Call stood facing the interior wall of the ship, rapping her knuckles against it, thinking. She'd explained to Ripley, Hicks, Vasquez and Burke why exactly they were here. No easy task, given the situation, and it had taken her a lengthy two hours to do so. Two hours meant more precious time lost – but it had been necessary.
Call felt exhausted. She leaned her head back and rubbed the base of her neck. They'd taken it well, or so she thought. Perhaps she simply chose to interpret their reactions of silence as that of stunned acceptance. Well, at least almost all of them had accepted it. Burke, however, had scoffed midway through her explanation, rose up without a word and strode away from the group. Not that his opinion at this point would have counted anyway, and he knew it. Ripley...Ripley was harder to read. She had leant back up against the wall of the ship and lit another cigarette. I didn't want for it to be this way, thought Call. But, that's how things happened…and there it is, she had said as she finished. They didn't say much afterwards, except that they needed time to confer amongst themselves, and Call had left them to it, somewhat relieved to be alone.
She turned away from the wall to see Ripley standing in front of her, looking at her steadily. Call smiled, but Ripley did not return it. 'You said we have another five hours before we leave. Why don't you take this chance, and come with us?' spoke Ripley.
Call looked ahead of her as they both sat down on two adjacent seats. 'I told you. Because I have to finish this thing once and for all. While I still have the opportunity.'
'Even if it means that you might die trying?'
Call sighed and wondered to herself. Why couldn't Ripley realize that Call had decided that she was willing to pay the ultimate price to ensure that they, and future generations to come, wouldn't have to face this horror ever again? Call had thought that Ripley would appear more grateful, more comforting about it. Apparently not. 'Yes. Even if that means I might die trying.' answered Call.
'After all you've been through, after what you've seen – I'd think you'd want to get the hell away from here.' said Ripley.
Why the persistence, thought Call? As if I hadn't thought about the very idea myself, and fought against my own selfish motives... And then it occurred to her. Hadn't Ripley herself been through the same agonizing process a few weeks ago? She'd narrowly escaped with her life aboard the Nostromo and was fortunate enough to be picked up in her drifting ship somewhere near the frontier. To go back into the fire seemed pointless, one could even say; crazy. But yet she had decided to come. And now, she was testing Call. She wanted to know whether she and Call shared the same honorable intentions for doing what they were doing, or whether Call had separate plans that were linked to the interests of the Company. At this moment, there was nothing more that Call wanted than for Ripley to be on her side. She wanted empathy, not sympathy. She needed for Ripley to understand.
'You wanna know the real reason for why I'm doing this? I'm doing it for you.' said Call calmly.
'Doing it for me...?' repeated Ripley, not understanding.
'There's something I left out. I didn't think you needed to know... Back where I came from, they cloned you. But you were an almost complete hybrid – our species mingled with theirs. I didn't think it was right, and neither did you. So you asked me to change things. And,' Call laughed sadly, 'I promised I would.'
Ripley closed her eyes momentarily. She didn't need to know which species Call was referring to. And she didn't want to know how this had all come about. Later. She would deal with this later. 'Analee, I'm sorry.' She placed a hand on Call's shoulder.
'Call. Just Call. No one calls me Analee.' She looked down, relieved that Ripley finally saw things clearly.
'Alright Call. You do what you have to do.'
'But don't you want to know? How all of this happened, I mean?' asked Call as she watched Ripley rise up.
'I don't need to right now. Besides, you're going to change all that...and I will never need to understand because none of it would have happened. Right?' she smiled at Call.
'Let's hope so.'
* * *
Ripley lay in her bunk with Newt, holding onto the girl tightly as she slept. Sleep for Ripley was hard to come by these days. Peaceful, uninterrupted, dreamless sleep, that is. But if it was sleep filled with those horrific black shapes in her mind, she'd rather do without it entirely.
They were waiting for the sun to rise so that Call and Velko could leave when it was light out, to set up the device and then leave on their own ship before it went off. That's what they had all agreed on. Then as soon as Call and Velko had left, the rest of them would take off, and be gone. She and Newt wouldn't have to worry about a thing any more – they'd be safe – far away from this place. Ripley sighed. Then why didn't anything feel right?
Newt squirmed in Ripley's arms and moaned softly. She was having nightmares again. She nudged the girl gently with her hand. 'Newt...wake up, it's alright. It's alright...it's almost over.'
Newt opened her eyes and cautiously took in her surroundings. 'We're leaving today.' she said quietly.
'Yeah honey. That's right.' She smoothed the girl's hair back with her hand.
'No more monsters?'
'No more.'
'But Ripley...what if the monsters try to get back home?' Newt turned to face her.
'Some people here are staying behind to make sure that they don't.' explained Ripley.
'Who? The new people?'
'Yes.'
'But what if they die too?'
Ripley remained quiet, unwilling to answer. She hoped that Newt wouldn't press her for one. But the girl simply looked at her and understood that some things were never certain. That every story didn't come with a happy ending. It wasn't fair that she had to know such things at this young age. She should have been – right now – with her parents and her brother. Far away from here. Monsters should have been something she had simply read or heard about in stories, not something real that had slaughtered her family and the rest of the colonists.
It made the anger swell up inside of her. How could the Company so recklessly endanger the lives of so many people? And then they had the audacity to partially disguise the rescue operation as an investigation of the life form. Why else had Burke been so eager to prevent them from obliterating their species? It was disgusting and it wasn't right. But it's almost over, she told herself. It wasn't her problem anymore. She could go back, and begin a new life with Newt.
But how could she do that without knowing whether the alien species was destroyed or not? If Call and Velko weren't successful, the Company might try obtaining the creature yet again, except with more determined resolve the second time around. How could she live with that uncertainty? The truth is, she thought, you can't. You can't go on living knowing that they're still out there – dormant or alive – that they might appear again to haunt you, and everyone you love.
Ripley looked back down at Newt, who had laid her head back down on the pillow, but wasn't asleep because she was too afraid to dream bad dreams. She was holding on tightly to a detached head from a doll, who she fondly referred to as Casey.
Ripley hugged the girl, and shut her eyes. No, it wasn't over yet. She had made her decision.
* * *
Once Ripley made sure that Newt was soundly asleep, she got up from the bunk quietly and left the room. She made her way to a small storage room and looked around. She would need to take a few extra things along with her. She saw some carrier bags folded neatly on up on a shelf and some boxes labeled with their contents. Ripley grabbed one of the bags and began to stuff it full with some food, water and extra cartridges of ammunition. She saw an unopened Sprite can that lay idly next to some bottles of water and held it in her hand. Drinks from the future, she thought. I'm buying stocks from this company. If I live through this.
She turned her head around as she heard footsteps approach her from behind.
'Ripley, I wanted to tell you that-' Hicks stopped in mid-sentence as he saw what she was doing. 'What's going on?'
Might as well tell him now and get it over with. 'I can't let them go alone, Hicks. I have to make sure they kill those things once and for all. It's just something I have to do,' she continued to walk around the room looking for anything useful that she could take. 'I can't explain it, so don't ask me to.'
'That makes three of us then.' he said.
Ripley stopped and looked back at him, eyebrows raised.
'It's Vasquez. She told me the same thing. She refused to explain – because I wouldn't understand, she said.' He swallowed. It was clear to Ripley that he did. 'It's just that...too many people died back there, and it has to end at some point, doesn't it?'
'It will end, no matter what we do. But if we can make it end the way we want it to, then that's what matters.'
They didn't say anything for a few moments; they both clearly understood what it meant to go back out there again.
'So,' said Hicks, ending the silence as he looked around the room. 'Do you know anything about pulse rifles or do our new friends here use something more sophisticated?'
* * *
Hicks walked into the sick bay, trying to adjust the body armor suits that Call had provided them with. It was considerably lighter than what he was used to, but it required too many adjustments to be made. Far too many to his liking. And they didn't make buckles and zips like they used to. Frustrated, he decided to simply tie a double knot to secure his knee plates and left it at that.
He walked over to the two beds and was surprised to see one occupant fully conscious. It was Lieutenant Gorman. He had a pale blue cloth wrapped tight around his head, and he sat up slowly as he saw Hicks approach him.
'Long day huh, Lieutenant.' stated Hicks.
'If you say so. Where the hell are we?' He touched his bruised head lightly.
He hesitated, feeling reluctant to tell the Lieutenant everything that Call had told him. 'Almost out of here.' he said, trying to include as little information as possible in his words. Hicks hoped that Gorman would not pursue the matter.
He didn't. 'I take it our rescue mission didn't go so well.'
Hicks shook his head and frowned while Gorman continued. 'How many people have we lost? No wait – don't tell me. I'll take the heat for it later.' He looked up at the corporal recollecting how it had all gone wrong before he was unconscious. 'I guess I really made an ass out myself, huh.'
'I can't really disagree with that. Sir.'
'I didn't intend for everything to go to hell like it did. I really didn't anticipate it.'
That's why they made you a lieutenant, Gorman. So you could anticipate situations like this, and take charge. We looked to you to lead – but you just lost it and went cold on us. And now you hint at forgiveness. But instead, Hicks said, 'Forget it. It's over.' And he walked out of the room.
As he walked through the doorway, he bumped into Private Hudson, who approached him looking somewhat perturbed. 'What's this I hear about you and Vasquez going back? Into that shit hole?' he asked Hicks.
'Yeah. You heard it right.'
'Man, you must be nuts!' He grabbed Hicks by the shoulder. 'Listen, you've been talking to those freaks over there too much. This jet is gonna leave in an hour. You should be on it. If they wanna go kill themselves – I say it's their own business. Not yours. Not mine. Theirs.'
'Hudson. I'm not asking you to come with us.' He slowly removed the marine's hand from his shoulder. 'And I appreciate your concern, but it is my business.'
'It's suicide, man.' said Hudson shaking his head.
'To you, maybe.' he said harshly, and then softened his tone. 'Listen, I have to go. But I'm glad that you made it – and that you get to go back home. And I'm not asking you to follow me because I want you take this opportunity to get out of here.' With that, he walked away – lengthy words tired him. And it was almost time for him to leave with the others.
He could hear Hudson muttering to himself as he walked off. 'It's just plain suicide, man...'
* * *
Everyone was silent, as the dawn and the time for their departure approached. Velko, Vasquez and Hicks were conducting a last-minute check up on all the items they had taken with them while Call watched with uneasy quietness as Ripley said goodbye to Newt.
'Listen to me Baby, I promise that we will see each other again, do you understand?' She was kneeling before Newt, her hands on the girl's shoulders and her face leveled with hers.
'You can't keep promis-es here,' Newt was crying, unable to hold back her tears and her words broke between her sobs. 'Even if you mean to keep them.'
'Not here honey. Some place much better than here.' said Ripley, trying desperately to keep from crying herself.
'Heaven?' asked Newt.
'If something does happen to me, then yes. But I'm going to try my best to come back to you.' She wiped Newt's tears away gently with her fingers. 'Now I need for you to put on a brave face, because it makes me feel brave too.'
'So you can go fight monsters.' said Newt, pursing her lips to keep back the sobs.
Ripley nodded and suddenly hugged the girl, holding on to her tightly as if she was trying to get as much from one hug as she possibly could. She then rose up, stroked the girl's hair and willed herself to walk away from her. She felt the wind outside rush swirling in as the door behind her opened. She walked backwards, still looking at Newt. 'Take care of Casey for me, would you? When I come back I don't want to see her looking any different!'
She saw Lieutenant Gorman step up behind Newt, pick her up in arms as the girl gave a slight wave with her hand. And that was the last image she had of her.
* * *
The five people stood in silence as they watched the large ship's engine give a deep resounding hum, and then lift off the ground. Part of it disappeared behind heavy grey clouds as it rose in altitude.
'Alright folks. No use standing around here for a welcoming party – let's get to it.' said Hicks as he shouldered his bag and started making his way towards the construction tower.
'Did you have a chance to test the timer?' Call asked Velko as they walked, weapons in hand.
'In between the packing, the weapons check and the nervous pacing back-and-forth, no.' he replied.
Call smiled. 'Well, then did you manage to get some sleep?'
'Some. But not enough.'
They walked on, each one silently cursing the rough winds. Their anger at the weather served as a convenient distraction from the fear they knew they were all about to face. But Velko didn't enjoy the silence as he normally would. He wanted to hear something other than the howling wind that tore at their hair and faces. He turned to the person nearest to him and tried to initiate conversation. 'So Ripley, on a lovely quiet morning such as this,' he winced at himself for this pathetic attempt, but continued. 'What would you rather be doing?'
Ripley looked at him as if he was mad. But then she suddenly gave in, and started laughing. 'You know, Velko, I would enjoy nothing more than to share a pleasant walk – much like this one – with you.'
He smiled an embarrassed smile and looked on. 'Are you sure he knows which way we're going?' he asked, nodding towards Hicks. Velko didn't much like the idea of getting lost in this wilderness.
'He knows what he's doing.' said Ripley. She explained to him that they would head towards the ship that he, Bohr and Call had arrived in first. Once they knew its exact position they could then set up the nitro-bombs allowing themselves sufficient time to take off before the explosion.
'And you think there's a nest under the tower?' he asked, as the wind suddenly decided to quieten down.
'Yes.' she answered, somewhat uncomfortably. She wanted to avoid the topic whenever possible. 'Velko...that's an unusual name. Where are you originally from?'
He looked about him before answering, thinking that he may have heard something other than the wind. 'Um, my parents were from Croatia actually. And then they migrated to Australia – they were taking in immigrants in at the time. I was born there before I moved to the UA when I was eleven.'
Ripley nodded. 'So I take it that Yugoslavia has split into its separate states again. Or should I say, will split into separate states.' She paused, thinking. 'What's it like, knowing what's going to happen years from now?'
He chuckled. 'You know, if I wasn't here obliterating aliens, I could make a million by running the most successful fortune-telling business in the world. I can see our company's slogan now,' he waved his hand about in front of him. 'We see the future as clearly as yesterday.'
'...Because the future was yesterday.' continued Ripley smiling.
Suddenly they saw Call run up towards them, shouting as the wind immediately picked up in fury. 'We found the ship! This is it guys, the tower's not more than a hundred meters from here! Let's take up our positions!'
* * *
It was not necessary to open the door leading to the tower. It had been rammed down by the armored car when they had evacuated it the previous day. We're going back into the madness, thought Ripley. She watched as Hicks and Velko took the front lead, and Call and Bohr covered them from behind. All conversation had ceased as each person focused entirely on the job at hand.
They approached the staircase they had used before and they all looked at it, thinking similar thoughts. They had agreed that they did not need to go to the lowest basement level, since placing the explosive device somewhere above the nest inside the building would provide more than enough damage to eliminate the creatures. They would make their way two floors down – no further than that – before setting up the bomb.
Sounds easy enough, thought Velko. But this place doesn't know the meaning of easy.
They climbed down the stairs quietly and steadily, this time with Vasquez and Hicks in the lead. Velko felt the blood in his head pound, and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. How does climbing down two floors manage to feel like two miles, he asked himself?
'Keep cool,' said Hicks looking back at Velko, almost as if he could read his mind. 'We're nearly there...'
Hicks didn't get to finish the rest of his sentence before something silently and swiftly dropped down from above them and clung onto Velko. He heard Call yell out – something like "don't shoot!" – and realized that there were more black shapes coming steadily along the metal platforms towards the rest of them. He wanted to get the kid – Velko, out from under the writhing creature but he couldn't get a clear shot. And he never got the chance. If they didn't run now, none of them would make it.
* * *
Velko struggled fiercely with the creature as it tried to pin him down, pushing its heavy black head away from his face with both hands. Its face managed to get a centimeter closer to his own, and its secondary jaw repeatedly tried to close down on Velko's flesh, making a snapping sound each time it missed. He couldn't see much, and he had managed to lose his laser blaster in the tussle. He kicked at the creature with his legs in vain. He felt a searing pain in his right hand, as the creature's teeth scraped against the lower part of his wrist, immediately drawing skin and blood with it. He wouldn't last much longer, he knew. Velko then remembered his revolver that was neatly tucked away in its holster by his hip. With his left hand he held the alien's head at bay, and then groped for his side arm with the other.
He suddenly remembered the burning acid these creatures bled. This is not the time to be choosy.So what's a little acid compared to a hole in one's face? Velko pulled up the revolver and pushed the barrel up against the creature's chest. It was almost as if it knew what was going to happen. It snarled and with one last desperate push, Velko yelled and simultaneously shoved the alien's body off of him while he pulled the trigger.
For a moment it seemed as if it hadn't died. It picked him up with remarkable strength and flailed around with Velko in its arms. Both bodies stood precariously near the edge of the platform, before the alien went suddenly limp, dropping Velko off the platform.
He watched as the ground rushed up to strike him in the face, and shut his eyes tight, expecting the worst. But luck was with him, the next floor wasn't too far down. He lay still for almost a minute before moving. When he did, he groaned, he felt as if he had been run over by a fire truck. He turned and felt a hot pain near his hip. He gingerly touched it, and felt his fingers burn too. He'd got the sucker. Had some acid burns to show for it, but he'd got that creature – it was dead. The burn wasn't too bad, he could still move. He felt proud of himself, and that gave him the encouragement he required to move on. He sat up slowly, when he heard rapid gunfire coming from somewhere above him.
Velko did the next thing he thought was best.
He ran.