Alien: Resurrection

INT. A CHAMBER

Where Wren and a few others are waiting. Gediman looks a little nervous, not sure this is a good idea.

The cargo is locked into place on the floor and a guard works the electric lock. It springs open and the guard slides off a side panel.

They are stacked one on the other, five of them in all, cryotubes. People sleeping inside.

One by one the tubes are hauled to one side of the room as the second unit is wheeled in. By the end there are ten people sleeping side by side in their tubes in the dark chamber.

The scientists meanwhile retire to AN ADJOINING CHAMBER with a long glass window looking at the chamber.

The last of the guards leaves the chamber and we see the door lock behind them.

Wren starts pushing buttons.

The glass tops of the cryotubes slide open. We see temperature and lifesign gauges begin to change...

There is a thick whirring as a part of the ceiling above the tubes lowers, lowers, and rotates slowly.

Stuck to the other side of it are ten alien eggs. The ceiling rotates just enough so that they are aimed at the heads of the sleepers.

For a moment nothing happens.

One of the sleepers eyes flutter slightly. Opens. All ten eggs open simultaneously.

CUT TO:

INT. CONFERENCE HALL

A huge room, used for assemblies and events. It has a chain basketball net set up at one end, crude court lines taped to the floor. Ripley stands beneath the net with a ball, dribbling absently.

At the other end are set up tables and folding chairs. The crew of the Betty, sans Elgyn, are filing in to eat here. Johner spies Ripley, smiles.

JOHNER

Ooh.

Johner comes up to Ripley. Her expression makes it clear how much she enjoys having him in her face.

JOHNER

How about a little one on one?

She keeps dribbling, says nothing.

JOHNER

What do you say?

RIPLEY

Get away from me.

JOHNER

Why should I?

RIPLEY

Because pain hurts.

He falters a moment at her quiet threat, then:

JOHNER

Are you gonna hurt me then? I think I might enjoy that.

He smiles his ugly smile. She smiles back.

She hits him solidly in the chest – and he flies back ten feet, landing badly on a group of chairs.

His mates fly into action, Christie grabs a standing ashtray. Hillard jumps Ripley from behind. She throws her off with e – chucks the basketball at her hard enough to pop the air out of it.

Christie swings at her and SMASHES her right in the face.

She arcs back... and right back up, at Christie's throat before he has a chance to react, squeezing, batting away the ashtray just a trickle of blood coming down her nose.

Johner comes at her again and she leaps on him, throws him to the ground, snarling,

She's gonna RIP his throat out with her teeth.

WREN

Ripley.

Ripley looks up and four guards are pointing burners at her. Wren and Gediman behind them.

Call, standing to one side with Vriess, reacts visibly to the name. Everybody is slowly backing off. St Just stands with his hands behind his back, as if concealing something.

Call watches in rapt silence.

WREN

Don't let's have a scene.

Ripley lets go of Johner, stands.

RIPLEY

He... smells

WREN

I imagine he does.

JOHNER

(barely breathing)

What the fuck are you?

She looks down on him – in both senses of the phrase. Looks around at everyone staring at her.

She wipes the bit of blood from under her nose, flicks it away. Exits.

WREN

(to Gediman, amused)

Social skills, less than a hundred' percent.

ANGLE: RIPLEY'S BLOOD

The few drops she flicked away sizzle on the floor – not eating through, but melting a small patch.

CUT TO:

INT. LABS - LATER

A large metal box is being wheeled next to an observation pen. Soldiers surround it, weapons at the ready. Not one of them at ease.

Wren and Gediman watch intently.

WREN

What's the status on the Queen?

GEDIMAN

We still haven't detected the origin of the reproductive anomalies. But the egg laying stage appears to be over.

WREN

Did we do something wrong?

GEDIMAN

I don't know. I think we covered everything. But these redundancies...

A soldier lifts a panel in the pen and then doors to the cage come open automatically.

Everyone waits.

A fullgrown alien suddenly bolts into the pen. The soldier shut it as quickly as humanly possible.

WREN

Father, check security status, observation pen six.

Father, the voice of the ship, replies after a moment in a dulcet, comforting tone.

FATHER

Pen six secure, security systems functional at 100%.

WREN

Good. Now the others.

CUT TO:

INT. SLEEP CHAMBERS - NIGHT

We see VARIOUS ANGLES of people at night:

Rane, in,a chamber on the Auriga.

Hillard and Elgyn, in a slightly more lush one.

Perez, in his quarters.

Vriess, rolling about the Aurigals engine room, looking it over.

Christie, St Just, Call and Johner, all playing poker in the mess hall.

CUT TO:

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - RIGHT

A sleep cycle is indicated here by the low lighting and the near emptiness of the room.

Gediman alone is in here, writing observations down in a notebook as he watches the pen.

Inside are three aliens. Two of them seem to be hibernating, curled up in the corner, but the third faces the glass, tilting its head and hissing at it.

Gediman sits right up close to it, his face just inches away from the beast's.

It draws back its lips, opens its mouth. The metallic tongue issues slowly forth, dripping with slime.

GEDIMAN

(softly, fascinated)

Is that a distended externus lingua... or are you just happy to see me?

The creature hisses, retracts the tongue. Gediman scribbles few notes.

Something moves in the dark behind him. Before he can notice, a hand closes on his shoulder.

It's Ripley. She steps forward, eyes locked on the cage. Gediman seems only mildly surprised.

GEDIMAN

How did you get in here?

RIPLEY

Beautiful, aren't they?

GEDIMAN

Yes. Yes they are. I've been monitoring their interaction.

He points at a audiograph by the wall, blips and waves interrupting the vibrating line, indicating sound.

He notices that her hand is still on her shoulder.

GEDIMAN

They communicate. Through ultrasonic soundwaves. Sort of like bats.

RIPLEY

I know.

She looks at him.

RIPLEY

I can hear them.

GEDIMAN

(smiling)

Amazing...

She runs her hand through the back of his hair, gently urging him up off his chair.

GEDIMAN

Ripley...

RIPLEY

Shhhhh.

She pulls him close, kisses him. Lightly at first, then deeply – holding his head with both hands. He responds with surprising warmth, the kiss drawing out, pulling slowly apart.

She looks at him, smiles.

An alien tongue SHOOTS out of her mouth, burying itself in his face.

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. RIPLEY'S CHAMBER

As she suddenly awakes, eyes wide, breathing hard.

She has been sleeping, we see, in the same position she was before: squatting in the middle of the room. She looks about her, recovering from the nightmare... Her breathing slows. With a somewhat fatalistic look, she settles back to sleep.

CUT TO:

INTERIOR MESS HALL - NIGHT

Christie, Call, St Just and Johner are still at their all night poker game, stacks of bills, peanuts and liquor scattered the table.

They are in a tense hand, the pot impressively high.

JOHNER

I'm in.

CHRISTIE

All right.

ST JUST

Raise you two hundred.

JOHNER

Oh, fuck you!

CALL

That's it. I'm out. I'm fucked.

She throws down her cards, takes a swig of Johner's patented moonshine. It tastes horrible.

CHRISTIE

That takes me down, too. Johner?

JOHNER

Uh, Uh, fuck it. I fold.

(to St Just)

What do you got?

St Just calmly shuffles his cards back into the deck.

ST JUST

You'll always wonder.

JOHNER

You asshole.

CHRISTIE

Johner, your deal.

CALL

Deal me out. It's not my night.

She tries to stand up, takes a spill over her chair. The others laugh.

CALL

Jesus, Johner, what do you put in that shit, battery acid?

JOHNER

Just for coloring.

ST JUST

(producing a small vial)

I got something that'll take the edge off that.

CALL

Thanks, I'll walk it off.

She stumbles out of the room. Johner shuffles the deck.

JOHNER

Bitches should not play with the boys, they will get cleaned out.

(dealing)

Eight card throwback, fuck your sister and the sevens are wild.

CUT TO:

INT. HALL

As soon as she is out of sight, Call straightens up, completely sober. She looks around her and takes off toward the restricted areas.

She comes to the door and making sure no one is around, star punching in code on the keypad.

CUT TO:

INT. CELLBLOCK - MOMENTS LATER

As Call pads silently down it, looking for one cell.

CUT TO:

INT. RIPLEY'S CELL - CONTINUOUS

The cell door opens silently. Call hesitates a moment, then slips in, shutting the door behind her.

Ripley is sleeping, still in the squatting position in the middle of the room.

Call approaches.

She stares down at Ripley a moment. A shadow passes as a guard walks above them, Call tenses till he is gone. Look's back down at Ripley – still sleeping.

Call extends her hand, flexes her wrist. The meanest looking stilletto you've ever seen extends from out her sleeve. It gotta be a foot long, and sharp enough to shave with.

She lifts back her arm, the better to punch it through Ripley's heart.

Ripley shifts slightly. Call stops.

ANGLE: RIPLEY'S CHEST

Her shirt is open enough to show a good portion of the scar. Call hesitates, staring, realization flooding her face.

RIPLEY

Well?

Call starts, moving back a pace.

RIPLEY

You gonna kill me or what?

CALL

There's no point, is there?

A flick of her wrist and the stilletto whips back up her sleeve. Ripley sits up.

CALL

It's already out of you. Christ... Is it here? Is it on board?

RIPLEY

(smiling)

You mean my baby?

CALL

I don't understand. If they've got it, why are they keeping you alive?

RIPLEY

Curious. I'm the latest thing...

CALL

Those sick fucks.

She raises her arm, the stilletto gliding out again.

CALL

I can make it stop. The pain... this nightmare... That's all I can offer you.

Ripley holds her palm up, presses it against the point of the blade.

RIPLEY

What makes you think I would let you do that?

Ripley pushes her hand out – the blade goes RIGHT THROUGH HER PALM. She keeps pushing her hand out slowly, a good five inches of the blade sticking out the back of her hand before she stops. Call stares at her.

CALL

What are you?

RIPLEY

Ripley, Ellen, Lieutenant first class, number 36706.

CALL

Ellen Ripley died two hundred years ago.

Ripley pulls her hand back suddenly, grimacing at the pain.

RIPLEY

What do you know about it?

CALL

I've read Morse – I've read all the banned histories. She gave her life to protect us from the beast. You're not her.

RIPLEY

If I'm not her. What am I?

CALL

You're a thing. A construct. They grew you in a fucking lab.

RIPLEY

But only God can make a tree.

CALL

And now they've brought the beast out of you.

RIPLEY

(smiling)

Not all the way out.

CALL

What?

RIPLEY

It's in my head. Behind my eyes. I can hear it moving. The beast.

The smile is gone, some real vulnerability showing through. Call softens, trying a different tack.

CALL

Help me. If there's anything human in you at all, help me stop them before this thing gets loose.

RIPLEY

It's already loose.

Call's expression changes. Those words terrify her, but she's not sure if Ripley means what she thinks.

Ripley raises her hand at Call's head – Call flinches but Ripley stops a few inches away. Then touches her forehead gently, almost sensually.

RIPLEY

Once the thought... the hope for it... grows here... it has found its way.

It will come, because... man will bring it. Bring it forth.

CALL

You want that.

RIPLEY

I've come to terms with the fact of it. It's inevitable.

CALL

Not so long as there's breath in me.

Ripley LASHES OUT and GRABS CALL'S THROAT. Call swings wit the blade but Ripley has her arm pinned before she can connect. Ripley squeezes the girls neck.

Ripley looks at the girl with a world of sadness.

RIPLEY

I can... make it... stop...

Call's eyes are pleading, terrified. Ripley finally lets go and she drops to the ground gasping for air.

RIPLEY

Go. They're coming for you.

As soon as she can move, Call scrambles up and heads out.

CUT TO:

INT. HALL – CONTINUOUS

Call comes out and before she can move a RIFLE BUT hits her the head. She goes down but not out as two guards grab her. Wren is with them and three more.

WREN

I think you're gonna find that this was ill advised.

(to the men)

Where are her friends?

GUARD

Mess hall, most of them.

WREN

Sound the alarm. I want them rounded up. Now!

CUT TO:

INT. MESS HALL – MOMENTS LATER

ANGLE: THE CARD TABLE

Being kicked over.

Elgyn, Hillard and Rane are pushed into the room, sleepy and confused.

Christie, St Just, and Johner are all being herded in by soldiers.

Call is thrown into the group as well.

ELGYN

What the fuck is going on here?

CHRISTIE

Looks like a doublecross, boss.

WREN

Where's the other one? With the chair?

JOHNER

(to a soldier)

Get your fucking hands off me!

ELGYN

Do you mind telling me what the fuck you're up to?

WREN

Shut up!

(to a guard)

Get the general. Wake him up.

ELGYN

Look, if there's a problem tell me what it is. We can work this out, there is no need to get emotional...

St Just is silent, standing in the same position he was when Ripley attacked Johner. Hands behind his back.

ANGLE: BEHIND ST JUST'S BACK

As Elgyn speaks, two guns .slip out of his sleeves and fill his hands.

CALL

They got nothing to do with this, Wren.

ELGYN

(to Call)

To do with what?

WREN

I don't give a fuck. It's way too late for that. You're all looking at a firing squad. You hear me?

ELGYN

I do. St Just?

With lighting precision, St Just raises his hands and blows of the guards away. He takes out a third to his left without even looking that way.

One guard gets off a shot with his burner, frying Rane before Hillard's elbow knocks his teeth well into his throat.

Christie tackles the next as Johner presses a latch on the bottom of his thermos – the top half flies off, revealing handle of a gun inside. He grabs it and another guard runs. Johner doesn't have time to pull the gun out of the thermos, so he SHOOTS right through it, sending the guard flying...

CUT TO: