protests, saying the banks will collapse without the payments, but Dooku tells him he must raise interest rates on the Republic’s loans to keep the bank afloat.

Clovis announces to a shocked Senator Amidala that the Republic’s interest rates have been raised immediately. She protests, but Clovis and the Muuns ignore her.

Chancellor Palpatine announced the rate rise to the angry senators in the Senate. Yoda and Mace Windu tell Anakin his instincts about Clovis may have been correct, but his motives are unclear. Palpatine calls for restraint as the senators argue about their next move.

A Separatist invasion fleet drops out of hyperspace above Scipio. The fleet is detected by the Republic forces, who try to reach cover beyond the city gates. Commander Thorn contacts Amidala to warn her of the invasion and tells her to get to a ship as his men cannot reach her. Vulture droid fighters and Hyena bombers destroy her consular ship – the clone troopers put up a brave fight but are outnumbered and overwhelmed by battle droids, and Thorn is killed after taking three shots to the chest.

Padmé contacts the Chancellor to inform him of the invasion and tells Anakin she is trapped and unable to get to a ship. The hologram cuts off as a droid takes her into custody. Palpatine orders Mas Amedda to invoke an emergency Senate meeting and assigns Anakin to lead the Republic forces to Scipio.

Padmé is brought to Clovis’s office, where Dooku tells her that Clovis had assured him she would join their cause. When Padmé refuses, Dooku orders her arrest, but she seizes a battle droid’s blaster and aims it at him. Bec Lawise protests that the Separatist government will not approve Amidala’s arrest, so Dooku uses the Force to point Padmé’s blaster at him and pull the trigger, killing him.

At the Senate emergency meeting, the Chancellor tells them that Clovis has betrayed them and allowed the Separatists to invade Scipio, and the Senate votes to launch a counter-invasion. As Darth Sidious, Palpatine informs Dooku of the Republic fleet’s impending arrival and expresses glee that Clovis’ ostentatious treachery will place the banks under his control.

Clovis tells Padmé he had to strike a deal with Dooku to reveal the Muun deception, but he is still in control and will do things right. Padmé replies that the Republic armada is on its way, that war has come to Scipio, and that Clovis has destroyed the banks once and for all. Above the planet, the Republic fleet drops out of hyperspace and opens fire on the Separatist fleet. Anakin and Captain Rex scan for Padmé’s life signs on the planet as Hawk’s squadron of Z-95s escorts the gunships to the surface.

Dooku arrives on his flagship and orders the tactical droid Kraken to withdraw their forces from the battle, leaving the droids on the planet behind. A Muun informs Clovis that the Republic invasion forces have arrived and that Dooku has left the planet. As Clovis bemoans that these events will ruin his reputation, Anakin bursts in and takes out the droids, but Clovis takes Padmé hostage. He insists that they have all been deceived by Dooku and he has done nothing wrong. In the skies above the city, Hawk shoots down a Vulture droid, which crashes into Clovis’s office. As the three of them slide off the ledge, Anakin manages to grab Padmé and Clovis but struggles to hold both of them. Clovis tells Anakin to let him go, apologizes to Padmé, and breaks out of Skywalker’s grip, falling to his death. As Anakin pulls Padmé up from the ledge, she apologizes to Anakin about their fight, and he forgives her with open arms.

In the Senate, the Muun government dissolves the Banking Clan and cedes control of the bank to the Office of the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. As the Senators chant, “Long live the banks!” Palpatine accepts the responsibility with great humility, promising to return the banks to their former standing once the Clone Wars end.