As far as I could surmise, it had stumbled upon us while the ship was landing and had decided to hide instead of running. A smart move considering it would have been shot on and killed on sight if it had been spotted while it was fleeing. On the other hand, hiding meant having to be aware of its presence and knowing where to look in order for it to be caught and killed. An unlikely event under normal circumstances since it had chosen its hiding spot well and its coverings helped it to blend in. It was also being unusually quiet and still meaning its position wouldn't be giving away by sound either.

     It was a good plan on its part but unfortunately for the human hatchling, I had been made a part of the perimeter sweep. My sensors were what had originally detected and my pilot was the one who decided to investigate. If I hadn't been there, it would have stood a good chance of going undetected until after we finished our mission and we had all left.

     The young human off spring had taken cover in the collapsed remains of some long abandoned buildings. When we search the area for it, we found it huddled in a corner formed by the crumbling remains of two adjoining brick walls. It was a good spot to hide as the walls were tall enough to hide it from view of the landing site and the walls' thickness and density kept it hidden from most sensors.

    It was curled up in a defensive position in the spot it had chosen, with its legs folded up against its chest and its head bowed forward until its forehead touched its knees. It had pressed its body as far as it could into the corner as well; both to protect itself and to provide us with a smaller target. It also clung to a soft, unidentifiable, black object it was holding in its arms. The human hatchling stayed in this position, without moving, even after we had found it.

     This behavior was very different than what was in the records I had been given. Instead of panicking noisily or readying itself to fight, it continue to remain in perfectly still. If it weren't for the subtle movement of its chest from its shallow breathing and my sensors detecting the rapid beating of its heart, I would have believed it to be already dead. This almost complete stillness and silence the face of life threatening danger confused me and may have added to why I hesitated in the first place. Eventually, my pilot also took notice of the young human's odd behavior and paused in his ranting.

     <Strange, normally it would have moved or done something by now. Is it dead?> He asked me.

     <No, I can still detect its life signs so it is not dead.> I answered.

     <Hmmm, no matter. Kill it anyways. We can take its corpse back for the scientists to play with later. Perhaps they can find out what is wrong with it.> he told me.

      <Wouldn't they be able to learn more if we brought it back alive?> I asked him.

     <No. It's too risky.> he replied curtly. <Taking it back alive would be too risky and it could jeopardize the mission. Killing it is so much safer. Now do it so we can finish our sweep of the area and get ourselves and the specimen back to camp before the captain decides to dock our tails for taking too long.>