The next morning, Carth woke up before Mag and went into the kitchen to make them breakfast. About ten minutes later, he heard Mag get up and walk into the fresher. Carth was not looking forward to dealing with her hangover.

When he had finished cooking, he set the two plates of food on the table. For good measure, he put a couple of pain killers next to Mag's glass. Just as he was sitting down, she came out the bathroom with her wet, black hair, dripping down her back.

She spotted the food and said, "So you can cook and fly a ship, I might have to keep you around, flyboy."

Carth chuckled. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Ugh. Like hell. Hopefully this and the pain killers will fix me up before we head to the Lower City. By the way, I didn't do anything too embarrassing last night, did I? The details are kinda fuzzy after the drinking contest was over."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nah, you were fine."

Mag let out a sigh of relief and glanced down at her plate. As she did so, she caught sight of a large bruise on Carth's hand. "Where'd you get that?"

Quickly sliding his hand underneath of the table and out of view, he replied. "It's nothing, honestly?"

She stood up, walked over to the other side of the table, and grabbed his arm. "Let me see."

With reluctance, Carth lifted up his hand and she grasped it. "It's not a big deal, honestly. Doesn't even really hurt. Yun was bothering you last night. I made sure he stopped, end of story."

"Did he do this to you too?" Mag asked, gently touching the bruise on his jaw.

Carth nodded, but didn't say anything. It felt strange to have her touching his face. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it." she said softly.

Swallowing, he said, "Anytime, Mag."

The two ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. The awkward, yet tender moment had created some tension and neither one of them wanted to discuss it or figure out how to respond to it. After Mag finished drinking her third glass of water, she pushed her chair back from the table. "Where are the uniforms? We should head out soon."

Carth nodded in agreement and told her that the duffel bag was on the floor in their bedroom. He followed her in there and helped her assemble the two sets of uniforms. Taking his to the living room to change, Carth felt disgusted as he put on each piece of clothing. He believed in the Republic to the deepest core of his being and he couldn't help but to feel as if he was betraying the cause. It took a lot of self-convincing to make him feel okay. After all, he was only doing this to help find Bastila.

It took a while longer for Mag to get ready. So, Carth sat down on the couch and waited for her. Twenty minutes later, she emerged from their bedroom. "Well, flyboy, you actually did a decent job of finding me a uniform that fit. The legs are a little long, but the boots cover that up."

He glanced over and had to do a double take. She had pulled her hair back into a severe bun that sat on the nape of her neck. Mag had also put on a significant amount of makeup including a dark red lipstick. The transformation was shocking. Gone was Mag Tetra, here was a Sith officer.

It took a moment for Carth to adjust to Mag's new look. Finally, he stood up. "Let's head out. Who knows how long it will take for us to explore the Lower City."

Mag nodded and grabbed her back. She followed Carth out the front door and into the elevator. When the doors slid shut, he turned to her. "To be honest, Mag, you look kind of scary. I wouldn't want to mess with you."

She started laughing. "I don't know if I should thank you or not."

When they walked out of the building and onto the street, the pair immediately noticed a difference in the way people treated them. Under normal circumstances, most of the citizens of the Upper City blatantly ignored them. But now, they either nodded in respect of made a conscious effort to give them a wide berth.

This unnerved Mag and she was nervous about trying to get past the elevator guard. She and Carth had seen people trying to get past him and he was a stickler for protocol. Right before they approached the guard, Mag turned to Carth. "You mind taking the lead on this one? I'm not as good at sounding like a soldier."

He nodded and lead the way. The guard took one look at their uniforms and said, "Another patrol? Things are getting bad down there."

"That's right. We are being sent down as back-up."

The guard shook his head but didn't say anything. He pressed the button to unlock the elevator doors. They slid open and the pair moved to step into the elevator. As Mag followed Carth, she could feel the guard's gaze piercing her from behind. The moment the door slid shut, she turned to Carth. "I think he was suspicious. What if he calls someone down in the Lower City and they find us down there?"

Carth couldn't help but to chuckle to himself. "I don't think he was suspicious. I, uh, I think he was checking you out. Your pants, they're, uh, a little, uh…" He started to blush.

Mag raised an eyebrow. "My pants are a little what, flyboy?"

His face turned even more red. "Never mind."

She took a few steps closer to him and smirked. "Tell me."

"They're a little, uh, form-fitting."

Now it was Mag's turn to flush. "You could have told me before we left the apartment."

Carth smirked this time. "It didn't bother me."

For the rest of the elevator ride there was an awkward silence between Carth and Mag. So, both of them were relieved when the elevator finally slowed to a halt. A metallic voice announced that they had reached the Lower City. They exited the elevator and quickly slipped into a dark corner. Mag began pulling her uniform jacket off. "We need to get out of these uniforms as quickly as possible. They are like giant targets." she said.

Carth agreed and began to take off his coat as well. Once they had stowed the uniforms in their bags, they began exploring the Lower City. It was markedly different from the city above them. It was dingy, dark, and had a horrid smell lingering in the air. It was a combination of sweat, blood, and rot. Mag wrinkled her nose in disgust. The sooner they found out what happened to Bastila, the better.

They were walking along when suddenly Mag stopped and placed her hand on the vibroblade at her hip. Carth turned to her. "What is it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, but something just doesn't feel right. Get your blasters ready."

He wasn't sure what she meant but listened to her anyway. They walked slowly with caution until a group of aliens stopped them in their path. "Oh, upworlders. Looks like it's your lucky day. We're going to show you how things work down here in the Lower City. We are the Black Vulkars and we are in charge here." one of them sneered.

Before she could react, the Vulkar nearest to her jabbed her in the side with some sort of glowing stick. She yelped in pain and hit the ground. Swearing, Mag shakily stood up and started fighting with her vibroblade. Carth covered her with his blasters while she spun and parried her way through the Vulkars.

They were outnumbered and Carth wasn't sure they could just fight their way out of the mess. Just a few moments later, more people showed up. He panicked, but to his surprise, they began helping him and Mag fight off the Black Vulkars.

After several more minutes of fighting, all of the Vulkars were either dead or had scampered off into the shadows. When Mag turned to thank their allies, she was surprised to find that they had all disappeared as well. "That's weird, they are all gone. You alright, flyboy?"

Carth nodded. "Just a few scrapes and scratches, nothing too serious. What about you? That stun baton got you pretty good."

She pressed her hand to her side. "Yeah, it sure did. It hurts where he hit me, but otherwise I'm alright. Well, except the fact where my leg is kind of numb."

He raised an eyebrow and was about to voice his concern, but she beat him to it. "Really, I'm fine. It should be okay once the effects of the electricity wear off. If it makes you feel better, I'll stick a kolto patch where that Vulkar stuck me."

"It would make me feel better. Can't have you collapsing on me while we are exploring."

Mag nodded. "Give me a second and then we can head over to the cantina. I could use some lunch and I'll bet we can find out more information about the gang war we just found ourselves in the middle of."

After Mag patched herself, they walked around the Lower City looking for the cantina. This time, they did not put their weapons away. It was too dangerous to be caught unawares. As it turned out, the cantina was close to where their skirmish had taken place. They walked in, found a booth, and ordered food from a tired looking waitress. Carth was about to ask Mag how her side was doing when the cantina became eerily quiet.

A short man wearing a blue jacket and a strange, white hat, had entered the room. Two aliens approached him and began speaking. Carth couldn't understand the language, but Mag was able to translate. Essentially, they were mocking the man's stature. All he had to say in return was, "One."

Mag swore under her breath in the same language that the aliens were speaking. "Carth, I'm pretty sure that that man is Calo Nord. You know, the infamous bounty hunter. If the rumors are true, then those two aliens don't have long to live."

Instinctively, Carth placed his hand on his blaster. He noticed that Mag did the same with her vibroblade. Neither wanted a brawl to break out but wanted to be prepared just in case.

The aliens were still harassing Calo. Again, his reply was only one word. "Two."

Mag rolled her eyes. "Geez, these two are stupider than they look."

Clearly, they wanted to get a rise out of Calo. When it didn't seem to succeed, they tried even harder. Finally, he uttered one last word. "Three."

Suddenly, a small bomb appeared on the floor. Mag barely had time to blink before it went off. Billowing smoke filled the room. Then, she heard two quick shots. When the smoke finally cleared, Calo Nord was gone and the two aliens were laying dead on the floor.

The locals were clearly used open displays of violence because the silence only lasted for a moment after the dead aliens were seen. Some of the braver patrons even stepped forwards to loot the bodies. Carth let out a low whistle. "Rough neighborhood."

Carth nodded in agreement and was about to reply when there was another disturbance.

"I told you to leave me alone, so back off and give me some space, bug eyes!" a teenage blue Twi'lek yelled at two Rodians.

Mag spun around so that she could see who was arguing. While doing so, she casually placed her back-up blaster on the table. She was pleased to see that Carth had had the same idea.

"Little girl should not be in the bar, especially a pretty girl. You know what you would fetch on the market…." The larger of the two Rodians said while taking a menacing step forward.

Mag stood up, but the Twi'lek girl just laughed. "Zaalbar, could I get a little help over here?"

Both Mag and Carth were astonished to see a large, auburn-furred Wookie replying. "But, Mission, the waitress just brought out my food."

The girl rolled her eyes. "It'll just take a few seconds. Besides, you could use the exercise."

There was a loud groan, or possibly a growl, Mag wasn't entirely sure, and the Wookie came lumbering over. The Rodians took a few steps back and stuttered. "We don't want any trouble with the Wookie. Our problem is with you, little girl."

The Wookie let a deep growl escape from his throat and the two Rodians scurried off to get lost in the cantina crowd. The Twi'lek noticed that Mag and Carth had placed their weapons on the table and came strolling over. "Thanks for that. I don't recognize you two and I know pretty much everyone in the Lower City. So I guess that makes Big Z and I are your official welcoming committee! My name is Mission Vao." she said while sitting herself down at the booth next to Mag.

Mag took an instant liking to the girl. Her spunk was infectious and refreshing. "You showed a lot of guts back there, Mission. Staring down those two, nasty Rodians."

Mission waved the compliment aside. "Bah, those guys were just dumb Vulkars. Besides, with Zaalbar at my side, they leave me alone most of the time."

At this point, Carth jumped into the conversation. "How exactly did you two hook up? I mean, it's not every day you find a Wookie outside of Kashyyyk."

The girl shrugged. "Just kind of happened. Between his size and menacing claws and my street smarts and sass, we make a good pair. It isn't easy living down here."

"Seems like a good arrangement." Mag said.

Mission nodded. "It is. Now, can I tell you anything about the Lower City? I would offer to give you guys a tour, but with the gang war, things outside are a little dicey."

"Yeah, we noticed that. As soon as we got off the elevator from the Lower City, we were attacked." Carth informed her.

Mission shook her head. "That was probably the Black Vulkars. Ever since Brejak took over, they have become out of control."

Although at first, Carth had had his reservations, he decided that he and Mag had been quite lucky to encounter Mission. She seemed to know all the details about the Lower City. "So, Mission, have you heard about any escape pods landing down here?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you guys are some of those treasure hunters, huh? Looking to score some loot from the pods?"

Mag shook her head, worried that Carth had offended her somehow. "No, it's not like that at all! I promise. It's just that one of my dear friends was on that ship and I was just hoping that she was one of the lucky few to have made it off alive."

The girl's eyes searched Carth and Mag's faces with the well-honed skills of a street kid. When she only saw sincere looks, Mission visibly relaxed and smiled at them. "Two of the pods went down in the Undercity. Other than that, I don't know much. Scavengers, Sith, and some gang members all went down there to investigate and loot. I'll bet if you head over to the Hidden Bek base, someone would be able to give you more information."

Mag and Carth were thrilled by this lead. It was the closest they had come to finding Bastila since crash landing on the planet. She pulled her datapad from her satchel and asked Mission to input the address of the Bek base into it. "Here you go. Make sure you talk to Gadon Thek. He is the leader of the gang and he knows me and Big Z. If you mention our names, he will give you any information he has. If anyone down here can help you find your friend, it's him!"

They thanked Mission for her help, left some credits on the table for their meals, and headed towards the exit. After awkwardly stepping over the dead bodies that Calo Nord had left behind, they left the cantina and headed towards the address that Mission had given them.

Since they had to walk for a while to get to the Hidden Bek base, Mag figured it would be a good time to talk more with Carth. Despite the fact that they had been spending a lot of time together, he remained an enigma to her. "Hey flyboy, is this a good time to ask you some more questions?"

Surprisingly, he raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. "I'm all ears, beautiful."

Despite herself, Mag felt herself blush. So, she decided to throw it back at him. "I like the sound of that."

Carth wasn't expecting that retort; his goal had been to distract her. "Which part? The fact that I'm all ears? Or the beautiful comment?"

She decided to call him out on his game. "Carth, are you flirting with me?"

"Nah, not really. Just a habit. Is there something else you would rather I called you?" Carth said, even though a part of him was lying about not flirting with her.

"How about gorgeous? I like the sound of that better." she said, wondering if he would take the bait."

Apparently, she didn't remember him calling her that while she was drunk after the party. Initially, it had been a slip of his tongue, but for some reason, Carth felt that it fit her personality. "Alright, but only if you call me something in return."

Mag rolled her eyes. "How about handsome thug?"

He started laughing. "Well, I'm partial to the first part. But only when it is a part of 'the most handsome pilot in the galaxy'."

She couldn't help but to roll her eyes again. "You are such a lobotomized Gammorrean, Carth."

Now Carth started cackling. "Ouch. I think you hurt my man feelings with that one. I'll bet beautiful doesn't sound so bad in comparison now, does it?"

Mag chuckled. "You're such a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Now, about my questions…."

Carth pouted his lower lip out. "Damn, I thought I had distracted you with my glowing compliments."

She looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes. "Oh trust me, flyboy. You're going to have to do a lot more than that to distract me."

He blinked and stared at her for just a second too long. "Ummm… can I ask you something first?"

Mag was surprised but told him that he could ask his questions. "What happened, from your perspective, the night that the ship was attacked?"

Now her surprise turned to suspicion. "To be honest, I don't remember much. I was asleep when it all started. I was thrown out of my bunk and I hit my head on the night stand. After that, I basically just followed Trask, trying to get to the escape pods. I wasn't really in a position to know what was going on."

He nodded, but Mag could tell that he wasn't satisfied with her answer. "What's wrong, flyboy?"

He turned to her, his eyes hard with mistrust. "I don't know. It just seems rather convenient that someone that was just added to the party at the last docking was one of the few people to survive the disaster."

Mag couldn't believe her ears. "You have got to be kidding me. Are you suggesting that I had something to do with the crash?"

"Well, I've just been going through things in my head. Over and over again. And some of the details just don't add up."

She gave him a hard look. "Clearly Bastila didn't have time to use her powers. We were ambushed. Despite how powerful she is, that can't make up for the fact that the Sith came out of nowhere. If you had just listened to me in the first place, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

Carth returned her angry stare. "Speaking of that, you never explained how you knew about that old smuggler's route."

Controlling her urge to yell at him, Mag said. "Because I was a smuggler! I got bored of that life and its dangers and figured I could do some good with my language skills. I can also slice computers and pick locks. Maybe it wasn't the most legal of professions, but it was a hell of a lot better than any of my other options!"

"It just seems a little strange to me that a smuggler was able to survive when seasoned soldiers did not."

Mag could feel her temper threatening to boil over and it took all of her self-control to keep it down. With quiet anger, she said, "Are you rather I didn't"

Carth ran a hand through his hair. "Of course not. You have more than proven yourself since the crash. We wouldn't have been able to make it this far without you. But still, that doesn't mean I won't stop watching. Bastila's party specifically requested your present. They commanded a lot of things when they came aboard, and it just seems convenient that you survived."

Mag threw her hands up in the air. "Shouldn't we be trying to work together?"

"I am working with you. I would be a fool not to. But I would also be a fool not to expect the unexpected."

She rolled her eyes. "You do know that we are on the same side, don't you?"

Carth nodded. "Look, it has nothing to do with you personally. I don't trust anyone, and I have my reasons. And no, I'm not going to discuss it. Now, can we move onto something more important?"

That was the last straw. Mag stopped dead in her tracks and looked Carth straight in the eye. "I consider this important. I can't work with you if you are this paranoid. We need to talk about this."

Carth was shocked by her outburst. "Alright, alright! If you weren't the most damned persistent woman I have ever met! We will talk about it. But later. Right now, we need to find the Hidden Bek base."

Mag wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer, but figured it was the best that she would be able to get at the moment. "Fine, but this conversation isn't over."

Although Carth wanted to give her a snide retort, he held his tongue and simply nodded. Deep down, he knew she meant well and only wanted to get to know him, but he had lived too long with his paranoia to just push it aside. The pair walked the rest of the way in total silence. Mag, because she was royally ticked off at the way he had practically accused her of engineering the attack on the Endar Spire. Carth, because he was angry with himself for insulting her. She was the only ally he had on this damn rock and he had messed up everything. He hoped that she would accept his apology, when he finally figured out what to say.

When they finally made it to the Hidden Bek base, Mag and Carth had another obstacle to face. There was only one guard outside the gate, but she was fierce. "For the last time, I'm telling you, we aren't Vulkar spies! Or Sith!" Mag said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

The guard gave them the once over with her eyes and finally nodded her head. "Alright, you can go in. It's not like you would get very far attacking the base. Not with Zaedra guarding Gadon the way she does."

She turned to a keypad in the wall and typed in a long code. The gate lifted, and hidden doors swung open. Without waiting for Carth, Mag started walking in. He followed her silently, it was clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk. They walked down a long hallway until they finally reached a large room. There was a dozen or so Beks wandering around and they were of several different species.

Mag walked over to the back of the room where she saw a large desk. Standing behind it was a tall man with dark skin. His eyes were a milky silver, yet Mag had a feeling that he knew exactly what was going on around him. She confidently approached his desk but was stopped by a multi-colored Twi"lek woman. "Who are you and what is your business?" she demanded.

The man stood up and held out his hand. "Calm down, Zaedra. We aren't going to attack people in our own base. We aren't the Vulkars!"

"But they could be working for the Sith!'

Mag stepped forward. "I promise, we aren't Sith. If we were, do you really think our commanders would send just two of us in here to take over an entire gang base? We got your name and address from a girl named Mission Vao. She said you might be able to provide us with some assistance."

Gadon stepped forward and offered his hand to both Mag and Carth. "You'll have to forgive Zaedra. We have all been on edge since the incident with Brejek."

"That's alright, Gadon. We have been the victims of a gang attack and we don't blame you."

The man nodded. "So, since Mission vouched for you, I would be happy to help in any way that I can. As long as it is within reason of course."

Mag and Carth took turns explaining their situation. Gadon told that them he had heard about the escape pod crash, but that the pods had been looted already. "Were there any survivors?"

"One, a young woman. I have only heard rumors about her since the Black Vulkars were the ones that got a hold of her. My spies have told me that she will be offered up as a part of their prize for the big swoop bike race."

Carth shot Mag a look, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she leaned forward and put her hands on the desk. "Gadon, I need in on this race. This woman, well, she is a good friend of mine."

Although he was blind, Gadon could hear the urgency in Mag's voice. "I can help you. But first, I need your help in return. A few days ago, some Black Vulkars broke into the base and stole our prototype engine. Get it back for us and I will sponsor your entry in the race. There is an entrance to their base in the Undercity. Mission Vao should be able to help you."

For the first time since their entrance, Zaedra spoke. "Mission, Gadon? You've got to be kidding me. She is hardly more than a child!"

Mag looked the Twi'lek directly in the eye. "The kid has spunk and know-how. I don't doubt for one second that she will be able to help us."

Then, she turned to Gadon. "You've got a deal."

Gadon smiled. "I had a feeling you would say that. Now, in order to get to the Undercity, you have to take an elevator that is guarded by the Sith."

Carth opened up his bag and showed Gadon the Sith uniforms. "We have these. They helped us get here."

The gang leader shook his head. "The guard down here is a lot harder to trick. Luckily for you, one of my men was able to pick these off a drunk soldier the other night."

Gadon held up a stack of papers. Mag took them and carefully scrutinized them. They seemed to be legitimate. "I'd be willing to trade those to you for the uniforms."

Carth took the bag off of his shoulder and looked at Mag. She nodded, and he passed the bag to Gadon. He asked Zaedra to take it and she passed it to one of the Beks. Gadon turned to Mag and Carth. "If you would like, there is room for you to stay here tonight. There is a bunk or two in one of the dorms and plenty of food in the dining hall."

They thanked him and headed in the direction of the dining hall. After grabbing heaping plates of food, they settled at the table in the back of the room. In between bites, Carth said, "It was a lucky break to find them."

Mag nodded in agreement. "It is. And it is great to have food that isn't cantina crap. Though, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Carth and Mag ate the rest of their meal quickly and wandered off to find a bunk that was free. They were both exhausted and all they wanted was to get a good night's sleep. By the time they found a space, there was only one bunk left in the room. Being the gentleman, Carth said, "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

Shaking her head, Mag said, "We both need a decent night's sleep, Carth. The Undercity is dangerous place and we both need to be at the top of our game. We are both adults here. I think we can share a bunk for one night without it killing us."

Although they had only been working together for a few days, Carth knew that this was not a time to argue with Mag. Especially after their brawl earlier. He nodded and began unlacing his boots. Pleased that he had decided to go along with her plan, Mag told him to get into the bunk first since she was smaller. After they had both settled in, Carth laid there, staring at the bunk above him. It was strange for him to be sharing a bed; he had gotten used to be alone all of the time. He thought this would make him have a hard time falling asleep, but the fatigue of the last few days had finally caught up to him. Within moments, Carth was asleep.