Blackhawk Defense Force / BDF1

The History of the Blackhawk Defense Force

In 2884, Blackhawk Terraforming, a new company started by Kruger Blackhawk, had been sub-contracted to work on the Caliban III terraforming project. Kruger was a man who claimed ancient Native American blood, hence his surname, and some of his features tended to confirm that claim. He was ex-UEEN and the bulk of his workers were also ex-military, so they were a more disciplined group than most. He was convinced that they were more efficient as well.

The project had moved along as expected and would prove lucrative after the job was completed. Once they were paid for this one, they should be able to purchase their own terraforming equipment rather than working on rigs owned by others. The future looked bright for the young company.

On July 7, 2884, the Caliban system was invaded by a massive Vanduul assault force. So sudden and unexpected was the attack that there was never a system wide warning given. The first that Kruger and his workers knew of the attack was when Vanduul fighters began strafing runs on the massive terraforming structure orbiting the planet. The stations manager asked for volunteers to help defend the platform. In response, Blackhawk and many others rushed to man any craft armed and fit for battle.

For two days they fought, landing only to refuel, repair and rearm…doing without sleep and grabbing something to eat only when they had a chance. Finally they cleared the area of immediate Vanduul threat, then moved to respond to the UEEN’s 88th Squadron repeated calls for assistance over Crion.

By the time they arrived, all they found was the debris of an entire squadron of fighters. The Vanduul were already on the surface of Crion destroying everything in sight. At this point the Caliban governor made a general call for an evacuation of the entire system. Kruger and his crew managed to locate two UEEN pilots still alive, one of them the badly wounded 88th Squadron commander. Before he died, he ordered them to return to their families at the terraforming station, get them aboard transports, and help to defend the evacuation.

Arriving back at the station, they found that the Vanduul had returned as well, and this time with overwhelming firepower. They watched in horror as a colossal Kingship ripped the, equally massive, terraforming platform, apart, even as ships of all sizes could be seen attempting to escape the destruction. Helplessly, they witnessed as parts of the structure began to crumple into the nearby atmosphere, dragging the rest with it, as the entire mass slowly began its fiery journey to the planet’s dusty surface. Going down with it were their families, everything they owned, their dreams, their lives.

Along with a couple of remaining militias and even a local criminal gang, they fought a rear guard action, working to give other ships the time to calculate and make the jump to the Oberon jump point. When they finally made the jump point themselves, they defended again to give fleeing civilian ships the time to enter the wormhole. The combat was furious, unrelenting and bloody. What remained of the group finally fled through the wormhole themselves after the final civilian craft in the area had exited.

When the weary survivors gathered at Diamond Jim’s Fuelporium in the Oberon system, they found that, of the 457 workers that had answered the call and formed up the ad hoc fighter group, 23 remained to tell the story. Those survivors included Blackhawk and two employees, his ferocious chief engineer, Sylvia Chen, and a young man by the name of Samuel Kessler. They had all lost everything, including family, in the attack. Sylvia had lost a husband and three children, youngest…5 months. Three days after the refugees had arrived at the station, she committed suicide…leaving only the two of them.

After all they had been through together, Kruger and Samuel bonded like father and son. Kruger had numerous business contacts outside of the Caliban System and put those contacts to use. Soon they had enough backing to open up their own company again. This time, however, the type of business would be different. Both of them were consumed with a burning desire for revenge on the Vanduul. They wanted to hurt them in any way they could, so, on Feb. 23, 2885 they formed Blackhawk Security, BlakSec, in the Vega System.

Blackhawk Security was a straight up, legal, bonded security company. They followed the regulations and did all the light weight security stuff that is expected. However, they also specialized in private contracts that called for them to operate in Vanduul space. It was officially against regulations for a contractor to do so, but Blackhawk had contacts in the military as well. The UEEN found BlakSec useful, so Advocacy tended to look the other way when their ships used the Vega – Virgil Jump Point.

The company did well, until, on Oct. 15, 2931, Kruger Oscar Blackhawk was tragically killed in an accident. He had never remarried or had other children. He had left everything to Samuel, so Samuel Kessler became soul owner of BlakSec. Samuel had married and had a wife and son. Kruger was badly missed, however, and, in his honor, Samuel started using “Blackhawk” as his call sign. Business continued to be good.

On October 5, 2945 the Vanduul attacked the Vega System in mass. BlakSec joined in the defense as best they could, but, like the UEEN, were swept away in the storm. Samuel Kessler and his wife were killed in the assault. The BlakSec survivors fled to the Bremen System and tried to reassemble there. Samuel Kessler’s son, Jack Kessler, was a 43 year old UEEN Captain having served in the navy for 24 years. He resigned his commission and moved to meet the BlakSec survivors and do what he could to save the company in the face of the tragedy. For the second time, the Vanduul had been responsible for the destruction of the Blackhawk enterprise. The company and all of the remaining employees were relocated to another system and once again started to rebuild. Out of respect for both his father and Kruger Blackhawk, he took on the call sign of “Blackhawk-1”.

Then, in early 2946 the UEE created the Militia Mobilization Initiative, which changed everything. With the encouragement of the employees, Kessler decided to go full Private Military Company and they changed their name to Blackhawk Squadron. Full military discipline and structure was introduced, using the UEEN as their model. They went to work, setting patrols to suppress pirate activity, and conducted offensive operations against the Vanduul and pirates alike. The squadron became well known in the system. They found that they had more citizens and ex-UEE military members wanting to join them than they expected and their numbers swelled. After some time the designation “Squadron” no longer fit.

Upon advisement from his command staff, Kessler altered the name of the PMC from Blackhawk Squadron to Blackhawk Defense Force, and structured it after a full fleet. The original squadron will remain, but now as a part of a larger whole. It will take time for all of the planned units to be filled, but the organization continues to move in that direction.

Dedicated, well trained and disciplined, the Blackhawk Defense Force stands ready to serve the Empire and the citizens of their home system. We look forward, once again, to a bright future. The Vanduul will not catch us napping a third time.

We stand the watch so that others may sleep in peace. As brothers and sisters, we offer you our hand in friendship and purpose. Take up our duty as your own and stand the watch at our side.