Undercity sewers

"It can be pretty nasty down there."

- Mission Vao

The Undercity sewers referred to a sewer complex on Taris not far from the Undercity. While originally meant to serve as a sewage disposal system for the surrounding high-rise buildings, criminal elements from the lower levels of the planet started seeping in due to a lack of supervision by the city authorities. By 3,956 BBY, the complex housed both a group of Gamorrean slavers and dozens of rakghouls, both factions preying on passers-by.

When the amnesiac Sith Revan entered the sewers searching for the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, he was forced to cut his way through droves of the area's inhabitants, which led to a drastic decrease in the population of the sewers. It is likely that the sewer system was damaged or destroyed in Darth Malak's subsequent orbital bombing of the planet.

Description
The Undercity sewers served as the meeting point of several sewage drains from the nearby area and were connected to other, similar sewage stations through a series of long metal pipes. Sewage was transported into one of four large reservoirs. The Undercity sewer complex had at least one maintenance level which was largely unsupervised by 3,956 BBY. Several pipes were apparently missing or in gross disrepair, as raw sewage flowed directly through the maintenance level at several points which resulted in the area being engulfed by a strong smell reminiscent of the planet Gamorr. Most of the complex was made up of a permacrete-like material, bolted fast with metal bolts, as well as large, rusted metal sheets. The walls of the maintenance level were decorated with simple, golden lines and circles in several places, and were illuminated by a host of dim lamps. The sewage system appeared to be largely automatic and was driven by enormous, perpetually rotating gears. Maintenance and waste removal was performed by droids, although these were largely absent or malfunctioning by 3,956 BBY.

History


The sewer system was established on Taris some time before 4,056 BBY to manage the sewage from the buildings surrounding the Undercity. Over the years, maintenance of the system apparently ceased completely, leaving it rusted and malfunctioning. With the lack of upkeep, criminal elements managed to disable the manual locks of the maintenance levels of the facility, and it soon served as a hideout for Gamorrean slavers, who used many small sections of the vacant complex as holding cells for slaves. The Black Vulkars gang based in the Lower City, directly above the sewers, were forced to put up an energy shield to keep elements from the Undercity wandering through the sewers from entering their headquarters, which led to a concentration of criminal activity in the complex. Over time, the inhabitants of the Undercity came to believe in a "Promised Land," a mythical location on Taris said to be completely self-sufficient. The Promised Land was rumored to somehow be connected with the sewers, though this theory remained unproven as all who investigated it ended up dead. At one point, a rancor managed to find its way into one of the maintenance levels of the sewers, settling in the north-east and surviving by eating passers-by.

In 3,956 BBY, Sith patrols were sent into the sewers to search for crash-landed Republic soldiers from the destroyed ship, the Endar Spire. Several of them were killed by the sewer residents. Shortly thereafter, former Dark Lord of the Sith Revan entered the Undercity in order to rescue the Jedi Bastila Shan from the Black Vulkars. He employed local resident Mission Vao as his guide through the sewers to the Black Vulkar headquarters. In return, Revan agreed to save her Wookiee companion Zaalbar from the Gamorrean slavers in the sewers. Upon descending into the sewers, Revan and his posse killed several rakghouls and Gamorreans before eventually rescuing the Wookiee. In return for freeing Zaalbar, Mission deactivated the shield hindering access to the Black Vulkars' lair from the sewers. Revan then encountered the rancor in the north-east of the complex, but was able to kill it and enter the Black Vulkars' base.

After growing impatient with the increasingly-fruitless search for the Jedi Shan, Darth Malak, leader of the Sith Empire, ordered his fleet to conduct an orbital bombardment of Taris. It was likely that the sewers were, at least in part, destroyed in the following turbolaser barrage-inspired mayhem.

Inhabitants
"Those Gamorreans like to hang out in the sewers. The stink reminds them of home, I guess."

- Mission Vao

The sewers were home to a number of criminal gangs and violent creatures. Notably, the Black Vulkars gang, led by Brejik, controlled both entrances to the upper sewers area. Additionally, a group of Gamorrean slavers operated out of the lower sewers, capturing passers-by and selling them to other criminal groups on the planet. People wandering the lower levels of Taris were unlikely to be missed, which substantially lowered the risk of the underworld denizens being discovered by Tarisian security forces.

Some inhabitants of the Undercity believed in the "Promised Land," a mythical location on Taris said to be completely self-sufficient. This belief, along with the desire to escape the poverty of the lower levels, caused at least three villagers to venture out in search of the fabled colony: Rukil's grandfather, father, and apprentice&mdash;Malya. All three found clues regarding the whereabouts of the Promised Land that pointed them towards the Undercity sewers, but they all perished within the complex.

Hoping to capitalize on Bastila Shan's battle meditation ability, Darth Malak ordered his Sith forces to attack the Endar Spire, a Republic warship carrying the Jedi Knight. As the battle turned against them, several Republic soldiers, Shan included, boarded escape pods and dropped to Taris's surface. After learning that most of the pods had crash-landed near the Undercity sewers, Sith forces soon crowded the area. Several patrols were sent into the complex to ensure that neither the Jedi nor any Republic soldiers escaped. At least a few of the participating Sith soldiers were killed, most likely by rakghouls or the rancor.

Victims of the rakghoul disease who found themselves mutated into savage rakghouls were shut out from the Undercity by a large metal wall, forcing them to look for food and shelter in the sewer complex near the village. They soon inhabited large parts of the sewers, becoming a threat to its other inhabitants. Another threat to the general populace was a large rancor that somehow managed to find its way into the sewers around 3,956 BBY, likely looking to feed off the large amount of Gamorreans and rakghouls in the area. It operated out of a large hall just outside the sewer entrance to the Black Vulkars gang's base, severely restricting access both to and from the hideout.

Upper sewers
Although it was separated from the rest of the sewers by the aforementioned energy shield, the "upper sewers" contained several rakghouls and slavers. The area was effectively sealed off; the only two entrances being the corridor from the lower sewers and the Elevator up to the Lower City of the Black Vulkar's base itself. The area did contain one ladder leading either out of the sewers or to a higher maintenance level, but it was blocked off.

Lower sewers
The maintenance level referred to as the "lower sewers" was potentially the most overrun by criminals and animals, more so the the Upper sewers. Two ladders granted easy access to the level from the area directly surrounding the Undercity and one that was no longer accessible. Most functional doors in the area had manual locks which were easily picked. The level contained large groups of rakghouls, and served as the main base of the Gamorrean slavers. The Black Vulkars gang, fearing for their safety, set up a ray shield to keep the two factions from entering the "upper sewers" outside their base. The area was heavily mined, though it is unclear who perpetrated this.

Behind the scenes
The Undercity sewers only appear in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The player is required to visit the area in order to advance in the main storyline of the game. The area was designed, in part, by BioWare level artist Mike Trottier.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic