Opposites Attract [Complete]

“Hello Princess,” Genesis said walking into Meleana’s dark holding cell.
She was curled in a ball on the floor. The wound on her back had become infected, and without the force to heal her self, her condition was getting worse by the day.
“Have they still not treated your wounds? If I didn’t know better I’d say the Aqualish wanted you to die.”
Meleana looked up at him through half shut blood shot eyes. “What do you want?” She asked in a weak raspy voice.
“Well not you in this state.” Genesis let out a puff of air. “I’ve asked them to treat you, unfortunately, they don’t really care what I have to say. That’s the trouble with lying, it always comes back to haunt you. If I’d told them who I really was they’d do whatever I said.”
“If you told them who you really were you’d still be in a cage.” Meleana shut her eyes, her elevated body temperature made them burn constantly.
“How does it feel? Knowing I’m your only hope of survival?”
“All they need to do is forget to give me the force inhibitors once.”
“They won’t, and by the time any Jedi gets out here you’ll be gone. They want you to die, as far as their concerned you killed one of their own. Letting an infection take you gets them their way without getting their hands too dirty.”
“Then I guess I’ll die,” Meleana said calmly.
“Or you could come with me.”
“I’ll just die here, thanks.”
“You will,” Genesis said as if to clarify. The idea that she would choose to lie there and die wasn’t something he could understand.
“Unless you brought me some medical supplies, I think its time for you to leave.”
“Are you going to make me?”
“I’ll throw up on you if I must.”
He stared at her a moment longer before leaving.

It was days before Meleana’s cell door opened again. When it did she didn’t bother looking up, sure it was Genesis again. He’d been her only visitor. She opened her eyes when she was violently hoisted off the ground. Two Aqualish dragged her out of the cell by the arms. They tossed her into a shower and streams of hot water began pouring over her. She cried out when the scalding water rushed over her infected back and shoulder. Without the force the pain was almost unbearable. As soon as she was cleaned they pulled her out of the shower.
She was dressed in clean dry clothing before being deposited into a new clean cell. Thankfully they left her shivering on the small cot in the room; Meleana was too weak to have gotten there on her own. A few minutes after the doors were shut, they opened again. Meleana didn’t open her eyes until she felt a hand on her shoulder, and then she did so with great effort.
Seeing Obi-Wan crouched over her she blinked and swiped her hand out clumsily. If this was a hallucination it wouldn’t have been the first she’d had in the past few days.
“Is she alright?” She heard Anakin ask in his sweet young voice.
Obi-Wan gently brushed the hair from her damp face and placed his hand on her forehead. Feeling her hot skin he gently ran his hand over her cheek to comfort her. He looked at Meleana’s wet hair and dry clothing. It was obvious they had made some effort to clean her up before he arrived. He’d been sent to look for her, and had expected to find her in fine condition. Meleana seemed like the type to forget to check in with the temple.
“Where are you hurt?” Obi-Wan asked.
She wasn’t sure she had the strength to name both injuries. “Back,” Meleana croaked out.
He very gently rolled her over and lifted her shirt. He grimaced at the huge black gash down the center of her back. He pulled a bacta pack out of his belt and sprinkled it on the wound, not sure what good such a small amount would do on such a large badly infected area.
“Anakin, wait outside. Make sure no one comes in.” he said, not wanting to be distracted while he attempted to heal Meleana.
Obi-Wan kneeled on the edge of the cot and held up his hands just above Meleana’s injury. Even from a distance he could feel heat radiating off of it. He wasn’t sure how much good it would do, even the temples best healers would have needed time to treat such a large wound, and the additional infection, which had clearly spread throughout her body, wasn’t exactly helping.
He did what he could, which wasn’t much, and dropped down lower so he could look into Meleana’s clouded blood shot eyes. “Who did this?” He asked as he pulled off his robe. He laid it over her shivering form.
“Bounty hunter,” Meleana squeaked out weakly.
“The one that’s been trailing you?”
Meleana nodded.
“Is he the reason you’re locked up?”
Meleana nodded again.
“Did you kill anyone?”
She shook her head.
Obi-Wan nodded, “I’ll be back.” He hated leaving her in her condition she was in, but sitting by her and comforting her wouldn’t do any good.
“Stay with Jedi Ariadne,” Obi-Wan said to Anakin, “Contact me immediately if anyone comes in to see her.”
“Where are you going?”
“That depends on what the Aqualish have to say.” Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Go sit with her, talk about machines.”
Anakin nodded. “Alright.”
Obi-Wan walked at a quick pace back into the head office of the prison. A protocol droid was waiting to translate along with the prisons warden.
“Why haven’t her injuries been treated?” He asked in a calm tone.
“He says they have a request on file for the Jedi to receive medical attention, but treatment is on a first come first serve basis. She will need to wait until a medic is available.” The protocol droid responded.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath to calm him self, he wasn’t buying the wardens excuse. “In that case perhaps she should be transferred to a facility on Coruscant for treatment or released so she may be taken to a med center while she awaits her trail.” Obi-Wan didn’t need the droid to translate the warden’s response. No was easy enough to decipher in any language. “Allowing a Jedi to die in your custody will not be taken lightly, particularly if she is found to be innocent.”
“He says she will not be found innocent, and the penalty for her crime is death.”
“You must have quite a bit of evidence against her to be so sure of yourself. If you’d allow me to review it, it may help me understand why you’ve put her in the position you have.”
“He says the witness statements will be available for you to review.”
“I would also like access to the crime scene as well as the victim.”
“The victim’s body has already been released. You will have access to any other evidence you need.”
At least the warden was sure enough in himself that he didn’t deny Obi-Wan access to the evidence, though that in itself was troubling. “Is there a room where I might have some privacy to go over the holos?”

Obi-Wan finished reading the witness testimonies, all of which said the Jedi had attacked the security officer from behind, killing him instantly. He’d looked at the holos of the body first, the easiest way for him to judge Meleana’s involvement, or lack thereof, was to determine the weapon that had been used. Judging by the extent of the tissue damage a vibroblade had been used, not a lightsaber, and all of the wounds were inflicted from the front. This alone should have been enough evidence for the Aqualish to release her. In a fair trial there was no definitive way of proving Meleana’s guilt. He looked over the holos of the victim once more before getting up to retrieve the security holos from the slavers vessel.

Anakin was in the midst of telling Meleana a story about podracing when the door to her cell opened.
Genesis stopped at the door seeing the pint sized Jedi standing next to Meleana. He scanned the room for any dark corners his master may have been hidden in.
“Your Master’s looking for you,” Genesis said to the young Padawan with a warm smile. “He’s waiting for you in the Wardens office.”
Anakin reached for his comlink, he hadn’t reached it when Meleana’s hand gripped his.
“Go,” Meleana said. Genesis would kill Anakin before he had the chance to key in Obi-Wan’s code.
Anakin furrowed his brow, not sure whose orders to follow.
“Go,” Meleana said again this time more firmly.
Genesis smiled at Anakin as he walked passed. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” he said after Anakin had walked out. “I’m not sure what to do now…” Genesis sighed. “Well I’m sure you won’t be going anywhere just yet.” He stalked over to the cot and grabbed Meleana by the arm. He yanked her up, ignoring her scream of pain. His lips closed around her neck, first sucking the biting down on her skin until he’d broken it.
He pushed Meleana back down onto the bed and spit the blood out of his mouth. “Just so your Jedi friend knows I’m here.” He started for the exit. “Oh and you should really see a medic, your bloods tasting a little rancid.”
Obi-Wan and Anakin hurried in moments after the bounty hunter had left. Obi-Wan rushed over to her and carefully lay her back down on the cot. He looked at the bite mark on Meleana’s neck, and the blood drizzling onto the cot.
Meleana’s eyes were shut, and the bite on her neck was the last thing on her mind. Her joints ached, she was freezing and boiling at the same time, she couldn’t stop shaking, and everything hurt. She wondered how much longer her body could fight the infection before it finally killed her.
“You’re going to get out of here,” Obi-Wan said in a soothing tone. “Just hang on.”
“We’re going?” Meleana whispered without opening her eyes.
“Not yet. The holo from the slavers ship is missing. I need to go down there to see if there’s a copy.” Obi-Wan caressed her forehead. The Warden had refused to release Meleana based on the evidence they had. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Crissida was lying on Ketana’s sleep couch, flipping through her datapad, aware that here sister was staring at her, but not quiet sure why. She’d gotten used to sharing Ketana’s small room. Being confined in the Jedi temple seemed like a piece of a cake compared to most of her adult life.
“What?” She finally asked.
Ketana let out a puff of air. “Nothing.” There was no reason to bother Crissida with her troubles. She already knew what her reaction would be.
“I don’t need to be a Jedi to know that’s a lie.”
“We need to find you another place to live.”
“We’ve already had this conversation.”
Ketana dropped her hands to her side. “I know, but having you here is distracting me from doing my work. My mission partner has been in prison for the last month and I was too preoccupied with you to notice.”
“You don’t need to be preoccupied with me. I can take care of myself.”
“As long as you’re here you’ll be a distraction. I could get in a lot of trouble if they find you. I’m already in a lot of trouble. At this rate I’ll be a Padawan for the rest of my life.”
“Is that even possible?”
Ketana grit her teeth in frustration. “I’m not asking you to turn yourself in, I’m just asking you to try and think of an alternate solution. My Master will be back from her mission soon, and if you think she won’t notice the change in me, you’re wrong. I want to help you but there’s only so much I can do.”
Crissida wrote a few names and numbers into the datapad and tossed it to Ketana. “One of these people should know if there’s a bounty on my head. I wouldn’t trust any one of them though. If no one’s trying to kill me I’ll leave.”
Ketana looked down at the datapad. She suddenly felt guilty for even bringing it up.

Despite Meleana’s pain, she’d finally managed to fall asleep. It seemed as though she’d just lost consciousness when she was jerked back into her painful reality. She could feel the scabs on her shoulder and back split as she was wrenched into a sitting position. She half opened her eyes to glare at Genesis.
“I’m surprised your Jedi friends aren’t here to protect you.”
Meleana was shaking uncontrollably. A layer of sweat coated her ashen skin and dark red spots covered most of her body.
“I’m not medic, but I’d say you’re running out of time.” Genesis sat down on the cot next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and purposely put pressure on her wounded shoulder. “I can fix you. All I’ll ask in return is that you’ll leave here with me willingly.”
“I’d rather die here than go anywhere with you.” Meleana said with as much conviction as she could manage.
“Oh come now, don’t let stubbornness be the death of you.”
“Force inhibitors and lack of medical treatment will be the death of me.”
Genesis reached for a vial on his belt. “I thought I made it clear, I have no desire to kill you.” He twirled the small bottle in his hand. “At this point you’ve left me no choice but to help you. You will need to remove your shirt of course.”
Meleana glared at him. “I think my infection has progressed beyond the point where anyone other than a healer can help me,” she said slowly.
“I didn’t say I could cure you.” Genesis sighed and opened the vial. He dumped the contents down the back of her shirt. “Little bugs,” he said seeing the shocked expression on her face. “They’ll eat the dead and infected skin.”
“’The infection is in my blood.”
Genesis rolled his eyes. “Must I do everything for you? Even without your precious force, you have an immune system.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Meleana asked wondering why the bounty hunter hadn’t already done something.
“I thought giving you some time to think would help you come around,” he said in a conversational tone. “And to be honest having you in a weakened state isn’t exactly a bad thing. I’d rather you not be able to fight back.”
Meleana looked down at her shaking hands, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to make a fist, much less fight off an attacker.
Genesis watched as the bugs finished their work and dropped down onto the floor. “We should get going. I’d rather we leave before the Jedi gets back.”
“You think they’re just going to let you walk out with me?”
“I’ve made arrangements with them. The Jedi’s arrival helped, they were so worried he’d take you that they were more than happy to give you to me for punishment. They get to see you suffer without being to blame.”
Genesis lifted her up off the cot and slung her over his shoulder. “Could you stop shaking?” He asked walking her out of the cell. “It’s a little unnerving.”
“I hope I have a seizure and knock your head off.” Meleana knew she could put up some sort of a fight, but she would never be able to win in her condition, it would only make things worse.
Genesis waved to the on duty guards as they passed. He dropped Meleana into the back of an open top speeder and slid into the driver’s seat. “How does it feel to be free?”
Meleana glared in response as the speeder began to move. They had only been driving for a few seconds when she heard Genesis curse and felt the speed increase. Meleana rolled off the seat as he took a sharp turn down an ally.
“Why don’t Jedi ever give up!” He shouted in frustration and pushed the accelerator. “See we waste time talking and this is what happens! Damn chatty women.”
Meleana rolled her eyes and buried her face in the floor of the speeder.

“I can go faster,” Anakin said, keeping a close eye on the speeder ahead of them. He pushed his speed.
“Just get along side of him,” Obi-Wan said watching as Genesis took another sharp turn. There wasn’t much land on Ando, and soon they would be flying over open ocean if he didn’t turn around.
“Are you going to jump?” Anakin asked as they drew closer to the other speeder.
“Yes, just follow behind us, try to stay bellow the other speeder if you can.”
“No problem,” Anakin said confidently. It seemed like an eternity since he’d been able to have fun doing anything, and this was fun.
Obi-Wan stood up as they approached the other speeder. He focused before jumping, sure Genesis would try to shake him. The speeder shook under his weight as his feet touched down on the hood. Genesis jerked the speeder to the side, nearly flipping it. Obi-Wan attached his cable launcher to the hood just in time to avoid being tossed off of the craft. He swung himself back up and into the speeder.
Genesis looked at Obi-Wan and the ocean in front of him and sighed. “You’ve spoiled all my fun,” he said calmly.
“Pull over.” Obi-Wan said unclipping his lightsaber.
Genesis shook his head, opened his door and slid out into the ocean flying by beneath them.
Obi-Wan jumped into the drivers seat and slowed the speeder to a stop. He turned around to look at Meleana. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” Meleana said into the floor of the speeder.
Anakin pulled up next to them. “That was wicked!”
Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, but decided there would be time to scold Anakin later. “Do you remember where the ship is?” Anakin nodded. “Meet us there.”