I hope its ok to post this here. I haven't gotten all my Marines together yet, but I did find the start of an old ALIENS sequel story that I had started.
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Had it been a dream?
As the air filled her lungs she stirred. The canopy opened and she sat upright. Everyone was here. Her mission to LV426 was just beginning. But that dream...that dream will haunt her forever. The alien attack, the rescue, Bishop being an android, Burke a traitor. It was so real though.
The marines were all awake now, up and about.
"Look into my eye, Hudson"
Lt. Ellen Ripley spun around to find herself face to face with Sgt. Apone.
"Can I help you..."he paused realizing he did not know what to call her yet, "Mrs. Ripley?" he finally added.
"What did you just say to that marine?", a hint of urgency in her voice.
"Ma'am?", Apone looked at her quizzically.
Now, Ripley paused.Was it worth over reacting? It could just be a coincidence.
"Nevermind Sgt., my mistake". She turned and began towards her quarters.
Drake and Vasquez, having overheard the encouinter, exchanged grins and went back to working out.
"Hey Vasquez, you ever been mistaken for a man?"
"No, have you?"
A chill shot down her spine. What could be happening? It was only a dream she had, wasn't it? She needed to talk to someone. Tell them. Warn them.
But who?
Gorman? No, he was an idiot until the end.
Burke? He had gotten her here but did he start out as a traitor or turn into one to sieze the opportunity? Just the same, why give him the chance.
Hicks? YES. It had to be Hicks. Now, how to convince him to help? And how was she going to change Gormans' plan of attack on the compound?
She approached Hicks before he could enter the mess hall.
"Corporal Hicks? Do you have a moment?"
"Uh...sure. What can I do for you..." he paused not knowing her name.
"Ripley. Ellen Ripley.", she made sure that he knew her first name before anything began, "I need your help."
"With...?"
"Can we talk somewhere a little more private?"
They turned and began walking away from the mess hall. Hicks looked over his shoulder curiously. What was Hudson screaming about now?
"What is this all about?", inquired the Corporal.
"Please. I need your help before Gorman gets everyone here killed."
This got his attention. "Have you spoken with Apone?"
"No. I need to convince you first."
"I'm just a soldier. I don't know -"
She cut him off without warning. "Dammit Corporal, if I'm right you'll be the only survivor of your unit." She thought of how she might convince him.
"Look, Dwayne, I had a dream while we were in slumber mode and if I'm right-"
It was Hicks' turn to interrupt. "A dream? You think we're all in trouble from a dream?"
"I know it sounds crazy. I don't know how to convince you. Already things have begun happening. Little things now, but they'll get worse. Um...", she let her mind wander for a moment, hoping to come up with the one thing that would guarantee to convince him, " Bishop is an android but prefers the term artificial person, Hudson's a wiseass and a crybaby but good at his job. This is Gormans' first real drop and his first real mission." She knew she needed more. "Burke will betray us all down there."
Hicks was just looking at her. Was this woman crazy or what?
"Look, if you go down there you're going to find three things: aliens, death and a little girl named "Newt"."
She continued to tell him of the rest of her dream, her vision as it seemed to be turning out. When she finished Hicks took a long sip of his coffee.
"We need to tell Apone."
"Will he believe it?"
"I honestly don't know. But, if we're gonna change Gormans' mind, we're gonna need Apone on our side."
He got up to leave. "Wait here. I'll bring Apone to you"
Ripley grabbed his arm. "Thank you."
Hicks half smiled and headed out the door.
Had she made the right decision? Would Hicks convince Apone to listen?
And, now, another nagging thought. If she was able to stop the mission, how could she still somehow save Newt?
She sat sipping at her coffee for what seemed like hours. It wasn't, but patience had never really been Ellen Ripley's strong suit.
Finally, the two marines came into the room. Apone immediately tried to size her up. How viable was what she was claiming?
"Alright Mrs. Ripley. Corporal Hicks here seems somewhat inclined to believe in your little fairy tale. You'll still need to convince me." He bit down on his cigar, twisting it around in the corner of his mouth before continuing, "And even if you can do that, swaying Gorman from his first big chance to prove he's a marine may not be so easy."
The sergeant sat down and listened as Ripley spilled her wild tale that had come to her in a dream. When she had finished he drew in a long breath and stood, letting the breath out slowly.
"Well....that's a very vivid, and interesting, dream you've had. I won't deny certain...coincidences, but I also can't see how, based on this alone, I could convince them to stop a multi-million dollar military operation. Quite frankly, there's nothing in your "dream" that couldn't have been researched prior to departure and nothing but your word that certain events are actually beginning to unfold."
Now, Ripley stood." Sgt. Apone, what possible reason could I have to stop this mission? If I'm right it only further proves what I explained to the company happened on the Nostromo."
"Look, Ripley, the best I can do for you is to not tell Gorman anything. He hears this and he'll consider you a threat to his mission. He'll lock you up and away from where anyone will be able to hear you. But, if when we're down there, things look like they're turning into what you described to Hicks and me, we'll pull out."
"If what I saw begins, you may not be able to."
The pair of marines headed out the door, Hicks looking somewhat apologetic as he left.
She was going to have to play this out and hope for the best.
They boarded the dropship and took their seats. Hudson checking everyone's restraint bars to make sure they were locked in.
Another chill ran down her spine. She looked over towards Hicks. She noticed he wasn't sleeping on the way down this time.
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Well, that's as far as I had gotten with it. Now that there is so much Alien 1:6 out there I'm thinking of finishing it and converting it into a photostory.
Hope you liked it.
