Saga First Do No Harm (2021 FanFic Summer Olympics) OC's Dr. Erek Nikana & Nurse Beka Onari Triathlon

Title: First Do No Harm

Timeframe: 21 BBY, Battle of Dantooine during the Clone Wars

Summary: A Republic military doctor stationed on Dantooine during the Clone Wars deals with the agony and atrocities of war.

Disclaimer: George Lucas created Star Wars. Star Wars, LucasFilm Ltd. and all its content are currently owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company.



Triathlon Events Include:

1. 400 Word Cross Country: 400 words about your character, couple, family, or friendship with any theme.
2. 110 Word Hurdle: 110 words in which the name or names of your character, couple, family or friendship aren’t mentioned.

Plus a choice of any one event from the Decathlon. For my Triathlon I have chosen:

3. Prime Time Coverage: 500+ words of action, adventure, or excitement with your chosen character, friendship, family or couple as the star.

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Index of Triathlon Events

I. The Field Where I Die / 21 BBY / Prime Time Coverage

II. A Tolerable Condition / 21 BBY / 110 Word Hurdle

III. Heal Thyself / 21 BBY / 400 Word Cross Country





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The Field Where I Die / 21 BBY / Prime Time Coverage



Dantooine
Republic Mobile Surgical Unit
21 BBY


At first, everything made him jump; cannons and blaster fire alike. At night, the sounds of war made sleeping near-impossible. His dreams were filled with visions of the injured and the dead.

“Blood and bacta,” Dr. Erek Nikana muttered to himself.

“What was that, Dr. Nikana?” one of the nurses asked.

Erek looked up for a moment. “I said blood and bacta, as in those are the only two things I can smell anymore.”

“Not what you expected?” the nurse, Beka questioned. “Being out here in the middle of nowhere?”

Erek shook his head as he continued the surgery he was performing on a critically injured clonetrooper. “No, not at all. School did not prepare me for…for this. It’s not the nowhere part that…it’s everything else.”

“It gets easier, I promise,” Beka told him. “The smell fades and the sounds become...well, you get used to it, I suppose. You learn to tune it out after a while.”

Erek finished suturing the clonetrooper and tossed his instruments aside. He ripped his surgical mask off and tossed it to the ground; ground stained with freshly spilled blood of friends and foes alike.

“I’m not certain I’ll ever get used to this,” he quipped, hot anger coloring his tone. “Look out there. It’s beautiful and it’s awful. No place in the galaxy should ever be both.”

Beka reached over and placed her hand on his arm, a light brushing of comfort. “If it helps any, we all went through it when we first got here. The horror of this place never fades, but the feelings you have about it now will, in time.”

Dr. Nikana shook his head. “I don’t mean to be rude, but right now that really doesn’t help at all. This place is all nine Corellian hells wrapped up in one and…”

”Incoming casualties! Incoming casualties!”

“Shavit!” Dr. Nikana yelled. “Beka, get me a new set of scrubs, please. We’ll need more blood for transfusions and…”

His orders were cut off by the sound of the first blast. Instinct kicked in and Erek dove for Beka, intent on covering her body with his own to shield her from harm. He would not let anyone else die that day. He simply could not. The second blast penetrated the outer wall of the perimeter fence surrounding their surgical tent. The third exploded inside the tens itself and Erek was thrown off his feet just as he reached Beka, bis hand reaching out but missing her by inches.

Beka screamed as she watched him fall; eyes void of all life. She hunkered low to the ground as smaller explosions could be heard outside. Blaster fire came next. Then the sound of lightsaber.

Master Windu had arrived.

With hands shaking and breathing ragged from fear and adrenaline, Beka looked down at Dr. Erek Nikana. She didn’t notice the blood immediately, her focus on his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes were wide open.

He had met death with eyes wide open and she was remined of the day they first made acquaintance. His words had shocked her, and she had never forgotten them. Her hand rested on his still form, she wondered if he’d truly known his fate months ago.

He gestured to the rather barren field, swept clean of all but for blue-bladed grass and surgical tents.

“I just have a feeling this will be the field where I die.”


Note: This was not specifically action, adventure or excitement. But, as Peter Pan once said, “to die would be an awfully big adventure.”

 

Intense action ending with a cliffie. Nice characters

 

What a way to end a story. Definitely could hear the M*A*S*H theme song running through my head because your very beautiful story reminded me so much of the trauma and pain that Hawkeye often talks about. Just superbly done throughout. Lovely work.

 

Thank you!

I was hearing it in my head as I was writing this one. Thank you for reading and commenting.

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A Tolerable Condition / 21 BBY / 110 Word Hurdle


He stepped off the transport, bags slung over his slender shoulders. His hair, once cropped in a short, no nonsense military style had grown long over the months he had been traipsing from one mobile surgical unit to another.

His vivid blue eyes took in the scenery; green and blue grass as far as the eyes could see. There were forests in the distance. Of all his posts, he thought this one might be the most tolerable.

“Excuse me,” a young woman said as she approached him. “I’m…”

He stopped her with a raised hand. “I don’t care who you are.”

“But, aren’t you…” she tried again.

“A doctor, yes.”

 

great introduction to the scenery and the characters

 

Thanks so much!

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Note" We have arrived at the end of the Triathlon. Thanks to everyone who read and commented, and to the lurkers who only read.



Note: This story takes place days before The Field Where I Die.


Heal Thyself / 21 BBY / / 400 Word Cross Country


Erek Nikana was born on Corellia to Tobin and Ellynn, both physicians. As a child, he had watched the care and compassion his parents had given their patients. Young Erek had not imagined there would ever be a time when didn’t want to be a physician as well.

Then the Clone Wars came.

Now, in the place where death and despair prevailed, Erek wanted to be anything other than a physician.

“Beka, scalpel please,” he said as he held his hand out.

The instrument was handed to him immediately and he revealed the mangled wound beyond the horrifying burn injury the clonetrooper had sustained.

“His liver is bleeding badly, spleen too,” Erek said to his team. “Are transplant organs available?”

“No, Doctor,” Beka replied sadly. “We ordered a supply but…we’re so far out that we…”

Erek sighed. “Cauterizer, please.”

Beka handed him the tool he needed and watched as he cauterized the organs, stopping the bleeding.

“How’s my man, Doc?” a clone Commander stuck his head inside the tent.

Erek did not answer immediately. He stitched up the abdominal wound and checked over his vital signs before removing his mask and going to speak with the injured man’s superior.

Beka busied herself with the patient, trying not to listen in to the conversation.

“Your man is going to die, Commander,” Erek said bluntly. “Two of his internal organs have been irreparably damaged. Without replacements, I can’t fix him.”

The clone commander nodded solemnly. “I’d like his…his body when he dies.”

“Of course,” Erek acknowledged. “I’ll have the nurse inform you.”

The commander left and before Erek knew it, Beka was standing by his side.

“Can I speak to you outside,” she questioned.

He followed her out when she didn’t wait for his response. They both breathed in the night air. It was damp, but cool and it felt good.

“What do you want, Beka?”

She whirled around on him. “Do you have to be such a…a…”

Erek smiled as he stepped closer to her. “A what? A realist?”

She hung her head. “I don’t even know the right word.”

Erek lifted her chin with his fingertips so he could see her eyes. “Beka, this place is as real as life gets. I know I sounded harsh, even to my own ears. But we have to be honest.”

Her eyes blazed now. “So, be honest with me now. Every time I think we’re getting closer, you walk away or you change the subject. What do you feel? Really feel?”

Erek ran his hands through his hair. “Beka, I…I feel what you do. I feel it all. But here, in this horrific place, with people dying all around us every day, how can we possibly…?”

Beka had stepped up and pulled his head down to hers, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled.

“We just do, Erek,” she said to him. “We just do. There’s healing in letting ourselves feel.”

“Physician, heal thyself, huh?” he pondered for a moment.

He grasped her hand in his and together they turned to watch the sun dip below the horizon, taking comfort with each other when and where they could. The sound of cannon fire still rung in the distance; an ever-present reminder that war was never far from them.



Note: It ended up being a bit more than 400 words. But, the Triathlon is now complete.

 

Doctors are good if they feel. Loved the entire story and congrats on completing a triathlon

 

Holy moly, Jen, you know how to rip your readers' hearts out, don't you? I didn't expect when I came here to start with a character death!

And I have to say that the combination of the three stories makes it even more poignant. For all his gruff exterior, Erek comes across not only as a good doctor, but as a good man who deals with the impossible situation where he found himself in the best, or maybe only, way he knows, by shielding himself off, while Beka is still able to express humanity and compassion without fearing that it'll make her fall apart. This is so spot-on about the way men and women deal with ultra-stressful situations, it really struck a chord with me.

Have you written more about these characters elsewhere that I could read? These ficlets left me with a taste of not-enough, and I feel that there's a lot more story to these two.

Congrats on finishing the triathlon!

 

Yes, they are. Thank you so much!

I'm sorry! Well, not really. I do love to try and tug at the heartstrings.

I'm so glad it struck a cord. As I was writing, I had in my mind the differences in the ways men and women approach stressful situations and the outward manifestations of those approaches. Erek and Beka both feel deeply, but with one being able to more openly express it, it leaves them both on opposite ends of the spectrum. Fortunately, they managed to connect in the end.

I do have a page full of notes on some vignettes I want to write about these characters. Those will most liely come after I complete this Olympics challenge and while I continue to work on other stuff. So, they may be sporadic, but it's an absolute YES-there will be more of these two. I'm so glad you liked them.

Thank you so much!

 

Getting a huge SW MedStar vibe here (and btw, awesome books I totally recommend about medical staff on the front lines during the Clone Wars).

Starting off with a character death is bold and you did a great job here pulling that off and at least we get to know more about Erek in the next posts. The sense of realism and urgency with life/death situations is excellent and really pulls you into the story (gonna be biased here and admit the scientist in me loves the medical scenes/terminology and wants moar )

 

Loved meeting and seeing all the OCs in action. Particularly liked the whole MASH vibe throughout. Amazingly well written - great stuff.


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Amazing work on this. Like others have said, I loved meeting your OCs here and it all feels so real. Just really awesome writing.

So true. I loved this line.

Again, awesome job and congrats on completing the triathlon!

 

Sometimes, in the midst of pain and grief and horror, the emotional bonds we share with others serve as our greatest lifelines. Although your stories are short, they convey more than enough of the horrors of war and the hope that can blossom in the most unlikely places.

Posting them in reverse chronological order makes reading them all the more poignant, as we know what will happen to Erek and Beka even as we watch their struggles together.

Well done.

 

I'm so glad you enjoyed the characters! The hubby and I have, in the past 15 months been confronted on numerous occasions with the realty of how men and women differ in their reactions to stressful situation; not war obviously, but many COVID-related ones. A lot of real life crept into this one. It's an interesting dynamic between Beka and Erek and how they both arrive at the same place having taken very different paths to get there.

Loved MedStar, both Battle Surgeons and Jedi Healer.. Both books gave me great inspiration for this little series.

I was a little nervous in how a death would go over with readers, but had to go where my muse led me.

Glad it seemed real to you. I have family members in the medical field so I have a small, basic understanding of certain things. Of course, television helps a lot, too.

M.A.S.H!!! Love the show/ Still watch when it's on and I could definitely hear Hawkeye and BJ in my head as I wrote. So glad you enjoyed the characters.

Thank you so much!

Me too. Thanks so much.

Thanks a bunch!!

So true. They certainly did for Erek and Beka. Their shared experiences drew them together like nothing else would have. Together, they learned that a burden shared is a burden halved and that they could move foreword despite war flaring all around them.

Truth be told, I hadn't originally planned to post them in reverse order, mostly because as I said above I wasn't sure leading off with the death of a character would work. I'm so glad everyone seems to have enjoyed the stories anyway.

Thank you so much!!