Vow of Silver Dawn Chapter 57

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Chapter 57: A New Life??
By 国王陛下, Translated by 74translations

	Shawn didn't regret rescuing these victims, even if the price had been enormous. But as he saw their blank expressions, the Jedi Apprentice realized that simply rescuing them wasn't going to be enough.

	If he were to just ignore their plight, and let them free to fend for themselves here in the abandoned district, then it'd have made that rescue little more than an egotistical action done for little more than self-gratification.

	But even if he knew that, Shawn didn't know how he should comfort them. Several times he opened his mouth to say something, anything, but everything he could think of just seemed hollow.

	She was wearing a form-fittinga qipao, with a wide cloak over her shoulders, covering any bear skin. The two articles of clothing were at odds with one another and she looked a little strange, but she wore on her face the widest and brightest smile.

	"Thank you for rescuing us!" the girl said, walking forwards and grasping Shawn's hands in her own, "I never thought I'd be leaving that place alive."

	Shawn felt a warmth blossoming in his heart, and when met with such sincerity he just simply nodded, not sure how he should best respond to this girl whose name he did not know.

	But he quickly found that he did not need to, as after she let go of his hands, she continued, "I'm Huang Xuan, you?"

	Shawn was a bit astonished that Huang Xuan was so calm, but he was gratified to see that she was so strong.

	"I'm Xiao'en."

	"I'll make sure that the name of the one who saved me remains in my memory for the rest of my life," Huan Xuan said, tapping her head, "Is there where I am to make a new life? The wastes of Xun? I've heard a lot about this place."

	Just as she said that, someone else spoke up from behind, "Naturally, this place has got quite the reputation, but most of it is misinformation. If you really want to start over here, then you'll need to throw away everything you think you know."

	Stepping forwards the source of the voice revealed himself, the Master of the Wastes and Head of the Silver Knights, Li Yu, taking his place before everyone.

	The youthful man had a natural air of leadership to him——especially when his dutiful servant stood behind him, instead of bickering with him——his appearance to the survivors did much to help assuage Shawn's anxieties, and so he focused his attention on him.

	"Of course, there's nothing good about our abandoned district's reputation, it is as the name suggests: A patch of land that civilization has abandoned, inhabited by those who cannot operate in the sunlight. But on the other hand, if you look, this abandoned world is nevertheless full of life."

	Li Yu swept his arms over the horizon to illustrate his point.

	All round the spacious landing area was a squat shanty town, wherein hundreds and thousands of people sheltered beneath rusted scrap metal. Overhead of the shanty town was a densely packed network of pipes, supplying all that the settlement needed.

	There were all sorts moving about, and although their clothes were tattered and their faces wind and dust-blown, their expressions nevertheless still carried a hope for the future, and they carried about their business with a healthy vigor.

	They did not look like dispossessed refugees of the wastes, but hopeful pioneers.

	"What you have lost is great indeed," Li Yu said, "But while you have lost much, it means you may embrace the future with greater freedom... I'm sure none of you want to hear me spout nonsense for long, so I'll get straight to it. First, here in the wastes, there is much room to grow. Every year, untold many return to the city from here. Some, even, have reclaimed their lost identities."

	Having heard that, someone interrupted, "Really? Shouldn't it be extremely difficult to reclaim a legitimate identity in civilized society?"

	"How hard it is to get something is usually directly proportional to how hard it is to lose it." Li Yu answered, "With the Qiankun Corporation, it's easy enough for people who should not lose it, to have lost it, and so naturally it's easy enough for those who should not have it, to obtain it. If I can be frank, the Qiankun Corporation is rotten to its core."

	To those who lived under the purview of lawful society, such words were truly hard to swallow. But for this crowd, who were just recently in mortal peril, it was quite logical.

	Indeed, so rotten was the Qiankun Corporation that there could be a person-hunt being hosted. No doubt money had changed hands to buy some veneer of legitimacy, so that its participants could return to civilized life.

	"And what if we don't wanna return to that so-called civilized society?" someone else asked.

	"There's nothing wrong with that either," Li Yu replied, "The wastes have already raised generation after generation of the abandoned, and even though the kind of life is vastly different from the civilized areas, there are upsides—say, for instance, the lack of a Qiankun Corporation presence."

	Laughing, Li Yu then added, "Additionally, I'll arrange short term work for you all, and make sure that you'll be able to stand on your own two feet here in the wastes. Once that's settled, you can decide if you want to make a life for yourself out here, or rejoin civilized society."

	After Li Yu had answered a number of questions and the refugees had left the port, they made for temporary housing.

	By the time they had left, they didn't seem distressed or despairing, and for the most part it seemed their hope had been reignited.

	"Much obliged, Commander," Shawn thanked, sincerely.

	Li Yu smiled, "Don't think too much of it. I share those words with all our newcomers."

	Having silently understood his intent, while he spoke his droid approached from behind and began to project a holorecording from her hand. The blue hologram of Li Yu that appeared from Bai's hand proceeded to recite almost the exact same speech he had just given, with even his mannerisms almost unchanged.

	Seeing it, Shawn felt even more gratified.

	It might be that such a welcome could seem insincere, but from another perspective, this was a sign that the Silver Knights were so well accustomed to welcoming in the newly dispossessed to the wastes they had standardized the intake process. For the survivors, it could be said they were very lucky indeed.

	Li Yu however interrupted Shawn's feeling of gratification with a clap, saying, "All right, those newcomers aside, now it's the Bureau Chief Ning's turn... Do you want to rest for two days, or shall you be off immediately?"

	At that moment, the freighter's last passenger stepped out on wobbly feet.

	Ning Tao at that moment was drenched in sweat, looking as though someone had boiled him.

	His face was covered in bruises, and he walked with a limp. Evidently, he had not enjoyed his time with 27 of his victims.

	Ning Tao did not have the energy to be angry at the current moment, he could only muster the strength tos stare at Li Yu, and ask, "You'll keep your promise, then?"

	Li Yu laughed, "I just got word, the ransom's already been delivered. Altogether, twenty three million, one hundred forty thousand credits, which really refreshed my opinion of the Qian System's rich and powerful. To think they could conjure such a quantity of money, and so quickly"

	Ning Tao's breathing got a smidge quicker, "Are you going back on our deal?"

	"I could simply make you vanish, and keep the twenty three million to myself," Li Yu said, "Were you in my position, would you go back on that deal?"

	Ning Tao grew even more pale.

	But after waiting a moment, Li Yu showed a wide smile, "It's lucky for you that I am not you, so I congratulate you on your purchase of a ticket to the Republic's core region. May you find happiness in your new home."

	As he spoke, Li Yu handed a shiny piece of metal to Ning Tao.

	Ning To was bewildered, "What's this?"

	"Your ticket, keep it safe," Li Yu answered, "This time tomorrow, there'll be a ship from the core region landing here. The ship'll have a full tank of fuel and the whole flight plan plotted. An ace pilot like yourself should find it easy enough to fly it all the way to your new home without much trouble. If anything comes up, you can reach out to the Hutts at any time, they'll provide swift aid. Oh, that's right, and there'll be drinks and snacks and chicken skewers you like in the fridge..."

	Ning Tao just stared, dumbstruck. This had all come too quick, and in his exhausted state, he hadn't processed any of it.

	What did Li Yu mean? Was he really supposed to go himself? Was he really going to be able to go and live a comfortable life in the Republic Core just by taking tomorrow's ship with twenty million credits stashed away?

	When were things ever that easy? Ning Tao thought, It wasn't some trick to recapture him? Or to give him a glimmer of hope just before they dashed it? When that ship left Xun, it wasn't going to just immediately explode?

	For Ning Tao's myriad questions, Li Yu had thoughtfully provided a considerate answer by unceremoniously dumping him in a temporary hotel room beside the port, shutting the door, and leaving.
Translation Notes
a Originally: From head to toe she was in a sexy, figure-hugging qipao which I thought sounded wrong to write, so here it is, in notes alone.

And I’m back. Howdy.

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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