Avp 2004 10

Over Bouvetoya Island Impervious to the winds that battered it, the near-invisible spacecraft hovered several hundred feet above the whaling station. Saint Elmo's fire danced along the hull as the cloaking device disengaged. With a series of dull thumps, five gleaming metal missiles fired from the belly of the Predator craft. Like gigantic bullets, they slammed into the ground, each punching a deep crater into the solid pack ice. A field of energy rippled, then as quickly as the vessel had appeared, it transformed into an optical blur again. Its task complete, the starship silently wheeled into the sky and sped away. At the bottom of one of the newly formed craters, one of the shimmering steel projectiles began to hum. Although the katabatic winds raged around the missile, it was still possible to hear the loud hiss of escaping gases.

A hairline crack appeared on the smooth surface of the missile where there had been no joint before. More smoky phosphorescent green gas vented into Earth's atmosphere as the crack widened. Finally, the projectile opened. Inside, something
stirred something alive. Suddenly, the air was pierced by the savage howl of a predatory beast. Its cry drowned out even the clamor of the wind and the rush of the driving snow...-Chpt.13 pgs.121-122