Chapter 2

Leia hurried down the corridors of the detention center with Wedge Antilles, who was bravely attempting to keep up while still looking like a dignified New Republic general. As fast as her feet were going however, they were no match for the speed of her racing thoughts. Mara dead and Luke in jail. Mara dead and Luke in jail.........

Leia rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. There it was: Detention Cell # 9982. Luke's cell. Leia shook her head at the thought. "Luke's cell." What a strange combination of words. Separately, perfectly sensible, but together..........

There was a guard standing watch at the door. Leia marched right up to him with absolutely no hesitation. She may no longer be the Chief of State, but when it came to her brother, nothing would stand in her way. "Guard, I am High Councilor Leia Organa Solo and my companion is General Wedge Antilles. I demand to see my brother, right now."

The guard tossed a lazy look her way. "Sure, no problem lady, but I need to see the usual forms of ID. Your government identity card, fingerprints, retinal scan, High Council security pass code and visual confirmation from the prisoner. Oh, and a complete weapons scan."

Leia was taken aback. "That sounds like a lot. Is that standard procedure?"

"Nope, but Master Skywalker is a high profile prisoner. Also, the higher ups were worried about assassination attempts."

"Assassination attempts?"

"Well, sure. See, because of Master Skywalker's obvious attributes, locks and bars and guards don't mean much. So we've surrounded his cell with ysalamiri. Makes the rest of it a bit more effective. Thing is though, there are a lot of people who hate Jedi, or the New Republic, or both, and would love to take a crack at the famous Luke Skywalker. Without the Force, he's pretty vulnerable. So we've added security."

"I see," said Leia thoughtfully. "If I provide everything that you ask for, will you let us see my brother."

"Sure," said the guard, "but only one at a time."

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Leia stepped into Luke's cell and looked down at him. He sat on the end of the bed, looking down at his feet. He wore his usual blacks, but in this case they look like mourning attire. His shoulders were hunched and he appeared to be only a shadow of the man she knew as her brother. Luke looked up at her. She could see the sadness in his eyes, the concern for her, the terrible aching grief for Mara, but no guilt, no deception. That was good enough for her.

"Luke"

"It was good of you to come Leia."

"You know I had to."

"Leia, they said that Mara was dead and that they suspect me of killing her. Leia, it isn't true. Please tell me it isn't true."

Leia looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm afraid it is true, Luke. The Coruscant Police Force got a call about seven hours ago. One of your neighbors heard blaster fire and a woman screaming. When they got there your apartment had been trashed and their was blood everywhere. Mara was nowhere to be found, but with that much blood, it's doubtful that she could be alive."

Luke took this all in with a quiet calm. Leia knew that it must be taking all of his discipline and self control to keep that composure. Even without the force, she could sense the turmoil and pain he was masking.

"Why do they think that I've done this. I just landed on Coruscant."

"Well, actually, they don't. They found the person that killed Mara. He's a notorious assassin. The building's security system caught him breaking in and dragging Mara out. His name was Tezz Smythe. Apparently, he's the type that would take any job as long as it paid enough. He was killed in a fire fight with the CPF before he could name his employer."

"So the Coruscant Police Force thinks that I was the one that hired him."

"Yes, unfortunately so."

"But why?"

"They found some sort of documentation that connects the two of you. I wasn't able to find out what it was. Luke, I'm working with the Coruscant Criminal Justice Department on getting you out on bail."

Luke glanced at the hall, "Who did you bring with you? Han?"

Since he had become a Jedi, Luke had never asked such a question. It broke Leia's heart to see her brother stripped of the Force. "No, I couldn't get a hold of him and I wanted to come right away. It's Wedge. I ran into him after leaving my office. When I told him what happened he wanted to come and offer his support."

"Speaking of Wedge, isn't one of the Rogues an attorney."

Leia looked confused. "Luke, I plan on getting you the best attorney in the galaxy."

"Leia, I don't want some hotshot that's only going to take this case for the publicity. I want someone that knows me and what I stand for. I want the lawyer that defended Corran for Tycho's murder."

"Okay, Luke. I'll see what I can do."

Suddenly, the cell door opened. It startled the two Force-less Jedi. The guard walked in. "Hey, visiting time is over. Detective Rishant wants him for questioning," he said pointing at Luke.


To be Continued..............................


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