Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Star Wars. I am not making any profit from this work of fanfiction.

Author's note: Absurdly short chapter, I know. I've been suffering not so much from writer's block as editor's block; making all the pieces fit without continuity problems and giant plotholes gets complicated at this point in the story. But since it's been nearly a week since my last update, I decided to go ahead with a short chappie. More soon ...

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

If they were going to try, at this point in the game - several days too late, as Ryn said, rather sourly - then they were going to have to change tactics in a hurry, without seeming too abrupt. The first thing Obi-Wan did was to call Siri and ask her and Ferus to get on the next transport for Borsana Terce, so they could focus on the crisis at hand that was imminent instead of all the hypothetical ones on Sexto that they could see brewing. Then the three of them - Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ryn - put their heads together and plotted how to interview the Prime Minister's staff and everyone else of any official importance without showing suspicion toward any of them, and tried to figure out the next likely target, just in case they didn't manage to stop the weapons delivery in time (which was looking more and more likely).

They pulled up a map of the capital city and marked out the government headquarters, the high-security prison, a weapons depot, and the two major hospitals.

Ryn tapped the symbol for each of the hospitals in turn. "These look to me like the best targets," she said unhappily. "A successful strike at any of these places would incite confusion and reduce functionality, possibly for weeks, depending on the type and extent of the damage." She sounded cold when she said it, certain, but Obi-Wan caught the flicker in her bright green eyes that gave away her discomfort.

"You're probably right," he began, but then Anakin shook his head, tapping commands into the computer unit.

"Wait a minute, Master," he said. He pointed to a recent news article. "Read this."

It was front-page news, evidently, detailing the festivities to take place that evening in honor of the grand opening of the Memorial for Heroes of Borsana Terce. For a minute Obi-Wan didn't get it, and then the pieces clicked together.

"It's a major event," he said slowly. "Everyone who is anyone will be there."

"Certainly the Prime Minister and his Cabinet," Ryn agreed, staring at the news article in consternation. "It is exactly the place a terrorist would strike. They'l be able not only to demoralize supporters of the new regime, but also to effectively wipe out much of the opposition's leadership. In one strike. Force."

"It won't just be the political leadership there," Obi-Wan said. "it says here there will be entertainments for the whole family."

Anakin looked sick. "We don't know that's where they'll strike. I could be wrong."

"I don't think so," Obi-Wan answered. "The pieces fit. And this is too good an opportunity to pass up. They will strike." He straightened. "But now we have a chance to be ready for them. Ryn!"

"Yes, Master Kenobi?"

"How reliably can you judge whether a being is hiding something?"

"Once I have a base measure for the species?" Ryn said, frowning. "Pretty well, I think."

Pretty well? That's not exactly a scientific measure. Obi-Wan shook off his frustration and reached into the Force to reclaim his focus. "All right. I want you and Anakin to go back to the government headquarters - what was once the Governor's Palace. Get Imram to show you around, or something. Just ... do what you do best."

Ryn frowned. "You want me to engage them in hand-to-hand combat?"

"Not ideally, no," Obi-Wan said, frowning back at her. What ... Oh. "Er, when I said do what you do best, I had in mind dazzling, not destruction."

"Then it's not what I do best," Ryn said, sounding gloomy. "But I'll try. I assume this means I'm supposed to keep them distracted from Anakin?"

"Whenever possible," Obi-Wan agreed. "The more attention they're paying to you, the more Anakin can snoop around. But in any case you should get within range of as many government officials as you can, and try to feel them out for ... nervousness, deception, anything that might point to their involvement in the illegal weapons sale or in a terrorist strike."

Ryn looked doubtful, regarding him with her arms folded and her chin tucked. "It's the headquarters of a hated government. Everybody has something to hide."

That was a good point, but there was nothing Obi-Wan could do about it. "Well ... just use your best judgment, then. I'm sure some of them will be more nervous than others." Ryn didn't look convinced, but he didn't have anything else to offer her, so he went on. "I will check out the security at the memorial and then hit the streets. Maybe I can learn something through less official channels. Although I'm sure Siri would do it better." He fixed his gaze on Anakin. "If Ryn delivers half the performance she did yesterday, you'll have a good chance to look around without drawing too much attention to yourself. Learn everything you can, but don't get caught. We've landed in a delicate situation here, and it's only getting worse. We can't afford to create new complications."

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master."

But Obi-Wan knew his Padawan's penchant for recklessness far too well. He lowered a steady gaze on the boy. "I mean it. We can't take any unnecessary risks. Stick close to Ryn, and stay under the radar."

"Yes, Master."

"If you think you've found something - either of you - comm me. Don't try to take anyone into custody by yourselves."

"Yes, Master," and "Yes, Master Kenobi," they said together.

"Let's move."