I HOLD NO CLAIMS TO ANY MEMBER OF THIS STORY. Only Riley and Jack are mine!
Chapter Three
Love at First Sight
"It looks like a wasteland."
Jack's comment made Riley look over her shoulder. He and Ripley had moved forward to look at LV-426 beneath them but she had stayed in her chair and watched the Marines as they got ready.
"Structure seems intact." Ripley commented.
"You only say that because we haven't seen the inside yet," Her sister commented from her seat.
"They still have power." Ripley replied.
"Then again, the aliens didn't really fuck with the power on the ship either, did they?"
"God you two," Ripley shook her head. "I'm just trying to make myself feel better and you knock it back down."
"Sorry, love," Jack grinned.
Riley snorted as they landed and the tank they were in took off. "Why feel good out here just to change attitude when we find out how horrible it is inside?"
"Ten seconds, people," Apone called to his men. "Look sharp. All right, I want a nice, clean dispersal this time."
"You ladies be careful out there, okay?" Riley grinned at the Marines as the vehicle came to a stop and the door opened. Hicks gave her a grin and then jumped out into the rain. She then stood up and joined the others at the screens. "God, looks like there hasn't been life out here in a couple of weeks." She found her view centered on Vasquez's screen as Hudson did a bypass and opened the door. She could feel her heart beat harder and louder as the doors opened into the dark passage; she caught Ripley squeezing Jack's hand. Both of them were just as nervous as she was.
The structure was ripped the pieces inside past the next door. Rain had leaked in through the holes and made a huge puddle in the walkway as electrical wires and chunks of metal were littered everywhere.
"Second team, move inside," Goreman ordered. "Hicks, take the upper level."
"Sir, you copying this?" Apone asked. "Looks like hits from small-arms fire. We got some explosives damages, probably seismic survey charges. Are you reading this? Keep it tight, people."
"All right Hicks, Hudson, use your motion trackers."
That brought Riley's eyes to Hicks' screen and watched as they traveled on the top floor.
"Nothing," Hicks replied. "Not a goddamn thing."
"Which means they either killed eachother," Jack began.
"Or the Aliens are hibernating." Riley sighed, hanging her head.
"Quarter and search by twos." Gorman ordered.
"Ok, Dietrich, Frost, you're up," Hicks ordered when they came to a new area. There was a little commotion with Hudson and Vasquez with some mice but nothing serious yet.
"Ripley," Riley shoved her finger onto Hicks' screen.
"Wait, tell him to…" Ripley grabbed a headset. "Hicks, back up. Pan right." Hicks' screen turned to a large set of holes in the floor; almost like acid had caused them. "There."
"Son of a bitch," Jack sighed, running a hand over his head.
"You seeing this all right?" Hicks asked. "Looks melted. Somebody must have bagged one of the trio's bad guys here."
"Acid for blood." Burke sighed.
Riley grabbed the headset from her sister. "Ha! Take that losers! All you bastards that laughed at us can suck it! I demanded apologies and ass-kissings when you all get back!" There were some laughs but they melted away to return to their serious mode.
"If you like that," Hudson began. "You're gonna love this." It was another hole, huge in size, that went through several floors; Ripley gave a frown as Hudson hocked a logy and dropped it down.
"Sir, this place is dead. Whatever happened here, I think we missed it." Apone commented.
Gorman sighed. "All right, the area is secure. Let's go check their computer."
"You think that is secure?" Jack commented.
"The area is secured."
"Let him believe what he wants," Riley gave a yawn. "When he dies it'll be his fault." Gorman glared at her and she gave a huge, sweet grin at him.
"First team, head for Operations. Hudson, see if you can get their CPU on-line."
"Affirmative."
"Hicks, meet me at the south lock. We're coming in."
"He's coming in," Hudson's voice rang on Vasquez's screen; he had covered his own mic but hadn't thought of hers. "I feel safer already."
"Pendejo jerkoff."
Gorman had already left but Riley had heard it loud and clear and gave a laugh.
As she stepped out into the rain, Riley felt her heartbeat quicken. ~Keep calm, baby girl,~ She told herself. ~This is just like those Resident Evil games that you played with dad all those years ago. The only difference is that these are aliens that are superfast and strong and not undead slowpokes that you can run by easily.~ Riley gave a sigh. ~Who am I kidding? We're all gonna die.~
"Don't worry," She turned her head to find Bishop walking beside her. "We'll be fine."
"You're so positive," Riley replied. "But only because you haven't seen this before." She rolled her head as they entered the compound. "I hope you can keep it."
Ripley paused outside the building and Jack turned back to her, placing an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Don't worry, Eleanor," He told her. "I'll keep anything from happening to you if we do run into our sneaky bastards, all right? I can promise you that."
Ripley nodded and grabbed the hand around her shoulders and gave it a tight squeeze as they followed her sister inside.
The south lock as worse than the north one. Riley glanced around as Drake approached them.
"Sir, they sealed off this wing at both ends, welded the doors and blocked off the stairs with heavy equipment. But it looks like the barricade didn't hold."
"Any bodies?"
"No, sir."
"Last stand." Frost commented.
"Must have been a hell of a fight." Drake said.
"Yeah, looks that way." Hicks agreed.
"It wasn't a fight," Jack grunted, Ripley still gripping to his hand. "They weren't Marines or soldiers. These were maintenance workers with children. It was a massacre."
"I agree," Riley sighed. "Maybe a few of them held their own for a little while but the moment those bastards got to them…" She let it stop there and shook her head.
"All right, Drake, this way. We should be able to cut though the med lab to Operations."
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Riley whispered to herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.
"Don't worry," She gave a little jump and glanced to her right to find Hicks beside her. "Stick close to me and you'll be fine."
She gave a small grin. "Promise?"
He grinned back. "Promise."
"Son of a bitch!" Jack's growl made them all turn. Riley froze. In six tubes before them sat three facehuggers. Her anger rose instantly.
"I knew it!" She roared. "Doing tests on them? That's why all these stupid fuckers are dead!"
"Are those the same ones?" Burke asked, glancing at the three of them as they entered the room.
Ripley nodded her head. The man moved in closer to the creature in the last tube. "Careful, Burke." He glanced back at her before turning back to the alien; Riley gave a small jump and a laugh as the facehugger tried to get at him but was stopped by the tube, the tail wagging and the strange tube in the middle of it look for a passage to slither down to lay its egg.
"Looks like love at first sight to me." Hicks grinned at Burke.
"Oh, he likes you, Burke," Drake joined in.
Burke looked like he was about to piss himself.
"Two are alive, the rest are dead," Bishop announced, looking through some papers. "Surgically removed before embryo implantation. Subject Marachuk, John J., died during the procedure. They killed him, taking it off."
"Of course they did," Jack sighed, shaking his head. "The facehuggers don't like to be removed from their hosts. I have to say that I'd rather died there without knowing it before the chestburster gets to have me, you know?"
Riley and Ripley both gave a shiver, remembering that event with Kane. "Amen." They remarked together.
"Yo Hicks," Frost called as his motion tracker started to go off. "I think we got something here."
"Behind us." Hicks looked at the screen.
"One of us?" Ripley asked.
"Apone, where are your people?" Gorman called. "Anybody in D Block?"
"Uh, that's a negative. We're all in Operations."
That set everyone on edge again and Drake moved forward with his gun. "Talk to me, Frosty."
"Let's keep moving, baby."
Riley followed behind Hicks, her sister and brother-in-law behind her, and the rest trailing behind them. She listened and watched as they were led out into the halls again but found nothing. As they beeping got louder, Riley froze and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment until she jumped as Hicks' gun went off.
"Damn," she cried, her head racing.
"Fuck," Drake sighed.
"Hold up," Hicks turned to look at the sisters and nodded with his head, signaling them forward. Sharing a look with her sister, Riley moved forward with her, unsure of what he wanted. Following him down to the vent, she gasped.
"What is it?" Jack asked, moving up behind them.
"It's a child," Ripley answered him, eyes wide. "Hey, shh, it's all right." The thought of anyone, let alone a child, being alive still made them all smile as Hicks reached in to grab her. "It's all right. Don't be afraid. Come on. We won't hurt you." Ripley continued to coo to the child; until she bit Hicks and took off under the floors. "Don't let her go."
"She's under the grill!"
"Frost, get your light up here."
"Where'd she go," Riley took a step back and just watched as the rest of them swirled around in circles, watching the child as she moved like a damn rat beneath their feet before she slipped into a vent. Ripley moved after her.
"Well, that was entertaining." She commented with a chuckle.
"Aren't you going to go help her?" Jack asked her. "You can fit in the vent, too."
"Yeah, so could Bishop or Burke or Gorman." She grinned. "Besides, Ripley's the one that's good with kids, not me." She glanced at Hicks. "How's your hand?"
He looked at where he had been bitten for a moment before giving a thumbs-up.
It wasn't too long after that that Ripley returned with the child in her arms and they made camp at Operations. Riley watched with a smile as Gorman tried to get answers out of the child but she made no move to answer him and just stared.
"He doesn't know how to talk to kids, does he?" She asked.
Hicks gave a grin as Jack and Ripley ran them off. "He doesn't know how to talk to anyone."
Riley nodded in agreement. "No worries, though. Ripley and Jack will get her to talk. They know how to deal with kids."
"And you don't?" He glanced at her.
"Well, I knew how to deal with my niece, but that doesn't mean I liked it," She gave a chuckle. "The only kid I would deal with happily is my own and I don't have any so that should answer your question."
Hicks gave a laugh. "Yes, indeed it does." He began to fidget with something in the desk beside them. "So…no husband like your sister?"
Riley raised a brow for a moment before shaking her head. "Nope. There was one that I HAD hoped to marry but, he uh…"
"Left?"
"You could say that," Riley grumbled. "If getting ripped through an air duct by one of our creepy friends stands for leaving."
"Ah," Hicks felt guilt run through him. "My apologies."
"No need to," She smiled at him as she stood up. "Now, let's go see what Hudson can find on the screens, shall we?"
Hicks continued to grin at her. "You don't like to just sit around and wait, do you?"
"With all the shit that's going on? Hell no. I'll sit and wait when I'm on that ship on the way back home." She answered him.
Hicks watched as she moved towards the other Marines. "I second that."
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