Ali sat off by herself while the rest of the group figured out what they could salvage from the crash. From the sound of their voices it wasn't good. She played idly with her hair while the group gathered around a horizontal video screen, catching the end of their conversation.
"…and seal the ducts here…and here. Then they can only come at us through these two corridors," Ripley said.
"And that's where the sentries can go?" Hicks asked, "Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards."
Ali walked up and peeked over the edge of the table and looked at the blueprints. She was standing close next to Newt who was sitting on top of the table and she could feel the little girl tense up next to her. She looked up at Newt and saw the fear in her eyes. Ali flashed a dark glare toward her and Newt looked away quickly.
"All right, let's move like we got a purpose," Hicks said. Ali followed after Hicks and watched as he set up the display screens for the sentries. Over the mike she could hear the woman named Vasquez, and Hudson. Ali then followed Hicks as he helped Ripley seal the air duct and as Newt and the man named Burke gathered food supplies. She watched them carefully; remember the harsh voices they had used when talking to the man named Burke. She hadn't heard exactly what he had said but she could tell that they didn't trust him about something and she wanted to know what it was.
Once the guns had been set up, Ali followed as Ripley carried Newt off into one of the med labs. She watched as Ripley tucked Newt into one of the beds and the two talked, Newt smiling at one point. She turned away, disgusted and attempted to reach out for Aglaia but got no reply. Suddenly, the door to the med lab opened and Ripley walked out. Ali ducked quickly behind some equipment and waited until Ripley had walked by. Ali glanced back and saw that the light was off, and a small space heater was casting an orange glow on Newt's frightened face. Ali then turned around and followed behind Ripley silently.
Ali followed Ripley to a different med lab where the unconscious Gorman was being taken care of by a strange looking man. Hudson and Vasquez were there as well. The group started talking but Ali couldn't hear through the thick, glass door. She eased up slowly and opened the door. They were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't hear or see the door open.
"…Which would mean that there would have to be a lot of these parasites, right? One for each colonist. That's over a hundred at least," Ripley said.
"Yes that follows," the strange looking man said. Ali realized with confusion that the man's body noises were different. There was a slight whirling sound and she couldn't detect a regular heartbeat. She looked at the man closely and noticed that his skin was different too. It hit her suddenly: the man was an android.
"But each one of these things comes from an egg, right? So who's laying the eggs?" Ripley asked
"I'm not sure, it must be something we haven't seen yet," the android said.
"Maybe it's like an ant hive," Hudson said.
"Bees man. Bees have hives," Vasquez said.
"You know what I mean! There's like one female who runs the whole show."
"Yes," the android said, "The Queen."
"Yeah the momma. She's bad ass man, I mean like big," Hudson said holding his pointer and thump an inch apart.
"These aren't ants," Vasquez said.
"I know that!"
"Bishop, I want these specimens destroyed as soon as you're finished with them. Is that clear?" Ripley asked.
"Mr. Burke gave instructions that they be kept alive in stasis for return to company labs," Bishop said. Ali couldn't see Ripley's expression but Bishop added, "He was very specific about it."
Ripley suddenly rushed past Ali and out into the hall. Ali was about to follow when a voice called back to her.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Hudson asked.
Ali turned slowly and stared up at the soldier. "I was looking for Hicks."
"He's up in operations," Vasquez said.
Ali nodded and turned to leave. "What's wrong with Ripley?"
"She is angry at Burke, I think," Bishop said.
Ali nodded again and walked out the door, making her way slowly back up to the operation room. Hicks was sitting there by himself, studying the tactical console. Ali walked up next to him and stood on tip-toe to get a better view. He looked down and picked Ali up, setting her down on his knee. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched the screens with him. Vasquez and Hudson joined them shortly afterward. Suddenly, there was movement from one of the cameras. Hicks jumped forward slightly as an alarm went off. Ripley suddenly ran up and stood behind Hicks.
"They're coming," Hicks said. The distant sound of the guns firing filled the air. "A and B guns, tracking and firing, multiple targets."
"Man, look at those amo counters go," Hudson said. The number of rounds left was decreasing quickly.
"B gun's down fifty percent," Hicks said.
"It's like a shooting gallery down there," Hudson said.
"B gun's dry, 20 on A," Hicks said. The counter blinks critical then stops, "That's it. Jesus, they're wall to wall in there."
A distant booming sound follows shortly after. "They're at the pressure door," Ripley notes.
Ali knew they wouldn't be able to get in through that entrance so she turned her attention away from the screens and walked away just as she heard a voice over the intercom, "Bishop here, I'm afraid I have some bad news."