What happens when a zealous Praetor goes unchecked?

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Tyrant's Reign is about a Rynar soldier, Private Namaeo, who is pulled from guard duty aboard a space station and thrust into a war. Forced to miss his daughters hatch day. He was sectioned with Battlemaster Jailthar, at Rock Hill, on the edge between North and South Carolina. Been hinting it for a time now, but this story, alongside Blue On Blue, Hearts And Minds, and Of Mice And Men, are all interconnected :3

None of this would be possible without  Hetzer


Art done by the awesome  Drunk_Ferret


There is a server you can join to see future content early!~

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Namaeo kept his silence as he walked, steeling his mind to Rick's words. A part of him was happy that the human trusted him with familial knowledge. Heritage was one of the few things Namaeo held close to his heart during wartime. As he walked, his mind flickered to Mihicha. The last time he'd seen her, she had scolded him for visiting.

It was wrong; they were not supposed to fall in love. Their child, their little Oonka, was a state-child. Once she came of the designated age, she'd be taken away, and likely would never know him or Mihicha. Yet still, Namaeo felt a smile on his scaled lips as he thought of his little girl, his little Oonka. He imagined her, but refused to fill in her face. He didn't want to give a false impression of what his daughter would look like. No, that would come after all of this.

He would come home a hero, earn his pardon, and be able to clutch the two women in the universe he loved the most. Holding his battle rifle firm, he opened his eyes as his short-range radio hissed off.

'Battlemaster Shazike, Rynar entity approaching from the West side, advise.'

Namaeo stopped, knowing it before seeing it. A red trail laser was aimed at his chest from a camp far in the distance, a sniper. Namaeo instinctively raised his hands, showing that his rifle was in the air. Defection was death, and if he did not follow protocol, he'd be executed before the Battlemaster could see to the situation.

Suddenly, a gruff female voice entered the radio, her thick accent catching him partially off guard, but proving who was speaking.

"Entity, Identify."

Namaeo wouldn't hesitate, speaking calmly as his helmet feed showed the digital face of a Rynar woman. Her eyes were fierce, a telling sign that not all was right at this camp.

"Private Namaeo, Battlemaster Jailthar division. Battlemaster Jailthar has sent to offer aid and a status report. UTO troops have been spotted. Battlemaster Jailthar has a special mission. Details follow."

Tapping his helmet, he transmitted his Battlemaster's commands to the other. There was a pause, and the woman spoke again, softer this time.

"Understood. Report to Praetor Rigtha."

Namaeo lowered his rifle, but felt deflated. The Battlemaster wouldn't see him directly? This was strange, but these were outlandish times. The laser would soon disappear, and Namaeo continued his march to the camp.

Shazike's encampment was far less defended, but the telling signs of fighting were everywhere. She had a smaller platoon, but Namaeo noticed far fewer heads than he'd figured. The humans under their care struck him as strange. Unlike the hopeful faces of those at Jailthar's camp, these seemed frightened of him and quickly hurried to hide away when his gaze flickered over them.

Stopping by a tent, he spoke out lowly.

"Private Namaeo reporting for Praetor Rigtha!"

The tent swung open wide, and a Praetor walked past him. Pausing only to motion the private to follow. In the tent, the Battlemaster was fuming. Her sharp eyes snapped to Namaeo before turning to a table in the tent. Rigtha's face was scrunched in pain, and there was a trickle of blood from his nose.

Namaeo saw the flicker of a human inside the tent as the flap closed. Atop the table was a human, his terrified expression meeting with the Battlemasters. Shazike seemed angry, yet not at the human, and soon Namaeo realized the human's legs were both broken. Rigtha hissed, doing a poor job at hiding his irritation.

"Private Namaeo. Check one's commands, Battlemaster Shazike has an order."

The private was already doing so, but blinked when a set of orders joined his. Shazike was already aware of a caravan passing near her town, and by mixing this information with what Namaeo brought, the orders merged.

"Private Namaeo will join Praetor Rigtha in this. Human insurgents have raided alongside air assaults. This Caravan is suspected to be involved."

Namaeo followed, but his mind flickered back to Rick. This Caravan was civilians, at least according to the human. How could they possibly have anything to do with these air assaults? Unwilling to believe Rick lied, but unsure of the situation, Namaeo responded shortly.

"Confirmed, Praetor Rigtha."

This confirmation seemed to cause the Praetor to smile. Soon they exited the camp and began to march North. Rigtha reached up and set his scanner to high alert, keeping his rifle in hand as it hummed to life. Namaeo would do this, too, although he flinched when fluttering birds triggered his sensors.

While Rynar's eyes were sharp, humans were small enough to require special scanner systems when engaging. Namaeo tuned his a bit lower and breathed a soft sigh as he followed closely behind the Praetor.

The two barely spoke, which gave Namaeo time to admire the Praetor's armor. Much like Zihara, it was of far finer quality than the grieves given to Namaeo. It was utterly silent, even when walking at a brisk pace. The paint on the armor absorbed a high amount of light, rendering reflection almost mute.

"Private Namaeo."

The Praetor turned, his eyes glaring daggers into Namaeo.

"Tell Praetor Rigtha... How is Battlemaster Jailthar faring against these... Pests."

With the question in the air, they'd continue walking. With nearly an hour's march ahead of them, Namaeo thought on how to answer. Was he even authorized to give Rigtha such information? That thought fluttered in his head, but Namaeo would give only a half answer.

"The humans under Battlemaster Jailthar's command are trusting of the Rynar occupation. With power systems set up, food and water reserves, they are being assisted by elected humans. Overseen by Rynar soldiers."

Rigtha scowled, but said nothing for a time. Only gave a curt nod as they walked up a hill. Soon they came across a road, and Namaeo was thankful that his scanners translated human languages. His eyes played across a sign and he read it out loud.

"Highway seventy-four. This caravan was Eastward, ordered to stop by H.U.B. for a time. How does Praetor Rigtha plan on escorting?"

The Praetor snorted, shaking his head.

"If the humans have weapons, there are to be no prisoners."

Namaeo was shocked, knowing that he had made a promise to Jailthar to try and capture these humans. Then his promise to Rick flashed in his mind a second after. The man's cousin was with this Caravan, someone Namaeo had talked to, even if in proxy.

Despite this, Namaeo would remain silent for a moment. Not daring to question the Praetor's orders. Though Battlemasters tended to have final say, a Praetor could flag Namaeo as a traitor at the slightest hint of defection. He must have been silent for a little too long, as shortly, Rigtha stopped and glanced back.

"Affirm the mandate."

Namaeo would call back to his training to answer firmly.

"Of course, Praetor Rigtha. Capture if can, but destroy if weapons are found."

As Rigtha turned to continue walking, Namaeo reached up slowly. A knot formed in his gut as he watched how the Praetor walked. His headset would be switched to recording so that if anything went wrong, he would have evidence. Rynar brutality was a genuine fear of Jailthar's, brought on by overzealous soldiers. The Rynar are masters of war, not brutal barbarians, after all.

As time went on, the sun began to set, and Rigtha would flick his HUD to assist in heat signature view. Soon, the Praetor stopped, and Namaeo would slowly creep up to settle beside him. Aiming through his rifle, he zoomed in on a series of small heat signatures amidst various cooling vehicles.

"Caravan spotted. Civilians' vehicles- negative. One armored vehicle, human military branding. Leftovers from the failed assault on Charlotte?"

Namaeo spoke softly, hissing under his breath while the Praetor nodded. Soon, Namaeo switched off his heat signature mode and would use the sparse light to identify weapons. Small firearms, pistols, rifles, nothing that could damage a Rynar terribly.

"No rockets or heavy ordinance spotted... Wait... Praetor Rigtha, they have an armored patrol car."

He wanted to say that such a vehicle was dangerous. Having heard sparse reports from fellow soldiers about small 'darts', this gun could spew out at a high rate of fire. Although mostly harmless if dealt with quickly, Namaeo wanted to downplay the danger, fearing the Praetor might overreact.

Before he could, however, the Praetor hissed.

"That is enough. Approach with caution, take the ridge to the right. Praetor Rigtha shall confront them, and Private Namaeo shall open fire if needed."

Namaeo nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as he slowly made his way onto higher ground without being spotted. Leveling his rifle against the ground, he watched as the Praetor marched fearlessly to the humans. They scattered, some fleeing, others taking position defensively.

Words were exchanged, but Namaeo couldn't make out what the Praetor said. After some moments, Rigtha would aim his rifle at a small human who appeared to be the leader. The private's blood iced as he heard the Praetor hissing louder, the human at first shouting, but soon backing up.

If they had weapons capable of felling a Rynar, Righta would have been shot already. With this in mind, Namaeo ignored his orders to stay put and walked down and around the hill. Keeping himself in a defensive position, he hissed out.

"Praetor Rigtha, they have no real weapons..."

As he approached, he hesitated when he saw a human quickly grabbing something from behind a truck. Rigtha snapped his attention over just as Namaeo saw the human man tucking something down with a blanket. Before he had a chance to call out that he saw a much smaller face in the blanket, Praetor Rigtha's rifle expelled a round.

Chaos ensued, and Namaeo was frozen in fear as he watched the Praetor ruthlessly open fire on the small caravan. Sparse humans fired their guns in pitiful defiance, but within seconds, the sounds of gunfire stopped. Replaced by burning wreckage, and the scent of charred metal.

Rigtha reached up, pressing his helmet before hissing.

"Human rebels had weapons, likely intended to use against weakened Battlemaster Shazike's warband. Private Namaeo stands witness to human defiance and aggression."

It dawned on Namaeo what the Praetor was doing...

The man had turned off his suit's recorder, something only done for sketchy situations. As the Praetor looked to him, Namaeo hissed out meekly.

"Affirmed."

The Praetor seemed pleased and would press his helmet again. Beckoning Namaeo over, he hissed sharply.

"Fire the rifle."

Namaeo was confused, but would hesitantly look at his gun. The Praetor hissed again, pointing to the wreckage. Namaeo pulled his trigger once, then twice, his gut sinking as he felt the minimal kickback of his weapon. With both their weapons having expended charges, neither could be singled out for blame for what happened here.

"A Praetor yet. Rigtha now sees what Battlemaster Jailthar recognizes in Private Namaeo."

The Praetor smiled, patting Namaeo on the shoulder as they began to walk back to base. The private's eyes flicker to the burning wreckage. There was only a flicker of a face he could see amidst the fire. The human, likely a father, tucks his little child in while reassuring her. The little girl's face bore into the Rynar's mind as he stifled a cry. Forcing his thoughts aside, he made sure his headset was recording...

'Must show this to Battlemaster Shazike... But what if she knows? No... Must report this to Battlemaster Jailthar.'