Super Gene

The ship was rattling and shaking like mad, as passengers scrambled in their attempts to reach the Panic Terminal.

Fortunately, most of the people on board were humans with a good fitness level. They were unfazed and unshaken by the sudden bombardment from a hostile force.

Before Han Sen could exit the hologram lobby, he saw the girl who had asked him for a signature make her way out alongside her boyfriend. They were both young, and neither of them was an evolver yet. Due to their inexperience, they struggled to maintain calm in the face of what had assuredly ruined their day.

Han Sen approached them, wanting to guide them to safety.

The Panic Terminal was the sturdiest location of the ship. It was designed for an event such as this, as it had been built to withstand the crumbling of the entire battleship and to deflect cannonfire that was aimed directly at it. It also served as a large evacuation pod.

Their ship was now in the farthest reaches of the Alliance’s system. It was on the outskirts of human-inhabited space; the edge of the bubble. It wasn’t near the shura, but it was a mostly uncharted, rarely-visited pocket of the black.

Interstellar Pirates frequented such desolate strips of space, so this attack did not come as a complete surprise. The Universe had to divert away from the course it had been following. If things continued, this could end poorly.

If they were being attacked by pirates, they would probably be alright. Pirates were thieves, and if the Universe was boarded, then they would only want to steal valuables.

Han Sen had an ace up his sleeve, unbeknownst to everyone, though. He had the black beetle with him, and he could use that to slip into space and destroy the attackers with ease. Even the infamous pirate Minotaur only had three star-class ships. A threat such as that would be nothing for the black beetle.

For now, though, Han Sen was going to cover the couple in their rush to safety. All of a sudden, an extra large explosion struck the ship. A hole had formed in the hull, producing a large amount of suction, pulling everything out into space.

Surpassers could not survive in space, only demi-gods.

The couple were unable to grab ahold of anything to prevent themselves from being pulled out into the black. Hope of survival seemed bleak, and Han Sen witnessed the pain and realization of what was coming cross their expressions.

He was not willing to let them go. Han Sen went into the suck-stream, donning armor and a wing beast soul to aid him.

Then, he activated his nine gene locks of the Blood-Pulse Sutra.

The couple, by this point, had been pulled outside the ship. They were sure death would come for them. And with the ship still moving, at the speed they were going, it seemed impossible for them to get back inside.

They continued to flail in an attempt to grab ahold of something, but they couldn’t. Out in space, their lives were now at the mercy of fate.

But then, a red-shadow with draconic wings flickered past their eyes.

Amidst their shock at what had just occurred, they struggled to comprehend anything. But something familiar appeared directly before each of them. There was a hand; one for each of them to grab.

They couldn’t see who it was, but the arm seemed to be the only thing near enough to grab. So, they did.

Boom!

All of a sudden, it felt as if they had been wrapped up in the warm embrace of a friendly dragon. They heard the wings flap in their ears, and they watched as they were brought back into the safety of the ship.

With the incredible speed they were traveling at, they were able to push through the suction that sought to keep them out. The couple could not believe what they were seeing.

In a situation such as that, demi-gods were the likeliest people to risk life and limb going out into the black physically to save others. Surpassers were almost guaranteed to die.

So, the person who saved them must have been incredibly powerful. The couple were shocked but honored to have been saved by someone with such strength.

Han Sen held the couple tightly and continued flapping his wings to defy the vacuum.

Then, Han Sen reached the controls for sealing the hull with an emergency panel and re-pressurized the room. He pushed the button.

“Thank you so much!” They both thanked Han Sen profusely.

Han Sen put away his beast souls and then guided them to the Panic Terminal. At its entrance, he told them, “Get in there; it’s not safe elsewhere.”

“It’s you!” The boy could hardly believe his eyes, recognizing his savior had been Han Sen.

The girl’s face was one of utter surprise, too.

Han Sen didn’t pay them any mind, though. He had been able to glimpse a lot when he allowed himself to be pulled out into space. There was an entire fleet of Shura ships outside. There were two that were star-class, amidst an armada of many others.

And that was all Han Sen was able to see in his brief look outside. There had to be many more he hadn’t been able to catch sight of.

Han Sen now knew they weren’t up against pirates. This was a proper military force; an entire arm of the shura’s military.

A small passenger ship, such as the one they were on, had no hope of survival. If the shura wanted to, they could blow up the Universe any second.

But what may have been stranger was what had prompted such an attack. It was strange for the shura to attack so aggressively with a large military force, despite the uneasy establishment of a ceasefire. Why would they come for a small passenger ship such as that?

When they attacked Universe, they had exposed themselves, though. Han Sen might have understood if they wanted to attack a large Alliance fortress by surprise. But that element seemed to have been squandered, now that they had chosen to pepper the Universe with a small amount of fire.

The Alliance was guaranteed to have heard what was going on by now, and the shura were most likely aware of this. For that reason, there had to be something on the Universe they desperately desired.