Appearances:Action Stations, Fleet Action, False Colours
Major Campaigns: McAuliffe I, McAuliffe II, Vukar Tag, Hari, Baka Hara
All information from The Definitive Guide to the Wing Commander Universe
It is not easy to be a hero of all humanity, but Vance Richards is surely one who deserves that honour. The son of Quentin Richards, Vance graduated at the top of his class in the Academy, and went on to become squadron commander on board a carrier by the time he was 26. In 2634, he volunteered for the intelligence operation leading to the Battle of McAuliffe, and also flew in the fight off the TCS Concordia.
Four years later, Vance Richards was commander of the cruiser TCS San Jacinto, assigned as flagship of the Home Guard Fleet for the Landreich. Rubbing a certain Landreich officer, Max Kruger, the wrong way, Kruger led a revolt on board the San Jacinto, siezing the cruiser to attack a nearby Kilrathi base. Richards got an official reprimand on his report and was transferred to intelligence, where arguably he found his true calling. In 2668, Admiral Richards led the intelligence gathering operation to discover the Imperial Hari fleet, an operation that ended in success.
When the Terran-Kilrathi War, Admiral Richards joined the Free Republic of Landreich Navy in 2670, and was put in charge of the salvage of the KIS Karga, and became commander of the Provisional Battle Group Karga. He was killed in action a few months later, during the battle at Baka Kar.