Aurora Beaumont

Inspector Aurora Maryann Meshcheryakov KIC (born Aurora-Marie Anne Beaumont, 12 February 2645 – 29 April 2696), was a Terran spacer law enforcement officer and a veteran of the Great War. She was also the wife of Governor Artem Meshcheryakov of the planet Keystone, and the mother of their two children.
She was knighted in 2681 as a result of her actions during the Keystone Incident which saw thousands of lives saved in the aftermath of nuclear terror bombings on several Keystone cities. In her role as Commissioner of the Hauberk Metropolitan Police Department, she was responsible for the public safety of the city and organized the relief effort. Subsequently, she organized the reconstruction of the city water treatment plant and harbor district, the area hit hardest by the bombings. She held the office of Commissioner of the HMPD until her death.
Prior to her law enforcement career on Keystone, she served in the Terran Imperial Army from 2665 to 2672. She was the younger sister of famed war hero and Marines general Céleste Beaumont, Duchess of Victory and Marchioness of Megiddo. Until her death, she was heiress presumptive of her sister's marcher title.
She died on the night of April 29th of 2696 after sustaining severe injuries in a motor vehicle accident. She died during medical evacuation, and was buried on Keystone. She is survived by her spouse and her two children.
== Early life and education ==
Aurora-Marie Anne Beaumont was born February 12th, 2645, to Captain Pénélope Beaumont and Lieutenant Commander Daniel J. Beaumont. Both of her parents were career Navy officers. Beaumont's mother was descended from Franco-Terran spacers who had lived on space habitats in the Cassiopeian Frontier province for generations, and had likewise been Terran naval personnel for generations. Her father was born on Earth and came from a family of wealthy French financiers and businesspeople, but he joined the Imperial Navy to "see the frontier". 
She was born and raised at the orbital habitat Goshen Station, in orbit around the planet Gesem IV in the Exodus Star Cluster. Alongside her elder sister Céleste, she was educated at the Naval Children's Centre. Her sister graduated from the school and departed to join the Imperial Marines as an officer. Aurora went instead to the Gesem College, earning an Associate of Arts degree in Theatre Arts. However, her personal differences with the school's theatre director, who was also the director of the regional theatre program, prevented her from obtaining work in the Provincial Theatre. 
On 9th September, the announcement was made that the Empire was engaged in a state of war with the Soviet Republic. With no clear career direction, and swept into the patriotic fervor, Aurora Beaumont enlisted in the Army Artillery. 
== Military service ==
Beaumont enlisted in the Imperial Army on September 17th, 2665, attending Basic Training, Field Artillery School, and Harsh Environment Training from October 2665 to January 2666; her education and conspicuous leadership ability allowed her to enlist as a Lance Corporal, and she was fast-tracked as a Corporal after initial training. She then attended NCO school from March through April, graduating as a Sergeant. She was assigned to B Company, 503rd Artillery Battalion in the 12th Guards Cavalry Division. The 12th Cavalry had already been mobilized for deployment and first saw action against in December 2665 at the Battle of Kalabaska. Beaumont was assigned as a replacement NCO after the division suffered heavy losses during the landings.
12th Guards Cavalry were garrisoned at Kalabaska from March to May 3266. For almost a year afterwards, they were redeployed for policing duties on various other worlds in the end-stages of capture, seeing much combat. Beaumont was promoted to Staff Sergeant during this time. In May 2667, they were deployed as part of a large task force to capture the Khoz System. Along with two Marine divisions, and another fourteen Army divisions, the 12th Guards Cavalry were landed on the surface of Khoz Prime. The Battle of Khoz turned out to be one of the largest battles of the Great War, with Khoz Prime being the locus of the battle. The fighting lasted six months, during which the 12th Guards Cavalry at first encircled Soviet forces but then themselves became encircled. Beaumont was placed on the front lines during the long summer and autumn months in grueling trench warfare. She was given a field promotion to Sergeant First Class and assigned as the platoon NCO.
The 503rd entrenched itself on the far northern end of the Soviet encirclement, and provided long-range artillery support for battalions engaged in the city. In late autumn, communications between the 503rd and the other elements of the 12th Cavalry were severed and it became impossible for the artillery battalion to properly coordinate fire support. The situation for the units in the city quickly deteriorated. It was estimated that, soon, the remaining forces would have to evacuate the city, possibly the planet. The 505th Mechanized Infantry (Dragoons) Battalion dispatched a squad of runners from the Lonely Hearts company, to restore the lines of communication. The Lonely Hearts fought in City Zone 231 but lost their CO, Edward Pepper and several NCOs to enemy fire before escaping the battle zone. The squad left the city in an armored vehicle, and encountered Sergeant Beaumont along the way while engaged with a Soviet light walker. Her platoon had been killed from grenade fire, and she was aided by the Lonely Hearts in defeating the walker. Beaumont was mildly injured during the engagement, but was quickly patched up.
The squad, guided by Beaumont, linked up with the 503rd battalion and repaired their communications equipment. The Lonely Hearts joined the 503rd Battalion's assault on a Soviet fortification. Beaumont was assigned by her commanding officer to augment the squad for their return journey. The 503rd engaged in artillery support of the units pinned down in City Zone 231 and of other Army units dispersed in the surrounding forest. The support was vital for the victory in the battle. Beaumont and the Lonely Hearts returned to the brigade combat base on 9 November. Beaumont was transferred to the 505th and given a field commission as a 1st Lieutenant, and made company commander. Beaumont was awarded the Close Combat Badge in Silver and the Infantry Assault Badge in Silver, as well as the Wound Badge. Sergeant Meshcheryakov was tasked with assisting in training and evaluating the battalion's soldiers, and greatly aided Lt. Beaumont in maintaining C Company after the November battle. She was promoted in early 2670 to the rank of Captain.
She remained in command of the unit until December 2670 when she was reassigned to a staff position at the battalion level while awaiting evaluation for a medical discharge due to PTSD and depression. She was released from service in July 2671 at the end of her second tour of duty and, at the recommendation of her commanding officer, her discharge was uprated to an honorable discharge. She was awarded the Iron Cross for valor.
== Law Enforcement career ==
For a few years after her discharge, Aurora Beaumont lived with her mother. She took a few jobs as a security contractor, and took an interest in justice administration. She was severely injured during one of these incidents, having to have her leg amputated and replaced with a cybernetic. Beaumont has yet to divulge the details of the incident that caused the injury.
At some unknown point in late 2674 she became reacquainted with Artem Meshcheryakov, and went to live with him at his home in Hauberk on Keystone. They began a romantic relationship and cohabitation. She joined the Hauberk Metropolitan Police Department in January 2675. She worked as a patrol officer until late 2676 when she was promoted to a Police Sergeant in the homicide desk. She quickly rose up the ranks in the 2670s to become a Police Lieutenant. However, she came into frequent disagreement with Meshcheryakov and they broke up in 2678, Beaumont finding her own apartment in the city. She was promoted to Captain and placed in charge of the homicide desk in 2679.
She was at the forefront of the Metropolitan Police investigations into the assassination of Richard Hawking, Prefect of Dusken on 14 June 2680. The assassination precipitated the Keystone Incident, setting off successive waves of criminal activity, police crackdowns, and banditry. The police investigation led by Captain Beaumont found the existence of two unconnected assailants and attempted arrests of both. One, an unidentified gunman known only as "Blue", committed suicide during a police siege of his cave hideout. The other, Seth Martin Kubrick, was subject to an attempted raid led directly by Captain Beaumont; the suspect escaped to another safehouse and was later apprehended by a second police raid. Beaumont was severely injured in the first raid, and was hospitalized for several weeks. In August, she was recovered enough to be evacuated to Meshcheryakov's ranch home in Hammond. They reconciled and resumed their previous relationship.
Following the incident, she went back to work in Hauberk. The nuclear attack on the city's southwest side had devastated its water supply and industrial district. Crime was rampant, and reconstruction was needed. Beaumont was appointed interim Commissioner of the HMPD and headed the efforts of the police to perform emergency management and reconstruction. Beaumont became increasingly apparently pregnant. Nonetheless, she continued her career at the head of the city's police with the rank of Inspector. She gave birth on 11 May 2681 to twins, Dmitri and Andromeda. She took a period of paid maternity leave, during which she married Meshcheryakov on 18 December. Meanwhile, Meshcheryakov began his political campaign for the office of Planetary Governor. She returned to work in mid-2682, and remained in office until her death.
== Death and legacy ==
=== Road accident and death ===
Beaumont and her husband departed on a vacation in April 2696 to the Sutherland Range State Park, staying at a cabin in the mountains. The region was and is known for its rich wildlife and game, and both Governor Meshcheryakov and Commissioner Beaumont were avid hunters. They undertook an extended safari in the mountains and nearby plains throughout most of April. While returning from a field excursion in Jacobson's Hollow, their convertible hovercraft was engaged in a road accident. At around 13:00 Beaumont, operating the vehicle, took a sharp turn along the prescribed hover pathway and collided with a fallen tree. The front of the vehicle crumpled and the glass wind-shield was shattered by a protruding branch of the tree, sending a shard at high speed into the seat cushion of the driver's side which damaged the seatbelt and belt-locking mechanism. Beaumont's seatbelt was shorn and she was flung from the vehicle as it flipped over the fallen tree, herself flying into a thick tree standing near the roadside. The vehicle came to a rest against this same tree, pinning her. Meshcheryakov was knocked unconscious by blunt trauma as his head struck the passenger front panel.
When Meshcheryakov came to around 16:00, Beaumont was rapidly losing blood. The vehicle had crushed several internal organs and a small branch protruding from the tree against which she was pinned had pierced her back, damaging her spinal column, back muscles, and puncturing her left lung. Meshcheryakov attempted to assuage her while he called the nearest emergency service. It took several attempts due to weak telecommunications signal in the area, but at 16:15 a signal went through and a medical rescue aerodyne was dispatched to search the area and evacuate them for medical attention. Even with tracking signals from Meshcheryakov and Beaumont, it took almost an hour for them to be found and rescued.
Despite first aid being given in the medical rescue vehicle, Beaumont slipped into a coma and died of internal injuries en route to the Samabama County Hospital, somewhere between 17:20 and 17:35 on 29 April 2696. She was examined and declared dead on arrival to the hospital. A later coroner examination found that, had she been rescued, she would likely have been permanently paralyzed from the neck down and required multiple cybernetic or wetware replacements of damaged organs and organ systems. Her left lung, spleen, left kidney, and portions of her intestines were severely damaged. She had suffered massive trauma to her left side and significant trauma to the torso as a whole. Her spine, six ribs on her left side, four ribs on her right, and both collarbones were broken.
Meshcheryakov suffered comparatively minor injuries, with some trauma to the head and a resulting concussion, with little bleeding as well as bruises and scrapes on his arms. Most of the scrapes were due to picking his way over the damaged vehicle to get to Beaumont as she was pinned against the tree.
Beaumont's body was cryogenically preserved while a funeral date was discussed by her surviving family.
=== Funeral and legacy ===
Beaumont's body was taken to Port Glimmer on 4 May and lay in state for a week while her offworld family members and acquaintances flew in to Keystone for the funeral. She was then transported to Hauberk and buried at the Mohamed Sana'a Memorial Cemetery on 13 May 2696. Her siblings, mother, husband, and children attended, along with fellow veterans of the Lonely Hearts General William McGrady, Dr. Daniel McRogers, and Major Ophelius Greene, and several hundred police officers, civil officials, and citizens in Hauberk.
== Personal life ==
Aurora was the younger sister of famed Marine general Céleste Beaumont, with whom she grew up and attended primary and secondary school on their home station. For reasons unstated to the press, the siblings were estranged for several years. By most accounts, they appeared to have mended their split in the mid-2680s. She was the legal heir to her sister's hereditary titles, which have passed to her children.
Aurora married Artem Meshcheryakov in 2682 after a turbulent, on-again off-again relationship that had lasted nearly nine years. Beaumont moved in to live with Meshcheryakov in the mid-2670s, but they split after a few years. Media speculation was that their separation was due to career differences. They reconnected, by all accounts, in the aftermath of the Keystone Incident. She bore him twins in May 2681: a son, Dmitri and a daughter, Andromeda. The couple married soon after on 18 December 2681.
Beaumont was a keen enthusiast of the sports of motorcycle racing, gymnastics, and hunting, and was a noted sharpshooter.
== Summary of Army and Police career ==
Enlisted in the Terran Imperial Army 17 September 2665. Went to Basic Training 7 October 2665 to 7 December 2665, Field Artillery School from 14 December 2665 to 14 February 2666, and Harsh Environment Training from 14 to 28 February 2666. Went to Army NCO School 5 March to 5 April 2666.
Assigned to B Company, 503rd Artillery Battery, 2nd Armored Brigade of the 12th Guards Cavalry Division from 8 July 2666 to 15 November 2667. Commissioned an Officer of the Army, 16 November 2667. Assigned to C Company, 505th Dragoons Battalion from 16 November 2667 to 11 December 2670. Assigned to Battalion HQ, 505th Dragoons Battalion from 11 December 2670 to 21 July 2671.
Honorably discharged from Army service 21 July 2671.
Warranted an officer of the law in the Hauberk Metropolitan Police Department 6 January 2675. Attended Hauberk Police Academy from 16 January to 4 February 2675. Assigned to 5th Precinct from 6 February 2675 to 5 May 2678. Commissioned an Officer of the Colonial Police on 6 May 2678. Assigned to HMPD Homicide Desk 6 May 2675 to 31 December 2680. Commissioned a General of the Colonial Police on 1 January 2681. Appointed Commissioner of the Hauberk Metropolitan Police Department on 1 January 3281.
Died 29 April 2696.
=== Dates of rank ===
==== Army ====
* Lance Corporal (OR-3) 17 September 2665
* Corporal (OR-4) 14 February 2666
* Sergeant (OR-5) 5 April 2666
* Staff Sergeant (OR-6) 1 March 2667
* Sergeant First Class (OR-7) 20 October 2667
*First Lieutenant (OF-2) 16 November 2667
* Captain (OF-3) 11 January 2670
==== Colonial Police ====
* Recruit (WO-1) 6 January 2675
*Sergeant (WO-5) 4 February 2675
*Watchmaster (WO-8) 11 September 2676
* Lieutenant (OF-1) 6 May 2678
* Captain (OF-3) 16 December 2679
* Inspector (OF-7) 1 January 2681
=== Notable decorations ===
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
*Iron Cross
* Distinguished Service Cross
* Police Service Cross
* War Merit Cross
* Infantry Assault Badge (in Silver)
* Close Combat Badge (in Silver)
* Army Service Medal
* Wound Badge (2 times)
* Khoz Campaign Combat Service Medal
* Vryst Campaign Combat Service Medal
== Behind the scenes ==
Aurora Beaumont was created by Mallori Puchino as part of the tabletop roleplaying game conducted by the Unionverse creative team. In that campaign's second episode, her initial character was slain by her own commander (who then committed suicide in despair), so she generated a new one in order to continue play. Puchino had previously created, developed, and played as Celeste Beaumont, and would later on to continue developing and playing as Celeste. She chose to create a younger sibling of Celeste's, a polar opposite: hotheaded and temperamental where the other was calm, rugged and tomboyish while the elder cut a more feminine figure, and disdainful of cybernetics while her sister was famous as a full-body cyborg. Aurora appeared and accompanied the main party, but came into conflict with them over the treatment of her CO, whom the main players had been tasked with capturing or executing. Billy McGrady, of course, chose murder. Aurora was punished for her defiance of a "political soldier" like McGrady. But her sister, having gained increased prestige and position, helped her out of trouble and later got her a discharge.
Over time, Aurora appeared in other episodes, and once was severely injured and lost a leg, required a dreaded cybernetic implant. She eventually interacted with Artem Meshcheryakov again and ran away with him to his homeworld. But they clashed over her desire to become a police officer and his desire to completely distance themselves from conflict. Add to that, Aurora was an adrenaline junkie and craved action. So they separated shortly before the game's second "season" began, which involved the Keystone Incident. She was injured a few times, had to be hospitalized, but on the upside she made up with Meshcheryakov and he nursed her back to health in the aftermath of the incident. They married, had kids, and he became governor. She went back to her duties as a police leader.
Later down the line, the decision was made by the top creative editors to kill off Aurora. It was decided that, especially for such a high-profile figure involved with dangerous work, an extremely mundane cause of death was soberingly realistic and gave another piece of verisimilitude to the story.Category:Army personnel
Category:Keystone
Category:Lonely Hearts squad
Category:Military personnel
Category:Military personnel of the Colonial Wars
Category:Military personnel of the Great War
Category:Police generals
Category:Police officers
Category:Road accident deaths
Category:Terran spacers