nonhuman manufacture.

EXT. PLANET - DAY
Noise still at shrill pitch.
All members of the party shouting into their voice-amps.

GRANITE: Some kind of spaceship.
AAKA: Are you sure? It's weird...
AUTUMN: Amaroq, can you see this.

INT. AMAROQ'S BLISTER - DAY
Amaroq looking at the craft on a screen.

AMAROQ: Yeah. Never seen one like it.  Neither has Mother.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) Keep checking for enhancement.
AMAROQ: Whatever the transmission is, it's inside that.
GRANITE: (Voice over) I'll go in and have a look.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) Hold on. Amaroq, I don't see any lights or movements. Do you.
AMAROQ: I can't get any reading.

EXT. PLANET - DAY
AMAROQ: (Voice over) It's putting out so much power I just can't get any reading.

Autumn shuts off his receiver.
Sudden quiet.
A long moment.

AUTUMN: It looks pretty dead from here. We'll approach the base.

They move toward the ship.

INT. BLISTER - DAY
Amaroq still adjusting image of form in rock.
It suddenly resolves.
A skeleton. Fifteen feet long.
He enlarges the image.

AUTUMN: (Voice over) There's only one thing I can...

Autumn' voice fades in and out.
As do their images on the screen.

AMAROQ: Autumn...(Frantically punches buttons on console) Autumn...Do you read me.

No reply.

INT. BRIDGE - DAY
Jenna is running the transmission through ECIU.
Over the speakers Autumn' voice fades in.

AUTUMN: (Voice over) No sign of life. No lights...No movement...

She studies a long series of binary programs...

AUTUMN: (Voice over) We're beneath the base.

His voice fades into static.
Disappears.

CUT TO:

EXT. STRUCTURE - DAY
The lower part of the entrance filled with dust and pumice.

GRANITE: Looks like an entrance.
AUTUMN: Yeah... Let's move inside...

They climb up to one of the apertures and enter.

INT. CHAMBER - DAY
They move into a high-ceilinged chamber.
Walls covered with shadowy lattices.
Ghostly light filters dust-filled air.
A few meters in an opening appears.
Autumn leans over and looks into the hole.
Only blackness.
He unclips the light from his belt.
Shines it down into the hole.

AUTUMN: It just goes down... smooth walls. I can't see the bottom, light Won’t reach.

Granite and Aaka come over.
Autumn begins unclipping gear from his belt.

AUTUMN: Let's take a look around here first.

Granite and Aaka exchange a glance.
Autumn shines his light about, sees...
A large, glossy urn, tan coloration.
Round opening at the rop, empty within.
Then Autumn shines his light on nearby lattice...
Moves closer.

AUTUMN: Over here.

They approach.
Train their lights along the floor.
A machine.
On the mechanism, a small bar moves steadily back and forth.
Sliding noiselessly in the grooves.

GRANITE: Still functioning.

Aaka looks down at her direction finder.

AAKA: Automatic recording.

Autumn snaps it off.

AUTUMN: Now for a look down below. (Looks at Granite) This is your big chance.
GRANITE: Okay.
AUTUMN: Don't unhook yourself from the Cable. Be out in less than ten minutes. Read me.
GRANITE: Aye aye.

Autumn rigs a tripod over the opening in the floor.
Uncoils a couple of feet of wire.
Granite attaches the end of it to his chest unit.
Climbs over the lip and drops it into the hole.
Now hanging by the wire...
Head and shoulders out of the opening.
Granite activates the climbing unit.
Lowers himself into the fissure.

INT. STRUCTURE OPENING
Granite braces his feet against the wall of the vertical shaft.
Switches on his light, points it into the depths.
The beam penetrates only thirty feet or so, then is lost in darkness.

GRANITE: Hotter in here. Warm air rising from below.

He starts down, playing out the line.
Descending in short leaps.
Stops to catch his breath.
Breathing rasping loudly in his helmet.
A little sunlight filters from above.
Looking up, Granite can see the mouth of the hole...
A glowing spot of light.

AUTUMN: (Voice over) You okay in there.
GRANITE: Haven't hit bottom yet. This is work. Can't talk now.

He kicks off and continues down.
Taking longer and longer hops as he gains confidence.
Pausing for a moment to regain his breath, he shines the light on his instruments.

GRANITE: I'm below ground level.

INT. BRIDGE
Jenna at her console, still working on transmission.
Gets a readout.
Looks worried.
Speaks into communicator.

JENNA: Amaroq, tell Autumn Mother speculates that the noise is some kind of warning.
AMAROQ: (Voice over) I can't tell him anything. I've lost contact. The transmission around the ship is killing all communications.

Pause.

JENNA: I'm going out after them.
AMAROQ: (Voice over) I don't think so. We can't spare the personnel. We've got minimum takeoff capability right now. That's why Autumn left us on board.
JENNA: I still think we should go after them.
AMAROQ: (Voice over) What's the point? In the time it take to get there. They'll know if it's a warning.

Jenna looks steadily at Amaroq on her monitor.
His screen, not visible to her, shows blowup of helmeted, skeletal head. Not human.

INT. STRUCTURE
Granite resumes his downward climb.
Suddenly, his feet lose their purchase as the walls of the
shaft disappears.
The tunnel has reached its end.
Below him is a dark, cavernous space.
Deep breaths due to his violent exertion.

AUTUMN: (Voice over) See anything?
GRANITE: No...Tunnel's gone. Cave or something below me. Feels like the goddamn tropics in here...

He consults his instruments.
Helmet instrumentation strobing softly in the darkness.

GRANITE: ...High nitrogen content, no Oxygen...

Still puffing, he releases his purchase on the stonewalls.
Begins to lower himself on power.
Now Granite is dangling free in darkness.
Spinning slowly on the wire as the chest unit unwinds.
Then his feet hit bottom.
Granite grunts in surprise, almost loses his balance.
He flips his suit lights.
The beams reveal that he is in a large hold.
Row after row of extrusions stretch from floor to ceiling.

GRANITE: This is weird.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) What do you mean?
GRANITE: There's something all over the walls.

Granite walks across the chamber.
Examines the organic protrusions.

INT. CHAMBER ABOVE
Autumn and Aaka.

AUTUMN: How long till sunset.
AAKA: Twenty minutes.

A look from Aaka.

INT. HOLD
Granite approaches the center of the room.
On the floor are rows of leathery ovoid shapes.
He walks around them.
Shines his light on one.

GRANITE: It's like some kind of storage area. Is anybody there? Do you read me.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) Loud and clear.
GRANITE: The place is full of leathery things sealed...soft to the touch.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) Can you see what's in them?
GRANITE: I'll give it a look.

He tries to open one of them.
It won't open.

GRANITE: Strange feeling to it.
AUTUMN: (Voice over) Don't open it. You don't know what's in it?

Granite peers closely at the leathery ovoid.
Turns away.
Raised areas begin to appear where he touched it.
He moves his light along the rows.
Turns back to the one he was examining.
Something has changed.
The opaque surface begins to clear.
Object becoming visible within.
Granite shines his light on the floor at the base of it.
He studies it.

GRANITE: Jesus...
AUTUMN: (Voice over) What.

Viscera and mandible now visible.
The interior surface spongy and irregular.
Granite shines the light inside.
With shocking violence, a small creature slams Granite outward.
Fixes itself to his mask.
Sizzling sound.
The creature melts through the mask.
Attaches itself to Granite's face.
Granite tears at the thing with his hands.
His mouth forced open.
He falls backward.

INT. CHAMBER ABOVE
AUTUMN: Granite...Granite can you hear me.
AAKA: What's the matter?
AUTUMN: We better haul him out.
AAKA: It'll yank him right off his feet if he's not expecting it.
AUTUMN: Try him again.
AAKA: Granite...Granite...Goddamn it. Answer me.

Autumn begins to fiddle with the wench mechanism.

AUTUMN: The line's slack.

Pause.

AAKA: He doesn't answer. (Pause) Do you think he could have unhooked himself.

Autumn switches on the winch motor.
With a whine, it begins to reel the line in.
After a moment the line tightens with a jerk.
The motor slows, laboring under added weight.

AUTUMN: It caught.
AAKA: Is it hooked on something?
AUTUMN: No, it's coming.
AAKA: I can't see anything.

Autumn shines his light down into the hole.
Shakes his head.

AUTUMN: Lines still moving.

A long moment.
Autumn shines his light again.

AUTUMN: Here he comes.

The winch labors heavily.

AUTUMN: Get ready to grab him.

Granite appears at the top of the opening.
Dangles limply from the wire.
Autumn reaches for him, then recoils.

AUTUMN: Look out. There's something on his face.

Aaka attempts to help.

AAKA: What is it?

Granite appears to be completely unconscious.
The life form is still wrapped motionless around his face.

AAKA: Oh Jesus.
AUTUMN: Don't touch it.

They grapple with Granite's limp body.
Lift him from the hole.

INT. ENTRANCE TO DERELICT - SUNSET
Granite is now pinioned between Autumn and Aaka.
The storm raging through and beyond the entrance...
Autumn begins to assemble travois.

EXT. THE NOSTROMO - SUNSET
Atmosphere turning the color of blood.
And the sun is down.
The ring of floodlights on the ship comes to life.
Feebly combating the darkness and continuing storm.

INT. BRIDGE
Jones the cat staring through a port opening at the storm.
Jenna waiting on the bridge.
Amaroq stares at his inactive monitors.
Suddenly:

AMAROQ: We've got them. They're back on the screens.
JENNA: How many.
AMAROQ: Three blips. They're coming this way.

Jenna presses transmitter.

JENNA: Autumn, Aaka. Can you read me?
AUTUMN: (Voice over) We hear you. We're coming back...Granite's injured... We'll need some help getting him in.

Jenna stares at the screen.

AMAROQ: I'll go.

Amaroq moves from the room.
Jenna remains seated at her console.

EXT. LANDING LEG - NIGHT
Autumn and Aaka dragging Granite on a travois towards landing

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