Alien: Isolation (1st POV Ripley Edition)

#8

"We'll wait here until Ripley activates the elevators," Waits said.

"Yes, keep them alive, Marshal," I said, pointing to Samuels and Taylor.

"Ricardo, find Ripley's frequency on the radio so you can contact her...

I left without wasting a moment listening to their conversations. They gave me a radio. Excellent. If they contact me, it will light up first, and only if I can talk I'll answer.

I don't waste any moment. The dark, unlit corridors before me fill with the light of automated systems that react to my movement. I illuminate them beforehand with my flashlight. The motion detector is not recording anything at the moment.

I unbolt one padlock on the elevator I need, press the button and wait. Really. Who would have thought that there would be nothing more cramped than waiting for the elevator in a semi-dark corridor with several ventilation ducts on the ceiling.

Coming. I'm entering. Okay, let's see...the level with the consoles to activate certain elevators throughout the station...ahh, level C5. I'm coming really fast. I feel ready. I quickly check my gear. 2 EMP shocker charges. 3 bullets. 1 EMP bomb, 1 smoke bomb.

The elevator opens. A new chamber is before me. Quiet, semi-dark. Motion detector? Nothing. But I have bigger problems. The door to the left of the elevator is closed, but someone is trying to break through. The blows are strong and do not give up. Probably a man, I concluded. So I rush to the console. I find what I'm looking for and activate it. Then I realize that I have to activate the manual transmissions in the other part of the room. I'm doing it. Intent confirmation on the next console. I'll do that too. Then reactivation on the original console.

All this lasts only about ten short moments, and then I hear a panicked, male voice behind me.

- I know you're here! What did you do? No, I won't allow it!

I bend down and sneak as far as possible from his voice. I look over and see a guy with a gun pointed at me. Behind the console, he goes towards my direction.

- You shouldn't be here - a familiar creepy voice comes from behind me.

I don't turn around, but rush in the opposite direction, next to the man. He is surprised, but realizes that I am not a threat as much as the not-human humanoid figure behind me. He shoots him. Once, twice...but nothing. The android is right next to him, punching him twice in the head and throwing his body into a nearby bulkhead. Man dead, and I frantically search for my equipment.

- How can I help you? - babbles a red-eyed android walking quickly in my direction.

- Die, you bastard! - I say and throw an EMP bomb right in his face.

Lightning flashes around him and he starts to twitch. But he cannot fall, so I "help" him. A few blows to the head with a maintenance's jack and two shots above the eye is a successful combination.

Exhausted, I go to the next lounge where I find a bunch of equipment - which I have no use for - except for the laser partition cutter. I take it and go to the elevator. Does not work. Shit! It is not tied to this console and only had the power to get here.

But I see a partition that leads to the ventilation duct. Well...maybe it's time to try out my laser cutter.

Shrrrrrrrrrrrr, zuuuzur, huhuuhuhuh....the noises are loud, and it's all painfully slow. Behind the glass protector, I carefully cut in a line. 43 seconds! Too long. I pray to myself to find some faster version of the laser cutter at the station.

When I'm done, I remove the cut sheet metal and enter the vent. The space has nothing else besides me and I'm moving on. Left, right, then down...I return to the previous level.

- Ripley, the elevators are working. We will go to the marshal's headquarters only when you return - Marshal Waits answers me.

- You just go now, I can follow you myself.

- We can wait - he said generously.

- Taylor can't. Every second can be crucial - I say and he sighs.

- It's your decision. We are leaving. When you get to the elevator, call the one that leads to Solomon's Habitation.

- I understand.

I get out of the ventilation ducts, open a few doors and arrive in front of the elevators. Maybe they could have waited for me because I arrived in a minute or two.

I approach the elevator that leads to Solomon's Habitation. Nice name. Another stressful wait for the elevator. But my time is limited by Waits' new radio call.

- Ripley. We heard some voices on the staircase above us. We warned them that we were armed, so they did not come to us. But beware. There are two, three of them, at most. If I am wrong, maybe even more.

- OK. Thanks for the warning.

And as the elevator arrives, the detector shows me that he was right. The green dots are quietly approaching me. Quietly, but quickly. To the right is the elevator. They'll arrive before the elevator, of course. Damn it!

But I don't have enough bullets. Maybe I should scare them? I fire one bullet into the stairs, even though no one has come down that close to me yet.

Aha! The dots stop coming to me. Quiet chatter of what to do reached my ears.

The elevator arrives. I enter it. I press the button for Solomon's Habitation. The door is closing and no one is happier than me in this universe. Phew!

Another small victory, and who knows how many more lie ahead of me!

But I'm not giving up on caution for a single moment. With the motion detector in my left hand, the revolver in my right I go on. I climb the stairs and step by step I move towards the marshal's quarters...

I don't know where they are, so I press the call button on the radio. Waits answers readily, perhaps he was expecting my call.

- Right staircase from the elevator, then straight, and when you reach the intersection of the corridors, right again. There is a huge sign at the entrance. You can't miss.

- No welcome committee? - I joke, just like that.

- Just come here. Waits out - marshal replied without a trace of humour.

Large automatic doors register my movements, open and give me the expected view of the corridors of these spaces. And to the right I see them, the colonial marshals and their headquarters. At my insistence, Waits had earlier confirmed that there were standard-sized ventilation ducts, not extra-sized ones like everywhere else on the station. Extra size? Why? I asked and got an answer. A large trading post, with potentially many goods and people - ordinary ventilation would not be sufficient.

That's why I enter with great gusto through the self-opening partition and go up a small staircase and arrive at the goal. A dozen people are there. Both women and men. The marshal's deputy Ricardo paces around nervously. I go through another door and see Waits. And through the transparent partition to my left, Samuels is nursing the wounded Taylor on the medical bed.

- How is Taylor?

- Soon she'll be walking - replies the marshal without even looking at me, staring at his console.

- Okay.

- Great job, Ripley. You activated the elevators here, which didn't work for us. Those sons of bitches who roam the station...

- Humans or androids?

- Both. Lucky that we got out alive so far... but listen, I'm busy. Go talk to Marlow, the captain of the ship Anesidora that he used to bring his parasite-infected wife here. Maybe you can get him to tell you the ship's coordinates so we can call it remotely. The bastard parked it in an elliptical orbit around the gas giant.

- Yeah. Maybe I can talk him into it.

I'm not really convinced that it will work. But first I treat myself to a rich offering of food on a nearby table, prepared for all the hungry, thirsty survivors like me. When I refresh myself, I go to the cell with a plate of snacks and stare into the eyes of an unknown guy.

- Marlow?

- Who wants to know?

I sigh and continue with the questions.