"Jeff Kirvin - Unification Chronicles 3 - First Contact III" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kirvin Jeff)

to be sure.”

They continued on for a few hours, moving at a slow enough speed not to overlook
anything, and keeping chatter to a minimum. This was no nature hike and they all knew it. If
they didn’t find anything within fifty klicks, Jack had decided to turn around, and they were
fast approaching that boundary.

“Sir?” Shimura said.

“Yes, Corporal?”

“I’m reading several heat sources two klicks north by northeast, in a small valley. A few of
them look…”

“Look what?”

“Artificial.”

Jack didn’t see anything on his own sensors, but he probably wouldn’t. Since their original
scout got eaten, Shimura had drawn scout duty. His suit was lighter than the others but it had
greater range and a better sensor array. The heat sources he saw were beyond the preset range
for this patrol, but they were exactly what Jack was looking for. “We check it out. Carefully.
This may be a first contact situation. We go in stealth, and try not to startle them.”

“Aye, sir,” the two Marines answered in unison. They all turned and began walking the
direction Shimura advised, but they began walking slowly, taking great care not to make any
excess noise.

Not long after they came upon the source of the heat readings. It was another base camp,
but nothing like Jack or his Marines had ever seen. The artificial heat sources were machines,
hulking bipedal walkers with reverse-articulated legs. The lines of the walkers were sleek and
curved, and they appeared to be made a dull pewter metal. There were five of the walkers, two
small ones and three that were much larger, the big ones dotted with menacing arms and what
Jack presumed were weapons pods. Jack thought they were not unlike the legged, all-terrain
tanks the Terran military sometimes used on rough worlds like Mars or Europa.

As interesting as the walkers were, they were nothing compared to the natural heat sources
in the valley.

The creatures were also bipedal, and demonstrated a mix of avian and reptilian
characteristics. They each had two arms and legs, horizontal spines, long tails and long necks
that ended with heads featuring huge braincases and large eyes. Their mouths were long and
filled with sharp, curved teeth, except at the end, where the mouth terminated with a bony
protobeak. They had three digits on each limb, each ending with a sharp and hooked claw.
Their skin was smooth on the back and sides, with a thin layer of down along the underside.
Wattles hung from their necks, reminding Jack of Terran turkeys.
 The larger type was red in color with yellow stripes and a thick crest of white feathers
running from the top of the head down to the shoulders. They also wore gleaming body armor
and carried rifles of some kind in addition to vicious bladed weapons.