ALIEN (Continue)
MELKONIS
These day and night cycles are
totally disorienting. I feel like
we've been here for days, but it's
only been how long?
ROBY
(stroking the cat)
About four hours.
STANDARD
(staring into his coffee
cup)
I'm sorry to say it looks like you
were right in the first place,
Martin. We never should have landed
here.
ROBY
Look, I'm not trying to rub
anybody's nose in anything. The
important thing is just to get away
from here as fast as possible.
STANDARD
I can't lean on Faust any harder --
he's been working non-stop on the
engines.
ROBY
If we knew exactly what happened to
the beings on the other ship --
MELKONIS
We do know that.
ROBY
Yeah?
MELKONIS
They never made it off the planet.
The parasites won.
This brings a CHILLY SILENCE.
ROBY
Where did the parasites come from?
STANDARD
They seem native to the planet. It's
got an atmosphere and a dense
gravity. It's dead now, but once it
must have been fertile.
MELKONIS
No. It's just too small to support
fauna as big as the parasites. If
there were a native ecology, it
would have to be microscopic.
ROBY
Couldn't the pyramid have been built
here by space travellers?
STANDARD
Too primitive. It's a pre-
technological construction. That
slab was engineered by an Iron-Age
culture at best.
MELKONIS
They're from a dead civilization;
they're spores from a tomb. God
knows how long they've been here.
ROBY
I think we better take another look
at those heiroglyphs.
Suddenly the door opens and Faust sticks his head in. He is covered
with dirt and grime.
FAUST
Hey, guess what?
STANDARD
What?
FAUST
The engines are fixed.
EXTERIOR - PLANETOID - DAY
The SNARK's engines cough and then with a ROAR BEGIN TO BELCH
OUT
STREAMS OF SUPERHEATED AIR, cutting through the tulgy dust.
The ship roars and vibrates like a huge beast, capable of unlimited
power.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - DAY
They are all at their posts.
STANDARD
Switch on tractor beams.
There is a hair-tingling ELECTRICAL HUM which permeates the whole
ship, and it begins to float, like a cork in water.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
Lock tractor beams.
The pitch of the hum changes, and the ship levels itself.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
Retract landing struts.
EXTERIOR - SHIP - DAY
The ship is hovering above the ground on beams of shimmering force.
The landing struts fold up under the belly of the ship.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - DAY
STANDARD
Take us up.
ROBY
(into intercom)
Up one kilometer, Jay.
EXTERIOR - PLANETOID - DAY
The SNARK begins to levitate up into the sky, on the beams of
light.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - DAY
STANDARD
Switch on lifter quads.
A POWERFUL, DEEP THROBBING BEGINS. THE SHIP VIBRATES.
EXTERIOR - "SNARK" - DAY
The hovering SNARK begins to accelerate through the choking
atmosphere.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - DAY
STANDARD
Engage artificial gravity.
Roby throws a switch, and the ship LURCHES.
ROBY
Engaged.
STANDARD
Let's take her into an escape orbit.
The men get busy with switches.
ROBY
I'm altering our vector now; should
give us an easy escape velocity --
A HUGE TREMOR RUNS THROUGHOUT THE SHIP.
ROBY & MELKONIS
(in concert)
What was that?
In answer, THE COMMUNICATOR BEEPS.
FAUST
(over, filtered)
This dust is getting clogged in the
intakes again!
STANDARD
Just hold us together till we're in
space, that's all!
The pitch of the engines changes, deepens.
EXTERIOR - SKY - DAY
The SNARK swoops up at an acute angle into the boiling clouds.
Visibility is zero.
INTERIOR - ENGINE ROOM
Faust is pulling on a gasmask, because the engine chamber is beginning
to fill with dust. He turns on a huge exhaust unit which begins
to
suck up some of the dust.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - DAY
On the screens, nothing but clouds. Then, ANOTHER TREMOR SHUDDERS
THROUGH THE SHIP. The men no longer speak; their expressions are
grim,
set, and sweating; they are watching their instruments. Periodically
they mutter technical instructions to each other.
EXTERIOR - SHIP - DAY
Abruptly the ship CLEARS THE TOP OF THE CLOUD LAYER AND BURSTS
OUT
INTO STAR-SPRINKLED SPACE, trailing a wake of dust behind it.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - OUTER SPACE
They all CHEER.
ROBY
(pounds his panel)
We made it! Damn, we made it!
STANDARD
You bet we made it. Martin, set
course for Irth and accelerate us
into stardrive.
ROBY
With great pleasure.
Roby begins to punch buttons.
MELKONIS
I feel like an escapee from Hell.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXTERIOR - SHIP AT LIGHT SPEED - LATER
The ship's speed is so great that there is perceptible movement
in the
universe all around.
There is a strange corona effect which causes the stars approaching
the ship to appear blue, and the receding ones to be red. This is
redshift, made visible because of their incredible velocity.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE - OUTER SPACE
They are unstrapping.
ROBY
That's the part that always makes me
feel like I'm gonna puke -- when we
accelerate into light speed.
STANDARD
Quit complaining; we're in space.
They rise and head out of the room.
INTERIOR - CORRIDOR
As they walk along.
STANDARD
I think the best thing to do with
Broussard is to just freeze him as
he is. It'll arrest the progress of
his disease, and he can get complete
medical attention when we get back
to the Colonies.
ROBY
We'll have to go into quarantine,
maybe for quite a while.
STANDARD
That's okay, he can remain in
hypersleep until they're ready to
treat him.
They enter the infirmary.
INTERIOR - INFIRMARY
As they enter the room, THEY ARE SHOCKED TO SEE BROUSSARD SITTING
UP
in BED -- AWAKE.
BROUSSARD
(hoarsely)
... Mouth's so dry... can I have some
water...
Instantly, Roby brings him a plastic cup of water. Broussard gulps
it
down in a swallow.
BROUSSARD (CONT'D)
More.
Roby quickly fills a much bigger container and hands it to Broussard,
who greedily consumes the entire thing. Then he sags, panting, on
the
bunk.
STANDARD
(softly)
How do you feel, Dell?
BROUSSARD
(weakly)
Wretched. What happened to me?
STANDARD
Don't you remember?
BROUSSARD
Don't remember nothing. Can't hardly
remember my name.
ROBY
Are you in pain?
BROUSSARD
Not exactly, just feel like
somebody's been beating me with
rubber hoses for about six years.
Melkonis laughs at this remark. Broussard smiles faintly at him.
STANDARD
Hell, you're in great shape, you've
got your sense of humor back!
BROUSSARD
God I'm hungry.
ROBY
Dell, what's the last thing you can
remember?
BROUSSARD
... I don't know...
ROBY
Do you remember the pyramid?
BROUSSARD
No. Just some horrible dreams about
smothering. Where are we?
STANDARD
We're going home. We're in
hyperspace.
MELKONIS
We're going into the freezers now.
BROUSSARD
I'm really starving; can we get some
food before we go into the freezers?
STANDARD
(laughs)
I think that's a pretty reasonable
request.
INTERIOR - MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
The entire crew is seated around the table, eating huge portions
greedily. The cat eats from a dish on the table.
HUNTER
Boy do I feel a lot better. It's a
straight shot back to the Colonies,
and then we can start taking bids on
the paydirt. Any bets on the top
bid?
FAUST
(chewing)
Well, we should at least be able to
each buy our own planet.
They all CHUCKLE.
MELKONIS
I'm going to write a book about this
expedition. I'm going to call it
"The Snark Log."
STANDARD
(stiffly)
The commander normally has first
publication rights.
MELKONIS
Maybe we could write it together.
ROBY
First thing I'm going to do when we
get back is eat some biological
food.
MELKONIS
What's the matter, you don't like
this stuff?
ROBY
Tastes like something you'd feed a
chicken to make it lay more eggs.
STANDARD
Oh it's okay. I've had better cag
than this, but I've had worse too,
if you know what I mean.
FAUST
I kind of like it.
ROBY
You like this shit?
FAUST
It grows on you.
ROBY
You know what they make this stuff
out of?
FAUST
(annoyed)
Yes, I know what they make it out
of, so what? It's food now. You're
eating it.
ROBY
I didn't say it was bad for you,
it's just kind of sickening, that's
all.
HUNTER
Do we have to talk about this kind
of crap at the dinner table?
Suddenly, unexpectedly, BROUSSARD GRIMACES AND GROANS.
STANDARD
What's wrong?
BROUSSARD
(his voice straining)
I don't know... I'm getting these
CRAMPS!
The others stare at him in alarm. Another GROAN is torn from his
lips.
He clutches the edge of the table with his hands, his knuckles
whitening.
STANDARD
Breathe deeply.
BROUSSARD
(screaming)
OH GOD IT HURTS SO BAD!
ROBY
What Dell -- what?
Broussard's face is screwed up into a mask of agony, and he is
trembling violently from head to foot.
BROUSSARD
(incoherent shriek)
OhmygooaaAAAHHHHH!!!
A RED SMEAR OF BLOOD BLOSSOMS ON THE CHEST OF BROUSSARD'S TUNIC.
THEIR EYES ARE ALL RIVETTED TO BROUSSARD'S CHEST AS THE FABRIC
OF HIS
TUNIC IS RIPPED OPEN, AND A HORRIBLE NASTY LITTLE HEAD THE SIZE
OF A
MAN'S FIST PUSHES OUT.
Everybody SCREAMS and leaps back from the table. The cat spits
and
bolts.
The disgusting little head lunges, comes spurting out of Broussard's
chest trailing a thick, wormlike tail -- splattering fluids and
blood
-- lands in the middle of the dishes and food on the table -- and
scurries away while the men are stampeding for safe ground.
When they finally regain control of themselves, it has escaped.
Broussard lies slumped in his chair, a huge hole in his chest,
spouting blood. The dishes are scattered and the food is covered
with
blood and slime.
HUNTER
Oh, no. Oh, no.
FAUST
What was that? What the Christ was
that?
MELKONIS
It was growing in him the whole time
and he didn't even know it!
Slowly, they gather around Broussard's gutted corpse.
ROBY
That thing used him for an
incubator!
EXTERIOR - SHIP - OUTER SPACE
A hatch slides open on the side of the ship, and Broussard's wrapped
body tumbles silently out.
AN ELECTRONIC BASS DRUM BEATS A DIRGE as Broussard drifts into
eternity.
INTERIOR - CORRIDORS
The entire remaining crew is walking toward the bridge.
MELKONIS
We can't go into hypersleep with
that thing running around loose.
HUNTER
We'd be sitting ducks in the
freezers.
ROBY
But we can't kill it. If we kill it,
it will spill all its body acids
right through our hull and out into
space.
FAUST
Shit...
STANDARD
We'll have to catch it and eject it
from the ship.
MELKONIS
(sighs)
Well, I kind of hate to point it
out, but all our supplies are based
on us spending a strictly limited
amount of time out of suspended
animation... and as you know, we used
up most of that time in harvesting.
STANDARD
We've got about a week left, right?
HUNTER
And then we run out of food and
oxygen.
FAUST
The water will still recycle.
ROBY
We won't need it then.
STANDARD
All right, so that's what we've got.
A week. It's plenty of time.
ROBY
But if we haven't caught it in a
week, then we have to go into the
freezers anyway.
They enter the bridge.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE
STANDARD
So does anybody have any
suggestions?
FAUST
We could put on our pressure suits
and blow all the air out of the
ship. That would kill it.
STANDARD
No, we can't afford to lose that
much oxygen. We're going to have to
flush it out.
MELKONIS
How?
STANDARD
Room by room, corridor by corridor.
No one likes this thought.
MELKONIS
And what do we do when we find it?
STANDARD
We'll have to trap it somehow. If we
had a really strong piece of net, we
could bag it.
FAUST
We could cut a section out of that
metallite netting. It won't hold up
to that acid, but aside from that
it's pretty strong.
ROBY
We have to avoid injuring it. What
we really need is some electric
animal prods.
HUNTER
I think I could cobble something
together. A long metal rod with a
battery in it. Give it a hell of a
shock.
STANDARD
Good. Get on it. But first, I'm
issuing a standing order: from this
moment forth, every one of us will
wear protective garments, including
helmets. Let's get down to the
locker and change.
They start for the exit.
EXTERIOR - OUTER SPACE
The SNARK continues on its way through the weird vortex of hyperspace.
INTERIOR - CORRIDORS IN SHIP
Standard is walking purposefully along the corridor, alone. He
is
garmented in an unusual outfit which makes him look like a riot
policeman, including clear plastic helmet.
He reaches a corner and turns. But this new passageway has a different
gravity orientation -- Standard seems to be walking down a vertical
wall.
He makes yet another disorienting turn, and now he is walking
upside-
down. He reaches a set of steps and climbs up them -- or rather,
down
them.
INTERIOR - VENTRAL OBSERVATION DOME - VIEW OF OUTER SPACE
Melkonis is seated in the dome, upside-down, peering down into
space.
He also wears the protective suit.
Standard, upside-down, climbs into the dome. It is dark and eerie
here, under the stars of interstellar space. A few glowing panels
provide the only illumination.
STANDARD
I thought I'd find you here.
MELKONIS
I was thinking of a line from an old
poem: "Water, water everywhere, but
not a drop to drink." All that space
out there, and we're trapped in this
ship.
STANDARD
That's the one about the albatross,
right?
MELKONIS
We can't even radio for help; the
carrier wave wouldn't reach its
destination till long after we'd
died and turned to dust. We are
utterly, absolutely alone. Can
anybody really visualize such a
scale of distances? Halfway across
Creation...
STANDARD
We came out there, we'll go back. A
long time by the clock, but a short
time to us.
MELKONIS
Time and space have no meaning out
here. We're living in Einsteinian
equation.
STANDARD
I can see you're putting your spare
time to good use.
(leans forward and taps
him on the knee)
Let me tell you something: you keep
staring at hyperspace for long
enough, they'll be peeling you off a
wall. I've seen it happen.
MELKONIS
(smiles at him)
We're the new pioneers, Chaz. We
even have our own special diseases.
STANDARD
Come on -- let's go above and see
how they're coming with the gear.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE
The whole crew has assembled. Faust is unfolding several yards
of
shimmering metallic netting.
Hunter hands out five thin rods, like metal broom handles.
HUNTER
These have portable generators in
them. They're insulated down to here
-- just be careful not to touch the
end.
He demonstrates by touching the tip of one of the rods to a metal
object. A blue spark leaps.
FAUST
Might even incinerate the damn
thing.
STANDARD
(sharply)
I hope not.
HUNTER
Don't worry, it won't damage it,
it'll just give it a little
incentive.
STANDARD
How do we locate the creature?
FAUST
With these.
He picks up a small portable unit.
FAUST (CONT'D)
Tracking device. You set it to
search for a moving object... It
hasn't got much range, but when you
get within a certain distance, it
starts beeping.
Standard takes the device and studies it.
STANDARD
These will be very useful. At least
we won't have to go digging around
in closets with our bare hands. All
right, here's the battle plan: we're
going to break into two teams and
start systematically covering the
ship. Whoever finds it first,
catches it in the net and ejects it
from the nearest airlock. Clear?
ROBY
Even simple.
Standard shoots him a vicious look, then continues:
STANDARD
For starters, let's make sure the
bridge is safe.
Faust takes the device and turns it on. He scans it around the
room.
FAUST
It's clear.
STANDARD
All right -- Roby and Melkonis will
go with Faust. Hunter and I will
make up the second team.
They start doling out the equipment.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
We'll all carry communicators. We
want to keep in constant touch.
INTERIOR - CORRIDORS IN SHIP
Melkonis and Roby carry the net, while Faust walks directly behind
it,
carrying the tracking device. He continually scans it from side
to
side.
FAUST
Nothing yet... nothing... we can move
pretty fast as long as there's
nothing on the tracker.
INTERIOR - OTHER CORRIDORS
Standard and Hunter move silently along. Standard is forced to
serve a
double function, carrying one edge of the net and the tracker as
well.
INTERIOR - CORRIDORS
Roby's team is moving at a fairly brisk pace, when:
FAUST
Hold it.
Faust's tracker is BEEPING, and a small light flashes.
FAUST (CONT'D)
I've got something.
Immediately, they grow very tense and start looking around.
ROBY
Where's it coming from?
FAUST
(peers closely at tracker
and frowns)
Machine's screwed up, I can't tell.
Needle's spinning all over the dial.
MELKONIS
Is it malfunctioning?
Faust turns the tracker on its side, and the needle stabilizes.
FAUST
No, just confused. It's coming from
below us.
They all look down at their feet.
INTERIOR - MAINTENANCE LEVEL
Roby, Melkonis, and Faust come carefully down a set of crude metal
stairs, into a drab, functional section of the ship.
The corridors in this level are lit by rows of bare bulbs in the
ceiling. The effect is ugly and confining.
They stop at the foot of the stairs and move into position, spreading
the net across the corridor.
ROBY
Okay.
FAUST
(looking at tracker and
nodding down the passageway)
That way.
They begin to walk down the passageway, footsteps clanging on
the raw
metal flooring. It is extremely dark.
ROBY
What happened to the lights?
FAUST
Bulbs burned out, nobody bothered to
replace 'em.
They switch on the helmet lights.
CAMERA FOLLOWS THEM AROUND A COUPLE OF TURNINGS, AND THEN:
FAUST (CONT'D)
Hold it.
They all stop quickly, almost stumbling.
FAUST (CONT'D)
(whispering)
It's within 4 meters.
Roby and Melkonis heft the net, each keeping his prod in hand.
Faust,
prod in one hand and tracker in the other, has the unpleasant job
of
approaching the source of the signal.
He moves with great care, in a half crouch, ready to leap back
at any
second, prod extended, constantly glancing at the tracker.
The tracking device leads him right up to a small hatch or door
in one
wall.
Behind his plastic mask, sweat is pouring down Faust's face as
he sets
down the tracker and reaches for the little door. He raises the
prod,
grasps the door handle, yanks it open, and jams the electric prod
inside.
WITH A NERVE-SHATTERING SQUALL, A SMALL CREATURE COMES FLYING
OUT OF
THE CABINET, EYES GLARING, CLAWS FLASHING.
Instinctively, they throw the net over it, but:
ROBY
(very annoyed)
Oh, hold it!
They open the net and release the creature. IT IS THE CAT. Hissing
and
spitting, it scampers away.
MELKONIS
We're making fools of ourselves!
Roby's COMMUNICATOR BEEPS.
ROBY
(into communicator)
Yes!
STANDARD
(over, filtered)
We've got it up here! It's trapped!
Get up here fast!
ROBY
Where are you?
STANDARD
(over, filtered)
Food-storage room!
ROBY
We're coming!
They dash for the stairs.
INTERIOR - CORRIDORS IN SHIP
Roby, Faust, and Melkonis charge down the hallways until they
arrive
at:
INTERIOR - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE FOOD STORAGE ROOM
Standard and Hunter are waiting for them, in hysterics.
HUNTER
We saw it inside and slammed the
door on it! It's in there now!
On the other side of the door, CRASHING AND BANGING can be heard.
ROBY
What's it doing, having a seizure?
STANDARD
It started crashing around right
after we locked it in.
ROBY
Now what?
STANDARD
I guess we open the door and net it.
HUNTER
I hate to open that door.
Again the thing can be heard CRASHING AROUND INSIDE.
STANDARD
It looks completely different from
the first one -- it's more like a
worm with legs... and tentacles.
FAUST
Well we better do something.
HUNTER
Maybe we don't have to. It's trapped
in there. We could just leave it in
there all the way back to Irth.
STANDARD
(snaps)
Don't be an idiot.
FAUST
I know what we can do. We can pump
poison gas into the room and kill
it. Through those ventilator slots
there.
He indicates a row of slots in the bottom of the door.
ROBY
Hey, wait a minute! That's all our
food supplies in there! We can't
pump poison gas all over them!
STANDARD
Once we kill the thing we won't need
the food any more -- we can go
straight into hypersleep. Also, it
sounds like that thing is already
doing a pretty good job on our
supplies; it may be fouling them
all.
ROBY
You win.
FAUST
Somebody gimme a hand, I'll get the
stuff.
INTERIOR - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE FOOD LOCKER - LATER
CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL THAT they are fastening a large funnel-
shaped device over the ventilator grill at the bottom of the door.
This funnel is attached to a thick hose, which runs back to a large
metal tank with pressure gauges.
STANDARD
Get those masks on.
They pull on gas masks.
ROBY
This stuff's deadly -- I hope we
know what we're doing.
STANDARD
Go ahead, Jay.
Faust turns on the machine. It begins to throb as it pumps the
gas
through the hose and into the room.
Immediately, THE CRASHING NOISES RISE IN CRESCENDO, AND THE THING
CAN
BE HEARD SCREECHING AND SQUEALING.
Then the sounds stop altogether.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
Shut it off.
Faust shuts off the pump.
ROBY
Now what?
STANDARD
What do you think? Now we go in.
Standard steps to the door and opens it. A thick cloud of gas
billows
out.
INTERIOR - FOOD STORAGE ROOM
The room is thick with the poison gas. The men look like insects
in
their gasmasks.
The food packages are ripped to shreds, and foodstuffs are scattered
all over the floor.
FAUST
Looks like he helped himself.
Carefully, the men poke through the garbage, net and prods raised.
Then Hunter points.
HUNTER
God damn it.
They all look where he is pointing. In the wall, A VENTILATOR
GRILL
HAS BEEN RIPPED OPEN.
HUNTER (CONT'D)
It escaped.
They move to the shredded ventilator and shine their lights into
it.
ROBY
Where does that go?
FAUST
All over the ship; we'll have to
check the charts to know for sure.
STANDARD
Then let's go and do it.
They head for the door.
HUNTER
Have we got any food at all left in
the ship?
They slam the door shut and seal it.
INTERIOR - BRIDGE
The screens are showing them a schematic of the ship's system
of
ventilator shafts.
FAUST
That one section of the ventilator
shaft has only two outlets -- you
notice? The food storage room on one
end --
HUNTER
-- And the cooling unit on the
other.
STANDARD
So it's trapped in between -- now we
have to drive it out.
FAUST
Poison gas...
HUNTER
We can't pump poison gas down into
the cooling unit! It'll flood the
whole ship!
STANDARD
The only other thing I can think of
is for somebody to crawl in there
and flush it out.
ROBY
Are you crazy?
STANDARD
The man would need protection,
obviously -- as well as some way to
drive the thing before him.
FAUST
How about a flamethrower? That
wouldn't poison the air.
MELKONIS
So one of us goes into the airshaft
and drives the thing along --
STANDARD
While the rest of us wait down in
the cooling unit with the net.
HUNTER
Sounds like a rough one.
STANDARD
Got a better idea?
Hunter shrugs.
ROBY
So the only question left is: who
gets to crawl down the airshaft?
STANDARD
Let's be democratic.
He tears five small sheets of paper from a pad on his console.
On one
of them, he draws a large X. Then he wads each piece of paper into
a
tiny little ball.
He rolls the paperballs between his hands and tosses them on the
table
like dice.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
Martin, take one.
Roby picks one up and unfolds it. It is blank.
Melkonis picks up another and opens it. Again blank.
Faust picks up a ball, and Standard immediately picks his own
up. They
are both blank.
They all look at Hunter, who has not yet unfolded his.
STANDARD (CONT'D)
Open it up, Cleave.
INTERIOR - FOOD STORAGE ROOM
Hunter is strapping on an oxygen mask and a flame thrower. Faust
is
helping him.
Finally, Faust hands him a tracking device.
FAUST
Well, uh... good luck. I hope you
won't need me, but if you do, I'm
here.
HUNTER
(grimly)
Right.
Hunter turns and climbs into the ventilator opening, which is
just
large enough to crawl through.
INTERIOR - AIR SHAFT
It is completely dark in the shaft. Hunter reaches up and turns
on his
helmet light. Then he switches on his radio.
HUNTER
Hey, do you guys read me down there?
INTERIOR - CLIMATE CONTROL ROOM
Standard, Melkonis and Roby are spreading out the net. We hear
the hum
of huge cooling plants, and their hair ruffles. Large airshafts
run
off in different directions.
STANDARD
Yeah, we're getting into position.
INTERIOR - AIR SHAFT
HUNTER
Okay, I'm starting now.
He begins to crawl forward into the narrow metal tunnel. He turns
a
corner.
After a couple more tight turns, THE TRACKER SUDDENLY BEEPS.
Hunter twitches. He raises his flamethrower and FIRES A BLAST
INTO THE
DARKNESS. It roars loudly in the confined tube, and the air instantly
heats up. Smoke drifts back into his face. He begins to sweat.
INTERIOR - CLIMATE CONTROL ROOM
Roby points to a large rectangular opening in one wall.
ROBY
(pointing)
There. That's where it's got to come
out.
He throws a switch, and a large metal panel rises and seals off
the
opening.
ROBY (CONT'D)
That's a flip-flop gate to channel
the air, but we can use it to trap
the thing.
STANDARD
Right now let's keep it closed.
Melkonis is setting up a little portable unit with a screen on
it. The
screen shows a section of the ship's schematic.
MELKONIS
I've got Hunter... and something else
as well, in front of him.
STANDARD
Are they close?
MELKONIS
They're on the next level up.
STANDARD
Let's get moving with this net.
They lift the net up, holding it in front of the opening.
INTERIOR - AIR SHAFT
Hunter is still crawling on hands and knees. Up ahead, he can
see that
the shaft takes an abrupt downward turn.
He crawls toward the down angle, then fires another blast from
his
flamethrower.
Then he starts crawling down, head first.
When he is nearly upside-down, the shaft takes yet another turning
which puts him into a nearly impossible position, almost immobilized.
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