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Eve of the Endwar: Tom Clancy's Alternate 2020

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Here's something of a :iconquantumbranching: Munro-ist inspired map based off of the world of Tom Clancy's EndWar. Since there's not much of an informative map out there, I thought of making one myself. At least as much as the TvTropes ([link]) and Wiki pages ([link] among others) are anything to go by, along with a few liberties to make it slightly more grounded.

For starters, history as we know it diverges sometime in 2008-09. Though this is a Tom Clancy!Universe, it’s likely the differences go back a bit further for this sort of madness to happen. Also, this is not a political/ideological propaganda piece by any means. This was made with no ill intentions in mind.

And to be safe, all respective rights belong to Tom Clancy.

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It’s been said that the 21st Century is “when everything changes.” Whoever said that was right. Some tried to point to Climate Change and the inexplicable inaction by both governments and corporations to curb its impact. Others opted to mention terrorism and the rising tensions in parts of the world, such as the American intervention in Mexico’s civil war in the early 2010s. But in reality, all it needed was a sufficiently massive spark.

In 2016, for reasons still a mystery Saudi Arabia became a victim of nuclear terrorism, triggering an armed exchange that devastated much of the Middle East and more importantly rendered its supplies of crude oil virtually inaccessible. Gas prices skyrocketed to an absurd high of $800.00/barrel while economies across the world plunged into chaos almost immediately as international trade breaks down. Coupled with record droughts, unrest and other disasters, many countries succumbed to anarchy and civil war. Those who escaped that fate were soon either just struggling to survive (from both refugees and aforementioned hijinks) or trying to secure their place in the changing world order. It was not long before the United Nations and even NATO dissolved.

The following year, the landmark SLAMS (Space-Land-Air-Missile-System) Treaty of 2017 was signed between the United States and European Union, putting into effect an interlocking network of advanced and absurdly delicate lasers that manage a 100% hit to any atomic weapon. Nuclear war was finally a thing of the past. But by that point there were more pressing concerns as three global powers rose up to the challenge of meeting the uncertain future.

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The United States of America

Already the world’s sole surviving superpower prior to the 2016 incident, the US found itself beaten and bruised by the ensuing turmoil as it searched closer to home for fuel sources. But in the end, the country persevered and survived stronger for it. Patriotic resolve coupled with significant pooling of private sector resources (apparently Wall Street had a very lucky trading day) provided the necessary push to maintain its standing in the world, even if said position was shaky at best.

At the same time however, another strain of Manifest Destiny had emerged that reached to the highest levels of government. In such uncertain times it became the duty of every American to defend liberty and be a beacon of democracy to a world in desperate need for it. By any means necessary. For political pundits both Democrat and Republican, this went a long way in explaining the reelection of David Becerra, who controversially called for the destruction of the International Space Station, to the White House in 2020.

Militarily, the US invested considerably on technological advances and precision weaponry, evident by the motto “High Speed, Low Drag.” In addition to this was the establishment of the Freedom Star, an Air Force-run space station (NASA having been all but absorbed due to budget issues) that could dispatch infantry to any corner of the world at a moment’s notice and housing the Damocles Rods-from-God system. And to serve as both America’s vanguard and PR for all the aforementioned spending, the Pentagon had the USMC fused with Ghost Recon elites into the Joint Strike Force: the most efficient and automated combat force money can buy.

European Federation

Prior to 2016, the European Union had (despite certain setbacks) become a major contending power bloc, fueled both by Franco-German economic power and the persistent calls for integration “to an ever closer union.” But though many of the EU member-states endured the crisis, everything began to change. Inexplicably, pan-Europeanism exploded across much of the Continent, prominent Europhiles seeing the events unfolding as an opportunity to combine their “United States of Europe” dreams with more pragmatic concerns with security and environmental stability. It reached to the point that by 2018, the Unification Charter was enacted, the new Federation’s capitals based in Paris and Berlin. For Europa, national identities and age-old divisions would be swept away. In their place was a Continent united for the first time in recorded history: a beacon of civilization and culture in a world losing both.

To defend the ideals of the European Founders, the burgeoning EF established the Enforcer Corps. Comprised of special forces, peacekeeping units and counter-terrorism veterans from the former EU member-states, they quickly specialized themselves in urban combat (though they seem insistent with “non-lethal warfare”), electronic warfare and experimental energy weapons reverse-engineered from the SLAMS network. Rumors that there were issues between the French and German-derived Battlegroups remain just that.

On the other hand, due to the technicalities of the Unification, only the wealthiest and/or most connected European countries were eligible. Of those that willingly refused the kool-aid, only Ireland and the United Kingdom (the two forming the neutral New Commonwealth to revive Britannia’s glory elsewhere), as well as the Alpine Customs Union (Switzerland and Liechtenstein got even closer during all that time) ended up being the most stable. The rest either succumbed to anarchy or fell under Russian influence/control.

Greater Russian Federation

Despite being a shadow of its former glory as the Soviet Union, Russia by the mid 2010s had recovered from its slump sufficiently enough to be a competitive and formidable force. As early as 2008-09, incentives were made to reassert itself on the world stage but simply lacked the funds and resources for the task. The crisis of 2016 however turned out to be a godsend as the giant country suddenly found itself as the planet’s largest (and newest) supplier of crude oil and natural gas. To say that this kick started the economy was an understatement. With so much money and investors flowing in, Russians of all stripes were benefiting from the fruits of that windfall and expanding their frontiers to the outside world. It wasn’t long before they saw themselves as not only a revitalized superpower but also the only rightful one. And after decades of lost power, it was not as though anyone could blame them.

This coincidentally gave the Kremlin the power and resources to not only bring the last vestiges of the oligarchs under control but also expand Russia’s political and military might to much of the former USSR. Beginning with the “reintegration” of Belarus and Ukraine in 2017-18, by 2020 many other neighboring countries fell one after another to Russian influence under nationalist pretenses of “defending the Motherland’s borders.”

Over the same time period the same economic surplus was invested heavily into reforming and modernizing its military, sparking an arms buildup the likes of which was never seen since the end of the Cold War. And with its nuclear arsenal effectively made obsolete by SLAMS, special attention was also placed in advanced explosives and strengthening the veteran Spetsnaz Guard Brigades. But while it still in many ways functions like a beefed-up throwback to the 20th Century, Russia’s particular reliance on raw firepower and ruthless combat make the country all the more dangerous. After all, it’s been said, there’s only enough room left for one global power.

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Suspicion festered as the main three began turning against each other, accusing one or the other of plotting power plays and conspiracies against it. By April 2020, tensions reached a new high after a series of attacks from the terrorist “Forgotten Army” (i.e. pissed off soldiers from failed states) who may or may not have been a ploy by Moscow for the US and EF to destroy themselves. And with the Freedom Star’s last module scheduled for launch for the following day, it’s anyone’s guess how the tides of history would play out this time. Some already convinced of looming conflict are calling it by an old name: The War to End All Wars. EndWar.
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sgtcortez14's avatar
Why El Salvador, Nicaragua and Ecuador are failed states?