Seventy Hours on Raener-12 : Part 6

Hour 018

I had read the name The Mastery halfway to the ship, but seeing the title sprawled above my head, each letter nearly three stories tall, made my mind rush and body quiver.

Our shadows slunk ever closer to the behemoth's edge as we neared. The troop and I circled the structure, pacing slowly. My eyes scanned the frosted surface. There were no visible symbols of allegiance. No signifying colors of Vertigo or Chaste or Atlas revealed from what was seen on the surface. Simply the dwarfing title The Mastery looming to our left while we rounded the cruiser.

The sun left its mark along the billowing snow. Hills and flatlands saw a genesis of light and the world was a familiar crystalline white sheet, not dulled and sullen by clouds. It was a strange feeling. I felt at home and comfortable for brief seconds. At one instant I knew I was on the world I loved, the world I protected, with men I trusted. Yet next to that ship the traveled ground I rode on seemed to alienate me from any sense of comfort.

My men continued to say little, but I know now why they were on edge. I had not fully prepared a plan before we left the bunker. They waited on my every command, anxious puppies needing scraps to fend from.

Our oarves groaned and shuffled by the ship. They had not had a true rest in hours or any food since their last night at headquarters. I dismounted my beast and my troop followed suit.

"We'll go on foot from here. Grab your gear and tie your oarves down. They need rest."

There was an overhanging metal flap that had peeled from the impact. I led my unit underneath to a shaded patch of dirt where we unpacked. If a storm would come up again, I knew this flap would protect our rides. Caught in the open amidst another reaping such as we barely survived the night before, and there would be no hope for our mounts.

I untied rope from my beast's saddle and recovered a hammer and hook from the riding pack at its hip. My men copied my example. Six beasts were quickly leashed comfortably to firm ground. After we left them grain and water we loaded our packs and continued trekking.