Have you ever had a game 90% done and then gotten stuck on one plot point on which the whole **** thing hinges? **** if I can't figure out how to bridge the two halves of the game, over a relatively simple section, really. So I turn to the Peanut Gallery.

Okay, the game I have in mind is about stopping a militant terrorist organization from trying to assassinate the planetary Governor, who is in collusion with the Empire. They see any collaboration with the Imperials as treason and see to end it by any means necessary.

The terrorists have been small time until now, but the leader realizes that they need some strong decisive action if they and their demands are going to be taken seriously - something like assassinating the planetary Governor. The Governor is making a public "I'm going to be hard on terrorism and crime" speech in a few days, giving the terrorists a chance to hit him.

Episode one will be finding out that the Terrorists have placed a bomb at the speech and stopping same. Episode two will be intercepting the terrorists from executing their back up plan by taking control of a weather satellite and redirecting the sunlight focusing array onto the presidential palace and boiling the high council to death.

So, (assuming everything goes according to plan) the players will have caught the fellow planting the bomb or figured out who he was and can go back to his flat to investigate his background. That's their lead to the larger organization.

Now I could have them find the headquarters (really, just a warehouse in a bad part of town) and perhaps eavesdrop and find out the backup plan way - but then what's to stop them from just calling the cops in on the headquarters right then and there and bypassing a dramatic climax.

The easy way to avoid that is have the strike teams out in the field ready to put things in motion - but of course any terrorist organization worth a **** will be competent enough not to leave "Hey, here is our backup plan" clues lying around a warehouse. Or they COULD, but finding a data pad with their back up plan, but that seems really contrived.

So how would you point them onwards without handing them a blatant Plot Coupon? Or am I over-thinking this and I should just go with the overlooked datapad behind the filing cabinet and subtlety be damned?

****EDIT****

Oh - wait, I've got an idea - steal a page from Die Hard 3, cause incidents all over the city (away from the presidential estate) that draw the cops and military out of position responding. So the players catch them at the warehouse coordinating all the strikes and the team they'll hit the Satellite control center is already out in the field waiting for the cops to get good and distracted!

Never mind - I think I sussed out how to get over the hump. (:

The member of the organization responsible for clearing out the warehouse could still be in the process of doing so when the players show up. He/she could run when the players get there (leaving crucial information behind), or could be caught by the players (giving the players both a chance to question him/her and to investigate the warehouse).

This sounds like you're heavily scripting the action of the game. Like you're writing a movie or short story and not an RPG. You've got everything carved up into distinct time frames and you already have planned out how the action will resolve. I'd humbly suggest that you work on presenting an interesting setup and challenge for the players, then leave the solution entirely open-ended. Let them surprise you by potentially coming up with something totally unique.

This also sounds like a great place to introduce a time limit, which I love. Don't pull your punches! If they don't move fast enough, people die!

Could always throw in the fact an Imperial Agent is helping them specifically to cause this event so the Empire can steamroll right in.

Then there's explaining how your players get involved.

Maybe they're hired to deliver a cargo and it includes a secret delivery that they realise after the fact involves advanced electronics for helping to hack the weather satellite and after they make the delivery the area is breached by either a storm trooper squad or local LEO's who will let the terrorist agent escape but take down the PCs to prevent them interfering with the overall plan.

That way you have a reason why your players are involved and want to clear themselves since it would reveal the Empire is making sure they secure the system and maybe if the weather satellite attempt is thwarted the terrorists kidnap the Governor's family to insure the Empire's overall plan.

I wonder how the Governor would take the discovery that he was being played by the Empire?

Still would love to know how this all went down when you run it!