Tran Vu (born 364 IE) was Fleet Admiral of the Compact Navy as of 429 IE. He had a deferential attitude toward Rear Admiral Eileen Burke. Tran had an aide named “Major Liu,” ostensibly a trasfer from Cybercommand, despite having the Marine/Border Guard rank of “major.” Tran grew to resent Liu’s presence and attempted to have him arrested. He was prevented by the Secretary-General. He did, however, give Liu only an hour to fuel up a ship and have it sent to Farigha. When the Major did not, he placed him in custody to prevent him from interfering with Vice Admiral Eileen Burke‘s rescue mission to that planet.
Tran signed off on the operation to liberate Amargosa during the Gelt Incursion over the objections of his chosen commander, Force Admiral Quentin Austin. He agreed Gilead would be more lightly defended and more likely to fall to a successful Compact counter-invasion. Pressure from Mars, however, resulted in Amargosa being picked first. When the mission failed, the subsequent court-martial of Austin was taken away from Tran in favor of a hearing before the Compact Security Council. He and Major Liu took advantage of the chaos from Martian delegate Roosa’s sacking to assign Austin to investigate JunoCorp, taking over from Douglas Best as he was now the junior delegate from Jefivah in the Compact Assembly.
Upon hearing Germanicus’s revelations, Tran authorized Vice Admiral Burke to take a task force to Anacreon to intercept a coming invasion force. Over Major Liu’s objections, he also assigned Quentin Austin as an observer. Burke demanded better protection for the troop carriers so they did not get shot down as they did at Amargosa.
Tran traveled to Hanar to meet with Lattus Tishla and Athena Jovann. Major Liu tagged along with him, but Tran and Admiral Burke spent most of their time silencing him. They agreed an independent Hanar would be a valuable ally in freeing Amargosa.
As the liberation effort began, Tran fired Major Liu and sent him back to Earth, following the lead of the other three Joint Chiefs. He then traveled aboard the Challenger with Tishla to demand the surrender of the occupation force. Tishla delivered her claim to the planet under Realm law and ordered Laral’s forces to stand down. However, when it was learned JT Austin had crashed during the blast that destroyed Riverside, Tran agreed to escort her to the surface to search for him, along with a Marine escort. There, they encountered Davra Andraste, who gave them a rundown of events on Amargosa since Tishla left. Tishla and Tran explained what was going on with the liberation. When Tran’s soldiers spotted two of Kray’s militia near the shuttle, Davra warned that Kray had weaponized the Gelt suicide toxin, which would kill Tishla instantly. She grabbed a rifle and ran off to draw the militia away and give Tran and Tishla time to reach the Northern Resistance.
Tran attended the medal ceremony arranged by Tishla at Walden for Suicide and the Children of Amargosa. He presented each with the Compact Medal of Honor. He told JT Austin that a job at headquarters awaited him if he wanted it. Austin declined.
Tran’s tenure ended some time after the liberation with the promotion of Admiral Luke Bokome.
Appearances: No Marigolds in the Promised Land, Broken Skies, Storming Amargosa