Medstar, Battle Surgeons is not an adventure in the sense where the heroes are running from or blasting bad guys. These are the kind of heroes who fight to save lives with medical supplies. This is the Star Wars version of M*A*S*H with a mystery twist set during the Clone Wars.
Barriss Offee is sent to the RIMSOO (really RMSU: Republic Mobile Surgical Unit) for 2 reasons. She is a Jedi healer to help the doctors, but she is also to investigate suspicious issues with the BOTA healing substance being shipped from the planet.
Barriss Offee finds herself among people including her fellow battle surgeons, asking hard questions, and what its like to have power but not be able to help. It’s a thought provoking journey into what the doctors and other personnel behind the lines are going through. Clones were bred for war, does that make them less human? Droids are built, but what if they grow beyond their programming. What makes one truly alive? And what makes one a hero? If a murderer is on your side, does it make him a hero instead of a criminal?
The war going on sometimes hits too close. In addition Black Sun (crime syndicate) has agents involved. Murder and sabotage ensue and there is a traitor in their midst.
This kind of story had to grow on me. At the time of this novel’s writing we’d only glimpsed Barriss in the background in Attack of the Clones and Genndy’s Clone Wars. We did get a deeper story on her in The Approaching Storm, some of it was told from her point of view – she was a very by the book padawan there. Here, she really grows as a character and is forced to confront the temptations of the Dark Side.
I very much enjoyed the new characters, especially the doctors and getting to know Barriss better.
Medstar 1 Battle Surgeons Continuity
This is part of a duology Medstar 2 Jedi Healer. It’s set right after Jedi Trial.
Expanded Characters:
Barriss Offee: Jedi Padawan & Healer is expanded on in this. She remembers details of her past training with Luminara Unduli. This is our first serious view of Jedi Healing powers.
IFive: the independent droid of Darth Maul: Shadowhunter makes a return appearance and is striving to regain some of what he lost.
Expanded Cultures:
Sakiyans haven’t had much insight up until now, Admiral Bleyd makes up for this by pondering on his past and future.
Corellia is revealed to have traditionalists who strongly disapprove of marrying anyone not from their own planet. A minor hint of this tradition lingering was revealed in The Corellian Trilogy in the system’s outer worlds like Sacorria.
Introduced:
Den Dhur: Sullustan journalist. Dhur will have many adventures in future books.
Jos Vandar: Human Chief surgeon
Zan Yant: Zabrak Surgeon
Klo Merit: Equani Minder. (AKA Mental Health Therapist)
Tolk: Lorrdian Nurse
Admiral Bleyd – Sakiyan Republic officer
Yanth – Hutt, supply officer
Phow Ji – Human Bunduki marshal arts instructor.
Kaird – Nediji Black Sun Agent
Introduced Culture:
Nedijii – a flightless avian culture. They were from a remote world, a collective society. Criminals are outcast from the collective group.
Other Introductions:
Bota: a powerful healing plant native to Drongar.
Continuity and Lore:
Black Sun is heavily involved in this story. Black Sun first appears in Shadows of the Empire and has since been in many books, comics and games. This may be the first mention of it since Darth Maul wiped out their leader in a comic named simply, Darth Maul.
Teras Kasi is mentioned. It’s a fighting style and had a video game (with a less than stellar reputation).
Admiral Bleyd’s private ship: will appear in future stories and will be revealed in the future under the name ‘Stinger’.
Den Dhur and IFive appear not only in the Medstar sequel, but the Coruscant Knights series.
Lorrdians were first introduced in Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley.
Sullustans in this story are shown as a very small species. This isn’t something mentioned in other stories, in Return of the Jedi Nien Numb isn’t much smaller than Lando.
Barriss Offee would later be admitted to the Circle of Healers. Stass Allie was another member. Jedi healers were far more rare than guardians or sentinels and had existed before the Reformations. Jedi healers also existed under Luke’s Jedi Order, though not as a specific organization. (See the Jedi Path)
