History

The origins and early history of the Air Pirates and their leader, the so-called "Scurvy of the Sky," Captain Don Karnage — like so much information regarding this dreaded band of outlaws — is largely a mystery. Knowledgeable authorities suspect that Karnage himself came from a family with strong ties to piracy, and perhaps even served as apprentice to a pirate captain in his early years. Then again, Karnage may have risen from modest beginnings to his present life as an internationally wanted thief and scoundrel (though common thievery and robbery are much too crude compared to "noble" piratical plundering, in Karnage's opinion).

Following the close of the Great War, sea piracy had become all but extinct, dealt a crippling blow by sophisticated new warships and weaponry introduced during the war period. The pirate way of life however did not die so easily, and captains and crews turned their eyes skyward as the post-War air transport industry welcomed the world to a brand-new frontier of international trade. Thus from the smoldering ashes of defeat a new breed of buccaneer arose — the air pirate. Striking from hidden bases in fighter planes and multiple engine airships, either stolen or of their own design, these "sky pirates" harassed air traffic along the shipping lanes.

Not until attacks started on normally-peaceful trade cities was air piracy considered a serious threat. Law enforcement organizations such as the Air Police did what they could to control pirate hijackings off the coast of Usland; but after a series of pirate assaults on small, undefended port towns and harbors, authorities took decisive action. Shore patrol groups and defense squadrons sanctioned by the Usland military were assigned to protect coastal communities from pirate forces. Additionally, major cities upgraded their existing defensive systems. Cape Suzette's formidable cliff gun network, in place for years prior to the Great War, was significantly strengthened by the addition of advanced anti-aircraft artillery.

Eventually, Don Karnage entered the realm of air piracy. Contemporary historians call Karnage the first "true" air pirate, because until this point most pirate bands were scattered across the globe, few in number, using outdated combat planes and large, unwieldy transports. (Indeed, in most regions of the world, Karnage's men are considered the only organized band of air pirates in existence.) Extraordinarily ambitious, not to mention megalomaniacal (some choose to call him "crazy"), Don Karnage had great plans for becoming the wealthiest man in the world. Essential to his scheme was the capturing and plundering of Cape Suzette, a metropolis Karnage likened to an ancient treasure city.

Through means of his own, Karnage managed to acquire (steal) a full squadron of CT-37 fighter aircraft, as well as a massive airship thought to have been a castoff war vehicle from the Great War. Recruiting a number of criminals and misfits, Karnage dubbed his newly-established crew simply the "Air Pirates." Operating from their mysterious base known as Pirate Island and also from their flying fortress, the Iron Vulture, Don Karnage and his men attacked scores of cargo planes along intercontinental trade routes. Infamous as they were slightly imbecilic, the Air Pirates soon became a menace to pilots everywhere.

While marginally successful at disrupting air shipments, the Air Pirates could not get past the cliff guns guarding the entrance to Cape Suzette. For years, the pattern was the same. Try as he might through surprise attacks or subterfuge, Don Karnage failed to overcome the alert gunners stationed atop the Cape Suzette cliffs, who repeatedly drove the Iron Vulture away with heavy barrages from their cannons. The solution was obvious: Karnage needed a device which could give him an advantage over the hated cliff guns and get him and his men into Cape Suzette.

Somehow Karnage learned of a top-secret Khan Industries project, an invention which could produce unlimited amounts of electricity. Immediately taking advantage of this information, he intercepted the shipment of Khan's Sub-Electron Amplifier and ordered pirate mechanic Ratchet to construct a weapon that could harness its awesome power. The result — the lightning gun — sparked one of the most climactic battles in the history of Cape Suzette. Using their terrible weapon to decimate most of the city's cliff guns and defense planes, the Air Pirates flew into Cape Suzette harbor and laid waste to much of the town itself. They then began a looting spree the likes of which had never before been seen, intending to pillage the entire city.

Fortunately for Cape Suzette, a small group of not-so-ordinary individuals — ace pilot Baloo, business owner Rebecca Cunningham, and former Air Pirate Kit Cloudkicker — destroyed the lightning gun and spoiled Karnage's grandiose plans. Driven from Cape Suzette by the remnants of the city's defense fighter squadron, Don Karnage vows to return and perpetrate "the biggest plunder of all time," as well as get even with the heroes from Higher for Hire who stopped him and continue to thwart the Air Pirates' schemes.