Heroes on Both Sides

## Premise

"When the Senate begins debating a bill that would eliminate government oversight of the Banking Clan's activities in order to fund the war, Elida and Esther travel in secret to the capital of the Dark Empire. Elida attempts to forge a peace agreement with the Dark Empire, while Esther sees, for the first time, the people of the Confederacy. Elida's friend, Mina Bonteri, spearheads the peace initiative, and convinces the Dark Empire Congress to sue for peace.

Meanwhile, in the valley of peace, Senators Lott Dod and Gume Saam conspire with Banking Clan representative Nix Card and master Bear to make the banking deregulation a reality. At Bear's command, Master Boar engineers an attack at the central power distribution grid in the valley of peace, carried out by Dark Empire and the Arkeyan demolition droids. The chaos and panic spreads to the Senate, which vehemently rejects the Dark Empire peace initiative, and votes instead to deregulate the Banking Clan."

## Synopsis

With the clone army being gradually decimated in battle and the Dark Empire and the Arkeyans gaining ground, several members of the Senate plead for the financing of more troops and the de-regulation of the banking system - topics which divide the Senate as the war funds are practically exhausted, and which would effectively drag on the war even longer. Master Elida suggests negotiating with the Dark Empire, and Senator Bail Organa proposes a temporary halting of any further pro-war considerations until the matter has been cleared. This does not sit well with the profiteering Senate representatives of the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and the InterGalactic Banking Clan. These three representatives - Lott Dod, Gume Saam, and Nix Card - propose to have the valley of peace attacked in order to accelerate the decision in favor of pro-war funding.

Elida tries to plead with Tai Lung, who has been witnessing the discussion along with his student Esther, to persuade the Master Council to speak with master Shifu about denying the continuation of war efforts, a proposition Tai Lung shrugs off. Esther, on the other hand, does not understand what negotiation with the Dark Empire would bring if all of them (as she presumes) are evil warmongers. Put off by his pro-war response, Elida decides to favor Esther for help rather than Tai Lung.

In her office, Elida tells Esther that she intends to visit Senator Mina Bonteri, her old friend and mentor who has joined the Dark Empire. The plan is rendered difficult because Bonteri resides behind enemy lines on Raxus Secundus, but then Elida cunningly suggests to use Esther's kung fu status to smuggle herself into the enemy's territory and meet Bonteri. They set off in disguise, land on Raxus and meet up with Bonteri, who smuggles them through the droid controls. Elida and Bonteri greet each other cordially, but with her instinctive distrust of the Dark Empire, Esther is less than pleased, even when Bonteri's son Lux tries to extend her a warm welcome.

While talking with Bonteri, Esther finds her attitudes being tempered as Bonteri patiently states that some of the Dark Empire may have had good reason to leave the Kung Fu Warriors and recounts that she had already lost her husband in the war on Aargonar one year ago. Taking a walk in the garden to get over her confusion, Esther meets Lux, and the two begin to discuss the blurred concepts of the "good" and the "evil" sides in the war and how much they actually know (or don't know) about the respective opposition. Elida and Bonteri, as the friends they are, agree on a notion to move the Senate and the Dark Empire Parliament to initiate a mutual peace negotiation and thus attain a peaceful solution. The Dark Empire Council in general approves this proposition, though there are a few opposing votes, including the Corporate Alliance.

However, while Master Bear publicly favors the decision, he secretly instructs Master Boar to deposit a group of droids disguised as sanitary units on the valley of peace to conduct acts of sabotage. They move to the Senate District power generator and set themselves up as living demolition charges, causing a massive power failure just as Elida has managed to have the Senate vote on the Dark Empire's proposal for peace. This covert attack dramatically changes the Senate's attitude, and the bill for de-regulating the banks is passed. Esther, despite being scolded by her master for her illegal and dangerous action, walks away from these events with a more tempered view of both sides of the war.