That much time would be plenty for the android. What would be required would be to disable the Gigan ship to such an extent that it must be abandoned.
Still using it’s stealth mode, and drawing on stored schematics of spacegoing vessels the android waited by the door of the hanger. When it opened, admitting the first two Gigans come to inspect what had been hauled in, the android attacked the two towering beings, slicing through their joints to fell them, then slicing their throats. They never saw the shorter thing that attacked them, and were not able to comm a warning.
Seizing the blaster unit the one Gigan had dropped the android raced down the hallway outside the hanger and headed for where it determined the engine room would be. Moving so fast it was not seen, and could hardly be traced on security cam, even if one knew what to look for. Reaching it’s goal the android, with a few judiciously placed shots, killed three more crew and damaged the ship’s drive so badly that the vessel would soon self-destruct. It did not hurt communications because what was needed was not to kill all aboard, but to cause them to abandon ship in life-pods. At this point, after monitoring the emergency calls sent to Orion, the android retraced it’s steps and, after setting the hangar doors to reopen within two standard minutes, resumed it’s place in the derelict and waited for it to drift free into space again.
Starn Hen’stu, captain of the Vision, didn’t know how or why his vessel had come under attack, but attack it was and after his shouted comm to the Orion, to try and let them know what was happening, crossed three of his six fingers in a gesture of hope and turned to supervising the abandonment of the ship. Unfortuneately damage the android had caused had fried some ships systems and kept hatches locked, with the result that only five pods made it out, holding two Gigans each. Captain Hen’stu was still desperately trying to find a way to get ships systems up again when the strain became too great and the ship broke apart.
“Am I imagining things or is this a really bad day?” mused Sean… He was ordering Shad and Max to work on tracing the lifepods to bring them along Orion when Alma piped up.
“Sean, your’re not going to believe this, but that space junk you called Doombringer has blown clear of the debris, and is drifting with the pods.”
“Oh frell, I’m probably going to regret this, but let’s try and pick it up too. Going to be a bitch of a job though.”
“No kidding. Somethin’ else, we don’t really have quarters suited for Gigans, assuming we drag them in alive.”
“Well, I’m thinking we keep on for Engedi. That’s where we were going anyway, and probably where those scouts were based… If the Gigans can sit on the deck of one of our holds they shouldn’t have problems with headspace. It won’t be for much more than five standard hours. And I wouldn‘t be too surprised if we had a reception committee even before then. Someone‘s probably going to be a wee bit curious .”
“Umm, then not in the ‘secure hold’ I presume?”
“Nope, I don’t want the good stuff messed with.”
Sean turned away to give more orders concerning rescue and pickup.
