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!

"I don't understand what happened. She said there'd be a price to help you. I just don't understand…" Obi-wan was shaken. Juno was lying in a bed in the medical bay, bandaged and hooked up to a variety of machines. The medi-droids had done everything they could. They checked for infection and checked her blood. Oddly, she had a zero midichlorian count. They'd managed to stop the bleeding and stabilized her but they couldn't wake her up.

"There was a price, but like Juno said, she paid it for you," Qui-gon said. "She 'downloaded' my wound, which is why she almost died."

"But how is that possible? And why? I've never even heard of a jedi doing something like that." He was pacing now.

"Because she is in love with you, but she know there can be nothing between you two. As to how, she never really told you what she did on her planet, did she? She was one of the leaders, a champion of a resistance movement against the machines that enslaved her people. Her world isn't quite how she described it, although it used to be. But now it's almost uninhabitable. They destroyed the atmosphere and the cities are all in ruin. The last human city is near the Earth's core, where it's still warm.

"The rest of the world is enslaved by machines grew out of the artificial intelligence humans created. The worst part is, most of them don't know they're slaves. Their minds are linked, held together in a collective program called the 'Matrix,' a neural interactive simulation, while their bodies are used as living batteries, powering the machines. People are grown in enormous fields.

"Some people have been removed from the program, or 'unplugged' and they know the truth about the world. These are the people who formed the resistance and try to free others. Juno is one of those people. She's able to re-enter the Matrix and because physical laws do not bind her, she can do almost anything. She's stronger and faster than others. It's also a huge advantage in terms of education because they can upload programs and information directly into the brain. Anyway, that's how she was able to heal me.

"What we're seeing is not actually there. What we see is Juno's 'residual self image,' a mental projection of her digital self. Her body is lying in a chair in another galaxy, plugged in. That's why she was so confused about how she got here. She shouldn't be able to exist here when she's plugged in. Thanks to her actions, I can now see her as she really is. I can see the encryption."

"How can she love me, how can she do anything if she's not really here?"

"Obi-wan, you're a likeable fellow. And her body isn't here, but the digital representation of her mind is. Think of it as a very sophisticated, autonomous hologram. I think our perception of her as a real person is what allowed her to interact with this world. Our focus determines our reality after all, and no one knows that better than Juno."

"So she's not going to die then, if her body wasn't actually hurt."

"I'm afraid her mind makes it real. She's fully aware that she's not actually experiencing any of this but she had to believe in order to help me, so the injury is real. Not only that, but she feels she has no reason to live. She knows she can't stay here and that her feelings for you are futile. So if she can't find her way home and can't be with you, she'd rather die on her own terms."

"And she told you all of this?"

"Not in words. I saw every memory and felt every emotion when she healed me. She's had a fairly miserable life actually. She grew to find the life she knew was a complete lie, went though a very traumatic 'unplugging' process to learn that the real world is ruled by machines bent on mankind's subjugation. They had their own prophecy which said one would come who would free everyone and Juno's the one it spoke of. She's been fighting for five years to destroy the Matrix."

"Is she going to be ok?"

"I don't know," Qui-gon said.

Two days later there was a celebration in the city honoring the cooperation between the Noobians and the Gungans. Obi-wan and Anakin attended in place of Qui-gon, who was still being kept in the medical bay for observation. Juno also lay there, still unconscious. Qui-gon felt pity for her, truth be told. As a jedi, he knew death was part of the natural cycle of life and didn't support tampering with it. He understood though, why she had done it. She'd made what she felt to be the least bad choice from a list of worse options. He could forgive that.

Suddenly there was a bright swirling green light in the corner. It expanded until Qui-gon could see a large irregular hole in space. From it stepped a big man in a long black trench coat with sunglasses on. Qui-gon recognized him immediately from Juno's memory as Morpheus, her captain. Morpheus walked to her bed and touched her feet.

"We haven't been able to wake her up. She's not responding to any treatment," Qui-gon told him. Morpheus didn't respond.

"Get up soldier, that's an order." And miraculously, she opened her eyes. She saw Morpheus and there was a choking sound in her throat.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered.

"No you're not Juno, but we need to leave now. We managed to open a portable but we can't keep it stable for very long. "Let's go." Juno carefully pulled herself out of bed and took Morpheus' hand. She stopped before they reached the portal.

"Wait a moment," and she ran to Qui-gon and took his hand. "I want to say thank you for everything. You were a friend and mentor when I needed one and there is no way to express my gratitude for that and more. I'm so sorry if I caused any trouble. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Please tell Obi-wan I said goodbye and that I love him, but I know nothing can ever come of it. I'm so sorry." She was openly crying as she went back to Morpheus and together they stepped though the portal that closed behind them.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Morpheus picked up the ringing phone and handed it to Juno.

"You first." When she first woke up she had trouble focusing her eyes. Everything was so bright. Trinity released her from the chair and went to Morpheus who had just returned. Juno swung her legs over to stand up but a gasping sob stopped her and it was all Morpheus could do to comfort her.

In his heart, Obi-wan knew Juno had made the right decision. Despite whatever feelings they had for each other (as he now admitted he did) he'd made a commitment to the jedi order, and from what Qui-gon said, she had her own war to fight. The famous wisdom of the jedi did little to ease the pain in his heart though.

"Master, I know everything turned out for the best, but I still can't help feeling lost," Obi-wan said.

"You feel love for her and you miss your friend. She's not dead so you can't feel her in the Force, she's simply out of your life. I know she was upset to leave you without saying goodbye herself. Maybe if she had you would feel some closure. Be patient, Obi-wan. Time heals all wounds, as Juno would say. I believe you will soon be ready to take the trials and I foresee you will become a great jedi knight."