The Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society number 9 (Summer, 1981?) takes the subtle metaplot of a moving fictional date and a quarterly news report and ups the ante significantly. This issue’s news report details the outbreak of war between the Duke of Regina and a new alien species, the Zhodani. Much of the issue is given over to fleshing out aspects of the conflict, which play out fully in the Fifth Frontier War wargame. The effects of this war are felt all over the Spinward Marches campaign setting materials for years (the war itself continued through 1984, ending around the same time as the Journal ceased publication). This is the sort of stuff TSR would experiment with in the DL-series Dragonlance modules (1984 on) and with the Avatar modules/novels (1989) that transitioned Forgotten Realms into second edition, but Traveller was light years ahead of them.

Cover again by William H. Kieth. Reminds me a bit of the Terran Trade Authority stuff.