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!

Once everyone was back on the cruiser, the discussion turned to tactics.

"I'm not sure what you hope to achieve here, your Highness. My instincts tell me they will kill you." Queen Amidala was explaining her plan using a hologram of the capitol.

"We can use the secret passages on the waterfall side to get close enough to capture the viceroy."

"Excuse me, your Highness, but is there anything between the main hangar and the palace?" Juno asked, staring at the hologram.

"The main power generator sits a little below the city, but it's protected by rotating magnetic shields. There's nothing that will help us I'm afraid. When we reach the hangar, we will need to free what pilots we have left to destroy the droid control ship."

"Your Highness, I do not feel this is a fight we can win," Qui-gon said. The Queen turned to a surprised Gungan.

"Jar Jar, you said your people are warriors?"

When they reached the planet's surface, Juno cornered the two jedi.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"No, we can't allow that. I want you and Anakin to find a safe place and stay there. I mean it. A battle is no place for the two of you." Juno, however, had already made up her mind. She was certain now, that she could perform adequately in this world, maybe not as well as she could in the Matrix, but well enough that she could take on anyone. And she was encouraged by the fact that her own crew hadn't pulled her plug by now. Morpheus was undoubtedly working on the problem but could see that she wasn't in the clutches of the agents.

What was harder was admitting the way she felt here. She was afraid she was in love with Obi-wan. Qui-gon had already explained that marriage and romantic attachments were forbidden to jedi, so she knew there was no way this was going to well for her. Frankly, she was losing hope. Hope that Morpheus would find a way to bring her home, and because she couldn't fix her phone, she had no way to contact them (not that she really believed it would work here anyway).

She knew her feelings for Obi-wan were doomed and she knew she couldn't stay here, no matter how much she now wanted to. She had responsibilities at home, assuming she ever saw that rotating ball of sewage again, which she was less and less sure of. But that was what duty was all about, doing what was right despite personal feelings. There were things in the universe more important than her or Obi-wan Kenobi.

When they reached the Gungans' sacred place, Amidala pled for their help.

"I ask, no I beg you to help us," she said as she dropped to her knees and the rest genuflected behind her. Boss Nass laughed heartily and promised the Gungans would do their part. Finally the time came to put their plan into action. As the Gungan army mobilized on the plains, the Queen's company, including Juno and Anakin, headed toward the city. When they reached the hangar, Obi-wan went to free the pilots while Qui-gon went to take on the many droids.

Then there was chaos. Anakin stowed away in one of the fighters but he was the only one remaining still. Pilots were running to their ships, droids were trying to surround the jedi but failing as their shots were parried by lightsabers. Everyone was shouting. Juno was taking care of what droids she could but she was afraid to release energy like she had with Qui-gon's attacker because she wouldn't be able to limit the destruction to just the droids.

A door opened behind her and in rolled two nasty-looking droids. Before they could get their shields up, Juno laid her hands on them, blowing out their circuits. She yanked off one of their guns, which she used to blast the other robots. After all the droids were down, everyone ran to the main door, but to their surprise, behind it stood the mysterious alien who had attacked them on Tatooine. The Queen and her people took another route and the jedi moved to deal with the sith, which Juno was now sure he was. As the three of them fought, Juno looked back at Anakin who was still sitting in the cockpit.

"I'm not going to bother telling you to stay there, since that would be hypocritical of me," she told him. "But please be careful." They both nodded and Juno followed the jedi down the hall.

From her vantage point above the fight, the sith seemed to have the upper hand over Obi-wan and Qui-gon. His control over his double-ended lightsaber was masterful. They hadn't noticed her on the catwalk above them and she didn't want to interfere unless it was really necessary. The sith threw Obi-wan off the walkway but continued moving as Qui-gon forced him back. They were well down the hall when Obi-wan leapt up and ran after them. She walked closer and could still hear the clashing of weapons but then they stopped. As she looked closer, Juno could see the red energy shields that caged them. Qui-gon and the sith had almost reached the chamber beyond, but Obi-wan was stuck several fields behind. Then the fight continued.

She watched a few moments longer when she saw Qui-gon faltered. Obi-wan was running but he wasn't fast enough. The sith pushed his advantage and ran the jedi though the abdomen. Obi-wan cried out and broke Juno's heart. In that instance, she knew what she had to do.

She jumped down and marched through the magnetic fields. Obi-wan was still pacing behind the final door. Moving unbelievably fast, Juno was phased through the energy. She touched his shoulder.

"Go to Qui-gon. I'll take care of him. Don't worry, I can handle this, it'll be ok," she said. As the final gate swung open, Juno joined the sith. They circled each other slowly.

"What, no weapon?" the sith laughed in a harsh voice. Juno just smiled.

"What makes you think I need one?" With that, she jumped up and kicked him full in the face. He reeled back and Juno snatched his lightsaber in his moment of weakness. Then, with one clean slice, she removed his offending head, which rolled into the pitless well. She went to Obi-wan, who was cradling his dying master.

"Obi-wan," she said. "Obi-wan, I need you to listen to me." She held his tear-stained cheek in her hand. "I can heal him. He's in very bad shape, but I can help him."

"What do you mean? Are you serious?"

"Yes, remember, I have training in medicine. But this is going to be different. There's going to be a price. What would you be willing to give up?" He looked at the fading jedi.

"I'd give everything I have, anything you wanted." That was what she needed to hear, because whether he knew it or not, her life was his to do with as he pleased. That's assuming she could do what she promised. She was fairly certain she could, but some things worked better on paper.

"It's not my price, it's just the way these things work. If it were up to me, I'd give you anything you wanted," she said and she kissed him softly on the forehead. She moved so she was kneeling over Qui-gon, placing her hands on the ugly, singed wound and he groaned.

In essence, what she was trying to do was "download" Qui-gon's injury and replacing it with part of her, which would stimulate his own cell growth. It shouldn't have been possible, but then neither should anything else she'd done. Juno focused on the dead cells and absorbed them one by one, into herself. The pain was excruciating, but she kept her face calm. She could tell it was no picnic for Qui-gon either, who hissed and moaned.

Because they were linked as she worked, he was being exposed to every thought and memory she had, from her Matrix "family" to her life on the Nebuchadnezzar to being blown into their lives. He felt all the emotions attached to those images and it was clearly overwhelming him.

It was becoming harder and harder for her to continue as the pain got worse. Dear god, she was dying! Then, finally, it was over. Qui-gon surged to life, gasping and Obi-wan hovered over him. Juno, meanwhile, was trying to get herself under control. She knew she was dying, but she didn't want to let Obi-wan know that. This was best for everyone. With supreme effort, and concentration she masked the bleeding wound so she appeared sound to the naked eye. Hopefully she could slip off to someplace private and die quietly. The only glitch was Qui-gon, who knew exactly what had happened. Maybe she could convince Obi-wan to take him to the medical facility.

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Unbeknownst to everyone, Yoda and the rest of the jedi council had flown to Naboo. Yoda had sensed a great disturbance in the force but didn't know what it meant. The Queen had regained control of the city and offered the council the use of the great hall. The Trade Federation had been sent back to Coruscant to await censure from the Senate. The droids were defeated thanks to Anakin and R2D2 and the surviving Gungans trickled into the city. The absence of Qui-gon and his apprentice was not lost on Yoda. He was pleased to see Obi-wan enter the hall, supporting his master. The girl, Juno, trailed behind them slowly.

"Please, your Highness, can we arrange medical assistance for Qui-gon? He was seriously injured, although Juno managed to heal him I think. I just want to make sure he's alright," Obi-wan said.

"Of course, we are indebted to both of you." The Queen nodded to one of her handmaidens who led the two jedi from the room.

Juno was relieved to see them go. She was very, very tired and the conversation buzzed in her ears like a beehive. Her energy was slowly draining away and her concentration wavered.

"Excuse me, your Highness, but I'm very tired. I'll be happy to answer any questions, but I'd like to rest first." The Queen smiled and another handmaiden escorted her from the hall. Each step brought her closer to the end and she was actually thankful for that. She was led to a modest apartment with a lovely view of the city. As the door slid shut, Juno's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Blood flowed from the open would, which Juno had no strength to hide. She felt the stickiness. The only thing she regretted was not being able to say goodbye to Morpheus.

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Something didn't feel right to Anakin. Queen Amidala was safe and Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan seemed to be ok. But something was off. He was sitting in the medical bay with Qui-gon who was going to live but was still being checked out by the medi-droids.

"Master sir, something seems wrong to me, but I can't figure out what," Anakin said.

"It's Juno," said Qui-gon. "She needs your help. Obi-wan, go with him, she's in trouble." Obi-wan was surprised at his urgent tone. He couldn't see how she could be in trouble. She'd seemed fine, if a little tired, but that was understandable. If anything he should find her just to thank her now that Qui-gon would be alright.

He pressed the intercom button on her door but no one answered. He tried again but there was still no response. He used the force to open the door but he was shocked by what he saw. Juno was lying in a heap on the floor and there was blood everywhere. Her face was ashen and her eyes were closed. He couldn't tell if she was breathing.

"Run back to the medical bay and tell them we're coming!" Obi-wan told Anakin. The little boy ran and the jedi went to Juno's side. "Oh no, no, no, no" he moved her sweatshirt and revealed a gory hole in her abdomen, strangely enough, right where Qui-gon had been wounded. He checked her pulse, which was weak and her breathing was shallow. Obi-wan scooped her up and headed for the medical bay. She moaned once and her eyes fluttered open. "Juno! What happened? Who did this to you?" he asked. She smiled weakly.

"Qui-gon," she said. "Because I helped Qui-gon."

"What are you talking about? You said I'd have to pay a price!" His legs seemed to have forgotten how to walk.

"Nah, I paid it for you." Obi-wan was frantic now.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you," she said simply and her eyes drooped again.