Aliens

Chapter 15: Entering the Nest again

The metal death-trap APC roared like a lion across the stygian, Acheron landscape or Terrain at twilight, toward the Atmosphere Station, that was two kilometers away from Hadley's Hope.

"It's okay. Don't worry. It'll be okay." Newt mutter under her breath as she was seen sitting outside of the driver's cockpit. Gorman's computer station was right behind her. She sat quietly, as she clutched tightly onto her doll head ad she talked to it in a soft, caring manner. She stopped as she looked behind her. Alex smiled, as she watched the small girl. She took a few steps forward, before she knelt down in front of the small girl.

"Hi Newt." She whispered, with a small smile on her face.

Newt looked at her, before she said nothing. "I'm Alex."

She continued on with the whispering. Newt then glanced up at her, as she was given a weak smile.

"Alex..."

"Yeah. You're a very brave kid, Newt." She whispered, before she stood up, as she gently ruffled the girl's hair, in a motherly way, before she went to sit down  between Frost and Crowe. She smiled slightly at the young girl

The Marines sit, more subdued now, swaying and bouncing in the heavily sprung vehicle. Wierzbowski is in the saddle. Ripley and Newt sit side by side just off the driver's cockpit.

"I was the best at the game. I knew the whole maze" Newt told Ripley 

"The 'maze'? You mean the air ducts?" Ripley corrected the young girl 

"Yeah, you know. In the walls, under the floor. I was the ace. I could hide better than anybody."

"You're really something, ace." Ripley said as her gaze shifts out the windshield as the processing station looms ahead.

The vast structure towered above the parked personnel carrier as it drove up the access ramp and stopped before the door. It opened as it slides up toward the ceiling, allowing the APC to drive into the station. Somehow and in the process they dropped the huge top-mounted cannon down on it's rear in the process. If it hadn't been for it, the cannon would have bashed into the ceiling of the narrow corridor ahead of them

Alex have broken away from the Marines, as she found herself talking with Ripley, who stood near the monitors along with Burke, Newt and Gorman. Feeling that the APC is coming to a slow halt, Ripley pull her into a hug

"Good luck and be careful" Ripley said to her as they both pull away from the hug. With a small smile, she waved at Newt before walking back over to the Marines as they're about to leave just the APC. 

Deploying in front of the APC, backlit by its lights, the Marines cast long shadows. They look ominous. Hulking techno-samurai.

The base of the station is a depthless maze of conduits and pressure vessels, like an oil refinery. Or a Dantean version of one. The thrum of functioning machine systems echoes throughout the labyrinth.

"I want a straight B-Deployment. Second team on the left flank. Advance on axial six-six-four. Tracker on-line. Set the V-gain to filter RF ambient..." Gorman's voice filtered through their headsets.

"Hudson, tracker on-line. Left and right little buddy." Apone ordered. Before Gorman's voice made another appearance in their headsets.

"Forty meters in, bearing two-two-one, there should be a stairwell..." The Marine's started down the open rampway. Light filters down through several levels of steel mesh floor, catwalks and pipes.

"Check! Got it!"

"You want Sub-Level 3." Gorman added, as the Marines descended down the stairwell into the dark pit of machinery.