Author's Note: All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!
The bongo popped through the water's surface. Juno was very quiet as they crept through the city. Below they could see the Queen being escorted by several armed droids.
"Stay here," Qui-gon commanded. "Obi-wan and I will take care of this." He and his apprentice leapt over the wall to dispatch the robots. Juno watched the two men carefully. They'd given a very brief description of their mission and their roles as jedis (something she didn't really understand). She felt totally out of her element but she was already trying to adapt. Nevermind the fact that any tenets about life in outer space had been blown away, her first step was to determine what she was still capable of. Since she was still plugged in, she thought she'd be able to take care of any immediate problems.
Juno could tell that Qui-gon and Obi-wan were very capably but she could take them on, if push came to shove. But she didn't think it would come down to that. She couldn't explain it but she got good vibes from them. It did raise questions as to her abilities. She'd have to find some way to experiment. As they boarded the Queen's ship, Juno took an unobtrusive seat in the corner of the bridge where the jedi worked. She felt useless. If this had been her ship, she'd be ring in the thick of everything. She'd have to ask Obi-wan if there was some way she could educate herself.
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The ship landed on Tatooine and a short while later, Qui-gon, Jar Jar and Padme left for the spaceport in search of parts. Before Qui-gon left, he gave instructions to his apprentice.
"Don't let them send transmissions of any kind. They may be trying to track us. And keep your eye on Juno. She may be what she says, but she's holding something back I think. Be mindful of your feelings, Obi-wan, I sense a disturbance in the Force."
After Obi-wan finished briefing Queen Amidala and her people, he retreated to the engine room to see what could be salvaged. As he tinkered with the power supply, he heard the door behind him slide open. It was Juno.
"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but is there anything I can do to help? I know I'm the alien here but I have a lot of training in engineering and I'd like to earn my keep." She said. He noticed her timidity right away, but he could understand that. He also noticed the quiet gracefulness in her movement. But he was troubled by the fact that he still couldn't sense her. What did that mean? She was like a living vacuum.
"I don't think so. Qui-gon has everything under control. We just need to be patient until he returns."
"Okay, I just wanted to offer." There was a long pause. "I don't want to bother you while you're working but do you mind if I stay here with you? The others are busy talking shop and you're really the only one I know." Obi-wan gave her a long look, which she returned. He could see strength in her but he also saw a scared, confused young woman. Besides, this was a good opportunity to keep an eye on her, as his master suggested.
"As long as you stay out of the way, I suppose it won't do any harm." He smiled slightly as he thought of Jar Jar.
Juno moved to the corner where she sat on the floor. For a while she just stared at her feet. Obi-wan felt rather sorry for her.
"Why don't you tell me about your planet? You said it was called Earth?" Her arms were crossed over her knees and her chin rested on her hands.
"Yeah, it was a little blue-green planet in the western spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Man, I don't even know if I'm in the same galaxy. Anyway, it was beautiful. There were long, golden plains, mountain ranges, rainforests, volcanoes, oceans and deserts like this. We had big cities too. I lived in a city called Seattle, which was nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. I liked it there, though it rained a lot. We'd never made contact with other life. None of the other planets in our solar system supported life, as far as we knew. I always believed there was life out there though. I wasn't so arrogant to believe we were alone." She stopped, listening to the tinkering sounds of Obi-wan's tools.
"It's probably just as well that we never made contact with other life. The people on my planet, by and large, are scared and close-minded about new things. When we weren't busy consuming all the natural resources, we were killing each other."
"Why do you keep using the past tense. You speak as if your planet's dead," said Obi-wan.
"I guess it just feels like a very long time ago, that's all." But there was a flash of sadness that suggested to Obi-wan that wasn't all.
"Can you tell me about the jedi? You and Qui-gon say you are jedi but I have no idea what that means," Juno asked while she watched Obi-wan grapple with the engine. He considered for a moment. Almost every creature in the galaxy was familiar with the jedi, or at least had heard grossly exaggerated stories.
"You must be from out of town if you've never heard of the jedi. There is a Force that binds every living creature in the universe. The jedi are beings, usually with high midichlorian counts, who are trained to listen to the Force and use it for peace and justice. Jedi training is a serious commitment and being a jedi knight is a way of life."
"Midichlorians?" she asked.
"Microscopic creatures that live in the cells of all living things in a symbiotic relationship, telling us the will of the Force."
"And you and Qui-gon are jedi knights?"
"Well, yes and no. Qui-gon is a jedi master, my master. I am his apprentice, what's called a padawan-learner. It is the final phase of training before taking the trials."
"Oh, I get it. Kind of a 'Buddhist monk-meets-Samurai warrior' thing. Vow of poverty, kicking ass for justice, et cetera."
"I have no experience with Buddhist monks or Samurai warriors, but yes, possessions are forbidden for they breed jealousy, which leads to fear, which leads to anger, which leads to hate and suffering. For generations the jedi have been the protectors of peace and justice in the Republic. It is a hard and demanding life, but also rewarding," he said.
"Obi-wan, I don't suppose there's any kind of library on this ship, is there? I feel totally ignorant and I would like to learn as much as I can while I'm here," Juno said.
"Oh, I'm sure we can find something to keep you occupied," he said with a wide smile.
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Obi-wan showed Juno how to navigate the Interstellar Encyclopedia from the ship's computer but he warned her against downloading further information as the Trade Federation could use that to trace them.
She poured over all the information she could find, from ship diagnostics and information she could find, from ship diagnostics and stellar cartography, to cultural/geographical information, as well as the history of the jedi. Speed-reading was not as efficient as having Tank upload a program, but it would have to do. Reading also confirmed some of Juno's suspicions. Since she somehow seemed to be outside the Matrix, she wouldn't be able to bend "reality" to her will like she could from inside. However, she still had absolute control over herself, which meant her reflexes were almost instantaneous and her speed and strength were unparalleled. That, at least, gave her some peace of mind.
With Qui-gon off in search of parts, there wasn't much activity on the ship. Juno spent most of the time holed up in a vacant room she had unofficially declared for herself. She liked it because there were large portholes through which she could watch the strange planet Obi-wan called Tatooine. There was also a computer terminal she used to educate herself on her surroundings. Over the time they spent stranded, Juno grew increasingly despondent. She couldn't figure out how she'd gotten here and the concept of not going home almost made her panic. She was reading up on Tatooine's geography when Obi-wan entered.
"We've just received word that Qui-gon is returning with the parts we need, so we'll be leaving soon for Coruscant," he told Juno. "If you'd like, you can join us on the bridge," he added, noting the sadness in her face. He felt strangely responsible for her and wanted to comfort her.
From the bridge Juno could just barely make out the spaceport on the horizon. She also saw two small figures shimmering in the haze. As they got closer she saw a small speck in the distance, but it grew rapidly and she could tell it was moving very fast. Who would be following them? Chances were no one friendly, as everyone they knew was on the ship. A strange though occurred to Juno; if she could effect things here physically, wasn't it possible that she could also effect things mentally? Technically speaking, it was all the same, since her body was in a char light years away. This was a good time to find out what she was capable of, she just had to be subtle about it. Juno wasn't sure why she decided to be so secretive about her nature but she wasn't quite ready to spill the beans yet.
Qui-gon and the small boy were quite close now but the black speck, now clearly identifiable as a man in a black cloak on some kind of speeder bike, was almost on top of them. Juno gathered the electricity in her mind and pushed it toward the bike in a small burst. She didn't want to disrupt the entire ship. It worked. The bike short-circuited and fell out of the sky, but the man simply catapulted into the air, flipped around and landed on the dune.
Both Qui-gon and the newly introduced Anakin Skywalker were safely on board and the hustle and bustle resumed. Obi-wan watched Juno retreat to her empty room. She'd acted strangely on the bridge. No, he though, not strange, just intense, like she was concentrating hard on something.
After the engine was repaired and the ship was on its way to Coruscant, Obi-wan took time to check on Juno. He found her standing barefoot on the sill of the porthole with her face and hands pressed up against the window. There was a very sad smile on her face.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Juno took a deep breath.
"Have you ever just stood somewhere and tried to feel everything, I mean with all your senses? Right now I can feel the gritty texture of the sill under my feet. The window is smooth and cool. I can even feel the hum of the hyperdrive in my cheek. The air has that stale, recycled taste and smell, like you'd find in an airplane. And I didn't even know there were this many starts to see." There were tears sliding down her face. Obi-wan didn't know what to say. He walked to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You must miss your home very much," he said. "But the rest of the galaxy has much to offer too."
"That's just it. I didn't know such beauty existed. Just look at this ship. I've never seen anything so luxurious."
"Your world must have serious limitations if you're impressed by a simple Noobian cruiser."
"My world's a primitive, violent backwater compared to what I've seen so far."
"Then I'm afraid you're in for quite a shock. We're en route to Coruscant, the central planet in the Republic. The entire planet is one big city. It's also home to the Galactic Senate, where Queen Amidala will plead her case."
"Isn't the jedi temple there too?" Obi-wan laughed.
"You've been reading up I see. Yes, the jedi temple is there as well. Qui-gon and I will go there to make a report on our mission." As if on cue, the door opened and Qui-gon walked in.
"Is everything alright in here?" he asked.
"Yes Master. I was just telling Juno that we'll be stopping at the jedi temple when we reach Coruscant."
"Yes, in fact I'd like to have you join us when we meet with the council. They may be able to shed some light on your situation," Qui-gon said to Juno.
"Sounds good to me. Besides, politicians make my skin crawl."
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Chancellor Valorum and Senator Palpatine greeted them. Politicians had always made Juno uncomfortable but there was something particularly malignant about Palpatine that made her very wary. He was slimier than most and she didn't like anything about him. She wondered if anyone picked up the bad vibes but it didn't look like it.
Later that day, Juno stood with Qui-gon and Obi-wan in the jedi temple as they made their report to the council. As wise as the jedi were, they didn't have any insight into Juno's sudden appearance. She was quiet except to answer Yoda's questions. They said they would look into it. As they turned to leave, Qui-gon spoke of Anakin Skywalker and the prophecy.
"I believe he will bring balance to the force," Qui-gon said.
"Clouded the boy's future is," Yoda said. But something was bothering Juno and she discretely cleared her throat.
"Something to add, have you?"
"Sir, my knowledge of the force and the ways of jedi are very limited but I have a question."
"Speak, then," said Mace Windu.
"If the force is out of balance, that implies that there is more than one side, right?" The jedi nodded.
"Since the jedi clearly represent the positive aspects of the force, I assume there are those who use the negative aspects."
"Mmmm, the sith you refer to."
"Can you tell me how man jedi there are?"
""There are seventy five in various stages of training, one hundred and two jedi knights, and forty seven full masters."
"And how many sith are there?"
"None. The sith have been extinct for hundreds of years."
"Well, forgive me then, if this is out of line, but if any side of the force could use some balance, wouldn't it be the dark side? Like I said, I have no experience with this sort of thing so I could be totally off base. It just seems like the logical conclusion. Of course, I mean no disrespect."
"The boy's fate will be decided later," said Yoda, closing the argument.
"We will search for the identity of your attacker," added Mace Windu. "And see if we can discover the nature of Juno's arrival. For now I think it's best if she stays with you. I don't believe your meeting was a coincidence."