Luke was glad he got to meet with his parents the night before, for the very next morning he and his Master were called to go and investigate the reports of a strange assassin making attempts on Cham Syndulla and other Twi'lek officials. Cham had been elected as Senator a few years ago, which many Twi'lek saw as a step in the right direction. There are always those, however, that don't approve of something and it was quite possible that they were behind these attempts on Cham's life. But the major problem they had with that theory was even if someone didn't like him, they always liked at least one of the others who also had attempts made on their lives.
They would be starting this investigation with little to go on. And they were in for a surprise upon their arrival. Obi-Wan still had his own Starfighter and he had arranged for the twins to have access to their father's old one so they hadn't needed to hire a ship to take them to Ryloth. Cham was waiting for them as they landed, though it was his personal bodyguard that caused Obi-Wan to take another look.
There, standing beside the Senator, was Asajj Ventress! She looked much the same as when Anakin had described her when he last saw her during Ahsoka's trial, and she once again had lightsabers by her side. He could tell instantly that they were quite different from her old ones, though they still had the bent handle. "Ventress, what a surprise to see you here." Obi-Wan said. "Kenobi, it's been a long time." Her voice still held her trademark sarcasm, though there was a touch of actual friendliness in it.
"Last I heard you were working as a bounty hunter." Obi-Wan commented, to which she responded "True, and I still am. I was hired by the Senator for protection." Obi-Wan nodded then turned to the Senator and said "It's good to see you again Senator." "General Kenobi, it is good to have you on Ryloth again. I only wish it was under different circumstances. Please, come with me."
As Obi-Wan followed Cham Syndulla, he took a minute to study him. He was still as physically fit as he had been near the beginning of the Clone Wars, which was the last time Obi-Wan had personally seen him. "How is your daughter, Hera is it, doing Senator?" He saw the Senator stiffen, showing he had hit a sore topic, before replying "I haven't seen her in a few years. She has always yearned to visit the stars and now she does just that in her ship the Ghost."
Obi-Wan could tell that he didn't quite approve of his daughter's choices so he let the topic drop and made a few more attempts at small talk before they reached a private room that Cham had chosen to discuss the assassination attempts. Ventress took a position between him and the only window while Obi-Wan and Luke stood between him and the door. "I don't think these attempts are made by anyone here on Ryloth, but rather by someone from off world. I also believe I am the only true target and that the others were made just to throw us off. I have heard about the threats made against the Queen of Naboo and something tells me there is more to this then what we fully understand at this moment."
Obi-Wan rubbed his beard absentmindedly, considering what the Senator had just said before finally speaking. "If that's true, then I suspect the Jedi will be getting even more calls from other planets in need of our help. Tell me, these attempts, how skilled is the one making them, do you know?" "All of the ones, especially against the other Twi'lek, have been rather sloppy, in my opinion. Every time we have been able to get everyone out of danger relatively easy, though the attempts have been coming a lot closer together as of late."
"Master." Luke said in a questioning tone. "Yes Luke?" Obi-Wan asked, wondering what his Padawan's take on all of this was. "What if these attempts are being made successfully because they aren't supposed to? Since the Clone Wars, everything has been so calm, but in just a few days we have had Jedi being sent to many different planets, Kashyyyk, Naboo, here, etc. What if someone is trying to spread the Jedi thin, orchestrating it so that Coruscant or possibly someone or something on it is left relatively unprotected?" Luke asked.
Everyone in the room fell silent at this thought. What if Luke were right? What if this was all someone's scheme to get the Jedi busy with other things before suddenly pouncing? Ventress finally spoke and said "Skywalker's son does have a point Kenobi. Perhaps you better return to Coruscant as soon as possible, after you have had a look around to satisfy you're insatiable curiosity of course. I can handle things here, if you trust me that is."
Obi-Wan studied Ventress for a moment. She had proved helpful to both Anakin and Ahsoka during that awful, messed up trial. But she also admitted to being a bounty hunter, and if she demanded more for her troubles and Cham refused to pay, could they get to him in time if they did? But something in the Force told him he could trust her, so he found himself nodding and saying "Alright, I think that will work. But if we get more calls not only am I going to suggest we have those threatened come to Coruscant where we can keep a better eye on them and still have our numbers on our side, I will be calling for you Senator Syndulla, to come as well."
The Senator nodded his agreement and then insisted on going around to look at the scenes of all the attempts with them. Once they had done just that, Obi-Wan and Luke both agreed that the Senator was right that these were sloppily put together. Something about this rubbed them the wrong way and as Master and Padawan headed for their ships the group that had been in that private chambers had to wonder if Luke's guess wasn't too far off and if it wasn't, what did that mean for their galaxy?
XXX
Leia had learned the Wookiee language at a young age, mainly because one of the Padawans often assigned to help with the Younglings, Gungi, was a Wookiee. In fact, Leia wondered why the recently knighted Gungi wasn't assigned this task, surely he would have liked a visit to his home planet. She decided he must have been assigned somewhere else before the call for help had come from Kashyyyk. Realizing she had allowed her mind to wander again, Leia forced herself to concentrate on what Tarfful was saying.
Apparently all the Wookiees that went missing did so at night, were ones who lived on their own, and most were ones who had only recently reached adulthood. Even after the first few went missing and extra watches had been set, whoever or whatever was taking the Wookiees still managed to get away with at least one a night, sometimes even two. After getting a bit more information, Ahsoka said "We'll do our best Tarfful, Chewbacca. I'm sure we'll soon discover what's happening to them."
Chewbacca made some grunts and growls that made up the Wookiee language and Ahsoka's smile got even bigger as she said "Of course, we would love to have your help, it will be an honor to work with you. Now can you show us where the most recent disappearance occurred and my Padawan and I will take a look over it to see what we can find." The two Wookiees nodded and motioned for them to follow them.