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Like a Fine Wine

Rated PG

Couruscant- New Republic Maximum Security Prison

Luke sat in his detention cell. He watched as water dripped
steadily from a pipe above. He could have reached out with the Force
to silence the water, but the Force was no longer with him. The
ysalamiri placed around his cell made sure of that. The guards
needn't have bothered. He had spent half his life fighting to
preserve the New Republic. He wasn't about to throw that all away
just to escape. Even if they had sentenced him to death.

**********************************************************************

Six Months Earlier

Luke couldn't have been more excited. He was finally going to
be able to see Mara again. He knew that when they got married that
they would have to spend some time apart, but these last four months
had been hard, real hard. Luke was counting the minutes until he saw
Mara again, since he had been on Yavin 4, instructing the next
generation of Jedi, and she had been on Coruscant, working for the
Smuggler's Alliance. Luke was now counting the minutes until they
were together again.

Luke brought his shuttle out of hyperspace one hour away from
the city-planet. There was so much traffic in the skies above the
capital of the New Republic that a pilot had to allow extra time for
an approach. With the ship safely on course, Luke reached out with
his senses.

*Mara....... Are you listening? Can you here me?* There was
no response, but that didn't concern Luke. She must be busy, he
thought. I'll just surprise her at the apartment then.

Luke closed his eyes and started to meditate. As his
breathing slowed he fell into the trance. The universe disappeared
and he became one with the Force.

**********************************************************************

Beep. Beep. Beep. Luke opened his eyes. It was the proximity
alarm. He was nearing Coruscant. Luke quickly stood up and headed for
the controls. His nimble fingers flew over the controls.

"Coruscant Traffic Control, this is Luke Skywalker aboard the
Yavin Sun, requesting to land.

"Hold, Yavin Sun," said the woman on the other end of the
comm. The Traffic Control Officer's side of the comm went silent.
A few minutes passed, then, "Master Skywalker, you are cleared to
land on platform 96 at Main Hanger A. Do you copy?"

"Platform 96 at Main Hanger A. Understood, Control." Luke
brought the ship into the atmosphere. As he approached the platform
he suddenly felt a great sense of unease. Luke reached out with the
Force. Someone was waiting for him to land. W ell that's easy to
explain, he thought. It's probably Leia. She usually likes to
greet me when I arrive on planet. He reached out with force, again.
It wasn't Leia, but it was a woman. Whoever she was, she was
definanly waiting for him.

Luke brought the shuttle down. As the hatch opened, Luke
stepped out. Standing on the platform, about two meters from his
shuttle was a tall woman with long black hair so dark it was almost
violet. And standing right behind her were six men, all with blasters
aimed at him, and ysalamiri frames strapped to their backs. No wonder
I didn't sense them, thought Luke. These people were obviously
waiting for him. The woman took a step forward.

"Master Skywalker, I am Detective Tania Rishant with
Couruscant Police Force. You are under arrest and must come with
us." The six men took a step forward, and Luke was encased in the
Ysalamiri bubble.

" I'll be more than happy to accompany you, Detective, but
can I at least know the crime of which I am being charged."

"Murder, of your wife, Mrs. Mara Jade-Skywalker.....

TBC

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What did you think?

Here's chapter 2. Enjoy.

Leanne

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Like a Fine Wine: Chapter 2- Rated R

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. This is George's show.

Note: Thanks again to Kathryn: my beta and knight in shinning armor.

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."

**************************************************

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..............................

Okay, everybody. Here's chapter 3. The reason that it is so late was
that I've been away from my computer since Tuesday. Enjoy. As always
feedback is appreciated.

Leanne

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Disclaimer:The usual. I own nothing. George owns everything.

Author's note: Thanks again to Kathryn, my beta. Without her I would
be awash in sentence fragments and bad grammer.

Like a Fine Wine Chapter 3

Leia watched as the guards led her brother out of his cell.
Leia couldn't stop the tears no matter how hard she tried. Wedge put
his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. Leia latched on to him
with all her strength. It was as if Wedge's arms were the
lifeline keeping her connected to reality.

"It will be okay, Leia," Wedge said as her rubbed her back
to reassure her. "Luke's gotten himself out of more jams than anyone
I know."

"I know, Wedge, I know. It's just that, nothing like this
has ever happened to him before. Having to cope with imprisonment and the
death of his wife all at once... I'm worried that the strain
will be too much for him."

Wedge looked at Leia with eyes full of friendship. "If
there's anything I or any of my men can do for Luke, just let me
know."

"Actually there is one thing. Luke has asked to have the
man that defended Tycho when he was framed for murdering Corran, as his
attorney."

"Nawara Ven?

"Yes. Will he do it?"

"Gee, Leia, I don't know. After he left the Rouges, Narawa
went back to Ryloth. He stopped practicing law and became some kind
of local politician. Last I heard he was lobbying to increase
interstellar trade between Ryloth and Corellia.

"Wedge, Han and I will be leaving tomorrow for Ryloth. I
would like it very much if you could come with us."

"Sure Leia, no problem. Will this be an official trip?"

"No, I'll make it a personal outing so we'll take the
Falcon instead of the Rebel Dream."

"Okay, give me a few hours to clear my schedule. I'll meet
you at your apartment."

"I'll see you in two hours."

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Coruscant Police Force Interrogation Room

Luke Skywalker sat with his hands folded on his lap. His face
was a mask of serenity, but inside, his heart was filled with pain.
The guards had not transferred the ysalamiri along with him. This
might be his only chance to reach Mara, if she was still out there.

Luke closed his eyes, and reached out into the cosmos.
*Mara... Mara, can you here me? Love you, baby* There was no answer, but Luke
just couldn't believe that his Mara was dead. No, it can't be
true. Mara is the bravest, strongest person I know. She wouldn't have
give up without a fight. I know it.

Luke sensed the detective coming. He quickly withdrew his
Force sense inside of himself and sat up straight. Just as he was
adjusting his collar, the door swung open. Two armed guards and the
feral looking Detective Rishant enter his cell. Luke hadn't
noticed it before, but she was a very striking woman. She was tall, probably
about two meters. Her black-violet hair contrasted sharply with her
pale creamy skin. As wonderful as her features were, however, all
Luke could look at were her eyes, narrowed and full of hate, looking
straight at him.

"So, Master Skywalker, you see yourself to be above the
laws of this planet and the New Republic. Does your status as a war hero
give you leave to do as you wish, regardless of the
consequences?"

Detective Rishant walked over and sat in a chair directly in front of
Luke. "I have but one question for you. Why did you have your
wife killed?"

"You obviously don't know me very well
Detective," said Luke, his voice as cold and as hard as ice. "If you did you would know
that I could never kill Mara. I love her more than life itself."

"Ah, but I have evidence to the contrary, Master
Skywalker."

The detective reached inside one of the pockets of her jacket and
pulled out several data cards and a reader. She slipped one of the
cards into the machine. "This document says that 10,000 New
Republic Credits were transferred from your bank account to one belonging to
the assassin Tezz Smythe, through a series of transactions." She
picked up another card. "This is a medical document we obtained
through a search warrant. It shows that Mrs. Skywalker was barren and
unable to have children. Not terribly damning in itself, but it
provides motive when combined with this."

"What is that," Luke asked pointing at the third
disk.

"A journal entry. Yours to be exact. In it you talk about
how you can't wait to have children to carry on your name and teach
the Jedi ways."

No, thought Luke, This can't be happening.

"And finally," said the detective, " the best
part." She held up the last disk. "This is an old Imperial duty roster. It shows
that, while acting as the Emperor's Hand, Mrs. Skywalker was in
charge of the troops that killed your aunt and uncle on Tatooine.
According to this disk, you were sent this information seven months
ago. Don't the Falleen have a saying. `Vengeance is like a
fine wine. It must be aged until perfect.'"

Luke looked at the detective and did the only thing that he
could do. He bowed his head and started to sob.....

TBC