Rudy Steiner

* **Name:** Rudolf 'Rudy' Lawrence Steiner
* **Position:** Transportation Manager for Ares Agribusiness - Fargo
* **Metatype:** Human (*Homo sapiens sapiens*)
* **DOB:** 4/9/2026, Bloomington, MN (now in UCAS)
* **Education:** Associates degree in Mechanical Engineering from NDSU (now NDRU)
* **Family:** Phil Steiner (father, Bloomington MN), Patricia [Jerstad] Steiner (mother, Bloomington MN), Pauline [Steiner] Baum (sister, Bloomington MN), Joseph Steiner (brother, Alexandria MN), Geraldine 'Jerry' [Kellner] Steiner (wife, Brainard MN), Evelyn 'Evie' Steiner (daughter, Brainerd MN and Fargo RRDMZ)

In the year or so since Sonja Oxnard took control of the Fargo branch of Ares Agribusiness, she has managed to sweep away almost all of the reminders of her predecessor, Drew McNally, but not quite all and the most persistent of those remnants is her transportation boss, the garrulous, brawling Rudy Steiner.

Rudy may technically answer to the Jr VP for Production, (another old McNally fixture Roberta 'Bobbie' Walker), but everybody, both friends and foes in the company (and Rudy Steiner is not the kind of man who leaves people neutral about him) knows that its Rudy that actually calls the shots in Production.

Born to a family that had a long history in the construction trade in the Twin Cities. They were amicably bought out by Ares while Rudy was still in his teens and after being expelled from St Cloud State College for fighting, he transferred and finished his degree at NDSU, working for nearly a decade in the machine shops for North Central Roads and Crystal Ag, until being brought on board as a machinist for Ares Ag in 2056. Back in Ares culture, he rose quickly through ruthless ambition, demonstrable competence and a certain thuggish animal charm. By the early 60's he was also acting as a fixer, go-between, union-buster and all-around henchman to the boss' less-reputable endeavors, which gave him influence far beyond his actual position. Rudy's gift was always toeing the line just enough to not actually get caught doing it, even if everybody knew he did it.

As Drew McNally paid less attention to the business, the affairs of the local branch fell more to his underlings and hangers-on and Rudy Steiner rose to the top of the heap, making deals and turning Transportation into his personal fiefdom. Rumors abound to all manner of dirty work, but, as always he was never caught. Even his biggest rival, Knight Errant CO Miles Jungroth, could never quite pin anything solid on him. The rumors about him include smuggling, embezzlement, extortion and even connect him to the loss of McLovin's to the Heathens.

Sonja Oxnard would dearly love to put any of this on him. She has spent the last year finding reasons to fire or relocate most of McNally's old hires, bringing the system of cronyism and personal kingdoms crashing down. Except for Rudy. Rudy has maintained his hold on power, no matter that Sonja knows what everybody knows about Rudy and McLovin's, no matter how much she suspects him in the difficulties in last year's sugar beet harvest. He rides on the edge of a knife right now, any wrong move could send him toppling, but right on the knife's edge is where Rudy Steiner seems to be most at home.

**Return to: Ares Agribusiness**