boxofmystery | This is Alien

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This is Alien

Things were usually quiet out here in the middle of nowhere, and that was how Ralph liked it. The Marines had built a base on a little forest planet that was home to no sentient life, but plenty of critters.

After the disaster of a mission he had recently been on, he was glad to have a chance for a more relaxing mission. Most of the other surviving Marines from that mission had been stationed here as well. This place was good for young Marines just starting out, and older ones who needed some calm in between.

There were plenty of other staff stationed here, in case of accidents and emergencies. There was a full medical staff and multiple robotics experts for androids and cyborgs.

However, there had been a small bump of excitement lately, a ship carrying 4 traumatized passengers had entered the sector and the Marines had intercepted it.

A fellow Marine was one of the passengers on the ship, and with information from him and the rest of the passengers, it painted a gruesome tale.

Ralph didn't know much about all of that, just what he had heard from the others. His specialties weren't needed, so he hadn't been on scene.

But, once the group had gotten settled and all the excitement of newcomers was over, everything had settled right back down into routine once more.

Ralph's routine involved a morning jog through the forest, and that's where he's at now. He had grown up on a heavily-forested planet, so he felt like the trees gave him a little taste of home.

As he jogs through the forest, he hears something rustling nearby and he pauses, looking around to see if he could spot it. Maybe it was a bird or a fox or something.

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She thinks it over and nods.

"Okay."

She'll start working on the card.

Ralph smiles and settles in to watch quietly. He's curious which direction Newt will take this card in.

She starts to write on the top.

'Dear Ripley. Thank you for saving me. I thought I was going to die and you came back to save me even though you didn't have to.'

She thinks some more. And then draws Ripley hugging her.

'You are the best and I hope we get to stay together. Thank you for keeping your promises to me and not leaving. You are my hero.

Love, Newt'

Newt looks at the card then over at Ralph.

"Does that seem okay?"

Ralph gives the card a careful look over, even though he had read it as Newt wrote, he wanted to read it all flowing together.

When he's done, he gives her a warm smile, "I think it's perfect." It was sweet, sincere, and heartfelt, it didn't need anything else at all.

Newt looks it over before looking over at him, a little nervous.

"Do you think so?"

Ralph grins.

"I know so. I'd love a card like that, an' I'm bettin' Ripley will, too."

She thinks for a moment and then takes another piece of paper out.

"I want to try another one.....but you can't look until I'm done, okay?"

Ralph tilts his head, that was unusual. But, he'll do as she says.

"Huh, okay, I'll just tidy up a bit while ya work on it. Lemme know when yer done."

They hadn't made too much of a mess, but a few boxes were out of place. He gives Newt a nod, then goes to put the boxes back and straighten things up.

He leaves the boxes they were using out, it'd be easy to put them back once they were done.

Newt takes the paper and then takes some time to draw and write up the new card.

When she finishes she gets up and holds it out to him.

If he opens it. He'll find a drawing of himself climbing a mountain. The words read. 'Thank you for being nice and helping me make cards. Your friend, Newt'.

Ralph manages to keep busy while she's making the card, tidying things up and doing other little things.

When Newt hands him the card, he looks over the front, then carefully opens it up. He smiles when he sees the picture and the kind message.

Ralph kneels down and offers up an arm for a hug if she wants, "Thanks, it's perfect." He genuinely means it, he's touched by the gift.

Hug, yes. She's better at hugs now. Ripley gives them all the time and Hicks does too when he's not too hurt and she even gets them from Bishop sometimes.

"You gave me the idea, so I wanted to give you a card too."

Ralph gently hugs Newt, bringing up a big hand to hug her close, then carefully lets go.

"Thanks fer thinkin' of me. I'll put it up on a shelf in my room, so I can always see it."

He didn't own a lot of things, so he had plenty of space to put it up somewhere.

"I'm glad you like it."

Newt smiles.

Ralph grins, "It's one of the best presents I've got in a long time!" He meant it. There wasn't a lot of opportunities for heartfelt gifts for people here on the base, but everybody got cakes and snacks for birthdays and other celebrations, so they still had some nice things.

That makes her smile more.

"Do you guys move around a lot? Or are you usually stationed here?"

She knows a bit about marines, mostly how they die but she knows other stuff now as well.

"Most of us used to move around a lot, but now we're stationed here. Sometimes they shuffle us around, but this is our home for now," Ralph replied.

This post was sort of a retirement station for traumatized Marines, ones who had been on missions that they had troubles recovering from. There were quite a few other similar posts scattered around the outskirts, quiet places that needed an eye kept on them.

Some people handled their traumas better, and after they had recovered, they were put back on combat duty, others spent the rest of their time with the Marines on quiet bases such as these.

"Oh, do you like it here?"

Newt is curious. She knows they're here to get Hicks better and Bishop too but that was easier.

Also being with Marines was safer then dealing with the company. She'd overheard Ripley and Bishop agreeing on this during a discussion one night, when they thought she'd been asleep.

That was an unexpected question, Ralph pauses with a neutral expression on his face as he thinks the question over, then nods with a smile, "Yeah, I do. It's got th' nice forest and it's not too stressful here." It wasn't quite like where he had come from, but it was close. It was better than the planet the Cy-Bugs had been on, that was for sure.

"How are you likin' it here so far?"

She shrugs.

"Anything is better then where we were. It's okay. I have nightmares of everyone here dying, but m-Ripley and Bishop and Hicks say that's normal."

Ralph's face falls and he looks down for a moment. He gently reaches out a hand to put on Newt's shoulder, "They're right...it is normal. Bad stuff that happens sticks with ya, and it's hard to shake. But, friends, family, they all help to make things not so bad." He was talking from experience, he still had nightmares from his time on the planet of the Cy-Bugs.

"Yeah. I guess so. .....I wish I didn't have them though. It's over. Why do I still have to think about it?"

Ralph sighs as he looks back down again, trying to remember something he had been told. This is hard, it breaks his heart to see someone so young dealing with the same kind of things he had.

"If I remember right, I think the doctor told me it's 'cause your brain's upset and trying to figure out how to deal with what happened, an' the only way it can do that is by thinkin' about it over and over again."

Newt folds her arms.

"That's stupid. I thought brains were supposed to be smart."

Ralph chuckles softly, "Brains can be smart, but they can be sick, too. They just get sick differently than the rest of ya does."

She thinks over this for a moment.

"Then they should have medicine for them."

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I'm so sorry for the delay!

np

Thanks!

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I'm so sorry for the delay!

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