Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Taris

You awaken from a troubled sleep, in which you had a dream or vision of a female Jedi armed with a yellow lightsaber fighting and defeating a dark Jedi. Upon seeing you're awake, Carth speaks to you.

Dialog

Carth: Good to see you up, instead of thrashing around in your sleep. You must have been having one hell of a nightmare. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, do you remember?
1. I had a strange dream. Like a vision or something.	2. Right. I'm Name, by the way. How did we get here?	3. Carth, the one on the communicator. I remember.	4. Where am I? How did I get here?
Carth: I'm not surprised. You took a serious blow to the head. You're probably having all kinds of strange dreams. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Carth: Well, you've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now, so I imagine you're pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We're safe… at least for the moment. We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene we were long gone.

1. The Sith?	2. I guess I owe you my life. Thanks.	3. So are we just going to wait here for the Republic to rescue us?
	Carth: You don't have to thank me. I've never abandoned anyone on a mission, and I'm not about to start now. Besides, I'm going to need your help.
Carth: Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've declared martial law and they've imposed a planet-wide quarantine. But I've been in worse spots. I saw on your service records that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That's pretty rare in a raw recruit, but it should come in handy while we're stranded on a foreign world. There's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves.

1. Why is it so important to find Bastila?	2. Bastila? She's the one from the Endar Spire, right?
Carth: That smack to your head did more damage than I thought. Bastila's a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak's Sith master. Bastila is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed down here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try and find her.

The dialog becomes less linear at this point, allowing you to loop back to previous options. If this is not your first time, the following response will advance it most quickly:

5. Any idea where we should start looking for Bastila?

Otherwise:

4. Forget it! I'm not risking my life to try and save her!
Carth: I don't think you understand the situation. We can't hide on this planet forever. Eventually the Sith will find us… and, trust me, you don't want that. Getting off this world isn't going to be easy… we'll probably need Bastila's help. Not to mention that without her, the whole Republic war effort is doomed.
3. How do you even know Bastila's still alive?
Carth: I don't. But Bastila's young, and she has a powerful command of the Force. We survived the crash landing, so I'm willing to bet she may have, too. Besides, what's the alternative? I mean, if she's dead, then no one can stop Malak and his Sith from wiping out the Republic. And I'd rather operate on the assumption that she survived.

2. If Bastila's a Jedi, she can probably look after herself.	1. So what do you suggest we do next?
Carth: Bastila's going to need our help. Many of Darth Malak's followers can use the dark side of the Force, and the Sith have already killed more than their share of Jedi in this war. I doubt anyone's specifically looking for us anymore: we're not that important. But if we're careful we can move about the planet without attracting notice; a luxury Bastila won't have. She's going to have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how vital she is to the war effort.
1. How can one person, even a Jedi, be so important?	2. If Bastila's a Jedi, she can probably look after herself.
Carth: Bastila is no ordinary Jedi. She has a rare gift the Jedi call Battle Meditation. Bastila's power can influence entire armies.

1. How can one person, even a Jedi, be so important?	1. Battle Meditation? What's that?	2. If Bastila's so great how come the Sith managed to blow up the Endar Spire?
Carth: Through the Force Bastila can inspire her allies with confidence and make her enemies lose their will to fight. Often, that's all it takes to tip the balance in a battle. Of course, there are limits to what she can do. From what I understand of her ability, it requires great concentration and focus to maintain her Battle Meditation. The attack on the Endar Spire happened so fast she probably never even had a chance to use her power. I'm guessing she barely got out alive, and now she's trapped here just as we are.

Carth: The whole planet is under quarantine. No ships can land or take-off. So if Bastila's going to escape Taris, she's going to need our help. And we'll probably need hers.

This first loop in the dialog closes, and another begins:

3. I think I'll take my chances on my own.
Carth: Don't be a fool! You're not getting off this world without help, and you can't hide here forever. Do you have any idea what will happen when the Sith find you?
2. What's in this for me if I help you out?
Carth: You mean besides a chance to get off this planet before the Sith find you? Do you…do you have any idea what the Sith do to prisoners of war?

These two responses open a third loop:

2. If you want my help you better make it worth my while.
Carth: Oh, I get it. Never mind that the Sith will destroy the Republic and ravage the galaxy. You're only in this for the credits. Don't worry. The Republic pays its mercenaries well. You help me find Bastila and they'll make it more than worth your while, I'm sure. Plus, it might be your only chance to get off Taris.

All now start to converge:

5. Any idea where we should start looking for Bastila?	1. Okay, you made your point. I'll help you out.	3. If it means getting off this planet, I guess I can help you find Bastila.
	Carth: Good. We need to work together if we're going to survive.
Carth: While you were out I did some scouting around. There are reports of a couple escape pods crashing down into the Undercity. That's probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We don't want to go in there unprepared. It won't do Bastila any good if we go and get ourselves killed.

The following responses will conclude this opening dialog:

2. The sooner we start looking for Bastila the sooner we find her. Let's go.	3. Come on. I want to scout this planet out a bit.
Carth: Good idea. We can use this abandoned apartment as a base, and we can probably get some equipment and supplies here in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile. I've heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity! But I figure if we don't do anything stupid we should be okay. I mean, after all, they're… they're looking for Bastila, not a couple of grunts like us. Alright, soldier, let's move out.

The Search for Bastila You are stranded on Taris, a planet under Sith control. Now you and Carth Onasi must find Bastila – the only person capable of stopping the Sith from conquering the entire galaxy. You should probably begin by investigating reports of escape pods that crashed into the Undercity.

Otherwise, there's one final dialog loop allowing you to ask some more questions, and open Taris: Planetary Information:

Dialog

1. I want to ask you some questions.	4. I want to ask you something else.
Carth: I'll tell you whatever I can, though I… I don't know how much help it'll be.
3. I'd like to know some more about you, Carth.	2. What can you tell me about this planet we're on?
Carth: I understand why you want to know more about me; I…I kinda get the feeling we'll be spending a lot of time together over the next while. But this isn't really the best time for long introductions; we should stay focused on the task at hand. There'll be time for that later.

1. What do you know about Malak and the Sith?
Carth: Everything I know about Malak is pretty much common knowledge. He escaped the trap that killed Darth Revan, his Sith Master. With Revan's death, Malak became the new Dark Lord. It's obvious that Malak's a ruthless tyrant who'll crush anyone who stands in his way… just like Revan was. Experience has shown that the Sith won't stop until the Republic lies in ruins. Malak and his Sith don't respect anything except raw, brutal power. It's hard to imagine how someone who used to be a Jedi could become such a monster!
1. A Jedi? What do you mean?
Carth: Malak and Revan were once both part of the Jedi Order, but they were young and headstrong. And against the wishes of the Council they went to battle the Mandalorians on the Outer Rim. Something happened out there. Something corrupted them and drew them over to the dark side. Or maybe there was something rotten inside them all along. I don't know. They formed an army of ex-Republic soldiers and Jedi who had fallen to the dark side, with Revan at their head… until Revan was killed by Bastila's Jedi strike team. But even that didn't slow the Sith down. Malak just stepped in and assumed Revan's role. He took control of the Sith armada and resumed the bloody conquest of the Outer Worlds.
2. Sounds like Malak and the Sith have the right idea.
Carth: How can you say that? The Sith are butchers! Soldiers, civilians – I mean, they don't care who they kill! Even…even children! Right now the Republic is the only thing keeping Malak's brutal fist from crushing the entire galaxy… and it won't be long until even the Republic falls to the Sith fleet.
3. Don't worry. We'll find a way to stop the Sith.
Carth: I hope you're right. But the Republic hasn't been able to stop them so far, even with the support of the Jedi Council. I think Bastila might be the galaxy's last hope.

Hideout

Aside from Carth, the apartment contains a locker in the north corner.

Locker Computer Spike (2) Medpac (3)

There's also a workbench against the northwest wall. This can first be used to upgrade the Prototype Vibroblade from the Sith heavy trooper remains on the Starboard Section of the Endar Spire with the Vibration Cell from the Jedi remains on its Command Module.

The exit to the apartment complex is opposite the workbench, in the southeast wall.

To Apartment Complex: [Every time you leave the apartment you must select which party members you wish to take.] [Since this is the first time you are leaving, you will take Carth.]

Before leaving you can speak to Carth again, as well as all others who join your party as you explore Taris.

Taris: Planetary Information

Carth: Taris was once a magnificent planet-wide metropolis of towering skyscrapers. But that was a long time ago. The Upper City, where the rich citizens live, is…is still pretty safe. If it wasn't for the Sith occupation and the planet-wide quarantine it might not even be that bad a place to live. But farther down things have degenerated. The…the Lower City is nothing but a slum overrun by swoop-bike gangs waging a never-ending war for control. And the Undercity is, well, even worse. The lowest level of Taris is a wasteland overrun by rakghouls; mindless, diseased mutants that attack on sight. I've already entered all this info into your data-pad journal.
Taris: Planetary Information Taris is a sharply divided world. The rich live in the Upper City, while the Lower City is run by swoop gangs. The lowest levels of Taris are overrun by terrible monsters called rakghouls. To make matters worse, the Sith have seized control and imposed a planet-wide quarantine.

If you speak to Carth or later Bastila anywhere on Taris, you can ask for more information, but as off-worlders they're not particularly informative:

2. Do you know anything about this place?
Carth: Taris? The planet's all one big city… but its golden years are long past, and things have gotten worse since the Sith occupied it. From what I hear, the wealthy live on the tops of all the tall towers. And if you're poor, you live down in the shadows… and it gets worse the lower you go. That's all I can think of, at any rate.	Bastila: The surface of Taris is covered with an urban skyscrape. Its glittering spires belie the decay that lies in its lower reaches, however. Beyond that, there is little else I can tell you.

Canderous has been here longer, but clearly hasn't made it his home:

2. Do you know anything about this world?
Canderous: grunt Yeah, I know about Taris. I wasted the last two years in this rat-hole working for Davik. I suppose an accurate way to describe this place would be 'cesspool' or 'dump'. You got the rich people on top, the poor people being crushed underneath, and people like me trying to make a living doing the crushing. It's not exactly what you'd call spiritually fulfilling work, but it gets the bills paid. And on Taris, money can go a long way to making things easier. You have anything else you want to ask?

Zaalbar has similar feelings, but he has even less to say on the subject:

2. Do you know anything about the planet we're on?
Zaalbar: I know that it isn't my homeworld. That is all I care about. There is nothing here to interest me.

However, Mission grew up on Taris, and has plenty to say:

Dialog

Mission: Taris is a pretty good place to grow up, all things considered. Just stick to the area you belong in and stay out of Davik's business and you'll be fine.
1. Tell me about the Upper City.
Mission: The Upper City's got some nice shops and all, but it's boring! The only time I go up there is if I need free healing from Zelka at his medical facility.
2. Tell me about the Lower City.
Mission: What can I say? The Lower City was a great place to hang out until the Vulkars started that gang war. Now you can't even walk the streets without getting shot at!
3. Tell me about the Undercity.
Mission: It can be pretty nasty down there: you've got rakghouls crawling around looking for their next meal, and the Gammorrean slavers like to set up their bases in the sewers. And then there's the Outcast village – a collection of people banished to the Undercity for their crimes. I mostly avoid the village, though; it's pretty depressing seeing how they live.
4. Tell me about Davik.
Mission: I tend to keep my nose out of an intergalactic crime lord's business, you know? I can't tell you much that isn't common knowledge. Extortion, slavery, smuggling: Davik's got a piece of all the action here on Taris. Even the swoop gangs know better than to get in his way.
5. Thanks for the info.
Mission: Hey, no problem. I'm here to help, right?