I do not own Aliens.
Watched Resurrection last night. So fun.
The Survivors of LV-426
Top Brass Bastards
"State your full name please."
"Ellen Louise Ripley."
"Company Id Number?"
"NOC1447."
"Please tell us your version of events that happened, starting with when the aerial transport began its descent into colony LV-426 airspace."
"Well . . ."
". . . evidence of this, Corporal?"
He takes a deep breath, does everything he can to remain calm.
"Look, I already told you. Burke locked them up in the med bay with two of those things so they could be implanted with Xenomorph embryos for the trip back!"
The long table holds people he's never met before, never even heard of before.
"But you have no evidence of this, no visual, no audio-"
People who have never fought Xenos before, never even encountered them before.
"The entire place blew up! All the evidence was destroyed in the explosion!"
They don't know shit, they don't want to know shit.
"Caused by a series of unfortunate and irresponsible errors by your team, Corporal."
And he is getting fucking tired . . .
"Look-"
. . . of their shit.
But it's worse than that.
So much worse.
And, in retrospect, very obvious.
They had requested her, Burke had requested her, Ripley, on that voyage, as a safeguard.
They had known they wouldn't be able to stop her talking eventually.
No matter what forms they made her sign, no matter how much she lost her job and couldn't find a decent one.
No matter how much she was blacklisted.
She would talk.
To somebody who would dig until they found the truth.
So taking her along as a 'consultant', all the way down to the planet, when she could have 'consulted' from the damn ship, was insurance.
Insurance against her truth, against their lies.
Find the right moment for her 'accident'.
Or better yet, when the opportunity presented itself, her implantation.
Silenced with finality, silenced with death.
No more Ripley.
No more loose ends, no more information leak.
No more problem.
Just money.
Gobs and gobs of money.
Bioweaponry, defense.
Even an extra vessel thrown in . . .
". . . and Newt."
. . . for bonus.
And that was the very worst part.
"I've been through all this before. Just like last time. They don't want to hear the truth about Burke, about what he did."
She's had it, she's absolutely had it.
She's had it with this facility, she's had it with space.
She's had it with Weyland-Yutani.
"They want somebody to blame. They want somebody to take the fall."
She's not yelling, not raging.
She's done.
She's just done.
Hicks nods.
"They brought me in too."
She clenches her jaw.
"What did you tell them?"
He shrugs, as if the answer is obvious.
"The truth, same as you. Got about the same reaction. They don't want to admit Burke got caught doing what they had planned all along."
She nods.
"I'm just worried about Newt. They're going to try and trip her up, take her words and twist them against her. I know she's smart and she's strong. But . . ."
Hicks reaches out, squeezes her hand.
Ellen lets him.
". . . she's just a little girl."
"Yeah. I know."
And it's swelling relief for Ripley when she finally sees the child again.
She hugs her tight, feeling the surprising strength of the little girl's skinny arms around her.
"Hey, are you okay?"
And tries to sound calm as she kneels down to her level.
Newt nods, little lips pressed tightly together.
Then she speaks.
So young, so very young and gentle and soft.
"They told me if I didn't talk, they wouldn't let me see you again."
Instant rage lashes through the woman who unflinchingly took on an Xenomorph Hive Queen.
Tries not to show it.
"They did?"
Stays casual.
The little girl nods.
"Mmmh. I told them that you rescued me from the monsters, you'd rescue me from them."
And Ripley bites down on her smile, feeling a painful swelling of love and fierce protection in her chest.
"Cross your heart?"
"Cross my heart."
"And hope to die?"
"And hope to die."
Notices Hicks doesn't even try to hide his emotions, instead flashing a proud smile at the child and speaking quietly.
"Well, they were right, honey."
And then Ellen Ripley . . .
"Absolutely right."
. . . really does smile.
Thanks to RedHood001 and DinahRay for so kindly reviewing the previous chapters!
Continued daily posting, concluding on Wednesday, something I've planned from the start.
So enjoy and see you again tomorrow!