tearing away armor

The armor would have protected the raft's crew against the philes, except that the force of the craft's impact was enough to start seams all across the the domed surface.
...
Fragments of armor plate glittered in the air. The philes were tearing it away so violently the raft seemed to have exploded. The orange energy-beams rippled a brilliant, useless circle just beyond the fallen craft. Beasts shriveled away like insects in a flame, but if they survived at all, they survived to tear deeper into the vessel
-Killer, pg. 49-50