Чужой
XI
Thepresentturnconfrontinghimprovedespeciallydifficulttonegotiate.Thelong,inflexiblebarreloftheflamethrowerdidn’tmakeitanyeasier.Panting,helaythereandconsideredhowtoproceed.
’Ripley.’
Shejerkedatthesharpnessinhisvoice,spokehurriedlyintothe’compickup.’I’mhere.Readingyouclearly.Anythingwrong?Yousound..’shecaughtherself.HowelseshouldDallassoundexceptnervous’
’I’mokay,’hetoldher.’Justtired.Outofshape.Toomanyweeksinhypersleep,youloseyourmuscletonenomatterwhatthefreezersdoforyou.’Hewriggledintoanewposition,gainedabetterviewahead.
’Idon’tthinkthisshaftgoesmuchfarther.It’sgettinghotinhere.’Thatwastobeexpected,hetoldhimself.Theaccumulatedeffectofmultipleblastsfromhisflamethrowerwouldtaxtheinternalcoolingcapacityoftheshaft’sthermostats.
’Continuingonnow.Stayready.’
AnonlookercouldeasilyhavereadthereliefinDallas’sfacewhenhefinallyemergedfromthecrampedtunnel.ItopenedintooneoftheNostromo’smainairducts,atwo-tieredtunnelsplitbyacatwalk.Hecrawledoutoftheshaftandstoodontheraillesswalkway,stretchedgratefully.
Acarefulinspectionofthelargerpassageprovednegative.Theonlysoundheheardwasthepatientthrobbingofcoolingmachinery.Therewasarepairjunctionpartwaydownthewalkandhestrolledouttoit,repeatedhisinspectionthere.Asfarashecouldsee,thehugechamberwasempty.
