Pg. 100
Johner has scampered close behind Ripley.
RIPLEY (cont’d)
Up the ramp. Dig your feet in. It’s soft
enough. Go!
We SEE an egg on Ripley’s blind side open. The Facehugger claws out. Launches.
Johner sees it.
JOHNER
Ripley!
Ripley turns. The Facehugger connects and clamps itself around her face, the tail coiling around her neck.
Ripley staggers, but doesn’t fall. She grips the tail with one hand, the spine of the body with the other. Her head shakes from side to side, jerks quickly up and down. We SEE the Facehugger’s tail go limp, its digits twitch.
Ripley pulls the parasite from her face, dashes it to the ground. Viscous goop runs sluggishly from her mouth. She aims, and spits the Facehugger’s still-writhing proboscis squarely between the Queen’s legs.
The Queen hisses, and takes a step back.
JOHNER
Oh, Holy Fuck!
Ripley draws a hand across her mouth. She turns to Johner.
RIPLEY
You still here? Get back to the flyer.
Give me half an hour.
JOHNER
(hesitant)
But...
RIPLEY
Johner. Go.
Johner lets his eyes fall. He turns away and begins to scramble up the slope.
Pg. 101
Ripley turns back to the Queen at bay. She slowly drops into a crouch, and cocks her head to mirror the Queen.
INT. THE USM FLYER – LATER
Johner is cold but he doesn’t seem to notice. His face is grim, his jaw set. From the cockpit the pilot turns.
PILOT
That’s been forty minutes now, Sir.
Maybe we...
JOHNER
(harsh bark)
We wait!
PILOT
You’re the boss.
JOHNER
(with venom)
Yeah, that’s right. I’m the boss, fly boy.
I’m the fuckin’ big badass boss. I’m the
Man. Don’t fuckin’ forget it.
As the pilot quietly twists back into his seat the hatch slides open. Ripley leaps in, slides it shut.
Johner half rises.
JOHNER (cont’d)
Ripley.
RIPLEY
(to the pilot)
Let’s go.
PILOT
With pleasure.
He flicks switches, pushes buttons. We HEAR the engines rev.
Ripley flops down on the bench opposite Johner. She looks across, but he doesn’t meet her eyes.
Pg. 102
RIPLEY
Well that wasn’t too pleasant.
Johner looks up. Ripley makes an in/out motion with her index finger into her mouth.
RIPLEY (cont’d)
Never felt I had to bite one off before.
She tries a mischievous smile, but Johner doesn’t go for it. His gaze drops again. Ripley’s smile sours.
JOHNER
(sober)
I didn’t step up to the plate, Ripley.
We SEE the craft shudder. It is lifting off.
RIPLEY
How’s the leg?
JOHNER
(touches knee)
Hurts like a son-of-a-bitch. Funny,
didn’t notice it when I was running
like a little girl.
RIPLEY
Johner...
JOHNER
Drop it!
IN SPACE
We SEE the shimmer move through space, distorting the starfield beyond it.
INT. THE PREDATOR MOTHER SHIP – CONTINUOUS
Several Predators gather around a central console, colourful, shifting 3-D images playing in the air above it.
Pg. 103
Earth. A triangulation of red lights converges on the Andes Mountains
INT. WOODS PRIVATE APARTMENT – DUSK
Woods, Ripley, Waddell and COMMODORE HAYNES.
A heavily decorated soldier, Haynes is portly and completely bald. He has a peaked USM cap cupped within one elbow.
A dozen or so fully equipped Marines are now also in the room, stationed at regular intervals along the walls.
ANGLE ON THE PANORAMIC WINDOW
Blast shutters are rolling down. Before they close we CATCH A GLIMPSE of USM craft slowly patrolling the sky outside.
RESUME SCENE
WOODS
(to Ripley)
So, what you suspected actually happened.
RIPLEY
I couldn’t say anything before. I had
to see it myself before I believed it.
WADDELL
Protandrous hermaphroditism. It’s not
uncommon. Several species of insects,
even fish, use it here on Earth. Purely
instinctual. Your friend has been alone
since the Auriga. Too long for a hive anima...
(glances at Ripley)
um, being. It was time to start a new
hive. To do that he had to become female.
RIPLEY
Handy.
(to Woods)
What about the BiOids?
WOODS
They’ve been deployed as you instructed.
Pg. 104
RIPLEY
Any problems?
WOODS
The teams finished over ten hours ago.
No incidents were reported.
RIPLEY
And the Queen?
WOODS
Commodore?
HAYNES
I have assigned our Veterans that duty.
RIPLEY
Veterans? Does that mean they’re good, or
they’re old?
HAYNES
There are twenty-five in the Unit. They have
forty-one Platinum Clusters between them. All
have seen at least seven campaigns on frontier
colonies. And they’ve all faced a variety of dangerous extraterrestrial organisms.
RIPLEY
So you’re telling me they’re good.
HAYNES
They’re better than good.
RIPLEY
I hope so. Everything depends on them.
WOODS
Thank you, Commodore.
Haynes puts his cap on. Salutes.
HAYNES
Ma’am.
He EXITS.
Pg. 105
Woods draws a long, ragged breath, tries to shift within her chair. A look of pain further creases her ancient face.
WOODS
(with effort)
I have to tell you something, Ellen. After
all these long. . .years of exerting almost
total control, I feel that this situation
WOODS (cont’d)
is now. . .dangerously uncontrollable. The
Plan allowed for years of observation,
conditioning, training. But. . .this...?
RIPLEY
Is better. And simpler. You protect us, we
protect you.
WADDELL
We?
RIPLEY
(shrugs)
Sometimes it gets confusing.
The wall monitor comes to life. Griggs appears.
GRIGGS
Ma’am. An orbital grid has recorded a
contact. It is massive. But no visual.
WOODS
A transport. A Mother Ship. Their smaller
ships have no faster-than-light drives.
They’re here.
Ripley turns and runs for the door. Johner limps in.
Ripley puts a hand on his shoulder.
RIPLEY
I’m going back to Her Ladyship, Johner.
You can’t come with me.
Johner just nods.
Ripley turns to address the ranking officer of the Marines in the room.
Pg. 106
RIPLEY
(voice raised)
Captain. This is my partner, Mr. John R.
him a gun. Something big.
JOHNER
Thanks, Ripley.
RIPLEY
(quietly)
Look after Woods. And ask her to show you
her little secret.
Johner frowns.
JOHNER
Say, Ripley, when this is over, maybe I’ll
let you buy me a cup of coffee.
RIPLEY
(smiles)
Sure.
She EXITS.
Johner takes a couple of limps further into the room, addresses everyone there.
JOHNER
So where’s my fuckin’ gun?
INT. THE CAVE TUNNEL - LATER
We HEAR an echoing cacophony of ghostly Alien sounds: hissing, mewling, roaring.
Ripley steps amongst the shattered remains of the racks of off-white BiOids, her boots tracking slime. She crunches over dead Facehuggers by the hundreds.
CU Ripley’s face. She peers into the gloom. Slowly her eyes go wide.
Pg. 107
RESUME SCENE
We HEAR a muffled, faraway explosion. Ripley jumps, turns, looks back the way she has come. But then she turns again, and sprints forward into the darkness.
EXT. THE MOUNTAINSIDE – LONG SHOT – NIGHT
SERIES OF DYNAMIC SHOTS
The mountainside is under heavy bombardment.
Falcons and smaller USM fighters are buzzing, firing, as if in dogfights, but we SEE only the occasional ripple indicating a Predator craft.
Larger USM craft are more static, hovering before the large cave entrances to the Company HQ.
They, too, are SEEN to be firing, but with the same limited success.
We SEE only a couple of the invading distortions destroyed, but USM fighters are falling regularly.
INT. WOODS APARTMENT – CONTINUOUS
Johner, standing beside Woods chair, is sweeping a big, multi-barreled, long-muzzled weapon back and forth around the room, checking the aiming mechanism.
WOODS
Johner. John, please, you’re making my
hardened professionals nervous.
We SEE Waddell, a little away from Woods, take another few steps away, nod to himself slightly. He turns back to Woods.
WADDELL
Ma’am, I should go. Another pair of hands
at the triage units will be helpful.
WOODS
Of course.
Feebly, she reaches out to take one of his hands.
WOODS (cont’d)
Thank you for everything. I’ll see you
soon.
Pg. 108
WADDELL
Ma’am.
He EXITS.
EXT. ENTRANCE TO THE LAUNCH/LANDING BAY - CONTINUOUS
A hulking USM battleship has taken position outside the bay. Its guns are blasting relentlessly, and are having some success. We SEE several distortions hit, explode.
ANOTHER ANGLE
We SEE a new distortion swing into view. Its faint glow pulses three times, and it releases a beam of energy.
QUICK INTERCUTS
The battleship explodes. Two other USM fighters see the attacker and blow it out of the sky.
With the last obstacle removed, Predator ships sweep through the still-crumbling superstructure of the battleship...
INT. THE LANDING/LAUNCH BAY – CONTINUOUS
...straight into the landing bay. They materialize as they skid to controlled emergency landings.
DYNAMIC SHOTS
Each disgorges dozens of ground troops who immediately cloak.
From the ground and several other levels in the cavernous space, the visor-bedecked Marines fire, finding their targets more often than the Predators had expected.
Groups of Predators jump defensive lines. The Marines are prepared. Knives drawn, hamstrings and necks are the targets. It’s a good strategy, but not good enough. More ships arrive. The tide comes on.
Pg. 109
ANOTHER ANGLE
At the very rear of the cavernous space, the last hanger doors begin to slide apart. Ripley steps out of the darkness, a huge smart gun strapped to her shoulder.
RIPLEY
Endgame.
Leveling her weapon she begins to run towards the conflict.
And behind her, out of the blackness, comes an Alien horde.
She manages to get off just two shots before the first wave of Warriors shoots past her. She keeps running.
The Predators see the new threat. Three quarters of their
number re-deploys to meet the Aliens. Shoulder cannons firing, the Predators charge, arm blades shining.
The Warriors reach the Marines. They sprint through them, vaulting over those too slow to get out the way.
Leaping at the Predators their tails are their deadliest weapons. And even in death, taking a deadly toll as their acid blood drenches many of their slayers.
Ripley reaches the closest Marines, flings herself down.
RIPLEY
Sorry we’re late, boys. But you know what
they say.
Then she’s up, smart gun blazing, putting Predators down.
INT. WOODS APARTMENT – CONTINUOUS
Only muted sounds of conflict reach up to Woods’ apartment. But we HEAR another sound; a buzzing DRONE. Suddenly the blast doors blow apart. Marines are tossed aside.
The force of the attack throws Johner behind Woods’ chair. He shakes himself, scrambles after his dropped weapon.
The surviving Marines begin to fire into the ruins of the blast doors, but are felled by a sweep of projectiles.
Pg. 110
From the dust, Predators step down from hover discs. In the close BG we SEE a hovering Predator craft, its long tank-like cannon pointing directly into the room.
One Predator roars and moves towards Woods.
WOODS
(mustering defiance)
I don’t look the same. You think I’m
something different. Well, sorry to
disappoint you, but I’m human, too.
Johner leaps up, gun leveled.
JOHNER
And nobody fucks with the human race.
From point-blank range he blows the Predator away. The other Predators react.
JOHNER (cont’d)
(to Woods)
Now, Ma’am?
She grasps the outstretched hand he offers.
WOODS
Now, John.
Two Predators toss cutting discs. Johner flicks up a cover on the console near Woods’ lap, stabs a contact.
EXT. THE MOUNTAINSIDE OUTSIDE WOODS APARTMENT – CONTINUOUS
A massive explosion erupts into the night, engulfing the Predator gunship.
INT. THE LANDING/LAUNCH BAY – CONTINUOUS
A tremor rolls through the bay. Rocks and shale fall, superstructure buckles.
Chaos still reigns, but the withering volleys from the elevated Marines and sheer Alien ferocity are beginning to take their toll on the Predators.
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