Could Riddick assume that there will be two ships?

Question

Is there anything in Riddick (2013) (that I have missed) that caused Riddick to be sure or at least assume that there will be two ships coming for him?

When the first ship landed (before the second one even appeared on radars and landed), its crew found a message on one of mercs base's doors (written with blood?) saying something like "Leave one ship and go or die". This message is seen twice in the movie:

• first time, a longer shot, where team members jokes that Riddick can't even count properly since he wrote about "one" ship to leave and one to take and go, while there is one ship at all,
• second time, a short cameo, when second ship is actually landing.

It is obvious (at least for me) from the following scenes that Riddick wrote that message either after the first ship landed and disembarked or even before the first ship landing. This leads to a conclusion that he knew/assumed that there will be two ships maybe even before the first one landed (maybe even when sending a message?).

I'd like to know, if there is something in the movie plot (that I missed) that could make Riddick so sure that there will be two ships (and caused him to write the message the way he wrote it) or is this just a licentia poetica / story dramatisation to underline Riddick's extraordinary abilities to foresee what will happen in the future and to plan the "game" as he wants?

Answer 1

Its been a while since I saw this, so I checked a script posted by David Twohy (the screenwriter).

I don't think you missed anything except that they presume you know who Riddick as a character is. It is established in the first two Riddick movies (and video games etc.) that he is infamous not only as the (now former) leader of the "Necromongers" fascist death cult, but also as a hardened murderous career criminal who breaks out of every prison he has ever been put into etc.

Because of this, he just presumes that there will be multiple crews who will jump on the chance to collect on whatever massive bounty of the day is being offered for him.

The real question is why he assumed the first ship arriving would not be full of "good Samaritans." But in the script (see below), they do address this:

Everything dulled by dust. But it's a scatter of wanted posters that confirms what Riddick suspected.

RIDDICK

Mercs.This is a way station for mercenaries, bounty hunters. It's a place to lay over, take target practice, collect meat, fill the water stores before moving on.

Link to "draft 2" of the script on author David Twohy's website.

Answer 2

Only two ships did come because all mercs knew Riddick like Lord of Necromongers. Santana was leader of the motley mercs and stupidly cocky. But the "boss" Johns was need the story about his son from Pitch Black's plot.

No doubts, arrived ships should be more, than one or even two, why not? Bounty was very high, conditions - live or dead, but by action plot two crews of merc enough for play game with death.

The dormant merc station is equipped not only with a long-range beacon, but also has LR scanners, which Riddick used. Probably that scanners he accurately identified at least two ships flying in transition orbits. There are no UFO with Rocket Engine in space. Any starship used RE withing planet system (even edge of it) can be seen immediately. For example: on the Terra, even with modern scanners, easy to see any ship used RE (brake impuls) nearby on to Pluto orbit.

All the other mercs (who soberly appreciated the beacon's call and their crew amount) simply did not want to risk their lives because of backbreaking work, even just to kill him... ))