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Drake proffered an open palm. She slapped it, and his fingers
immediately clenched right around her smaller fingers. The pressure
increased on both sides-a silent, painful greeting. Both were glad to be
out from under hypersleep and alive again.
Finally she whacked him across the face and their hands
52 DEAN FOSTER
parted. They laughed, young Dobermans at play. Drake was the stronger
but Vasquez was faster, Ripley decided as she watched them. If they had
to go down, she resolved to try to keep them on either side of her. It
would be the safest place.
Bishop was moving quietly among the group, helping with massages and a
bottle of special postsleep fluid, acting more like a valet than a
ship's officer. He appeared older than any of the troopers, including
Lieutenant Gorman. As he passed close to Ripley she noticed the
alphanumeric code tattooed across the back of his left hand. She
stiffened in recognition but said nothing.
?Hey,?Private Frost said to someone out of Ripley's view, ?you take my
towel?" Frost was as young as Hudson but better-looking, or so he would
insist to anyone who would waste time listening. When it came time for
bragging, the two younger troopers usually came out about even. Hudson
tended to rely on volume while Frost hunted for the right words.
Spunkmeyer was up near the head of the line and still complaining. ?I
need some slack, man. How come they send us straight back out like this?
It ain't fair. We got some slack comin', man.?
Hicks murmured softly. ?You just got three weeks. You want to spend your
whole life on slack time?"
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?I mean breathing, not this frozen stuff. Three weeks in the freezer
ain't real off-time.?
?Yeah, Top, what about it?"Dietrich wanted to know.
?You know it ain't up to me.?Apone raised his voice above the griping.
?Awright, let's knock off the jawing. First assembly's in fifteen. I
want everybody looking like human beings by then-most of you will have
to fake it. Let's shag it.?
Hypersleep wear was stripped off and tossed into the disposal unit.
Easier to cremate the remains and provide fresh new attire for the
return journey than to try to recycle shorts
53
53
and tops that had clung to a body for several weeks. The line of lean,
naked bodies moved into the shower. High-pressure water jets blasted
away accumulated sweat and grime, set nerve endings tingling beneath
scoured skin. Through the swirling steam Hudson, Vasquez, and Ferro
watched Ripley dry off.
?Who's the freshmeat again?"Vasquez asked the question as she washed
cleanser out of her hair.
?She's supposed to be some kinda consultant. Don't know much about
her.?The diminutive Ferro wiped at her belly, which was as flat and
muscular as a steel plate, and exaggerated her expression and tone. ?She
saw an alien once. Or so the skipchat says.?
?Whooah!?Hudson made a face. ?I'm impressed.?
Apone yelled back at them. He was already out in the drying room,
toweling off his shoulders. They were as devoid of fat as those of
troopers twenty years younger.
?Let's go, let's go. Buncha lazybutts'll run the recyclers dry. C'mon,
cycle through. You got to get dirty before you can get clean.?
Informal segregation was the order of the day in the mess room. It was
automatic. There was no need for whispered words or little nameplates
next to the glasses. Apone and his troopers requisitioned the large
table while Ripley, Gorman, Burke, and Bishop sat at the other. Everyone
nursed coffee, tea, spritz, or water while they waited for the ship's
autochef to deal out eggs and ersatz bacon, toast and hash, condiments,
and vitamin supplements.
You could identify each trooper by his or her uniform. No two were
exactly alike. This was the result not of specialized identification
insignia, but of individual taste. The Sulaco was no barracks and
Acheron no parade ground. Occasionally Apone would have to chew someone
out for a particularly egregious addition, like the time Crowe had
showed up with a portrait of his latest girlfriend computer-
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stenciled across the back of his armor. But for the most part he let the
troopers decorate their outfits as they liked.
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?Hey, Top,?Hudson chivvied, ?what's the op?"
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