Excerpts from The Mozambique War
The Australasians and Madagascans took a second crack at the Zulu fleet in 2030, with great success some would argue. The reinforcing Australasian fleet included one battleship and six or seven destroyers, which alone outmatched the additions to the Zulu fleet. However, what is remarkable is how the war shifted in those days. Madagascan fighter squadrons and its single airship was forced to assist the Australasian fleet as the Zulus turned its substantial air force loose on the Australasian fleet in the Mozambique Channel.
The Second Battle of Mozambique was a draw: Australasians forced to return to port, and the Zulu blockade weakened, but not enough to allow for a Madagascan landing. Unfortunately for the Zulu Empire, the losses were significant and cut any land operations planned for 2030 short.
Excerpt from Lost Cause
The Empire of Brasil was dealing with an enemy that didn’t want to fight them directly. The rebels did all they could to disrupt Pernambuco economy and society with the express goal of making the province untenable to government. By the end of 2030, revenue from governing the province had fallen by half and, at the rate it was falling, the province would be a net drain bureaucratically for Brasil by the end of 2031.
The Zulu Empire is the first empire in the post-Fall world to suffer losses outstripping its ability to replace those losses. The Second Battle of the Mozambique Channel being a draw is itself a miracle thanks to the tenacity of the Zulu admiral and relative weakness of Australasian admirals. All governments involved in the war (Australasia, Madagascar, and the Zulu) are facing pressure from domestic groups.
War, again, marked a year. In South America, New Inca forces marched into Maracaibo and Orinoco triumphantly. In Africa, after striking an unionization agreement with Algerian petty kingdoms, the Levantine Model Army struck deep into Tunisia. Tunisian warlords fought tenaciously, but this tenacity brought the conflict to a swift and bloody end. Warlords tried to rally their forces after the Battle of Tunis, but a raid on the city by the Model Army crushed the remnants of provincial resistance.
[Zulu Empire: -1 Airship, -5 Fighters, -3 Fighter-Bombers, -1 Destroyer, -2 Fast Attack Boats, -3 Monitors, -209 IP]
[Australasia: -158 IP]
[New Inca Empire: -24 IP, +Maracaibo, +Orincoco]
[Amaros Republic: -5 IP, +Haute-Volta, +Guinea, +Awadzh]
[Mysore: -16 IP, +Yudia, +Malaya, +Singapore]
[Levantine: -2 IP, +Tunisia]
Excerpt from The Madagascan Times
The Madagascan Nationalist Socialist Party and, by extension, the wider Nationalist Socialist movement is in crisis. Frédéric Ballesdens, a former MNSP Member of Parliament, has announced his departure from the Madagascan Nationalist Socialist Party and has founded the White National Socialist Party, assuming the role of General Secretary. Lionel Lozé, the End White Slavery Party Member of Parliament, announced in the same press conference that the End White Slavery Party has been absorbed into the White National Socialist Party and he has been named as the Deputy Secretary of the party, causing the WNSP to control two seats in Parliament. This weakens the position of the Madagascan Nationalist Socialist Party, who now only control six seats in Parliament…
Excerpt from Kingdom of Strings
The King of Maputo faced a problem. His military, what little of it there was, had to be purged of Madagascan loyalists. He country had been roped into the Zulu sphere of influence completely thanks to the failed Madagascan coup, and should the Australasians and Madagascans land in Mozambique, they surely would target Maputo for the next stage of the war…
The blockade weakened after the Second Battle for the Mozambique Channel, but political pressure in Madagascar intensified in the face of growing white unrest. The Madagascan Nationalist Socialist Party experienced an even greater schism by the end of 2030 as a specter that once haunted Europe now haunts Madagascar. The Madagascan Communist Party split off from the National Socialist Party and expressed that it would not work with the government whatsoever.
The growing divisions in Madagascar are approaching a fever pitch as the price of basic goods continue their upward climb, even with the recent tax cuts.
Maputo faced a similar problem politically. While the government was squarely in support of the Zulu Empire, there were reasonable voices arguing that its alliance with the Zulus could result in material destruction of the Kingdom of Maputo. The country’s ministers were especially worried, as their heads would be on spikes if Madagascans arrived and took the province.
Excerpts from Sky Kings
In South America, Imperial Airways continues to expand its operations in the face of growing competition from India. Imperial Airways, today, is the undisputed leader of air travel and commerce.
In the early morning hours of a summer day, the
IAS Pedro was moored to a mooring tower in Rio de Janeiro when, all of a sudden, the crafted caught fire. It was only the valiant efforts of the crew that prevented the fire from spiraling out of control and consuming the craft. State media has worked overtime to spin the miracle of the event, which has soothed public anxiety over air travel.
Excerpt from Chinese Industry: 2015 to 2035
2030 pained many observers who genuinely came to love Chinese governance. The government just seemed to lack drive, and when the government lacks drive and vision, bureaucrats and politicians revert to their usual business. The year’s corruption is exemplified by the Industrial and Public Education Scandals, which both implicated government ministers. Just how much kickback was there in the Chinese government went unreported?
Excerpt from The African Republic
In 2030, Amaros was dealing with two issues. The first issue was the large number of refugees in the core territories that continued to strain the social fabric of the society which, on its face, wanted the refugees, but in reality wanted them to go back to where they came from. The issue was alleviated by the country’s propaganda campaign, which continued to pay dividends.
Excerpt from Ninghsia
Ninghsia, in 2030, experienced a sort of economic revival in the face of the wider economy’s slowing. Ninghsia also became the epicenter of a movement calling for government reforms, but in what shape the reforms would take place remained a matter of debate.
Excerpt from Novo Dia
With the separation of the Brasilian Catholic Church from Rome there has been further separation with a group of middle clergy and a large amounts of Catholics separating from the Brasilian Church to proclaim loyalty to Rome. While many expected a harsh reaction from the Church the CNBB extended an olive branch to the Loyalists. According to a press statement from the CNBB "While we are saddened by this succession we wish to avoid further conflict. We may have different opinions but we must focus on the people and not politics. They are and will always be our brothers and sisters" No statement has been received from the Loyalist (Lealista) Church regarding this policy.
Religious turmoil continued to rock Brasil, as the Lealista Church, emboldened by the CNBB’s “Live and Let Live” policy, The Lealista Church has no intention of returning the favor, and those of that church have delivered fiery speeches condemning the schismatics.
Excerpt from A Republic in Transition
Successes in Tunisia and Algeria could only go far to quell what is becoming readily apparent: Italian dominance over the Levantine Republic. By the end of 2030, the Levantine Republic was within Italy’s sphere of influence, and ultramonatist ideas perpetrated by that government are becoming more popular within the country.
For now, the Social Democrats hold power in the country without issue, but a growing body of politicians are throwing their hats in with the Roman Catholic Church.
Excerpt from The Puerto Rico Star
Puerto Rico’s government was forced to file bankruptcy on the back of skyrocketing government debt. Military units are being dismissed…
[Somalia cores Eritrea]
[Panyu loses core on China]
[Mysore gains core on Bencoolen]
Excerpts from A Year In Review
The Kingdom of Mysore’s massive military expansion and resurging political stability has propelled back into the limelight as it enters the rank of emerging great power. Mysore has been fairly quiet internationally.
The Levantine Republic’s annexation of Algeria and Tunisia has propelled the republic to the rank of emerging great power, a remarkable feat as the country falls within the sphere of influence of the United Dioceses of Italy, the world’s third superpower.
The Zulu Empire joins the rank of emerging great power, despite the weakening of the empire this past year thanks to the relative decline of more powerful countries and the widening division between the superpowers and great powers. Likewise, the Empire of Mexico is an emerging great power, even though it is solidly within the Incan sphere of influence.
Finally, the Russian Imperial Republic has joined the prestigious great power circle, a rank with only two countries.
It bears remembering that when countries go to war and expend their industrial stockpile, the biggest “losers” are older industries. New factories, operating at lower costs, can sustain themselves even when the country’s industrial stockpile drops.
Take Cuzco for example. This year, four IGen, 5 IIGen, 5 IIIGen, and 2 IVGen factories are slated to open, representing a net production increase of 118 IPs a year. If, for whatever reason, the Inca Empire was dragged into a massive war that completely drained its industrial stockpile, 15 IGen and 3 IIGen factories would close instead, but newer factories wouldn’t close at all in those areas. Overall, a net fall in production of 21 IP a year.
But that isn’t the end of the story. Cuzco, and the core economic regions of the Inca Empire, would face a decline in wealth and productivity, but periphery regions such as Bogota would not. They would experience a small increase in production regardless, reducing the inequality between provinces.
THE YEAR IS 2031. 
