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Aliens vs. Predator
Dark Horse Prod. Presents
ALIENS
Vs.
PREDATOR
Screenplay by Peter Briggs
EXT. DEEP SPACE
We OPEN on TOTAL BLACKNESS, a sea of stars spread across the infinite depths
of space. As the TITLES ROLL, we notice that three of these specks seem to
be moving; one of them picking up acceleration and racing toward us. Our
perspective changes, and we catch a quick glimpse as it HURTLES past, and
into the gravitational pull of a large brownish planet. Kicking up SPARKS of
FRICTION as it hits atmosphere. It seems to be manmade. Or at least
artificial.
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY
The planet is dead, barren. Death Valley on a grand scale. We watch the
object plummet through the wispy cloud-cover, emitting a few last burning
embers before falling to ground way-off in the distance. A BOOMING ECHO
resonates across the dusty plains, before settling back into an eerie
silence.
EXT. FISSURE CANYON - DAY
We're looking into a deep gorge, dark and sinister. A howling wind whips
dust into a sandstorm, reducing visibility to almost zero. About seventy
feet down there's a hole in the rock-face that just might be a cave entrance,
and near is a peculiar SHIMMERING in the air. We hear a mechanical BEEPING
and the SHIMMERING disappears, replaced by FIVE humanoid SHAPES clinging to
the sheer rock - each well over seven feet tall. They are PREDATORS, a race
of intergalactic big-game hunters on permanent safari; their clothing and
weaponry a bizarre mix of aborigine and ultra-hi-tech. In their hands are
circular metal discs; 'smart weapons' which cut into the stone and give them
purchase.
PREDATOR-VISION.
From their P.O.V., we see the fissure reduced to THERMAL HEAT SOURCES. The
entrance registers as a black gaping void.
INT. FISSURE NEST TUNNEL
The five hunters climb inside the rim of the tunnel, out of the wind's
banshee wailing. The lead PREDATOR reaches up to his headgear, pulling at
the coupling pipes connecting it to a hidden breathing-apparatus. He removes
the helmet, clips it to his rear utility pack, and takes a deep breath of the
air. A curious speckled pattern runs across his wide forehead, marking him
different to the others; in addition, one of the fangs of his mandibles has
been sheared away. We'll call him BROKEN TUSK, he's the leader of the
hunting party. He reaches out a hand to caress the wall of the tunnel.
Several feet in from the rim, it changes from rock to a textured
biomechanical surface; a swirling mass of disturbing shapes. He hurries
forward in response to the GURGLING-HISS of one of his team who has found
something.
The other PREDATOR holds a telescopic spear up for scrutiny. Skewered on the
end is a shriveled FORM with eight spindly legs and a segmented tail; it's a
FACEHUGGER, the first stage of the deadly ALIEN lifeform. BROKEN TUSK HISSES
a caution to his party; they respond by pulling spears and elaborately-shaped
swords. Several shoulder-mounted plasma cannons slide up to firing position,
tracking with their owners' helmets. Thus armed, they move cautiously
ahead...taking no chances. One helmeted PREDATOR pauses, scanning the area.
PREDATOR-VISION.
He switches through a variety of different views; infra-red, ultra-violet,
enhanced motion-tracking. Nothing.
He's so pre-occupied with this task, he totally fails to notice the skeletal
ALIEN loom up behind him, emerging from the biomechanical growth on the
floor. A barbed tail skewers the PREDATOR straight through the neck,
splashing luminous blood across his chestplate. A gargled DEATH-RATTLE
issues from his throat, the band of PREDATORS spinning around in time to see
him being dragged below the ground. The band of extraterrestrial hunters
have no time to come to his aid; they themselves are set upon by a half-dozen
ALIEN WARRIORS. The carnage is swift and terrifying, a blur of motion.
Steel blades and serrated biomechanical limbs scythe the air, alive with the
CRIES and HISSES of both adversaries. One PREDATOR is pinned against the
tunnel wall, his spear out of range. The ALIEN claws away his face mask, and
he finds himself dodging the ALIEN's toothed tongue, extended toward him with
pile-driver speed. He reaches down, grasping the 'smart-weapon' hanging from
his belt and brings it up in an arc that terminates at the ALIEN's grinning
face. Big mistake. The two are in such close proximity that the ALIEN's
acidic blood sprays across the PREDATOR's head. While their technology seems
to be resistant to it, their bodies aren't: the viscous yellow liquid begins
burning into the PREDATOR's skin. He kicks the skeletal corpse away with a
HIDEOUS PIERCING SCREAM, clawing at his seared face.
It all seems to be over as quickly as it began; there can be no question as
to who were the victors. The PREDATORS stand amidst a sea of biomechanical
limbs strewn around like a charnel house. As his companions begin to
carefully decapitate the ALIEN skulls, BROKEN TUSK steps over the corpses to
examine his fallen comrades. The first PREDATOR to be attacked was killed
instantly; he crosses to the other. What he finds causes him to react with
pity and disgust. His fallen comrade is only just alive; mandibles clicking
frailly, half his head burnt away. BROKEN TUSK watches the ailing PREDATOR
slide a steel blade from it's sheath and offer it to him. He takes it,
knowing what has to be done. Rolling the knife quickly over the back of his
hand - the sort of elaborate trick seasoned Green Berets perform - he plunges
it downward into the fallen hunter. This unpleasant task accomplished,
BROKEN TUSK straightens up and activates his wrist-computer. A dark shape
blots out the light coming from the entrance; a small PREDATOR shuttlecraft,
sleek and elegant. It hovers in the air with little more than a loud HUM,
and extends a ramp. The surviving PREDATORS leap aboard, carrying their
trophies with the reserved silence of men returning from combat.
One more thing need to be done. BROKEN TUSK bends down and flips a sequence
of keys on the dead PREDATOR's wrist. A countdown is displayed in some
unknown character-set, accompanied by a HIGH PITCHED BEEPING. He then turns
and swiftly boards the craft which takes smoothly to the air, it's undergear
retracting.
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY
A white-hot fireball erupts out of the fissure, the result of the PREDATOR's
suicide-destruct mechanism. The shuttlecraft pulls quickly away,
disappearing into the clouds.
EXT. SPACE
A large spacecraft is suspended in orbit around the planet; the PREDATOR
Mothership. The shuttle heads swiftly towards it.
INT. PREDATOR MOTHERSHIP - DOCKING BAY
An airlock RUMBLES open and the PREDATORS file NOISILY into the Mothership's
docking bay. An OLD PREDATOR crouched against a strut takes time out from
carving something into a block of wood to briefly look up at them. Like the
PREDATORS themselves, the ship is a curious mixture of old and new. An
elaborate frieze written in alien script runs around the wall, with racks of
sophisticated equipment recessed into it. Hatches lead off to various parts
of the ship; we see BROKEN TUSK carry his ALIEN head off down one of them.
INT. PREDATOR MOTHERSHIP - VIEWING GALLERY
The gallery seems to be more mechanical than the rest of the ship. BROKEN
TUSK enters, pausing next to a kind of readout device: a cylindrical tube
containing a substance similar to mercury which constantly changes it's mass
into shapes and alien text. He peers over the protective railing.
WHAT HE SEES is magnificent: a captive QUEEN ALIEN, the nucleus of the ALIEN
society, fed by giant intravenous pipes. Each of it's limbs is tethered by
straining clamps preventing any movement. To the rear, it's giant egg-sac
glows and throbs, suspended by a jury-rigged sling. A SCANNING MECHANISM
hangs above the EGGS the QUEEN lays, seemingly defying gravity. As each EGG
is scanned by a blue triangular beam - similar to a PREDATOR gun-sight - it
becomes translucent, giving us a view of the pulsing FACEHUGGER inside. This
done, a manipulator are carefully loads several eggs onto a pallet, which
then sinks into a hatchway in the floor. It's an assembly-line of almost
frightening mechanical efficiency.
EXT. SPACE
We see a pod ejected from the Mothership, rocketing away from the planet into
deep space. The inference is obvious; the PREDATORS are seeding worlds with
ALIENS to hunt.
INT. PREDATOR MOTHERSHIP - VIEWING GALLERY
The blue beam slides across one of the eggs, and suddenly changes to red,
BEEPING rapidly. BROKEN TUSK sees the flowing display-tank alter from a
rotating simulation of an ALIEN WARRIOR skull to a representation of a
QUEEN's head. The manipulator arm swiftly grasps the EGG in question and
moves it over to a protrusion on the floor. The causes the QUEEN to go
berserk, straining at her bonds and SHRIEKING ferociously. She's obviously
been through this before and knows what's about to happen. The
protrusionsplits open, spilling out an intense white light: an energy-filled
blast furnace. The manipulator claw opens, the EGG drops in, and is no more.
INT. PREDATOR MOTHERSHIP - LIVING QUARTERS
An orange light plays across a wall of skulls, casting dark shadows into
long-empty orbs. BROKEN TUSK sprawls lizard-like across a flat slab of rock
in the center of the room, inspecting his formidable arsenal of weaponry.
Satisfied, he reaches out to run a finger across the jaw of his ALIEN trophy
in an almost-erotic gesture. He regards it for a long moment as if coming to
a decision of some kind, before finally getting to his feet.
INT. PREDATOR MOTHERSHIP - VIEWING GALLERY
The lights in the gallery are dimmer when BROKEN TUSK enters. He watches the
cherry-red beam of the gliding SCANNING MECHANISM lock onto one of the EGGS,
then runs his hand in sequence over the control board. The manipulator arm
swings over, seizing the egg and loading it onto a waiting pallet.
BROKEN TUSK points his finger at the QUEEN and makes a guttural CLICKING
SOUND from deep in his throat. The effect is not unlike that of a child
firing an imaginary gun. As if reading BROKEN TOOTH's thoughts, the QUEEN
lifts her crested head upwards and emits a venomous HISS of contempt.
EXT. SPACE
In CENTER FRAME, the planet sits still and green, awash with nebulous clouds.
A hulking METAL FORM ROLLS RIGHT-TO-LEFT across our view, sunlight glinting
from it's surface. It's a rectangular satellite-construction comprised of
hundreds of communication dishes in a latticework of steel tubing. We hear
FILTERED HUMAN VOICES O.S. Subspace chatter.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - MIDDAY
Imagine a world where every square mile is covered by a canopy of treetop
foliage, and you've just drawn yourself a picture of the planet Ryushi.
Nestled amongst this lush rainforest is the Yutani-Templin Communications
Relay Station. Several inverted-'U'-shaped suspension cranes painted bright
yellow look down over a collection of preassembled buildings and roadways
raised above the swamp on platforms, much like a truncated oil-rig. A
navigation beacon flashes intermittently from a tall gantry tower above,
while dominating the view is the sloping face of a communications array
several storeyes high. Off to one side of the platform is a gigantic many-
wheeled haulage vehicle. A flock of bird-like creatures fly past.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
We're in the dark womb of a split-level command center alive with clusters of
video readouts, somewhat reminiscent of a futuristic air-traffic control
tower. On the upper tier, a large circular holo-display currently projects
an image of the satellite we just saw. Thin trailers of paper flutter gently
in the current coming from the air conditioning ducks, though beads of sweat
still dot the foreheads of the people manning the consoled here. We move in
on CASSIE DOLLANDER and ROB PARSONS, two monitoring technicians occupying a
control bank. CASSIE listens carefully to something on her headset.
CASSIE
Ah, negative on that request commercial freighter 'Nan-Shan'. I've already
got an inbound on that approach pending a beacon-fix. Hold on my mark until
I get back with some confirmation. Rimward Traffic Control out.
She thumbs a button and leans over to PARSONS.
CASSIE (CONT'D)
How's it looking?
PARSONS worriedly shakes his head.
PARSONS
That's the second time I ran it, and it still reads the same.
CASSIE
Better tell the boss.
PARSONS pulls out a coin.
PARSONS
Toss you for it.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - EXECUTIVE OFFICE
HIROKO NOGUCHI is sweating heavily, a black forelock of hair falling across
her Oriental features. Her eyes flicker warily from side-to-side as she
holds the smooth length of the sword before her, trying to assess from where
the next attack will come. She doesn't have to wait long; two NINJA
SWORDSMEN drop to the floor in front of her, striking without hesitation.
She expertly avoid the blows, parrying relentlessly. A persistent TONE
begins to intrude O.S., like a telephone RINGING. She tries to ignore it,
but her concentration is clearly broken. A THIRD SWORDSMAN appears from out
of nowhere, his sword SWISHING towards her chest. The blade plunges deep
into her stomach, emerging from her back. She glances down in annoyed
disbelief.
HIROKO
Fuck! Holo off.
The SWORDSMEN immediately flicker and disappear. She sheathes the sword with
one precise movement and crosses the wooden paneled floor to her desk.
Mopping her face with a towel, she thumbs a stud. The RINGING TONE stops,
the corporate logo on her flat-screen desk panel replaced with a black girl's
face.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Noguchi.
CASSIE (O.S., onscreen)
Something just came up on Deep Space Tracking.
HIROKO
What kind of 'something'?
CASSIE (O.S., onscreen)
Easier if you come down and look.
HIROKO
I'm on my way.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - MIDDAY
An eight-wheeled articulated crawler rolls noisily through the rain, climbing
an access ramp leading from the swamp to the outpost's empty main-street. A
group of rhinos - brown two-horned quadrupeds indigenous to Ryushi -
restlessly stir in their corral at it's approach. The crawler's pneumatics
HISS gently as it comes to a halt, while somewhere off in the distance a dog
BARKS.
DON KAMEN, a lean man in his forties. climbs down from the cab mounted five
feet above the ground and squints up at the main relay antenna. He adjusts
the cowboy hat on his head against the drizzle and crosses the street towards
one of the buildings, ignoring a Pepsi sign CREAKING in the gentle breeze. A
glass-paneled door SWISHES automatically open before him.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
KAMEN steps into the command center, nodding familiarly to the DUTY
PERSONNEL. A long-haired labrador rushes up to KAMEN, wagging it's tail. Her
name is BREWSTER. She's the base mascot. KAMEN reaches down and ruffles
it's fur. He climbs the few stairs to the monitoring tier, pulling the
French-plaited hair of ANNIE URIOSTE, an Italian systems-mechanic with her
hands buried in a disassembled console.
URIOSTE
You didn't wipe your feet coming in.
KAMEN
Well, it's okay. You didn't tell me it was monsoon season going out.
PARSONS looks up at KAMEN and grins.
PARSONS
Hey, buenos dias, cowboy. When d'you blow in?
KAMEN places his hat on PARSONS' head and THUMPS it down.
KAMEN
Just got back. Missed anything?
URIOSTE (snorts)
Yeah. We're almost out of beer.
PARSONS
Ahh, don't pay any attention to Urioste. She's still pissed that Noguchi
wouldn't let her go off on your hunting trip.
KAMEN pours himself a cup of coffee from a BUBBLING percolator.
KAMEN
Wasn't my trip, I just did the driving. 'Sides, freezing my butt off out in
the wet taking pot-shots at the local wildlife isn't my idea of a good time,
either.
He sips gingerly from the cup of scalding liquid.
PARSONS
Where'd you leave them?
KAMEN
Camped out by the navi-beacon out on Linson's Range. They're making their
own way back tomorrow.
CASSIE
MarsCo went belly-up on the Dow Jones.
KAMEN
Shit. When?
CASSIE
Yesterday. We got the Network feed from Gateway; it was the top story on
'Sixty Seconds'. Biggest market crash since twenty-four.
KAMEN looks ill.
KAMEN
Fucking great. I invested some money in them.
CASSIE
You win some, you loose some.
KAMEN
I lose 'em all, that's why I'm still out here on this rock. Anything else
you wanna ruin my day with?
CASSIE
No, but I got something that might interest you.
HIROKO enters, pulling on a leather jacket.
HIROKO
What've you got?
KAMEN nods to her and receives a quick smile for his trouble. They turn to
watch the display clear, replaced with a computer simulation of the
neighboring solar system.
CASSIE
A pair of incomings. They popped-up on the medium-range about thirteen
twenty-four local time.
PARSONS
We figured on it being a magnetic anomaly, but we ran a back-trace just to
make sure.
CASSIE
Yeah. Turns out they dropped straight out of hyperspace.
The simulation ZOOMS IN, revealing two unidentified objects heading towards
the planet in the center of the display. Computer notations accompany them.
CASSIE (CONT'D)
Curious thing is, the mass detector says they're too small to carry a deep-
space drive.
HIROKO
Sounds like a couple of escape shuttles.
PARSONS
That's what we thought.
HIROKO
Have you got an updated Lloyds' Almanac to cross-reff them through?
PARSONS
Done it already. Nothing matches.
CASSIE
And if you thought that was interesting, watch this...
HIROKO watches the course of the two objects simultaneously change.
KAMEN
Jesus.
PARSONS
Yeah, exactly. Those're pre-programmed course adjustments you're looking at.
KAMEN
Tactical nukes, maybe?
Everybody gives him a quick look, but nobody says anything. It's obviously
not an appealing thought.
HIROKO
Where're they headed?
CASSIE
We ran a trajectory simulation. If they carry on along that path, it's
possible they'll make intra-orbital insertion.
There's a great exhalation of breath, and everyone swaps significant glances.
HIROKO seems worried. She scratches her forehead.
HIROKO
I don't know what to make of this. Get a copy of the telemetry relayed back
to Antarctica Traffic Control. Better alert the nearest RimCorp Base, too.
PARSONS nods, suddenly serious.
PARSONS
Fort Powell. What do we tell 'em?
HIROKO
Just give them the facts. They can leap to their own conclusions.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - SWAMP - AFTERNOON
Down here in the swamp, the trunks of magnificent trees terminate in gnarled
roots and disappear into watery murk, much like a Louisiana bayou. A group
of attentive LEMUR-TYPE CREATURES suddenly bound for cover as a line of
bullets THUDS into the wood nearby. Seconds later, a loud HUMMING NOISE
intrudes O.S. and a pair of manta-ray-shaped hover-bikes with sleek lines and
garnish decals SLAMS into FRAME suspended two feet above the mire, their
powerful turbines kicking-up a swirl of spray. The two BIKERS skid to a halt
and watch the CREATURES scatter. ACKLAND and YORK - men who on Earth might
be called "good 'ol boys" - are both riding one-handed; powerful hi-tech
rifles gripped in the other.
YORK (yelling)
You missed 'em, Ackland!
ACKLAND
Little fuckers move too fast. Let's do a sweep and catch 'em on the other
side.
YORK nods his head, pulling his goggles down over his eyes. The two bikes
ROAR off in pursuit.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - AFTERNOON
Up on a mud-bank, at the base of a sturdy gantry tower with two blinking blue
lights atop it, stands the camp. It looks a little like a Bedouin bivouac,
but up-close we can see the techno-fitted details. A hard-featured woman
seated next to a solid-fuel burner sips from a mug, while her Vietnamese
counterpart is manually loading large-caliber bullets into a belt-feed. They
watch as ACKLAND and YORK roar past WHOOPING. MINH scrambles out of the way
as a beer can lobbed by YORK CLATTERS to the ground near him.
MINH
Crazy idiots.
BEAUVAIS cups her drink with both hands, assessing him.
BEAUVAIS
Ahhh, they're just letting off some steam; don't let 'em get to you. Ackland
and York aren't such bad guys when you get to know 'em. Just a couple of
weekend warriors...
She peers curiously at the clunky cartridges MINH's thumbing into the belt
feed. On the ground next to him is a widebore weapon on an over-the-shoulder
guidance mechanism.
BEAUVAIS (CONT'D)
Nice howitzer you've got there.
MINH
Thanks.
BEAUVAIS
Good argument for gun-control. What are you going after, rhino?
MINH
Nah. I just wanna squeeze off a few rounds. 'Sides, they tagged the rhinos
for the migration project, so they're protected. They'll dock you a month's
pay for just mentioning it.
He peers into the belt and blows out some dirt.
MINH (CONT'D)
Sure wish there was something on this planet with a bit of fight in it,
though.
EXT. DEEP SPACE
Against a sea of stars, a small metal shape HURTLES towards us, followed
moments later by it's identical twin.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - BIG BERTHA - AFTERNOON
A strand of HIROKO's hair falls forward into her face, slick with rain. She
brushes up at the miserable weather. She and KAMEN are standing on one of
the twelve-feet-in-diameter wheels of the gargantuan haulage vehicle we saw
outside the base earlier. Up on the side of the cab is painted a Nordic
Valkyrie with an impressive bustline, next to which is the legend 'BIG
BERTHA'. Two mechanics, JAN GUTTIEREZ and KEVIN DILLER, watch KAMEN point
something out to HIROKO from the vantage point of KAMEN's crawler parked in
the swamp nearby.
KAMEN
See that sheathing on the suspension? Eaten away. Same thing with the pumps
on the base air purifiers. The algae out here just isn't good on these new
plastics.
HIROKO
We haven't used Big Bertha since we relocated the generator module. That was
four months ago. I can't ask for them to keep bringing spares in on the
shuttle, it's already costing too much as it is.
KAMEN shrugs.
KAMEN
If you want these things kept in working condition, that's the only choice
you've got.
DILLER leans in to murmur quietly to GUTTIEREZ.
DILLER
Maybe she wouldn't be so tetchy if she got laid every once-in-a-while.
GUTTIEREZ
You offering?
A buzzer inside the crawler goes OFF. DILLER gets up to answer.
DILLER
Nah. Freeze my dick off.
HIROKO shakes her head dubiously at KAMEN's comment.
HIROKO
I don't know. I think we'll have to run it on a rota; one month down, one
month operational.
DILLER leans out of the crawler's cab and calls across.
DILLER
Miss Noguchi! You're wanted in admin.
HIROKO
Thanks.
She turns back to KAMEN.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Let me sort this out and we'll go over the logistics in my office.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
HIROKO peers at the display with undisguised concern. A sense of urgency
buzzes around the room.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
When?
CASSIE
Seven minutes ago, the third course change in an hour. Those incomings are
going to skim past the communications platform just a little too close for
comfort.
HIROKO
Can we move it to a different orbit in time?
PARSONS looks up from his board in harassment.
PARSONS
Already working on it.
HIROKO
Get off an all-bands emergency distress, and put it on a repeater.
She meets KAMEN's eyes.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Looks like you were right. Someone's lobbed a pair of smart-missiles at us.
KAMEN shakes his head.
KAMEN
Relay station like us out in the middle of the boonies; why bother? All
you're gonna do is punch a temporary hole in the traffic control net. That'd
be small potatoes even for terrorists.
PARSONS and CASSIE are all-business at the control board.
PARSONS
Can you patch me a temporary loop on DCMGS?
CASSIE
Okay, give me the numbers.
She flips a switch. A nearby screen changes to display an orbital path
sketched out in rectangular neon blocks.
EXT. SPACE
A cluster of thruster rockets on one corner of the relay frame ignites, and
the darkened bulk of the satellite begins to move.
EXT. DEEP SPACE
The two pods ROAR towards us at immense speed.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
The two blips on the holo-board representing the pods make a marked
alteration in their course.
PARSONS
They've changed their heading again.
HIROKO
Compensate!
PARSONS
Punch me in a solution for their delta-vee.
CASSIE
What do you need?
PARSONS
A three-second burn to port, on my mark.
CASSIE
It's on the board.
EXT. SPACE
Framed against the green backdrop of Ryushi, the PREDATOR pods rocket towards
the communications platform.
CASSIE
Picking up velocity.
HIROKO
Match it!
A bead of sweat trickles down PARSONS' temple.
PARSONS
Not gonna make it...
EXT. DEEP SPACE
The pod speeds THUNDEROUSLY into CAMERA, blotting out our view.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
One of the two blips on the holo-display vanishes, and three-quarters of the
monitors abruptly turn to static. PARSONS curses.
PARSONS
Goddammit!
He pulls off his headset with weary resignation.
PARSONS (CONT'D)
We've lost the downlink. It's gone.
EXT. SPACE
The mass of the satellite tumbles end-over-end. A gaping rent is torn
through it; something sparks and flashes within. The second pod accelerates
off curving into the atmosphere.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - RIVERBANK - DUSK
A SONIC THUNDERCRACK BOOMS overhead; YORK looks up in time to see an object
sear across the dusk sky. He pulls his bike to a stationary hover.
YORK
Shit! What's that?
ACKLAND has already dismounted as he watches the fireball hurtle to the
ground. A BOOMING ECHO resonates across the forest, followed by a few
plaintive SCREECHES from the planet's indigenous lifeforms, before settling
back into an eerie silence.
ACKLAND
Meteor, I guess.
He raises a set of compact field binoculars to his face. THROUGH THEM he
sees a thin haze of smoke rising from the treetops.
ACKLAND
D'you feel any impact shock?
YORK (uncertain)
Not really.
He lowers the binoculars and frowns.
ACKLAND
Me either. I tell you, I used to be with a mining outfit on Callisto, and
when something like that hits... believe me, you know about it.
YORK
Do you wanna head back and call it in?
ACKLAND (hesitant)
I dunno... I dunno. Something about this feels funny.
He looks across at the plume of smoke snaking off into the sky.
ACKLAND (CONT'D)
That is the damndest impact I've ever saw...
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - IMPACT SIGHT - DUSK
The earth around the crater-rim is charred and cracked; some of the
surrounding brush still aflame. A SCORPION scuttles inquisitively to the
edge of the pit and stops, it's stinger twitching hesitantly. We HEAR a LOW
HUM, and the SOUND of METAL-ON-METAL. Before the SCORPION can decide what to
do, it's fate is sealed. A large METAL CLAW comes down, crushing it in an
instant. A SECOND CLAW emerges, and a MACHINE heaves itself out of the hole,
it's surface smoking with heat. It pauses for a BEAT like some giant
tarantula seeking prey, them moves purposely outwards about twenty yards
before halting. A hatch on the underside opens, and a complex delivery
mechanism extends. After a moment there's a LOW CLUNK, and the mechanism
retracts. In it's place is an ALIEN EGG. The MACHINE crawls off, vanishing
into the long reeds.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - NIGHT
HIROKO sits on the front wheel of KAMEN's crawler, her knees pulled up to her
chin, staring off into a thin mist that makes the night impenetrable. Behind
and above, the lights of the cranes and the communications array strobe on-
and-off. Above the bar on the main street is a flicking neon sign erected
after-the-fact, emblazoned with the words "TORCHY'S". The MUFFLED SOUNDS of
MERRY-MAKING from within become momentarily louder, and HIROKO glances over
to see it's pressure-door CRASH back, disgorging several drunken people.
KAMEN follows them through. He spots HIROKO and heads over.
KAMEN
Hey, boss. Wondered where you'd gotten to.
HIROKO
I just... wanted to be put on my own for a while. Clear my head.
KAMEN
Didn't feel like whoopin' it up with the rest of us blue collars, huh?
She shakes her head, and manages a smile.
HIROKO
I've got a lot of thinking to do. 'Sides, the room was getting too crowded
for me.
KAMEN
Not too much of the socializing type, then?
HIROKO
No, not really. More sort of the 'claustrophobic' type.
KAMEN LAUGHS. HIROKO is straight-faced.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
I'm serious. That's why I switched from orbiting to planetary installations.
KAMEN
Is that a fact.
HIROKO
Uh-huh. Used to get it pretty bad. I'd wake up in a cold sweat and want to
claw open a vacuum hatch.
KAMEN
How long you been out here for now, anyway? Three months?
HIROKO
Four.
KAMEN
And before that?
HIROKO
Six month stint on Datus.
KAMEN
Only six?
HIROKO
What is this? 'Twenty Questions'?
KAMEN
Just curious. There's a lot of talk goes around.
HIROKO shrugs. Thinks about it.
HIROKO
I don't know. I guess I've just never found anywhere I really felt at home.
She hugs her knees again, and suddenly looks a whole lot more at ease. KAMEN
spots a square glass balanced on one of the tire's wide treads.
KAMEN
What is that?
HIROKO
Real man' drink.
She offers the glass to him. He takes it and sniff cautiously.
KAMEN
Seltzer?
HIROKO
Want some?
KAMEN hands the glass back and raises his own bottle.
KAMEN
I'll stick with my own.
He sits with her and stares into the darkness.
HIROKO
Any luck raising Ackland's party?
KAMEN
Nothing. With the satellite down, we can't transmit over the mountain range.
He's most likely sitting there wondering why he can't raise us.
HIROKO
First light, we'll take a chopper out there and tell them to head back.
KAMEN
'We'? You wanna fly out there with me?
HIROKO
Sure. Do me good to stretch my legs.
HIROKO takes a sip of her drink, her brow furrowing.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
This whole thing's got me spooked.
KAMEN hops off the wheel.
KAMEN
Don't worry about it. If the Network goes by the book, like everyone figures
they will, a Marine gunboat from Powell'll drop-by for a look-see in four-or-
five days. They can go poke around out there and find whatever it was hit
us. All we've gotta do is sit tight.
HIROKO
Do you think Ackland'll sit tight?
KAMEN
There'd have to be a helluva good reason for him not to.
EXT. SPACE
A peculiar blue scanning beam plays over the rotating mass of the
incapacitated satellite, examining every section. it comes to the rent torn
through it, and pauses.
FROM THE SCANNER'S P.O.V., we see the structure of the satellite made up from
a series of blue geodesic shapes. The damage registers as a cold, black
mass.
The beam switches off and the hovering PREDATOR shuttle turns smoothly on
it's axis, thrusting towards the planet.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - IMPACT SITE - NIGHT
Shafts of torch-light fan out above the thick foliage in the darkness. YORK
and ACKLAND wade through the chin-high reeds, cursing.
ACKLAND
Found anything?
YORK looks down at his data-stick, a handheld torch with a multi-purpose
readout screen.
YORK
Nada. No radiation... no movement... nothing.
ACKLAND
Well, just keep looking. It's gotta be... whoa, Jesus!
ACKLAND falls toward onto something, and YORK comes running.
YORK
What is it?
ACKLAND steadies himself, and the two men shine their torches at the
rhythmically-breathing SHAPE on the ground.
ACKLAND
It's a rhino.
YORK
Is it dead?
ACKLAND
No, it's still breathing. Kinda clammy though. Are you sure your stick's
not broken.
YORK looks at the data-stick again.
YORK
Yeah, it's fine.
ACKLAND
God, I hope that thing didn't bring down a virus.
YORK
I told you we... what's that?
Their torch beams PAN ACROSS a three-foot high ovular shape.
ACKLAND
Looks like a spore. Fungus of some kind, maybe?
YORK
Bloody big if it is. Top's open.
ACKLAND steps cautiously forward to shine his torch inside.
YORK (CONT'D)
Careful...
There's nothing inside. ACKLAND looks disappointed.
ACKLAND
It's hollow. Think our rhino must've ate something that didn't agree with
him.
A heavy gust of air blows unexpectedly across the clearing with a BANSHEE
HOWL, ruffling their hair.
YORK
Let's get back and call this in.
ACKLAND
Wait a minute.
YORK reluctantly follows ACKLAND as he thrashes through the thinn ing
foliage, coming out at the rim of the impact crater. It's beginning to
partially collapse, water seeping in. YORK runs his beam over something at
the bottom of the shallow pit.
YORK
What is that... is that metal fragments?
ACKLAND's maybe getting a little nervous now.
ACKLAND
This is very fucking weird.
He sees the churned earth, and the muddy trail leading off into the broken
foliage.
ACKLAND (CONT'D)
It's like something came out of the crater and went that way...
There's a TINY CLICK, and ACKLAND looks over to see YORK taking the safety
off his rifle. ACKLAND wordlessly unshoulders his too. They step around the
crater and warily follow the ragged path to...
YORK
Another one?
ACKLAND prods this SECOND EGG with his gun.
ACKLAND
Yeah. This's closed.
There's a CRACKLING NOISE, and the top of the EGG peels neatly open in four
sections. The two men jump back in alarm, and YORK LAUGHS nervously.
Something organic is pulsing inside. ACKLAND cranes his neck forward for a
better look...
There's an EXPLOSION of MOVEMENT. A spindly shape with a long segmented tail
launches itself jack-in-a-box-style at ACKLAND. It's a FACEHUGGER. ACKLAND
trips backwards, caught off-balance. His finger involuntarily squeezes the
trigger of his rifle as he falls. A volley of shots describe and arc and
light up the night with a PERCUSSIVE BOOM, and we...
CUT TO
...A SHORT DISTANCE ACROSS THE CLEARING. SOMETHING is watching them from the
trees; something with a heat-vision P.O.V. A PREDATOR. We see the flare of
ACKLAND's gunshots, then SNAP IN to see the multi-colored from of his body
toppling over, trailing a purplish FACEHUGGER, before we...
CUT BACK TO
...One of ACKLAND's bullets taking a meaty chunk out of YORK's thigh as he
races forward to help his friend. The HUGGER's tail is already around
ACKLAND's throat, it's fingers scrabbling for purchase. YORK pulls at one
set of digits, and manages to raise them for just an instant. What we see is
horrific; the look of terror on ACKLAND's face, and the questing tendril on
the HUGGER's underside trying to force it's way between ACKLAND's lips. In a
second, it's all over; the FACEHUGGER struggles free of YORK's grasp, and
clamps itself firmly on ACKLAND's face with a faint SUCKING SOUND. YORK
shivers, then uses his good leg to propel himself a few feet away. He
watches the hapless Teamster go rigid, then stop moving altogether.
YORK
Oh, God; oh, shit; oh, God.
The FACEHUGGER's tail slithers tighter around ACKLAND's neck; and as YORK
quickly retrieves his rifle, we...
CUT TO
A PREDATOR-VISION SHOT, watching the color-bloom of YORK dragging ACKLAND's
body away from the crater. It CLOSES IN on the FACEHUGGER, giving us a muted
X-ray-type VIEW of circulatory fluid pumping around the HUGGER and into
ACKLAND.
YORK's limping badly, a dark stain blossoming on his baggy fatigue trousers.
ACKLAND's not a small man, and the physical effort of hauling him through the
reeds makes him sweat profusely. There's movement on the ground, and YORK
sees why; one of the LEMURS has fallen victim to another FACEHUGGER, which
dwarfs it's small furry body. The HUGGER's fingers all ripple simultaneously
as it strengthens it's hold; the movement akin to somebody drumming their
fingers on a table-top.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - RIVER BANK - NIGHT
As YORK hauls ACKLAND onto one of the bikes, he hears a TICKING SOUND from
the trees, like an engine cooling on a warm summer's day. YORK clutches his
rifle and stares upward. There seems to be a VAGUE SHIMMERING FORM in the
bough of a tree. Although it might be a trick of the light, he isn't
sticking around to find out. YORK guns the bike to life and ROARS off above
the swamp.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - IMPACT SITE - NIGHT
PREDATOR-VISION.
We're looking at the site in colours: the cold blue of empty ALIEN EGGS, and
the warm reds of just-breathing ANIMALS rendered inert the FACEHUGGER
parasites.
A group of PREDATORS appear in three-dimensional solidity, their camouflage
cloaks deactivated. The LEAD PREDATOR SPLASHES across to the exposed roots
of a tree and kneels down to examine an ANIMAL CORPSE curled up there. Most
of it has been madly mutilated by something erupting from inside it's body.
The PREDATOR looks up and scans the swamp, ignoring the swarm of FLIES
buzzing in the air.
PREDATOR-VISION.
This time, an oscillating line appears to the left of our view, and a band
sweeps quickly ACROSS the screen synchronous to us hearing different levels
of SOUND STATIC. This abruptly stops as the oscillating line begins to moves
in peaks and valleys. The PREDATOR is picking up radio
waves. A HUMAN VOICE; albeit grossly-distorted.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT
We hear a RAPID BEEPING; movement-sensors set up on tripods to warn against
intruding animals. The sound brings BEAUVAIS out of her tent, bleary-eyed
and fumbling with her pistol. She's suddenly wide awake when she sees YORK's
hover-bike, lit by the sensors' flashing red strobe. It skids to a halt
against a mud-bank, sending up a spray of silt. YORK climbs off the bike and
stumbles, then starts to unfasten the straps holding ACKLAND's body.
BEAUVAIS
Jesus Christ! What happened?
YORK
Give me a hand with Ack.
She races over to help YORK ease ACKLAND up.
BEAUVAIS
How bad is... oh my God.
As ACKLAND is turned over, BEAUVIAS gets her first look at a FACEHUGGER. She
shies away, repulsed.
BEAUVAIS
What is that?
YORK
Don't... uuh... don't know. Help me... uuh... help me get him inside. Shit!
YORK grits his teeth, but the leg injury is too painful. He slumps slowly to
the floor.
BEAUVAIS (yelling)
Minh! Minh, get out here!
INT. TENT - NIGHT
A portable neon light in the tent flickers, casting staccato bluish light
over ACKLAND and the FACEHUGGER. MINH and BEAUVAIS stare at it in horrified
fascination, while YORK pulls a tourniquet around his thigh. He winces.
BEAUVAIS
Have you tried prising it off?
YORK shakes his head.
YORK
I wanted to get him back here; get him back to base.
MINH
Forget it. We lost the satellite link. It's dead.
There's a long pause while everyone considers the options.
BEAUVAIS
We've got no option. We're gonna have to get it off.
MINH
Oh man...
YORK
Get real, Beauvais! That thing might chew his fucking face off for all be
know!
The motion sensor outside begins BEEPING again. MINH catches BEAUVAIS' head-
jerk.
BEAUVAIS
Minh...
MINH
Yep...
MINH hefts his 'howitzer' and leaves the tent. BEAUVAIS rounds on YORK,
continuing.
BEAUVAIS
How do you know it's not already?
YORK
I don't, but I think we should just wait and let the Doc take a look...
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT
MINH walks towards a line of flashing red strobes at the perimeter of the
camp, the barrel of his weapon pointing casually forward. He studies the
surrounding darkness. There's nothing out there. He shakes his head in
disgust.
MINH (muttering)
Take a goddamn wrench to those things...
He thumbs a stud on the top of the 'howitzer'. There's a gentle WHINE, and
the HISS of hydraulic cylinders as the harness mechanism lifts the weapon up.
It darts quickly to-and-fro; a mechanical snake seeking a target. We see
MINH's hand in CLOSE UP. In addition to the firing trigger, there's also a
thumb button. He squeezes it...
The gun swings sharply around in a blinding movement, tracking something
automatically. There's a THUNDEROUS RUMBLE as it fires-off three shots in
rapid succession. Something that was only yards from MINH APPEARS and is
blown backwards to CRASH against a tree bole, a mass of luminous green liquid
and motion.
MINH (CONT'D) (dumbstruck)
God.
MINH watches the helmeted PREDATOR fall face down into the water with a
SPLASH, then lie motionless. YORK and BEAUVAIS are out of the tent in an
instant.
PREDATOR-VISION.
Three humans; in motion and 'hot'. The triangular mechanism of the
PREDATOR's gun locks onto MINH.
A BLAST of plasma-energy rips a gaping hole through MINH's body, spraying
blood across YORK. He topples dead to the ground, a look of pained surprise
on his face. BEAUVAIS is there immediately, racing across and scrabbling for
the 'howitzer'. She doesn't have time to take the harness off - she just
slides her finger through the trigger guard and starts squeezing off random
shots. The air shimmers as an unseen shape races at her. There's a loud
SWISH of sliding metal, and a telescopic spear appears out of thin air. It
SLAMS through BEAUVAIS' body, lifting her off the ground and impaling her
against a tree.
YORK watches in horror as BEAUVAIS' arms thrash around. A moment later her
struggles cease, and she'd dropped to the floor like a broken marionette.
There's a CRACKLING SOUND, and the hazy air around BEAUVAIS disappears. In
it's place is a PREDATOR, a luminous green patch trickling from a wound on
it's arm. It's head flicks around as it zeroes-in on YORK, the three red
dots of the PREDATOR's cannon following suit. YORK's quick though, already
up and running when the plasma bolt EXPLODES into the tree despite the pain
in his leg.
His options are limited. The hover-bike is nearby. He sprints for that and
his luck holds...the key's still in the ignition. He flips it. The engine
COUGHS and then dies. YORK looks up. The wounded PREDATOR bounds across the
clearing at frightened speed. YORK turns the key again, but the PREDATOR's
almost upon him. The creature WHIPS an ornately-shaped lance from it's back
and thrusts it...JUST AS THE ENGINE ROARS TO LIFE AND THE HOVER-BIKE RISES
FROM THE MUD! The blade slices into the bike's body and jams there, while
one of it's manta-wings SMACKS into the PREDATOR's jaw, sending it reeling
backwards into the swamp.
YORK swivels the bike on it's axis as another plasma-bolt rips into the rear,
melting away a sizable chunk of the bodywork. He sees a PREDATOR handing
from a tree, and the SHIMMERING of two more PREDATORS in their camouflage
nearby. He's not sticking around to argue though. YORK jams the throttle
hard and the bike shoots off into the bayou as more cannon-blasts blossom
around him.
The group of PREDATORS appear in the camp and cautiously survey the area. The
LEAD PREDATOR - the one with the distinctive armor - crosses to the tent and
opens the entry flap.
INT. TENT - NIGHT
PREDATOR-VISION.
The extraterrestrial hunter scrutinizes the pulsing FACEHUGGER on ACKLAND for
a long moment, but takes no further action.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT
We PAN SLOWLY ACROSS the deserted campsite. There isn't a soul there, human
or otherwise. The wind whistles eerily through the tree-boughs.
EXT. RAINFOREST AIRSPACE - DAWN
First light the next day, the sun rising on the horizon. A 'chopper' -
actually a twin-turbine heli-jet - flies in low above the veil of mist
hanging over the treetops.
INT. CHOPPER - DAWN
The cockpit is small, a two-seater with room for cargo in the back. KAMEN's
in the pilot seat, and HIROKO's riding shotgun. The controls moving by
themselves, on autopilot. A REPETITIVE BEEPING causes KAMEN to look up from
his magazine.
KAMEN'S P.O.V.
From out of the window of the 'chopper', we see the twin blue lights of the
navigation beacon blinking on-and-off above the trees.
KAMEN nudges HIROKO awake.
KAMEN
Wake up. We're at the beacon.
He switches the controls over to manual and takes the chopper down. HIROKO
rubs the sleep from her eyes.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - DAWN
Twin searchlights on the underside of the descending chopper sweep across the
clearing. The encampment has been wrecked, much of is reduced to a twisted
tangle of smoking debris. All-terrain gear lowers from the chopper, as it
makes a watery landing in the swamp.
INT. CHOPPER - DAWN
KAMEN and HIROKO stare at the site in disbelief. KAMEN hauls an automatic
pulse-rifle from the rear.
KAMEN
Looks like trouble.
KAMEN reaches under the pilot's seat and pulls out a hand-pistol. Passes it
to her.
KAMEN (CONT'D)
Used one of these before?
HIROKO coolly examines it.
HIROKO
Fabrique Nationale tactical autoloader. Uses twelve mill hollow 'O' rounds,
with through the barrel smart laser-sighting. Sure, I can handle this.
HIROKO's show-boating and KAMEN knows it, but he still can't help being a
little bit impressed.
KAMEN
Okay. Watch were you point it...
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - DAWN
The two of them pick their way across mangled tripods and charred canvas.
Part of the bivouac has collapsed - one of the guide ropes has burned
through.
HIROKO (quietly)
Somebody picked an argument.
KAMEN
Yeah. Somebody won.
HIROKO
Check out the tent.
KAMEN nods and heads off that way, while HIROKO carefully inspects the
wreckage dotted around the perimeter.
INT. TENT - DAWN
KAMEN opens the tent flap and peers inside. ACKLAND's on the cot, sweating
heavily. There is no sign of the FACEHUGGER.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - DAWN
Across the clearing, HIROKO turns a piece of charred plating over in her
hands before discarding it.
Her foot slips on an object sunk into the soft mud. It's MINH's 'howitzer'.
A dark slippery patch coats the metal. She crouches down and rubs her
fingers through it. Blood. KAMEN's VOICE intrudes, O.S.
KAMEN (O.S.)
I've found Ackland!
HIROKO
Hold on...
She begins to cross the camp, and her foot catches on a taut length of rope.
SOMETHING swings down from the trees, hitting her squarely in the face and
knocking her off her feet. HIROKO CRIES OUT in fear and surprise, then
freezes at what she sees.
Two bloodied bodies dangle head-first from the bough overhead; BEAUVAIS and
MINH. Each has been skinned and is beyond recognition. KAMEN hears her
exclamation and is out of the tent in an instant. He stops in his tracks.
KAMEN
Jesus palomino...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - HELI-JET PAD - MORNING
It's raining again at the base. Under cover of an overhang, HIROKO watches
as ACKLAND is trundled away from the 'chopper' on a paramedic trolley by
GUTTIEREZ and DOC REVNA, an Indian woman in her late thirties. As KAMEN
slams the 'chopper's side door, we see that HIROKO has left her leather
jacket on the passenger seat. KAMEN runs after REVNA clutching a clear
plastic bag.
KAMEN
Wait a minute, Doc...
He hands the bag over to REVNA. She peers at the contents curiously. The
FACEHUGGER is inside, stiff and shriveled.
REVNA
Is this it?
KAMEN
Yeah. Found it curled up in a corner of the tent. Any idea?
REVNA shakes her head.
REVNA
Never come across one of these before. Maybe the original survey team did.
I'll run it through records and see what comes up.
GUTTIEREZ checks that ACKLAND's body's secure on the trolley. KAMEN raps him
on the back to get his attention.
KAMEN
Hey, Jan. See if you can get someone to check out the chopper.
GUTTIEREZ
What's the problem?
KAMEN
She was running a little sluggish on the way back. Think the turbines might
be playing up.
GUTTIEREZ
Give me twenty minutes and I'll do it myself.
KAMEN
Appreciate that.
REVNA interrupts.
REVNA
Where're the bodies?
HIROKO
Bagged and in the back. They're not a pretty sight.
ACKLAND is wheeled into a freight elevator. As KAMEN and HIROKO walk away
across the rain-swept platform, a SHIMMERING FROM detaches itself from the
rear of the chopper and lowers itself to the heli-jet pad.
PREDATOR-VISION.
A newly-arrived PREDATOR scans the towers and modules of the relay-station
with great interest. An oscillating red line appears to the LEFT of the SHOT
as the PREDATOR analyses HIROKO's voice-pattern.
PREDATOR (O.S., distorted)
Not a pretty sight. Not a pretty sight...
He reaches down to his wrist computer and activates it.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - IMPACT SIGHT - DAY
Under the cathedral-like light filtering through the trees above, a row of
metal spikes have been driven into the earth. Four are topped with still-
smoking ALIEN skulls. Two and empty.
PREDATOR-VISION.
A newly decapitated ALIEN head is turned around in another PREDATOR's hands
in admiration. This PREDATOR thrusts his trophy onto the next spike, then
stares at the vacant one for a long moment. His wrist computer BLEEPS for
attention...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
With nothing to do, most of the screens are out and the remaining personnel
bored. PARSONS is reading a magazine with his feet up on the console,
uninterested in HIROKO and KAMEN's conversation nearby.
HIROKO
I'm going to need you to co-sign the report. Until we come up with
something, this'll be treated as first degree murder.
KAMEN
Agreed.
HIROKO
When we get the link back, and I send this in, I.C.C.'ll throw a fit.
KAMEN
Ah, don't worry about I.C.C. They're the least of your problems right now.
HIROKO
What do you mean?
URIOSTE walks up, very serious. She interrupts.
URIOSTE
Sorry. Can I have a word?
HIROKO
Sure. What's up?
URIOSTE
Three-Pump failed a half-hour ago. The algae must have clogged up an intake
duct.
KAMEN
Think I spoke too soon...
HIROKO
Again? How long before we start noticing the difference?
URIOSTE
I reckon it'll be another day before the smell gets unbearable. Beauvais
usually fixes it, but... ah...
HIROKO knows what she means. BEAUVAIS is dead.
HIROKO
Can you handle it?
URIOSTE
Sure, I can manage. But I'm not going into the Pit on my own.
HIROKO (to Urioste)
Alright, get somebody from the auto-shop. (to Kamen) Is that alright?
KAMEN
Yeah, no problem. Ask Diller, he's good with his hands.
URIOSTE exchanges a grin with CASSIE.
CASSIE
I'll go along with that.
A SHRILL TRILLING from his console communicator makes PARSONS leap up to
answer.
PARSONS
Parsons. (long beat) Yeah. Hold on.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - INFIRMARY
A CLOSE UP of an eye, bright blue and dilated. DOC REVNA's shining a hand-
held light into ACKLAND's face. ACKLAND's regained consciousness, but is far
from happy. He's sitting on the edge of a cot in the base Infirmary, an
antiseptic room full of automated medical equipment. The Autodoc is
suspended from the ceiling nearby, a circular cluster of sophisticated
manipulator arms tipped with cutting blades and surgical paraphernalia.
ACKLAND
Hey, c'mon Doc, I feel fine. Really.
REVNA flicks off the probe.
REVNA
Headache? Dehydration?
ACKLAND
The head's okay, but I could sink a six-pack.
REVNA
Forget that. I want you off alcohol for at least seventy-two hours. I've
got some toxin build-up tests still to run.
REVNA shakes her head and turns to KAMEN.
REVNA (CONT'D)
He's broken a fever that would kill a mule, but if he says he's alright I'm
prepared to believe him. He's all yours.
HIROKO enters. She watches from behind KAMEN.
KAMEN
What happened out there, Ack?
ACKLAND (consternated)
What do you mean, 'what happened'? What am I doing back here? Where's York?
HIROKO (insistent)
What's the last thing you can remember?
ACKLAND thinks hard.
ACKLAND
We... watched a meteor hit over Linson's.
HIROKO and KAMEN exchange significant glances.
HIROKO
A meteor?
ACKLAND
Yeah, it impacted really off. We went out to the crash-site... and... uh...
that's... that's all.
KAMEN
Nothing else?
ACKLAND
No.
KAMEN turns to REVNA.
KAMEN
Show him 'Fido'.
REVNA pulls out a cylindrical glass stasis tube from a wall rack. She hands
it to ACKLAND. He studies the dead FACEHUGGER floating inside with morbid
fascination.
REVNA
Ring any bells?
ACKLAND tries hard to think, but it's as if a wall's slammed down hard on his
mind.
ACKLAND
Not really, no. Ugly little sonuvabitch. What is it?
KAMEN
We thought you might be able to tell us. I found it by your cot at the camp.
You were out cold.
ACKLAND
What did York say?
HIROKO
York's vanished.
ACKLAND
Vanished?
HIROKO
Beauvais and Minh are dead, Ackland. York's gone awol, unless you can help
us go some way toward disproving our suspicion, he's the prime suspect right
now.
The news hits ACKLAND hard. He falters and leans back, addressing REVNA.
ACKLAND
Can I... um... have some water? Please?
REVNA
Sure.
She goes to fetch a cup.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMISSARY
It's lunchtime, and the SOUND of machinery STEAMING food mixes with the
CHATTER of the twenty-or-so personnel eating there. HIROKO and KAMEN are
deep in conversation across a table.
KAMEN
Do you believe him?
HIROKO
Ackland? I don't know him well enough to say. If we were back on Earth we
could run him though an Aldhoven test and find out for sure. There's not
much we can do out here.
KAMEN stares hard at her. That's not much of an answer, and HIROKO knows it.
She capitulates.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Alright then, For what it's worth... yes, I do.
KAMEN digs appreciatively into a container of food with his fork.
KAMEN
You should try this seasoned stuff. It's good.
GUTTIEREZ approaches the table carrying something.
GUTTIEREZ
Got a present for you.
He hands HIROKO's leather jacket over to her.
HIROKO
Oh, I've been looking for this! Where was it?
GUTTIEREZ
You left it in the chopper. Oh, and before I forget, Don? I ran that test
you wanted on the turbines.
KAMEN
And...?
GUTTIEREZ
And, nothing. They checked out just fine.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - AFTERNOON
A metal rail surrounds the perimeter of the platform. DILLER leans against
it down by the access ramp, smoking a cigarette and idly blowing rings into
the air. BREWSTER pricks up her years and begins to quietly SNARL. DILLER
glances down at her curiously.
DILLER
What's the matter, girl? You smell something?
Now the rhino are restless too. CASSIE walks across the concrete roadway to
join them.
CASSIE
Rhinos look a little antsy,
BREWSTER stops SNARLS and progresses onwards to full-fledged BARKING.
DILLER
Yeah. Never seem 'em act like this before.
PREDATOR-VISION.
CASSIE and DILLER are 'warm', but the rhinos are BREWSTER are 'hotter' still.
Their VOICES and BREWSTER's BARKS are filtered to the point of
unrecognizability, eerily distorted.
CASSIE's the first to hear the SOUND.
CASSIE
Do you hear that?
DILLER straightens up, looking out into the surrounding trees. It's a FAINT
HUM, getting LOUDER every second.
DILLER
Yeah...
A hoverbike appears, trailing smoke from one of it's turbine intakes as it
hurtles towards the base. Halfway between the trees and the ramp, it clips a
fallen log and spins end-over-end. It's rider flies through the air and hits
the swamp face-first. DILLER and CASSIE race down the ramp with BREWSTER
YELPING excitedly in the lead.
CASSIE
I don't believe it.
DILLER splashes through the swamp and pulls the limp body out of the mire.
It's YORK. Blood has caked around his wounded leg.
DILLER
He looks in a bad way. Help me get him up to Infirmary.
CASSIE
Wait a minute...
Something else has caught CASSIE's eye. A "something" almost two metres in
length protruding from the rear of the wrecked hoverbike. Grasping the haft
firmly, she works it free. CASSIE examines the PREDATOR spear, and slowly
shakes her head.
CASSIE (CONT'D)
Holy Mary...
PREDATOR-VISION.
The concealed hunter watches as the colorised human curiously turns the
weapon over in her hands.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - INFIRMARY
REVNA sits at a desk and peers into a microscope. Every so often she GRUNTS
in satisfaction and types something into her computer terminal. The stasis
tube containing the dead FACEHUGGER stands to one side of the computer
screen. The Infirmary is very quiet, and only the gentle THROB of the air-
conditioning intrudes. ACKLAND tosses uncomfortably on his cot. He finally
sits up and massages his chest.
ACKLAND
Oh. Oh God...
REVNA lowers her pen and looks across.
REVNA
What is it?
ACKLAND
It's nothing, Doc. Just a... touch of indigestion... something.
REVNA
Do you want a tablet?
ACKLAND winces in pain. His breathing's getting heavy. He nods.
ACKLAND
Uh-huh.
REVNA gets up swiftly and crosses to an automated pharmacy. ACKLAND's
beginning to COUGH now.
REVNA
That sounds nasty. I'll give you a couple of Demazine.
ACKLAND nods again. His COUGHING has deepened, and now he's banging his
chest with a balled fist. REVNA hurries over with three red tablets and a
disposable cup of water. ACKLAND takes them gratefully and gulps them down.
The effect is almost immediate; ACKLAND quietens and an appreciative smile
comes to his pale lips.
REVNA (CONT'D)
Better?
ACKLAND
Yeah...
Before he has a chance to elaborate, ACKLAND COUGHS once more. A thin spray
of blood and saliva dots REVNA's white smock and speckles her cheek.
ACKLAND's scrabbling fingers grab her lapels as he begins to hyperventilate.
She pulls away, dragging him from the bed in the process. He falls to the
floor, his MOANS growing in volume.
REVNA
Hold on, it's alright. I'm gonna give you a shot...
Her fingers tremble as she clumsily examines a tray of surgical instruments.
She finds a pneumatic spray-injector, fully charged with a vial of amber
liquid attached. ACKLAND SCREAMS and fall backwards onto the floor, his
hands clawing at the air. REVNA fumbles with the injector control and gives
him a blast in his upper arm. ACKLAND convulses once then goes still, his
eyes staring fixedly at the ceiling. The Infirmary is deathly quiet once
again.
We hear a gentle CRACKING, like twigs being snapped. REVNA watches in
horrified fascination as a pool of blood spreads swiftly outward across the
floor from below ACKLAND's corpse. REVNA shudders as the body moves a
little, then is rolled over by something underneath it.
WHAT SHE SEES. ACKLAND's body slumps forward onto it's front, revealing a
gaping cavity in his back. Bits of spine and ribcage are just visible. A
CHESTBURSTER - the second stage of the ALIEN lifeform - pulls itself clear
and wipes red gunk from it's body with a pair of still-underdeveloped arms.
Around it's head is a distinctive nascent crest. It kicks away from ACKLAND
with a powerful push from it's legs, quickly gaining balance. After a moment
appraising it's new environment, it stalks off behind a table. REVNA thinks
quickly. She leaps forward and THUMPS a large red stud next to the pressure-
door, which promptly RUMBLES closed.
The room is bathed in pools of shadows. Plenty of hiding space for the
creature. REVNA hears breaking glass, making her start. She cautiously
edges over to the Autodoc and looks up into the forest of probe-arms.
There's a wicked looking blade there, the kind used in major surgery. REVNA
reaches up and twists the base; it detaches easily. Now she's armed. Stooped
over, she begins to stalk the CHESTBURSTER...
There's a flurry of movement, and suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted. The
CHESTBURSTER vaults from the table at her with a SHRILL SHRIEK, and REVNA
blindly swings her make-shift knife in defense. We hear a SIZZLE like frying
bacon...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - INFIRMARY CORRIDOR
HIROKO sprints down the corridor and reaches the Infirmary. DILLER, CASSIE,
and a few others are crowded around outside. YORK lays unconscious on one of
the medical trolleys next to the door, making access difficult. Above them,
a hinged flap on the wall lies open revealing a circular mechanism beneath.
BREWSTER scratches at the bulkhead and WHINES. MUFFLED THUMPS come from
within.
HIROKO
What happened?
DILLER
York just turned up outside. We're trying to get him into Infirmary.
HIROKO (astonished)
York...
HIROKO leans over to examine him, but a particularly loud CRASH from within
the Infirmary distracts her.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
What's going on?
CASSIE
The door's sealed from inside. Doc Revna's in there, and it sounds like
Ackland's going nuts.
HIROKO
Force the door.
DILLER
Can't. It's pressure sealed.
GUTTIEREZ races up and hands DILLER a wrench with a shaped tip.
GUTTIEREZ
Here...
DILLER
Thanks.
He inserts the end into the open flap and pulls hard, the physical effort
showing on his face. The door grinds open about eight inches...
The bloodied CHESTBURSTER forces itself through the narrow gap, HISSING
vehemently. Yellow fluid wells from a wound in it's crested skull,
dissolving everything it comes into contact with. The small group gathered
around fall back in panic, jarring YORK's trolley and knocking HIROKO to the
floor. BREWSTER BARKS at the CHESTBURSTER, which tenses as if to leap.
DILLER brings the wrench down, but the CHESTBURSTER evades his blow and takes
flight. It strikes at HIROKO, who reflexively draws her head back and
escapes with nothing more than a light scratch to the cheek. The ALIEN
disappears down the corridor, leaving a trail of smeared blood and a series
of acidic pits which melt the grillework flooring. GUTTIEREZ bends down and
helps HIROKO to her feet. Shocked, she MUTTERS something to herself in
JAPANESE, and regains some of her composure.
HIROKO
Get after it, don't let it get away!
DILLER stands there with the metal bar. Does she think he's nuts?
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Go on!
This galvanises DILLER. He races off in pursuit.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Jan, give me a hand over here.
HIROKO AND GUTTIEREZ try to force the door, but DILLER was right - it won't
budge. HIROKO slips her arm through the gap and fumbles around blindly. She
must have hit the control knob, because the door slides back. CASSIE looks
inside.
CASSIE
Oh my God...
She turns away and retches. HIROKO steps through and goes pale. There are
blood-smears over everything, and it's all GUTTIEREZ can do to stop BREWSTER
from getting in there.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS' finger traces a path along a set of computer schematics displayed on
a suspended glass screen.
PARSONS
It left a melted trail on the deck all the way down to here...
HIROKO
What is that?
DILLER
Secondary fluidic shunt for the sewage system. I found the grating ripped
right off. The little fucker was strong.
HIROKO
Where does that lead to?
PARSONS
Central Pumping. All the waste gets treated, broken-down, and flushed out
into the swamp. If it wanted a quick exit then it really lucked-out.
HIROKO
You've checked that end?
GUTTIEREZ
Not yet, no.
HIROKO
Do it. I don't want that thing on my installation. I want it caught and
destroyed.
KAMEN
Cornering it shouldn't be a problem. Each part of this station is basically
a self-sufficient deep-space transport module running off external couplers.
If we disconnect them and seal off every section, we've got a ceiling of
about thirty-six hours on internal power. That should give us ample time to
find it.
HIROKO
Alright. Pull some trackers and headsets out of stores, and I'll sign a
release for the weapons. Cassie, organise a team roster and put it on the
board.
CASSIE nods soberly. HIROKO looks at everybody, and her words are carefully
chosen.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
I don't care how you kill this thing, just be careful not to get in it's way
when it bleeds. You all saw what happened to Doc Revna.
There are nods of agreement and general enthusiasm all round.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Nobody wander off on their own until it's found. Keep in pairs. Diller,
once the first team's done their sweep I want you to go down with Annie to
Three-Pump while she replaces it.
DILLER
Okay.
HIROKO
One final point. Killing this sonuvabitch ought to be a reward in itself.
However, just to add a little incentive... I'm authorizing a hefty bonus in
the next pay-packet for whoever does.
This seems to appeal to those assembled there. There's a palpable buzz in
the air.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Alright, let's get to it. New York rules apply.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - EXECUTIVE OFFICE
YORK is recounting his story to KAMEN and HIROKO in a hushed voice. Small
beads of sweat stand out on his forehead and his eyes are haunted by
remembrance. The man's a mess.
YORK
...I mean, these... these mothers were... were huge. They look like bushmen,
but they had all this hi-tech shit strapped all over 'em. They must've
wasted Beauvais and Minh inside thirty seconds. Minh got off a couple of
shots from that cannon of his, but he might as well have been using a B-B
gun. I don't know how the hell I made it out of there alive.
He nods toward the PREDATOR spear in HIROKO's hands.
YORK (CONT'D)
The one I clipped with the hoverbike shoved that at me. Whatever it's made
of, it went straight through a double-layer of honeycomb polyalloy composite
like it was butter.
YORK shakes his head in fear.
YORK (CONT'D)
I don't wanna ever come up against those things again. Ever.
KAMEN claps the man on the shoulder to reassure him.
KAMEN
Don't worry about it, Yorkie. You're safe now. Go get come rest.
YORK nods. He gets to his feet and leaves the room. HIROKO waits until the
door slides shut behind him.
HIROKO
So, what do you think?
KAMEN
What do I think? I think if those Marines from Powell don't shift their
butts getting here, we're gonna get caught up to our necks in the middle of
something we shouldn't.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
It's late, and the base's exterior lighting casts yellow pools of light
across the metal and concrete thoroughfares. GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES - a
tough-looking Afrikaan woman with a think accent - looks uneasily about them.
Another GROUP of PEOPLE with trackers and guns are searching around in the
BACKGROUND. Nearby, the vertical yellow column of a suspension-crane gantry
towers high above.
DE VRIES
C'mon, man. One more sweep.
GUTTIEREZ
One more sweep... one more sweep. I'm getting tired of one more fuckin'
sweep. We're been lookin' for this thing for three days now, and found zip.
DE VRIES
Ah, quit griping. Keeps you in shape doesn't it?
GUTTIEREZ
Hey! I was in shape before we started doing this.
DE VRIES pauses, listening to the sound from the surrounding forest.
DE VRIES
Listen to that...
GUTTIEREZ cocks his head and listens. He has no idea what she means.
GUTTIEREZ
Listen to what?
DE VRIES
That's what I mean. This is the quietest I've ever heard it. It's
unnatural.
GUTTIEREZ shivers in the wind as he looks out into the impenetrable blackness
beyond the confines of the base.
GUTTIEREZ
De Vries?
DE VRIES
Yeah?
GUTTIEREZ
Next time you have a thought like that? Keep it to yourself.
BREWSTER the dog stares in fascination at the rhinos through the meshwork
fence of their pens. The animals move around in agitation. Not at her, but
at something else...
DE VRIES
Something spooking the rhinos?
GUTTIEREZ
I dunno.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - SWAMP LEVEL - DUSK
PREDATOR-VISION.
The rhino's, the dog, and the two humans can be seen way above on the
platform's edge, bright red.
Indistinct inside their camouflage cloaks, the small group of PREDATORS wade
carefully through the water towards the base of the installation.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
DARKNESS. DILLER and URIOSTE's VOICES heard O.S. in HUSHED TONES. The
scraping of METAL-ON-METAL.
DILLER
What is that...is that it?
URIOSTE
No. I... think that's a regulator valve. Hold on.
There's more NOISE.
URIOSTE (CONT'D)
Ah, got it...!
About a dozen fluorescent strips ringing the small circular chamber
illuminate. Three others flicker erratically, one of them remaining unlit.
DILLER waves the tracker cautiously around and keeps his pulse-rifle level.
He enters, followed by URIOSTE. She's carrying a portable - but bulky -
piece of machinery.
URIOSTE
Are you getting anything?
DILLER (sarcastic)
Yeah, eyestrain. What's with the lights?
URIOSTE
They're always like that. Head-Office are real cheap when it comes to
spares. Wave that thing in the corner...
DILLER sweeps the tracker carefully around. The small screen registers
nothing.
DILLER
The room's clean.
URIOSTE
Great.
URIOSTE pulls at a two-piece hexagonal grating set in the center of the
floor. It's heavy and thick with grease, but she doesn't seem to mind. Below
it is what looks like a round metal plug. Recessed into its surface is a
lever next to a central pressure valve, with handholds on either side. She
turns the lever. There's a loud CLUNK, and a plume of steam JETS out of the
valve.
URIOSTE (CONT'D)
Give me a hand with this.
GRUNTING, the two of them pull the thick metal plug clear of the pit. Murky
water sloshes around below. URIOSTE pulls a second lever, and hidden pumps
make the water level drop rapidly.
URIOSTE (CONT'D)
Pass me over that tripod, will you?
Leaning against the wall behind DILLER is a sturdy metal tripod topped with a
block-and-tackle arrangement. A hook dangles below this, it's thick metal
cabling going up through the block-and-tackle and connecting to the drum of a
small industrial winch attached securely to the wall. DILLER hands the
tripod over to URIOSTE. She splays the legs apart and inserts their tips
into matching holes around the open pit.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES walk over to the rhino pen, BREWSTER pulling at her
leash. GUTTIEREZ frowns at what he sees. All the rhinos are nervously
huddled together in the far corner.
GUTTIEREZ
That's real peculiar behavior.
DE VRIES fingers a rough metal edge.
DE VRIES
Hey, Guttierez?
GUTTIEREZ
What?
DE VRIES
Take a look at this.
GUTTIEREZ moves over for a closer look. There's a torn hole in the meshwork,
just big enough for a rhino to squeeze through. Blood and fragments of skin
coat the edge of the gap.
GUTTIEREZ
One of 'em must have escaped.
DE VRIES
That's impossible, man. This fence is high-tensile. The breaking
tolerance'd stand up to the strain of a rhino, easy. I know, I put it up.
GUTTIEREZ shines the flashlight along the deck. A trail of smeared blood
runs all the way to the perimeter. The surrounding fence has been buckled
and twisted. They cross to it and look down at the swamp. The torch beam
sparkles on the murky water far below.
GUTTIEREZ
There's no way a rhino'd survive that drop.
DE VRIES
Goldsmith's gonna be plenty pissed at losing one of her babies.
GUTTIEREZ
That's a fact.
GUTTIEREZ' tracker starts to BLEEP. He raises it excitedly.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Whoa, wait a minute...
DE VRIES
What?
GUTTIEREZ
Just got a reading...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
Most of the lights in Admin are off, and the room's deserted. PARSONS is
seated away from his usual station at a console topped by ten monitor
screens, each displaying a securi-cam picture. He looks tired. KAMEN comes
up behind him carrying two mugs of coffee.
KAMEN
How's it going?
PARSONS
Yeah, 'Good Evening' to you, too.
He takes the coffee gratefully and sips at it.
PARSONS (CONT'D)
Today's party's finished their sweep, the relief team's out there now.
Everybody else is either asleep or running shift in the auto-shop.
KAMEN
You should hit the sack, too.
PARSONS
Nah, I'll stick it out for another hour or so.
KAMEN
What time's sundown?
PARSONS
'Bout five minutes.
KAMEN
Give me a yell is something happens.
PARSONS
You got it, cowboy.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
GUTTIEREZ sweeps the tracker slowly around, and BREWSTER begins to gently
SNARL.
DE VRIES pulls on the dog's leash to quieten her.
GUTTIEREZ
It's up there somewhere...
He shoulders his rifle.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Come on.
A metal ladder runs up the side of one of the base buildings. GUTTIEREZ
crosses to it and starts to climb the first few rungs.
DE VRIES
What? Are you nuts? Just the two of us?
GUTTIEREZ
I've seen this mother, De Vries. We can bag it, no problem.
DE VRIES
Forget it, man.
GUTTIEREZ
C'mon De Vries. Think of the bonus.
DE VRIES
Fuck the bonus. I hate heights. You wouldn't get me up there even if it
wasn't night.
GUTTIEREZ starts to climb the ladder.
DE VRIES
What the hell are you doing?
GUTTIEREZ
Hey, fair enough. If you won't come, I'll handle it myself.
DE VRIES runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. Comes to a
decision counter to what she wants to do...
DE VRIES
Wait a minute!
GUTTIEREZ stops climbing.
DE VRIES (CONT'D)
Alright, okay. Look...
GUTTIEREZ
What?
DE VRIES
I'll come with you.
BREWSTER BARKS. She drags the dog over to a metal stanchion and ties the
leash around it.
DE VRIES (CONT'D)
But I'm going first...
GUTTIEREZ
Anything you say, Mammacitta.
She climbs around GUTTIEREZ and begins to ascend the ladder. BREWSTER
WHIMPERS and plaintively BARKS after them.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - DUSK
The rooftop is dark, mysterious. Pieces of retrofitted junk can be seen in
silhouette, edged in light from way below. DE VRIES and GUTTIEREZ carefully
step over the threshold. They speak in WHISPERS.
DE VRIES
Careful of that edging there...
GUTTIEREZ
Yeah, I got it.
Although we have an outstanding VIEW of the night lights of the base up here,
the immediate gloom is impenetrable.
DE VRIES
Where's that flashlight?
By way of an answer, a powerful ray cuts a swathe through the air. DE VRIES
takes the torch from him and shines it on the ground. Circular extractor
fans rotate quietly in the gloom.
DE VRIES (CONT'D)
Still got him?
GUTTIEREZ
It's moving slow. About... eleven metres. On the left.
DE VRIES plays the flashlight across the rooftop.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Little bit further...
The beam comes to rest on a protruding piece of apparatus. A short-range
antennae, about seven feet wide.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right there, right behind the antennae. I think we're got
it cornered...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
HIROKO bends down to inspect a small plastic grating fitted flush with the
roadway. The broken grillework is melted outwards. KAMEN and two other men
- CALDWELL and THOMAS - stand behind.
THOMAS
The door to the food storage locker was smashed open. It must have come
straight out of here.
HIROKO yawns.
HIROKO
Alright. Keep your eyes peeled.
She voices her concern to KAMEN.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
If it got out of the systems, it could be anywhere.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - DUSK
It's very quiet, and we can hear the NERVOUS BREATHING of GUTTIEREZ and DE
VRIES as they cautiously stalk forward.
GUTTIEREZ
Hold it, hold it...
DE VRIES
What's wrong?
GUTTIEREZ
I'm picking up another signal.
DE VRIES looks around, unnerved.
DE VRIES
What? Where?
GUTTIEREZ
Just behind us, over to the right.
DE VRIES shines her beam over the surface of the yellow crane to their rear,
shifting her attention to-and-fro from it and the antennae.
DE VRIES
Can't see a thing. Are you sure?
GUTTIEREZ
Yeah, I...
The second blip on the small screen abruptly vanishes.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Wait. Lost it.
DE VRIES
How?
GUTTIEREZ
I dunno. Might be a glitch.
From behind the metal disc there comes a SHUFFLING SOUND, followed by a
METALLIC THUNK. This gets their attention. The two of them halt in their
tracks.
DE VRIES
Oh, man. That's no glitch!
GUTTIEREZ
It's alright, it's cool...
DE VRIES
Is it still moving?
GUTTIEREZ
No, he's stopped; he's totally still. Just take it nice and easy, babe. Nice
and easy...
A small many-limbed SHAPE hurls itself from the confines of it's hiding place
with a FERAL SHRIEK. DE VRIES YELPS in surprise, and looses off a spray of
bullets.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
HIROKO looks up, startled by the sound of GUNFIRE. She sees the rooftop of
one of the building modules lit by tracer fire. BREWSTER's tethered nearby,
BARKING furiously.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM - PUMP SHAFT
A think metal cable connected to her jacket harness suspends URIOSTE in the
gloom of the Pump Shaft. In front of her is a machine-part we saw her carry
earlier. With the strap of a flashlight clenched in her mouth, she's just
finishing up bolting the part to the larger piece of machinery in an alcove,
with simultaneously doing her best not to touch the walls which are covered
by a thin layer of gunge.
The REPORT of DE VRIES' weapon can be heard even down here, perhaps more
startling in the confined space. URIOSTE jumps, dropping the flashlight into
the water in the process.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
DILLER turns away from the winch and peers into and beyond the access tunnel
leading outside. URIOSTE's VOICE floats up out of the shaft.
URIOSTE (O.S., muffled)
What was that?
DILLER (raising his voice)
Something outside...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - DUSK
The wind whips at GUTTIEREZ as he blinks away his shock.
GUTTIEREZ
Holy shit...
DE VRIES keeps her torch beam on the moving shape. It halts by the edge of
the roof, and stares at them.
DE VRIES
Oh, nice going, man! It was a lemur! A goddamn lemur!
GUTTIEREZ' radio headset CRACKLES to life.
HIROKO (O.S., on headset)
Guttierez, what the hell's going on up there?
GUTTIEREZ
Uh... sorry about that, boss. Everything's fine. False alarm, that's all.
DE VRIES glances around the rooftop, annoyed.
DE VRIES
Hey, look; let's forget it. There's nothing up here.
PREDATOR-VISION.
DE VRIES in CLOSE-UP, glowing brightly. Her VOICE replayed and distorted.
PREDATOR (O.S.)
Nothing up here. Nothing up here.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM - PUMP SHAFT
URIOSTE's flashlight bobs up-and-down on the water below, still lit and well
out of reach.
URIOSTE (disgustedly)
Shit.
DILLER (O.S., muffled)
What's the matter?
URIOSTE
I've dropped my torch into the water. Give me about... uh... a meter-and-a-
half's worth of slack.
DILLER (O.S., muffled)
Okay.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
DILLER crosses to the wall-mounted winch. On the mechanism's side is a
luminous digital counter giving the current cable depth in meters. He pulls
a throw-switch, and the display slowly changes from "8" to "9.5" as the cable
feeds out.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM - PUMP SHAFT
URIOSTE descends the dingy shaft, partially abseiling off the walls. Her
feet almost tread water. She's down as far as she can go.
URIOSTE (CONT'D)
Whoa, whoa...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
URIOSTE's VOICE echoes up out of the pit.
URIOSTE (CONT'D) (O.S., muffled)
That's enough.
DILLER locks the winch-switch back into it's 'up' position. The WHINE of the
cable-feed stops immediately.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM - PUMP SHAFT
URIOSTE stretches out to the floating lamp, flexing her fingers. It's...
just... about... in... reach...
Six slender fingers EXPLODE from beneath the water's surface and clamp like a
vise around URIOSTE's wrist. A sleek eyeless head follows, trailing a body
straight out of a charnel-house nightmare. A SCREAM forms in her throat,
rapidly cut-off as the ALIEN's other hand clamps firmly over her mouth,
jerking her downwards.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
DILLER whirls in response to the CHOKED CRY from below. He sees the winch
tripod above the shaft RATTLE, the cable going taut as an angler's line. The
wall-mounted drum is yanked so hard the lever leaps from it's 'clamped'
position, freely unspooling cable at a frightening rate. The digital counter
flickers rapidly; "11...11.5...12...12.5...13..." DILLER watches the
tripod's tubular legs buckle and collapse under the tremendous strain. He
scrambles for the winch-lever and only just manages to lock it firmly into
place; the over-stressed cable vibrating with a LOW METALLIC TWANG as it hits
the shaft's edge. DILLER's moment of satisfaction is short-lived; the deep-
sunk bolts attaching the mechanism to the wall are pull outward by the
colossal force from below. He leaps aside, avoiding the heavy piece of
machinery as it HURTLES towards him. Watches it disappear noisily into the
conduit.
DILLER
Annie!
DILLER's quivering fingers grope for his flashlight.
DILLER (CONT'D)
Annie!
He feverishly reaches the shaft's edge and peers into the darkness.
WHAT HE SEES. The torchbeam picks out the biomechanical form of the ALIEN
emerging from the sewage and effortlessly climbing the shaft walls towards
him. Recoiling in horror, he makes a run for the door. Half-way there he
remembers his pulse-rifle and dives to the floor, grasping it just as the
ALIEN reaches the top. DILLER fumbles with the safety and give the creature
a full BLAST on rock-and-roll, BLASTING it back into the pit.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - DUSK
GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES hear the gunfire from below.
GUTTIEREZ
The hell was that?
PREDATOR-VISION.
The PREDATOR's gaze SNAPS away from the two humans and down onto the platform
below. He watches the infra-red shapes of other people running towards the
source of the shots...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - PUMP ROOM
DILLER's on his feet and shakily heading for the exit as ANOTHER ALIEN's
claws emerge from the exposed hole. He races across the threshold and SLAMS
the thin inner door closed.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
In a HAND-HELD SHOT we're running with HIROKO's group along the narrow
catwalk bridging the roadway to the Pump Room, KAMEN taking the lead. DILLER
sprints out of the building like a bat out of hell and collides with him.
KAMEN
Kev, wha...?
DILLER breaks free of the other man's grasp. He looks as if he's about to
say something, but never gets the chance.
There's a sound of TEARING METAL, and a HISSING seven-foot express train of
teeth and biomechanical limbs ERUPTS from the shadows.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - DUSK
PREDATOR-VISION.
Gazing down at the platform, an unseen hunter watches the swift black SHAPE
of the ALIEN in amongst the group of humans...
From the corner of her eye, DE VRIES sees something moving nearby. She
violently pulls GUTTIEREZ out of the path of the shimmering FORM that barges
past them, launching itself from the rooftop.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS sits bolt upright in his chair as the scene outside is relayed to his
bank of screens by an exterior securi-cam.
PARSONS
Oh my God...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
With superhuman strength, the ALIEN brutally back-hands DILLER, splintering
his skull and killing him instantly. His body caromes into THOMAS, knocking
the man to the floor. The ALIEN turns to KAMEN, it's questing fingers
closing around his throat and hauling him off the ground. The space on the
catwalk it limited; there's so many people it's impossible to get a clean
shot...
HIROKO
Move! Get out of the way!
HIROKO draws a bead on the ALIEN. She flips off the safety on her rifle.
It's the tiniest CLICK, but the ALIEN somehow senses danger. It's skeletal
tail lashes out, sending both her and the weapon flying. CALDWELL gets in
for his shot, but the tail's there in a second. It strikes like a snake.
Once. Twice. The stinger punctures CALDWELL's chest and throat. Nobody
could survive something like that...
The ALIEN flicks it's skull back around to KAMEN. The man's head is inches
away from it's eyeless face...a row of burnished metal teeth open...the
toothed inner tongue ready to strike...
WHOOMPH. Something lands heavily close-up, jarring the catwalk. The ALIEN
drops KAMEN and WHIRLS. A spear wielded by an INVISIBLE FORM appears out of
nowhere and PIERCES the ALIEN's midriff, spraying acidic fluid. The creature
emits a OUTRAGED SHRIEK and flails around, it's ubiquitous tail arcing toward
the camouflaged assailant. The STINGER makes contact: there's a SPUTTERING
SOUND as the PREDATOR's cloaking device begins to flicker spasmodically,
giving us peek-a-boo glimpses of it's natural form. Electrical sparks dance
around the PREDATOR's ruin wrist-computer, luminous green blood welling from
a wound in his arm...
From out of the Pump Room comes more NOISE, like metal being trashed in a
compactor. HIROKO SCREAMS at KAMEN, who's COUGHING painfully next to the
door panel.
HIROKO
Get the door!
KAMEN hastily slaps the 'close' button and both halves of the exterior
pressure bulkhead RUMBLE together. A SECOND ALIEN appears from the shadows
within and prises it's fingers into the dwindling gap, struggling for
purchase. Despite the ALIEN's best efforts, the door motors are too powerful
and the opening seals with a satisfying solid CLUNK. MUFFLED POUNDING comes
from the other side.
Nearby, THOMAS has retrieved CALDWELL's weapon in the heat of the fight and
is bringing it to bear on the PREDATOR. At the last possible moment HIROKO
sees what he's about to do...
HIROKO
No!
Reflexively, she knocks the barrel away as THOMAS looses a volley of shots.
PREDATOR-VISION.
The PREDATOR's speech analyser plays back her vocal patterns as white-hot
bullets sear the night.
PREDATOR
No!
PREDATOR-VISION.
SNAPPING IN for a closer look at her.
PREDATOR (CONT'D)
No!
One of the ALIEN's hands clamps firmly onto the PREDATOR's mask and wrenches
it off. HIROKO stares at the PREDATOR's face in fascination. From the
distinctive features, we see that it's BROKEN TUSK. The PREDATOR's good hand
flashes down to his thigh, almost too quick to follow. In one rapid movement
a circular 'smart-weapon' is brought up, slicing the front of the ALIEN skull
away from it's head. In a feat of strength, the PREDATOR lifts his
opponent's corpse on the end of the spear and hurls it over the catwalk
railing...
Not wasting a second, BROKEN TUSK performs an almost-vertical bound of some
twenty feet with astounding grace. He grips a pipe running down the side of
one of the building modules, then clambers over the roof's edge and finally
disappears from view. BREWSTER continues to BARK frenetically.
HIROKO's headset has been knocked to the floor and a FRANTIC MUTED VOICE is
coming from it. She picks it up, and presses the 'transmit' switch.
HIROKO (into headset)
It's alright, Rob...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS listens to HIROKO, suddenly wide awake. The morning shifts are
starting to filter in, and it's obvious to them something's wrong...
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on speaker)
Everything's under control. Wait a second.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
THOMAS is moving from DILLER to CALDWELL, checking them for signs of life.
HIROKO catches his eye.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Well?
THOMAS shakes his head. GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES race across the platform to
join the stunned survivors of the skirmish. GUTTIEREZ bends down by DILLER's
body. THOMAS lays a hand on GUTTIEREZ' arm.
THOMAS
Come on, man. Leave it alone.
GUTTIEREZ
Oh, God. Dear Lord Jesus...
DE VRIES
This is like a bad dream, man. A bad fucking dream.
HIROKO thinks quickly, and comes to a decision. She speaks into her radio
headset.
HIROKO
Rob? I want you to evac everybody from the non-connective modules into
admin. That goes double for anybody...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on speaker)
...already out here. We're going to lock every bulkhead and seal the base.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
HIROKO turns her headset off and watches numerous rotating coloured lights
dotted around the platform start to blink on-and-off. KAMEN COUGHS a few
more times.
HIROKO
Are you okay?
KAMEN rubs his throat. He nods.
KAMEN
I'll survive.
BREWSTER's BARKS cease, replaced instead with a TERRIFIED LOW WHINING.
DE VRIES
What's with the dog?
GUTTIEREZ jogs over to BREWSTER. Lowers his rifle to the ground and fumbles
with the knot tying the dog to the pipe.
GUTTIEREZ
Hey; c'mon now, girl. It's alright. Let's just get this knot undone...
A spray of plastic shards EXPLODES not three feet away from GUTTIEREZ. The
rifle goes skittering away out of reach, and he scrambles away as an ALIEN
half-pulls itself out of the sewer overflow, wet and glistening...
KAMEN
Jan!
BREWSTER's a mass of fur, totally out of control. When the ALIEN lashes out
to grab the HOWLING animal, there's nothing GUTTIEREZ can do. BREWSTER's
legs are the last thing we see, thrashing helplessly as she's dragged down
into the splinter-edged gap.
DE VRIES
Get out of there, man!
THOMAS grabs CALDWELL's rifle from the deck. He races towards GUTTIEREZ,
with
DE VRIES close behind...
THOMAS
Catch this!
From behind comes the SOUND of more rupturing plastic as biomechanoid limbs
struggle up out of newly-broken ducts. THOMAS heaves the rifle over the
heads of the emerging ALIENS. Although GUTTIEREZ snags it awkwardly, he
quickly turns the barrel on the relentless creatures.
GUTTIEREZ
Chew on this!
DE VRIES races up to join them, SCREAMING as she fires. KAMEN glances down
at this tracker's tiny screen. It shows clusters of signals, lots of them.
KAMEN (hollering)
They're all around, they're in the drainage system!
DE VRIES reacts swiftly, loosing a round of shots at the emerging ALIENS.
GUTTIEREZ yells across to KAMEN.
GUTTIEREZ
Get your ass out of here, boss!
ALIENS are appearing everywhere. From the overflow ducts; over the platform
edges; along overhead cable supports. Having taken on the genetic
characteristics of their hosts, many of them are non-humanoid. All of them
are living nightmares.
HIROKO
Oh my God...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - LIVING QUARTERS
CASSIE brushes her teeth in front of the wall-mounted mirror of her tiny
bathroom-cubicle. A raucous emergency klaxon GOES OFF in the corridor
outside.
CASSIE
Shit.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - DUSK
THOMAS, GUTTIEREZ, and DE VRIES are cut-off. As they race swiftly down the
street, GUTTIEREZ tries hard to interpret his tracker's signals. A
particularly loud BLEEP registers from a source immediately behind them. He
glances over his shoulder and sees an ALIEN crawling down the outside of a
module towards them.
GUTTIEREZ
De Vries!
DE VRIES' head turns. She sees the ALIEN and nails it with a rapid burst. It
falls onto the concrete nearby, writhing in it's death throes.
The group round the corner of a building. Across the street from them is
parked KAMEN's crawler.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
Inside, inside!
They scramble up into the cab. GUTTIEREZ throws himself into the driver's
seat. An ALIEN sprints at the crawler with bared teeth. THOMAS looses a
shot, blasting it backward into a Pepsi sign.
THOMAS
Yo' momma, boneface!
DE VRIES (to Guttierez)
C'mon, man; punch this cow!
GUTTIEREZ fumbles at the ignition. They keys are there. He flips them, and
the engine GROWLS to life.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - DUSK
PREDATOR-VISION.
From way up here, we've got an outstanding view of the humans running across
the platform...
Crouching on a bright-yellow catwalk, BROKEN TUSK presses closed a panel on
the small container balanced on his knee. Inside it are rows of metal
instruments with a pristine surgical quality about them. BROKEN TUSK flexes
his hand experimentally. Satisfied, he clips the medical kit onto his back
before getting to his feet.
Standing around him are several other PREDATORS. All but one have their
camouflage cloaks activated. The SOUND of GUNFIRE way across the station
draws their attention...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
HIROKO and KAMEN bolt towards an external hatch, with KAMEN laying down a
field of covering fire on full-automatic. The blaze of light from the
rifle's barrel abruptly stops.
HIROKO
What?
KAMEN
I'm out of ammo. Get inside, get inside!
HIROKO hears a HORRIBLE NOISE nearby. A field of cows being slaughtered by
machetes would sound like this.
HIROKO
They're in with the rhino!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - RHINO PEN - DUSK
An ALIEN is SMASHED sideways into the one solid wall of the pen, broadsided
and instantly crushed by a ton of FRENZIED rhino. It's yellow blood eats
into the weighty quadruped, eliciting ANGUISHED BELLOWS of pain from the
hapless creature.
ALIEN stingers slice through the air. Rhinos try to bolt but are intercepted
by inhumanly powerful forces. It's wholesale carnage.
PREDATOR-VISION.
We're moving swiftly along the rooftops and surveying the melee below,
lessening the distance with each second...
Several indefinable FIGURES plunge into the fray, creating anarchy within the
ALIENS' ranks. The biomechanoids HISS with fury as the PREDATORS join battle
against them...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
An ALIEN hurls itself through the air and onto the speeding crawler's roof.
INT. CRAWLER - DUSK
KER-CHUNK! The cab's occupants react as the thin roof buckles slightly.
Skeletal fingers SLICE through, RIPPING at the metal like a can-opener.
DE VRIES
Jesus!
THOMAS raises his rifle and looses a fusillade of shots through the roof. One
of them RICOCHETS off the interior, SHATTERING the windscreen. There's a
THUMP from outside...
DE VRIES (CONT'D)
You got 'im!
Their triumph is short-lived. Globules of yellow acid perforate the roof
like Swiss cheese, dripping down on them. GUTTIEREZ floors the brakes. The
crawler swings through ninety degrees before SCREECHING to a halt.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CASSIE enters admin at a run. Before, it was empty. Now it's sheer chaos.
She shoves her way through dozens of grim-faced people. PARSONS is standing
at a console, YELLING into his headset.
PARSONS
Seal everything now!
CASSIE
What's happening?
PARSONS
Cassie, thank Christ! We're under attack.
CASSIE
We're what!?
York races in, SHOUTING above the clamor.
YORK
The son-of-bitches got into 'E' wing! They're ripping it apart!
PARSONS
Fuck! Somebody get over there with some guns! Now!
CASSIE watches the scene unfolding on the banks of monitors. PEOPLE mouthing
unheard words into camera. Bursts of STATIC. Fleeting glimpses of
nightmarish SHAPES darting across the picture...
CASSIE
How many of them are there?
PARSONS
Too many.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - DUSK
GUTTIEREZ' group hurriedly exits the crawler. A cloud of acrid smoke rapidly
fills the cabin.
DE VRIES (coughing)
Move it, man!
The dead ALIEN's corpse tumbles through the acid-eaten hole, falling into the
cab's rear seat and promptly burning through that as well. Not far away
across the platform, the massive doors to the auto-shop hanger are RUMBLING
slowly closed...
GUTTIEREZ (shouting)
Hold the doors, hold the doors!
They don't hear him. The doors seal with a BOOM of finality.
DE VRIES
Over there, on the right!
THOMAS sees the two ALIENS nimbly climbing the platform's edge. He squeezes
off about five shots, managing to kill the FIRST ALIEN...
THOMAS
These bastards ain't so tough!
***************************
***** PAGE 70 MISSING *****
***************************
THOMAS looks concernedly at GUTTIEREZ.
THOMAS
Is that thing working?
GUTTIEREZ takes off the headset and scrutinises it closely.
GUTTIEREZ
Shit! The casing's cracked!
DE VRIES rips her headset off and urgently passes it to him.
DE VRIES
Use mine. Channel twenty-six.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
Despite their ferocity and weapons, it's clear that the small group of
PREDATORS are being overrun by the ALIEN horde.
BROKEN TUSK's shoulder cannon swivels automatically, blowing away another
attacker. Hearing a distinctive SCREAM, he looks across the platform. One
of the PREDATORS, it's camouflage cloak flickering intermittently, is trying
to resist being dragged down into a duct. The two ALIENS in either side
plunge their tail-stingers into the PREDATOR's body, making it CRY OUT in
agony.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CORRIDORS
Pumped up with adrenalin, KAMEN reaches an intersection and encounters a
harrowing tableau. An ALIEN blocks his way on the other side of a corridor
bulkhead, holding a STRUGGLING MAN above the floor. It's piston-like tongue
shoots into the MAN's skull, spraying gore.
The ALIEN sees KAMEN, and it's mouth twists into a bloody SNARL. Both KAMEN
and the ALIEN lunge forward together, but KAMEN's got the edge by a split-
second. He STRIKES a bright red switch and the overhead pressure bulkhead
SLAMS down and locks into place. His breathing is heavy as he slowly backs
away from the hatch...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - DUSK
The two ALIENS THOMAS killed must have been the scout party. Others appear,
more cautiously this time...
DE VRIES
Hurry up and figure that thing out, man!
GUTTIEREZ is desperately trying to operate the tiny plastic microswitches on
the headset with his fingernails.
GUTTIEREZ
What?
THOMAS
We've got company!
THOMAS brings his weapon to bear and pulls on the trigger. He gets off one
shot, then nothing more happens. He looks at the counter on the side. It
reads 'zero'.
THOMAS (CONT'D)
Shit, I'm dry! You're up!
DE VRIES raises her rifle. She aims, and...
CLICK.
DE VRIES
I'm jammed!
THOMAS
You're what?!
She works the manual slide.
DE VRIES
It's locked solid...
THOMAS
Quick, give me the clip!
DE VRIES fumbles the ammunition clip from her rifle. It falls from her hands
onto a plastic overflow grate. THOMAS leaps after it...about a second too
late. It slips through the narrow gap, gone for good.
THOMAS (CONT'D)
Oh, Lord! Please, no! Not now!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - EXECUTIVE OFFICE
HIROKO enters her office at a run. She crosses to an inset control box on
the far wall and presses a button. Two exterior panels begin to slide closed
behind the polycarbonate window.
KERSMASH! Fracture lines appear on the toughened plastic as it comes under
assault from the razor-edge tip of an ALIEN's tail. In shock, HIROKO
reflexively falls backwards onto the floor, scrambling away. She watches the
creature precariously balancing on the this ledge outside, fighting against
the closing shutters with simultaneously raining repeated blows on the window
with it's tail.
The ALIEN leaps through the gap as the window gives way under the onslaught,
showering splinters across the room. The twin shutters secure behind it,
closing on the creatures tail in the process. It HISSES in indignation and
thrashes about. Like a lizard, the segmented tail SNAPS in two. The freed
ALIEN staggers a little before gaining balance, blood dripping from the
laceration and penetrating the wooden floorboards. It sights HIROKO and
hurls itself in her direction, an unstoppable killing machine...
HIROKO
Holo on!
Her VOICE quavers so badly with fear and panic, it's a wonder the computer
can recognize it. FOUR NINJA SWORDSMEN promptly appear, forming a semi-
circle between HIROKO and the ALIEN. The ALIEN halts, confused by this
intrusion. It swipes at the pre-programmed holograms, bewildered by the lack
of contact as it's claws pass through them.
Gaining on a few seconds of bought time, HIROKO flings herself towards the
PREDATOR spear lying forgotten nearby. The ALIEN locks in on this sudden
movement and charges through the holograms at her. HIROKO GRUNTS, swinging
the spear with her full strength...
She's no super-athlete, but the cutting edge's advanced metallurgy does the
job. It slices half-way through the ALIEN's skull and sticks there, spewing
yellow fluid everywhere. HIROKO beats a hasty retreat as the dying
biomechanoid falls to the floor, fumbling at the lodged weapon...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CORRIDORS
HIROKO reels into the outside corridor. She SHRIEKS as her shoulders are
seized from behind...
KAMEN
Come on!
HIROKO looks at KAMEN confusedly as he continues along the corridor.
HIROKO
That's the wrong way!
KAMEN
Detour. Other way's blocked...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - DUSK
Back outside, the ALIENS have sensed that something's amiss. DE VRIES turns
desperately to GUTTIEREZ.
DE VRIES
You got any slugs left?
GUTTIEREZ looks down at the counter on his slung weapon.
GUTTIEREZ
Yeah. Uh...
DE VRIES rips the weapon off his shoulder. GUTTIEREZ completes his sentence.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
...Seven.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! DE VRIES tries to make each shot count. She sights an
ALIEN crawling across the top of a group of cylindrical storage containers.
Draws a bead on the metal tank and fires...
A molten ball EXPLODES outward, transforming the immediate vicinity into a
blazing inferno. The ALIEN's body twists end-over-end, remaining immobile as
it hits the deck. A curtain of fire ripples across the platform...
THOMAS
Yes!
Their victory is short-lived. The other ALIENS crawl cautiously forward,
flames licking their faces but leaving them unharmed. We can clearly hear
the HISSING of their internal jaws.
DE VRIES
Try again, man...
The headset in GUTTIEREZ' hand BLEEPS as it turns into the correct channel.
He YELLS into it...
GUTTIEREZ
Matt! Open these damn doors right now, I'll ream your ass so bad these
things out here'll seem like the Easter Bunny in comparison! Swear to God!
THOMAS turns and hammers on the impenetrable plate metal.
THOMAS
Open the doors! Open the goddamned fucking doors!
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! CLICK. GUTTIEREZ' bullets are gone.
DE VRIES
That's it! We're dead!
The first of the ALIENS rushes at them. This is the end. DE VRIES
SCREAMS...
There's a blinding flash, and most of the ALIEN's head vaporises. GUTTIEREZ
blinks is disbelief as hazy SHAPES comprised of refracted fire suddenly
occupy the killing ground between the HUMAN and ALIEN antagonists. Intense
bursts of light illuminate the platform as hi-tech PREDATOR weaponry far in
advance of the humans' sears the air...
GUTTIEREZ turns at the SOUND of the huge metal doors GRINDING slowly open.
Just enough for them to get through.
GUTTIEREZ
Move!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP
THOMAS pushes DE VRIES through the opening, with GUTTIEREZ hurriedly
following.
The Auto-shop is a large spacious workshop with three bays lining one wall.
The front of a crawler pokes from one of them, while in the center of the
room another crawler is raised above a maintenance-pit on a hydraulic
platform. A handful of GREASE MONKEYS stands around the doorway, brandishing
power-tools in lieu of firearms. A blonde surfer-type with long straggly
hair rushes over to them. This is MATT, their savior.
MATT
Close it up, close it up!
GUTTIEREZ stares through the narrow opening as the doors seal back up. In
the midst of the flames, the ALIENS are fighting a pitched battle tooth-and-
nail with their unseen opponents. It's like a scene out of Hell.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CORRIDORS
Clusters of rotating emergency lights wig-wag above HIROKO and KAMEN as they
flee through the maze of long corridors leading to the Command Center. KAMEN
is falling behind as they approach a junction.
HIROKO
Hurry it up.
KAMEN
Don't wait for me!
HIROKO and KAMEN race along the final corridor leading to the Command Center.
Halfway down, KAMEN turns in response to a JARRING SOUND from the rear. The
metal grating making up the floor is SMASHED violently from beneath.
KAMEN
Run!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
The PANDEMONIUM from the outside corridors gets the attention of YORK and
everybody else in admin. He crosses to the bulkhead doorframe, and what he
sees makes his eyes bug.
YORK
Jesus Christ!
He SHOUTS back into the crowded room.
YORK (CONT'D)
They're inside, inside the corridor!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CORRIDOR
HIROKO and KAMEN try to outrun the tidal wave of twisted and broken steel
that emerges in their wake. KAMEN YELLS with fright as an ALIEN claw pinions
his ankle. He trashes about, clutching at anything to prevent himself being
dragged beneath the floor. CRYING OUT is pain as slivers of edged metal
slice into his hands...
HIROKO (anguished)
No!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
YORK stands frozen at the bulkhead frame, staring down the corridor in
horror. CASSIE races up and pushes him out of the way...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CORRIDOR
HIROKO looks furiously around. Spying an emergency axe in it's wall housing,
she SMASHES the glass with her elbow, cutting herself in the process. HIROKO
hefts the heavy tool, swinging it down onto the disappearing ALIEN's carapace
with all her might...
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Bastard!
The blade bites deep, and yellow blood bursts from the threshing ALIEN's
wound. Speckles of it dot KAMEN's leg, eating through the material of his
trousers and into the skin and muscle beneath. He SCREAMS, a sound of pure
intense pain...
HIROKO hurls the axe aside. She begins pulling KAMEN out of the hole as the
caustic liquid seeps into the nearby electrical conduit. There's a SPARKING,
followed by a FLASH and a SHEET OF FLAME. CASSIE steps through into the
corridor, just as valves evenly-spaced along the length of the tunnel open
up, jetting white high-density foam under extreme pressure. The hatch to the
Command Center at the far end begins to close...
HIROKO
Cassie...!
CASSIE's head shoots around.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
YORK seizes a metal chair from behind a nearby console and wedges it into the
narrowing divide. CASSIE squeezes through the gap and urgently HOLLERS to
HIROKO...
CASSIE
It you don't... uh!... move your ass, you're gonna need a helluva diet to get
through here!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
from CASSIE's P.O.V. we watch HIROKO supporting KAMEN and stumbling him
along. Foam fills three-quarters of the corridor to their rear and is nearly
up to their knees everywhere else. The chair's frame CREAKS ominously in
protest...
YORK
Hurry up, we're losing it!
CASSIE's eyes widen in terror...
CASSIE
Behind you!
HIROKO turns to see the long, phallic head of an ALIEN emerge momentarily
from out of the foam. Something yanks at KAMEN and he disappears beneath the
surface with an expression of pained surprise...
HIROKO
Kamen!
HIROKO starts to thrash at the foam, but CASSIE reaches out and drags her
away.
CASSIE
It's too late!
HIROKO
Nooooo!
The chair begins to buckle, collapsing in on itself...
YORK
It's going!
With a supreme effort, CASSIE yanks HIROKO through the gap. YORK vaults
clear as the chair SNAPS in two, leaving the bulkhead to THUNDER closed. The
two women collapse in a heap on the floor.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - DUSK
The battle outside is going badly for the PREDATORS. There's only three of
them left, and one is BROKEN TUSK.
A projectile WHISTLES through the air towards an ALIEN, expanding in flight
into a wire capture net. Barbed tips on each corner bite into the wall of a
base module, trapping the enraged creature. Small motors WHINE as the thin
metal pulls inward, slicing into the ALIEN's body...
The PREDATOR savors the scene for just a second...which is a second too long.
ALIENS are all over him, clawing and ripping at his body. The shoulder-
mounted plasma-cannon is unceremoniously yanked away and CLATTERS to the
floor.
The PREDATOR goes down, groping for the self-destruct system on his wrist. He
manages to stroke a fingernail across the activation bar, but gets no
further. An ALIEN pounces at him, it's tail descending. The PREDATOR raises
his arm in reflex, but the stinger SMASHES straight through the buries it in
his face-plate, taking out the wrist-computer in the process.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
HIROKO stares at the closed bulkhead with an expression of dazed disbelief.
PARSONS
Miss Noguchi?
No reaction. He tries again.
PARSONS (CONT'D)
Miss Noguchi!
HIROKO snaps out of it. She crosses over to the bank of monitoring screens.
HIROKO
What's the story?
PARSONS runs through each of the screens.
PARSONS
Everything on this module is locked and sealed. We've lost 'B', 'C', and 'E'
wings, but 'E' was the only one we didn't manage to totally evacuate.
HIROKO
How many... how many people are missing?
CASSIE
Unconfirmed reports of eighteen or so far, but the numbers are all over the
place.
HIROKO
What's our weapons situation?
DRISCOLL - a big guy with a beard - LAUGHS curtly.
DRISCOLL
Shit! Our armory's a big blue box from the back shelf of stores. We got
about two clips left for an autoloader, and that's it.
HIROKO
Auto-shop?
CASSIE
Auto-shop's sealed, but those boys are cut-off.
HIROKO
Has anybody talked to them?
CASSIE
Not yet.
HIROKO
Do it.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOPS - DUSK
BROKEN TUSK and the other PREDATOR scramble up onto the rooftop in a bid to
escape their unstoppable opponents. Back-to-back, they take up fighting
positions. A few seconds later, the first of the ALIENS arrives.
Both the PREDATORS' shoulder cannons blaze, firing volley-after-volley. Still
the ALIENS keep on coming, finally reaching the point where it's hand-to-
hand...and nothing else.
It's a vicious, fast, and bloody on both sides. BROKEN TUSK takes flight;
his companion is not as lucky. The other PREDATOR kicks an ALIEN from him
and over the roof's edge. The ALIEN lashes out with lightning-fast reflexes,
pulling the PREDATOR with it. Both creatures hurtle downward and hit a nest
of cabling stretched across from one of the modules. Caught like flies in a
spider's web. Both thrash about, severing cables as they do. Electrical
sparks CRACKLE through the air...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
Everything electrical in the Command Center flickers momentarily, and the
bank of monitors turn to static. There's an instant of silence collective
concerns amongst those gathered there.
DRISCOLL
What the hell...?
PARSONS
Don't panic, people. We've just switched over to internals.
HIROKO
They knocked out the external feeds.
PARSONS
Looks like it.
CASSIE
Thirty six hours?
PARSONS nods.
PARSONS
Give or take.
CASSIE
We're not gonna make it, are we?
HIROKO
Get the auto-shop on-line.
PARSONS shakes his head.
PARSONS
Communications to auto-shop go through an F.O. link off the main trunk.
That's down with the other feeds.
HIROKO
Well... try the headset.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP
Spirits are low in the auto-shop.
MATT
I'm tellin' you, it's impossible. Nothing can grow and reproduce this fast.
THOMAS
Yeah. Right. You wanna go outside and tell them that?
DE VRIES
What's keeping those fucking Marines, man? They should'a been here by now!
THOMAS lashes out at an empty can, kicking it noisily across the floor.
THOMAS
Maybe they ain't coming. Maybe they don't even know we've got problems...
GUTTIEREZ
I don't wanna hear that kind of crap, Thomas. They're coming. Just a matter
of time, that's all...
GUTTIEREZ' headset lies nearby. PARSONS muted VOICE comes out of it. One of
the GREASE MONKEY's snatches it up and listens.
GREASE MONKEY
Yo! Guttierez!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS
Through now.
HIROKO
Jan, it's Hiroko. What sort of shape are you in down there?
GUTTIEREZ (O.S., on speaker)
Pretty damn good shape, considering. You can tell Don Kamen from me his
people have got balls of steel.
HIROKO
Kamen didn't make it, Jan.
There's a pregnant PAUSE from the speakers.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Jan?
GUTTIEREZ (O.S., on speakers)
Yeah. I... we're still here. We're all... uh... all sorry to hear that.
HIROKO
Can you make it back?
GUTTIEREZ (O.S., on speakers)
Uh... I'd say that was a negative. If we open the doors, those things are
gonna swarm inside. There's another problem, too.
HIROKO
What's that?
GUTTIEREZ (O.S., on speakers)
De Vries put a round through the storage tanks over by the west pier on the
way in here. Right now, the stuff sprayin' out is just burnin' up, but if we
get a blow-back, a good part of the station could go with it.
CASSIE
Oh, man...
HIROKO
Alright, let's keep calm. We've got to have an option of some sort...
there's got to be a way out of this.
YORK
Oh yeah? Like what?
YORK's kept quiet, but everyone turns to him now. His tone is scathing and
cuts to the marrow.
CASSIE
Well, what about those other things outside; those warriors? Maybe we can
cut some kind of deal...
YORK looks around at them in incredulous disbelief.
***************************
***** PAGE 84 MISSING *****
***************************
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP
MATT walks nervously around, holding the headset. Everybody's eyes are on
him.
MATT
Well, it occurred to me that we could use the overhead crane to load the
admin module onto the back of Big Bertha. That way we could put a bit of
distance...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
MATT (CONT'D) (O.S., on speakers)
...Between us and the station. Least 'till the guys from Fort Powell arrive.
HIROKO
That sounds promising. Can we operate the crane from here?
DRISCOLL
Nah. It's got programmable facilities, but it was never rigged for remote
operation. Someone'd have to go up to the cab to get it up and running.
HIROKO
Which mean physically going outside.
DRISCOLL looks around uneasily.
DRISCOLL
Yeah.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER - LOWER DECK
A small group of people, most of whom we saw in the Command Center, are
clustered around a section of the poorly-lit maintenance corridor. HIROKO's
wearing a black hi-tech catsuit, a fetishist's dream. Across her shoulder is
a pistol in a slung bandolier holster. She nods at a pile of clothing in
DRISCOLL's hands.
HIROKO
Is this the suit?
DRISCOLL
Uh-huh.
She takes it from him. Slides her legs into the bottom half and pulls it up.
YORK watches with an expression of incredulity etched on his face.
YORK
This is fuckin' lunacy! You're not gonna make it across the platform on
foot!
CASSIE
Shut up, York.
HIROKO
No, he's right. Has anyone got a bike near here?
A REDHEADED GIRL looks around hesitantly, then raises her voice.
REDHEADED GIRL
I have.
HIROKO
Let me have the keys.
The GIRL rummages in her pockets and throws the keys over. HIROKO puts them
in a pocket on the suit's sleeve.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Which one is it?
REDHEADED GIRL
Uh... the Hyundai racer. Yellow and black stripes.
YORK
Oh, yeah. Real inconspicuous...
HIROKO
Listen, I don't care if it's pink and purple polka-dots as long as it gets me
there in one piece. Somebody loan me a headset.
CASSIE pulls off hers and hands it over. DRISCOLL's watching HIROKO fasten
up the suit. He spots a mistake.
DRISCOLL
No, go back. Second clasp from the bottom.
HIROKO finds the offending clasp and locks it.
HIROKO
How much air-time have I got?
CASSIE
About thirty minutes. Those are slimmed-down tanks, so no stopping to admire
the scenery.
HIROKO
Deal.
CASSIE
We've dumped the whole data-base from one of the cleaning remotes into the
helmet. It'll project the route through the sewer system onto the inside of
the glass as you go.
DRISCOLL
Yeah, I stripped down a motion tracker and hardwired it through to the helmet
pick-ups, too. That's also on the display.
HIROKO
Sounds great.
PARSONS
It's not all good news. We had to take off the helmet lights. You'll be
going in blind.
HIROKO
What? Why?
DRISCOLL
We had to. They were just too cumbersome for some of the conduits you're
gonna have to negotiate. Besides, all the crap floating around reduces
visibility to the extent where I doubt having helmet lights would have make
that much difference, anyway. Maintenance lights down there oughta be enough
to do the trick.
HIROKO
How tight are these shafts?
CASSIE and DRISCOLL exchange worried looks.
CASSIE
Tight. We chose a route we felt would reduce the chance of you running into
any Aliens.
HIROKO takes a deep breath. Beads of perspiration dot her forehead. PARSONS
nods.
PARSONS
There's still time to back-out.
HIROKO
Forget it. I wouldn't ask somebody to do something I wouldn't do myself.
Where's the disk?
PARSONS hands over a vinyl-wrapped packet.
PARSONS
Don't lose it.
HIROKO slips it into a breast-pocket and secures the flap.
HIROKO
Don't worry. I won't.
DRISCOLL hands several metallic objects to HIROKO.
DRISCOLL
Here. If you got to use 'em, make 'em count.
They're magazines for her gun. She slots them into the bandolier.
HIROKO
Thanks.
PARSONS
Let's just run through it one more time so I know you've got it straight.
HIROKO
Okay, I pull the access panel off of the console. Insert the disk, and press
the green enabling button...
PARSONS (interrupting)
No. There's two of them.
She pulls on the zip and begins locking the harness clasps into place.
HIROKO
Sorry. Two green enabling buttons...
PARSONS
Right. When you've done that, don't waste any time getting out of there.
Once that crane starts moving...well, it's bound to provoke some kind of
response.
YORK hands over a sophisticated-looking power-tool.
YORK
You'll need this for the gratings. Trigger finger to operate, thumb button to
switch over to the rivet gun. The sensors'll choose blade or socket heads
automatically.
HIROKO
Right. (long beat) Okay, I'm set.
YORK and DRISCOLL lower the massive dome-fronted helmet over HIROKO's head.
Auto-clasps lock into place as it brackets with the collar. PARSONS clips
the slimline air-tank to her back, and DRISCOLL makes the connections.
PARSONS
Alright, let's open her up. Carefully, now...
CASSIE and the others hold their weapons and motion-trackers steadily at a
fixed point on the ground. Two ONLOOKERS bend down to the pressure-hatch
beneath the floor-grating. It's identical to the one DILLER and URIOSTE
removed earlier. A plume of pressurised gas jets into the air, and they pull
the metal sealing-plug free. CASSIE scrutinizes her tracker...
CASSIE
All clear...
HIROKO reaches up to her helmet and presses a chunky button on one side.
HIROKO's P.O.V.
We're looking through the transparent bowl of the helmet at the open shaft,
braken water SLOSHING around it's rim. Superimposed lines of glowing neon
appear on the visor's surface, a precisely overlaid duplication of the scene
in computer-graphic form. A flatly-synthesised male
COMPUTER VOICE comes over the helmet speakers, O.S.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Approaching 'A' module lower level venturiduct DS Oh-four...
HIROKO gets down on her hands and knees and crawls towards the opening. She
stares at the murky water with mounting apprehension. Tries to reassure
herself.
HIROKO
Okay. Okay.
She looks around at the impassive, staring faces. Summoning up her courage,
she submerges the helmet...
HIROKO'S P.O.V.
The pale illumination of the lower level deck-lights gives way to absolute
nothingness; a stygian nightmare. She SHUDDERS with horror and pulls her
head free.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Oh...! Oh, God...
She WIPES frenetically at the slickly-coated visor, breathing heavily.
Worried hands grab her.
CASSIE
Are you alright?
PARSONS
What? What's wrong? What is it?
HIROKO's eyes dart around, speaking volumes. She swallows hard and calms
down.
HIROKO
It's alright. I'm okay.
Steeling herself, she takes a deep breath and plunges headfirst into the
water once more...
HIROKO's P.O.V.
Everything goes to blackness again. The head-up-display presents a view of
the unseen tunnel in cheerful candy-apple hues.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Entering venturi duct, en route to secondary overflow sump DS oh four slash
eleven...
YORK watches HIROKO's feet disappear into the shaft.
PARSONS
Seal it.
The heavy sealing-plug is dragged across the grating and positioned over the
hole. YORK shakes his head.
YORK
Suicide run, man. Fuckin' suicide run.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - VENTURI DUCT
CASSIE wasn't kidding about the venturi-duct. It's only about half-again as
wide as HIROKO. The only illumination comes from the hazy circle above. As
the plug reseals the hole, even that's gone.
Something flickers. Two weak fluorescent tubes come on, lighting the murk
with a faint orange haze.
CASSIE (O.S. on speakers)
All the comforts of home.
HIROKO
Thanks, Cassie.
CASSIE (O.S., on speakers)
Don't mention it.
She inches her way through the narrow space towards us, breathing heavily.
The CLICKING of the motion-tracker in her helmet is overwhelming in the
silence...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ANTENNA ARRAY - NIGHT
The station's massive antenna array is being transformed. Otherworldly
shapes comprised of surreal creatures and protrusions are starting to cover
it's surface. ALIENS drop from dizzying heights, exuding streams of
gelatinous gunk from the four 'exhaust' pipes on their backs. They're
building a nest of staggering proportions.
Unnoticed by the busy biomechanoids, faint sparks flicker from the crane
catwalk high above...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - NIGHT
BROKEN TUSK sits on the catwalk floor, a small shower of sparks lighting his
face. He's attempting to repair his broken wrist computer with an intricate
tool. He removes it and presses a switch. The display glows briefly, then
fades. He inserts it again. Electrical sparks CRACKLE across the computer's
fascia, before burning out. BROKEN TUSK throws the ruined machine away in
disgust.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP
From our P.O.V. high up near the roof of the auto-shop we see THOMAS sitting
on the raised hydraulic platform. He GRUNTS as he pulls a valve on the
crawler's underside.
Across the room, the second crawler RUMBLES out of the far bay. One of the
GREASE MONKEYS walks slowly backwards, waving it on.
GREASE MONKEY
Okay. Back. Back. Little bit more...
He steps into a pool of slippery residue and loses his footing.
GREASE MONKEY (CONT'D)
Whoa...shit!
The man crouches and runs a finger through the colorless goo on the floor.
Scowls first, then frowns. It's sticky.
Over near the doors, MATT exhales deeply on a cigarette. DE VRIES is nearby,
listening attentively as GUTTIEREZ gets a message on his helmet.
GUTTIEREZ
She just set off!
MATT claps his hands together - just once - to get everybody's attention.
MATT
Okay, people. Let's hustle...
There's a SCREAM from behind. They wheel around in time to see the GREASE
MONKEY being tugged into the maintenance opening. THOMAS yells down from the
platform.
THOMAS
They're comin' up through the pit!
A box with two large buttons - one green, one red - dangles from the ceiling
on the end of a cable. MATT forces down the red control, making the platform
lower. Several tons of machinery and crawler bring about the demise of the
ALIENS as they reach the lip of the opening, CRUSHING their chitinous limbs
to smithereens.
An ALIEN rolls out of the pit in time, scrambling for the safety of the
nearby shadows. DE VRIES sights it.
DE VRIES
Over there!
One of the MEN has seen it. His head snaps up to a mammoth engine-block
suspended from a winch high above. He LEAPS for the release-catch as the
ALIEN passes underneath. Pulls hard on the grip. Chains RATTLE noisily as
the block THUNDERS down. The ALIEN begins to look up, just a second too
late. The heavy piece of machinery SMASHES into the creature, flattening it
instantly.
Unseen by anybody, another ALIEN has escaped to the roof of the platform-
bound crawler. It wraps it's long, bony fingers around the face of the MAN,
stifling his CRIES and pulling him off the deck. The LOUD CLATTERING of his
chainsaw bouncing off the floor-grating gets THOMAS' attention.
THOMAS
Mother-fucker!
THOMAS retrieves the fallen tool and jams the 'on' switch hard. The ALIEN's
tongue shoots through the GREASE MONKEY's skull, showering THOMAS with a
faint speckling of blood. The ALIEN discards the body and lunges at THOMAS,
who counters bringing the chainsaw up.
The blade slices into the creature's throat, and up through it's head. THOMAS
draws out the chainsaw quickly. Something happens to the PITCH of the blade,
a peculiar sound...
The acid eats through the links of the chainsaw band. Like a metallic snake,
it WHIPS off it's supporting frame.
Straight at THOMAS.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - VENTURI DUCT
HIROKO elbows her way further through the cramped water-filled duct. A wide
grille directly in her path blocks further headway.
HIROKO'S P.O.V. Green neon flashes in her display, with accompanying
notations.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Progress to secondary overflow sump DS oh-four slash eleven impeded. Grating
must be removed to facilitate entry...
HIROKO (into headset)
Okay, I'm at the first access grate.
CASSIE's VOICE is a little less clear now, with traces of STATIC drifting
in...
CASSIE (O.S., on speakers)
Copy that. Be careful, now.
HIROKO
You betcha.
She places the tip of her power-tool over the first of the grille's anchoring
bolts. The complex mechanism WHINES as it selects the correct wrench-tip for
the job...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS races up to the GIRL manning the communication console.
PARSONS
What is it?
GIRL
Auto-shop.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP- CRAWLER CABIN
THOMAS is laid-out in the back seat of the crawler's cab, with DE VRIES and
MATT trying to staunch the wounds from the chainsaw band's impact to his
chest. GUTTIEREZ speaks into his headset mike.
GUTTIEREZ
Rob? We got problems.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - SUMP CHAMBER
THUMP. THUMP. SLAM! The grille in knocked out of it's housing and floats
lazily off into the water. HIROKO passes through the newly-created hole.
HIROKO'S P.O.V.
She finds herself in an upright cylindrical chamber, about five feet in
height. Massive extractor fans churn dangerously where both the floor and
ceiling ought to be. Kicking up a swirl of particles. Pale blue light
filters down from above.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Caution! Entering secondary overflow sump DS oh-four slash eleven. Grating
must be removed to facilitate entry to Central Reservoir...
HIROKO (annoyed)
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
With difficulty, she straddles the floor turbine. A vortex of water swirls
around her as she brings the power-tool up once more.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS listens attentively. He CLICKS his fingers at CASSIE.
PARSONS
Where is she?
CASSIE
Comin' up the Central Reservoir.
PARSONS
Quick! Run a trace on the culvert leading off the auto-shop maintenance pit.
CASSIE's all-business, immediately calling-up the base floor-plan files on a
monitor.
PARSONS (CONT'D) (into headset)
Is Thomas gonna make it?
GUTTIEREZ (O.S., on speakers)
Uh...difficult to say. I think...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP
GUTTIEREZ looks on as MATT ties-off a bandage.
GUTTIEREZ (CONT'D)
...The chainsaw band might have punctured his lungs.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CASSIE looks up, worriedly.
CASSIE
I found it...
PARSONS
And?
CASSIE
Drains right into the Central Reservoir.
PARSONS
Get her on-line. Now!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - SUMP CENTER
HIROKO's pulls her third bolt free. It drifts slowly downward, slipping
between the vanes of the floor turbine.
A fragmented VOICE comes through on her headset, distorted beyond
recognition. HIROKO's forehead knits together in concentration and
annoyance.
HIROKO
What was that? I don't copy.
CLICK. CLICK. BEEP! The routine sound of the motion tracker changes
suddenly. HIROKO turns her attention from the task-in-hand to study the
tracker's helmet readout. THREE NEBULOUS BLOBS have appeared from off-
screen. Heading straight for her position.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CASSIE turns to PARSONS in frustration.
CASSIE
I can't reach her. Too much signal break-up.
PARSONS
Keep trying!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - SUMP CHAMBER
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The signals pick-up speed the closer they get. CASSIE's
garbled VOICE isn't helping ease HIROKO's panic. She looks wildly around the
chamber. The only way out the way she came in...
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Attention. Removal of restraining bolts it necessary to facilitate access
to...
HIROKO stabs the exterior helmet control. The COMPUTER VOICE ceases, while
the BEEPING from the tracker rises in both pitch and volume. Whatever the
signals are, they're almost on top of her...
HIROKO turns to the narrow entry duct. It's position makes it virtually
impossible to get back into. She tries anyhow.
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP! A rush of displaced water flood into the chamber,
flattening her against the wall. DARK SHAPES THUNDER past the other side of
the grille like express trains in the night...going away from HIROKO. She
twitches in fear and disbelief as the BLOBS on the monitor screen recede and
finally disappear. The tracker's pitch returns to it's hollow CLICKING.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
BROKEN TUSK tries to be as unobtrusive as possible as he picks through the
aftermath of the battle down by the now-empty rhino pen. He finds something.
A PREDATOR face-mask, with a massive crack down one side. He turns it
carefully over in his hands.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - CENTRAL RESERVOIR
HIROKO emerges from the water, a thin membrane of surface slime adhering to
her helmet. Blinded, she raises a gloved hand and wipes the mucus away...
HIROKO'S P.O.V.
She's inside the Central Reservoir, a long cylindrical concrete tunnel some
eighteen feet in diameter. The water-level comes up about half-way. What
fills the remainder freezes her with revulsion...
She's found the main offshoot of the ALIENS' nest. Glued into the curved
walls by a secretive resin as BODIES. HUMANS, RHINOS, LEMURS. Other
ANIMALS. Most are dead, their innards blown open. The rest are comatose,
twitching occasionally. Every square inch not containing bodies is filled
with ALIEN EGGS. It's like Hell for real.
HIROKO reaches slowly up and reactivates her helmet readout.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
...Brrzzt. Traversing Central Reservoir en route to platform venturi dust DS
two-six.
HIROKO's P.O.V.
She looks around and finds the exit point on the display. It's several feet
away. Under the surface. She wades swiftly through the water, passing
beneath something that gives her cause to pause. A large PULSATING BAG,
about ten feet long and roughly ovular in shape. It might be translucent,
but in this light it's hard to tell.
HIROKO submerges. Sure enough, there's the grille. She raises the power-
tool and starts extracting the bolts. BZZZZ! There's the first one, no
problem. BZZZZ...BZZZZ! The second and third are just as easy. She goes
for the fourth. BZZZ...CHUNK. Nothing happens.
HIROKO
Come on...
She bears down on the trigger again. The motor's not running. A tiny green
LED flashes on the machine's side. It's locked solid. A malfunction.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Attention. Removal of restraining bolts is necessary to facilitate access to
venturi ducts.
There's only one recourse left to her. She jams down the thumb button...
KER-SLAM! The force of the rivet-gun propels her backwards, her internal
suit-pressure making her rise to the surface. She wipes the slime from her
helmet yet again...
...And finds herself staring at an ALIEN EGG, it's top cracking open in four
neat sections. The FACEHUGGER leaps straight as her faceplate...
...And misses, it's fingers failing to gain purchase on the slippery dome.
HIROKO kicks away from the spindly creature as it orientates itself on the
water's surface, it's powerful tail propelling itself back toward her. It
contracts on itself, preparing to leap. HIROKO raises the power-tool,
reflexively squeezing the trigger again and again. Fat rivets RIP through
the FACEHUGGER's body. It writhes around on the water's surface, a cloud
ofyellow acid billowing outward from it. HIROKO dives into the water again.
She rams the power-tool at the final bolt.
BZZZZ! It's out! She levers-off the grille. Forces herself into the
confined space beyond...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - VENTURI DUCT
Another poorly-lit shaft filled with murky water, though this one goes
upwards on a diagonal slope. HIROKO braces herself against the walls and
begins to climb.
COMPUTER VOICE (O.S., on speaker)
Traversing venturi duct en route to platform surface.
WHAM! An ALIEN's head squeezes through the opening behind her. It's claw
snakes in, groping blindly just inches from her feet. She grits her teeth
and puts more effort into her ascent.
WALLPO! It's hand closes around her leg, yanking her back. She tries
frantically to gain purchase on anything. She fails. The ALIEN draws her
nearer, it's other hand closing on the helmet's visor. Fracture lines appear
on the glass, followed by cracks. Polluted water starts to flood in, while
air-bubbles expand outward from the broken glass.
HIROKO drives the power-tool at the ALIEN and mashes the trigger. Rivets
penetrate the creature's endoskeleton, making it draw back. A haze of yellow
blood spills out into the duct. HIROKO pushes upward, coughing. She closes
her fist around a lever above. Pulls on it with all her might.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
Internal pressure forces the metallic plug out like a champagne cork. It
hits the platform with a loud CLUNK. HIROKO hauls herself from the shaft,
trailing a cloud of smoke as the acid eats into her suit. She throws the
helmet to the ground, SHATTERING the visor. Yanks desperately at the suit's
release clamps, kicking the ruined garment off.
As promised, the yellow-and-black hoverbike is nearby. HIROKO starts towards
it, then remembers the keys are in the sleeve pocket of the ruined pressure-
suit. She drops to he knees and gingerly pokes through the smoking pile of
cloth. Finds the flap, RIPS it open, and withdraws the keys.
SLAP! A glistening wet claw emerges from the open hole. HIROKO scrambles to
her feet as the injured ALIEN pulls itself out. She tears across to the bike
and rams the key into the ignition. The turbines ROAR to life, and it lifts
smoothly into the air. HIROKO pivots the powerful machine around, avoiding
the creature's questing grasp. Losing it's balance, the ALIEN SMASHES into
the deck.
HIROKO's guns the bike away, speeding along the platform. The fire over by
the auto-shop rages out of control, a column of black-and-orange smoke rising
into the air.
A DARK FORM hurls itself at her from an overhead cable-support. Yet another
ALIEN. It lands awkwardly on the protruding front cowl of the hoverbike,
gaining balance in an instant.
HIROKO twists on her controls, trying to dislodge the creature by see-sawing
the bike side-to-side. The ALIEN's got a firm hold though, crawling hand-
over-hand towards her. HIROKO releases her grip on both throttles
simultaneously. Air-brakes cut in, and the bike SLAMS to a halt. The breath
WHOOSHES out of HIROKO as her chest impacts with the surrounding roll-bar.
The ALIEN is even less fortunate; momentum hurls it back onto the concrete.
HIROKO guns the engine again, and the leading-edge of the manta-shaped
machine's aerofoil catches the rising creature, neatly decapitating it.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE BASE - NIGHT
The hoverbike GROWLS to a halt by the base of the crane. HIROKO dismounts
and draws her pistol. Takes in the sheer height of the ladder she's going to
have to scale. Thumbs her headset.
HIROKO
Okay, I make it to the crane. You...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
Everybody in admin registers astonishment as her voice comes over the
speakers.
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on speakers)
...Can all uncross your fingers.
A WHOOP goes up. Various hands are SLAPPED.
PARSONS
We copy, boss. Nice going.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE LADDER - NIGHT
HIROKO's climbing the ladder. She stops to catch her breath.
HIROKO
Yeah, well don't get too carried away; we're only halfway home. Talk...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on speakers)
...To you shortly. Noguchi out.
PARSONS clicks his fingers to DRISCOLL.
PARSONS
Driscoll; you're up.
DRISCOLL's moving even as PARSONS speaks.
DRISCOLL
I hear you...
EXT. RHUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - NIGHT
HIROKO reaches the top and sprints along the catwalk towards the Control Cab.
She narrowly misses something metallic near the base of the handrail. If
she'd taken the time to stop and look, she would have seen BROKEN TUSK's
ruined wrist computer.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER - LADDER WELL
DRISCOLL flips open an access flap on one wall of the ladder-well. Printed
on the inside is a set of instructions, with the following printed boldly in
red;
CAUTION! EXPLOSIVE BOLTS - READ CAREFULLY!
He traces his finger along a line of text.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CAB - NIGHT
HIROKO enters the cab at a run. She flips a row of switches, and the control
board comes to life.
HIROKO
Access panel... access panel...
She finds it. Gets her fingers in the groove and slides it out. Beneath is
a mini-disk drive with two buttons.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Bingo.
She pulls the vinyl-wrapped packet from her catsuit pocket. Carefully
withdraws the disk and slides it home. Thumbs the first button, which glows
an emerald green.
The board's flatscreen monitor lights up immediately. HIROKO studies it for
a moment, then presses her headset link.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Okay, we're in business.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS
Right. Auto-shop, you all set?
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP - CRAWLER CAB
Everybody from Auto-shop is crammed into the two articulated vehicles.
GUTTIEREZ sits in the driver's seat of the first crawler. He glances out of
the side window. MATT gives him a 'thumbs-up' from the cab of the second
crawler.
GUTTIEREZ (into headset)
Say the word, and you won't see our asses for dust.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CAB - NIGHT
HIROKO wipes a trickle of sweat from her forehead. She poises her finger
over the second drive-button.
HIROKO
Alright. Here we go...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
Everybody in admin looks tense.
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on speakers)
Three...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - AUTO-SHOP - CRAWLER CAB
GUTTIEREZ leans forward.
HIROKO (CONT'D) (O.S., on headset)
Two...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CAB - NIGHT
HIROKO blinks as the sweat drains into her eyes.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
One...mark!
She stabs the drive switch.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE - NIGHT
Smoothly maintained engineering comes to life. The enormous yellow crane
starts to move on it's track-rails.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CAB - NIGHT
The control board monitor is suddenly awash with information and
schematics...
HIROKO
Okay, I'm out of here!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
PARSONS
Blow those suckers, Driscoll!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER - LADDER WELL
DRISCOLL raises a black device shaped like a cylinder with a handgrip on the
end. Slots it into the mechanism beneath the flap and carefully turns it. A
tiny red LED comes on.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER MODULE
Complex mechanical assemblies attach the module to it's supporting pier-
platforms. There are a number of LOUD BANGS, similar to car engines
misfiring. Explosive bolts release the tethers.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER - LADDER WELL
DRISCOLL reports into his headset.
DRISCOLL
Bolts blown!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - NIGHT
HIROKO runs back across the catwalk. She might have missed the PREDATOR's
damaged computer before, but she doesn't this time. Her foot comes down on
it and she slips. The gun goes flying from her hand. HIROKO watches in
horror as it teeters on the catwalk's edge for a moment...
HIROKO
No!
...Then goes over. She drops to all fours and peers over the side. Luckily
it's only fallen about four feet onto a dirty ledge. She reaches out for
it...
INT. FIRST CRAWLER CAB
GUTTIEREZ pushes forward on the crawler's controls. The head-up display
projected on the cab windscreen changes from 'NEUTRAL' to 'DRIVE'.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - NIGHT
The two crawlers TEAR OUT of the auto-shop's opening doors, headlights
blazing.
INT. FIRST CRAWLER CAB - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ braces himself as they speed on a collision course towards the
ditched crawler they left outside auto-shop earlier.
GUTTIEREZ
Shit!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - NIGHT
KER-SMASM! GUTTIEREZ' crawler rams the other vehicle off the roadway and
through the platform safety barrier. It balances precariously for a second,
until finally it's weight sends it plunging into the swamp in a CACOPHONY of
STRESSED METAL and CRUMBLING CONCRETE.
INT. SECOND CRAWLER CAB - NIGHT
MATT
Yee-haa! Demolition derby, baby!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - NIGHT
Holding the cracked mask to his face, BROKEN TUSK looks up at the gigantic
crane moving against the night sky.
PREDATOR VISION.
Although the helmet's nightsight is malfunctioning, it's still good enough to
register the 'hot' infra-red shape of HIROKO on the catwalk.
The sound of the two crawlers hurtling across the platform gets BROKEN TUSK's
attention.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - NIGHT
HIROKO gets a firm grasp on one of the railing rungs, anchoring herself.
Stretches for the pistol with renewed determination. She brushes the barrel.
Not good enough. Tries again. Success! Her fingers curl around the weapon,
and she tugs it upwards.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
The two crawlers plunge into the curtain of flames spreading across the
platform.
INT. FIRST CRAWLER CAB - NIGHT
DE VRIES YELLS at GUTTIEREZ over the ROAR of the flames.
DE VRIES
Hotter 'n hell out there!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE BASE - NIGHT
HIROKO leaps the last few rungs from the moving crane onto the platform. She
dashes towards the hoverbike, some thirty feet away. With no time to loose,
she slides her boots into the foot-supports, which automatically WHIRR
closed. Gropes for the ignition key...
Before she's even located it, the hoverbike moves. SCRAPING across the
concrete. ALIEN claws appear around the edge of one of the bike's manta
wings. She's parked the bike over a drainage exit!
HIROKO SPINS the key and guns the engine. The white-hot downblast from the
turbine exhaust SPLASHES across the SCREECHING ALIENS. The vehicle tilts and
KICKS forward.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
The two crawlers emerge from the conflagration, scorched and trailing fire.
In the BACKGROUND, the crane-hoist centers over the admin module.
CATWALK P.O.V.,
looking straight down. Four lasers scan quickly around the module's edges.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CAB - NIGHT
A blinking message on the crane's monitor screen:
POSITIVE MATCH. COMMENCE LIFTING OPERATION.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - NIGHT
The sound of SHREDDING METAL makes HIROKO look down. An ALIEN is hanging on
the underside of the bike! She twists the throttle, reducing acceleration
and causing the vehicle to drop several inches. Sparks shower the ground
from where the creature makes contact with the roadway. The ALIEN's
determination is astounding. It's tail SLAMS up through the alloy 'wing',
anchoring it.
The biomechanoid starts to pulls itself up, shifting the bike's center of
gravity. She fights the controls, but finds herself swerving. One-handed,
she takes aim. BLAM! BLAM! She misses the ALIEN, rupturing a fuel pipe
instead.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
The crane's clamping mechanism closes around the admin module, locking into
place.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CLANG! Everybody reacts as the SOUND penetrates through the walls and ECHOES
around admin.
PARSONS
Okay, people. Hold on tight...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
The crane hoists the module aloft, free of it's umbilicals.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
Pencils, disposable cups, and anything else not bolted down all roll from
table-tops. Most are grabbed by their owners.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - NIGHT
HIROKO's bike veers blindly around the corner of a building, with HIROKO
still SHOOTING. She looks up and her eyes widen. Ahead is the out-of-
control blaze. A tongue of flame licks out across the platform, directly in
her path.
HIROKO slides the gun quickly into her shoulder-holster and ducks for cover
behind the bike's windshield. The ALIEN's head twists around, and they
plunge into the inferno...
WHOOMPH! The liquid from the breached pipe ignites, trailing a plume of
yellow flame. HIROKO jams down on the foot-release and wrenches the steering
bar hard to the right. She leaps for safety as the burning bike with it's
ALIEN passenger crashes through the station's safety-rail and plummets into
the swamp.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM RAMP - NIGHT
The two crawlers THUNDER down the ramp. GUTTIEREZ' vehicle pulls into a
tight right turn, while MATT's continues on it's course. The crane with it's
underslug module continues to RUMBLE slowly forward.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM FAR SIDE - NIGHT
HIROKO mechanically tries to get up from the concrete roadway. Winces.
Something hurts. She looks down at the back of her left hand. The skin has
been scraped away.
A DISTANT NOISE, something else being broken. HIROKO turns. Through the
conflagration, ALIENS are advancing.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ' smoldering crawler pulls-up alongside Big Bertha's titanic wheels.
INT. FIRST CRAWLER - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ turns his head to one of the guys in the rear.
GUTTIEREZ
Take the wheel, Roy!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES exit the crawler in a big hurry. The moment they're
clear, the vehicle starts up and is gone. DE VRIES is alert, the tip of her
rifle probing their surroundings.
DE VRIES
C'mon, man! Let's shag it!
GUTTIEREZ begins climbing the tall ladder running up to the Bertha's cab.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
HIROKO's running along the platform, pistol clenched firmly in hand. She
thumbs her headset.
HIROKO
Rob, it's Hiroko. Come in.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CASSIE answers, holding on to the edge of her console.
CASSIE
Hiroko, it's Cassie. What's...
HIROKO's VOICE interrupts.
HIROKO (O.S., on speakers)
I've lost the bike and I'm cut-off.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
HIROKO spins around the corner, pointing her gun cop-stance.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
If I can get to the chopper, I'll meet you at the rendezvous. Don't wait for
me.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
CASSIE
But...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
The heli-jet pad's just up ahead. The relief on HIROKO's face is enormous.
HIROKO
No 'buts'. Just do it. Noguchi out.
INT. BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ and DE VRIES pile inside the surprisingly cramped driver's cab.
There's a seat up-front, with another behind a small control fascia pointing
out-back. DE VRIES hands over her rifle and slides into the rear. She
flicks on an overhead light. Taped to one side is a black-and-white magazine
cut-out of a naked male body-builder.
DE VRIES
Nice buns...
She gives the control board a cursory once-over. GUTTIEREZ calls back from
his vantage point at the doorway.
GUTTIEREZ
Can you handle it?
DE VRIES powers-up the console.
DE VRIES
Piece of cake.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - HELI-JET PAD - NIGHT
HIROKO runs towards the waiting heli-jet. The flicker of an andrenalin-
fueled smile plays on her face...the disappears.
Like a scorpion scuttling over a rock, the ALIEN climbs up on top of the
grounded machine. It's head turn towards her. HIROKO starts to raise her
pistol... then stops. Other ALIENS are descending the nearby navigation
tower... straight for her.
HIROKO turns tail. She races over to a ladder running up the side of a
building and begins to climb.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
The shadow of the crane and it's cargo falls over Big Bertha's rear flatbed.
Flashing warning strobes illuminate the twin hydraulic arms which rise up to
meet it.
INT. BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
DE VRIES twists on the 'waldo' controls operating the manipulator hands.
EXT. SWAMP - NIGHT
ALIENS rise up out of the swamp below, and start to scale Bertha's balloon
tires.
INT. BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
GUTTIEREZ fires a barrage down at the oncoming creatures. He HOLLERS back to
DE VRIES.
GUTTIEREZ
Move it baby, or they're gonna be chewin' on my cojones!
DE VRIES
Couple more seconds!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - NIGHT
HIROKO takes flight across the rooftops with the ALIENS in pursuit like a
pack of dogs. She vaults extractor intakes and retrofitted junk with ease.
So do the ALIENS.
She cuts across a conduit overpass bridging two buildings across the main
street, trying not to lose her footing. Just before reaching the other side,
HIROKO slips and falls to her knees. Her headset drops thirty feet onto the
concrete roadway. Her hand rests on something red. It's the cover for the
explosive bolts connecting the conduit to the building. She scrambles onto
the rooftop and flips over the hatch. Glances up. The ALIENS are already
starting across. She pulls the primer cylinder out by it's handle. Jams it
into the detonator, and turns...
She's practically on top of the bolts. The EXPLOSION is DEAFENING. With the
clamp on this side free, the conduit falls into the street with a SCREECH of
twisted metal. One of the ALIENS is pulverized by the falling debris, but
the others survive. All HIROKO's managed to do is buy herself some breathing
space...
She races across the building's roof. Reaches the other side...straight into
a dead end.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
The admin module locks onto Bertha's manipulator arms with a satisfying
CLUNK. Autocouplers slot into place, and the crane releases it's load.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - COMMAND CENTER
The connecting jolt is even greater then before. Several larger objects
CRASH to the deck.
INT. BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
DE VRIES
That's it! We've got it! Get us out of here.
GUTTIEREZ looses one last volley at the ALIENS. He pulls the cab door shut,
and throws himself into the driver's seat.
GUTTIEREZ
C'mon sweetheart. Do your stuff...
EXT. SWAMP - NIGHT
Bertha's wheels GRIND to life, spilling ALIENS and crushing them under it's
treads...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - NIGHT
HIROKO's P.O.V. It's a straight drop thirty feet onto concrete, with no
ladders or any other way down. She looks desperately around for another
avenue of escape.
The leering face of an ALIEN comes up over the roof's edge. HIROKO swings
her pistol over and fires. It falls away...only to be replaced seconds later
by two others.
Her gun goes dry. Quick as a flash, she ejects the spent magazine. She
slaps the spare in and continues firing.
INT. BIG BERTHA - NIGHT
Big Bertha's heading away from the base into the surrounding trees. GUTTIEREZ
grits his teeth as they plunge towards the high branches.
GUTTIEREZ
Get down!
DE VRIES hits the floor. The thick boughs impact with the cab, SHATTERING
the safety glass.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - NIGHT
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! CLICK. HIROKO's gun's empty. She reaches for
another clip on her bandolier...then realises that was her last one.
The encircling ALIENS HISS triumphantly and close in. With no place to go,
and no means of defending herself, HIROKO's a goner. The lead ALIEN's lethal
double-barrel teeth open. It's almost on her. HIROKO CRIES OUT...
WHOOSH! The ALIEN's face is severed in half. A circular metal object blurs
through the air and loops back on itself, almost faster then the human eye
can follow. A massive form SLAMS down in front of HIROKO, pushing her out of
the way. She hits the deck hard and gasps. BROKEN TUSK is standing before
her. He skillfully catches the frisbee-like 'smart weapon', then
throws it again.
HIROKO watches with awe as the PREDATOR joins battle against the ALIENS.
HISSING ALIEN jaws are silenced by BROKEN TUSK's formidable fighting
technique. Questing limbs are BLASTED and HACKED away by advanced PREDATOR
weaponry. Acidic blood flows freely. The skirmish is surprisingly brief.
BROKEN TUSK and HIROKO stare at one another. BROKEN TUSK pulls a slung metal
rod from his shoulder. Two barbed tips SCHNICK outwards, forming a spear.
The PREDATOR looks at her, and his lip curls. It takes a second for HIROKO
to realise he's offering it to her. Bewildered, she accepts it, pulling
herself up.
A bright orange ball of flame mushrooms up behind, getting both of their
attentions. BROKEN TUSK regards her. His mandibles CLICK-CLACK nervously...
HIROKO
Look. Don't take this the wrong way, but when I imagined the cavalry coming
to my rescue... they never looked like you.
The PREDATOR turns away, seemingly uninterested.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - NIGHT
Another gout of flame BELCHES out of the churning mass in the middle of the
station.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - ROOFTOP LEVEL - NIGHT
HIROKO turns her recovered headset over in her hands.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Broken. Useless!
She throws it aside. BROKEN TUSK stands beside her, keeping guard. Another
DETONATION goes off behind, even LOUDER.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Jesus. I.C.C.'re gonna have to close the book on this place.
She SLAPS BROKEN TUSK on the arm.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Come on, Butch. Let's go.
She begins to walk away. BROKEN TUSK crosses to the safety barrier, peering
over the side...
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Hey! I said come on!
The PREDATOR turns a deaf ear to her. He gauges the distance below, then
throws himself off the platform's edge.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
What...?
She races across to the rail and gazes downward.
HIROKO'S P.O.V.
The PREDATOR wades through the swamp towards something she cannot see.
HIROKO looks around the platform. She's suddenly very alone.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Shit!
She crosses to a maintenance ladder and begins to descend.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - SWAMP LEVEL - NIGHT
HIROKO SPLASHES through the swamp towards the PREDATOR. BROKEN TUSK has
paused before a culvert nestled within the shadows of the platform piers,
running directly out into the swamp. Most of the drain is underwater, with
only about eight inches protruding from the water. The thick metal grille
covering it is mangled and twisted. Broken from within.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
You've got to be joking. No way am I going back in there!
No joke. BROKEN TUSK starts submerging to get across inside.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Hey!
BROKEN TUSK pauses for a moment. He gives her a look, then disappears into
the blackness. HIROKO looks around. It's no fun being the last person left
alive here.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Goddammit!
She takes several deep breaths, then reluctantly follows...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - CULVERT
HIROKO emerges within an air pocket inside the drain. She shivers. It's
just as dirty and cramped as she remembers. Several of the maintenance
lights down here are broken, and visibility is minimal.
HIROKO (CONT'D) (quietly)
Wha...?
BROKEN TUSK whirls, and clamps a hand across her mouth. She gets the
message.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - CENTRAL RESERVOIR
They exit the culvert through another smashed grate. HIROKO finds herself
back in the Central Reservoir again. She wades through the water behind
BROKEN TUSK, holding the spear above her head. The two of them look very
vulnerable in here. They pass beneath the PULSATING SAC HIROKO saw earlier.
It looks riper now, ready to burst. An INSIDIOUS PULSING NOISE - like a
heartbeat - gains in volume the further they travel.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
They come out in a chamber some forty feet in height and dominated by an
enormous pump. ALIEN gunk covers everything.
HIROKO gasps. High above it a QUEEN ALIEN, nesting on top of the vast
mechanism. It's EGG SAC drapes around the pump; spiraling down around it.
She seems to be asleep.
BROKEN TUSK ignores the QUEEN. His eyes are searching the multitude of forms
- human and otherwise - cocooned into the walls. He finds what he's looking
for. Up on one wall is another PREDATOR. Dead. It's stomach blown open.
HIROKO holds her spear tightly. FACEHUGGERS pulse malignantly, wrapped
around several trapped victims. A number of empty EGGS are scattered here-
and-there.
BROKEN TUSK looks around. No ALIENS. He begins climbing the organic fresco,
watching the QUEEN ALIEN carefully for signs of awareness. The bellows-like
SOUND of her BREATHING is overwhelming. He reaches the entrapped PREDATOR.
It's left arm is encased in a solidified mass of secreted resin. BROKEN TUSK
raises his 'smart weapon' and activates it.
The SPLINTERING NOISE makes HIROKO wince. She glances up at the QUEEN. It's
breathing start to change, and it's head moves...
BROKEN TUSK sees it too. He hesitates for a moment. The QUEEN settles, and
her breathing goes back to normal. BROKEN TUSK resumes his work, chipping
off the final chunk of coating. He sheathes the 'smart weapon', and flips
open the other PREDATOR's wrist device. He withdraws the small manipulator
device we saw earlier, and goes to work...
DOWN BELOW, HIROKO's backing away. She doesn't see the arm coated in slime
that grasps at her hair. She shudders, stifling a SCREAM. Her eyes are wide
as she turns...
It's KAMEN. He's been embedded into the biomechanical frieze. When he
speaks, his voice is wracked with pain and suffering.
KAMEN
Hiroko...
HIROKO fearfully says something beneath her breath in JAPANESE.
UP ON THE WALL, BROKEN TUSK has finished his task. He slides the tip of a
claw across the self-destruct mechanism. It's readout display illuminates
with alien characters. He activates a button, and the readout begins to
blink...
BELOW, KAMEN is talking to a sickened HIROKO.
KAMEN (CONT'D)
They...they snapped my legs to fit... fit me in here. I don't...remember
what happened next.
HIROKO
What can I do?
KAMEN
I can... feel it moving around inside me. You've got to kill me.
HIROKO
I... I can't!
KAMEN
You have to...
HIROKO
No!
BROKEN TUSK appears as HIROKO's shoulder. He raises his right arm. SCHNICK!
The wrist knives slice outwards. Red blood SPATTERS HIROKO's pale face.
BROKEN TUSK grabs her arm roughly and pulls her away.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - CENTRAL RESERVOIR
BROKEN TUSK pushes HIROKO through the reservoir. An ALIEN EGG on a nearby
wall PEELS OPEN. Before the FACEHUGGER even has a chance to spring, BROKEN
TUSK swings his wrist-blades in a wide arc, cutting through the EGG and it's
writhing contents.
The two of them reach the deep end and have to wade. HIROKO pushes herself
along the biomechanical outcropping. Ahead of them is the PULSING SAC.
Before they're even passed beneath it, they hear SOMETHING. A SOUND like
water-filled balloons hitting wet concrete.
The SAC ruptures, spattering thick gloopy matter. A form comprised of
slender limbs emerges from within. An IMMATURE QUEEN ALIEN. Though just-
born, it's reflexes are razor-sharp. It lashes out at HIROKO and BROKEN
TUSK. HIROKO ducks, and the QUEEN's claws embed themselves in BROKEN TUSK's
shoulder, destroying his automatic cannon.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - PRE-DAWN
A VAST EXPLOSION rips through the base, broiling clouds of flame rolling
across the platform and seeping into the drainage ducts.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
Columns of fire jet from fissures and openings inside the Pump Chamber,
rippling across the adult QUEEN ALIEN and her hapless victims. She begins to
SCREAM, flailing around atop her metal throne...
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - CENTRAL RESERVOIR
The adult QUEEN's SHRIEK echoes through the reservoir, accompanied by a ball
of fire that travels part of the way down. The IMMATURE QUEEN turns her head
in reply, answering with her own YOWL.
BROKEN TUSK HISSES with hate, and brings his 'smart weapon' SLICING down
through her arm, severing it at the wrist. HIROKO simultanesouly DRIVES her
spear into the ALIEN's chest. She grabs the injured PREDATOR and pulls him
away from the thrashing creature.
HIROKO
Come on! Come on!
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
The alien numbers on the PREDATOR self-destruct readout inexorably count
down...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - PRE-DAWN
The metal plug HIROKO blew during her earlier escape still lies to one side
of the duct HIROKO and BROKEN TUSK crawl hastily out of. Fireballs are
erupting all around now, making their situation precarious.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - CRANE CATWALK - PRE-DAWN
From a vantage point high above, we see HIROKO and BROKEN TUSK racing across
the platform towards the heli-jet pad.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PLATFORM - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK stumbles and falls. HIROKO bends down to help him up, but the
PREDATOR shoves her away. He doesn't want her assistance.
HIROKO
If you don't move your ugly butt, we're gonna end up barbecued! Come on!
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - HELI-JET PAD - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO runs towards the waiting heli-jet, with the PREDATOR close behind. The
landing pad is made up of an intricate series of grilles designed to deflect
downward exhaust gases. HIROKO's feet CLATTER across the metal...
KER-SMASH! The metal is SMASHED from beneath, right in front of her. The
IMMATURE ALIEN QUEEN has made is out of the sewer system and has got the jump
on them. HIROKO's forward momentum won't allow her to stop running...she's
too close. Almost at the last moment, she jumps. claws brush her trouser
leg, but close on thin air. She hits the deck and quickly closes the last
few feet to the chopper.
BROKEN TUSK stops. ALIENS are appearing all over the pad and out of nearby
drainage ducts.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO slips into the chopper's pilot seat. She flips a bunch of switches
and the turbines RISE in VOLUME from a LOW WHINE to a DULL ROAR.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - HELI-JET PAD - PRE-DAWN
An orange ball of flame mushrooms up behind BROKEN TUSK. With the ALIENS
blocking his path, there's no refuge for him. Almost. The Navigation Tower
looms overhead, nearby. BROKEN TUSK takes a calculated risk and LEAPS for
it.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
The heli-jet flies pretty much like a standard helicopter. HIROKO pulls-back
on the collective, and the turbines' pitch changes from a THROATY GROWL to a
HIGH-PITCHED WHINE.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - HELI-JET PAD - PRE-DAWN
The heli-jet rises, a little unsteadily. The wash from the turbines plays
across the SHRIEKING ALIENS.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO'S P.O.V. Through the canopy dome, we see BROKEN TUSK climbing the
Navigation Tower, with the ALIENS close behind.
HIROKO
Okay, Butch. I can play cavalry, too...
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - NAVIGATION TOWER - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK scales the ladder as quickly as he can. As the top of the tower
is a gallery catwalk surrounding the flashing beacon array.
The IMMATURE QUEEN, accompanied by a phalanx of warrior ALIENS, is almost
upon him. The PREDATOR drives his wrist knives into the throat of a grasping
ALIEN, which falls downward, writhing. It CRASHES into the QUEEN, who almost
loses her grip on the skeletal metalwork. She HISSES, lashing out at the
creature. Sends it hurtling to the ground.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - TOWER CATWALK - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK makes it to the top. There's not much space on the catwalk to
maneuver. He looks around, then down. This is his last stand.
Instinctively, he reaches down to his wrist for the self-destruct computer.
Of course, it's not there.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
The third row of digits on the alien destruct mechanism disappear. Time's
running out...fast.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - TOWER CATWALK - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK SMASHES his foot hard into the face of an ALIEN. A BLAST of
displaced air hits him like a sledgehammer. He turns...
HIROKO's heli-jet hovers stationary just a few feet away from the tower, the
door on the co-pilot's side flapping open. She HOLLERS at the PREDATOR over
the ROAR of the engines.
HIROKO
C'mon! Jump!
BROKEN TUSK looks down. It's a long drop...but it's the best option
available to him. He jumps.
THWACK! His hands grip the door frame. The heli-jet wobbles slightly, it's
center of gravity shifting. BROKEN TUSK hauls himself up and through the
door as...
...KER-BLAM! A massive explosion mushrooms up from the base as the storage
tanks below ignite. The shock wave buffets the chopper against the tower.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK's P.O.V.
The grinning face of the young QUEEN gets suddenly closer as the heli-jet is
propelled towards the metal structure.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - NAVIGATION TOWER - PRE-DAWN
CRUNCH! The chopper hits, knocking several ALIENS from their handholds. One
of the QUEEN's arms SHOOTS OUT, wrapping itself around the port engine mount.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO pushes on the stick. The heli-jet pulls away...then tilts violently
to one side, engines desperately trying to compensate.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PRE-DAWN
The QUEEN is hanging from the beleaguered craft, it's weight drawing it
slowly down. In the BACKGROUND, the Navigation Tower begins to slowly
collapse.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO wrestles the overtaxed controls.
HIROKO
Shit!
BROKEN TUSK turns towards her.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
In the back! In the back!
The PREDATOR may not understand her words, but he can follow the frantic
jerking of her hand. He twists around to look in the chopper's rear.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO pilots the heli-jet over the station's storage tanks. The
conflagration below has gotten completely out-of-hand.
EXT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
The QUEEN is starting to struggle up, it's arms flailing for purchase.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
BROKEN TUSK pulls out a pulse-rifle from the rear. He quickly takes stock of
it.
HIROKO
Watch your shots! If you hit the engine you'll blow us both to hell!
BROKEN TUSK goes for the trigger. His index finger won't slide into the
trigger guard...it's too big! He takes the guard in both hands and exerts
pressure. SNAP. Problem solved.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
BLEEP! There's only one set of digits left on the destruct device's display
counter.
EXT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
A red dot of light runs across the QUEEN's head. She must sense it somehow.
Her head comes round to bear...
BROKEN TUSK's got the pulse-rifle trained right on her.
BROKEN TUSK
Chew...on...this...!
BLAM! A round open a nice, neat hole in the QUEEN's head. She YOWLS. BLAM!
A second round does the job. The QUEEN relinquishes her grip and falls,
SCREECHING all the way down into the raging inferno below.
INT. RYUSHI STATION - SEWER SYSTEM - PUMP CHAMBER
The last segment of the destruct mechanism's display disappears. We hear a
HIGH-PITCHED TONE.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO throws the joystick forward.
EXT. RYUSHI STATION - PRE-DAWN
The heli-jet accelerates hell-for-leather away. An incandescent BALL OF
ENERGY expands outward, vaporising the station and most of the surrounding
bayou for about a mile's radius.
EXT. LINSON'S RANGE - ENCAMPMENT - PRE-DAWN
Big Bertha's parked by the blinking blue beacon tower, site of the ill-fated
hunting expedition. About a dozen or so people are milling around, smoking
cigarettes or talking.
MATT and DE VRIES are leaning against the wheels of MATT's crawler. They
feel the concussive shock-wave, and look upward.
Their P.O.V.
Above the treetops, a blinding white-light BLURS OUT the horizon...
MATT
Holy shit!
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
Gauges and other instruments are going crazy as the heli-jet rides the
turbulence out.
EXT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
A chunk of metal is propelled through the air and RIPS into the chopper's
starboard engine. There's a BURST of flame, then the extinguishers cut in.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
The heli-jet's bucking like a bronco now, and they're losing height rapidly.
HIROKO
We've lost the starboard engine! We're going down! Hold on!
EXT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
The chopper clips the tree boughs, and bounces.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO and BROKEN TUSK are hurled around the cockpit like rag dolls. The
glass cracks with the impact.
HIROKO'S P.O.V.
Leaves, twigs, and branches rush past as the heli-jet breaks through the
canopy of foliage.
EXT. SWAMP - PRE-DAWN
The heli-jet PLOUGHS into the swamp floor with a sickening CRUNCH, spraying
mud all around.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
The canopy implodes. A hail of glass shards RIP through the cockpit,
spraying across HIROKO and cutting her skin. She SCREAMS.
EXT. SWAMP - PRE-DAWN
The chopper comes to rest in the swamp. The SQUAWKING of the local WILDLIFE
O.S. gradually dies down.
INT. CHOPPER - PRE-DAWN
HIROKO moves her head, and GROANS. There's a nasty gash across her forehead.
She turns to BROKEN TUSK. The door frame on his side is buckled and twisted.
Part of the metal has sheared off, it's sharp end impaling him through the
shoulder. The PREDATOR coughs luminous green blood.
HIROKO
We've gotta get you out of here.
EXT. SWAMP - DAWN
The sun begins to rise as HIROKO exits the heli-jet and goes around to the
other side. She manages to get the mangled door open. BROKEN TUSK's wound
looks even worse up-close.
HIROKO (CONT'D)
Hold on. This is gonna hurt some.
HIROKO gets her arm under BROKEN TUSK's shoulder. The PREDATOR braces
himself, and starts to move. The agony is excruciating; his mandibles open
and he lets out a LEONINE ROAR.
HIROKO helps him out of the seat. The PREDATOR gets unsteadily to his feet.
What happens next is totally unexpected.
BROKEN TUSK's throat BURSTS, fountaining green blood. Shocked, HIROKO gets
out of the path of the PREDATOR's tumbling mass. She looks up.
The ALIEN stowaway on the roof of the chopper retracts it's sledgehammer
tongue, it's head following her movements.
The PREDATOR's 'smart' weapon has dropped to the floor and is laying blade-
down in the mire. HIROKO scoops up, activating it and scrambling away. She
gets to her feet and holds the HUMMING disc before her.
The ALIEN climbs warily down from the heli-jet, and the two opponents face
each other like sumo wrestlers. HIROKO assumes a defensive stance, holding
the disc ready to strike. The ALIEN hisses, it's tail stinger coming around.
It leaps for her, and battle is joined. The ALIEN lashes out, but HIROKO
counters by swinging the weapon time and time again. With each thrust,
surgically thin wounds open up on the biomechanoid's body. One of the
ALIEN's attacks sends her reeling to the floor, it's stinger arching towards
her. She parries, slicing the tail in half and struggling to her feet.
The ALIEN strikes again. HIROKO feints, then thrusts, lopping off one of
it's hands. The ALIEN HOWLS with pain, blinding lashing out at her and
sending the 'smart' weapon flying from her grip.
She's lost, and the creature knows it. It's lips curl into a SNARL.
KER-POW! KER-POW! The ALIEN's head DETONATES, and it's skeletal body slumps
forward to SPLASH into the swamp...revealing BROKEN TUSK pointing the pulse
rifle.
The dying PREDATOR GURGLES, his head drooping. HIROKO stumbles across to
him. BROKEN TUSK's in a bad way, green gore is pulsing freely from it's
throat. It gazes up at HIROKO.
BROKEN TUSK
Not...a pretty...sight...
And with that, the PREDATOR dies.
HIROKO look around. The sun is rising above the treetops, and the setting is
serene. Somehow beautiful.
The speakers in the heli-jet cabin CRACKLE to life, jarring her.
VOICE (O.S., on speakers)
Rimward Tracking Station, this is the one thirty-second Rim Corp Battalion
operating out of the cruiser Tartarus from Fort Powell. Please respond.
Over.
There's a sound O.S., like a THUNDERCLAP. HIROKO surveys the horizon.
HIROKO's P.O.V.
A pair of MARINE DROPSHIPS float above the distant rainforest, their weapons
arms unfurled like exotic armed insects. Searchlights probe the ground far
below.
A shadow falls over HIROKO, blocking out the sun. A monstrous SHAPE occupies
the air above, delineated only by a telltale vibration. The PREDATOR
shuttlecraft lowers it's cloaking device, extending landing gear and a ramp.
It touches down in the bayou with scarcely a whisper.
HIROKO watches the PREDATORS file slowly out. BROKEN TUSK's body is borne
aloft and carried back inside. The LEAD PREDATOR turns to HIROKO. He
crosses to her. HIROKO's face is reflected in the faceted eyepieces of the
PREDATOR's helmet.
The extraterrestrial hunter pulls out his telescopic spear. KER-CHUNK! The
tips lock into place. The PREDATOR offers it to HIROKO. She accepts, a
little confused.
There's a long moment. The PREDATOR is still standing there. Waiting.
HIROKO's eyes narrow. Her mind is working furiously. What do they want?
She realises. It suddenly becomes clear. She smiles.
HIROKO
Yeah. Why not.
HIROKO glances back at the hovering DROPSHIPS, then walks around the waiting
PREDATOR and into the shuttlecraft without looking back.
The PREDATOR follows her. The ramp SLAMS closed, as we...
CUT TO BLACK
THE END