Opposites Attract [Complete]

Meleana opened her eyes and looked around her room. It was her room, her nightmare hadn’t been real. She’d dreamed of her Master’s death nearly every night since it had happened. She tossed the covers off of herself and rubbed her eyes. She opened the drawer in her nightstand and reached for the bottle of Corellian rum she kept there. She opened the bottle and lifted it to her lips. It was empty. As she stood, set on finding something else to help her get back to sleep, the ship jerked out of hyperspace. She stumbled forward.
They had been in hyperspace for several days, too long for them to be anywhere near Coruscant or Ithor. She hurried into the control room and looked out the view screen. Even with the parts from her speeder bike the controls were still inoperable. She peered out the view screen at the green planet before her. They had come out of hyperspace very near the planet, and were already being pulled towards its surface. Meleana couldn’t see any obvious signs of technology. It was likely an uncharted world in wild space.
The ship sped up as the planets gravity took hold of it. “This is going to be a pleasant landing.” Meleana said with a frown. She wasn’t sure how much time they had. The ship had a parachute, which would help their landing a little.
She hurried back into her bedroom shouting to wake Obi-Wan. She slid a pair of pants on under her nightgown and slid her boots on before grabbing her utility belt.
She rushed into the cabin. “Obi-Wan! Wake up and get dressed!” She could feel the ship begin to shake as it entered the ships atmosphere. “Obi-Wan!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
He sat up in bed. “What?”
“We’re going to crash!” she ran back to the control room, satisfied that he could take care of himself from that point forward.
She sat down in one of the chairs in the control room, at the very least she could be there to deploy the chute. As the ship came out of the planets atmosphere Meleana pressed the button to deploy the parachute. She pressed it again after nothing happened and held it down. “Oh Sith!” she nearly ran into Obi-Wan on her way out of the control room. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she passed him. She jumped down into the cargo hold, pried open the emergency door and used the force to jump onto the top of the ship. She carefully lowered herself into a sitting position. The metal of the ships exterior was too hot and smooth to get a good grip on. Meleana slid down towards the rear of the ship and straddled one of the engines. She used the force to pull off the panel that covered the parachute. It had already been unlocked when she’d pressed the button inside. As soon as the panel was off the parachute shot out. The ship jolted violently as it slowed. Meleana lost her grip on the engine, the ship spun to fall face down throwing Meleana hard into the hull. She blacked out just before she began to free fall towards the panet.

Obi-Wan was safely buckled into one of the seats in the cockpit wondering where Meleana had run off to when she flew past the view screen. “Oh dear.”
He watched Meleana fall closer towards the surface of the planet. He didn’t think jumping out to try and save her would do any good. There was a large body of water near where Obi-wan imagined the ship would be crashing. He force pushed Meleana towards the water.

Meleana opened her eyes, at first she didn’t remember hitting her head or falling. The wind and sky above her confused her. She turned to look down at the rapidly approaching lake. She tried to use the force to slow herself down, but within seconds she hit the surface. It felt like hitting a stone floor, all of the air was knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time she’d fallen a long distance into a pool of water, and though she was sinking, and losing consciousness with no air in her lungs, she was fairly sure that this time she hadn’t broken anything.

When the ship was near enough to the ground Obi-Wan jumped off, he tried to steer himself towards the lake. He hit the ground and ran into the water. Even though he had seen Meleana hit the water he found it difficult to place him self once he was submerged in the murky lake. He closed his eyes and focused on feeling her through the force. He swam down to the bottom of the lake, finally he felt something soft and warm. He grabbed Meleana and pushed off the lake bed. His lungs were burning. He gulped in air when they reached the surface. He was still out of breath when he lay Meleana flat down on the lakes shore. He put his hand over her face to see if she was breathing. She wasn’t. At the point when he’d found Meleana attractive, before her personality had spoiled things, this hadn’t been one of the ways he’d imagined pressing his lips against hers. On the other hand he’d resuscitated worse. After a few seconds she began coughing water into his face. He sat up and wiped his face, some how getting water spit all over him wasn’t a surprising reaction from her.
“Thanks,” Meleana said crawling onto her knees.
“What exactly were you doing outside of the ship while it crashed?” He asked getting to his feet. He offered her a hand.
“I had to get the parachute out,” She took his hand, got to her feet, and looked around. The lake was in a clearing of a densely packed jungle.
“Well I guess we’re even then.”
Meleana searched for the ship. “I didn’t know we were keeping score.” She looked at Obi-Wan, he was shirtless, in sleep pants and covered in mud. She imagined she looked the same if not worse. “Did you see where the ship crashed?”
He shook his head. “I was busy. It should be over there,” He pointed to the left.
They started walking through the mud towards the ship. It had cleared out a good number of trees sliding through the jungle. Animals were curiously inspecting the area, surveying the thing that had invaded their homes.
Meleana and Obi-Wan stopped and stared. If they had thought the ship was broken before, it was junk now.
Meleana exhaled. “We are going to need some parts.”
“Some might be an understatement.” He added.
She started pacing around the ship. “I’ll make a list of what we need.”
“Yes I saw a lot of mechanics on our way down.” Obi-Wan said sarcastically.
Meleana perked up. “Really!”
He shut his eyes, somewhat amazed by her. “No we’re in a jungle.”
“There’s got to be something. Another crashed ship, a settlement, something we can use to repair this mess.” She couldn’t allow herself to think she would be stranded in a jungle with only Obi-Wan for company. “I’ll see what’s damaged. Can you put some packs together for us? Maybe make us some breakfast?”
He shrugged. “Alright,” there was no point in arguing with her. “Will you try contacting the council or should I?”
“I’ll do it,” Meleana walked off to begin her survey of the outside of the ship.

When she had finished her analysis of the ship Meleana met Obi-Wan in the main room. She winced as she slid into the small booth across from him. Her fall had left her with a few fractured bones and bruises on most of her body.
“How bad is it?” Obi-Wan asked.
“Pretty bad,” Meleana sighed. “The view screen is cracked, the hull is torn in a few places, we still have no controls. At least we’re alive… I guess.”
Obi-Wan watched her stare at the table pensively. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
Meleana laughed. “Yeah.”
“Why are you laughing?”
Meleana started plating food. “We are in big trouble here, and your only reaction is to offer me food. I can’t reach the council either. I have no idea where we are. I’m not sure things could get worse.”
“Well at least you’re in good company,” He said with a cocky grin.
Meleana glared at him. “Is there someone else here?”
“No, then I’d have said, ‘at least I’m in good company,’” He said with a smirk.
“Did you get the packs ready?” Meleana asked pushing her plate away. Even eating was painful.
“Are you sure you don’t want to rest first? We have no idea where we’re going, or if we’ll even find anything.”
Meleana winced as she stood up. “Thank you for your concern, but I’d rather not be stranded on this rock any longer than we need to be. One nap isn’t going to heal me.”

The jungle was hot and sticky. The two Jedi paid little mind to the creatures that slithered past them. They had been walking for hours and were still no closer to finding any traces of civilization. They’d passed by an overgrown ship wreck a few miles back. Most of the parts were too damaged to be salvageable. The wreckage had been there so long trees had taken root through it destroying everything that had survived the crash.
Though Meleana hadn’t said anything, she’d been in intense pain every step of the way. The uneven terrain of the jungle floor was beginning to get to her. Despite her efforts to keep up as she stumbled over roots she had fallen behind Obi-Wan. Each gasp of humid air was excruciating and she couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs.
Obi-wan stopped sensing her distress. He turned around to watch her limp up to him. “We should rest.”
Meleana shook her head. “No,” She said through labored breaths. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.”
“The sun will be down in a couple of hours, I can keep going until then. We’re just wasting time if we stop now.” She wiped the sweat off her brow.
“Give me your pack then.”
Meleana’s knees went weak from pain as she tried to pull the pack off. Obi-Wan gently gripped her as she lurched forward.
“We’re done. You’re only making your injuries worse.” Meleana looked more upset than she should. “What?” He asked.
Something had wrapped itself securely around Meleana’s leg. Whatever it was felt large and powerful and was tightening its grip. “Back up,” Meleana’s voice was soft but intense.
He gave her a hesitant look but did as she asked and slowly took a few steps away from her. Meleana pulled her lightsaber into her hand with the force. As she bent down to slice into whatever had latched onto her leg a sharp pain went through her. She cried out, startling the thing latched onto her. It wrenched her off of the jungle floor into a near by tree. She slammed into the tree trunk upside down and braced herself for the pain she was about to inflict on her own body. She sat up screaming, and slashed her lightsaber above her foot into the creature and the tree. There was a shrill scream from the tree tops as Meleana fell to the ground. A pitiful cry escaped her lips when he body thudded down on the damp ground.
Obi-Wan looked up into the tree tops waiting to see if whatever was up there was coming down. He walked over to Meleana and crouched down next to her. Her eyes were clenched shut and she was taking slow deep breaths.
“We had to stop?” Meleana asked without opening her eyes. She rotated her ankle and winced. “I twisted my ankle.”
He furrowed his brow in concern. It seemed unwise to stop her now if something was hunting them, but Meleana was in no condition to keep walking. Wrapping an arm around her to take weight off her ankle would hurt her ribs. He sighed grudgingly. “I’ll carry you.”
Meleana didn’t like that idea. “I’d rather walk.”
He shook his head. “If you keep weight off your ankle you’ll be able to walk on it tomorrow. If you walk on it now it will take days to heel.”
Meleana sat up slowly. He was right, and they couldn’t stay where they were. He helped her pull off her pack and slung it over one shoulder before lifting her into his arms.

They walked for another hour before stopping to set up camp for the night. Meleana wrapped her ankle in gauze while Obi-Wan got out their bed rolls and ration packs.
Meleana hated relying on other people, and hated feeling weak. Being carried by someone she was sure already felt superior to her was humiliating. On the other hand being left alone and injured in the jungle would have been worse than a bruise to her ego. She got the sense that Obi-Wan didn’t think she was ready to be a Jedi Knight, and she didn’t fully disagree with him. The council had decided she was far enough along in her training when her Master was killed to face the trials to become a Jedi Knight, and she had passed. She knew she was young, impulsive and emotional to say the least. She didn’t need someone reminding her of all of her faults all the time. Yet without her judgmental company she’d be in much bigger trouble than she already was. Or none at all, since this whole mess was his fault.
Obi-Wan handed her a canteen and a ration pack and sat down next to her. “I’m not going to hold an injury against you. The distance you fell should have killed you, the fact that you’re alive and relatively unharmed is incredible.”
Meleana averted her eyes. “I’ve had some experience.”The memory of her Master pushing her, hearing him scream, hitting the rocks in the ocean bellow, flashed through her head.
Obi-Wan sensed the sudden change in her emotions and decided to change the subject. “Where did you get the crystal for your blade?” he asked the first question that came to mind. Meleana’s blade was violet, and as far as he knew there were no violet crystals on Ilum.
“Dantooine. I insisted on purple,” She smiled. “If I’d known better I would have just gone to Ilum and settled for green. My Master wished me luck finding the caves, dropped me off on Dantooine and flew off,” She shrugged. “At least the weather was better than Ilum.” Meleana slid over to her bedroll. She had no appetite, all she wanted was sleep. She tossed her ration pack to Obi-Wan. “I’m just going to go to sleep. I’m not a big fan of dried food anyway.” She tucked herself into her bedroll. “Thank you,” she said before closing her eyes.

Meleana woke up with the sun. Between things crawling on her, and pain every time she moved, she hadn’t had an easy night of sleep. The sun was just beginning to come up and there was barely enough light to see the trees around her. She had the feeling they were being watched, and was sure they were, but in a jungle teeming with creatures it was hard to tell who or what had their eye on them. She swatted a lizard off her neck and slowly sat up. She stretched her ankle, it, unlike the rest of her body, was feeling better. She heard the snap of wood behind her and resisted the urge to turn and investigate the sound. She sensed whatever was behind her was getting closer and felt something closing in around them. She reached over and grabbed Obi-Wan’s shoulder. At the same time Meleana felt something hard press against her back. Something hissed behind her, but it sounded more deliberate than an animal’s hiss.
Before Meleana could turn to look at her attacker more came out of the trees. The creatures were lizard like humanoids with elongated faces, sharp teeth, and long tails. They each stood upright and were all over two meters tall. Some were dressed in mismatching armor and each carried a stun baton or vibroblade. The one behind Meleana slammed the stun baton into her back and pushed her down on top of Obi-Wan. The impact hurt more than the shock had.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked around. It didn’t surprise him that things had gotten worse. He looked in the direction of a loud hissing sound and fixed his eyes on the largest of the creatures. It was clear by the ornamentation of his armor that he was the leader. The creature had a stun baton pressed firmly against Meleana’s back and a vibroblade on her neck. He hissed again at them.
“Obi-Wan, please don’t take this as a compliment, but your stomach is uncomfortably hard,” Meleana mumbled against the fabric of his blanket.
“Well it isn’t meant to be a pillow.” He looked back up at the creature then down at her. “What are we going to do about this?”
“I’d like to not die, and it would be preferable to not experience anymore pain.”
Obi-Wan looked at the creature again, sizing him up. “Do you think he’ll take your head off if we try to fight?”
“There is a stronger possibility then I would like. Do they look like they want something?”
“Yes, though I’m not sure what.” Obi-Wan slid his hands out from under the blankets and held them up. “We aren’t here to cause any trouble. We’re just looking for a way to repair our ship.” Obi-Wan projected a calming energy through the force. Meleana was pushed harder into his stomach and the creature hissed loudly.
“Well at least I’m calmer,” Meleana said rolling her eyes. “If they want to kill us why not just do it?” One of the other creatures came over and began carefully inspecting Meleana. She buried her head in Obi-Wan’s stomach. “I’m being molested by a lizard!”
“I’m being molested by a human,” Obi-Wan tried to keep some humor in his voice. After all there were many layers of cloth between them.
Meleana muffled a scream on Obi-Wan’s stomach as the creature used brute strength to tare her utility belt off. Why did broken ribs hurt everywhere? She wondered before she was wrenched to her feet and held by the creature that had been inspecting her. His vibroblade was pressed firmly against her neck. Meleana took a better look at the creatures, everything they had looked salvaged, it was possible they might be able to find something useful in their village. She sensed Obi-Wan about to go for his lightsaber and pleaded with him through the force not to. He gave her a puzzled expression, then after taking another look himself realized what she was getting at. He moved one hand slowly to unclip his utility belt and tossed it onto the floor as he got to his feet.

They were brought to a primitive looking village in the trees and the rest of there belongings were taken. They were left in a wooden cage suspended high above the ground with nothing but underwear and socks.
Obi-Wan looked at the mark around Meleana’s waist and winced. “That looks like it stings.”
“Like hell,” Meleana peered out of the cage. “Did you see anything useful on our way in?”
“There was a large structure at the base of the tree. That could be used to store salvaged speeders or a small ship,” He looked Meleana over again and caught a glare. He rolled his eyes. “Half of your body is black and blue. I’ve seen plenty of half naked women before. Half the women in the order don’t seem to bother much with clothing. You’re nothing special.”
“Tell me, did the women know you were ogling them, or did you find a well placed ventilation shaft?”
“This is really not an appropriate time for us to be bickering,” Obi-Wan caught Meleana looking him up and down. “And what was that?”
“I’ve seen plenty of half naked men before. I was just comparing. You’re nothing special either.”
“Oh I see, you’re upset because you aren’t used to having a man look at you without complimenting your physique? “
Meleana shook her head. “No, I just like looking at men in their underwear. It’s fairly common among heterosexual human females. I’m upset because I’m half naked in a cage covered in pain and stranded in a jungle. You on the other hand seem to be fishing for compliments.”
Obi-Wan took a deep breath to quell his frustration. “Let’s just get out of the cage.”
“Fine with me,” Meleana undid the latch on the cage with a wave of her hand and motioned Obi-Wan forward. “You deal with the guards.”
He pushed the door open with the force, the guards rushed to close it and he pulled them into the cage. He and Meleana ran out onto the walkway and latched the gate shut.
They crept slowly through the village peering in windows and around corners, looking for any creatures or any signs of their belongings. They knocked any creatures they encountered unconscious with the force on their way up the walkway. It stood to reason that any new items would be stored in the leader’s quarters before being given to any of the underlings. They assumed that the leader would be the furthest from the dark jungle floor.
They reached the last hut on the walkway and peeked into the window. There was a group of creatures inside going through their packs. One was fiddling with Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. Meleana saw her utility belt sitting on a trunk next to the leader. Her lightsaber was still attached. She had a feeling what she was about to do would hurt, but saw no other way of getting out of there. She called her lightsaber to her with the force. The creatures all turned to watch it fly across the room. She heard Obi-Wan grumble before she launched herself through the window, lightsaber at the ready. Every movement was painful, but she’d gotten used to the pain. She sliced the hand of the creature clutching Obi-Wan’s lightsaber first then quickly moved to block a swing of a vibroblade. Obi-Wan joined her seconds later, he force pushed their attackers back, hoping they would retreat, they seemed unfazed and continued their attack. The two Jedi finished off their opponents quickly. The creatures had size and strength, but were not used to fighting opponents with any skill. The Jedi dressed before continuing on.
They exited the leaders hut and looked down, it was a long drop to the jungle floor. They looked at each other.
“You can jump,” Meleana said. "I’ve had enough falling for one week.”
“It will be easier and safer then trying to walk through the entire village.”
“I’m developing a fear of heights!”
He shook his head. “Please don’t make me quote Master Yoda.”
“Fine,” Meleana huffed. “But if I die I will haunt you forever.”
“Well I hope not, it would be a shame for you to follow me around instead of becoming one with the force.”
Meleana shook her head and jumped onto the nearest branch.
They both landed back on solid ground safely and made their way towards what they hoped was a storage facility. There were no windows so they readied themselves for a fight before breaking the locks and opening the doors. They stepped inside, the building was unguarded. For the most part it appeared to be an armory. They both spotted a speeder at the same time and rushed towards it. It wouldn’t be enough to repair the ship, but it would make exploring the planet infinitely easier. Meleana jumped behind the wheel before Obi-Wan had a chance and hotwired it. To their delight the engine hummed to life.
“We can go back to the ship and get some extra fuel,” Meleana said checking the gauges. The speeder was a nice enough model. All black, with an open top and black leather seats. Obi-Wan took a seat on the passenger side and they sped off.