- "...it's really just blind luck that a deep salvage team found you when they did. It's one in a thousand, really."
- ―Carter Burke to Ellen Ripley (from Aliens)
Deep-space salvage vessel GM28223[1] was responsible for recovering the Narcissus shuttle and its occupants in 2179.
History[]
- "Right, just docking and pressurizing. Hold onto your nuts."
- ―Jernigan (from Alien: River of Pain)
On May 16, 2179, a salvage organization aboard GM28223 targeted a ship drifting through space. After determining the ship was not military, the salvagers pursued and recovered a ship that turned out the be a shuttle from the USCSS Nostromo named Narcissus.
After successfully docking with the vessel, the ship's captain selected three of his crew to investigate. There, they found the hatch was not only sealed shut but also scratched and disfigured, requiring them to use a robot welder to cut a portal open for themselves. Before entering the vessel, the ship's crew remotely navigated a robot scanner through the fresh-cut opening to survey the ship's interior. After realizing there was no immediate danger, the three men entered to examine the contents of their find, only to discover a hypersleep chamber sustaining a very much alive Ellen Ripley and her cat, Jones.
Without being able to claim rights to the salvage due to the living passenger within, the shuttle was brought to Gateway Station and inspected while Ripley recovered at Gateway's medical facility.
Crew[]
Equipment[]

Robot welder
Robot welder[]
The deep-salvage vessel was equipped with a remote controlled robot welder, used for both plasma cutting[4] and welding. When the Narcissus was recovered, the salvage team used the robot welder to cut the lifeboats sealed hatch open.

Robot scanner
Robot scanner[]
- "Anything?" "Looks like a hypersleep capsule."
"Oh, man. Anyone alive in there?"
"Can't tell. Let's check it out."" - ―Jernigan, Landers, and Fleet (from Alien: River of Pain)
The deep-salvage vessel was also equipped with a remote controlled scanner, that used light to scan an unknown chamber before human contact would be made. When the Narcissus was recovered, the salvage team used the robot scanner to survey the lifeboats contents before entering.

Bio-isolation suit
Bio-isolation suits[]
- "Bio-readouts are all in the green. Looks like she's alive. Ah, there goes our salvage, guys."
- ―Leader aka Jernigan expressing disappointment after discovering Ellen Ripley alive inside the shuttle (from Aliens)
The deep-salvage ship's team was equipped with yellow, full-body, bio-isolation suits, complete with respirators and air tanks for total safety and security when entering abandoned or damaged vessels.
Behind the scenes[]
In J.W. Rinzler's 2020 book The Making of Aliens, it was mentioned that director James Cameron never intended to show the entirety of the ship and only wanted a dark, ominous shape to engulf the Narcissus. A large jet engine found in a junkyard at the studio by Cameron was used to construct the vessel while Pat McClung and his team at Pinewood Studios glued sticks and other small parts to it for an early video storyboard, which became the basis for the final design of the ship's underbelly before it was turned over to model-maker Faisil Karim for finishing touches.[5]
Trivia[]

A yellow suit from the 1981 film Outland.
- The salvage ship's crew, introduced in the 1986 film Aliens, hadn't been given names until the release of the 2014 novel Alien: River of Pain.
- Similarly, the ship itself hadn't received an official name until the release of the 2017 audio drama Alien: River of Pain.
- While the terminology "robot welder" was not used in the 1986 film, it can be found written in the films final script by James Cameron, which, alternatively, did not make any mention of the robot scanner seen in the film's final cut.
- The deep-salvage team's bio-isolation suits and equipment were originally created for the 1981 feature film Outland before being repurposed for Aliens.
- Additionally, the terminology "bio-isolation suit" was also culled directly from the film's script.
- While it has not been officially confirmed, "GM" might stand for Gateway Maintenance, in reference to the lesser known Gateway Maintenance Shuttles seen in the background of Aliens.
- The 2019 references book Alien: The Blueprints notes that the bulkhead of the Narcissus shuttle could be cut open with a plasma cutter, in reference to the shuttles retrieval in Aliens.
Appearances[]
- Aliens/novel
- Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (mentioned only)
- Alien: River of Pain/audio drama
- Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report (mentioned only)
- Deep Black (mentioned only)
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Dirk Maggs. Alien: River of Pain, (2017), Audible Studios.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Christopher Golden. Alien: River of Pain, p. 28 (2014), Titan Books.
- ↑ Aliens Special Edition - subtitles - LEADER: "Bio-readouts are in the green. Looks like she's alive. There goes our salvage, guys."
- ↑ Graham J. Lngridge. Alien: The Blueprints, p. 27 (2019), Titan Books.
- ↑ J.W. Rinzler. The Making of Aliens, p. 229 (2020), Titan Books.
- ↑ https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/protective-nostromo-salvage-spacesuit-from-aliens/a/997049-1865.s