Alan Dean Foster Alien 01 Alien

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outside. It fell the last couple of meters but did not break. He decided
it would hold the unconscious exec until they could reach the Nostromo.
The short day was rapidly rushing to an end, the atmosphere once more
turning the color of blood, the wind rising mournfully. Not that they
couldn't haul Kane back or find the tug in the dark, but Dallas now had
less desire than ever to be abroad on this windswept world at night.
Something grotesque beyond imagining had risen from the depths of the
derelict to imprint itself on Kane's face and their minds. Worse terrors
might even now be gathering in the dust-impregnated dusk. He longed
desperately for the secure metal walls of the Nostromo.
As the sun fell behind rising clouds the ring of floodlights lining the
underside of the tug winked on. They did not make the landscape around
the ship cheerful, merely served to brighten the dismal contours of the
igneous rock on which it rested. Occasional clots of thicker dust would
swirl in front of them, temporarily obliterating even that feeble
attempt to keep back the cloying darkness.
On the bridge, Ripley waited resignedly for some word from the silent
exploration party. The first feelings of helplessness and ignorance had
faded by now. They had been replaced by a vague numbness in body and
soul. She could not bring herself to look out a port. She could only sit
quietly, take an
102 occasional sip of tepid coffee, and stare blankly at her slowly
changing readouts.
Jones the cat was sitting in front of a port. He found the storm
exhilarating and had evolved a frenetic game of swatting at the larger
particles of dust whenever one struck the port's exterior. Jones knew he
could never actually catch one of the flying motes. He understood the
underlying physical laws behind the fact of a solid transparency. That
lessened the delight of the game but did not obviate it. Besides, he
could pretend that the dark fragments of stone were birds, though he'd
never seen a bird. But he instinctively understood that concept, too.
Other monitors besides Ripley's were being watched, other gauges
regularly evaluated. Being the only noncoffee drinker on the Nostromo,
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Ash did his work without liquid stimulation. His interest was perked
only by new information.
Two gauges that had been motionless for some time suddenly came to life,
the fresh numbers affecting the science officer's system as powerfully
as any narcotic. He cut in amplifiers and thoroughly checked them out
before opening the intercom to the bridge and announcing their reception.
?Ripley? You there, Ripley??
?Yo.?She noted the intensity in his tone, sat up in her seat. ?Good news??
?I think so. Just picked up their suit signals again. And their suit
images are back on the screens.?
She took a deep breath, asked the frightening but necessary question:
?How many??
?All of them. Three blips, steady signals.?
?Where are they??
?Close ... very close. Someone must've thought to switch back on so we
could pick them up. They're
103 heading this way at a steady pace. Slow, but they keep moving. It
looks good.?
Don't count on it, she thought to herself as she activated her station
transmitter. ?Dallas ... Dallas, can you hear me??A hurricane of static
replied, and she fine-tuned. ?Dallas, this is Ripley. Acknowledge.?
?Easy, Ripley. We hear you. We're almost back.?
?What happened? We lost you on the screens, lost suit signals as well
when you went inside the derelict. I've seen Ash's tapes. Have you ... ??
?Kane's hurt.?Dallas sounded exhausted and angry. ?We'll need some help
getting him in. He's unconscious. Someone will have to give us a hand
getting him out of the lock.?
A quick response sounded over the speakers. ?I'll go.?That was Ash.
Back in engineering, Parker and Brett were listening intently to the
conversation.
?Unconscious,?repeated Parker. ?Always knew Kane would get himself in
trouble someday.?
?Right.?Brett sounded worried.
?Not a bad guy, though, for a ship's officer. Like him better than
Dallas. Not so fast with an order. I wonder what the hell happened to
them out there??
?Don't know. We'll find out soon enough.?
?Maybe,?Parker went on, ?he just fell down and knocked himself out.?
The explanation was as unconvincing to Parker as it was to Brett. Both
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