ON RIPLEY’S POSITION - CONTINUOUS
Ripley’s position is still not breached, although two Marines have been injured. A frantic uniformed medic, bodily dragging a badly-bloodied victim, screams at Ripley.
MEDIC
You! For God’s sake, give me a hand.
Quick!
Ripley jumps up, throws the limp figure’s other arm over her shoulders, and follows the medic’s lead.
WIDER ANGLE
Forcefully, the big medic literally pushes both Ripley and the victim into the shadows between towering supplies units.
AMONGST THE SUPPLIES UNITS
We SEE a Predator standing there. Ripley drops the body, backs up against a metal unit.
RIPLEY
What the hell?
The medic holds a hand up, throws his cap off. It is Waddell.
WADDELL
Hold on.
The bloodied body stands up: Piper.
PIPER
Hi, Ripley.
Ripley is dumbstruck.
WADDELL
Ripley, we have zero time.
He indicates the Predator.
WADDELL (cont’d)
This guy is a walking nuke.
Pg. 112
RIPLEY
What?
PIPER
Just a small one.
WADDELL
Face it, Ripley, This plan has no
‘Part B’. Even if we win down here, that
mother ship is still up there. Piper will
have this Auton steal a ship, fly it up,
and detonate once he’s on board.
RIPLEY
That’s ‘Part B’? How is it even going
to get to a ship? It steps out there
and there’s a bullet and an Alien with
his name on them.
Piper activates a small disc at the Predator’s bicep. The body vanishes...completely, no shimmer.
RIPLEY
How...?
WADDELL
We’re Second Gen. We makes things better.
Ripley’s face goes blank. Then a realization washes over it.
RIPLEY
Part B.
WADDELL
What?
RIPLEY
A second part. The Hunters know there are
Aliens here. They must know there’s a
Queen somewhere. I had Haynes set a guard
around her in case the Hunters stumbled
on her. But now they will be going for her.
She starts out of the shadows.
Pg. 113
WIDER ANGLE
RIPLEY
Waddell, don’t send the bomb. We might need
it right here.
She begins to run.
PIPER
How will we know?
RIPLEY
(calling back)
Oh, you’ll know.
EXT. THE MOUNTAINSIDE, MINUTES EARLIER
We SEE a Predator ship maneuver to take up a position. A beam of light shoots out, burrowing into the rock face. It shuts off. A perfectly round tunnel has been drilled. We SEE a dozen hover discs leave the ship, vanish inside.
INT. A DEEP CAVERN – LATER
Ripley, without a light, ‘sniffs’ her way in the darkness. Suddenly she’s bathed in light. She blinks into the new illumination... and the business ends of three gun barrels.
VOICE
(O.S.)
Stand easy.
The weapons lift up and away, out of Ripley’s face.
WIDER ANGLE
The Veterans’ COMMANDER steps forward. All are outfitted in quasi Samurai-like – though sleek and supple – white armour. Compact backpacks – including O2 tanks - sit across their shoulders. They’re packing side arms as well as smartguns.
COMMANDER
You have to be Ripley.
RIPLEY
Have to be?
Pg. 114
COMMANDER
It’s way cold in here. You’re not. And
those black things on your fingertips
look more like claws than nails to me.
Ripley looks at her hands.
COMMANDER (cont’d)
And if you decide to get a nosebleed,
let me know, will you? I do my homework.
Ripley looks up; she doesn’t like this guy.
RIPLEY
Where is she?
He cocks his rifle over his shoulder.
COMMANDER
Back there. She’s being a good girl.
Almost makes you think she understands.
Ripley takes a step towards him.
RIPLEY
Do you know what’s coming for her?
The Commander is blasé.
COMMANDER
We’ve read all the text on these Hunters,
seen all the vid footage the ancient
archives have from the 1996 encounter.
RIPLEY
That’s it?
COMMANDER
We don’t need anything else.
RIPLEY
Good God!
We HEAR a dull HUMMING sound. Ripley reacts to it.
RIPLEY (cont’d)
You hear that?
Pg. 115
COMMANDER
Hear wha...?
The humming stops, immediately replaced by six CRACKS in quick succession. The veterans wheel to the sounds.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Small holes have appeared in the wall on one side of the chamber. We SEE pop can-sized canisters shoot out. They hit the ground, bouncing, rolling, and spewing white vapour.
COMMANDER
(almost casual)
Gas!
He closes his visor. The others follow his lead. Anticipating their enemy’s entry point four of their number flank the holes from which the canisters emerged.
ON RIPLEY
Ignored, Ripley clamps her hand over her nose and mouth. She falls back to the cavern wall, looks up.
She drops to her knees, gulps a huge lungful of air at ground level, and begins to climb. She scurries up the rock face with almost Alien ease. Twenty feet up she begins to HEAR the cries of the Veterans. She looks down.
ON THE VETERANS – SERIES OF DYNAMIC SHOTS
There is a haze of gas. The Veterans drop their weapons, fall to their knees, grabbing at their helmets. Their gloves are melting. Their O2 tanks hang uselessly from corroded connectors. The closures on their suits have crumbled. Their boots are in tatters.
It is over in seconds. The haze continues to rise.
ON RIPLEY
She resumes climbing, faster, and disappears into the overhead blackness.
Pg. 116
IN THE CAVERN – CONTINUOUS
The cracked wall explodes. The rush of air thins the gas.
Predators step into the chamber. Several are armed with small grenade launchers. None is aware of Ripley till she crashes face first to the cave floor amongst them.
The nearest Predator turns Ripley over. Blood runs from a gash on her temple. The Predator dips a knife tip into the blood. We SEE it fizzle.
The Predators roar in unison. The Predator removes a tiny vial of white powder from his belt, cracks it, and applies some to Ripley’s temple. We SEE the acidic properties neutralized. He throws Ripley over his shoulder.
And suddenly the Queen is upon them. She picks up two Predators and smashes them against each other. Her tail cuts another in half.
The others recover. Grenades are fired. On contact they explode, coating the Queen in red dust. She roars, staggers back, sways. Slowly she folds into a seated position. She hisses once, and is silent.
The Predators roar. One leaps forward, props one foot up on one of the Queen’s legs, and raises his clenched fist high.
His companions roar again.
INT. THE LAUNCH BAY
Chaos still reigns. We PAN across the carnage. Bodies of all three species litter the area. Fires rage from burning ships. A haze wafts across the floor from Alien blood.
ON ONE REAR POSITION.
Five Marines are still firing relentlessly out from behind their cover.
A young Warrior leaps in beside the troops. He hesitates, and regards the young Marine closest. She freezes, strains her eyes to look at him without moving her head. The Warrior swivels his head the other way, comes closer.
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