Vow of Silver Dawn Chapter 20

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Chapter 20: Your Debt is Due
By 国王陛下, Translated by 74translations
Notes at the end

	When he opened his eyes again, Shawn's vision was filled with a brilliant white light.

	For just a moment, the light made Shawn feel as though he were still dreaming, though he quickly gathered his thoughts and felt just how tense every muscle in his body was.

	Immediately after came a rush of pain.

	As the pain rushed over him like a tsunami, there wasn't a single part of his body that didn't hurt. Any ordinary person would have likely gone mad. The Jedi Apprentice couldn't help but shiver, and attempt to bear with it.

	As his vision cleared, he could see that the light was coming from a fluorescent bulb, illuminating a spotlessly white ceiling. Before he could look around more, he could already hear the nearby voice of a man, evidently in high spirits.

	"Oh, awake already? Is this some high quality Bacta, or are you just unusually durable? Might be worth cutting you open to have a look."

	Upon hearing his voice, Shawn's mind immediately set to work, and came up with a number of assessments: young, energetic, a desire to show off his strength, and a certain sort of high-class arrogance.

	In general, this was a proud, yet not uncautious, character.

	Shawn tensed up somewhat.

	"Oh don't be so nervous, not like there's anything you do about it anyways. You've got some pretty bad wounds that need healing, so don't get so worked up by trivialities."

	As the voice approached, Shawn felt hands upon his neck, icy cold, and with murder apparently imminent.

The Jedi Apprentice would never allow an enemy to so easily go for his neck, but in this moment he was incapable of movement, and thus, incapable of resisting.

	In his mind, he put up a mighty struggle, but his body, bound as it was, remained basically motionless, though the act of resistance seemed to surprise the young voice.

	"Whoa, what strength! You certainly don't look it. Are you specially bred or something?"

	It was just now that Shawn realized his "opponent" was in complete and utter control of the situation, and that even the effort he was exerting to break free was being measured.

	So he relaxed his muscles, and calmed his mind. Years of Jedi training had given him excellent control over his own body and mind, and quickly he cooled his thoughts, such that he might more calmly assess the situation.

	His reaction just now was impulsive, perhaps brought on by having so quickly woken up. He had to be calm.

	Actually, it wasn't all that surprising. If one were to fall asleep someplace strange, it's unlikely you'd wake up anywhere pleasant.

"Hey, that was quick. Calmed down already? That's boring of you, I was looking forward to you screaming and shouting and making a big fuss. Had I known you'd be like this, I'd have spiked the bacta with a stimulant or something."

Shawn pretended not to hear him, not bothering to even move his eyes, since he could hear that the man was already behind him. As they currently were, there wasn't any way for him to see him, anyways.

To say nothing of the fact that if he wanted to know what he was doing, he hardly needed to set his gaze upon him.

Even though Shawn was completely bound from head to toe, and utterly incapable of struggling free, he was nevertheless still capable of feeling the unending pain surging through his body.

So Shawn couldn't quite trust what he was seeing or feeling, that wasn't necessarily the fault of his captor.

Through the Force, however, the Jedi Apprentice gradually came to see what was truly happening.

Through the omnipresent Force Shawn was like a gentle tendril, snaking about in all directions, passing back to his mind an awareness of all that surrounded him.

He was still in the cargo hold of a ship, though now all the lights were on. All the metal crates had been pushed into a corner, leaving behind a wide empty white space.

The person standing behind Shawn was of similar height, slim, and with a body hiding a certain capacity that was belied by its size.

Standing beside him was what seemed to be a droid, covered in smooth lines, silvery and shiny, with 5 fingers upon the Jedi Apprentice's neck, icy cold to the touch, causing his hairs to stand on end.

Inside the blindingly white cargo hold were only the two people and one droid, and Shawn's perception of the world outside it was hazy. This sharp contrast between the darkness of the exterior and light of the interior made the cargo seem all the more isolated, all the more like a prison.

	Shawn's mind couldn't help but conjure up the image of his master, and his breathing couldn't help but fall out of rhythm.

	"Hey, what secrets are you hiding, little one? How about we give you a taste of our ‘advanced confession program’"?

	Shawn couldn't help but wish for the aid of some higher power as he prepared himself for torture.

	As a Jedi Apprentice, Shawn was possessed with far greater self-control than an ordinary person, but as he was seriously injured, this would require all that he could give.

	"Hah, the kid's taking it pretty seriously, Bai, we won't be needing that program. Given the kid's brain, it should only take a few words to find the truth. That stuff's expensive, so let's save where we can, eh?"

	Shawn didn't particularly mind what he had just heard. He knew his opponent meant to provoke and more to the point Shawn was both not afraid of him knowing and knew that he was just talk.

	"Bai, I think the kid's seen through me, I think we'd best just give it to him."

	At this, the droid spoke with a gentle, femenine voice, "Zhuque has been looking for you."

	"I keep telling them to change the name. They're a pack of fat, balding, middle-aged bandits. Feels a bit muchb to call ourselves "Zueque," but I suppose they don't share my sense of aesthetics.

	"Those fat balding bandits have been looking for you."

	"Whatever, just say Zhuque, I'll live with it."

	As they spoke, the droid extended a hand, and from its open palm, projected a hologram. Shawn wasn't able to see all of it, just hear it being projected.

	Whomever they were speaking to spoke with a heavy regional dialect, rendering their words indistinct, though the voices *was* incredibly loud, as was standard for pirates.

	"Lic, is that guy there!?"

	That guy that was standing behind Shawn laughed, "That guy? That guy who was surrounded by over two hundred of your lot and bombed by dozens of fighters and yet is still completely unharmed, that guy?"

	"So, you do have him! Hand him over!"

	"Why? These are my spoils are they not?"

	"He killed our comrades!"

	"It's not like they were *my* comrades, so why should I care? It's not like I've sworn some ridiculous blood oath with you lot, we agreed to just mind our own business, so it's hardly like we've got some intimate alliance. You didn't even let us approach the manor, so it's not like any of our business could possibly concern you."

	"Li, why are you protecting him?"

	"Is there a problem with me protecting my prize? Those security troops also killed a few of you, so why aren't you pursuing their blasters with the same zeal, or tearing them apart to vent your anger?"

	"Li Yu, I advise you to reconsider this, that one killed our comrades, if you continue to protect him, then you are making an enemy of all we have sworn an oath of blood with!"

	The voice on the communicator roared with such ferocity it was like he was there with them.

	Li Yu's voice, on the other hand, dipped into icy coldness.

	“Huang Shou, it should be I who is the one to offer advice. Does your rabble really think it's ready to make an enemy of me?"
	And as he finished, Li Yu turned off the communicator.

	"Li Yu, that was quite a bit of nonsense you just spouted," Bai assessed.

	"That wasn't meant for him, after all we've got someone right here who doesn't quite yet know the score," Li Yu said, laughing, "I should be gentler with my prize. It should be fine, let him go."

	"This person is extremely dangerous, I suggest you think it over once more."

	"This is our domain, and I have you at my side, so we have nothing to fear. Besides, he's hardly the type to repay our kindnessd with violence, so I think we can relax."

	With that, Bai withdrew its cold hands and proceeded to undo Shawn's magnetic bindings.

	With Shawn's freedom restored, he could now finally rise, and turn and look at Li Yu.

	Standing there was a man, a native to the Qiankun System about thirty years of age give or take, black hair and black eyes, tall and with handsome features. On his face he wore an expression that was more sneer than smile that seemed to conceal his true feelings beneath a mask of frivolity, like a scabbard over a sword.

	Beside Li Yu was the droid known as "Bai," and as its name suggested, was a droid whose entire body was completely white. A slender, graceful doid, it was rather like a work of art. A work of art that, despite passing for human in silhouette, was painted an untarnished pure white, as if to say that it wouldn't deign to even pretend that it was anything resembling human.

	It calmly stood beside Li Yu, yet Shawn knew instinctively that it was more dangerous by far.

	"Don't be so worried, relax a little. It's not everyday you crawl back to life from the gates of hell, you ought to really live life while you can."

Shawn's heart wasn't particularly moved by this insincere platitudee, and rather continued to consider the current situation.

	If the conversation that had just gone by was any indication, Li Yu's ship had long since left the manor, and they were now in space.

	This was of course a good thing, better than sticking around with those pirates, but it wasn't ideal, as Shawn was still not at liberty.

	"You were unconscious for less than 2 hours; we're still in the asteroid belt. It'll still be some time before we make it to a hyperlane. I've nothing else to do for now, so I figure we might as well have ourselves a little chat. First of all, let me introduce myself. My name's Li Yu, Commander of the Silver Knights, and this here's my assistant, Bai."

	Shawn didn't have time to reply before Bai pointed out, "The Qiankun System does not have a culture with knightly orders, you are overstating your case."

"Well how would you describe it then? Li Yu went on, "Maybe we just say we admire outside cultures?"

"The words you just carelessly threw around make it abundantly clear there is no other person nor culture that you admire."

	"Bai likes to bicker and take the wind out of my sails," Li Yu seemed embarrassed to say, "but don't pay her any mind. In short, our meeting is fate..."

	Finishing Li Yu's sentence, Shawn continued.

	With fluent Qiankun, Shawn introduced himself: "Xiao'en; I thank you for the rescue, Commander Li."

	Shawn was willing to accept Li Yu's claim that he was some Knight Commander, though it didn't mean he had to explain himself in his reply.

	Li Yu suddenly showed quite a meaningful smile, "I seem to be speaking with someone clever, well on the upside it means we'll get along, though on the downside it means you'll be rather tight-lipped apparently.

	That's fine too, then. Let's get right to the point then. Even though I just told Huang Shou that you were my prize, I never deal in people, so I can't really claim a living person as a spoil of war."

	Shawn nodded, "So if this doesn't count as protecting your property, then it's supposed to be an act of kindness. I'll remember that."

	"I'll remember it to," Li Yu replied, as he reached a hand out to Bai, who projected from her right hand a bill, upon which listed a most impressive and meticulously compiled list of items and charges, "Saving your life cost us just over fifty-thousand Qiankun credits, and the opportunity cost of making an enemy of Huang Shou is also about fifty-thousand, so all-in-all, a hundred-thousand credits. How about we settle your account?"


Translation Notes

a The "Vermillion Bird" is a Chinese constellation. It shares a star with the western constellation Gemini. The Vermillion Bird represents Fire (of the traditional Chinese Wuxing 5-element system), summer, and south. It is one of four constellations representing the so-called "Four Symbols," also known as the "Four Auspicious Beasts," the other three being the Azure Dragon (East), the White Tiger (West), and the Black Tiger (North). If you're into anime or similar, you might recognize the names "Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu." Admittedly, I'm not an expert, so any deeper spiritual or mythological parallel the story might be trying to draw is lost on me.

b In the original phrasing, "to not know the immensity of heaven and earth," or more generally, "to have an exaggerated sense of one's own abilities."

c The caller addresses him as 姓李的, (“xing li de”) which literally means “one with the family name Li,” and is a very rude way to address someone.

d Technically, 恩将仇报 (enjiangchoubao) is translated as "bite the hand that feeds," but somehow that didn't seem to quite fit. I'd understand if you figured it felt fine, but I personally thought it better to maybe just translate it a little more literally.

e Literally "chicken soup," as in "chicken soup for the soul," but most often used disparagingly because they're nonsense. I didn’t go with the reference because it felt much too Earth-contemporary for Star Wars.

f If you're curious, 肖恩 "xiao'en" is just the standard transliteration of "Shawn," "Shaun," and "Sean" into Chinese characters. They're not *strictly speaking* meant to be meaningful since they're just meant to transliterate, but there is a chance that the name was chosen because the characters mean "to be like kindness/mercy," though that might ring a bit hollow given Shawn's willingness to kill loads of dudes.

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