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!

They were staying in the quarters provided to visitors of the senate. Juno was busy with the encyclopedia when Qui-gon entered with Anakin in tow.

"The council won't allow me to train you yet so I want you to stay close and pay attention. Be mindful of your feelings," he told the boy. He then turned to Juno who had been reading about the various sub-committees in the Galactic Senate. "Juno, can you tell me anything you remember before you arrived here?" She was silent for a couple of moments. She couldn't tell them about what she'd really been doing because she thought it would raise questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"Well, I was on my way home from work. I was just walking along the street but when I turned the next corner there was some kind of explosion. I don't think it was a normal explosion because there wasn't any fire or smoke. I have no idea what caused it but I Was blown back and hit my head on something and I must have passed out because the next thing I remember is Obi-wan."

"Without knowing more about the situation, it sounds as if this explosion caused some sort of rift in time and space and you were blown into it. That's only speculation, of course. Midichlorians has sometimes directly interfered but if that's what happened here it'll be a most extreme case," Qui-gon said. "We shall have to wait and see if the council is able to learn anything. Until then, you will stay with us." As he stood up to leave, Juno got up and hugged him.

"Qui-gon, I just want to say thank you, for everything you've done. You and Obi-wan both. You let me join you even though you didn't have to and without knowing anything about me. I don't know where I'd be if you two hadn't found me, but I know my situation would be a lot worse. I promise I'll find some way to return the favor." Qui-gon began to interrupt her but she stopped him "I know that's not the jedi way, but I will find some way to repay you, with or without your approval."

Qui-gon wasn't the only one growing curious about Juno. Obi-wan found himself conflicted. At first, she seemed like a lost, scared young woman. They had offered her shelter and supplies, although she insisted on wearing her old clothes once they were clean. She almost never said anything when there more than two people in the room but he could tell she was paying attention to every word. Whenever he caught her alone she was usually bent over the computer soaking up information like a sponge. When she wasn't doing that, she was trying to repair a small communications device she called a "cell phone" with some tools he had lent her.

"I am so far out of my wireless range it's not even funny," she joked once. There was more to her than he saw on the surface, he was sure of that. He never saw her fumble or miss a step or even stub her toe and she seemed to be good at anything she put her hand to. He brought it up to her one evening as she was juggling some tools for Anakin's amusement.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

"Oh sure," Juno said as Anakin left. "There's lots of things I can't do, like fix my phone for one. But the things I can do, I do very well. I've had extensive training in many different fields, so even the things I'm not trained in, I can usually reason out."

"What kind of training have you had?"

"Everything from engineering to medicine to combat and meditation."

"Why would you need such diverse experience?" Juno took a second to reply.

"You're very close to Qui-gon aren't you?"

"Well yes, he is my master after all, and I've been studying with him for a long time."

"And he's taught you everything a jedi needs to know. I mean both in terms of the force and day to day responsibilities right?"

"Yes, a jedi needs a variety of skills but it's more about training yourself to learn, listen and pay attention."

"It's the same for me. I was taught certain things so I would know what to do if the situation ever came up. I can only rely on myself. My world is not a stable place. I have a mentor who's a lot like Qui-gon. His name is Morpheus and everything I know I learned from him." She stopped again and stared at the wall. "Do you believe that this is what you were destined for? The life of a jedi?" She turned and looked directly at him.

"There's no question in my mind. Why do you ask?"

"I was meant for something too, but it wasn't the way of the jedi. Or sith, for that matter. I meant what I said before. I want to earn my keep. There are bad things going down here and I want to help."

"What do you mean, bad things?"

"I'm not sure. It's not something I can put my finger on. It just feels wrong. I'll tell you one thing though. I REALLY don't like Senator Palpatine. He makes me very uncomfortable."

"He is a politician, I think it's part of the job description." Juno laughed.

"I'm glad some things are universal. But it's more than that. I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. Especially if he's elected Supreme Chancellor." Obi-wan did a double take. "Oh don't look so surprised, I just pay attention to what's going on around me. I'd also be a little careful around Anakin. He's a likeable kid but I think he needs special handling. But then again, I'm not a jedi so what do I know? I'm probably just being over-sensitive."

"Well, it's late and you should get some rest." He stood up but Juno hugged him too.

"Than you Obi-wan, for everything."

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"With your permission master, before we leave I'd like to stop by an old friend's place. He has a lot of contacts and might be able to give us some information about your attacker. I'd also like to take Juno with me if that's alright. She tends to notice things that other people don't, which might be useful," Obi-wan asked Qui-gon.

"Yes, that's not a bad idea. Her unprejudiced perspective could be very beneficial."

Twenty minutes later, Juno found herself in a speeder skimming along with the traffic lanes above Coruscant.

"Where exactly are we going and why am I here?" she asked.

"We're going to see my friend Tal Gantor, who runs a small space bar popular with pilots. He gets a lot of information and might know something about Qui-gon's attacker. You're here because your unfiltered opinion might pick up on something. Like I told Qui-gon, you tend to notice things that other people don't and it never hurts to have a second pair of eyes."

The bar was grimy enough to rival any of the dives she'd seen on Earth. The bar was dotted with surly-looking miscreants who rustled aggressively as Obi-wan and Juno walked in. Behind the counter was a roly-poly creature with four arms (two of which were cleaning an empty glass) and scaly purple skin. His eyes were set rather low, just above his wide mouth.

"Obi-wan! Will wonders never cease! What brings you here?" it said grabbing him roughly.

"Tal Gantor! It's good to see you again! This is my friend Juno. How's business?" Obi-wan said as they took a private booth.

"Oh you know, it keeps me busy. Could be better, could be worse but I've got no right to complain. What can I do for you? You two don't look like you just wanted to stop in for a drink." Tal grinned.

"I was curious if you'd heard anything about an attack on Tatooine."

"Tatooine? That's a long way from here," Tal said.

"We were picking up parts for our ship when someone attacked Qui-gon. We don't know who it was but they were trained in the jedi arts. I thought maybe you had overheard something." Tal whistled low.

"I'm afraid I haven't. I haven't spoken with anyone from the outer rim in a while." Their conversation continued but Juno tuned out and looked around the bar. It was small and not very clean and there was strange music was being piped in. The patrons at the counter were none to clean and looked rather hostile. One man at the end had a particularly ugly sneer on his already ugly face as he stared at them. Juno glared right back. The man didn't return the challenge and she returned to the conversation.

"Could it have been a bounty hunter?" Tal said.

"I don't think so. I've never heard of a bounty hunter trained as a jedi. And why would anyone put a price on Qui-gon's head? Maybe the Trade Federation but that seems out of character for them. No, I think it's something else. Well, thanks for your help Tal. Keep your ears open though. Would you let the council know if you hear anything? They'll be able to contact us."

"Sure thing, Obi-wan. And you know you're always welcome here. It was nice to meet you Juno, you come back too." Tal shook her hand again as they stood to leave. The man at the end of the bar stirred as well but only to throw the something very sharp at them. Juno stuck out her hand and caught the object with a slap in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it back at him, where it stuck soundly in the wall and vibrated right next to his ear.

"You want to try that again?" Juno said. "I didn't think so. Sorry about that Tal." Obi-wan steered her out.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"What? You would rather one of us got hit with that thing? I told you I was trained in combat."

"Well, you should have let me handle it. He could have been another attacker like Qui-gon's."

"I'm sorry, you're probably right but it's hard to turn off my instincts. And I don't think the two are related. He didn't seem like he had jedi reflexes and you probably would have sensed it if he had. But I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a scene," she said.

"That's alright. Just give me some warning next time you do something like that. You caught me off guard," he said as they returned to the speeder.