Now that the Kafers have smashed their way through colonial space, having been stopped within weeks of reaching Sol, where does the Kafer War stand? This is a brief overview of the year 2303 -- the year that the main Kafer fleets are forced out of colonial space.
With most of the remaining Kafer forces pushed back past Arcturus, Admirals Borodin, Lutke, and Rochemont have put together plans for the reorganization of their own scattered fleets before any drive into Kafer space is initiated. Ukranian Admiral Borodin has spearheaded the combined fleet effort to form a buffer zone and fast alert networks to be established while the navies and colonies attempt to control the damage that has already been done.
Three small groups of Kafer warships are known to be operating along the arm, conducting sporadic raids on the already disorganized shipping efforts. Ground fighting continues to wreak havoc among all the colonies visited by the Kafers. Estimates vary greatly on Kafer troops strengths, ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 Kafers conducting a combination of guerilla and regular warfare on colony worlds from Aurore to BC-4 to 61 Ursae Majoris. Even with the continued deployment of French, German, British and American forces, the well dug-in Kafer ground troops are expected to be a threat to French Arm colonists through the end of the decade.
Kafer Rot continues to plague crops and colonists alike. Even worse is the effect that the rot plague is having on travel and trade. With numerous concerns about the spread of the disease, many colonies are maintaining a OQC-like system of checking all incoming and outgoing traffic. This has created a great deal of tension and chaos among travellers fleeing war zones and on colonies concerned about the health of their own lands and people. The result is a degree of animosity between international colonies which are trying to come to some sort of agreement as to how to handle immigrants and imports. This affects not only those on the French Arm, but also those on the Chinese and American Arms as well.
The coreworld of Tirane, which previously maintained a fairly open policy towards trade and travel, now maintains regulations controlling both. Lacking the hardware that Earth's OQC possesses, however, the effectiveness of the Tiranian OQC is questionable and it is believed that a great number of vessels slip through to the planet with little or no examination.
Refugees are another problem among the colonies. Thousands of colonists fleeing the war zone have flooded relatively safe worlds -- in particular Beta Canum, Alicia, and Tirane. Hundreds have also found their way to both the American and Chinese Arms, which are physically untouched by the ravages of war.
At Earth, the situation is only a little better than on the colonies. The threat of interstellar war has seen a massive mobilization of troops and reserve forces across Earth and Tirane. Warship production has sped up, but with dozens of battle-damaged ships returning to Earth, shipyards are flooded and drydock facilities are booked for months in advance. People, relieved that the Kafer assault has been turned, still worry about their friends and loved ones among the colonies and/or among the troops scheduled to depart for battle against the vicious Kafer troops. With space military forces badly damaged, there is also much concern over the possibility of a renewed Kafer thrust.
Worse is that the threat of Kafer Rot reaching Earth has forced OQC to put even tighter restrictions on earthbound travel and trade. Even repair crews from earthside who conduct work aboard incoming warships are isolated and tested before being allowed to return to Earth. The Orbital Quarantine Command, in order to better screen planet-bound traffic, has reduced the size of its patrol zone. The net effect places several space facilities outside the protection of OQC, including all of L4 which previously had been used as one of the processing points for earthbound travellers and cargo.
American | Cautious | 60% |
Arabian | Cautious | 60% |
Argentinian | Strict | 80% |
Australian | Open | 45% |
Azanian | Cautious | 60% |
Brazilian | Very Strict | 90% |
British | Cautious | 60% |
Elysia | Very Cautious | 70% |
French | Very Cautious | 70% |
German | Strict | 80% |
Incan | Open | 45% |
Japanese | Very Strict | 90% |
Manchurian | Very Strict | 90% |
Mexican | Strict | 80% |
Tanstaafl | None | 0% |
Texan | Open | 45% |
Major colonizing nations are listed above with a general overview of the quarantine levels that they place on incoming traffic at their colonies. The numbers given are for use by directors who wish for a precise description of quarantine levels. These numbers represent the approximate chance of an incoming shipoment or group of travellers being stopped for inspection as well as the approximate chance of authorities detecting incoming infected persons or cargo. On some worlds these numbers are meaningless as the colonies are already badly infected and screening incoming cargo or travellers would be pointless.