Vow of Silver Dawn Chapter 19

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PDF LINK: https://mega.nz/file/uMMg3L6B#FYw4gZ0BfEWdhrqDqAaiY9Zvsbqz2pbeAPW4tASXPLA
As always, I recommend that. It looks a lot better
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Chapter 19: The doorway to a new world lies wide open
By 国王陛下, Translated by 74translations
Notes at the end

	The pilot of the smuggling vessel was more cautious, or perhaps cowardly, than Shawn had anticipated.

	It was clear that the gunnery crew aboard the ship were prepared to fire upon the battle, but as soon as it had started, the ship opted not to engage but to immediately flee.

	Shawn's plan had originally been to pose as a defeated pirate and sneak aboard, but this abrupt change caught him completely unprepared.

	After only a short while, they were flanked by countless pirates, and the roar of fighters overhead seemed to have increased several fold.

	Were it not for the fact that Shawn was relying upon the forest and the night to obscure his position, his position would've likely already been bathed in blaster fire.

	The pirates were displaying a great deal more unity than Shawn had expected of them. So after thinking it over a moment, Shawn decided to take a risk, and activated his communicator, tuned to the pirates' frequency.

	After only a moment, the sound of the pirates' chatter filled his ear

	"Hahaha! What's the matter, laser eyes, rabid dog get a bite out of you?"

	"Oh piss offa, yeah I got bitten, how's about you get bitten too?"

	"Isn't that funny, you lot, so cowardly and afraid, totally convinced that there must be some heavily armed guard in the manor before we even got here, too scared to even approach, running off to go fool around in the woods or whatever, how do you get any more pathetic than that?"

	"That's right, laser eyes, weren't we just hearing about how what you lot captured from that greenhouse was way more valuable than what we had got from the manor? Truly our brothers are an enviable bunch! How is it so many of you are dead, then? Get into a spat over the women?"

"A spat!? We were infiltrated! Someone snuck into our group and started blasting! Dammit! Oh what's the point, our deal's still on, isn't it!?"

	"Of course. An oath sworn by vermin is still an oath. Come on,, this next operation's for everyone, after all, we are kin are we not? An attack on one is an attack on us all. So, brothers and sisters, must we not avenge our younger siblings?"

	"Get outta here!"

Hearing this, Shawn gently let out a sigh. He had miscalculated.

This was something he should've already accounted for: This rabble had put together dozens of fighters and smuggling ships to launch a surprise attack on the manor, of course they would've had the ability to coordinate with each other.

And during this operation, the pirates had been carelessly destroying or pillaging whatever they came across, but there wasn't a hint of infighting. Even if what their takings were obviously unequal, still there seemed to be no internal conflict.

So when a Jedi Apprentice exposed himself with the intent to save lives, rather than simply make a hasty retreat with their ill-gotten gains, the other pirates instead redeployed themselves, with the apparent attempt to find the one who had slain their comrades.

	Shawn hid himself at the top of a tree, using the treeline and fires that burned all around to conceal his figure, and looked into the distance..

	A cursory investigation gave the number of soldiers that had built up to be over 200, and they seemed to be a higher calibre than the ones from before. Even if there didn't seem to be a great deal of camaraderie, the difference there was obvious.

	Shawn could even see a few of them sporting the badge of the security force's elite, the cream of the crop of the manor's defense, and here reduced to little more than a battle trophy!

	The only relief was that Li Qiong and the others seemed to have kept their wits about them, and fled in the chaos——No doubt they were headed for some other secret escape. Shawn could only hope that they were smart enough to flee back to the manor, since being under the protection of a Jedi Master was about the safest one could be.

	After finishing looking around, Shawn closed his eyes and took a breath, and descended from the treetop in a single leap. On his way down, the Jedi Apprentice was already discarding some of his less developed ideas. When he finally met the ground, his vision was as sharp as a bird-of-prey.

	Shawn one again walked through the flaming forest, and picked up a blaster that one of the pirates had dropped. After weighing it up for a few moments, Shawn familiarize himself with the weapon, and then carefully took aim at a distant spot, and fired.

	A few hundred metres away, one of the guffawing, bald-headed pirates, fell to the ground.

	His comrades, for a moment, were stunned, but quickly scattered, before showering the place Shawn was in blaster bolts.

	Shawn, rather than stay put and attempt to fight from where he was, instead repositioned to a spot ten metres away, brought down another pirate with another shot, before turning tail and fleeing.

	Not three seconds after he began his retreat did light come pouring down from the heavens, as a trio of fighters firing from three different directions vapourized his previous location.

	Shawn paid it no mind, as he was occupied with moving through the forest as quickly as he could, his body accelerated to unimaginable speeds through the Force, deftly dodging the concentrated blaster fire.

	The Jedi Apprentice pushed a lifetime's worth of training and study to its limit, utilising his understanding of topography and terrain, his ability to gauge the trajectory of shots, his control of his physical form... all pushed far beyond the typical limits of humanity. The pirates did their best to box Shawn in and surround him, but at the moment all they could do was pursue him from behind, with the occasional counterattack from Shawn sending a few of their number reeling, which is to say that ultimately, the pirates' efforts were a tad fruitless.

	There was no one who was still sharing jeers or taunts on the pirates' communications channel, as the general atmosphere changed from one of mockery to confusion and distress.

	"What the hell's up with this guy?"

	"Yellow Hand team you sons-of-a-bantha what the hell's going on over there? Weren't you dealing with him? The kid almost just broke through us!"

	"You're the damned bantha mongrels! He was here a moment ago but one of our squads just went down, if he's over on your side it ain't our fault if he's some inhumanly fast speed demon!"


	"Inhumanly...!? I don't give a damn even if he is a demon, I want his head!"

	Given the state of his opponent's disorder, Shawn was presented with a myriad of opportunities, and on the whole could be counted as an incredible victory.

	After all, neither the automated defense system the manor's staff were so proud of nor their highly-paid security forces were able to incite such panic.

	It was cause for Shawn to feel not a little bit of pride.

	Due to his numerous pursuers however, the space in which he could move was growing smaller and smaller. His body, due to the exertion, similarly grew weaker and weaker. Breathing burned, and his muscles cried out in pain.

	His blaster having long since been abandoned after overheating, Shawn's only remaining weapon was his lightsaber, but at this moment, a lightsaber wouldn't be enough, or at least, not at his skill level.

	When he drew his lightsaber, it was like a torch, dazzlingly illuminating the night.

If his Master were here...

	The Jedi Apprentice shook his head, as if to literally shake off his distracting thoughts.

	One should not be distracted if one intends to fight, though he was already distracted by the strain the physical exertion had put on him, which hurt his ability to concentrate.

He didn't have much time left.

	Shawn grit his teeth and focused, and scanning the area around him and the position of the pirates, tried to find a spot where he could break through.

	In just a second, Shawn felt something——10 pirates, clad in exoskeleton, in front of the sea of flames. They were going to be the strongest individual squad amongst the pirates.

	But it was because of their formation that this strongest squad was also the one most distant from any other team.

And thus, it was an opportunity.

	Mustering up the last of his strength, Shawn surged forwards.

	Energy bolts zipped by him as the sound of explosions endlessly echoed on. Smoke and fire obscured his senses.

	Shawn's charge was beyond what any had expected, flabbergasting even the fighter above, which quickly flew out of formation. When the fighter did manage to reorient itself, it saw a night as black as ink with flames gently dancing in the forest. Where exactly was he going to find a Jedi Apprentice?
	At this point, no-one but Shawn knew precisely where Shawn was, as he narrowly navigated this path that was so closely intertwined with death.

	The forest ground uneven beneath him, Shawn misstepped, and found himself rolling into a pond, utterly soaked. As the fire in the forest around him intensified, he made one last push, and found himself standing right in front of the heavily-armed pirates!

	These seasoned pirate veterans moved without hesitation, and their metallic exoskeletons moaning with mechanical exertion as dozens of weapons were trained upon Shawn in less than a second.

	Yet, in the moments following, all their weapons seemed incapable of firing.

	Shawn had already rushed past them, placing himself in their midst and right in front of their captain. If anyone were to open fire, fratricide was an inevitability.

	That tall-stature captain, though consciously stunned, continued to function on an instinctive level, and brought up one his mechanical arms, upon which was mounted a running chainsaw emitting an ear-piercing roar.

	All it would take would be to swing his saw downwards, and he'd split his foe in half.

	But his eyes quickly went wide with shock, as Shawn's charge seemed entirely unchanged, as though he intended to meet steel with flesh and blood!

	In a flash, the pirate's vision was filled with a brilliant azure light.

All around saw the flash of blue lightning, but only the outline, as it flashed and divided the armour in two!

	With the sound of two great hulks falling to the ground, Shawn holstered his lightsaber and moved past the two halves of wreckage, quietly veiling himself in the sea of flames.

	The heavily armed pirates were quick to rake the area with gunfire, but with the flames now reaching for the heavens, Shawn's figure had all but vanished.

	"A demon! It really is a demon!"

	With the sound of shivering, this squad of heavily armed pirates seemed wholly unwilling to take any action, utterly paralyzed by the fear that the monster might return to the fight from the fire.

	——

	Shawn, who had transformed into a monster, felt as though he had sunken into a deep abyss.

	His vision was foggy, and his senses on the whole were dulled and sluggish. Only his sense of pain seemed to remain clear.

	It hurt where his body met the exoskeleton, it hurt where his bones were fractured, it hurt to breathe, it hurt where a stray shot had nicked his waist.

	The Jedi Apprentice had broken through, but his straits remained ever so dire. It no longer made sense to attempt to break through the enemy lines. The pirates, now unified in purpose, had deprived him of the opportunity to capitalize on the chaos and sneak aboard one of their ships to escape. The next best choice right now was to retreat back to the manor, and rejoin his Master.

	It would of course be a waste of his Master's effort, but it would be better than dying in the forest.

	Though, even that was something of a slim hope at this point, as the direction Shawn had been rushing was the direct opposite to that of the Manor.

	Having moved beyond the sea of flames, Shawn had also moved beyond the boundary of the forest. Before him lay only a plain of dry rock. Unobscured by satellites, here there was no cover of artificial night, only a silvery light and nowhere to hide.

	But it was here in this desperate situation that Shawn felt his eyes light up, as something truly incredible came into view.

	Mustering the last of his body's reserves, Shawn pressed forwards, one last time.

	He had no time to wonder why there would be such an entirely different kind of ship here, or wonder why the ship was entirely unguarded, or even to ask if perhaps this might be a trap.

	His mind was entirely blank, following only the guidance of the Force, running with all his might, with nary a hint of doubt, intending to be drawn up into the hold with the cargo, Shawn summoned all his power, and lept.

	A moment later, the great metal doors slammed together with an almighty rumble, Shawn only just narrowly avoiding getting his foot caught.

	Shawn took a deep breath, and tried to overcome the immense pain that ran throughout his whole body, and maintain some measure of calm.

	It wasn't over yet.

	Sweeping his eyes over the surroundings, Shawn saw only 13 metal crates, neatly stacked in the cargo hold. Each two metres in length, this ship was holding quite the prize!

	This was of course a good thing. Shawn looked for the most unremarkable of the cargo, and gritting his teeth, used his metal wristband to prise it open, and found it full of densely packed stacks of assorted electronics.

	At that moment came footsteps from outside the cargo bay.

	Shawn had no time to think, and immediately hopped in——there was still some space left for a person to fit in with some difficulty——and with the Force, pulled the lid over.

	At the same moment, his ears picked up the sound of the cargo doors opening.

	Shawn lay atop the electronics, which was quite painful to his back. The only thing that helped him maintain clarity of mind was maintaining his grip upon his lightsaber. That way, at least if someone were to open the lid, he could give one last final struggle, take a hostage, and then.... and then, what?

	Amidst the darkness, Shawn's consciousness faded.






















Translation Notes
a In the original Chinese, what he says is more or less "get lost, black skinned person," which if I'm being honest, is hard to translate into English without seeming very racist. The other pirate might be an alien with a very dark complexion, but again, it didn’t sound right in English to retain that quality. Like, if the pirate was a devaronian and the guy said "what of it, horns?" then that'd be like whatever, but "get lost, darkie," just feels wrong.

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