Augustus Cole

Private Augustus Cole, also known as Gus or "The Cole Train" was one of the main protagonists of Gears of War in the trilogy and Gears of War: Judgement, and is a supporting character in Gears of War 4 onward. He also appears in Gears of War: Tactics as pre-order playable character.
He was a famous thrashball player who joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army after the events of E-Day, and became the best friend of Damom Baird. During the Locust War, Cole participated in the Lightmass Offensive, Operation: Hollow Storm, and the Lambent Pandemic. Cole saw the end of the war when Adam Fenix launched the Imulsion countermeasure and his son, Marcus, killed Queen Myrrah. During the interwar period, Cole would have a daughter before returning to the army to fight against the new threat - the Swarm.
He is voiced by Lester Speight.
==History==
===Background===
He was once a successful Thrashball player known for his hard-hitting and flamboyant style. After Emergence Day, Cole joined the military as a Gear soldier, and brought that same "grit and intensity" to the battlefield, which saved his life more than once. Cole has spent most of his military career as a member of either Alpha Squad or Delta Squad, usually being paired with his longtime best friend Damon Baird.
Throughout his career as a Gear, he has rejected every military promotion that has been offered under the grounds that having rank is not going to affect how many Locust he can kill. As part of Delta-One, Cole became part of the most reliable squad of Gears available to the COG, fighting on the frontlines of every major operation near the end of the Locust War. He struck up a friendship with Bernadette Mataki, and continued fighting for the COG as part of Delta after the relocation to Vectes, fighting Stranded Insurgents and the new threat of the Lambent Pandemic. 
After the end of Locust War and Lambent Pandemic, Cole became the president of the Coalition Thrashball League, and started a family by having a daughter named Hanna. In Gears of War 4, Cole returns to aid Marcus, his honorary nephew JD, and his allies in fighting the new threat - The Swarm.
==Biography==
===Early Life===
Augustus Cole was born in the town of Hanover by his parents, and his mother had a big impact on his life. At some point, Cole became interested in sports and began playing thrashball, and went on to play it professionally due to his sheer strength and abilities. He became a defensive lineman, Cole signed on with the Eagles and later the Hanover Cougars, becoming an international star and millionaire. After winning a championship and becoming MVP, Hanover gifted Cole by creating a statue in his honor. Due to his fortune, Cole repaid his parents by buying them a mansion, despite his mother not liking to live in Jannermont.
After the Coalition of Ordered Governments defeated the Union of Independent Republics, Cole was relived that the Pendulum War was over, but also regretted not joining to fight against the UIR. Cole later survived Emergence Day, the day the Locust Horde emerge and killed thousands of people in mere hors. Cole later learned that his parents were killed by the Locust, something which haunted him for years.
===Joining the COG===
Wanting to avenge his parents' deaths and to do his part since he didn't fight in the Pendulum War, Cole joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army. The next day, Cole informed his teammates, agents and fans that he joined the army, and played his last thrasball game. Due to his popularity, Cole's enlistment caused a huge rise in volunteers for the COG, with local recruitment officials reporting a 390% jump in volunteers. During this, Cole rescued Damon Baird from being beaten by a couple of gears in the bathroom, and the two became best friends.
===Gears of War: Judgment===
Six weeks after the events of E-Day, Cole was assigned to Kilo Squad alongside Baird, ex-UIR Garron Paduk, and Gear cadet Sofia Hendrik. While defending Halvo Bay against the Locust Horde, Kilo Squad decided to launch a Lightmass missile to stop General Karn before he could take over. Going against the orders of Ezra P. Loomis, the missile was launched, and the squad were put on trial for their actions. Despite the launch of the missile, Karn survived and attacked the trail where Kilo Squad worked with Loomis to kill the general. Afterward, Loomis dropped the charges the placed on the squad, but demoted Baird from his rank of lieutenant for disobeying him. Cole and Baird would continue serving the Coalition, presumably due to the army needing frontline Gears to battle against the Locust. After Kilo was disbanded, Cole and Baird were assigned to Alpha Squad alongside Jan Rojas and Gyules.
===Gears of War===
During the Locust War, Alpha Squad were assigned to take the Sonic Resonator inside the hollow to deploy a Lightmass bomb, which would cripple the horde. Cole was separated from his squad mates and met with Delta-One when he was battling against a horde of Locust in the House of Sovereigns. Cole worked with Delta-One to meet with Baird and Gyules, and informed Damon that Rojas was slaughtered. While waiting for evac, a second horde of Locust arrived and killed Delta-One leader, Lieutenant Minh Young Kim, whom he had previously battled during the events of Ilima. Cole and Baird were then placed in Delta-One, and Marcus Fenix was promoted to the rank of sergeant after Kim's death. When a Berserker came to the tomb and murdered Gyules, Fenix ordered Cole and Baird to guard the resonator while he and Dom Santiago killed the creature.
After the Berserker was killed with a Hammer of Dawn, Colonel Victor Hoffman tasked Delta-One with deploying the resonator at the Lethia Imulsion facility. Though no king ravens could arrive due to Locust presence in the area, Dom advised they met with his one of his friends from a Stranded outpost to collect a junker. The group traveled to the facility and battled there way to the Hollow, where they placed the resonator and escaped before it went off. Despite the success, Colonel Hoffman informed them that the resonator didn't work, as it barely mapped the Locust tunnels. Baird then learned from a geobot he hacked that the map of the tunnels was at the Fenix estate, which was also near East Barricade Academy. After collecting the data, Delta-One battled there way to the Timgad Station, where Marcus and Dom managed to get on the train while Cole and Baird failed to do so. Fenix and Santiago managed to kill General RAAM and place the Lightmass bomb.
===Gears of War 2===
During Operation: Hollow Storm, Cole was part of Sigma team, who were assigned to enter the Hollow, but he was separated from his squad mates. He met with Delta-One after saving them from a Locust Horde ambush, and they decided to help him find Baird and Tanner. Cole found Tanner's corpse and mourned his loss, but he and Delta found Baird, who informed them that the Locust were speaking to a underground worm. Cole and Baird rejoined Delta and worked with them in assaulting two barges, where they found the tortured Tai Kaliso, who committed suicide after being given a shotgun by Fenix. The group then worked their way through Ilima to get to king raven, but they were eaten by the rift worm. Despite being eaten alive, Delta managed to slaughter the creature to escape and avenged the death of their squad mate, Benjamin Carmine.
After killing the creature, Cole and the squad requested extraction, but were assigned to explore the New Hope facility to find the Locust's base. While Cole and Baird guarded the team's vehicle, Fenix and Santiago entered the facility and retrieved information that the Locust's base was at Mount Kadar. After battling a razorhail and Locust, Delta left the facility and traveled through the Locust stronghold. Cole and the squad battled more Locust in Nexus to the royal palace, where Augustus gives a "rousing" speech, interrupting the Queen's own speech. While in Nexus, Delta discovered computers that had files from Marcus' father, Adam Fenix, who detailed that the only way to defeat the Locust was to flood the hollow. Delta then went into the throne room, where they found Queen Myrrah and the High Priest Skorge waiting for them. Cole and Baird attempted to pursue Myrrah while Fenix and Santiago battled Skorge, but failed to stop her. 
Delta then escaped from nexus by riding reavers, and traveled to Jacinto to prepare a Lightmass bomb to sink the city and the hollow. Cole met up with Hoffman, Anya Stroud and Chairman Richard Prescott, and witnessed the sinking of Jacinto after a imulsion-infected Brumak was defeated. Despite humanity achieving a pyrrhic victory against the Locust, the sinking of Jacinto didn't stop the horde completely, and would lead the Coalition dissolving. In addition, the incident would lead the Stranded insurgency, and the Lambent pandemic. The remnants of the Coalition would either create fortress on land, or live on ships on the sea, where Marcus and his team stayed on the Sovereign.
===Gears of War 3===
During the Lambent pandemic, Cole led a mission in Hanover to collect supplies from a Stranded settlement, and worked with Baird, Samantha Byrne, and Clayton Carmine. Cole is recognized by the community due to his thrashball career, and manages to assist the Stranded in fighting against Lambent and stranded Locust, and receive ammo supplies. Returning to the bridge, Fenix calls for Cole and the group to assist him in fighting a Leviathan. Baird comes up with a plan to drop a crate of tickers onto the Leviathan, which succeeds in killing the creature. Cole and the group reunite with Marcus, Anya, Dom, and Jace Stratton, and Chairman Prescott gives them a key to a disc before dying from his wounds. Baird then reveals that Hoffman had stolen a disc from Prescott a while back, and Cole goes with Marcus, Dom, and Baird to travel to Anvil Gate.
Cole and the group traveled to Anvil Gate, and participated in the battle to help Hoffman hold off Locusts and Lambent. After killing a Lambent berserker, Marcus orders Cole and Baird to find reinforcements after learning from the disc of a location called Azura. Cole, Baird and Carmine then travel to Halvo Bay, where the two reunite with Paduk, who assists them in obtaining a ship so they can bring reinforcements. After receiving assistance from Paduk, Cole and Baird managed to convince the Gorasni to help them battle against the Locust and Lambent. Traveling to Azura on the ship, Cole witnessed an explosion on the island, and saw the maelstrom disappear. Cole and Baird reunited with Marcus and the group on the island, and learned that Dom sacrificed himself, angering the two. Cole then participated in the final battle against Queen Myrrah and the Tempest, and witnessed Adam Fenix sacrifice himself to use the imulsion countermeasure. The machine targeted anything living that had imulsion cells, and Marcus kills Myrrah after she starts to mock Adam, thus ending the war.
===Post War===
Upon the end of the war, the remaining Locust developed crystalline shells around their bodies, and Cole helped in disposing of them. Despite the great loss from the war, a new Coalition was formed, which allowed Baird to create DB Industries to help build New Ephyra. Once society was rebuilt, Cole became the president of the Thrashball League, and later had a daughter named Hana with an unnamed woman. During this time, Marcus and Anya married and had a son named James Dominic "JD" Fenix, and Cole became his honorary uncle alongside Baird. Additionally, Cole was honored for his heroics during the Locust War, and would present himself with other Gears during the anniversary of Victory Day. It's assumed that Cole mourned the death of Anya, who died trying to bring another child as part of the reproduction program the new COG made.
===Gears of War 4===
When Marcus asked for allies to assist him, Cole, Baird and Sam arrived at the old Speyer to help Marcus, JD and his friends Del Walker and Kait Diaz. He would assist them in making it to the Tollem Dam, and admitted that he kinda missed the Loucst (who were the now the Swarm) in a way. 
===Gears 5===
Cole returned to army to assist the COG in battling against the Swarm.
==Gallery==
Cole-GOW-J.jpg|Cole in Gears of War: Judgement.
Cole-Judgement.jpg
COLE.jpg|Cole in Gears of War and Gears of War 2.
GOW3-Cole.jpg|Cole in Gears of War 3.
Cole-GOW-UE.png|Cole in Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
Cole-GOW-Tactics.jpg|Cole as a pre-order bonus in Gears of War: Tactics.
==Trivia==
*He was named after Epic Games' level designer, Phil Cole.
*He was originally going to be named "Gus the Bus", but it was changed to "The Cole Train" due to copyright issues.
Category:Male
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Military
Category:Fighters
Category:Honorable
Category:Selfless
Category:Honest
Category:Loyal
Category:Envious
Category:Optimists
Category:Parents
Category:Rescuers
Category:Brutes
Category:Leaders
Category:Lethal
Category:Determinators
Category:Protectors
Category:Tricksters
Category:Sidekicks
Category:Successful
Category:Giants
Category:In Love
Category:Hope Bringers
Category:Monster Slayers
Category:Virtually Resourceful
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:One-Man Army
Category:Protectors of Innocence