CHAPTER 13
Theresa, Call, Lieutenant Hunter, three medics and six soldiers head south. Like Ripley, Theresa is in the lead with Call and the Lieutenant following close behind. Though her movements are similar to Ripley's, hers are smoother, more relaxed.
Reaching the landing bay this group is faced with the same problems as Ripley's group. They make the same decisions but they have an advantage that the other group didn't have- Call. After removing the panel, Call comes over and wires herself into the system. It takes her only a moment to open the bay, and to quickly close it again as fuel vapors begin to leave it as well.
"We've got a problem," Hunter says, stating the obvious.
"No shit," Call says. "Maybe the other group had better luck. Those assholes sure as hell didn't want us following them."
"Call," Theresa interrupts, "we're being watched. We have to move. NOW!"
No one doubts her words as they move back towards the other group and the north bay.
The two groups meet up near the command center. As they see each other, they all believe that the other met with probably the same problems. The look on their faces and the smell of the fuel fumes help to tell the story to the other group. Quietly they all enter the command center, but Ripley has Theresa wait with her just outside the doors.
"Do you have any ideas why they are still waiting?" Ripley asks her.
"I would guess that it's because of the Queen's last order, just to watch us."
"But for how much longer?"
Theresa shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders, indicating that she has no idea. Together they enter the room and join the others who are busy trying to figure out what to do next. They all become quiet when the women enter the room. Everyone looks at them as if hoping that they might have a solution.
"Nice to see that you both have decided to join us," the General says sarcastically. "Any thoughts on what we might do next?"
Willing to let the others talk, Theresa fades into the background. Feeling very tired she goes into a corner and sits down on the floor. Closing her eyes, she hopes for some rest. Instead, her mind fills with images coming from the aliens. She feels their confusion over the loss of the Queen and their confusion over her last orders to just watch the humans, leave them alone.
As she feels them, she briefly feels another mind touch hers and then is quickly gone, only to return again much stronger. Too tired to resist, Theresa opens her mind and shares the images with Ripley, allowing her to see and feel what she is seeing and feeling. She relaxes with what is happening, allowing Ripley and the aliens a chance to feel each other through her in much the same way as the Queen had done for them. This gives Ripley a chance to learn more about the aliens as well as about herself and her past. More than she had planned to ever let anyone know.
While the others discuss possible plans, Ripley takes a moment to look over at Theresa. She watches as the woman goes over to a corner and lowers herself into it, looking very tired. Because the woman's face looks as if something is bothering her, Ripley goes over to her as she falls asleep and kneels down close to her side. Moving a bit of hair away from her face so Ripley can look at her better. This slight touch causes a brief image of the aliens to appear in Ripley's mind and she wonders why.
Curiosity urging her on, Ripley firmly places her hands on the woman's cheeks, drawing both women closer to each other in the process. Unsure what is happening and who will be in control, Ripley takes a chance and concentrates on the images of the aliens. Willing both herself and Theresa to relax with what is happening, she learns more about the aliens and about Theresa.
Ripley's actions cause everyone to switch their attention to them as the others quietly watch the interaction between the two women. Johner and Call go over to them, so that they can be close in case there is trouble between the two. Standing on each side of the women, Call gently and lightly rests her hand Ripley's shoulder, but it does not distract her. The entire event lasts for only a minute before Ripley breaks the contact. Taking a few deep breaths before she stands, Ripley rises to her feet, ignoring Johner and Call, and heads straight for Dr. Waters, her face full of rage.
Reaching him, she grabs him by the throat with both hands and pins him solidly to a wall. General Harris wastes no time coming to his aid but is no match for the enraged Ripley. The others wisely stay back.
"You son of a bitch!" Ripley screams. "Why did you do it?"
With both of her hands around his throat and himself pinned firmly against a wall, the Doctor finds it very difficult to breathe, let alone talk.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he croaks.
"Don't fuck with me! You know damned well what the hell I'm talking about. It's the reason why my daughter wants you dead!"
Ripley is so angry that she isn't fully aware of all that she is saying. Johner and Call catch her words and smiles spread across their faces, thankful that Theresa still seems to be sleeping.
"Okay, release me and I'll try to explain."
"You'd better do more than try!" Mad enough to kill and fighting that desire, she releases her hold on his throat but still keeps him pinned firmly against the wall.
"It was a question of reproduction. I wanted to find out if breeding was possible, if there would be any complications or further mutations."
Now it is the General's turn to get angry.
"What the fuck are you talking about? Why didn't you inform me about any of this?" he demands.
"Because I wanted to know. It was my idea, I thought you would refuse to let me do it."
"Damned right I wouldn't have allowed it! Not on my base!"
"How about you telling everyone about your little experiment." Ripley requests as she increases the pressure on his chest.
"Back off and I'll tell." So she does.
"The embryos in cryo are not just the extras that we had frozen, there are others. I harvested some of Number Four's ova and used genetic material from the General and myself to fertilize them. Technically, they're Number Four's children. When she was strong enough I had planned to implant them in her and study the results."
Now the General is furious. As he tries to get to the Doctor, Ripley prevents him from doing anything.
"Why? You told me it was my DNA that you spliced into Ripley's in order to create her. For your sake, I hope you lied to me about that."
"No General," he says calmly "I didn't lie to you about that. Twenty-five percent of her human DNA came from you. The rest is from Ripley. Yours is the only foreign DNA that I spliced into Ripley's."
Everyone is so interested in what is being said that no one is aware that the shouting has woken Theresa. Rising from the corner that she is in, she moves past a surprised Johner and Call. Making her way over to the trio, none of them are aware of her until she takes a firm hold on Ripley's wrists. Harris and Ripley look at her in surprise for a moment before Ripley releases the Doctor, though she is confused at Theresa's actions.
"It doesn't matter any more. They should be gone by now. When we thawed out the others, we shut down all the cryo projects. They should have thawed out about an hour ago." She still sounds very tired and there is no anger in her voice. Next she turns to the General.
"Knowing what you knew about me Sir, why just a number and not a name?"
"Because it was already too personal Terri. If I had to terminate you, I already doubted that I could have obeyed that order. Giving you a real name, become more involved than I already was, that would have insured I could not have followed that order, if it had come to that. That's the main reason I didn't fight command to bring Ripley here. I didn't want to have to destroy you."
She stands there quietly for a minute, collecting her thoughts, coming to terms with what the General has just told her. She had suspected the truth but until she had heard it, she wasn't ready to believe, or accept it. She then looks to Ripley.
"Ripley… I'm sorry about causing you to be brought into all this," she says as she lowers her head.
Confused by her words, Ripley just looks at her.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I need to do something." Johner says, then as an afterthought. "What are we going to do with that bastard?" he asks as he indicates to the Doctor.
"Let Theresa decide," Ripley responds. "She's the one he has hurt the worst."
"It would be fitting if he were turned over to the aliens," she begins "but he is …human. General, if any of you survive, then let your courts of law deal with what he has done here."
"Around here Terri, I am the law," he answers back. "But we need everyone to help if we hope to survive. So at least for now, he stays alive and with us."
"All right then General, any suggestions?" Ripley asks.
"First," he then looks at Theresa "Terri, who is in command here?"
"You and Ripley have been since my Queen died. I thought you had realized that already."
"I just wanted to be sure. Now, we need to get some real weapons, not these pieces of shit that we have.
'My plan is for a few of us to go out and find as many of the mercenary's weapons as we can. I don't think it will be easy if these fuckers are as smart as I believe they are. They should have most of the guns hidden away."
As the General goes over his plan, Theresa wanders off and returns to the corner that she had been in only a few minutes ago. Curling into it and onto the floor, she is soon back to sleep.
Call is the first to notice her. With Johner, the General and Ripley busy planning things, she decides to see what is wrong with Theresa. As she heads over to her, she sees that the Doctor has noticed Theresa as well and is also going over to her. Both reach her at the same time.
Working from instinct and training, the Doctor begins to examine her under Call's careful watch. He checks her pulse and respiration. Though she does not wake, she does move slightly, as if trying to get away from his touch. He then looks at her eyes, finding them fixed and dilated. Call cannot help seeing there is something wrong, judging by the look in the doctor's face.
"Call, we need Ripley over here, now. I think we have a problem here."
Without saying a word, Call goes straight over to Ripley and brings her over to him.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"This isn't a normal sleep she's in. Without drugs, she shouldn't be down this deep."
Ripley notices that Theresa isn't responding to his touch or to the sound of everyone's voices and realizes that he is right.
"Do you have anything to do with this?" she almost shouts as she grabs one of his arms. "Programmed her to shut down as some sort of a fail-safe or self-destruct program?"
"NO! We wanted her to survive- I needed her to survive. This seems more as if she's giving up, choosing not to continue."
"Shit, she said 'if any of you survive', not 'if any of us'. You just might be right Doctor," Ripley says.
Looking at Theresa, Ripley briefly thinks about all that she has been through in the last few days. Her arrival into her life, the fights, the death of the one piece of comfort to her, the only family she knew- the Queen, and the revealing of her pain and rage about the embryos. Because of all this she feels the Doctor is most likely correct and she is trying to shut herself down. Realizing that there is only one way left to reach her, Ripley prepares herself to enter Theresa's mind again.
By now everyone has gathered around Theresa and Ripley, wondering what has happened, and what is going to happen. They watch as Ripley sits down near Theresa and then reaches out with both hands, placing them on Theresa's cheeks and neck, lifting her face slightly upwards. As Ripley becomes still, they see Theresa stir a little, her movements looking as if she is trying to get away from what is happening to her, but no longer having the strength to do so. Once they are sure that there is nothing that they can do, Harris and eleven men leave to try to find some weapons. They leave Lieutenant Hunter behind to keep a watch on everyone.
Ripley finds herself in Theresa's mind. Gone are the images of the aliens, only darkness prevails. When she finally locates Theresa, she is surprised at what she finds. Theresa's appearance shifts, one moment being the woman she recognizes, then becoming that of a seven or eight year old girl. It is the child that she first deals with, for it is the one shape that she stays as for the longest times.
"Hello Theresa."
"Go away Ripley. I don't want you here!"
"Aren't you lonely?" she asks as she lowers herself to the eye level of the child then gently touches the child's shoulders, turning her so that they can look into each other's face.
"So, this is why there was two voices, why I heard a child," Ripley says as she wipes away some of the child's tears from her face. "It explains a lot. So, are you lonely?"
"I just want to sleep Ripley, no more bad dreams. Sleep and never wake up."
"Why?"
Suddenly the image shifts and the child becomes the woman. This causes Ripley to release her hold on the woman and to stand up.
"You tell me why not. It's all over for me, there's nothing more for me to fight for. I'm all that's left of this project now, so let me go as well."
"What about your friends?"
"What friends? I have no friends."
"Call wouldn't agree with that. She's taken a liking to you and so has Johner."
Once more the child stands before her.
"You lie!" she shouts as tears again form in her eyes. "No one likes me. They only want me around so that they can use me! They don't care about me!" Then, in a softer, sadder voice, "Nobody cares about me."
"I care… Terri. That's why I came, why I'm here with you now."
Sobbing, the child looks at Ripley, then throws her arms around Ripley's neck and holds on tightly, giving in to her need for comfort. In response, Ripley puts her arms around her and holds her close, comforting her as best as she can, surprised at the warm way she feels at this contact, almost ready to cry herself. As she holds the child, she suspects that this is Theresa's emotional and human side, and the adult is her intellect, her memory, and her alien side. She continues to hold her until such a time as she feels her pushing away from her. Letting go of her, she looks again into the face of the woman.
"Who put you up to this?" She doesn't try to hide the doubt and disbelief that she is feeling as she wipes her face dry. "Why are you trying to save me?"
"No one put me up to this. I'm here because I want to be here, and it seemed the only way for me to reach you." She says as she comes to her feet. "If you don't want me here, then why are you letting me stay? Go ahead, send me away if that is what you want."
"I can't. You're the one who initiated this, the one in control. Not me. I repeat, why are you here?" she now demands.
"Because I don't want to lose you, damn it!" Ripley snaps.
With these words that she hadn't been prepared to say and just barely was willing to admit to herself, Ripley has said it out loud for both to hear, for both to know and hopefully, for both to accept.
"You don't know me, Ripley," she says softly, sadly. Ripley's response had taken her completely off guard.
"No, I don't know you, but I want to."
"I don't understand. Why would you want to know me?"
"Because I do, and how about calling me Ellen?
"Neither of us was given a chance for a normal life, but we are a part of each other. I have the advantage of living before and of keeping many those memories, but not you. You woke up as an adult, with memories not really your own, and to a face that is a stranger to your mind. I want to help you. Believe it or not, we're both the victims here."
"I'm not sure how to take this offer of yours. I know you didn't want to be this involved."
"Not at first. But things, and people, change.
"I'm not looking for a mother-daughter relationship, we've been robbed of any chance for that, but we can become friends. Your Queen felt that we needed each other, wanted me to help you. She was the one who gave you my last name, wanted you to be a part of me. I believe she was right in doing this.
"She didn't have to ask me to help you. I had decided that the first time I saw you standing on your own two feet. And I still want to help you, if you'll let me."
"I can't make you any promises…Ellen. Not right now."
"I'm not looking for any Terri."
Call, Johner, and the Doctor watches as, after several minutes having passed, Ripley lowers her hands from Terri's face as she opens her eyes. Backing up, they allow the two women some space to stand. Once Ripley is on her feet, she extends a hand to Terri and helps her to stand. The others can see that something has changed and that things feel different between the two women, but no is sure what, why, or how it has happened.
"Where's Harris?" Ripley asks as she looks around.
"Him and some of his men went looking for the mercenaries' weapons," Johner tells her. Then, in a subdued voice "What's up between you two?"
"Let's say that we had a meeting of the minds."
"Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he says with confusion in his voice.
"Just what I said Johner, a meeting of the minds."
Slowly the General and five men move through the corridors, cautiously checking everywhere for the aliens. Without Ripley or Theresa along to serve as an early warning system, they know the aliens could be on top of them in a moment. This causes them to be very jumpy and nervous. Adding to that is the fact that their hunt has been almost fruitless and they face the prospect of going back empty handed. All that they have found so far is empty weapons.
Accepting that the aliens must have taken the loaded weapons and have hidden them, they still continue the search. They continue to head towards the north landing bay, aware of the fuel vapors that are filling the corridor. When the smell begins to become strong, the General orders them to return to command center.
"As you all can smell, we don't dare to go any farther. I believe we won't find anything more anyway, so we might as well head back."
Following his lead, they all begin to head back to the command center. After back tracking only a few yards, all hell begins to break loose as aliens begin dropping from overhead. Ignoring the possibility of igniting the fuel vapors, they begin to fire their shock rifles, with little effect. The General still has the gun that Theresa had given him and he puts it to use, quickly spending what few rounds that were still in it.
Screams fill the corridors as the humans fight for their lives. Occasionally there is the sound of a dying or injured alien as the General manages to find a mark. In the end there is only silence. Filling the corridor are the dropped stun rifles that the men had been carrying, the occasional acid burn from a wounded alien, and the now empty gun that Terri had given to the General.