A rocky start (7th of Aprimay 5500)
The cryopod took the brunt of the damage as it crashed onto the stony ground. Rini found herself flung into the air, landing relatively softly on a patch of brambles. She stood up, dazed from the tumble, and immediately tears started rolling down her cheeks. Not from the pain - in fact she was not hurt at all - but from the incredible view that presented itself to her: over vast grasslands interspersed with tree groves and small rocky hills the flaming silhouette of the morning sun rose to the east and painted the entire landscape in a warm orange tone. It was simply too much to bear after 20 years of cold, sterile rooms in outer space. 'Is this heaven?' she asked herself.
A strong gust of cold air brought back reality and with it the latest memories from the explosion on the rig. What had happened there? How did she end up here? And where was everyone else? As much as she tried, Rini couldn't make sense of it. Instead she decided to focus on the more pressing issue at hand - survival. Crash landing in a foreign land without clothing, food or shelter, her circumstances were dire. But maybe the surrounding area could provide something useful. She took a closer look around.
Besides a small lake to the southeast, two things stood out: a giant hairy beast to the north and seemingly man-made walls to the west. Even though the beast appeared to be peaceful, munching away on the nearby grass with relish, Rini had never seen such a huge animal and decided to avoid it if possible. This left the stone building to the west to explore. It was perfectly square-shaped and although Rini circled it completely, she could not find an entrance. She approached one of the walls, touched the smooth stone surface and immediately jumped back in shock. Her face mirrored the feelings of horror and fear that overcame her the moment she touched the stone. The last time she had felt this afraid was back in the camp. Rini could not explain why but whatever was hidden behind these walls, was better left untouched.
It was still very cold outside, so the first priority was finding shelter from the wind. A small hill to the northeast offered decent protection and was large enough for a crude cave to be carved into its side. Rini started chipping away at the rocks, making decent progress due to the mining skills she had gained on the rig. It still took her a few hours to create a shelter large enough for a sleeping spot and some storage space. Mining all that stone had made her quite hungry, so she climbed the small hill and scanned the vicinity for something edible. Not far from her new home, she spied a cluster of berry bushes behind a line of oak trees. There were plenty of ripe berries on them, enough for Rini to fill her stomach. For some fucked up reason she became angry that no table was around but that thought soon passed. She then collected an extra portion for later and stored it close to the cave. The sun was high up in the sky and temperatures had gone up to a cosy 21°C. Rini decided to go for a walk and plan the next steps. Strolling through knee-high grass, she started talking to herself:
'Ok, so there are plenty of berries around. I wouldn't mind some meat but...well, beggars can't be choosers. What else? The cave, right...it's a shithole but at least I'm out of the wind. It definitely needs some more work though. WHOOAAH! That was close! Why the FUCK is steam coming out of the fucking ground here?? Damn...now, where was I? Some more work...hmmm. I should definitely close up the entrance. Who knows what kind of beasts show up at night around here and I'd rather wake up in one piece. So I need a door. Wood should be fine, so I'll just fell one of the oak trees. And while I'm at it, might as well get some planks for a proper bed. The hell I'm sleeping on the fucking floor! Ok, so door, bed...what's next? Clothes!! Probably have to make them myself. That can wait until tomorrow though, since it's only really cold at night. Alright, no time to waste!'
Rini picked out one of the bigger oak trees, cut it down and made some planks from its trunk. She had never worked on a tree before, so she was pretty clumsy doing it. None of the planks turned out straight but for a first try, she was proud of herself. She hauled the planks back to the cave and started to hammer them together. She finished construction shortly before dusk. The door squeaked every time it was moved but it was solid enough to give Rini a sense of security. The bed was of poor quality but it did not break under her weight and was definitely preferable to the cold stone floor. Last order of business was to clean out the cave from rubble and dirt. After dumping the last shovel outside, Rini looked at her day's work and nodded. She was more confident than ever that she had what it took to survive out here. But life on the rim was unpredictable and she would find out about it soon enough...