Author's Note:
My apologies. I have, in fact, begun another restart; but not a complete restart. (Meaning I have some chapters finished I just need to figure out where to put them.) I liked this as an opening chapter, so… Here goes. I know what the next one will be, too—no way I'm getting rid of the… mess that one introduces!—but I'll only post it if asked.
Thank you, Rose-Arwen-Padmé for that review. Sorry about missing that detail in your story… It's weird how your eyes can miss something you're specifically looking for.
Enjoy! :)

32 years after A New Hope

PART ONE

MISFITS

Chapter One

Luke.
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker turned to his wife. "What?"
Mara's lips quirked. "Pay attention!" she hissed from her mouth's corner.
Sighing, he returned his focus to the arguing rabble this new proposal had turned the Senate into. "To what?" he asked wearily, a woman's powerfully commanding voice flowing in one ear and out the other. "More insults?"
Mara's green eyes narrowed at him. "You aren't listening."
"—That is why we need this fleet, Senators. Not for Jedi power or military, but for our own profit. A Jedi shipyard would protect non-Jedi, providing a buffer much like Durron's Dozen—"
"Kyp's Dozen," the Togarian senator hissed, "murdered non-Jedi!"
"Did they?" The young senator's tone dared any of the more experienced politicians—in other words, anyone here—to challenge her.
"That is beside the point," she continued smoothly, just as the grumbling began. "My point is Jedi, having little transportation of their own, have no way of replacing any commandeered ships. With their own manufacturing facility, they would be able to make amendsfor any damage they inadvertently cause in their service to our galaxy!"
Strong brownish-green eyes scanned the Senate, golden hair cascading in glistening braids over the Human's regal emerald robes. She stood, serenely secure in the midst of the surreal quiet that had descended upon the Senate.
Luke's neck prickled with unease. He tensed, expecting some demand or action on her part. With the Senate this taken by her speechmaking abilities, she could probably get away with it.
Scarce moving, her gaze swept every Senator where they sat. She gave the slightest nod; so slight Luke himself barely noticed it. "Thank you."
Her flowing, probably heavy verdant robes glittered with her powdered face in the overhead lighting as she returned to her seat. Gradually, Senators arose in ones, in twos, and finally in groupings, offering their newest member a standing ovation that drowned out the now-minority opposition.
Senator Misti Whitesun didn't blink.

"She expected their reaction." Luke shook his head as he fell into his chair. Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker hid a slight smile at her husband's decidedly disheveled look.
Chief of State Cal Omas nodded. "That's my take, too. I'm not sure if I should be grateful to have such a promising young lady in the Senate, concerned at never having heard of her before now, or suspicious of her having a hidden agenda."
Luke didn't answer for a moment. "Forgive me, Cal, if I doubt that first one. I say 'yes' and 'yes' to the concern and suspicion."
Mara frowned, raising one of her red brows at Luke. "She supported the Jedi. Shouldn't we at least give her a shot?"
"My thoughts precisely," Cal confirmed before Luke could reply. "Actually, the reason I stopped by was to ask if you wanted to join me. I have an appointment with her."
Mara shielded her worry when Luke closed his eyes. He'd been fatiguing easily, of late. She suspected he was ill.
"When?" he asked weariedly.
Cal grinned. "Come to think of it, now."
Her husband nodded slowly. "All right. Coming, Mara?"
As if she was leaving him by himself! She shrugged carelessly. "I'm sure Threepio won't mind watching Ben a while longer."
A smile broke onto Luke's face, then. "Let's go."

Entering Senator Whitesun's suite, Luke Skywalker had to work to keep himself from staring.
Even Mara seemed repulsed, staying close to his arm. His mind swirled, trying vainly to link the elaborately dressed young Senator with this—
Paint peeled from the pale yellow walls, revealing at least two differently-colored previous coats underneath. A musty odor arose from the moist brown carpeting, making him want to sneeze. Pieces, even, were missing from the rotting walls and ceiling, where beetle colonies swarmed…
The short hall ended with a bare larger room, the sight in which made him draw short.
Misti Whitesun, grimy from toe to pate, kneeled beside an open astromech droid, wearing a ragged used-to-be blue flight suit. A scowl on her face, her brown-green eyes narrowed intently on the small component she twisted this way and that in her hands, as if expecting that to help.
With a drooping sigh, the petite Senator shook her head, tossing the piece aside—and caught a sidelong glimpse of her visitors.
She stood easily in a single fluid motion, without making use of her hands. A guarded smile on her lips, her intelligently bright gaze revealed nothing. "Hi."
"Hi." Mara seemed to be the only one with command of her voice. "What are you doing here?"
A smile flashed through those otherwise expressionless eyes. "Are you always that brusque, Mistress Skywalker?" The tug to her lips alerted them she wasn't finished. "Because I like it."
"You didn't answer, though," Luke pointed out.
A seemingly genuine quirk came to the pallid lips. She shrugged, a hydrospanner in hand. "Shoot me, Skywalker. Your wife didn't answer, either." Senator Whitesun pocketed the tool, and while the humored quirk remained, Luke got the impression of being shrewdly perused.
"Yes, I'm that blunt," Mara spoke up. "What in the galaxy is a Senator doing in this trash heap?"
A cloud passed over Whitesun's features, and when it had passed she was back to her guarded, unrevealing self. "Tatooine's legal constituents are poor. Much of my funding goes to appropriate fabric for senatorial garments."
"You make your own clothes?" Luke didn't think he'd seen Cal that surprised, before. The Chief of State looked as if he would choke on the moldy air.
"Yes."
Luke noticed Mara frown, shooting Whitesun a measuring glance. "That's one way to end a discussion."
She shrugged. "It works." The greenish brown eyes seemed to quickly take in the room. "Why don't we go to dinner?" she suggested. "My funds may be slight, but I can still treat honored guests such as yourselves to a decent meal."
Cal stiffened. "Forgive me, Whitesun, but I just remembered an important meeting. Another time, perhaps?"
Luke thought he detected a mischievous twinkle in the brown of Whitesun's eye. "An appointment would be nice. My office is more fit for such meetings."
The Skywalkers eyed their friend. He reddened. "Hey, I'm a politician! I can't tell the truth!"
"Maybe not." Senator Misti Whitesun's icy tone indicated how serious she took that statement. "But you can choose not to lie."
Cal looked at her oddly, still joking. "But then I'd be telling the truth!"
She met his gaze unflinchingly. "Would you?"

"I apologize for catching you off guard like that," Luke said over his stew. "Cal said he had an appointment."
Now wearing a gauzy golden gown, Senator Whitesun waved a fabric-draped arm. "Think nothing of it. A formerly unknown politician with my speechmaking skills? I'd be dubious, in your position."
She was sharp, Mara granted. But why so guarded? "You supported the proposal. Does that mean the Jedi can count on your further support?"
Misti Whitesun seemed mildly surprised at the question. "You're the last person I'd expect that question from, Mistress Skywalker."
Luke's brow creased. "Why?"
"Your wife was the Emperor's Hand," she said matter-of-factly. "Even the Emperor did not trust all his closest servants, though they apparently followed the same tenets as he." Mara's eyes narrowed as she detected a mild grimace. "Darth Vader was only one of many suspected, I'm sure.
"By the same principle, trusting an entire group that supposedly believes the same thing is a hazard. Individual analysis is a necessity." Delicate fingers encircled the glass she swirled. "Forgive me if my analogy was inappropriate, Skywalker. I understand what a painful subject that must be for you."
Mara raised her brow. "You 'understand'?"
Again, Mara thought she saw the Senator wince. Staring somberly at the whirling liquid in her glass, Whitesun took a sip. "I, too, have had… horrifying family revelations." Her voice tightened on those last three words.
The Senator swallowed, face immediately bereft of expression. "Everyone makes mistakes," she said softly.
Forlornly.
"Even you?" Mara asked, ignoring Luke's scowl at her coldness.
"Especially me." The words came out in such a murmur that Mara could only hear them with the Force, and she was closest to the woman. Luke, she was certain, had missed them.
"Mara, can we talk?"
Senator Misti Whitesun stood abruptly.
"Oh, no," Luke quickly corrected. "We'll—"
"Two of you, one of me. Easier for one to move than two." The Senator politely strode to well out of earshot.
Mara watched her with narrowed eyes as Luke's grip tightened on her arm. "You will drop that."
She turned sour. "Luke—"
"We don't need to know what it was. Chances are, we already do."
Mara glowered at her husband. "We do?" she asked tightly.
Luke sighed, glancing around. "Senator Whitesun, Mara." His blue eyes were worn with sadness. "Whitesun was my aunt's maiden name."
Mara felt Luke note her surprise as he waved the young woman back over. Senator Whitesun strode with a smooth glide, her sheer golden gown making her almost appear to float.
Luke's aunt had been a Whitesun?
No wonder the woman'd flinched before mentioning Darth Vader.
"Back to the matter of your support," she made herself continue. "You'll play by ear?"
"More by careful consideration, but yes." All humor had evaporated from the young Senator.
Luke nodded. "Wise answer."
"Is it?" she asked bluntly. "Sounds more arrogant to me."
"You're the one who said it," Mara pointed out.
"Does that make me infallible?"
Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker found herself staring at the Senator. What in the galaxy was this woman up to?
Luke, too, seemed put off by the woman's deliberate undermining of what she herself said. "Perhaps if you met the Jedi Council members, you could better decide if you trust their decisions."
Once more regarding her glass, Whitesun nodded deliberately. "I trust very few, if any, in all their decisions, Skywalker. But your suggestion seems sound."
"It's Luke." Mara shot him a sharp glance and found him as surprised by his statement as she was.
Senator Misti Whitesun didn't so much as raise an eyebrow, her gaze unmoving from her drink as she took a measured sip. "No," she said firmly. Had her voice quivered? "I'll stick to Skywalker."

Author's Note: (This A/N the beginning & end of each chapter is annoying, I know.)
Review, please! …You do know I'll return the favor, right? & they really encourage me!
Any reviews guessing where I'm headed or just what this story is all about, anyway will be greatly appreciated. (As my friends put it, it's freaky, but it fits. Oh, and when you do figure it out, this idea came before I'd even heard of the books that use it on a much smaller level.)