Whoever mentioned starting the game in the middle of a pitched space battle: I am stealing that idea for my face to face group. We are wrapping up a campaign, with intentions of starting up a new one soon after. I'm going to have them do a group character creation/background session, with an in-character narration of how they all came together, and how they all feel about each other.
Then, first real game session, they begin in the midst of a pitched space battle. A brief explanation of how they got there, then into the space combat. A great cinematic way to start a campaign!