Altran Serdamba

Altran Serdamba
Character Profile
Affiliation Star League
Rank Commodore

Altran Serdamba was a commodore in the Star League Defense Force.

History[edit]

The Amaris Crisis[edit]

When Stefan Amaris launched Operation APOTHEOSIS, his usurpation of the Terran Hegemony, one of the initial stages of his campaign was to secure naval domination of the systems within the Hegemony. Rim Worlds Republic naval forces consisting of WarShips, DropShips, and aerospace fighters attempted to secure the two major jump points in every inhabited system, including New Earth.[1]

There were eighteen assorted Star League Defense Force WarShips in the New Earth system when a task force of twenty Rim Worlds Republic WarShips jumped into the system, intending to interdict New Earth and destroy any SLDF ships present. New Earth was a vital supply world for the SLDF, and Commodore Altran Serdamba was responsible for the security of a major SLDF supply convoy assembling in the system at the time, intended to transport supplies and reinforcements to the war effort in the Periphery. Commodore Serdamba commanded a convoy protection flotilla of four destroyers and nine corvettes from his command ship, the Luxor-class cruiser SLS Van der Bergh; also in the system at the time was Vice Admiral Dmitrios Rummolo and his flagship, the Texas-class battleship SLS Wales, along with a squadron consisting of a Congress-class frigate and two Essex-class destroyers. Vice Admiral Rummolo was due to take command of the Ninth Fleet on promotion, and had only been in the system a few days when the Rim Worlds vessels arrived.[1]

The Rim Worlds vessels targeted the two SLDF command vessels, striking at the SLS Wales and the SLS Van der Bergh. The SLS Wales was caught by surprise, but the SLS Van der Bergh and her flotilla had been engaged in combat drills in preparation for their return to the Periphery, and had remained at combat stations as the Rim Worlds vessels approached. When the Rim Worlds ships fired, they scored several significant hits against the SLS Wales, but found the convoy protection group immediately returning fire and launching Fighters. Commodore Serdamba's group screened Vice Admiral Rummolo's squadron for several vital minutes as the crew of the SLS Wales and the other vessels raced to battle stations.[1]

When the heavyweight SLS Wales and the other ships of Rummolo's squadron joined the fight, the greater combat experience of the SLDF troops began to tell; the battle lasted more than half an hour before the Rim Worlds fleet retreated, having lost fourteen vessels. The combined SLDF forces had lost eight of their own ships in the battle, and still didn't know anything more beyond the fact that they had been attacked by a Rim Worlds Republic fleet.[1]

Vice Admiral Rummolo ordered Commodore Serdamba to take the remains of the convoy escort group and jump to the Lagrange point near Tau Ceti V to defend the Apollo-Four shipyards there. With Serdamba's ships defending the Nicholas Spacecraft's facilities, the SLS Wales and the two destroyers from his squadron which had survived the attack fought a holding action at the jump point for the next twenty four hours, while quick charging their drives. Rummolo then had the two destroyers jump to the Apollo-Four shipyards; Rummolo and the SLS Wales then led thirteen assorted government and military JumpShips to a secret SLDF naval base designated Freedom Station.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 72: "Command of the Stars"

Bibliography[edit]