Sphere of Influence

"A child stolen is a hope lost."

- Moral

"Sphere of Influence" is the fourth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' third season. It aired on October 1, 2010.

Official description
''Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe, Chairman Papanoida's daughters, are kidnapped and held for ransom. Ahsoka Tano teams up with the Senator from Pantora, Riyo Chuchi, to aid the new chairman in recovering his family before the Trade Federation can unduly influence the future of his planet.''

''The Chairman and his son, Ion, track down the kidnapper&mdash;Greedo&mdash;on Tatooine, and rescue Che Amanwe. Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Chuchi find Chi Eekway held captive aboard a blockading Trade Federation battleship over Pantora, and expose Trade Federation officer Sib Canay as a Separatist conspirator.''

Plot summary
The Trade Federation is blockading the space above Pantora under the pretense that Pantora has outstanding debts to pay, while Count Dooku is really trying to coerce the Pantorans to join the Separatist Alliance. Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman Papanoida are trying to maintain the fighting spirit of their people and turn to the Senate for help. They do gain general sympathy for their plight, but the same night, Papanoida's daughters, Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe, are kidnapped from their quarters, though Che manages to strike one of their attackers with an icon before she is stunned.

The next morning, Ahsoka, who has become a close friend of Chuchi, informs Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala of the situation. While the Jedi can't officially get involved in the investigation, Anakin slyly grants his Padawan permission to look into the matter due to "personal" concerns. While Ahsoka and Chuchi travel to the blockade fleet in order to look for the sisters there, Papanoida and his son Ion discover the misplaced icon, smeared with blood, at the crime scene. By analyzing it, they identify one of the kidnappers as Greedo and proceed to Tatooine, where the villain is known to operate. They enter Jabba the Hutt's palace, where Papanoida cunningly spreads word that he wants to hire Greedo's services in order to have him come to them. Greedo does indeed come, with his accomplices and blasters in hand, but Papanoida overpowers him and presents his evidence to Jabba. Exposed, Greedo confesses and leads Papanoida and Ion to a seedy bar in Mos Eisley, where Chi is kept hidden. When Chi is brought forth and identifies her father, a firefight breaks out. Though Papanoida and his children manage to kill all antagonists, Greedo manages to slip away.

In the meantime, Chuchi and Ahsoka, the latter disguised as a servant, are admitted aboard the Trade Federation ship and quartered for the impending negotiation sessions. The same night, the two young women sneak to the Trade Federation ambassador's office, where they overhear him and Administrator Sib Canay talking about one of Papanoida's daughters being kept aboard this ship. A gasp from Chuchi nearly gives them away, but they narrowly avoid discovery thanks to Ahsoka's Jedi abilities. They penetrate the ship's detention complex and find Che in one of the cells, but are discovered. Ahsoka manages to slice up the squad of battle droids sent against them, and Chuchi uses her glib tongue to force the Trade Federation envoy to reconsider, leading to the dissolution of the blockade and a happy ending for the Papanoidas.

Cast

 * Jennifer Hale as Senator Riyo Chuchi and Trella Bare'Ah
 * Corey Burton as Chairman Papanoida, Count Dooku and Sib Canay
 * Seth Green as Ion Papanoida
 * Tom Kenny as Lt. Tan Divo, Greedo and Trade Federation envoy
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano and a dancer
 * Nika Futterman as Chi Eekway Papanoida and TC-70
 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker and Neimoidian guard
 * Gideon Emery as Lott Dod and Gotal
 * Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala
 * Kevin M. Richardson as Jabba the Hutt
 * Meredith Salenger as Che Amanwe Papanoida and a dancer
 * Tom Kane as the narrator
 * Matthew Wood as the battle droids
 * David Acord as Rotta and Brainee

Story Change
The initial story setting placed this episode as a prequel to the "Trespass" episode from season 1. Chi Eekway was the sister of senator Riyo Chuchi and had been kidnapped in a plot to let the Separatists establish a base on Orto Plutonia. Chairman Chi Cho would secretly aid the separatists. Several of these scenes can be seen in animatic form in the extra material on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three Blu-Ray edition.