Nice an long chapter for you today, at least double the average length.

Nick, Carth and Tali hastily left the Bek base and continued down towards the elevator. Nick held point, while Carth and Tali were walking side-by-side behind him. Luckily they didn't run into any more Vulkars on the way and most of the trip seemed quiet until they reached the elevator. To the right was Javyar's Cantina while straight ahead was the elevator, there were two Vulkars facing a man in front of them. Nick took up a defensive position by a wall while Carth and Tali stayed back.

"You missed your last payment boys." The man said while pointing at the two Vulkars

"We don't take orders from you, or Kang!" One of the Vulkars shouted while his friend nodded in agreement, Tali couldn't understand a word of their language and Carth did his best to translate without giving away their position.

"Oh really?" The man said while making a sharp whistle. From behind him another man holding a very large rifle came out and aimed it at the Vulkars. He wore heavy armour, his hair was greying and he had a few noticeable scars on his face.

Upon seeing the heavily armed enforcer in front of them, the two Vulkars flinched before backing off slightly. "Canderous! We had no idea you were working for Davik!"

Canderous smirked and gripped his rifle tighter before easing up and lowering it, "Just because you're in the Vulkars, it doesn't make you invincible!" He said while pointing at them.

"No, you're right! We'll pay up!" The two Vulkars dropped credits on the ground before running off towards an apartment block.

"Canderous, I see you still have your charm." The other man smirked while turning to him and patting him on the back.

"These thugs don't put up enough fight, I need a challenge." Canderous said, shrugging off the other man while moving forward.

"Oh don't worry, I hear Davik has a special assignment for you." The other man said while walking towards Nick, Carth and Tali. "Davik will be in touch!" He shouted back.

Canderous didn't respond, he simply turned and walked in the direction of the Cantina. Carth, Tali and Nick attempted to leave but made a noise which instantly alerted Canderous. He spun around, clutching his rifle tightly, waiting to take the shot. To his surprise he saw Nick come around the corner, Tali and Carth were nowhere to be seen.

"Nick!" Canderous shouted while lowering his rifle to greet his friend.

"Canderous, long time no see!" He walked towards him and held out his hand. Canderous grabbed it and pulled him up into a rough handshake. Slightly taken aback, Nick remarked "Good to see you too pal!" He smirked at him.

"So, you still with the Beks?" Canderous said, letting go of Nick's hand.

"Yeah, it's not glamorous but it's better than working for those Vulkars." He backed up and holstered his blaster. "I saw your little exchange, you working for Davik now?"

"It's no fun, he just has me hassling thugs. I long for a real fight!" He grinned while still holding his rifle. "The Sith offer a slight challenge, I've taken a few of them on in the Undercity!" He chuckled.

"You got a plan to get off this rock yet?" Nick smirked while twiddling his thumbs.

"Not yet, but I've definitely got something brewing." Canderous pointed to his forehead and laughed.

"You'll think of something, and when you do we'll be blastin' out of here before the Sith even know what's going on!" He bellowed in laughter while Canderous joined him.

"You got it!" Canderous grabbed Nick's hand and pulled him in for another tight shake. "Davik's got me some work, shouldn't keep him waiting." She let go of Nick and turned. "Stay safe out there, fight ferociously!"

"Take as many as you can with you!" Nick shouted back as Canderous walked into the Cantina. Once he was out of sight, Carth and Tali came out of their hiding spot and greeted Nick.

"What was all that about?" Carth asked as he approached Nick.

"Just an old friend, we should keep moving. Checkpoint is just around the corner."

The three of them cautiously made their way to the checkpoint, this time the soldier halted them and armed the nearby defence turrets. After he saw their clearance, he practically begged them not to report him for insubordination, Tali scared him a bit to make sure he didn't give them anymore trouble. The three stepped into the elevator, they were mostly silent as the rode it down. Once the door opened, Tali adjusted herself to the darkness before being disgusted by what she saw. Makeshift buildings, blood everywhere and humans wearing rags and burned out armour.

"Keelah..." She whispered to herself, seeing a little bit of the Migrant Fleet here, but on a smaller and more concentrated scale. At least her people had enough to live, these people were barely living at all.

Quickly two of the dwellers approached them. "You there! Up-worlder. You owe us 5 credits!"

"Why?" Carth asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"This is our elevator, you must pay to get through." The slightly smaller one said while smirking.

Tali spotted a third dweller approach them, she silently cursed as she wondered what this one wanted. "Alright you two, get out of here!" The third one shouted, dispersing the other two, who ran off in different directions. "I'm sorry, we're not all like that down here. We just have such horrible lives."

"Why are you down here miss...?" Carth asked, his puzzled look being replaced by one of sorrow.

"You- you're from the surface! I've never seen the sky or the sun, it sounds so... so wonderful." Shaleena exclaimed with joy while turning around obviously embarrassed. "But, you obviously don't want to hear about my life." She turned and tried walking off.

"Hey, wait!" Nick stopped her, she turned back a around with a smile on her face. "We could use some information."

"Well, I'm not the one you should be asking. Our tribe leader Gendar is around here somewhere." She looked around trying to spot the man she had been talking about. "I'll take you to him." She gestured for them to follow her.

As the three of them followed the outcast, Tali looked around to see them huddling together in almost unbearable conditions. It reminded her of the early days after the loss of Rannoch, scuttling around in destroyed ships trying to escape the Geth. She shivered, the more she thought about the past the worse she felt. Tali lagged behind them a little as she was looking around, until a very old man stood in her way.

"You!" the old man shouted, startling Tali who put her hand on her chest, pointing to herself. "You are the profit! The one who will guide us! You will take us to the promised land!" The man shouted a little louder, alerting the other three.

"Promised land?" Tali asked a, feeling pity for the man. Even in desperate times people still clung onto hope for something better.

"Tali, come on." Carth said as he moved a little closer, taking her hand and dragging her back to the group.

"That was Rukil." Shaleena said, anticipating the question "He is the oldest man in the village, his tales about the promised land seem so silly now, but I loved to listen when was a child." She continued leading the other three to the tribe leader.

A few seconds later they approached a man who seemed calmer than the rest, Shaleena gestured towards him and quickly wandered off while Nick started to talk with Gendar. "Hello." Nick said in a quite warm voice.

"Hello there up-worlder, we have seen many of your kind coming into the village lately. You are among the first to interact with us." Gendar said, slightly fearful of the group. "Why have you come into this dark and sunless place? Are you in need of me or my village? I will help you any way I can."

"You said that many had passed through, what do you mean?" Carth spoke up, stopping Nick before he could speak who shot back a scowl.

"Many have passed through, men in metal armour with high grade weapons. Sometimes they would come back through with prisoners. I cannot say where they are taken after that." Gendar replied gesturing to a nearby gate which closed off the village to the outside.

Before anyone could interrupt him, Nick asked the man a question. "We're looking for a Twi'lek and a Wookiee, have you seen them recently?"

"Yes, she is among the few to have spoken to us. She was here not too long ago, asking about any nearby entrances into the sewers. I can mark locations for you." Gendar replied, tugging on every piece of knowledge he could think of.

"Anything else we should know?" Carth asked keeping back a little bit and folding his arms.

"The rakghouls are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, anyone who is bitten will become one. Currently there is no cure." Gendar said, turning to a nearby cage with a few outcasts locked behind.

"What do you do with the ones who are infected?" Tali asked with concern in her voice.

"For the safety of the village, we keep them quarantined until they turn." Gendar replied with a sense of genuine remorse on his voice. Tali was shocked, she understood that they were a threat but it still surprised her. She grew angry and bitter at the Taris authorities, how could they allow this.

"Thanks for the information." Nick said with a warm smile on his face.

"Your welcome up-worlder, if you need anything else I will be here." As he said this, Nick and the others turned towards the gate.

They were just about to leave when Tali turned back to him to ask a question. "What can you tell me about the... uh. Old man?" Tali asked.

"Old man...? You mean Rukil?" Gendar replied, turning around and thinking for a second about who she could be talking about.

"Yes, he said I was his profit." Tali stated, thinking back to what he had said to her. "He mentioned something about a 'promised land'."

"Rukil is old and senile, his ideas about this 'promised land' are too outlandish. If you would like to speak with him, his hut is over there." Gendar pointed to a nearby hovel where Rukil was sitting staring into a camp fire.

"Thank you..." She turned around to walk over to Rukil before muttering "Keelah Se'lai.." under her breath.

"We don't really have time for this." Nick said, a frown on his face. "We need to find Mission, this place is dangerous."

"I'll just be moment, you two go wait for me." Tali replied, her mind already made up. She started to walk over to Rukil as the other two started talking with what seemed to be a trader. She sat down on the other side of the camp fire and looked up at him, his head was bowed he was obviously in deep thought. "Hello." Tali said, the mechanical hum of her mask lingering for a second afterwards.

Rukil did not respond, he looked up at her. Stared deep into her mask, searching for answers. "You..." He muttered. "You are not of this galaxy... You are something different." The old man said, a grave look in his eyes.

Tali shifted uncomfortably before giving him an answer "Yes."

"You... you can help me – help us." Rukil said, sitting up from the fire and looking a lot more intimidating. "The promised land, our future. It is a long tale of despair and hate. Do you wish for me to continue?"

Tali simply offered a slow nod, Rukil sat back and began to tell her the plight of his people. He began from the beginning, the exile of his ancestors to the undercity and how they managed to survive beyond that. His tale had Tali mildly interested, she was able to draw mental comparisons to the life of the quarians for the last few centuries, but she didn't interrupt him. Rukil spoke of the promised land as a quarian would have when regarding the home world, she was sceptical but understood that hope is what bound the outcasts together and it is also what bound her people together. He finished off his tale with details of his father and grandfather who also dedicated their lives to the promised land.

"My... apprentice is among the last to fall. Her notes, as do my father's and my grandfather's, remain lost in the undercity." Rukil's voice grew grave again and he furrowed his brow while looking at Tali. "Unless I find their journals, the hope of the promised land will die with me."

Tali could see where this was going, she was doubtful that the promised land actually existed and it would likely be a hassle to recover the journals, but she couldn't crush Rukil's or any of outcast's already severely diminished hope. "I'll do it. I will find these journals for you." A smile crept onto Rukil's face as she said this, he obviously was going to ask this of her and she simply anticipated it.

"Thank you... return the journals to me. Be quick and do not let the rakghouls get the advantage." Tali stood up and joined the others as Rukil said this, Nick and Carth asked what happened and why they took so long, Tali waived them off as they continued on their way.

As the approached the gate they heard screaming as a woman was practically begging a man to open the gate. "He's still out there! You need to open the gate now!" Tali could see the man through the slits on the gate, he was being chased by a few of the 'rakghoul' creatures.

"I can't open it. If I do, it could endanger the entire village!" The man said to the crying woman, "The outside is dangerous, we warned him but he didn't listen."

"NO!" The woman shouted, on her knees sobbing very loudly, Tali was watching it play out in front of her, she had lost someone she loved, she wasn't about to let it happen to someone else.

Tali strutted to the gate keeper "Stand aside!" she shouted into his face, the gate keeper objected but he quickly opened it up.

"What are you doing?!" Nick asked with a slink of anger in his voice, he pulled out his rifle.

"I'm not about to let her lose him!" She pulled out her shotgun before muttering "I...never mind."

After slight hesitation, Nick agreed to provide her with cover as she helped the man get back to the village. As soon as the gate creaked open, Tali sprinted out into the field, she approached the man who began thanking her and muttering to himself. He was visibly injured but he asserted that he was not bitten. He put his hand around her neck as she guided him back to the village, Nick and Carth both guarding the entrance shouting at her to hurry up. Tali led the man back, all the while she could hear the throaty and disgusting snarls of the rakghouls behind her, the man began to panic and lost his footing and fell to the floor. The rakghouls were too close, she had to deal with them before she could pick the man up. She turned around, brandishing her shotgun, only to see one of the grotesque monsters a few feet in front of her. She fired her shotgun without aiming, the bullets tore the monster to pieces and it dropped to the floor dead, a second one wasn't far behind. Tali was blind sided and knocked to the ground, her shotgun thrown out of her reach. The rakghoul hit her armour but her suit was not punctured, she had little options left and Carth and Nick were shooting at other rakghouls.

She quickly remembered that she had her trusty attack drone keyed to her, she threw her hand out and an orange orb appeared a few feet behind the rakghoul. It stood motionless until Tali said the magic words: "Chatika! Protect me!" The drone instantly snapped into action and attacked the monster on top of Tali, striking it with a bolt of electricity. The monster began to convulse rapidly, allowing Tali to slither away with the man. As she ran, Chatika attacked other rakghouls to make sure Tali and the man made it back to the village "Good girl Chatika! Good girl.".

They darted through the gate just before it snapped shut, Tali bent down and gripped her legs, her loud breaths making it through her mask.

She looked over to the see the man and the woman in tight embrace, in that one moment, time seemed to fade away. She imagined herself and Shepard just before the final charge on the beam, they had been knocked to the ground after Harbinger fired at a nearby tank and Shepard ran straight back towards her and gripped her tightly.

"Normandy! I need an emergency evac!" The commander shouted at Joker in a desperate tone.

"I'll do my best commander!" Joker shouted back in equal levels of desperation. Tali felt secure, the desperate body language Shepard showed instantly changed to one of care and loving. She thought Shepard was coming with her, in that instant she wanted to just leave it all behind and run. A nearby explosion snapped her back to reality and she was bundled onto the loading ramp of the Normandy...

"Tali! Are you alright?" Carth said, breaking Tali's thoughts and bringing her straight back into the real world. She stood up and held herself in a hunched position, clearly exhausted. "You froze up, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's just get on with the mission." Tali replied coldly, her calm demeanour had all but dissipated, Carth frowned but kept on moving.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" The woman ran up to Tali and hugged her tightly, slightly taken aback Tali hugged her back lightly before pushing her back a little. "I'm sorry, I just thought I wouldn't see him again! And then you show up and just save him... you don't even know us!" The woman smiled at Tali with tears running down her face.

"Um... don't mention it." Tali replied slightly hesitantly, still a little cold from earlier.

"I can't give you anything except my thanks!" The woman clutched Tali's hand tightly "I must go now. Thank you" She added before turning around and aiding the man towards a nearby hut.

"That was brave, even these outcasts will find hope from this." Carth said, standing behind her.

"I had to do it, I couldn't let that happen again." Tali stopped herself, revealing too much already. This man saved her life, but she wasn't willing to tell him everything just yet.

"Brave? No." Nick said, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "Stupid? Yes." He was frowning heavily, "You owe these people nothing, why help them?"

"That's rich coming from you." Carth spoke up, "You didn't owe us anything, why help us?"

"You actually helped me out, I need to repay you for that. Otherwise it goes against my code." Nick looked embarrassed, he clearly said too much.

"Code?" Tali asked, intrigued "What code?"

"Nothing." He waved his hand dismissing the idea. "We have more urgent matters at hand, let's just go find Mission." He walked over to the gate, Tali and Carth followed. Carth looked suspicious, he clearly didn't yet trust Nick fully.

The rakghouls had moved on, the gate keeper let the three of them out of the camp and they continued away from the camp. They were on full alert and flinched at every noise, distant screams and blaster fire sounded much closer than it actually was. Carth spotted a metallic figure up ahead, he quickly recognised it as a Sith soldier. He addressed the rest of the group. "Sith patrol up ahead!" He dived behind a nearby pillar.

"Wait, we may be able to get by." Nick said as he moved towards the patrol, Carth seemed dubious but followed him anyway. As they got closer to the patrol, they relaxed a bit and they met face to face shortly after.

"Citizen, what are you doing down here? This area is off limits!" The Sith Elite said rather angrily, Nick kept his cool and pulled out his datapad.

"Don't worry soldier, we've got clearance." He lifted the datapad, the Elite glanced at it for a second before lowering his weapon.

"Oh, sorry sir. You must be reinforcements." The soldier replied, turning to his squad and ordering them to stay alert. "This place is a deathtrap, I went in here with two squads of 6 men. Only three left." He gestured to his remaining men, one of them had a large dent in his armour where a rakghoul had charged him.

"Why are you down here? I thought we'd ceased investigations into the undercity." Nick asked, doing a good job sounding like he was in charge.

"No. They keep sending details down to investigate." The soldier replied, a sense of remorse in his voice. "Honestly, considering the amount of men we have lost, no republic soldier - or Jedi for that matter should have been able to survive down here." The soldier replied, Carth silently scoffed at the last sentence, he was a soldier too, but he knew the Jedi wouldn't give in so easily.

"What happened to your other squad?" Nick asked, a little bit more intrigued.

"We lost contact with them a while back, their last known position was to the east. They said they had found something strange just before they were cut off." The soldier said, quickly updating Nick's map with their last known location. "We would have went after them ourselves, but we're not in any shape to keep fighting." He gestured to his men who both seemed exhausted even though nobody could tell with their faces obscured.

"Don't worry soldier, we'll check it out for you. Just head back to base." Nick said, the Elite walked past him. The other two soldiers nodded and followed behind their leader.

"See, that went well." Nick turned around to his companions, Carth was sceptical but did admit that it could have gone worse.

"Let's keep moving." Tali said, slightly calmer than before but, not that much.

As the three of them continued to move, they had managed to evade the rakghouls for the time being. They spotted somebody coming towards them, as they got closer Tali noticed how she looked very similar to an Asari, for a brief moment she thought it may have been before she saw it as one of those Twi'lek aliens.

"Help me!" She shouted, "They've got Big Z!" She said again, closer to them now. "Nobody will help me, not even the Beks will help me... Nick!" She said as she got closer to the group, Nick stepped forward and held her shoulders.

"Whoa, slow down Mission. What's happened?" Nick asked sympathetically.

"It... It's Big Z, he's been captured by those filthy Gamorrean slavers!" Mission shouted hysterically.

"Hang on Mission." Nick said, "We need to get into the Black Vulkar base, you're the only person who can do that."

"I can, but I won't until we get Big Z!" Mission replied with a shout, pushing Nick away.

"Mission! You owe the Beks that much!" Nick said in an attempt to quell the angry teenager.

"Owe you?! You won't even accept me after everything I've done for you!" Mission replied angrily, her face almost glowing with anger.

"Fine Mission! We'll help you get Zaalbaar!" Nick finally relented "But. You will help us get into the sewers."

Mission stopped and turned to Nick before thinking for a second. "Fine. But after this, I better get some recognition from the Beks."

"Good, it's settled then." Nick replied, slightly defeated. "Where can we find Zaalbaar then?"

"The slavers like to make the sewers their base, must remind them of home." Mission turned around, thinking about where the nearest entrance might be. "If we don't hurry they will move him to a proper base and we'll never get him out!"

"It's okay Mission, we'll get him out of there." Nick said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Mission then started to lead the three east to the nearest sewer entrance.

"So who are these two?" Mission turned her head slightly to get a good look at the two newcomers.

"I'm Carth, this is Tali." Carth said, pointing at Tali.

"Hello there." Tali cheerfully said.

"Hmm... I've never seen anyone like you before. What's with the suit?" Mission asked, Tali hesitated she hadn't thought of what to say should someone ask.

"I was... born with a rare medical condition that weakens my immune system. I need to wear this suit at all times to prevent myself from getting sick." Tali stuttered slightly, but she thought her story was believable enough.

Mission saw right through it, but she decided not to pursue it any more. "Cool, that must be hard though, living in a suit your whole life?" If Nick was travelling with them, then she had no doubts he trusted them.

"It is difficult, but you get used to it and it becomes part of your life." Tali replied, somewhat proudly to Mission. She was starting to like her a little bit.

The four of them continued on through the undercity, however a dark figure was watching through a pair of binoculars. He wore a black jumpsuit with an energy resistant weave built in, his head was covered in a black helmet with a rebreather and his build was slightly thin but toned.

"I see them, they're heading into the sewers." The figure said into a small communicator he was holding in his hand. All that came back was a garbled response, the man understood though. "Roger that, I'll ambush them in there." The figure moved out from his spot and pushed a button on his utility belt, a stealth field engulfed him, making him completely invisible as he followed behind the group from afar.