Predator Eyes Of The Demon 23

The alien ship was a wreck.

"Looks like it was a controlled landing," said the pilot.

"Or at least an attempt at one. See those cut marks behind it? They must have been able to slow their speed and then came in low and flat to try and skid to a stop, sloughing off speed through basic friction. There's a bunch of rock broken off, but the hull looks mostly intact. So either they have something like our slicks or that thing is built tougher than anything we have."

The copilot nodded and added, "My guess is that their shielding could only take so much because there's a lot of debris. But it's small stuff. I think maybe the glide angle saved their hull but then their engines failed after the big hit, and that killed their shielding. After that the fragile stuff broke off as it slid to a stop."

"Any signs of life?" asked Wilson.

"Nothing I can see," said the pilot.

"However, I'm picking up some electrical pulses. Could be a distress beacon, but it's hard to pin down. It's not static on any one frequency. Keeps sliding across the dial. From the regularity, though, my guess is it's automated."

"Give me a thermal scan," ordered the lieutenant, but the copilot shook his head.

"Already tried that, sir," he said, "but the thermals can't penetrate that hull of theirs."-pg.138-139 chpt.6