Vow of Silver Dawn Chapter 54

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PDF Link: https://mega.nz/file/nF0GEQiR#kM8Gv7-QcyyIIksD4lg8bTa2fhP0gwwPOZHQNzp0PuQ
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Chapter 54: Break Out
By 国王陛下, Translated by 74translations

	A few minutes later, the battle began.

	The Hongxing Squad's luck really wasn't the greatest, as they came face to face with ten of the Qinglong's elite fighter craft, all built by the Security Bureau's internal heavy industry group, finely machined, and possessed with outstanding performance.

	Long and slender hulls with thick, broad wings, and coloured pitch-black, the fighters moved with astonishing speed and possessed firepower to match. Most importantly however was that these were flown by the Qinglong's best.

	The fighters had not planned to meet the Hongxing in direct combat, and instead immediately scattered to avoid facing their ship head-on——After all, the Hongxing was bigger than their ships, and possessed similarly stronger shields and greater firepower.

	As soon as the Qinglong fighters began to disperse, a pair of lights burst forth from the rear of the Hongxing, throwing the ship forwards into the Qinglong formation, the ship's six LS-Q3 laser cannons raking the adjacent ships.

	The Hongxing's sudden surge forwards was enough to throw the fighter group into confusion.

	The maximum speed of the Hongxing was clearly much greater than that of the fighters, and given that the ship had already broken through their perimeter, further interceptions would be difficult.

	But with eyes on their radars, another ship's signal was spotted.

	"They've got a freighter behind them!"

	"That's the one Longtou mentioned, stop that ship!"

	Immediately, the pirates changed targets, and prepared to shift their fire upon the freighter.

	At the same moment, the Hongxing, having already broken away from the fighters, abruptly altered course, its tail engine angled outwards, bringing it about in a sharp turn, and letting it charge towards the fighters once more.

	This charge wasn't as effective, as the pirates had already adapted to the Hongxing's speed, and as soon as they had seen the engines spark, they had already scattered to avoid the coming laser fire.

	Following its second charge though, the Hongxing remained passive.

	A specialized vessel, the Hongxing did not excel at combat. To be trapped amidst the enemy ranks would be tantamount to suicide.

	Once the pirates had realized the Hongxing was escorting the freighter, they split their group, with some moving to intercept, and the others remaining to wait for the \Hongxing to act, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

	For the Hongxing, the situation grew ever more awkward. If it were alone, then defending itself from ten fighters it could do, but add to it a freighter it had to escort, and it made everything much more difficult.

	And truth be told, Ning Tao could hardly be expected to bravely fend off nearly a dozen fighters in a lumbering old freighter, especially not with his recently-shattered fingers still recovering.

	Given the Hongxing's awkward position, being momentarily arrested by pirates only served to exacerbate things. For the third time, the Hongxing’s twin engines flared to life, and those fighters that had moved to intercept the freighter again repositioned to help surround the Hongxing.

	This time, the pirates knew their ship's speed, and made sure their encirclement permitted no avenue for escape, as well as obstructed its line of sight with the freighter. Positions were assumed, and firing solutions were calculated.

	Laser cannons, concussion missiles, and proton torpedos, all aimed squarely at the narrow ship, quickly turned that point into a magnificent blaze

	But it was no cause for celebration on the pirates' part, as the Hongxing's engines spewed flames to drive the ship away in an evasive manoeuver at a highly unusual angle.

	Most of the firepower failed to meet its mark as the sleek and speedy Hongxing zipped away, its shield only faintly flickering. Soon, its six laser cannons open fired again, driving the gathered fighters away.

	Forced to disperse, the black fighters re-engaged the Hongxing much more cautiously.

For its battered, run-down appearance, the ship wasn't nearly as pathetic as anticipated.

Though they didn't let it bother them for long.

Nine fighters quickly repositioned, scattering and regrouping again and again, covering one another as they surrounded the Hongxing. Whenever it attempted to break through, they made it a point to direct attention to the freighter, ensuring that the Hongxing remained manageable.

	Though the Hongxing remained unscathed by virtue of its exceptional engines, it was forced to adopt a largely passive role in the battle.

	The closer the fighters encircled, the more ferocious the fighting.

——

"All of a sudden I feel as though this whole rescue operation was rather poorly thought out. To try and extricate 27 people from this impenetrable net was foolhardy at best!"

	Aboard the Hongxing, Uncle Xu was both loudly complaining as well as tightly fastening himself to his seat by way of safety belt.

	Given all that was going on, Uncle Xu was intermittently cut off as his face physically made contact with the hull.

	"Captain, when we get back, let's have Zhuang refit the ship. Even if it's designed for this kind of thing, it should still be comfortable! I get thrown around any more and I'm gonna die!"

	Despite his genuine plea, no-one paid him any mind.

	Rather, everyone aboard's attention was directed towards the plasma and missiles that were narrowly missing the ship, and worrying shield ripples of what did make contact.

	The Qinglong were really laying it on.

	An Ping sat in the co-pilot's chair, drumming his fingers, before turning to command, "Lü Nan, get up here, I'll help fly the ship, you get on weapons!"

	Without hesitation, Lü Nan transferred control over to An Ping, and switched over to fire control.

	As soon as Lü Nan took over the Hongxing's fire control, its six LS-Q3 cannons produced a shower of fire to intercept the approaching missiles.

	There was now less pressure on the Hongxing to execute impossible manoeuvers, but with nine fighters still present, more missiles and lasers were soon to follow.
	Captain, we can't keep on like this," Uncle Xu suggested while rubbing ointment on his forehead, "We've still got time to cut the freighter loose!"

	Shawn's ear twitched on hearing that.

	Even though he had been the strongest advocate for rescue, and had taken it upon himself to head the whole thing, he did have to admit it wasn't looking great at the moment, and considering abandoning the operation wasn't exactly an unfair proposition... If An Ping thought they should give it up, Shawn wouldn't have much grounds to oppose him.

	If they wanted to flee, they could do so quite easily, but if they wanted to stick to the plan, then not so much.

	The Squad had already put a lot into this operation; no-one could say they hadn't tried hard enough, nor could anyone fault them for wanting to save their own skin, after all, the rescue was a means to greatest benefit, not any self-serving morale crusade.

	Right when Shawn had all but given up, he heard An Ping produce a Lü Nan-type scoff, "Ha, give up now? We're old hats at this, we can't embarrass ourselves in front of the newbie like this. And Uncle Xu, stop that, these are pirates, not any real military force!"

	To which Uncle Xu just replied, "Huh?"

	"Are you actually concussed?" An Ping asked, shaking his head, "Of all the... Lü Nan, help him out will you?"

	"You can get to the point, for a start," Lü Nan said.

	An Ping turned and called out to Zhuang, "Zhuang! Prepare Breakout Mode!"

	Zhuang responded by banging on the hull with her tool, sending an echoing clang back as response.

	An Ping nodded, and pressed down on one of the control panel's rather nondescript-looking buttons before letting the control column return to its default position.

	Instantaneously, the Hongxing abruptly ceased to experience its turbulence.

Translation Notes
None! Again!

肖恩 - xiāo'ēn - Shawn, Jedi Apprentice
莫斯提马 - mòsītímǎ - Mastema, Jedi Master
李钰 - lǐ yù - Li Yu, Commander of the Silver Knights
白 - bái - Bai, Li Yu’s droid
安平 - ānpíng - An Ping, Captain of the Hongxing Squad
吕楠 - lǚnán - Lü Nan, Hongxing Squad Sniper
许伯 - xǔbó - Uncle Xu, Hongxing Squad Medic
庄原瑛 - zhuāngyuányīng - Zhuang Yuanying, Hongxing Squad Engineer
宁涛 - níngtāo - Ning Tao, ex-Qiankun Corp Military big shot
龙头 - lóngtóu - Longtou, ostensibly a title more than a name; the Dragon’s Head of the Qinglong

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