'I know.' Dallas stared at the enigmatic blot. 'If we lose scanning capability now we won't know what the hell's happening inside him.'
'I'll handle it, sir,' the science officer assured him. 'I think I can clean up the lens. It's just a question of some slight repolishing.?'
'But that'll leave us blind.'
Ash looked apologetic. 'I can't remove the blot without dismantling the scanner.'
'Skip it, then. As long as it doesn't grow to the point where it
obscures our vision.'
'As you wish, sir.' Ash turned back to his readouts.
Brett looked confused, sounded frustrated. 'What happens now, huh? We just sit and wait?'
'No,' Dallas responded, remembering that he had a ship to run in addition to caring for Kane.?We sit And wait, you two go back to work. .
VII
'What do you think?'
Parker was leaning as close as he could, sweating along with Brett as the latter attempted to seal the delicate last connections within the cramped confines of twelve module. They were trying to perform work that normally employed the services of a remote automatic tracer and the facilities of a computerized tool runner. Since they possessed neither runner nor tracer they were forced to cope with the trouble utilizing instruments not designed for the purpose.
Wrong tools for the wrong job, Parker thought angrily. Somehow, they would have to manage. Unless twelve module was properly repaired and made operative once more they'd have one hell of a time trying to lift off. To get away from this world, Parker would have made the necessary internal replacements with his teeth.
Right now, though, it was Brett's turn to fight with the recalcitrant components. Like every other instrument aboard the Nostromo, the module used snap-in, factory-sealed replacement parts. The trick was to remove the ruined garbage without interrupting other critical functions or damaging still more delicate portions of the ship's drive. The new parts would fit in easily, if they could only get rid of the carbonized junk.
'I think I've got it,' his companion finally said. 'Give it a try.'
Parker stepped back, touched two buttons set into the overhead console, then glanced hopefully at a neighbouring portable monitor. He tried the buttons a second time, without success. The monitor remained blissfully silent.
'Nothing.'
'Damn. I was sure that was it.'
'Well, it isn't. Try the next one. I know they all look okay, except for that number forty-three, and we've already replaced that. That's the trouble with these damn particle cells. If the regulator overloads and burns some of them out, you have to go inside and find the ones that have vacuum-failed.' He paused, added, 'Wish we had a tracer.'
'You and me both.' Soft sounds of metal scratching on plastic sounded from inside the unit.
'It's got to be the next one.' Parker tried to sound optimistic. 'We don't have to hand-check every single cell. Mother narrowed it down this far. Be thankful for small favors.'
'I'll be thankful,' Brett responded. 'I'll be thankful when we're off this rock and back in hypersleep.'
'Stop thinking about Kane.' He touched the two buttons, cursed silently. 'Another blank. Try the next one, Brett.'
'Right.' He moved to do so, replaced the cell he'd just checked in its proper place. Parker adjusted several overhead toggles. Maybe they could narrow down the injured line a little farther. Twelve module contained one hundred of the tiny particle acceleration cell chambers. The thought of manually checking every one of them to find a single one that had failed made him more than ready to break things.
At precisely the wrong moment, a voice called from a nearby 'com speaker. 'What's happening?'
Oh, hell, Parker thought. Ripley. That damn woman. I'll tell her what's happening. 'My Johnson is happening,' he informed her curtly, adding several things pitched just below the effective range of the omni pickup.
'Keep working,' he told his companion.
'Right.'
'What's that?' she said. 'I didn't catch that.'
He moved away from the module. A stab activated the 'com amp. 'You want to know what's happening? A lot of hard work is what's happening. Real work. You ought to come back here and give it a try sometime.'
Her reply was instant, composed. 'I've got the toughest job on this ship.' Parker laughed derisively. 'I have to listen to your bullshit.'
'Get off my back.'
'I'll get off your back when module twelve is fixed, not before. You can count on that.' There was a click at the other end before Parker could offer his ready comment.
'What's up?' Brett leaned out of the module. 'You two fighting again?'
'Naw. Smart-mouth broad, that's all.'
Brett hesitated, paused to examine the currently opened cell. 'Right. Let's try it again.'
Parker pushed the buttons, examined the monitor, thought of putting his fist through it while imagining it to be a certain warrant officer's face. He wouldn't do anything nearly so melodramatic, of course. Though short- tempered, he was sensible enough to realize how badly he needed the monitor.
And Ripley.
Ash was running a new battery of tests on Kane's comatose form. They provided additional information about his condition. None of it was particularly useful, but the science officer found it all fascinating.
Kane's insides were immediately visible to anyone who cared to enter the infirmary and have a look at the main medical viewscreen. Kane himself was in no position to object to this particularly intimate invasion of privacy.
Ripley walked in, took note of the readouts. His condition hadn't changed since she'd last seen him. She hadn't expected it to. The alien remained affixed to his face.
She studied the smaller readouts, then took the empty seat next to Ash. He acknowledged her arrival with a slight smile and did not turn from his console.
'Making some different tests on him,' he informed her. 'Just in case anything happens.'
'Like what?'
'I haven't the vaguest idea. But if anything does, I'll want to know about it as soon as it starts.'
'Anything new?'
'With Kane?' Ash considered, marshaling his thoughts. 'Still the same. He's holding steady. No, better than that. He's holding strong. No changes for the worse.'
'What about the creature? We know now it can leak acid and heal itself fast. Anything else we know?'
Ash sounded pleased with himself when he replied. 'Like I told you, I've been running tests. Since we can't do anything for Kane, I thought it sensible to try to learn as much as we can about the creature. You never know what seemingly insignificant discovery might lead to its eventual removal.'
'I know that.' She shifted impatiently in her chair. 'What have you found out?'
'It's got an outer layer of what appears to be protein polysaccharides. At least, that's my best guess. Hard to tell without a piece for detailed analysis, and attempting to remove even a sample might cause it to drain fluid again. We can't risk it dissolving part of the autodoc.'
'Not hardly,' she said dryly. 'Right now that machine's the only chance Kane's got.'
'Exactly. What's more interesting than that is that it's constantly sloughing off cells within a secondary, internal dermis and replacing them with polarized organic silicates. It appears to have a double skin, with that acid flowing between the two layers. Also, the acid seems to be flowing under high pressure.
