Author's Note: This is a primarily Moon Breakers and Mass Effect 'what if' AU FanFiction. The point of this (there is one? WHAT?!) is to speculate what would happen if when humanity reached the stars, it focused primarily on a 'Space Air Force'.
Don't know what Moon Breakers is? Go search it up, it's a great game.
Disclaimer: Moon Breakers rights are owned by IMBA and/or Ubernet, Mass Effect belongs to Bioware
Year 2067
Humanity reaches the stars with Helium3 powered engines, they expand quickly to the asteroid belt within their home system, Sol. When Humanities militaries come together after the discovery of an alien structure of mars, they begin to prepare for space conflict. Weapons research is progressing into laser beams and mass drivers. The problem with beams being that they need large heat sinks to fire, and then a large cooldown time. There were 4 main areas of research; laser beams, magnetic acceleration for weaponry, affordable faster than light, and ship designs.
Year 2070
Warships are phased out of planning in favour of carriers, the reasoning being that they are too expensive for the limited advantages that they have. Weapons with magnetic accelerators are now feasible, planners think they can mount them on fighters as machine gun analogues, and larger ones on carriers as point defense.
Year 2074
Element Zero discovered in the alien structure on Mars. This scraps all ideas for FTL, as they now have the means to do it cheaply, and quickly. Element Zero deposits are found amongst the asteroid fields of Sol, this sparks a race between companies to mine it, as well as a Helium3 race to fuel their ships. The Unified Government of Humanity dispatches carriers to oversee these companies, their fleet numbers 17 carriers, 68 nuclear torpedo bombers, 51 medium escort fighters, and 170 light interceptors.
In the hunt for Element Zero, one company finds more than the bargained for on one of the moons of Pluto...