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How did an alien egg (or facehugger) get aboard the Sulaco at the end of the movie, Aliens?

We know there was one aboard because of the movie, Alien 3.

The alien queen stowed aboard the dropship, but she could not have laid any eggs because her ovipositor was destroyed in a fire. And she would not have had much time to lay eggs during the battle with Ripley aboard the Sulaco.

Did a facehugger sneak aboard the dropship too?

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    Possible dupe of scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/145802/… - Presumably she laid it/carried it on board after the dropship docked, secreting it shortly before attacking the crew.
    – Valorum
    Jan 20, 2017 at 23:37
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    @Valorum That question asks how the Queen got aboard, not how the queen laid an egg aboard the ship. Different question.
    – RichS
    Jan 20, 2017 at 23:53
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    I'm sure you have googled too, but just in case, here's a forum thread on this contentious topic which spans a decade of on and off topic discussion: avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=9.0
    – tobiasvl
    Jan 20, 2017 at 23:59
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    youtube.com/watch?v=adUvkY_sNHA
    – Valorum
    Jan 21, 2017 at 0:00
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    @tobiasvl Wow! This question has been debated on and off for over a decade and nobody ever asked it here? There should be an award for asking an obvious question!
    – RichS
    Jan 21, 2017 at 4:57

2 Answers 2

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When Ripley goes down the power plant to retrieve Newt, Bishop leaves the platform, because "it is too unstable". He could be the one who goes back to the base and picks an alien egg. My point is motivated by:

  • each synthetic man in the Alien franchise has the mission to spread the aliens, in one form or another. It's true in Alien, when Ash opens the door to let the facehugger in, and later tries to kill Ripley after she discovers the truth. It's also a fact in Alien3 when Bishop II tries to get the alien queen from the pregnant Ripley. It's also true in Prometheus and Covenant where David is clearly on the alien's side.
  • Weyland-Yutani is clearly on the aim of retrieving aliens. They spend billions to achieve their goals. Why should they only trust Carter J Burke, and not have a Plan-B in Bishop?

My point is there's a hole in Bishop's calendar: what was he doing while Ripley was down in the powerplant ? It brings another question in: what were the orders given to Bishop ? He does his best to keep survivors. OK... Why ? Because if no one survives, the aim of bringing back an alien, aboard a non-empty vessel or through a salvage mission is unlikely.

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  • So Bishop brought it on? I got confused, could you edit to tighten up your answer.
    – Edlothiad
    Sep 5, 2017 at 8:59
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    Sorry Edlothiad, English is not my native language and I think I can not do better. My point is : there's a hole in Bishop's calendar : what was he doing while Ripley was down in the powerplant ? It brings another question in : was were the orders given to Bishop ? He does his best to keep survivors. OK. Why ? Because if no one survives, the aim of bringing back an alien, abord a non-empty vessel or through a salvage mission is unlikely.
    – Emile De Favas
    Sep 5, 2017 at 9:52
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    That's understandable if it's not your first language, I'll have a look at editing it in the next few hours when I find some more time
    – Edlothiad
    Sep 5, 2017 at 10:01
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    I've always assumed the alien queen simply carried one from the egg chamber with her onto the drop ship, after all she has four arms... that said there is no evidence as to how the egg gets on board...
    – skyjack
    Oct 3, 2022 at 22:05
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I believe Edlothiad is right in saying there are gaps in Bishops timeline. I believe after Bishop retrieved the drop ship, dropped off Ripley so she could go find Newt, went to the original Engineers ship and retrieved an Egg storing it on the drop ship then taking it back to the Sulaco storing it in the sub flooring. Anyone notice how when Hicks originally gets aboard the drop ship there is nothing wrong with his eyes then all of a sudden when Bishop returns to pickup Ripley and Newt he his out cold and his eyes are bandaged over? I believe this was done intentionally to cover up Bishop bringing the egg back to the Sulaco from the Engineers ship.

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  • Can you offer any evidence to back this up, or is it just your own theory?
    – Valorum
    May 25 at 6:39
  • The evidence speaks for itself if you watch. Why are Hicks eyes covered with bandages when he sustained no injury to his head or eyes? It’s funny that Ripley not trusting androids doesn’t question this.
    – NextGen
    May 26 at 5:20
  • From the script; "He shucks out of the combat armor like a madman, dropping the smoking pieces to the floor. Acrid fumes fill the air, searing eyes and lungs. The elevator stops. The doors part and they stumble out, Ripley supporting Hicks who is doubled over in agony." - dailyscript.com/scripts/…
    – Valorum
    May 26 at 5:46

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