Chapter One: Georgia
Now that it has entered the atmosphere, the Betty flows smoothly down towards the surface. Call and Ripley are still in front of a window in the loading dock, from the other one, the one without the thermal glass, an acrid smell of burning comes, irritating the clone's nostrils. She approaches the young woman, puts her hand on her shoulder and grips lightly, in an encouraging way.
"Come on... let's join the others", she whispers tiredly.
"Why the fucking fuck did you fucking kiss me, you son of a fucking bitch!", Vriess yells from the command seat. Call and Ripley share a look halfway amused and incredulous.
"Well, if it's not clear to you, we were about to lose our nuts! I just got caught up in the moment! Don't get any weird ideas, Ironside!"
"Well, glad to know, you fucking bastard son of a bitch! It was worse than kissing the filthy hairy ass of a baboon!"
"Yeah, well... I need to piss!"
The two women suppress the hilarity caused by that bickering, focusing on the immediate future. The clone sits on the second seat and grabs the stick, taking control of the shuttle. The Auton stands next to her, one hand clinging to the back of her seat, the other one resting on the edge of the control panel.
"Where should we go now?", she asks staring at the clouds that they're passing through.
"As far away from the crash site as possible, I'd suggest", Ripley replies, consulting the maps on the small monitor, "I have no clue what the situation is down there, do you know anything about it?", she asks, hoping for practical help.
The girl takes a step forward to reach the console, the narrow space forces her to press her leg on Ripley's, she doesn't pay much attention, but this invasion of personal space doesn't go unnoticed to the hybrid.
"Wow, be my guest, do you wanna sit on me?", her tongue is quicker than her thoughts, damn alien side! Call turns backwards, striking her with a glance.
"Oh, is that you? I thought it was Johner!", the tone in her voice is so harsh that the woman can only low her gaze, and for the first time since she can remember, she experiences a feeling that she identifies as shame.
"Oh, you two keep flirting, as if I wasn't here!", Vriess adds fuel to the fire, offended.
"Shut up! Both of you!", the young woman explodes, imposing herself to keep her eyes on the commands in front of her, "Do you two for real think it's time to mark territory?", she reproaches them, exasperated.
"Oh, hold on a sec, I'm not marking territory!", Vriess raises his hands in an innocent gesture.
Ripley, on the other hand, is silent, reflecting on Call's remark, aware of the fact that, at least as far as she is concerned, she admits herself, she has no wrongs at all! Of all the people with whom she has spent the few hours that make up her whole life, both those who have survived and those who are now gone, the only one for whom she feels a sort of affection is her, and it's much more than what she would have hoped for herself, since the first time she opened her eyes on board of the Auriga.
But it's not just the attachment, there's also something physical, she doesn't know if even in her previous life she was so instinctive or if the Ellen Ripley who gave her most of her DNA was more pragmatic. Nor what her sexual orientation was, - as if it mattered -, she says to herself.
Her brooding thoughts are quite absurd, she thinks, since the young woman is not even a human being! And yet, she doesn't care. She seems more human than all the others put together, perhaps only Hillard and Purvis were closed to it, in terms of sensitivity. Then she thinks back to Christie's gesture and the pain she perceived in Vriess's voice, and realizes that maybe her trust in others is a bit too poor. In any case, she knows she prefers Call to all of them and she's the only one from whom she wouldn't want to separate and with who wants to cultivate a sort of... something.
Call should just be furious about that sort of claim, yet, Ripley's joke, with that vaguely seductive tone, provoked her a funny feeling.
Like when she had clawed Johner's tongue in her defense.
Or like when she had gently touched her shoulder, while everyone else was having fun finding WHAT she was.
Or like when, just a few minutes before, she had ordered that hybrid monster to "Put her down", and then had shielded her with her own body, holding her in a firm, protective embrace as they had entered the atmosphere.
But most of all, when she had spoke to her and how she did it, while everyone else seemed to avoid her. She realizes only now, that for the whole time of the attack, the woman did nothing but gravitate around her, ready to protect and support her.
Her storm of thoughts is suddenly interrupted by Johner's grunt.
"So folks, what do we do now?", the man asks, scratching his testicles.
"I've set a descent trajectory…"
"Fuck you, I don't wanna land on this shit-hole!", the man interrupts Call with his usual caveman-like manner.
"Johner!", Ripley immediately blocks him, she rises from her seat, trying in vain to avoid physical contact with the girl, as a sign of respect, but the space is too small, she places her hands lightly on her hips and whispers a word of apology, letting her to takeover the shuttle's controls. She deliberately approaches with threatening motion that ape of Johner and notices with satisfaction that he steps back.
"We have no idea what condition this ship is in, we need to rest, and, I don't know about you, but I definitely need a shower, so please, tell me that you have at least one"
The man's deformed mouth opens wide while he is in doubt whether to answer or not, but before he decides, she speaks once again.
"So don't play the chickenshit with us and get over it, we land, we rest for a few hours, and then, if you want to get the fuck out of here, well, personally, I will come to terms with the sorrow for loosing you"
Call loves this wild side of hers, she can't help but smile, turning her back on the others.
"The militia will be busy for a while on the site of the crash, I doubt they have noticed us, but just to be sure, it's better to stay at a safe distance. So no towns or big cities, no desert areas, they wouldn't offer resources, just in case we want or need to stay longer. I'd suggest a vast rural and wooded area, with a temperate climate, like the forests between Georgia and South Carolina", the young woman proposes.
"Excellent, Call", the clone approves, with her icy stare still on Johner's ugly snout. He brings a hand to his face, scratching shaggy hair.
"Well... Anyway, the thermal shields didn't hold up, like, damaging sectors five through nine, so, like, only three cabs are still intact, the others are torn, like, there are holes the size of basketballs. I've checked", then he raises his arms and moves back one more step before keep going.
"And, like, sorry Ripley, but you have to give me this one, I won't sleep with the cripple", he dares.
"Lick my asshole, asshole!", exclaims Vriess, frustrated by the inability of standing up and punching him right in his rotting teeth.
Well aware of her previous reaction, Ripley approaches Call.
"Is it okay with you if we share?", she asks respectfully.
"Sure", the Auton answers faking detachment.
- Boy, she sure got offended! -, the clone thinks looking for a way to make up for it.
As soon as the Betty hits the ground, Call scans communications net, the rest of the crew waits in silence, holding their breath. When the girl finally confirms that their landing seems to have gone unnoticed, everyone's relief is evident. It's already dark outside, but the full moon paints the silhouette shadow of the battered pirate shuttle over the clearing in the middle of the woods.
Before Johner acts with his usual arrogance, the android quickly claims the best cab among those still intact.
"We'll take Hillard's, which has at least a decent shower, since you don't need one, do you, Johner?", she ironically takes revenge, relying on Ripley's protection, just in case the man takes the bait.
"Yeah, well...", but he's not in the mood anymore, there's no competition with that harpy of a weirdo covering her ass.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a bit", Ripley proposes, watching her disappear into the dark corridor.
Only after hearing her closing the cab door behind her, she invites Johner to go as well. The man vanishes without worrying about his disabled companion.
"I'll take care of you", the woman reassures him.
"But first, I need to know if you have any idea how I can fix that shot", she tells him, alluding to Call's wound.
"Take me to the loading dock", he replies with cooperation.
She obeys instantly, lifting him on her shoulders without the slightest effort. When they reach the dock area, she places him on the ground and heads to the half-stretched shelf that the man is pointing, in search of the box he has described, after poking around almost blindly, she finally spot the target and with a final effort, she manages to grab it. She deposits it close to Vriess, who opens it and pulls out two wrappers a little larger than the palm of her hand, handing them both, with a clear smile.
"One for now, and a spare one, just in case, ya know, better you keep them. Manual's inside"
"You knew...", the woman realizes. He nods, with a sad look.
"How?", she asks him, annoyed by the fact that she had not sense she wasn't human.
"When we hijacked the ship which was carrying Purvis to the mine planet, I caught her while she was connected to the system. She didn't notice me, though. Ya' know, I was stealing stuff. So, while I was there, I grabbed these two as well. Who knows what they were doing with them on a cargo ship. I wanted to tell her, ya know, but then we got on board the Auriga and it all went to shit"
"You can still tell her", Ripley points out, - after all, he's also good man - she admits to herself. The boy snorts with a sad smile, shaking his head.
Back on her shoulders, the hybrid brings him to his cab, laying him on the cot. Without a word, she scans the room, spots what she's looking for and after grabbing the object, reaches the tiny bathroom. She fills the basin with water, grabs a stained towel and deposits all on the mattress next to the man, still sitting with his back on the wall.
"Thank you!", Vriess exclaims with genuine gratitude. She nods back, resting her hands on her hips.
"You all right?", she asks.
"Of course!", the man replies with haste.
"Thanks again, Ripley", he adds.
"Thank you!", she smiles as she shows the kits in her hands.
"Hey Ripley...", the boy calls her back.
"Uhm... well, for what it's worth, you're a good person", he hears her snorting in return.
"If our paths should split, treat her well", he adds.
For a moment the clone would like to object, telling him that it's not sure that Call wants to follow her, rather than him. She chooses to be silent, instead, accepting the hypothesis, almost superstitiously.