But Call held her up. "You did it," the robot whispered. "You killed it."
"I did?" Ripley wondered dazedly.
"Yeah. You did it. It's dead. It's history."
"Great," the woman mumbled wearily. "That's really great."
Call looked up at her as she struggled to support the taller frame. "Maybe now we can both have good dreams, huh?"
Ripley tried to smile. "We made it. We're okay." "Yeah," Call said with some amazement. "We are!"
Ripley heard the sound of an intercom flicking on. The hold was filled with Johner's whooping sounds of victory as Vriess, obviously laughing wildly in relief, called out, "Call? Ripley? You guys okay? We can see you, but—"
"We-we're okay," Call called back. She looked back at Ripley and really grinned now. "We're really okay back here."
Ripley nodded and tiredly rested her cheek against Call's head.
In the cockpit, both men howled with joy and relief. Johner lurched out of his chair, grabbing Vriess roughly around the head and kissed him hard on the mouth.
"Yeah!" Johner crowed. "We got this puppy by the danglies now! Let's put her down!"
Vriess nodded his head rapidly, grinning like a fool. Then he paused, glanced about the cockpit, and sobered. Glancing nervously at Johner, he asked quietly, "How do we put her down?"
EPILOGUE
Ripley stared out of the Betty's viewport at the approaching Earth. She'd never seen a blue sky or real soil. At least, not in this incarnation. It was new to her, and she enjoyed the uniqueness of it.
She sensed Call standing quietly at her shoulder, and the robot's presence gave her a sense of comfort and companionship that she had never felt before.
The memories of Newt, and Amy, Hicks, and Bishop, and all the other people whose lives she'd touched no longer burned so painfully inside her. Now they made her feel warm. They made her feel human. She had loved and been loved. She had fought and protected and had died to save those she loved. She would do it again if need be. And again. And again. She was okay with it now.
The dream images that had so long flickered across her mind were no longer chaotic. The cold comfort of cryosleep. The driving need to protect her young. The strength and companionship of her own kind. The power of her own rage. The warmth and safety of the company of friends. The images were meaningful, satisfying. She recognized them on a level far beyond consciousness, far beyond learning. They were part of her, part of who she'd been, what she'd been. And now they were part of what she had become.
She turned to smile at the smaller woman. Call was staring at their nearing landing site. "Earth," she said, as if only realizing it now herself.
Ripley nodded and almost smiled. "Earth."
"My first time," Call said quietly. "Ought to be plenty of places to get lost around here. I guess..." She paused, as if there were a whole battery of things she wanted to say, but couldn't find the words for.
That struck Ripley as funny. Call was a robot. She had the entire lexicon of language at her disposal, and she couldn't find the right words.
"What?" Ripley prodded, wanting to know.
"What do you think we should do? Where should we go?" Call was looking at her as if she had all the answers.
Ripley could only shake her head as she looked down over the planet. "I... I don't know!" She shook her head. "I really don't know, Call. I'm a stranger here myself."
The two women stood quietly, companionably, side by side, watching the distant lights of the nearest city. There was plenty of time to decide.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
EPILOGUE
A C Crispin Page 25