Colonel Aries
The colonel paid little attention to where he was going. He didn't need to; City Vaughn was well known to him. He was headed back to the Gauntlet, the complex of buildings that served as headquarters for the Steamguard. It was there that he would make final preparations for his regiment's forthcoming tour of duty.
"I cannot say that I am greatly surprised, sir," Colonel Aries had said the day before, from the seat before the desk of Lieutenant General Cyrus Lockwood, commander of the Steamguard's Clockwork Cavalry division. The general had come up from his underground offices in the Warren to see his orders into the hands of the commander of his 9th regiment personally. Not that the coming tour and mission was particularly secretive, but since the fiasco in the Brass District last year, operational security had tightened significantly.
Lockwood lit a fat cigar and drew slowly on it, savouring the rich smoke. "No one with any intelligence is surprised, Jefferson. The Ponies have been mewling over the loss of SECA influence since our covert raid on the Starlight Plantation. We think certain elements within the Coalition might see this as an opportunity to make a hard grab for Janet Hugo. Certainly a moral justification for it."
Colonel Aries nodded but said nothing.
"Now, the surprise, old boy," General Lockwood continued, "is why we are bothering to get involved."
After a moment's final consideration of his orders, the colonel looked up and fixed his eyes - both natural and artificial - on the general. "Her father Jasper - more specifically his invention - made City Vaughn what it is today. That he utilised slave labour on a massive scale and squandered many of those lives thoughtlessly is a primary rallying point for SECA. Capturing and/or controlling Ms. Hugo would be a significant fulcrum of leverage for the Coalition."
"Very good, Colonel. Now, why the Clockwork Cavalry?"
Colonel Aries squinted. Was Lockwood condescending to him? No, he decided, probably not. "Skyhawk infantry would be the natural choice, but Ms. Hugo can't stay on the Aurelia forever. Or, more precisely, she won't. I met Dr. Hugo a number of times while on duty during the construction of the Core; he had his daughter with him, often as not. Even then, the girl had an insatiable curiosity and wanderlust. I doubt much has changed in that regard. And on the ground, there's no unit better than our cavalry."
The colonel grinned. "The Steamguard is putting up its dukes and the 9th is the thundering right cross."
General Lockwood smiled around his cigar. "Not a bad analogy, Jefferson. And almost dead accurate. The 3rd and 8th are also heading out on tour, but they're in support of the 9th. We," he took another long draw on the cigar, "are the point of the spear here, Colonel. The City Council, and by extension Steamguard, officially supports the coalition, but the fundamentalists within it are considered to be criminals and rebels. We need to make our point perfectly clear: the streets of City Vaughn are not the front for the war on slavery and activities that threaten the city's peace and stability, or the security of its citizens, will not be tolerated. I need a bloodthirsty old warhorse capable of driving that point into the heart of the SECA resistance. And you, old boy, are exceptionally qualified for the task."
Colonel Aries tucked the papers back into the folder and carefully secured it. "You're too kind, General."
A small voice broke the colonel’s reverie, dragging him back to the foggy street of his present. Peering down, he found that the voice belonged to a slender man, dirty and under-dressed, shivering in the morning cold before him.
“What’s that again? Stand aside, boy, you’re blocking my path,” said the colonel, squinting.
The slender man’s teeth chattered as he tried not to stare at the colonel’s eye. He rephrased his unheard question. “Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but could you spare a bit o’ coin for some food? For my dog, sir?”
Colonel Aries glanced into the shadowed corner of the building behind the beggar and spied an adorable beagle puppy huddled there. The colonel held great affection for animals. A cold smile curled the colonel’s lips as he opened his coat. He pulled a fold of fifty- and hundred-Orion notes half out of his pocket before tucking them back into his greatcoat. From the wide-eyed expression on his face, the beggar had not missed the colonel's deliberate display.
“Listen here, boy. If you can’t feed yourself, then you shouldn’t rightly be keeping a dog. That’s just cruel, boy, inflicting your own negative fate on that poor defenseless creature.”
“....what?” was all the man could say, taken completely aback.
“Why don’t I line your pockets some, and you just give that poor dog on over to me. I’ll give it a good home.”
“What?” the beggar sputtered, glancing back at the beagle puppy. “What? No!” The slender man snarled and pulled a wicked-looking knife from under his thin coat. “Just… gimme that money, old man!”
Colonel Aries was already tired of the exchange. He reached inside his coat. The man’s eyes grew wide again with anticipation. And then fear as the colonel produced the biggest revolver he had ever seen, cocked it, and pointed it at his face. The knife fell from the would-be robber's suddenly nerveless fingers. The chime of metal on stone rang loud in the cold morning fog.
“Wait!” the man cried out. Shivering visibly, and not just from the chill air, he frantically retrieved the puppy. In quaking arms, he held it out to Colonel Aries.
The colonel uncocked his revolver and reholstered it in his coat, to the other man's visible relief. He took the puppy and flicked some coins into the street.
“Now, I believe I said stand aside, boy.” Colonel Aries shouldered past the still-trembling beggar. Pausing only long enough to tuck the beagle puppy into the warm greatcoat, the colonel continued his morning walk.
"Bloodthirsty old warhorse, indeed," he grumbled.
