After Ripleys testimony and before they even go out, Burke has probably figured out what's going on. And we later find out he is indeed responsible for what happens to the colonists. He definitely has his ulterior orders/plans already. And it isn't until Ripley pieces everything together and tries to expose him that he turns against her.
So why would he need Ripley to come? Why would he even want her there?
Probably to kill her. As the only living witness to what the xenomorph could do, she could prove a problem.
shareBut he wouldn't need to kill her if she didn't go is the OPs point.
shareMaybe years later a scandal may break out about horrific bio weapon the company has developed that breaks all arms conventions , or gets loose and causes thousands of accidentil deaths (like on lv42 but back home)
Ripley would be like "Yeah that wasnt an accident or anything , I know where they got it , I told em to nuke the place , theyse guilty"
... so she was a loose end to be tied up
She still possessed worthwhile knowledge on the creatures.
You've also got to remember that Burke massively underestimated them. He assumed the marines would be able to deal with them.
She did have a lot of knowledge about the alien. But too bad that the Marines placed more faith in their weapons than in Ripley's firsthand knowledge.
I also think Burke figured that Ripley would be his ally in bringing back some live aliens. He wrongly assumed that she would be happy to assist him in smuggling back the eggs and "we will be set for life". She had lost her license and he figured that she would be happy to make money off the aliens.
I also think Burke figured that Ripley would be his ally in bringing back some live aliens. He wrongly assumed that she would be happy to assist him in smuggling back the eggs and "we will be set for life". She had lost her license and he figured that she would be happy to make money off the aliens.
He wanted Ripley there to sabotage her
shareHard to say. There's a lot of company politics that the movies don't really tell us about directly, just hints at. We only get to see the repercussions.
Burke could have been ordered to try and get Ripley on board by a higher up, for all we know.