Craig Altman
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Craig Altman was born into a blue-collar family in the industrial southeast of Courtland. His father drank too much and his mother was withdrawn. Despite the odds, Craig did well in school and often stood at the top of his class. He was also a natural leader and, by the time he was high school, he captained several sports teams and was very popular among the girls.
Unfortunately, Craig’s high marks in an impoverished state school weren’t high enough for a university scholarship and his family didn’t even have the money for college. Yet, Craig desperately wanted to escape the prison of his father’s life in the factories and the bars. So, he took the only option open to him and joined the Army.
While not good enough for the elite academies, his test scores did get Craig into officer candidate school.
After graduation 2nd LT Altman earned his first commendation for reporting his CO’s slanderous statements against the Provisional Ruling Council to the Brigade commander. That got Altman a staff job in Brigade HQ, an eventual promotion to Lieutenant and an assignment to the Army Staff College.
LT Altman then distinguished himself in combat against criminals and pirates infesting the no-man’s land between the northern borders of the Dominion and the Confederation of Soveriegn States. Wounded in battle, Altman was decorated for bravery and earned the praise of his superiors for the effectiveness of his unit. Among the ranks, however, Altman was already earning a reputation for cruelty and recklessness with the lives of his men.
After promotion, CAPT Altman performed various duties at the Directorate of Defense Headquarters in Courtland. There, he quickly became the protégé of MAJGEN Pilanis, then the chief of doctrine. In his private life, Altman juggled various romances, many with the bored wives of senior officers. Using the information he learned in this manner, Altman ousted or blackmailed several superiors and quickly made Major. He was then sent to Dominion War College, where a combination of his intelligence and blackmail earned him top honors.
MAJ Altman went on, in the defiance of orders, to ruthlessly suppress a farmer’s uprising in the northern regions of Upper Virginia. Ordered to control the unrest, Altman instead directed his troops to level two villages and execute dozens of people, both rebels and civilians. Despite his disobedience, the Provisional Ruling Council was happy with the results and the lack of witnesses and awarded Altman the Order of the Dominion.
When his benefactor made Lieutenant General and was named deputy chief of staff, LCOL Altman joined him as his staff aide. From that position, Altman was critical in organizing the in-house coup that brought down GEN Melanais as Commander-in-Chief and installed Pilanis as the new C-in-C. In return for his assistance, Altman was jumped over the colonel rank and made a Brigadier.
BRIG Altman led his brigade in the Dominion’s final push to destroy criminal and smuggling enclaves in the unclaimed northern territories where he had first seen action. Altman’s brigade led the assault, took the highest casualties and inflicted the greatest losses on the surprisingly large enemy. During the battle, the division commander, MAJGEN Brinkman died suddenly and mysteriously, allowing Altman to take command of the entire division. A field promotion to Major General quickly followed.
Once again in DoD HQ, Altman struck up a partnership with Assistant Attorney General Diana Silina. The two were rumored at one point to be a couple, but there is no concrete evidence one-way or the other. The friendship, however, proved valuable and allowed Altman to gain evidence for further blackmail.
Altman’s schemes came to fruition when, on Christmas Eve, he staged a barracks coup against his former patron. As a result of bribes and blackmail, virtually the entire military establishment switched loyalty from Pilanis to Altman. Even as false reports were planted of Pilanis fleeing to a distant country, he was brought before his former protégé. Altman, according to sources close to the incident, shot his former mentor once in the chest. As the man lay dying, it is said that he looked at Altman and said, “You learned well, son.”
After becoming Commander-in-Chief and a member of the Provisional Ruling Council, Altman’s reputation for cruelty, recklessness, abuse and alcoholism grew to almost mythical proportions. While he escaped the life of factories and bars that he associated with his father, those who knew the Altman family said he had, in fact, become the spitting image of his father.
In late 2004, a coup removed Altman from power and installed Becka Harrison as President of Upper Virginia. While Altman's personal headquarters was completely destroyed in the coup, his body was never found and his status is unknown.
