This is a historical tale…

   The year was 2025; most of the world sat by and watched in horror as Israel started a limited nuclear war with her neighbors and a few other enemies of her choosing. Several other nuclear capable countries seized the opportunity to try and eliminate their enemies as well. Nuclear war began to spread throughout the world. The United States, Russia, and China stayed out of the nuclear exchange between the other countries until a stray bomb hit inside the borders of Russia. By mutual agreement, the three superpower countries pulled out their respective nuclear arsenals and put an end to the war.

   The war was not without consequences. The major oil producing countries were no longer able to produce oil having had most of their land turned into a radioactive wasteland. The impact of this one factor changed the world overnight. The petroleum companies were forced to release much of the technology they had been suppressing for years in order to survive until new sources of oil could be developed.

   A new age of peace was ushered in when the superpowers saw the effects of nuclear war. They agreed to destroy most of their nuclear weaponry. A few nuclear weapons were preserved as a threat to third world countries that might think about developing any kind of a nuclear arsenal. By and large the superpowers reduced their nuclear arsenals by 90% by the end of 2020. What nuclear weapons remained was cut in half in 2022.

   Without enemies to fight we became explorers, and a united world turned its attention toward outer space. The end of the century saw the dedication of man's third city on the moon. We began to reach for the stars in a big way. We hurled ourselves into space with reckless abandon even before star-drive was developed.

   

   In 2099 on the eve of the new century, we encountered our first intelligent alien race. We sought to embrace them as friends, but they greeted us as enemies. Under the guise of a truce they tried to attack Earth. While our weapons could not match the weapons of the alien horde that invaded Earth, they were enough. A nuclear bomb may not be very sophisticated by alien standards, but it packs one hell of a punch. The small nuclear arsenal of the world went unnoticed by the aliens. They thought we were a bunch of pacifists incapable of defending ourselves. When they reached Earth we greeted them with great joy. We honored them with great banquets. They started shooting at the major cities of the world three weeks later on Christmas Eve.

   Under the cover of fire the aliens began landing troops in the major cities. Air Forces around the world scrambled to meet the enemy in the air. The first squadron to meet the enemy in the air was called the Starfighters. All the Starfighters were lost in that first conflict, but not one enemy ship reached the ground intact. The aliens were more than a little surprised at the tenacity which we humans displayed in battle. It was a surprise that was short-lived.

   The remaining nuclear weapons on Earth were transferred to space platforms long before 2099. The Galactic Enterprise, a massive spacecraft in orbit around the planet, somehow managed to survive the initial attack and it was a simple matter for them to turn these platforms on the invading ships. The cover fire for the invasion forces stopped almost as soon as it began. All but one of the alien ships in orbit around the Earth was destroyed within thirty minutes of firing their first shot. Very few of the invading forces made it to the ground. Those that did were quickly rounded up. As battles go, it was over very quickly. We were very lucky.

   With the one ship that managed to get away our fears rose that they might come back. A legion of defenders of Earth was established. In honor of that first Air Force squadron to engage the enemy, the legion of fighters were called Starfighters. They took the squadron's motto, “Victory or Death,” as their own motto. This is the birth of the Starfighters.

~ Warnings and Disclaimers ~