Bec Lawise

Bec Lawise hailed from the astronomical object Mileva, the homeworld of the Siniteen species. During the final years of the Galactic Republic's reign, a crisis emerged when a large number of those serving in the Galactic Senate opted to abscond from the Republic, seeking to leave behind what they perceived to be a corrupt and self-serving government. In large part coalesced by Count Dooku of Serenno, these worlds formed into the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a nascent alternative to the long-standing Republic. Among those to join the Confederacy was Lawise, a veteran politician, who would serve as a delegate in the Separatist Senate and would go on to act as the Separatist Congress Leader under the title of Speaker. Lawise presided over the Separatist Congress alongside Dooku, the Confederacy's Head of State, in the Raxus Secundus city Raxulon.

The Separatist congress existed primarily for mutual defense among its members and to mediate interplanetary issues, free of the archaic and rules and protocols they believed invited corruption into the Republic Senate. Speaker Lawise, noted for his principled nature, governed the congress with a light touch, but kept the ideologically diverse group reined in with core ideological beliefs, such as minimal taxation and trade regulation and far greater control over sovereign territory than would be ceded under the Republic. In 22 BBY, with the continued growth and acceleration of the Confederacy, talks of war with the Republic spread, and each group amassed reserves of armies. Full-scale war broke out with the First Battle of Geonosis, and the conflict quickly escalated into pan-galactic warfare. Though at odds with the Galactic Republic, Lawise held no personal enmity towards his Republic counterparts and remained friends with many across enemy lines.

In 21 BBY, Confederate Senator Mina Bonteri of the Japrael sector and Republic Senator Padmé Amidala met and privately negotiated to introduce an initiative to open the Confederacy and Republic up to a peaceful resolution to the war. Bonteri presented the peace initiative before the Separatist congress. Lawise was seated in the gallery of the Senate chamber, where he watched Bonteri speak in favor of the bill. While Bonteri argued that both the Confederacy and Republic could coexist, Senator Voe Atell of the Corporate Alliance argued against that notion. Unlike Bonteri, who belonged to the Confederate Senate's Peace Faction, Atell belonged to the War Faction and believed that the Republic had to be destroyed for the Confederacy to exist in peace. When Atell voiced her opinion that the Corporate Alliance would not support the bill, Senator Kerch Kushi spoke up and stated that, unlike the Republic, corporations did not control the Confederacy, a direct strike at Atell's stance.

The Senate broke into arguing, but Dooku, participating in the meeting via hologram, brought the chamber to silence. Dooku put the motion to a voice vote as required by the Bylaws of Independent Systems. Lawise rose from his seat alongside many enthusiastic senators and voiced his support for the bill while applauding. After hearing from the opposition, Dooku declared those supporting the peace initiative as the victors. Though the Separatist Senate passed the peace initiative and reached out to the Republic, Senator Amidala had a more difficult time muscling the Galactic Senate on Coruscant to support the motion. While the Senate was voting for the bill, however, Confederate General Grievous carried out an attack on Coruscant's power grid. The bill was immediately recalled as the senate entered lockdown. Likewise, the Separatist Congress repealed its vote for the initiative when an alleged Republic attack resulted in the death of Senator Bonteri.

Despite the failure of Senator Bonteri and Senator Amidala's earlier peace negotiations, the Confederacy and Republic again entered negotiations in 20 BBY. The first-ever peace conference between the two was sanctioned by both governments, with the neutral planet Mandalore to host the precarious meetings. Speaker Lawise was among the three Confederate delegates chosen to represent the Confederacy during these meetings, alongside Voe Atell and Senator Amita Fonti. Among the three delegates from the Republic were Senator Amidala and Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, longtime proponents of peace. The conference was held in the throne room of the Mandalorian ruler, Duchess Satine Kryze, who would mediate the meeting, in the capital city of Sundari. Though Kryze had strict rules regarding weaponry in the city, the two delegations were each allowed a small contingent of security forces, with the Separatist diplomats escorted by BX-series droid commandos. In addition, the Republic delegates were accompanied by Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

Tensions ran high during the conference, as the Republic delegates were seemingly reluctant to formally declare the Confederacy as a legitimate state. Senator Atell demanded that Senator Amidala do so, to Lawise and Fonti's agreement. Before Amidala could speak, the meeting was interrupted by Lux Bonteri, son of the late Mina, who stated that he had something to say about the legitimacy of the Separatists. Lawise scoffed at Bonteri's presence, and Atell asked the speaker what he was doing at the meeting. While the two delegations conversed privately about Bonteri's sudden appearance, the young man walked up and bowed to Duchess Kryze, who allowed him to speak. Bonteri took up a podium before the conference and, after introducing himself and mentioning his mother, turned to the Confederate delegation and accused Count Dooku of murdering his mother. Lawise stood up immediately and yelled that Bonteri was lying, then ordered the commando droids to arrest him.

While the droids grabbed Bonteri, Duchess Satine interjected, demanding them to stop. Senator Atell respectfully asked Kryze to stay out of the matter, and the duchess acquiesced. Bonteri was led out of the throne room, warning the Confederate delegates that they were being deceived and would be eventually be betrayed by Dooku, as his mother had been. With Bonteri gone, Lawise reconvened with the Republic delegates and apologized for the rude interruption, and asked that they continue with the meeting. Though Lawise, Atell, and Fonti were satisfied that the issue was over, Senator Amidala discreetly permitted Padawan Tano to rescue Bonteri. While Tano freed Bonteri, however, a firefight erupted between the Confederate and Republic forces stationed outside Sundari. With both sides now in open hostility and Tano and Bonteri fleeing the planet, the peace conference quickly broke down, and the delegates hastily left Mandalore soon after.

In 19 BBY, worries grew in both the Confederacy and Republic regarding the InterGalactic Banking Clan, an influential commerce guild that provided funding to both governments on neutral grounds. Before the Battle of Geonosis, the Banking Clan had formed an alliance with the nascent Confederacy, but by the final year of the war, the banks had grown unstable, and its assets came under increased scrutiny. Since both governments operated on debt during wartime, they relied heavily on the Banking Clan for necessary funds. An investigation into the Banking Clan's reserve capital by the Republic's Senator Amidala and a former Republic senator-turned-Separatist ally, Baron Rush Clovis, revealed that the bank was on the verge of bankruptcy and had little credits in its vaults. After further intrigue and a hearing before the Republic Senate, the leadership of the Banking Clan, the Core Five, were arrested on corruption charges. Clovis, secretly in league with Dooku in a plan to take control of the banks was endorsed by the Republic and Confederacy to replace the Core Five, which was quickly adopted.

To oversee this important transfer of power, the Confederacy sent Congress Leader Lawise to Scipio, the headquarters of the Banking Clan. Likewise, the Republic sent Senator Amidala to monitor the proceedings. Lawise arrived at Scipio before Senator Amidala, who was traveling alongside Clovis, and met with a dignitary from the Banking Clan while he awaited their arrival. Once the two landed outside the neutral zone of the Main Vault fortress, Lawise and his security walked up to the unloading ramp to greet them. Lawise welcomed Clovis back to Scipio and added that the Separatist government had great hopes for him. Clovis thanked the senator and then addressed both Lawise and Amidala to explain how he planned to conduct the transfer of power. Only Lawise and Amidala were allowed inside the neutral zone of the city, with their respective forces remaining stationed outside. Both senators agreed to these conditions, and the party began toward the city entrance.

Clovis led Lawise and Amidala to the Main Vault, where the Core Five were being formally sentenced by the Muun government. The five former leaders were charged with embezzlement and led away for imprisonment. Once they had been escorted out, Clovis, with Lawise and Amidala flanking him, approached the center of the room to speak with the panel. Before the dignitaries, Clovis stated that he had no interest in merely controlling the banks and the flow of commerce but was instead devoted to returning them to their prior glory. Clovis's remarks earned applause from those present, and Lawise walked over to Amidala and asked if she believed he would be up to the task. Amidala responded there were few men she knew as dedicated to a cause as Clovis, and he would not stop until he had achieved his goals. Lawise replied that he hoped she was right for all of their sakes and joined in the applause for the newly confirmed leader.

Although Clovis had relied on Dooku's behind-the-scenes support to rise to the leadership of the banks, he had no intention of letting Dooku leverage that into the absolution of the Confederacy's debts. When he heard of this, however, Dooku threatened Clovis's new position by declaring the Confederacy would not pay the interest on its loans, which would lead to the Banking Clan's collapse. With the fate of the banks in the balance, Clovis had no alternative but to raise the interest rates on the Republic's loans immediately to maintain stability. Since Lawise and Amidala had yet to depart Scipio, the two were invited to the Main Vault to hear this verdict from Clovis. Lawise and Amidala, both unaware of Dooku's underhanded tactic, were each caught unguarded by the announcement and looked at each other in shock. Senator Amidala protested and tried to respond to Clovis, but he and his fellow leaders left, leaving Lawise and Amidala alone to digest the news.

In his next step to assuming control of the banks, Dooku arrived at Scipio personally with an armada to occupy the planet. He sent a fleet of gunships to destroy Senator Amidala's forces stationed outside the city, then entered the neutral zone with his occupational forces once the Republic troops were defeated. Lawise was brought to Clovis's office to meet with him and Dooku, where the speaker tensely discussed the sudden turn of events with Clovis. Suddenly, two of Dooku's droids brought Amidala into the room and threw her to the ground as Lawise and Clovis looked on in horror. Amidala demanded to know what was happening, but all Clovis could respond with was that he had not wanted this to happen. Hearing this, Dooku stood from his seat and told Clovis to tell her how he had risen to power, implying that it was his doing. Though Clovis protested, Dooku rhetorically asked if Amidala had joined the Separatist cause, given her role in aiding Clovis's nomination in the Republic Senate.

When Amidala responded angrily, Dooku unilaterally stated that if she was not with the Separatists, she was against them, then ordered his droids to arrest her. Spurned by Dooku's actions, Lawise tried to intervene on her behalf, telling Dooku that they could not arrest her. Lawise added that such an act would never gain the support or approval of the Separatist Senate, a statement that visibly irked Dooku, who glared at Lawise. Seeing Dooku distracted by Lawise, Amidala grabbed a blaster from one of the battle droids beside her and aimed the weapon at the count. Without saying a word, Dooku used the Force to take control of Amidala's movements and re-aimed her blaster towards Speaker Lawise, who yelled in vain for Dooku to stop. As Dooku looked away, he forced Amidala to shoot Lawise twice in the chest, killing him.

As had once been predicted by Lux Bonteri, Speaker Lawise was deceived and betrayed by Dooku, just as the late Mina Bonteri was. Once Lawise's body hit the floor, Amidala fell to her knees in horror, while Clovis exclaimed to Dooku that his death was not part of their deal. With Lawise dead, it seemed that the Confederacy would continue with its takeover of the Banking Clan. Instead, a Republic fleet invaded the planet to drive the Confederacy away, but before they arrived Dooku and his armada left the planet and their droids stationed in the city behind. During the ensuing battle, Clovis committed suicide to save Senator Amidala, and the Republic occupied Scipio.

In the aftermath of the chaos, the Muun government dissolved the Banking Clan and ceded control of its remaining assets to the Republic, which promised that the banks would return to their former standing once the war ended. Speaker Lawise was heavily mourned in the Separatist Congress. In contrast to the late Lawise, who had been known for maintaining relationships with his Republic counterparts, many in the Separatist Senate gained a deeper enmity towards Amidala and the Republic due to allegedly killing him, despite Dooku's secret role in the assassination.

Bec Lawise was a wide-bodied Siniteen male with yellow eyes and pale pink skin. Lawise was noted for his principled and amicable behavior as a politician, not only being able to assert order in the Separatist Senate but maintaining close relationships with many senators across enemy lines in the Republic. Despite this, Lawise was devoted to the Separatist cause and wanted them to grant the Confederacy legitimacy and recognition as a separate entity from the Republic. Though able to govern his senate with a light touch, Lawise was not averse to finding himself against his fellow Separatists and denounced transgressive members, such as Lux Bonteri, of actions such as treason. Lawise was quick to defend Count Dooku against Bonteri's claims of murder and had the young man arrested for his interruption of the peace conference on Mandalore.

Like many, Lawise believed that groups such as the InterGalactic Banking Clan should remain neutral, and, with Senator Amidala, held to the belief that maintaining the banks' integrity was vital. Lawise had high hopes for Rush Clovis' promise to restructure the banks and respected Amidala's opinion of him as well. Lawise opposed Dooku's scheme to take control of the Banking Clan, a stance which drew the Head of State's ire. Lawise tried to convince Dooku to stop with the threat that the Separatist Senate, under his control, would not support his actions, an upstanding position that would lead to his murder.

Bec Lawise first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series third season episode "Heroes on Both Sides." He was first identified by name in the accompanying episode guide on StarWars.com. Lawise had a speaking role in the fourth season episode "A Friend in Need," where he is portrayed by voice actor Corey Burton. Burton reprised the role in the sixth season episode "Crisis at the Heart."

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