Author's Note: This is Part Two of Chapter Seven.
The first air shaft had failed to provide a way out. General Vaklu had managed to make it to the top only to find that the vent grating had been smashed in by a chunk of duracrete debris which remained lodged in the opening like a cork in a bottle. Climbing down the shaft had taken him twice as long as climbing up in order to avoid slipping and taking the long tumble back down to the escape corridor.
When he had finally made it down the shaft the General decided to make camp and rest for a while. He had been engaged in several hours of constant and strenuous action which he was not in the slightest bit used to, after all, it had been years since he had been forced to do PT. Too many years behind a desk or observing maneuvers or the occasional Unification Day Parade had softened away what little level of fitness Vaklu had possessed in his younger days. Silently Vaklu vowed to himself that if he made it out of this, he would maintain some semblance of a proper physique less this kind of thing was to come up again. In any case soldiers seemed to respect a General more if he wasn't fat.
Vaklu settled down and found himself drifting quickly into sleep. Before he knew it he was jostled awake again. There was a slight crick in his neck and his back was slightly stiff from lying on the hard ground of the tunnel, but other than that, Vaklu felt far better rested. Looking at his chrono however he was very disappointed to realize that he had slept for almost an entire day. Who knew what shape Iziz was in now? Had the Republic finally arrived to beat back the enemy? Was he considered dead by his men? If he suddenly showed up again would they find out that he had disserted?
The General pushed himself up and stretched himself out calming his worried mind as he worked out the kinks in his muscles. He would find a way to the surface and then he would find a way to spin the situation to where he still looked like the hero of the day…maybe even the gallant leader who managed to beat back death itself! The first step was to find a way out of this cursed tunnel however.
Vaklu moved two more kilometers down the tunnel to the next air shaft. A climb up this one revealed more debris. Back down and two kilometers more Vaklu made an attempt at the third. He reached the top of this one to find a pair of boots standing above the grated vent cover. A quick look at the boots told him they were not Onderonian, and the rapid sound of Mandalorian told him not only that they were not the boots of a Republic soldier, but that at the very least the Mandalorians had managed to maintain a presence in Iziz. Vaklu climbed down very quietly hoping he wouldn't be discovered.
Vaklu walked defeated and tired to the final air shaft. He wasn't too confidant in this one since all the rest had proved failures but also because this one would be the closest to the palace and so the most likely to have Mandalorians in the vicinity. None-the-less he climbed and as he reached the surface he noticed that the light coming down into the air shaft from the vent wasn't as bright as it had been with the others. Vaklu checked his chrono and verified that it should still in fact be quite bright outside. He had been sure that all of these vents were located in open spaces, but the light that filtered down into the shaft was shaded and dim as if the opening was inside a structure, but not quite the level of darkness that Vaklu had come to associate with debris blocking the entrance.
Vaklu finished his climb and sure enough there was light, though dim, coming through the grating. He listened closely for any hint of soldiers nearby and when he was sure that the coast was clear, Vaklu started trying to manipulate the grate. Hope sunk away from the General however when he realized that while the vent wasn't entirely blocked by debris as the first two had been, there was still debris and it just happened to be resting in the worst possible place for him to be able to open this grate from his side.
Defeated, Vaklu began to quietly descend again. His only chance now was to try and climb back up the passage to the command center and hope that exit hadn't been blocked. If, however, the Mandalorians had in fact been completely successful in their attack and the palace, and Vaklu had very little doubt of that, he would quickly be captured and possibly killed. A slow death trapped by his own cowardice, or a quick one at the hands of the enemy. Neither option appealed much to him.
Once Vaklu had made his way down halfway he began to hear noises in the distance. At first he feared that the Mandalorians had found his escape route and were coming to search for survivors down here, until he realized that the noises were coming from above not below. Concentrating on them now, Vaklu realized that the sound was that of grating being removed. Somehow the vent cover was being removed from the air shaft! Cautiously Vaklu began to climb again. Soon the sound stopped and there was silence again. Vaklu paused for a moment and when he heard nothing further he continued.
He had only gone a meter when a small chunk of duracrete fell from above, hitting him on the head. Vaklu stifled a yelp despite the sharp spike of pain that now coursed through his skull. There was no telling who might hear him if he yelled out. Vaklu hung there in the shaft again waiting and listening. He still didn't hear anything and after a while decided to risk it.
Climbing the rest of the way General Vaklu saw that the grating had in fact been removed. The question was, by whom? Carefully he pushed his head through the opening. It was very dim up here and Vaklu realized that the reason was due to the fact that he was surrounded by large chunks of debris, what must have at one point been walls the had been blown down. He couldn't see more than a couple meters ahead because of the lack of light, but he couldn't see anyone around so he continued his climb out. It was tough going and he was grunting a lot with the strain.
Halfway out of the vent the General heard the unmistakable sound of a blaster rifle being cocked and powered up. Too late Vaklu realized that someone had been here all along, possibly laying in wait for him to emerge and seal his doom. Panicked Vaklu dropped out of the vent and cowered to the ground.
"Please, please don't kill me…I-I'll give you anything you want! Just let me live! I can be of use!" the pleading words flowed like water from his lips without him even thinking about them. Vaklu was stopped short however when he heard something he hadn't expected to hear. The sound of the blaster rifle being powered down followed by a confused but confident voice.
"General Vaklu?" the voice said.
Vaklu looked up and now could see the man who had spoken in the dim light. He couldn't make out features but it was clear that the man was standing at attention and saluting.
Lieutenant Holden Yiim wouldn't have been surprised by almost anything, except what he saw before him now. A three legged maalraas could have come crawling out of the air shaft and Holden wouldn't have even batted an eyelash, but he never would have guessed he would be looking right at the highest ranking officer of the ORM. He had been quick on the draw and had trained his blaster rifle on the figure automatically. A beat later and he would have fired, but he held back at the initial site of the Onderonian Military uniform on the figure. A second glance and he realized that it was a command officer's uniform, and with a squinting gaze through the dimly lit space he had made out the features that were recognized anywhere on Onderon. The voice had confirmed it.
Lieutenant Yiim had ignored, with much difficulty, the whining pleas of his superior officer. He rationalized it away as a byproduct of stress. Who knows what the General had to do to get away from the Mandalorian attack. No matter the reason for it however, General Vaklu was still a commanding officer and Holden Yiim was duty bound.
Holden powered down his rifle and snapped to attention saluting the General. When Vaklu didn't look up at first Holden had spoken.
"General Vaklu?" he had said, still a little unsure himself that the cowering man in front of him really was the leader of the ORM. At that General Vaklu had looked up, a dumbfounded and confused look had crossed his features. Unsure of what else to do Holden followed protocol.
"First Lieutenant Yiim reporting sir!" Holden announced pitching his voice lower than normal just in case there were any Mandalorian soldiers nearby.
General Vaklu recovered his composure quickly like a man well practiced in hiding his innermost thoughts. Straightening himself to full height he acquired the regal bearing of one familiar with a life of mingling amongst a varied assortment of people, a social chameleon intent on looking good to whatever eyes were upon him. Clearing his throat the General stepped a couple feet towards the young Lieutenant.
"Ah…Lieutenant Yiim. I am most pleased to see that at least some of our troops have managed to survive this insult to the people of Onderon." Putting a hand on Holden's shoulder General Vaklu took on an air of camaraderie and familiarity, as if he were speaking with a fellow high ranking official at a gala rather than a subordinate surrounded by the rubble of his conquered city. The General's tone took on a sheepish quality, kind of the self-deprecating aspect of a man who was poking fun at himself with a fellow Pazaak player after losing a thousand credits after pulling a six card on a nineteen hand against a twenty.
"You'll have to forgive that little…moment I had back there," Vaklu continued smiling to Lieutenant Yiim, as charming as a space pirate buttering up a mark while aiming a holdout blaster from beneath the table. "You can't imagine what I've been forced to endure this last day and a half."
"Understood…sir," A sick feeling crawled into Holden's gut. He couldn't believe this man was in charge of the entire military might of the Onderonian government. No wonder the Mandalorians had been able to walk in like they owned the planet. And yet…the Chain of Command was still the life blood of a good military, and until someone told him otherwise, First Lieutenant Holden Yiim was duty bound to follow orders and respect his superiors.
"Well then Lieutenant, it looks like it is up to you and I to turn this mess around," and with that Vaklu's hand dropped away from Yiim's shoulder and the General switched back to all business mode. The straight commanding stance and the crisp tone of a General addressing a soldier slammed into place like blast doors. Instinctively Holden stood at full attention. "Very well Lieutenant, I want a full briefing on our current situation, any other soldiers who are still at liberty, and any intel you've managed to acquire on the enemy, their positions, their strengths, and their weaknesses." Back in familiar and comforting territory Holden Yiim began to lay out for the General what he knew of the bleak situation before them.