A/N: This chapter takes place on UV6 and is entirely Jack/Riddick. I know it's taken me a long time to get this out, but here you go anyway. PS: I don't own, so don't sue.
Icy Home Turf
It had been nearly a week, by Jack's reckoning, since they had stranded themselves on the frigid world of UV6. Since the crash Riddick had scouted out around the site they pitched their tent at, so to speak, striking out and exploring a section at a time. He'd been up the mountain twice, and all around the landscape in every angle. Every time he'd come back before dark, usually carrying game slung over a shoulder. While Jack wanted to preserve the meat somehow besides the cold, freezing it was the only option until they found some sort of fuel. She looked out over the roof of the ice hut and took in a breath. The chilled air cut a path through her lungs that reminded her again that survival here was not certain even with the current streak of 'good' weather. She wrapped the lower half of her face with a scarf and squinted as her eyes moved across the icy landscape.
The temporary campsite was holding up well, as long as she made sure to keep checking and patching the ice block roof. The wind, diverted by the cliff, scraped the ice thin if she let it go for more than a day at a time. The good news was that the same wind kept the solar heater for their water supply clear of ice and snow. She was currently perched next to it, having finished replacing the cylinder. Her eyes wandered out toward the ice scar that marked their crash site. It was amazing how fast the landscape was crumpling back into the characteristic grooves. Soon the smooth ice would be totally gone. She patted the heater and thought, 'There you go, filled with more ice and ready to give up water, like the good heater you are,' she snickered to herself as she made her way down. She was talking to the tools. The cold must be freezing her brain.
This afternoon, Rich had returned with a large kill. He was just outside the doorway of the hut, skinning it at that very moment. Jack passed him still snickering to herself. He looked up at her and grinned but didn't ask what had amused her. He already knew that it didn't take much. He rather enjoyed that little fact. Now that there was a chance that they were good and lost to the 'Verse his own natural, if dark, humor was surfacing. Jack nearly always got his jokes when he shared them. Hearing her quiet laugh lifted his spirits. He looked up at her and caught her eye with a raised eyebrow. Jack winked at him and managed to get a snicker in response. He was aware of her as she pushed the blanket back and slipped into the dwelling but kept his hands busy with the carcass.
The inside of the hut was just about warm enough for her to want to strip off her coat. She unwrapped her scarf and just unzipped her coat a bit while she smiled to herself. There was a pile in the corner that was a welcome site. Rich had found some animal droppings in his explorations and brought them back. The pile was quite a good size too. She examined them. They were quite dry, freeze dried even. She snagged some empty containers and quickly sorted the prize into them. It was better to store the droppings away for later than to quickly use them up before they really knew how bad the weather could get. The clear days, cold and breezy, wouldn't last forever. It was hard to tell if the 'wet' season here would be warmer or colder than what they were currently experiencing. She'd read up on everything she could find and knew that within a few months at the most they'd need the heat of a fire.
That unexpected task done, Jack reviewed her agenda. While day was busy and certain tasks had to be done several times, other things often popped up seemingly at random. What really needed to be done before anything else was expanding the hole in the ice to keep the meat frozen from the kill Riddick was working on. The benefit of that was in doing so she'd have the blocks of ice for the roof. Then she wouldn't need to cut out more until the day after next. That decided, Jack picked up her newly crafted longer blade meant for cutting into the ice and headed outside again. The cold air quickly made her re-zip her coat, wrap her face, and pull up her hood.
Riddick finished skinning the animal carcass. He was perched on his heels, blade making short work of stripping the meat from the bone. It had been some type of cat, based on the retractable claws. He really needed to take a peek at Jack's pocket 'puter to see what this critter was. Surely they had been categorized. He'd made certain that the data about this world had been saved off the main computer before the crash, and the one thing he had saved from the first ship was the backup batteries that the computer system used. Even though it wouldn't last forever, at least they had some time to memorize it. He hoped that the information would help them survive on this harsh world.
He turned his attention to the dead 'cat' he was striping the flesh from. The meat he lifted in strips was placed inside another, temporary, solar heater as an experiment. He was hoping that it would cook. Its hide would soon be stretched out on a frame made of bones from the first kill, the bear-like Urzo giganticus. The ex-ranger had spent quite a bit of time studying the entry about the creature. He knew that it was thought extinct, but was known to lair in caves. The usual occupation levels were groups of 3-5 adults. The male kept a harem of breeding females and there could be anything up to twice as many young as adults. It seemed to depend on factors not fully calculated. Riddick guessed that the Urzo's prey would have a rather large impact on the numbers of offspring any one group could manage to raise. Since he'd killed a male he guessed that there would have to be a lair about, fairly close.
Jack looked at him; "You're not doing the entire thing are you?"
"Nah. Don't want to waste the meat if this doesn't work. Just a few more strips and the rest can go in the pit." He looked up at Jack. She gave him a sly glance and bent over. He waited, paused in his motion. He felt her fingers brush over the thickening bush on his chin. "I'm letting it grow, okay?"
Jack let her fingers comb through the smooth wiry hair. It would be much nicer to touch if she didn't have to wear the gloves. She nodded, "Sure. I like it, Rich."
He snorted. Of course she liked it; the beard was her idea after all. Now if he could just convince her to dreadlock her hair. He was sure that she'd see his way sooner rather than later. They just didn't have the water to spare.
"I know that look, you're scheming again. If it's about my hair, I'll think about it." She moved away without kissing him.
He pouted slightly at her back and quickly reminded himself that the expression was out of character. His chest felt way too full again, but he was starting to enjoy the ache.
Jack moved over to the pit where she'd removed blocks of ice for the roof. There was a maze of spikes and sharp implements around the edge of it that she carefully navigated. It was necessary to keep the existing meat safe from scavengers. She moved the ice from the edges of the 'lid' and then lifted the metal sheet (an overturned sled) off the top and reached in to rearrange the existing frozen food. The pit was about waist deep and she had to lie out on the ice to reach the lower layer of meat. After she had a clear space to stand she set to work on carving the ice into blocks that would be lifted out to make additional space. It didn't seem to take long for her man to pull up with a sled of half-frozen meat. He took the ice blocks she raised up and set them aside. That finished, he handed down pounds of flesh that their survival here would depend on. Jack took them and laid them out, placing dividers of cloth between them to keep them from freezing together. Once the new meat was on the bottom she replaced the older, solidly frozen steaks over it and let Rich lift her out of the hole.
They re-covered the top with the metal sheet and sealed it by replacing some of the ice blocks over the edges and top. The extra blocks were loaded into the sled that Riddick pulled back to the hut. He helped her with the patching that needed to be done and tried to figure out a way to limit the erosion that was a persistent problem. He did a little sketch, took some rough measurements and then set the problem aside until that evening. The newest skin needed to be dried out and lightly stretched. Best to do it before the hair started to fall out of it. Using bone and sinew, Riddick quickly made a frame and attached the cat fur to it. He set the frame so that the wind would hit the inner surface and help cure the hide.
Meanwhile, Jack settled down with a scraper and one of the growing collections of skins. The wind and ice removed most of the danger that the hair would fall out, but she still needed to remove the deposits frozen to the inside surface. Plus the scraping tended to work the skin into a nice soft state. She had a pile of small furs already done, but the large Urzo skin was ready to scrape so that was what Jack concentrated on. The thick, heavy skin was only slightly damaged. She'd have to decide if it was worth sewing up and patching or if she needed to cut it into smaller pieces for other uses. She was sure that it would make a much better blanket over what they were using.
Riddick took stock of the time and decided to check his traps. He moved off toward the various deadly contraptions he'd set up and repaired anything that was damaged. Using the traps to catch small game was a hit and miss affair. Most times there was nothing in the traps. This day was a nothing day. He glanced at the location of the sun in the sky and noted that there was just an hour before darkness fell. He returned to the campsite as the already frigid temperature of the daytime began to fall into dangerously frozen levels.
Jack was just removing the cooked meat from his experimental solar cooker as he walked up. He helped her and they quickly moved into the hut where it was warmer. Solar grilled meat and thick slabs of cheese on warm bread, and instant hot coca ready in a short time. He guessed that the solar heater wouldn't work unless the meat placed in it was fresh, but it would work to thaw the frozen stuff. After eating, Riddick looked out at the star studded night sky. He didn't linger long because the nights were too cold here for that, but he did allow that perhaps Imam was right. For once he felt like the universe might just leave him alone and let him live his life. Tomorrow he'd go back up the mountain and scout out that ledge he spotted with its suspiciously dark shadows bisecting the sheer wall jutting from it. If the shadows were what he hoped for, he and Jack could move to a location that would offer more shelter against the upcoming winter.
Morning came bright and clear. The chill in the air was biting, even inside the shelter. Rich had never been one to ignore what had to be done, however. He bundled up, layering on clothes from the supplies that would help hold in his body heat.
Jack watched him for a moment before handing him a bowl of dried meat and instant hot cereal. "I have a bad feeling about today, Rich. I don't want you to leave."
He looked at the worry on her face. "I'll take a pack of supplies, if the weather acts up I'll find shelter. Look Jack, we can't winter here. At the very least we'll need a solid cave. The first creature I killed had to have a lair someplace. I think I might have spotted it last time I went up the mountain. If I'm wrong then we'll have to figure out something else, but I need to check this out. I'll be fine."
She nodded and sat down. There were things she could do, the skins from the kills needed work, the make shift plumbing had to be attended to, and patching up the roof again. She could make that pack for him. She got up and begin assembling it, pulling rations, water bottles, a space blanket, and one of the precious tins of canned heat.
In the interim he stepped out into a cold that instantly froze the moisture in his nose. It was going to be a clear, very cold day. Likely dry. Currently there was no wind, according to the bit of flagging he'd set up on a high point. He watched the fabric hang limp and lifeless on the pole for a moment. The skulls of the kills he'd made decorated the 'front yard' of their camp. An odd assortment of large and medium sized white heads with razor sharp teeth and small little skulls that would likely end up being used for something besides defense in the future. Behind him Jack's feet made crunching sounds in the snow as she walked up to him.
He turned to look at her as she approached. Jack sighed, reached across and snagged his scarf and tucked it into the neck of his jacket so that his nose and mouth were protected. His eyes reflected his amusement as Riddick looked at her, "Check the traps, okay?"
She flashed him a brilliant smile, "Of course, hon. See you soon." She handed him the pack and watched him walk off into the vast whiteness of the world around her before snagging a sled and setting out to tend the traps.
The ex-ranger headed back to the section where he had carved handholds in the cliff wall. Settling the pack on his back he climbed nimbly up and hosted himself over the edge onto a ledge that spiraled up the mountain in broken spurts. As he went higher the wind picked up, but the air seemed to warm slightly. Riddick stopped when the sun was at its zenith and ate some of the food. The water was warm enough from being next to his body that he added some of it to an instant broth cup. Not as good as from Jack's cooking pot, but far better than prison food. He didn't linger long. The area he needed to explore was still ahead of him and it was looking like he'd not make it back to camp by dark. He really hoped it was a cave entrance.
He trudged up the spiraling ledge for a while longer, thinking about how to get to the place he wanted to investigate before it became dark. The distance was partly to blame for why he'd put off exploring those shadows in the first place. His eyes were drawn to the wispy tendrils of ice-crystal clouds decorating the purplish-gray sky. The upper atmospheric winds were moving fast. Looked like a storm was heading their way. Maybe a short cut was in order? Arming two newly made curved shivs he scaled up the sheer wall instead of following the ledge. Half an hour later he was standing before the shadowed area. There were bones scattered about on the path, and noises that were indicative of a multi-creature lair coming from the depths of the shadows. This was going to be one hell of a fight if the big one he'd already killed was any indication. 'Right,' he thought. 'No time like the present.'
Snagging a bone, he tossed it into the opening and listened to it hit the floor with a clatter that echoed like there were more bones there. Silence. He flattened himself against the wall and waited. His heartbeat was the only sound, and he tuned it out. The ice in his nose made it impossible to breathe. Slowly the wind gave way to the noises he wanted to hear. He closed his eyes. Crunch – Crunch – crunch… Footsteps slowly moved toward the ledge. He guessed that the creature was about his size. He waited until he could see it out of the corner of his eye, and wondered if it could see him. Then he lunged, sending the shaggy beast to its death with a screeching yell. He'd have to climb down to the body later. Something hit him, knocking the air out of his lungs. He spun, going low, under the new challenger's clawed hand. The wind whistled through the cuts in his coat. Jack was gonna kill him, if this thing didn't do the job for her.
The creature hadn't expected that move or the deep slash to the tendons on its lower legs. It roared in pain and toppled over as it tried to move forward. Riddick cut the thing's throat and quickly moved inside the cave. His eyes quickly alighted on several smaller versions of the creatures. Of course, the male had been exploring, while the females and young stayed in the cave. He'd just killed all the adults; there was no pity to be had for those left. Given the chance, they would kill Jack without a second glance. He did the deed quickly and as painlessly as he could. Then he explored the cave to determine how suitable it would be.
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Jack looked out at the twilight from the doorway. Riddick wasn't coming back that night. It would the first time that they'd been apart since… She let the blanket drop. The hut felt empty without him there. She just hoped that he had found shelter. After moving the upright sled back into place, she turned and looked through the twilight at the home she tried to create. Maybe Riddick was right, that this was not enough shelter for a long winter. But she had tried, and they had been fairly comfortable if cold all the time. Feeling dismal and very alone, Jack climbed into the nest of blankets, worked her boots off and pulled her feet under. She curled up in the chilled darkness with most of her clothes still on in an attempt to preserve body heat and tried to not cry. The faint howl of the nightly wind slowly lulled her to sleep.
Something woke her. Jack kept still while she tried to pinpoint what it was that shook her from an uneasy sleep. Quiet. Muffling, total, deep silence filled the air. She frowned at that. What would cause such an impossible lack of noise? The normal sound of the wind, ice scraping minute particles from the roof, whistling through the spikes and skulls outside the door was totally still. Or… An uneasy, painful, band formed around her chest as the possibilities filled her mind. It might have started to snow, and she might be buried in a very deep drift built up along the cliff. It took what seemed like forever to tamp down the rising panic and mentally take stock of the situation.
It was still dark. She sat up and pulled the blankets tighter around herself. The wind normally screeched and howled as it blew around the obstruction that her handy work had created. Jack put her ice-cold boots on and tossed the blankets off her shoulders. The hut was fairly warm. Considering that she hadn't made heated food for herself before she slept that was surprising. She moved over to the door and slid the metal sled out of the way. The blanket hanging over the opening was very – solid. Fear blossomed again. But she's suspected this, hadn't she? She frowned and pulled it back to see that snow had blown in and covered the doorway.
Quirking an eyebrow, Jack dropped to her knees and picked up a shoulder bone that was roughly shovel shaped. Something Riddick had told her might come in handy at some point, that shoulder bone. So he'd been all too right. Not daring a light for fear that it might cause her even more panic, Jack began to carefully dig, attempting to squeeze the snow together rather than fluff it up. She had no place to put the snow she was removing unless she used it to line the walls. Hell, that would be a little better than what she was doing now. She visualized something like a pillar about 3 feet away from the door along the wall opposite to where she hung the cooking pots. Better than nothing. Tamping down the snow, digging a way out and trying to make the remaining snow solid was careful work. She took a break to eat when her stomach growled then went back to the digging.
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The night in the cave was just about as uncomfortable as they came. Riddick had a space blanket, food, and his clothes. He'd become so used to having Jack pressed up against his side that her not being there led to wakefulness. He heard the storm when it started; the screeching wind made it impossible to head back or sleep. Exploring the cave revealed that it had many features that were unexpected. Part of it was ice, and part was stone. The stone area was a lower level then the ice cave connected to it. He'd scouted out all the connecting passages and found that there was an additional entrance through the upper wall of the ice cave. They would want to camouflage it. Some of the ice in that area was window clear, and he thought that perhaps he could set up some sort of trap or alarm system using it. He could also see making his own clear "ice" using plexi glass from the crash and running warm water over it to hide that the plexi was there.
That was possible only because he discovered that the warmth of the cave was due to a hot spring and pool that connected to the stone part of it. He wasn't sure that the water was safe to drink, but at least they had a natural heat source. It didn't look like the Urzo had consumed the water, but that might have been because there was no easy way down to it, yet. If he had to guess, he would bet that the hot spring fed the movement of the ice in the fingerprint grooved plains. After finishing his explorations, Riddick set about cleaning the place up a bit. He couldn't sleep so he might as well keep busy until he could go back to Jack. As he sorted the bones littered on the floor and prepared the carcasses of the former residents he wondered if his – mate – was okay. He wasn't sure when he had started to see her that way, but he knew that was the truth of the matter. Jack was his, now and forever. He needed her like he needed to breathe.
Finally in the deep of the night the wind gave way to snow. The storm's center seemed to be wind free but the volume of snow falling gave him cause to worry. He gathered up his stuff, repacked it and found a likely bone to act as a walking stick. The need to get back to Jack was growing by the second now. He hurried back down the mountain as quickly as he could safely go, cursing the rips in his coat as he went. Fortunately the air was warmer now that it was still. But warmer in this place meant only that he could breath without ice forming in his nose. The chill crept into his skin through the claw marks until he was forced to pull the space blanket out of his pack and tie it over them.
The blackness lightened to a muddy white flecked gray. He figured that meant it was finally daylight. Riddick trekked on, hoping that he'd be able to still see the hut through the snow. In parts of the path he was hitting powder as deep as mid-calf now. He calculated that there was enough ground to cover that he might make it back to camp by mid-day, but he dared not risk climbing down in this murk.
He arrived back to see only a few of the longer poles sticking out of the snow; the top of the hut created a mounded hill in the snowdrift covering it. And there was no sign of Jack being out and about. Then again, she could have been directly below him, tunneling, and he'd not know it. God, he hoped not… He moved over to the mound and noted that the snow was at least 4 foot deep, maybe deeper. He cursed. 'Should have listened to her when she said not to go,' he scolded. 'Might not have been in this mess, if I'd just give in a bit and admit that sometimes she's right.' Flashes of Jack with blue lips plagued him until he had the ice cleared and could reassure himself that she hadn't been under so much snow that the oxygen was cut off.
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Jack heard the scraping on the roof before she saw the faint light glowing through it. She looked up at the roof from her position on the floor, watching for the shadow that would hint at movement. It didn't take long for the flashes to add up to the code, "Hi Babe". She snickered and picked up the flashlight of the loader, "Hi you," she flashed back. She could almost feel the tension ease. Rich was home. She decided to let him dig her out and set to work on making something hot to eat. He deserved no less.
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It was the smell of a rich barley and bean soup flavored with tinned ham that greeted him as he broke through Jack's tunnel about six inches from where the door was. Moments later the shoulder bone poked up at him followed by the sound of Jack's laugh.
"Come on, Rich. There's food waiting for you," she teased.
He took the 'shovel' from her and set to work clearing out the space around the door. By the time he finished, the smell of bread had joined that of the soup. Swinging the pack off his back and shaking off the snow that had settled on him, Riddick ducked through the blanket and the slid the metal back in place.
Jack was looking him over, taking in the shredded coat, his semi-soaked pants and gloves, and the look of mixed triumph and regret on his face. "Out of those clothes, hon. Here, get under the covers. Let's get you warmed up and fed," she patted the bed with one hand while stirring the soup with the other.
"I thought you'd be angered with me Jack. I should have listened to you." He followed her directions and quickly shed the moist clothing in the nearly warm air of the hut and clambered into the bedding as the first shiver ghosted over his skin. Jack fixed him a bowl of food and gave him a knowing look, but said nothing. "I did find the lair I was looking for, and once it's cleaned up a bit more it will be quite nice."
After a moment Jack settled down next to him under the covers with only a layer of thermal underwear on, bowl in hand, "So convince me."
"About the cave?" Rich watched her nod; he smiled and outlined all the good points about the new location and what they could do to make it better. Jack, he noted, listened with interest and never once acted mad at him. By the time the soup and bread were gone, the dishes washed up, and his clothes spread out to dry the only sign of displeasure she'd made was a slight clicking of her tongue as she looked at his coat. After she climbed back under the covers he felt her checking his body for the wounds and had to hold back a hiss as her fingers uncovered welts where the claws had made their near miss. It didn't take long for her to find the pain cream in the kit near the nest they slept in and work it into his side. He held her close and drifted off to sleep.
Quite early the next morning they devoted their energy to breaking camp and figuring out how to move everything. The loaders would help to move a good portion and Riddick could set up pulleys for the sleds. He wanted Jack in the cave before the next storm hit and by the look of things that wouldn't take long to happen. He knew, and she knew now too, that they were racing against time. Breaking camp didn't take all that long but it did take long enough that they'd have to stop someplace halfway up the mountain unless they pushed through all night. They'd gotten a nice long sleep the day before, and decided together that unless the weather turned foul that they'd keep moving as long as they could. The plan was to ride the loaders up while holding the ropes for the sleds, set up a pulley and lift the sleds to the semi-flat area, and then move to the next rise.
The set off as the sun was reaching its zenith and managed to get their belongings about a third of the way up before night fell. The snow was still softly falling, with a slight slant from a light breeze, but the flakes were small and the volume light. About midnight, one of the sleds tipped and they came to a halt while Riddick fixed the ropes. Jack made them some food, cold but not frozen, and they ate while recovering lost ground. It took them the rest of the night and half of the following day to reach the cave. After a slip or two they made it onto solid footing and were able to guide the full loaders to the cave itself. The sleds took both their flagging muscle power to get up the last bit of cliff, but eventually even those were bullied into the cave.
Jack took a moment, looked at the entrance, and walked back through the deep fissure in the ice until she could study the steep drop off beyond. It was about the same distance that Riddick was tall, or just slightly longer. The flat surface was wind swept and snow free at the moment even though the small flakes continued to slowly drift down from the leaden sky. She stepped out of the crack like tunnel and turned to study the cliff wall. The actual rough opening was too large for her comfort, and she could see the warmer air from inside the cave fogging up as it seeped from the upper cracks. She frowned and slowly moved back inside.
Riddick was in the process of checking five skins tacked to the icy wall that spanned one side. Two of the skins were from larger individuals and the other 3 were a mixture of smaller sizes. She could tell that Rich had spent his partial night here cleaning up as the bones were sorted, droppings gathered together, and the soiled ice scrapings gathered into a location near the entrance where they could be quickly swept out. She looked around her while biting the inside of her cheek. The majority of the floor was still littered with bits of bone and dirty snow. Fortunately Jackie's nose was rather frozen and she couldn't smell a thing.
"It's got promise, Rich. There are things that we can do to make it nice. I mean…" she wandered the length of the cave, "look. It's got a natural storage area here. A chamber of ice… and another way in." She turned back to him. "And the entrance is rather deep. I might be able to set up something to keep the heat where it'll do the most good."
Riddick walked over to her. "There's something I want to show you. Follow me." Jackie looked at him for a second and then followed him deeper into the ice chamber. She noticed that a stone wall broke free from the ice and curved around to her left as they walked unlike the wall on the right. She looked down at the floor and noticed the ice was melting, slippery, with a slight crunch and rapidly becoming like slush with each step. And they were going down. Just as she was fearful of falling the ice gave way to stone that was rough enough to walk on even though there was water running down it. Riddick led her around a final corner and she realized that she was looking at an underground thermal pool that put up a gentle steam. There was no direct way to the water, which was five or six feet down from the ledge they stood on. "We should test the water. It looks to me like the original inhabitants never touched it." Jackie gave him a dumbfounded nod before looking up and noticing the fantastic forms of ice dangling from the roof of the upper cave.
He led her back to the icy area and helped her scrape the semi melting ice off the stone floor. It would be more comfortable for them closer to the natural heat source even if they had to cut steps in the ice to get down to the rock. After that was finished and the extra ice blocks moved to help block the heat from what would be the storage chamber, Jack set up their nest like she had in the hut, placing it temporarily in a slightly hollowed depression with ice blocks forming a wall behind. She padded the ice with the mattresses and furs before settling the blankets in place. Now that the ice was not close enough to be actively melting the floor dried nicely.
Although it was just after noon, Jack was tired. She sighed as she heard Riddick cutting into the ice above her closer to the entrance. It was not time to rest, so she'd better get up there and help him.
"Hey babe," he greeted her as she appeared.
She smiled, "I got the nest set up. A suspended frame would be better than what I've done, but the ice is bound to be softer than the rock." She held out her ice cutter, "Want some help?"
He nodded, "Making a shelf of sorts for the frozen stuff we brought up with us. The blocks can be used to make a wall to block this off." He pointed up to the other opening showing her that it wasn't open anymore, "Put a hatch on it, cut some handholds; there's a pulley rope to open it."
"Oh, nice, Rich." Jack kissed his cheek above his beard and set to cutting blocks out of the ice. They worked together until the task was finished and Jack went to cook while Riddick unloaded the frozen meat off the sled into the area carved out for it. After they ate Riddick helped set up a fire ring. They used what loose rocks were at hand and added the thicker pieces of bone to fill in. Although Jack was not totally happy with the arrangement she figured it would do for the moment. Then they split up, with her figuring out how to store the rest of the foodstuff and him working on how to keep other Urzo groups from challenging them for the cave.
After a very long day Riddick came inside, accepted food, ate and said to her, "Let's get some sleep. I've got a few ideas I want to work on tomorrow." He spread his coat over the top of the nest and crawled inside. Jackie piled on the blankets and joined him. Soon their moans echoed off the stone chamber. Although it was unfinished, as of yet, they both felt safe enough to give into their desires fully like they had in space. As they drifted off to sleep, nice and warm, Riddick mumbled sleepily in Jack's ear, "Mine, forever."
She snuggled in close and echoed, "Forever." Jackie slept deep, knowing she was safe. And latest her visit to Furya was peaceful. She wandered through the graves of her people and touched their memorials. Shirah walked with her in silence. Finally one of the spirits walked her to the mountaintops and Jackie was shown lichen growing up in a high alpine environment upon a windswept rock. She saw that the same thing grew nearby on UV6. The understanding of it was that she should make a tea of it and drink the brew every day… but first she had to find it. "Why should I do this?"
"It will give you time," the elder Furyan male told her. "Time that Shirah would rather you did not have, but you have listened to me and I give you this as a boon to repay you for giving me peace."
The words echoed in her ears as she woke to the sounds of pans clattering. The sun was just barely lighting the horizon, a narrow shaft of weak light hitting far overhead but causing the ice to glitter like diamonds. Jackie was shivering slightly. Riddick was already up and getting food ready. "You let me sleep?" she asked. He nodded with a twinkle in his eye. She pulled her clothing on before getting out of the covers and slipped her feet into her boots. It was like plunging her feet into pails of ice cubes. "My god, it is cold here." She struggled into her jacket.
"We'll adjust."
"I really need to make this better insulated. The cave, the bed, everything." She moved over and accepted a bowl of warm food.
"I've got some furs that will help. The original dwellers of this cave." Riddick said little else until he brought her the white thick fur clad skins. He'd left them stuck to the wall, she remembered. He set her to scraping as he went to work on the entrance again. She figured that there would be a lot for her to learn if they were to live for any length of time here. One of the immediate concerns was fuel to keep them warm. Riddick realized too that it was a huge problem. To partly solve it he had removed a large section of the life support system and as many power cells as he could fit onto a sled. They could set up the heating unit inside the rock portion of the cave and put it on low. Even having the air a few degrees warmer made a difference. The insulating tiles off the outside of the ship would make the fire ring more efficient, so they and the water cistern filled another sled. The piping, plexi windshield, emergency lights, as much of the wire as could be salvaged, the emergency tool kits, and medical supplies had made up another sled. Most of the items had remained packed. Now though he began to unload them and set to work figuring out how to adapt them to their situation.
Meanwhile Jackie worked in the cave. She scraped the furs. She set up a shelf of sorts for various dry goods where they would be within easy reach of the cooking area. She listened to Rich as he puttered around in the ice cave area, and watched him as he set up various bits of salvaged ship's systems. Eventually she mentioned that the heat was rising straight up and out and Riddick sat down to ponder the problem. His solution was to make an ice block half dome with additional walls to help hold the heat where they could benefit from it. Then he showed her the new improved entrance that looked like a creature's maw with roughly carved bone standing in for teeth.
The built up entrance plugged up the cracks where the heat had escaped and alongside the mean looking heads and skulls set atop a bone framework there was little doubt about whose lair this was. Other Urzo groups would keep clear of it. She also noticed that Rich set up a quick climb to the ledge down to the grooved plains below, and another to the next one above the entrance just off to the right. A pulley sat carefully hidden from view below behind a icy jumble that looked natural enough, but that Jack knew he'd made to disguise the lifting system. Someplace below them a sled sat, waiting. She smiled at him, "It looks much more secure, hon. I feel much better about staying here now."
Riddick tried to act like it didn't mean anything to him, but inside he felt about to burst. "In the morning I plan on doing some scouting around the mountain. Maybe out the back. I think that I'll set up a pulley for the water and work on some windows. The cave is darker than the hut and we still need light to read by."
"Want me to look up how to test the water? There should be something in the medical kits I can use."
He looked at her, "There's enough steam that we might be able to set up some way to condense water from that, Jack. But go ahead and look it up."
The next few days were spent setting up the cave to their liking and exploring around the mountainside. The back way in to the lair opened up to a gentle rather rolling landscape with the peak of the mountain breaking up the closest hills with hints of window clear ice and windswept chunks of rock. Away in the distance was a valley, sheltered from the worse of the winds with a flat bottom that looked rather like a frozen lake. Large grayish mounds dotted the smooth expanse. She couldn't quite get her brain around the implications for a moment. Then Riddick stepped up next to her and said softly, "So that's what they eat," but didn't elaborate further. Of course, large predators had to have a food supply consisting of larger plant eaters. But where were the plants they were eating?
That night Rich and Jack sat around their cave, basking in the warmer air, carefully trapped, and decided that they would explore. He would venture down into the valley and she would scale the mountainside. Jack was happy to stick closer to the cave. Still, she remembered her dream with haunting clarity. The meaning of it was clear: she needed to find the plant that the elder Furyan had shown her if she and Rich were to have any time of safety. So the next morn they parted. Riddick took a pack of supplies "just in case" and Jack set about exploring the "back entrance" into their lair. She climbed quite high, as she ventured out with one eye peeled for the lichen. She thought about the conditions of Furya where it grew and concluded that if it survived here it would need someplace sheltered but with enough sun. She had hoped to find it growing higher up the mountain, but the conditions here were much harsher than those on Furya. The bare rock here was windswept clean. Dejected, Jack finished up her scouting and returned to the cave.
Once there she settled in to work on sewing Rich a new coat to replace the one that he'd gotten shredded. The cave seemed lighter, she noted. Her eyes scanned the ice above her head and narrowed. There was light, weak, but notable, filtering in through or refracting off of the ice. Jack put down her knife and walked over to the wall, looking for the source of the light. Her feet took her back to the ledge overlooking the pool, and there, up in the ice wall was a section of clear, window-like ice, with a shaft of sunlight dancing through the odd formations left behind by the steam as it froze on the ceiling. She became excited. What if the lichen grew inside the cave? The conditions couldn't have been better for it. She couldn't see the far wall with enough detail to tell if anything was growing on it, but she did know it was stone. She moved her coat making into a position where she could watch the light move through the chamber.
By early evening, Jack had confirmed that something was growing on the upper stone walls at the back of the pool. Rather a large bunch of patches of something, actually. She had no idea how to get over to it to check if the growth was the lichen she was told about, but the fact was that she and Rich couldn't survive on meat alone and the supplies they brought with them wouldn't last forever. At the very least, any non-poison plant life they found would provide vitamins that they needed. She pondered the problem of how to get over to it as she started to cook.
Riddick had a good day. He'd found that the herd animals were easy enough to kill. He was able to collect quite a bit of their droppings after his hunt. As he was heading back to the cave, he discovered a source of meat by watching one particularly interesting large cat like creature. It seemed to be waiting for something over a spot of smooth ice. He watched for a while until the large creature pulled up a wiggling sliver scaled – fish. The large predators of this cold world had access to fish underneath a frozen lake. It didn't take much to kill it. His catch for the day consisted of one speared long legged herd animals, the cat, and several good-sized fish. He made his way inside the cave, placing the herd animal carcass in the storage area as he passed it. "I've got fish, babe," he called.
"Fish? You found running water?" Jackie was looking at the scaled find with wide eyes.
He held up the offer. "Don't know how easy they will be to catch, but I've got 3 of them. I think I'll set up the solar cooker to work on the other 2, if you want to cook this one."
She cocked her head, "With what fuel?"
"Here," he tossed his pack at her as he set the fish down on a clean surface.
She looked in the pack and smiled. Shortly thereafter she had the fish sliced into thin boneless steaks, with the skin and bones set aside for other uses. It didn't take long for Jack to have a crackling flame in the fire pit with the droppings he'd gathered. She quickly set the fish to cook, and carefully spread the bones out to dry. Some of the rib bones would make fine needles.
After dinner, Jack and Rich sat and told each other about their respective day. Jack then mentioned the lichen and the patches she spotted on the other side of the pool. Riddick picked up a spare bit of hide from her coat making and spent some time drawing out the problem. He finally concluded, "I'll make a platform using the poles and some of the sleds, alright? Just let me observe where it needs to go."
Over the course of the next week they spent quite a bit of time apart. It was to be expected that Riddick would hunt and Jackie would set up a home. She had a feeling that they were racing time. In a way they were. The snows began to fall one night while they were asleep… and fell rather continuously for days. Cave bound, Riddick set to work on piecing the plexi-glass he'd salvaged into an ice flow that he carefully created to provide them with some additional light inside the cave. He set up the water cistern to condense and collect the steam so that they'd have drinking water and built the platform so that they could access the backside of the pool cavern. He built a hammock like structure for their bed and some additional furniture for the cave. That done, he worked on crafting weapons, traps, and tools out of native materials.
Jackie worked on creating nets, lining the fire pit and the area around the hammock with whatever tiles scavenged off the freighter, and using what they had brought with them to the best advantage possible. She tested the water in the pool and found that it wouldn't make good drinking water but it would make fine bathing water; while the growth on the far wall not poisonous at all. The crowning achievement was her work on a coat for Rich. He ended up with a nice fur lined Urzo skin poncho, with a hood.
Together they decided to stake out a claim on a section of lake. Once the snows stopped he'd make a blind and set up a semi-igloo kind of structure for protection from the wind. Some of the skulls of the creatures he killed would serve as scarecrows against other predators that might threaten the fishing spot. He set up the shelter over the spot where the fishing seemed to be the best. It was a mobile setup and could be moved should the fish move. He then killed other challengers to the spot and added the meat to the storage chamber. It was decided that Jackie would tend to the fishing nets and traps as Riddick ranged farther afield in search of additional game.
He found out quite by accident that the fish were excellent bait for the Uzro giganticus that had, before their arrival at UV 6, been the top predator. The Uzro were a good source of furs and meat. The teeth and claws were useful, too. Nothing went to waste. Each Uzro Riddick brought back to the cave provided them with another chance to survive the next storm. Jackie rendered the fat from the beast for what it could be used for. She cleaned and worked the skins into clothing, blankets, and boots. Bones became tools; claws became knives… even the sinews and tendons were used for one purpose or another.
By the time the last of the prepared protein rations were gone Jackie was sure that they could survive here for as long as they were left alone.