And we're back! Hey, guys, it's TheMediator052 here with another chapter of A New Order. As expected, this is the next part of the Clovis arc. This chapter is a little bit shorter than normal, but it's got more action than the most recent ones have had.
First, we'll get the reviews out of the way:
RyanSquad: Whether or not I go with Barissoka, I'll make sure to have moments that aren't just romantic. For all of the characters, not just Ahsoka. There are a lot of friendships that deserve a lot more exploration, like Ahsoka and Riyo Chuchi, Obi-Wan and Quinlan Vos, Padmé and Satine, and so many more. Unfortunately, I'm a hopeless romantic with abandonment issues, so I like to try and ensure those that seem to want relationships are in happy ones. While Padmé and Obi-Wan's reasoning was definitely flawed and drove Anakin closer to Palpatine and the Sith, he could be just as toxic at times. At times, Anakin was certainly obsessed with Padmé rather than in love with her. Her decisions regarding Clovis were certainly questionable at best, however. Plus, for all Anakin knew, Clovis was about to rape his wife. A calm, stoic Vader is more terrifying than a homicidal maniac to me, but a Vader like the Rogue One Vader is certainly scary.
GamingGuy84: I'm glad you liked it! As I said, Clovis will definitely get his.
Guest: Thank you!
HufflepuffBadger1978: (Hey, I'm a Hufflepuff, too!) Honestly, I don't think he would back off. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to back off of a taken woman. I think he would start the brawl with Anakin if he knew. And Clovis would certainly deserve unfair, seeing as he doesn't seem to know that No means NO.
princesselsaamidala22: Thanks! That sounds like a cool idea, for sure.
Jeda31: Thank you! As I've said before, they have the potential for a very healthy relationship when both of them are willing to cooperate and communicate. Sidious plans for everything ;) I guess you'll just have to see!
osterreicher97: Thank you!
Stevonnie-U: Thank you so much. That's so nice of you to say!
Guest: Thanks a bunch!
Now, let's get to the chapter!
As the ramp of the Republic Frigate descended, Padmé and Clovis exited first, followed by Commander Thorn and Anakin. Then more Coruscant Guards followed behind them. Anakin spotted a heavy-set Siniteen Senator, flanked by a Muun and six commando droids. Eventually, the two sides met in the middle of the landing pad.
"Welcome back to Scipio, Rush Clovis," said the senator. "Our Separatist government has great hopes for you."
"Thank you, Senator Lawise. He stepped forward to address both sides. "Only you, Senator Amidala, and Master Skywalker will be allowed to monitor the exchange proceedings. No forces on either side will be allowed into the Neutral Zone."
"Then why is a Jedi allowed to view the proceedings?" asked Senator Lawise.
"I assure you, Senator," Anakin said, "that I am here with entirely peaceful intentions. My flagship has left the system, and I vow not to raise my weapon against you or any other. The Coruscant Guard have been instructed not to attack unless violently provoked." The senator still looked troubled. "If it would put you at ease, I will give my lightsaber over to Senator Amidala."
Lawise's grimace lessened. "No, it is alright. I will trust you, Master Skywalker."
Anakin bowed. "Thank you, Senator."
Thorn stepped behind Padmé and said, "Senator Amidala, General Skywalker, we will be right here if you should need us."
"Thank you, Commander," said Padmé.
As they entered, the Troopers split off to set up their garrison. The commando droids split off as well, most likely to their own gathering of troops.
In the Banking Chamber, the Council of Five was waiting shamefully. The Muun governor and the other replacements for the Council were on the display screens. "It is with great disappointment that I implement the following verdict. By decree of the Muun people, the five representatives standing before me are found guilty of embezzlement. They shall be imprisoned forthwith," the Muun security stepped into the chamber behind them, "and control of the banks shall transfer immediately to Rush Clovis, under the guidance of the Muun government."
The council was escorted out, and Clovis took the center of the room.
"We are grateful to you, Clovis, for everything you have done for the Muun people. To have lost the banks would have been an historic disaster."
"I would like you to know I have no interest in controlling the banks. I am simply here to re-establish order."
As the Muuns clapped, Anakin still felt the pit in his stomach. The Council had simply instructed him to wait and watch. Of course. He noticed with severe displeasure that Padmé was clapping too.
Senator Lawise moved towards Padmé and Anakin. "Do you think our friend is up to the task?" he asked Padmé.
"There are few men I have met in my career who are more dedicated to a cause than Clovis," Padmé said. While, again, Anakin wanted to be jealous, he caught her side-eye and realized her double-meaning. "Once he decides what he is fighting for, little will stop him from achieving it."
"Let us hope you are right, for all our sakes."
The senators continued to applaud, and Anakin decided he should at least clap politely.
Anakin sighed as he entered his quarters. Clovis had obviously given him his own room, and he and Padmé had decided that it was in their best interest to use those separate rooms. That didn't mean they couldn't meet and talk, though.
Speaking of which, in only a few minutes, he heard a knock on his door. "It's open," he called. As he had expected and hoped, Padmé entered. "Hey, Angel."
"Hi, Ani. Can we talk?"
Anakin sighed and sat down. "Yeah. What's going on?"
"Are… are we okay?"
"Of course we are," Anakin said, and he wasn't lying. They were fine. Realistically, he knew it was all in his head that she cared so much for Clovis. However, she was putting a concerning amount of trust in him.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do, Angel. I promise. I'm with you till the end of the line. But you know how I feel about Clovis. And trusting him right now is making me physically ill. I sense a cloud around him, one that I can't read. I know you have a history, so you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but…"
"Ani," she said quietly, "I love you. Only you. Always and forever."
"I know. I love you, too."
Padmé kissed his cheek. "It'll be okay. I don't implicitly trust him, but you're right that I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I truly think he wants what's best for the Banks, one way or another."
"Okay…"
Padmé sighed. "I know I can't make you like it. And I'm sorry that this is the way it is."
"It's not your fault. I sense Sidious's hand in this. He wants to make me lose trust in you. Unfortunately, the Council hasn't been much help. With Obi-Wan on a mission, I can't talk to him, and Ahsoka is working with Shaak Ti."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry, Angel," he said, putting his hand on her cheek. "I love you, and I do trust you. Just because I don't trust him doesn't mean I don't trust you. I'm upset about it, but not upset with you."
"Okay…" She wasn't convinced.
Anakin kissed her forehead and brought her in close. "We only need to be here for about a day more. We'll go home, go to our apartment, and we can relax for a few more days. The last week-and-a-half have been desk work, desk work, desk work. We're young, we'll have some fun for a change. To hell with the war for a couple of days."
"You know this lull isn't going to last, right?"
"...I know. The Council has been planning several sieges on the Outer Rim worlds. They're a little over a month off. Plus we're getting reports of Separatist forces moving in on Inner Rim worlds like Anaxes."
"How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know. Weeks, months…"
"Then let's make the most of this time. Got it?"
"Definitely."
Padmé separated from him, but not before leaning up to kiss him gently. "I should go to my room. But I'll see you later."
"Okay. See you later."
Only a few hours later, Anakin, Padmé, and Bec had been summoned to the chamber again for an announcement from Clovis. The screens turned on one by one, and Clovis began.
"By the new order of the Traxus Division and in an attempt to stabilize the banks, it is essential that interest rates on loans to the Republic be raised immediately."
Anakin barely masked a snarl behind a cough. Padmé gasped, stunned at his first move as head of the bank. She shared an urgent look with Senator Lawise. "What? But you can't do that! Clovis." He looked away from her. "Clovis! What are you doing?" His screen was the last to shut off.
Lawise stared at Anakin and Padmé. "I… am truly sorry. I will leave the two of you alone."
As Anakin and Padmé walked to her quarters, Anakin growled. "That conniving little serpent! That traitor!"
"There… there has to be a reason. He… he seemed so genuine."
"He's a picture-perfect gaslighter. He knows exactly what strings to pluck. If I see him again, I'm gonna…" He turned to see his wife looking very distraught. "Angel… I'm sorry."
"You were right. As usual, you were right."
They entered her quarters together, and Anakin immediately pulled her into his arms. "This is one of those times where I wish I wasn't. Not at your expense. You don't deserve this."
"I'm sorry, Ani," she said, tears starting to flow.
"It's not your fault, Angel. It's okay." He rubbed her back and kissed her head again before he rested his chin on the top of her head. "It'll be okay, Angel. I swear."
Padmé calmed down slowly, but Anakin didn't intend to―
Anakin let go of Padmé. Alarm bells were going off in his head. "Something's wrong." He rushed towards the door. "Stay here! I'm going to the outpost."
"Outside the city? Why?"
"I don't know!" he called, dashing through the halls. He raised his comm to his mouth. "Commander Thorn, what's your status?"
"I was just about to contact you. We've got multiple bogeys approaching. It looks to be a full-scale invasion. I'd advise you to get out of here with the Senator."
"I can't do that, Thorn. I'll call her while you set up your defenses. Just hold out a little longer, I'll be there soon."
There was a long pause, likely Thorn ordering his men around. "General, this is what we're bred for. We don't need to survive this, we need you and the Senator to escape."
"Just hold on, Thorn. That doesn't need to be the outcome here." Thorn didn't respond for a time, and Anakin said, "That's an order, Commander!"
When Thorn didn't respond, Anakin increased his speed and ran towards the gate. "Padmé, come in!" After a moment, she replied. "We're under attack. Commander Thorn says it's an invasion fleet. Get to a ship, get out. I sense Clovis's involvement."
"That, that can't be right."
"I'm sorry, Padmé, but we can't risk it. I need to get to the troopers. Go!" Anakin ended the call and rushed faster towards the gate.
Thorn was barking directions at his men, praying the ships could take off. General Skywalker was right; they didn't all need to die here. It was improbable, but there was a chance some could survive.
Those hopes were dashed as vulture droids came screaming towards the landing pad. "Vultures! I need rocket launchers here, now! Protect those ships!"
As gunships rose into the air and the frigate's engines fired up, the droids swarmed the landing pad and annihilated the ships. Thorn stared in horror as the frigate was split in two and sent over the edge of the pad. Soon enough, all of the gunships had been destroyed, with another run of droids heading their way. Thorn aimed The Hammer into the air, sending a volley of bolts towards the vultures, trying to keep them from getting close and/or landing. The troopers with rocket launchers got down and braced themselves, sending rockets towards the droids. Both of them managed to hit, but the skies were full of more droids.
Thorn growled in frustration. "Let's move! Hurry!" The troops turned and sprinted towards the gate, Thorn praying that they would make it.
Then, once again, his hopes were dashed as two droid gunships flew over their heads. The troops stopped as they realized that the gunships were deploying B2 battle droids. The droids began mowing down troops, and Thorn turned to see a squad get decimated by another droid gunship. And more droids.
Taking a deep breath, Thorn steeled himself, firing off The Hammer in all directions. Commando droids and B2 droids swarmed, taking out each and every one of his troops. Until finally, he was the only one standing. He took a shot just in the left side of his abdomen, grunting in pain. But he wouldn't stop. He couldn't. The Senator needed time to get clear. He swung The Hammer, bashing two commando droids first, then taking out three in a single swing, then an upswing to send one flying. The droids were closing in on him, slowly but surely. He knocked one more down before preparing to fire again.
"FOR THE REPUBLIC!" he cried, accepting what he knew was about to happen.
BOOM!
The droids hesitated, giving Thorn an opening to mow down the ones closest to him. He turned to look, and the droids had turned towards the gate, where now there was the flaming wreckage of two droid gunships. Thorn saw a continuous flash of blue as droids went flying or simply crumpled to the ground, slowly moving towards him. Thorn shook himself out of his stupor, continuing to turn and fire his rotary cannon. The droids were now completely ignoring him, deadset on taking out whatever was thinning their numbers so quickly. When droids did turn to him, he was able to bash or blast them out of his way. He used the droids' momentum to fight towards the gate and towards his new ally.
"Commander!" he heard. Finally, he was able to see that General Skywalker had made his way to the pad. "Get behind me and get to the gate! We might be able to buy some time for the 501st to get into position!"
"Right!" Thorn dashed towards the gate, turning around once he'd reached it. General Skywalker had settled into an ebb and flow strategy, keeping the droids from getting too close. As the gate reopened, the two of them rushed inside, and it closed back up.
"We need to get to the Senator quickly. You contact her, tell her to call either the Chancellor or Master Yoda. I'll call Captain Rex."
"Will we be stopped on the way into the neutral zone?"
"I doubt it. If we didn't enter first, the Separatists will." Anakin began to sense a dark, familiar presence. "Poodoo! Dooku just arrived. We need to come up with a plan."
Rex called out to his men. "General Skywalker and Commander Thorn are pinned down here. Appo, you and Vaughn will take your squads down here and move in here. Kano, you're with me. Our squads are going from here and up through there. We need to keep those clankers occupied so that a select few of our troops can get to the Senator here. With any luck, they'll rendezvous with the General. Everyone understand their orders?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Then move it!" He looked at the remaining squad. "Jesse, Fives, you two need to take a few men and get into the city. Find out where the Senator is, protect her. Dooku is here; be cautious. Kix, you're with them. Thorn is injured. Get him out of there ASAP."
"Yes, sir!" the troopers chorused, dashing towards a gunship.
The pilot, Davis, waited for them to board, then took off immediately. He needed to act fast if he was going to break through the Invasion fleet and avoid the Vultures. As he approached, he noted a few of the pilots flying beside him: Hawk, Kickback, and Swoop of Blue Squadron, and Broadside of Shadow Squadron. Two of the best squads in the 501st navy. If anyone could get him to the surface, it was them.
Jesse, Fives, Tup, Kix, and Ridge shared a nod. "Helluva last mission together, eh, boys?" Jesse asked.
"Been an honor, sir," Tup replied.
Kix asked, "You off to the 332nd Legion, too, Ridge?"
"Yeah; wanted to help Commander Tano by giving her a familiar face," he quipped.
The troopers in the gunship cackled together, until they were shaken by a missile that had come far too close.
"Watch it, Davis!" one of them cried.
"You wanna fly through this storm? No? Then switch off and let me work!"
"General Skywalker. We've arrived above the planet. We're taking heavy fire, but we're making our way to the surface. Hold out a little longer if you can."
"Alright. We're almost to Padmé; we'll try to get her and hide out."
"Understood, sir."
As Anakin and Thorn turned the corner, Anakin pulled Thorn back again. A squad of six commando droids was making its way to Padmé's room.
"I'm going to rush forward and take them out. When I give the signal, you need to get into the Senator's room and get her out."
"Yes, sir."
Anakin dashed forward and ignited his lightsaber.
"Jedi!" one of the commandos announced, and three of them took out their blasters while the other three drew their vibroblades.
Anakin deflected the incoming fire towards the droids with vibroblades, but the flexible droids were able to avoid the blasts with ease. As he pushed closer to the droids, he parried one vibroblade away. As the droid tried to recover, Anakin used the Force to throw the droid into the line of fire and take out another vibroblade-droid. As he ducked to avoid the last droid's blade, he had to jump to avoid another volley of blaster shots. Using that momentum, he pushed himself off of the wall and towards the droids with blasters. He was able to cut one blaster in half, and that droid pulled out a vibroblade as well.
"General, get down!"
Anakin had a split second to see Thorn turn the corner, hefting The Hammer. Anakin threw himself to the ground, and Thorn sent a volley towards the droids. Two of them were unable to react in time, while one threw itself to the ground and another jumped to cling to the ceiling. As Anakin shot to his feet, he used the Force to pick up the one on the ground and send it flying up to the one on the ceiling. As the droids crashed together, the one on the ceiling lost its grip and began to fall. Anakin slashed into the air, destroying the remaining two droids.
Anakin knocked on Padmé's door. "Padmé, it's Anakin! I'm here with Commander Thorn."
After a moment, the door opened, and Padmé was standing there with her blaster trained on Anakin's chest. As she realized that it was actually him, she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to see you. You, too, Commander."
"Come on, we have to get you out of here," Anakin said.
"What about Clovis?"
"I'll take care of him," Anakin said darkly. "Dooku is here, which likely means they're together."
Padmé's eyes widened. "Anakin, don't try to take him alone."
"I won't, but we can't wait long. We need to either hide out somewhere or fight towards the landing pad; the 501st is here, and they're fighting towards us. Once we can get you and Commander Thorn out of here, I'll take a few troopers to apprehend Clovis."
"General, I can still fight," Thorn protested, hefting The Hammer up.
"I know, but you don't have to." Anakin walked over and put a hand on Thorn's shoulder. "You lost your entire unit, and you fought off dozens of droids on your own. Now, let your brothers from the 501st take care of the rest. Kix is on his way, he can get you patched up."
Thorn's head tilted down. "Alright, General. If you think that's for the best."
"We can talk more later. For now, let's try to meet with Fives and Jesse."
Anakin started down the hall, letting Thorn guide Padmé.
"You played your part well. Now our debts will be expunged, and so will any credit for the Republic."
Clovis stared at the smoking body of Senator Bec Lawise. "Are you insane? This was not part of the deal."
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further." Dooku made his way to the door. "You knew what you were signing up for. You have your price, and I have mine."
As he turned the corner, Anakin was stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of two droidekas. "Poodoo! Get back!" He put up a gentle wall of Force to block off Thorn and Padmé. He ignited his lightsaber just in time to deflect a volley of bolts headed his way. "Thorn, do you have any detonators?"
"No, sir," Thorn called. "My lieutenant had all of them."
"Get back," Anakin instructed.
Then he charged forward, deflecting the blasts toward the walls. He feigned a slash towards one, focusing on the gun barrels poking out of the shield. As the droid pulled back into its shield, Anakin shut off his saber, pushing it through the droid's shield, and activated it again, slicing the droid in half. As quickly as he had destroyed one, he turned back to deflect the shots of the other destroyer. The droid began to walk towards him, forcing him to retreat towards Thorn and Padmé. As he retreated, he saw a squad of B1 battle droids approaching from behind the destroyer.
"General, get down!"
Anakin recognized that voice. Grinning, he threw himself to the ground and watched as a droid popper flew over him. It flew past the destroyer and activated, shutting down the newly arrived squad of droids. Anakin bounced back to his feet and deflected more blasts, backing up to where he knew his backup was.
Jesse and Fives moved up to flank him. "Good to see you, General," Jesse said.
"You, too, Jesse. Can one of you pop that destroyer?"
"Way ahead of you," said Tup, coming up behind him to roll a detonator towards the droid. It made its way into the droid's shield and detonated, shutting down the destroyer immediately.
Anakin shut off his saber and breathed a sigh of relief. "Perfect timing as always, gentlemen." He went back around the corner and smiled. Kix was already checking the wound on Thorn's side, and Ridge was standing behind Padmé. "Alright. Fives, Jesse, Ridge, and Tup. I want you to come with me. We're going to find Clovis and apprehend him. Count Dooku may still be with him, so it'll be dangerous. You can opt out if you like, and you'll join the others in escorting Senator Amidala and Commander Thorn back to Rex and the rest of the 501st." The four of them stepped forward with a nod. "Alright. Fox, you're in charge. Don't let Thorn fight unless he absolutely needs to; he's already exacerbated his injury enough." Kix nodded in agreement. "Protect the senator and get her out of here. We don't know if she was one of their targets or not, and I don't feel like finding out."
"Yes, sir!" Sergeant Fox replied. "Senator, stay close to me. Let's move it!"
"Be careful, Master Skywalker," Padmé said.
And then she rushed off behind Fox. The remaining three 501st troops surrounded Kix and Thorn as they rushed off as well.
Anakin turned to the four troopers. "Alright. As I said, we're going to find Clovis and apprehend him as a traitor to the Republic. Count Dooku may be with him, or he may flee. Right now, he isn't our priority. If we can take him out, we will, but don't put yourself in harm's way to capture him. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" they echoed.
"Then let's move!"
Clovis stared out the window angrily. They won't understand. Padmé won't understand. No one ever understood. What would they say about him now? What will he have left behind? He couldn't turn himself in, no one would see his side. The choices he had to make.
Clovis turned around and gaped through the door. That damned Jedi had arrived. Clovis pulled out his pistol.
Anakin quickly stabbed the commando droid, while Fives followed him in and took out the battle droid. Jesse, Tup, and Ridge fanned out and surrounded Clovis.
"It's over, Clovis," Anakin said. "Nowhere to run, no one to help you. Lower your weapon."
"Stay away from me! I didn't do anything wrong! You have to believe me!"
"You don't want to do this. Lower your weapon and you can make your case to the Senate."
"You don't understand. You've all been deceived."
"Yeah, by you."
"No! By Dooku. I'm not the villain here. I swear it!"
Anakin looked out the large window above them, and his eyes widened. "Get down!"
A vulture droid that had been shot down crashed into the building, destabilizing the tower. Anakin Force-pulled Clovis toward him, making Clovis drop his weapon, and pushed him towards Fives. Ridge started to slide down the collapsing floor, and Anakin used the Force to grab him and throw him to Tup. "Get out, now!" Anakin waited for the Clones to get out the door first, then he followed. As they ran through the building, they were able to get more stable footing. Eventually, they were able to get out, with Fives and Jesse escorting Clovis.
Anakin approached them and put his hand on Clovis's shoulder. "I'll take him from here. Jesse, take Tup and Ridge to the landing pad. Fives and I will escort Clovis." Fives got to work putting cuffs on Clovis.
"Yes, sir. Come on!" Jesse rushed off with Tup and Ridge.
"Master Skywalker," Clovis started, "you have to believe me."
Anakin scoffed. "Believe you? That's likely." He began pushing Clovis forward slowly, trusting his men to clean up the droid forces.
"General Skywalker."
"Rex. What is it?"
"The Separatist fleet has fled the system. It seems that they've abandoned their invasion."
"The point of the invasion wasn't to take over the bank," Clovis said.
"We're cleaning up the rest of the droids now. Should I send a detachment back your way?"
"No, that's alright, Rex. We should arrive by the time you've finished. We've apprehended Clovis, and Fives and I are escorting him. I sent Jesse, Tup, and Ridge back your way."
"Understood, sir. We've got Senator Amidala and Commander Thorn secured on a gunship. We'll wait for your arrival before we send them to the fleet."
"Good idea. Be there soon." The line went dead, and Anakin refocused on Clovis. "Listen, Clovis. I don't trust you. But if you can convince Padmé of your side, I'll vouch for you."
Clovis looked at him sadly. "You love her, don't you?"
Anakin sighed, glancing at Fives. "Yes, I do."
"Are the Jedi allowed to be in relationships now?"
"We're… making some changes."
Clovis didn't speak again by the time they reached Rex.
"General. Good to see you in one piece."
"You, too, Rex. How's Thorn doing?"
"The bolt gave him a helluva burn, but it managed to miss any vital organs. He did make it worse by running around with it, though, so Kix wants him to soak in a bacta tank for a few hours, maybe overnight."
"Sounds good."
Padmé approached Anakin, staring at Clovis. "Dooku?"
"He was gone by the time we got there."
Clovis wouldn't look at Padmé.
"What have you done, Clovis?"
When he didn't respond, Anakin nudged him toward a gunship. "She's your last chance, Clovis," he whispered to him. "I'll send her to talk to you in the detention block." Anakin handed him over to Appo. "Lock him up when we reach the ship."
"Yes, sir."
Anakin walked back over to Padmé and Rex. "He was saying that Dooku had tricked all of us. As loathe as I am to believe that traitorous snake, the Separatists fleeing the system gives some credit to his story."
Padmé sighed. "With the Separatists attacking the banks, they may grant control of the banks to the Republic."
Anakin groaned. "You don't mean-"
"Chancellor Palpatine will have even more power than before."
"Dammit! I'll contact Taun We and see what progress they've made. We need to act faster."
"What if… what if we're already too late?"
"We can't be. Even if we can't get to him before his plans come to a peak, we'll be able to stop him. I swear it." Anakin put his hand on her lower back, guiding her to a gunship. Rex followed behind, signaling for the pilot to take off.
"Rush Clovis's trial will be held at a later date," Palpatine announced to the Senate. "His testimony will be heard there, and his fate shall be decided."
"His apparent collusion with Count Dooku nearly collapsed the Banking Clan," said the Muun senator. "For the time being, we are left wondering if he himself was behind the corruption in the first place. In hope of a better tomorrow, we cede control of the banks to the office of the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic."
Amidst the cheers and applause, Anakin winced dejectedly, sharing a look with Padmé.
"It is with great humility that I take on this immense responsibility. Rest assured, when the Clone Wars end, I shall reinstate the banks as we once knew them. But during these treacherous times, we cannot in good conscience allow our money to fall under the manipulations of a madman like Count Dooku or Separatist control again."
Trade one madman for another, Anakin thought.
The senators cheered once again.
"May there be prosperity and stability in all our Republic lands. May our people be free and safe. Long live the banks!"
More cheers and echoes of his call were heard throughout the chamber, but Anakin could sense Padmé's unease. He saw her share looks with the men and women she'd met with just under two weeks ago. Things continued to grow darker in the Republic, and Anakin was praying that there was still time to recover.
And we're done! Palpatine's plans continue to go unimpeded.
I want to reiterate that I have plans for Clovis! He will 100% get what he deserves, but it just didn't make sense for it to happen here. If Anakin had been alone, he definitely would've, but he was no threat to Anakin and four Clones. And it just didn't make sense to send Anakin alone, since he couldn't be sure if Dooku would be alone. Clovis will not be getting by easily.
Before I sign off, I wanted to ask y'all something. Would you rather I put an action scene into the next arc, despite not being proud of it, or would you rather I wrote something that I was more proud of but what much more dialogue-heavy? If I go with dialogue/exposition, there won't really be a lot of action for a few chapters, likely not until the Anaxes arc. If you guys have a heavy preference for one or the other, let me know.
For now, I hope you guys are doin' well! See ya!
