Sphere of Influence

Chairman Papanoida's daughters, Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe, are seized and held captive, with a ransom demanded for their return. Ahsoka Tano collaborates with Riyo Chuchi, the Senator representing Pantora, to assist the new chairman in securing the release of his family before the Trade Federation exerts undue influence over his planet's future.

The Chairman, along with his son Ion, locate the abductor, Greedo, on the planet Tatooine, and successfully rescue Che Amanwe. Concurrently, Ahsoka and Chuchi discover Chi Eekway being held prisoner on a Trade Federation warship blockading Pantora, and they expose Trade Federation officer Sib Canay as a conspirator aligned with the Separatists.

The Trade Federation has established a blockade around the planet Pantora, citing unpaid debts as the reason, while Count Dooku's true objective is to pressure the Pantorans into joining the Separatist Alliance. Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman Papanoida are endeavoring to bolster their people's resolve and seek assistance from the Senate. Although they garner widespread sympathy for their predicament, Papanoida's daughters, Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe, are abducted from their living quarters that very night, although Che manages to injure one of the assailants with an artifact before being stunned.

The subsequent morning, Ahsoka, a close confidante of Chuchi, informs Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala about the unfolding crisis. While the Jedi are prohibited from officially intervening in the investigation, Anakin subtly permits his Padawan to examine the matter due to "personal" considerations. As Ahsoka and Chuchi journey to the blockade fleet to search for the sisters, Papanoida and his son Ion discover the misplaced artifact, stained with blood, at the scene of the crime. Through analysis, they identify one of the kidnappers as Greedo and proceed to Tatooine, where the criminal is known to operate. They enter Jabba the Hutt's palace, where Papanoida cleverly announces his desire to hire Greedo, enticing him to approach them. Trella Bare'Ah informs Greedo that Pantorans are seeking an audience with him. Greedo arrives, accompanied by his accomplices and armed with blasters, but Papanoida subdues him and presents his evidence to Jabba. Exposed, Greedo confesses and directs Papanoida and Ion to a seedy bar in Mos Eisley, where Chi is being held captive. When Chi is presented and identifies her father, a firefight erupts. Despite Papanoida and his children eliminating all adversaries, Greedo manages to escape.

Meanwhile, Chuchi and Ahsoka, with the latter disguised as a servant, gain access to the Trade Federation ship and are assigned quarters in anticipation of the upcoming negotiation sessions. That same night, the two young women infiltrate the Trade Federation ambassador's office, where they overhear him and Administrator Sib Canay discussing the captivity of one of Papanoida's daughters on board the ship. A gasp from Chuchi nearly reveals their presence, but they narrowly evade detection due to Ahsoka's Jedi abilities. They breach the ship's detention complex and locate Che in one of the cells, only to be discovered. Ahsoka successfully dismantles the squad of super battle droids dispatched against them, and Chuchi employs her persuasive skills to compel the Trade Federation envoy to reconsider, leading to the termination of the blockade and a positive resolution for the Papanoida family and Pantora.

In a particular shot where Captain Rex is walking behind Anakin and Padmé during their discussion about the blockade, his kama is absent.

When Ahsoka speculates that Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe might be held on the Trade Federation blockade ship above Pantora, she mistakenly refers to the moon as a planet.

As Ahsoka prepares to employ the mind trick on the Neimoidian guard, she admits to Chuchi that she lacks prior experience with such techniques but has been practicing. Ahsoka does, in fact, utilize the same trick in the later episode "The Academy," which is chronologically set earlier. However, that episode reveals that the Mandalorian Guards possessed immunity to the trick and were feigning its effects.

When Baron Papanoida enters Jabba's court, his half-cape is missing.

The initial narrative framework positioned this episode as a prequel to the "Trespass" episode from Season 1. Chi Eekway was depicted as Senator Riyo Chuchi's sister, kidnapped as part of a scheme to enable the Separatists to establish a base on Orto Plutonia. Chairman Chi Cho would secretly assist the Separatists. Several of these scenes can be viewed in animatic form within the bonus content of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three Blu-ray edition.