She nodded once. 'Fair enough.' Turning, she headed for the corridor. . still unsatisfied but unsure why. Ash's answers had the veneer of validity, were hard to argue with. That wasn't what was troubling her.
It was the fact that his action in popping the lock to let the exploration team inside went against much more than the rules. It went against every facet of the science officer's personality, directly contradicted his demonstrated professionalism in other matters. She hadn't known him that long, but until this incident he'd given her and everyone else aboard the impression that for him nothing ranked above, the official science manual.
Ash claimed he'd done what he'd done only to save a man's life. She'd taken the official side. Was she wrong? Would Kane have agreed with her?
She headed for the bridge, much troubled in mind. Little bits of coincidence swam in her head, nagging at her thoughts. The mind glue to bring them together remained missing. .
There was nothing to do on the Nostromo now but wait. Wait for Parker and Brett to complete their work, wait for a change in Kane's condition.
On the bridge, Lambert was amusing Jones the cat with some string. The string supposedly was on board solely for Jones' enjoyment, but the cat knew better. It was occasionally incumbent on him to entertain the humans. They seemed to derive considerable pleasure from his poking and swatting at the white cord as they manipulated it in their clumsy great paws.
Lambert called the game cat's cradle. Jones called it people's cradle. He was a very conscientious cat and did his best to keep the navigator smiling. They were so solemn sometimes. It was a difficult job for a cat. But Jones was conscientious. He continued to work at pleasing the human, thinking of food and warm, fat mice.
'What do you think?' Brett glanced out from beneath the overhang, eyed his colleague.
Parker adjusted a control, wiped sweat from his forehead. 'Almost. Another half a degree and we'll be finished. Maybe that'll satisfy Ripley.'
The engineering tech made a rude noise. 'Didn't you know? Ripley can't be satisfied.' Pinging sounds came from behind the intake screen he was working on.
Parker glanced at the silent intercom speaker and grunted a reply. 'If we don't get full shares after this, I'll lodge a complaint. We've earned double pay. Probably qualified for hazard as well. This time the Company had better make it worth our while or we'll go to the Guild. No messing around anymore.'
'Right,' snapped Brett. A hand extended outward from inside the tube where the screen was secured. 'Number three sealer ought to do it.'
Parker fished around in a neatly labeled but filthy plastic case, handed up a tiny grey square stenciled over in green and red, and glared at the inoffensive intercom. .
The rhythm was primitive, unsophisticated, and the recording had lost brilliance with age and much use, but Dallas lay back and absorbed the music as though he were present at the ancient recording session. One foot tapped silently, in unthinking podal counterpoint to the melody.
The communicator beeped for attention. It did so three times before catching the captain's notice. Letting out a resigned sigh, he reached out and shut off the music, then flipped the acknowledge switch for the 'com.
'Dallas here.'
'Ash. I think you should have a look at Kane. Something's happened.'
Dallas swung his legs off the lounge, sat up quickly. Ash didn't sound worried, which was encouraging. He did sound confused, which was not.
'Serious?'
'Interesting.'
'I'll be right there.'
He stood and threw the final cutoff on the tape machine, reluctantly saw the green light on its flank wink out. Ash had said 'interesting.' That could mean a host of things, not necessarily good, had occurred. He found some relief in the knowledge that Ash would have said something very different if Kane had already expired.
Which meant that the exec was still alive. . but in an 'interesting' condition.
As it turned out, Ash wasn't even referring to Kane. His call had been prompted by the condition of something else.
Dallas found the science officer in the corridor outside the infirmary, his nose pressed to the glass. He was staring in, looking around as the captain approached.
'What's going on?' Ripley had suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor. Her gaze switched rapidly from Ash to Dallas, back again. 'I heard over an open monitor.'
'Listening in?' Dallas eyed her curiously.
She made a face. 'Nothing else to do on this boat. Why? You object?'
'No. Just curious.' He looked through the thick glass into the infirmary, spoke to Ash when no great revelation manifested itself.
'Well?'
'Kane.' The science officer pointed. 'Look closely at him. All of him.'
Dallas stared, squinted, then noticed what Ash was talking about. Or rather, he didn't notice it.
'It's gone.' A fast inspection of the infirmary showed no sign of the alien. Kane remained motionless on the medical platform. His chest rose and fell steadily. He seemed to be breathing normally and without effort despite the absence of the alien. Lingering inspection showed what looked to be tiny black dots scattered around the rim of his face.
'Has it planted something on him?' Dallas tried to shy away from the repulsive thought.
'No.' Ash spoke positively, and Dallas was willing to believe him. He had to believe him. Anyway, the personnel dossiers said that the science officer's vision was the sharpest on board.
'They're indentations, not rises. I'd guess they're sucker marks.' Ash paused, added, 'Those aside, Kane appears undamaged by the experience.'
'Which may not be over yet,' Ripley put in. 'The door is seal-tight. It must still be in there.' She sounded confident, but it was a cover for her real feelings. The thought of the spidery hand-shape with its glazed, unblinking eye scrabbling about underfoot frightened her more than she dared show.
'We can't open the door,' Ash said thoughtfully. 'We don't want to let it out. The last thing we want to do is give it the run of the ship.'
'I couldn't agree more.' Ripley was scanning the infirmary floor, saw only bright metal and paint. 'We can't grab it or kill it from a distance. So where does that leave us?'
'When we tried to remove it from Kane's face,' Dallas said, 'we cut it, injured it. Maybe if we didn't threaten it too overtly, it wouldn't offer resistance. Maybe we can just pick it up.' Visions of spectacular Company commendations, perhaps a promotion, certainly a bonus, swirled through his head. Then he again noticed the unconscious form of Kane and felt guilty.
Ripley was still shuddering at the thought. 'You can try picking it up. I'll watch the door.'
'I think it's a worthwhile idea.' Ash was moving away from the glass. 'It's an invaluable specimen. We should certainly make an attempt to capture it alive and intact.'
He touched the switch controlling the door. The infirmary was a good place to try to hunt down the intruder. It was double-walled, and save for the airlocks, it was the tightest compartment on the Nostromo.
The door slid back slightly. Ash looked to Dallas, who nodded. Again the control was touched and the door moved another few centimetres. Now it was open enough for a man to slip through. Dallas went in first, followed cautiously by Ripley. Ash entered last, quickly hit the stud, shutting the door behind them.
They stood close together in front of the door, scanning the room. Still no sign of the alien. Dallas pursed his lips, blew a sharp whistle. That failed to stir the creature, but it did make Ripley giggle a bit unsteadily.
Keeping his eyes on the hidden places, Dallas started toward an open cabinet. It would make an excellent hiding place. But close inspection of the interior showed only medical supplies, neatly arranged and undisturbed.
If they were going to try to trap the creature with something other than their hands, they needed something solid. Dallas chose the first suitably sized object he saw, a stainless-steel alloy tray. As he turned to continue the stalk, he was quite aware that if the creature felt sufficiently threatened, it could melt its way through the tray as easily and effortlessly as it could Dallas's hands. But the weight was comforting.
Ash was inspecting the far corner of the infirmary. Ripley grew bored standing next to the door. She closed it, walked in, and looked beneath the platform holding Kane, thinking the creature might have attached itself to the
