[CLOSED]Free Republic of Port Terrence

[The Stryker]

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Faction

Describe this proposal in a single sentence (12 word maximum): An independent planet standing against both Sol and the Frontier.

How will this be reflected on-station?  Like all the other planet proposals out there, this gives players the opportunity for more backstories and gimmicks. The nature of the faction also presents new lore opportunities and gimmicks especially for off-station characters.

Does this faction/etc do anything not achieved by what already exists? It attempts to establish a neutral block, similar to Dominia, which isn’t affiliated between the major players while trying to connect our older Coalition of Colonies lore to the present. It also provides a potential background for ex-military characters. It also acts as a connection to Dominia, and more specifically their influence in the galaxy other than this weird anti-synth empire.

Why should this be given to lore developers rather than remain player created lore?: I think factions, especially ones which can have a big impact on the galactic geography, should be given to the lore developers to be used as tools for advancing the lore in whatever way they see fit. Factions should also be given to the lore devs that way players can make characters from a faction as opposed to it being shared between only one or two people.

Do you understand that if this is submitted, you are signing it away to the lore team, and that it's possible that it will change over time in ways that you may not forsee?: Yes.

 

Long Description:

https://imgur.com/a/gAstcYg

(Supplementary photos)

Republic of Port Terrence

Summary

 A colony of offworlders, deserting soldiers, and megacorporate assets standing against both Sol and the Frontier, the Free Republic of Port Terrence declared their independence from the Alliance after the central government’s disapproval of their handling of a pro-Frontier insurgency. Alone and between giants, they now seek to form a faction of their own with other young planets for mutual protection while dealing with violence at home.

History

Spoiler

First Years (2276)

Port Terrence, mapped the Free Republic of Port Terrence and designated as such after its discovery in the early 2200’s by Captain Charles Terrence of the Dromedary. Port Terrence is located a few light-years from the Xanu Circle on a planetoid orbiting the red dwarf, Isaiah. The colony was established shortly before the beginning of the First Interstellar War of 2278.  Port Terrence served as a small outpost that housed numerous greenhouses, residential blocks, a few trading docks, and storage tanks. It was essentially a restocking port located on a barren, low-pressure rock with little atmosphere.

The Interstellar War (2278-2287)

The outbreak of the First Interstellar war caused the colony’s numbers to swell with exiles and disgruntled emigrants from the Coalition of Colonies, the new residents reaffirmed their loyalty to the alliance, fleeing their homes for the outpost in a wave of old vessels and Sol Navy ships. The first years were taxing on an outpost which had only really been used to holding a small service crew, and the Navy was instrumental in helping to turn it from a jumped up gas station into a proper colony. 

Since then, the descendants of these first colonists have always shared a deep connection with the navy, with many industries in the future going to supporting them as the navy on their part had seen the strategic value of an outpost so close to the outer colonies and to the rebel states of the Coalition of Colonies.

Terrence Rising (2288-2419)

Of particular note for the demographics is that the first colonists were already suffering from the effects of the comparatively weaker gravitational field, a token gravity of 0.1G, to be specific, having been conditioned to the  0.7G or 0.6G in the Middle Colonies, and the Frontier emigres having been used to even less. Being a relatively isolated outer colony, those born on Port Terrence lack access to effective and widespread gravity generation or healthcare to make up for the effects of low gravity. It has been a fact of life for years and did not find itself as an important issue in the politics of this new colony. A sizable minority are the 1G, “normal” humans from the inner colonies and Sol, serving as skilled labor in the industries, and as part of the Sol Navy contingent in the planet.

This dull existence of topping off oxygen, fuel reserves, and food provisions would be interrupted by the influx of corporations at the start of the new century: by 2402, the shipbuilding industry that had served to maintain the naval squadron had grown to accommodate private demands, whether it was commissions from the Outer Colonies, maintenance for the navy, and anything in between. The discovery of minor phoron reserves in 2419 served to increase the strategic value and wealth of the colony, such that its economy was comparable to wealthier middle colonies, and indeed poorer inner colonies.

Given how exposed this colony is to pirates, being wealthy and in the frontier of human space, the Sol Navy grew to exercise a great deal of influence in the planet’s politics as they make up the difference that the local, and all-too-small division of the Sol army fails to keep when it comes to security. The large fleet however costs a lot, some going as far as to say an excessive amount of money to maintain. This is a never-ending debate of Port Terrence politics, especially as the average Port Terrence resident’s taxes  are funneled into the navy as opposed to other pressing concerns such as more living space, greenhouses, industry, and all the things that keep life going.

Rise of Factions (2419-2423)

Around this time, two blocks began to arise, the majority, primarily composed of the off worlders that saw the prosperity that came from their colony’s development and sought to bury the hatchet with the Coalition of Colonies; versus the descendants of the exiles who still cared to remember their conflict, and the “normal” human minority who brought in the skilled labor to keep the naval facilities going, and brought in corporate interests to mine the phoron, predictably favored by the navy. Around this time, megacorporations began to move in with large amounts of influence in the colony.

Being right next to a sector full of traitors and pirates, the 13th Fleet, assigned to defend the system, has always been staffed with hawkish officers by the subtle nudge of ATLAS. The fleet also acted with a certain degree of autonomy, given their distance from the core worlds and influence of the colony. In essence, although unstated, although unprecedented, the navy had the ability to dictate the colony’s own foreign policy. The implications of this posting were not lost on Admiral Brant Westcott, a hard man for his equally hard post. It’s under the watch of this man that the Coalition of Colonies, still in a position of strength, thought to sway this phoron rich, strategically placed system into their sphere of influence.

Tensions Rising (2424-2437)

Noticing the slow steady unrest between the navy and factions within Port Terrence that would really rather be free of being forced to pay for a navy which defends from what they see as a non-existent threat, or something that can be handled by their own security forces, factions within the Coalition of Colonies formulate a daring plan to support these groups in the hopes of turning the planet to them. Agitators were sent to the planet, anti-Sol groups are supported, and the Coalition of Colonies turns on the charm, hoping to place themselves as a friendly neighbor, rather than a cold dictator that rules from far-away, with little regard to their own concerns.

The effectiveness of the Coalition cannot be understated, in just a year, protests start to rise as people lose their support of Sol, their confidence in their protest being inflamed by Tau Ceti’s own independence just a year earlier. While Sol was busy, Admiral Westcott suspected a domino effect would follow if this colony were allowed to leave the Alliance and resolved to crush this insurrection. Protests began to be clamped down on, while in a show of inter-service cooperation, the navy began providing support for the local army and numerous corporate security forces to protect the vital shipbuilding industry.

Shots Fired (2437-2445)

This has the unfortunate effect of radicalizing pro-reform and the more moderate anti-Sol groups, who now start to consider an armed uprising to free their world. Attacks on government centers and strikes ramp up, polarizing the population between the pro-Sol group, hoping to maintain stability and order, and the pro-Coalition group, seeking independence and reform. 

The navy and army, with their overwhelming firepower fights against a guerilla campaign lead by the resistance, with their strong public support and Coalition backers. Life on the colony grows violent as a “with-us-or-against us” mentality develops among the ever-paranoid security forces. As the insurgency grows stronger and bolder, more Solarian marines are brought in to defend the colony. Shuttle bombings and EVA guerilla attacks on military installations and docks become the rule of the day.

A costly and very publicized war is waged, much to the chagrin of Sol who fails to see the need to spend money in an insurgency they weren’t even winning. Rather than being locked in a war which might spiral into open conflict with the Coalition of Colonies over a naval outpost seeking to tear itself apart, the government at Sol prepares to cut Port Terrence loose.

Independence (2445-2452)

The hardened 13th Fleet still believes they can win this struggle, and so grimly settles in for another year of conflict when orders arrive from Sol that Admiral Westcott is to prepare to withdraw and make room for a pro-Coalition government. Feeling betrayed, the 13th disobey the order and block any attempts to install such a government, deserting en mass. Only a few ships and the supporting marine divisions breaking ranks and returning to Earth as the pro-corporate civilian government declares independence from both the Sol and Frontier Alliances. 

The government, controlled by the former Sol loyalists, still remember Port Terrence’s original struggle with the Coalition and so resolve to keep fighting. The young republic has no shortage of volunteers to guard itself, with the captains and marines of the 13th fleet spoiling for a fight, companies with business interests, and soldiers and civilians who see themselves as defending their home from the encroaching and destabilizing Coalition of Colonies.

Through some miracle, the colony holds past the fall of the Coalition. The loss of outside support gives the government some breathing room to solidify their control, but the symptoms aren’t solved. Grudges are held and life stabilizes, but is never truly peaceful. The nation remains on alert as they stand alone in the universe, enemies of the Frontier, and aliens to Sol.

Looking Forward (2458-)

With the withdrawal of the Sol Alliance, who has no interest in anything more than a token effort to protest the secession of the colony, the nascent Frontier Alliance seeks to succeed where the Coalition failed and proceeds to ramp up support attempting to revive the well-armed insurgency of old. Unmarked crates of military-issue weapons and voidsuits out of commission with the Frontier find themselves in Terrencean docks. Rebels who were forced to blend in with small arms and cobbled-together bombs suddenly find the firepower to shoot down low-flying naval vessels and cargo ships. The fighting is expected to continue as mercenaries come from all sides to push their own agendas, with ATLAS-aligned paramilitaries masquerading as “Eridani PMCs” and “advisors” continue to provide support to the state that few expected to survive.

Politics

Spoiler

Port Terrence governs as a democracy with a president and a senate composed of the heads of each city. Currently, the government operates as normal, but behind closed doors, is said to follow the drumbeat of the military and their powerful corporate backers. Pro-Frontier parties are ostensibly allowed to operate while in reality being overruled at every turn.

Terrencean Liberation Front

A vast majority of the inhabitants of The Republic of Port Terrence find themselves loyal or affiliated in some way with the Terrencean Liberation Front which saw a large rise in prominence after the 1st Interstellar War (2278) with an influx of exiles and emigrants fleeing from Sol alongside the emigrants and exiles from the Coalition. The  also promotes economic and political separation from that of the Sol Alliance. The primary goal is to minimise or eradicate any Solarian influence. 

The Front is also heavily backed by the Frontier Militia due to majority of the civil taxes going towards investing in their military production (to combat the pirates in the surrounding space). On the galactic stage, the Front is publicly supported by the Elyrians, a republic founded before the Alliance had firm roots in the universe. 

The Terrencean Liberation Front, holds true to its ideals of securing liberty, better standards of living and equal treatment for Terrenceans. Despite this, two factions find themselves in the Front, each with their own goals and vision for the future of Port Terrence. Most of the rebellion, represented by the New Frontier Party believes in joining the Frontier Alliance, while others in the Independent Union have cited the level of influence the Frontier Alliance would carry in Terrencean politics if such an alliance came to pass and favor a more reserved association status with the Alliance, trying not to be entangled in the affairs of others.

 

AF-NPT Coalition (Ruling Party)

An old and powerful force stands against the TLF, the Alliance Bloc, which not only promotes that the Republic must be a protectorate of the Solarians but also unite against other galactic empires (specifically that of the Frontier Alliance) to slow the growth of foreign borders in order for the Sol Alliance to grow their own. The primary goal for the party is to strengthen ties with the Solarian Alliance and undercut the influence of the Frontier Alliance in the hopes of eventual reunification with Sol. 

Their ranks have dwindled since the Republic’s independence from Sol and they now find themselves forced into a coalition with a dangerous and radical faction, the New Port Terrence Party, a group determined to secure the colony’s place as an independent power in this galaxy. The most radical and far-thinking within the party hope to establish a third alliance with unaligned powers such as Dominia in order to preserve this new state of affairs. While they claim to work towards the planet’s greatness, critics point out that their supporters seem to be the military and the companies of the planet, accused of trying to turn the young republic into their own corporate and military puppet state.

Geography
 

Spoiler

If it weren’t for the fact that Port Terrence rests at a spot similar to where Mars would be in our Solar System, it’d be described as positively Mercurean. The surface of Port Terrence is barren, devoid of life and almost wholly devoid of atmosphere, but possessing an extreme mineral wealth and a low gravity which makes it easy to mine. 

A peculiar feature of the planet are the massive cave systems that dot it. Without gravity to make them collapse, giant underground cities shelter the inhabitants while clearings exposed to space contain massive naval drydocks that are the symbol of the shipbuilding industry. Cities are built vertically into the caves, with most Terranceans spend their days in the dark, under harsh artificial lighting. Sun exposure is the realm of shipyards and greenhouses, which are heavily reinforced to prevent damage from debris. The wealthy are lucky enough to have windows exposed to the surface, mostly covered in greenhouse windows or shipyards wherever civilization is to be found on the rock. 

With this model, a typical Terrencean city is built on a miner and their foundries, powered by geothermal generators and solar farms, with their residential and commercial sectors built above it, all below the surface of greenhouses, which more often than not give the appearance of traditional farmlands. These cities are connected by both shuttle flights across the surface and subterranean maglev trains. Military bases tend to be connected by their own independent trains and occasionally light up with the soft cyan glow of energy shields as debries bumps into them.

Notable Cities

Spoiler

Avore

A small domed city located on top of one of the Republic’s largest plateaus. It receives a large amount of the red dwarfs rays, meaning the city relies on solar panels, but it also uses the rays to their advantage by positioning the greenhouses in order to receive the natural sunlight instead of artificial lighting. Avore ships much of  their surplus food generated across the planetoid. 

Terrence’s Landing

Terrence’s Landing, as the name implies, was the site of the original landing on the planet. The Capital is the many influence for many of the other cities scattered across the planetoid, having been built vertically underground, with few buildings being built above ground, save for the trading and shipbuilding docks, as well as fields of greenhouses reminiscent of terrestrial farms.. As a homage to its settler past, the city is a Frankensteinian monstrosity of ancient, rusting, habitats, and the latest technology brought in to quickly replace whatever fails.

Admirals’ Row

Admirals’ Row is landmarked by the massive blast doors that cover the opening of the canyon in which it resides. Within the thick steel gates lie massive drydocks that allow the repair and maintenance of massive vessels in microgravity with the advantage of enabling workers to perform their tasks without bulky and unwieldy voidsuits. Given the large shipbuilding industry here, the level of corporate and military influence here is high, with the city being one of the most loyal to the central government. Of special note are the military bunkers scattered around the city used by the garrison.

Fiver

While being almost invisible from the surface owing to its few docks, a sprawling city-slash-work camp rests beneath it. Fiver is home to a large amount of phoron deposits on the planetoid, having been suspected of being the site of a meteor impact many centuries ago. The city itself is spartan and hastily built in its gold-rush, yet always filled with the rumble of mining and refining machinery. Its most distinctive landmarks, aside from the phoron, are great columns of steel, designed to keep the caves from collapsing as drilling work continues.

Culture
 

Spoiler

Port Terrence, by nature of being a developing colony on a lifeless rock, is a very practical society. It’s not uncommon to find a spacesuit alongside an emergency fire hose or extinguisher much like a space station. Terrenceans might enjoy their downtime as any other human might, being a hodgepodge of the various immigrants and exiles that have come to call the rock their home. There are however things that set Terrenceans apart from other cultures. 

In the realm of apparel, as a result of the ever permanent EVA work a Terrencean might be called upon to do, they tend to own their own voidsuits, or for the poorer Terrencean, softsuits. Veteran workers notably keep stickers and markings of prior jobs they’ve worked, partially as a crude form of design, partially as an informal portfolio and resume of their talents. Industrial jumpsuits, hardsuit innerlays and clothes that are light enough to fit underneath these voidsuits have become a common fashion, originally out of convenience.

Port Terrence boasts an average educational sector, bolstered by the original Frontier exile and naval presence which stresses a strong devotion to the colony. The local branch of the Sol army (which has since been renamed to the Port Terrencean Ground Security Forces), as well as the local Sol navy, (appropriately renamed to the Port Terrencean navy) began recruiting locals long before any talk of independence arose. During the beginning of the insurgency, these recruits suffered a crisis of loyalty between their own government, and the promises of reform.  

For the aspiring Terrenceans seeking higher education, a corporate-backed university has been set up, it has been built undoubtedly to further their interests, with engineering and mining-related courses being favored. Those aiming for the theoretical (research, not sure of the term though) and medical sciences can try their luck, but despite the government’s new programs to kickstart these industries in the wake of their independence, they are young movements in the educational sector, and some say that a Terrencean would be better off running back to Sol for a degree.

A peculiar aspect of Terrencean media is that due to the prioritization of the navy, Extranet reception was limited, and occasionally censored. This caused Terrenceans to get most of their media from passing ships, and indeed Terrencean merchants would often be contracted to engage in Extranet piracy while at the Inner colonies. While the situation is slowly improving as a result of the government’s recognition that their communication technologies need to improve, Terrenceans are known the sector over as notorious Extranet pirates.

Fauna and Flora
 

Spoiler

While having no life owing to the fact that it’s a barren rock, the settlers have attempted to eke out a feeble ecosystem under the cover of biodome. The surface is studded with greenhouses and domed ranches giving the effect of traditional farmland under domes. Underneath the caves, hydroponics and growlights are bundled together in massive corporate farms, especially under the watchful eye of Zeng-Hu.

The colony is frequently plagued by space carp, which prospective Terrenceans have attempted to farm for both the food content and carpotoxin. Zeng-Hu has taken notice of this, and the colony sells a hefty amount of carpotoxin to the company.

Population Demographics

Spoiler

The Terrencean government is young and has to comb over their cities once again to acquire census data, as such, while large estimates can be drawn, there are of course exceptions to the large categories of people. Recent estimates by navy personnel project that a large portion (about 60%) of Terrenceans are offworlders adapted to 0.1G. They form the majority of the lower class, with a small minority (mainly those in politics, or with connections to the megacorporations and navy) belonging to the upper and upper-middle class. A Terrencean belonging to this bracket will most likely be a descendant of the original colonists of the world.

With the rise of megacorporation influence, two minorities found themselves increasing. The largest minority (about 30%) belongs to Solarian navy personnel and megacorporation employees that were brought in to help set up the industries. Thanks to their wealthy backers and technological edge, they have the luxury of living in gravity-regulated sections of habitat and maintaining healthy 1G bodies. Most Terrenceans belonging to this bracket are military personnel, megacorporation management and specialist employees and their families. Any potential non-human and Dominian experts will most likely belong in this field.

The smallest and newest minority (about 10%) came about as a result of encroaching industry. With the slow rollout of gravity generators, corporations have been subtly influencing their workplaces with additional gravity in order to strengthen their employees. As such, offworlders belonging to this bracket can be seen with body types reaching that of 0.4G. Regardless, the technology is young, and the longterm effects have yet to be seen with only working Terrenceans having these effects. Colonists who work in shipyards have the noted exception here, as increasing gravity in the industry defeats the whole purpose of setting up a 0.1G drydock.

Military

Spoiler

As mentioned before, Port Terrence has inherited a state-of-the-art military, being backed by the megacorporations and the highly advanced shipyards which maintain a formerly Sol fleet. Any potential rebellion in the colony has to be done in the dark of its tunnels as Terrencean carriers and battleships threaten to bombard any attacks done in the open, as well as shooting down any rebel vessels. Officially, their ships are suffixed with P.T.V (Port Terrence Vessel), and fly under the flag of the Terrencean Naval Defence Service.

The ground forces of Port Terrence, the Terrencean Ground Defence Service, drew the short stick, having been made up of locals trained by navy personnel. This focus on the navy means that they often have to make do with less equipment, such as spacesuits (not to be confused with the more advanced voidsuits) which have traditional armor vests placed over them. In an attempt to close the gap with the Frontier-backed rebels, they’ve increased ties with megacorporations and Necropolis guns and Eridanian training are slowly becoming the norm within this force.

The best and brightest of both services get to serve with the Hazardous Environment Combat Engineering Unit (HECEU), a special force of commandos specially selected for their engineering experience. They’re prized for their quick-thinking and improvisational ability, both in the confines of a habitat or vessel, or out in space. Veterans of this unit are likely to find employment in engineering, security, or with a little extra training, robotics fields.

Foreign Policy

Spoiler

The current government of Port Terrence feverishly looks for allies as they stand alone and without aid between the twin giants of the Sol and Frontier Alliance. While their diplomats are currently, and discreetly, plying other border worlds to declare independence, they are drafting the foundations of the Non-Aligned Pact, a coalition meant to offer more freedom to its constituents while providing mutual security and trade.

(Editor’s Note: The name of the Non-Aligned Pact is tentative, and while it’s a major piece of the lore, I cover it more in a seperate piece of lore if this proposal is already too big.)

Until then, Port Terrence and the Dominian Empire have struck a mutual treaty due to their status as pariah nations and their mutual needs.

Bilateral Agreement between Dominia and Port Terrence

1. Dominia receives incredibly favorable rates on phoron per annum in exchange for a mutual defense treaty.

2. Mutual industrial and economic aid, along with the assurance that the Republic is free of Solarian and Frontier influence. While not explicitly stated, Dominian aid however is noted to try and nudge pro-Dominian candidates towards the government.

3. Media is highly controlled on both ends of the agreement; news is highly biased or non-existent and the Dominian Empire uses this new-found management to increase their support by implementing some sort of propaganda to repair their public image.

Consequently, the Republic uses the Dominian media to promote the idea that Port Terrence is a free and independent Republic (alongside polishing up their own image.)

4. Synthetic life is to be heavily regulated and tagged, similar to Tau Ceti, albeit much harsher.

5. Terrencean authorities are to aid Dominian one’s in the tracking of edict breakers within the colony. Consequently, the Dominian security agencies track pro-Frontier sympathizers hiding within their own territory.

(A big thanks to Mwahahahaha, Simfantic, BoryaTheSlayer and The lancer for helping me out with this!)
Quick edit: If this ever gets passed, I sprited a voidsuit for merc and heister gimmicks using this faction.

port_terrence.dmi

[Pegasus]

Hello, thank you for your lore canonization app. I think the concepts and ideas here are interesting and worth looking into. However, before diving deep into this, one thing I would like cleared up just in case I'm misunderstanding something here: Do you see this being included as part of the Frontier Alliance, or as its own independent, new faction? 

 

 

[The Stryker]

13 hours ago, Pegasus said:

Hello, thank you for your lore canonization app. I think the concepts and ideas here are interesting and worth looking into. However, before diving deep into this, one thing I would like cleared up just in case I'm misunderstanding something here: Do you see this being included as part of the Frontier Alliance, or as its own independent, new faction? 

Thanks for the response!

Quote

The current government of Port Terrence feverishly looks for allies as they stand alone and without aid between the twin giants of the Sol and Frontier Alliance. While their diplomats are currently, and discreetly, plying other border worlds to declare independence, they are drafting the foundations of the Non-Aligned Pact, a coalition meant to offer more freedom to its constituents while providing mutual security and trade.

My plan with this lore app is to have an independent planet resting between the Frontier Alliance and Sol Alliance (starting out as a breakaway of Sol), with plans to form an alliance with Dominia and possibly other planets in the lore.
I left out the specific details of the alliance they want to form because the app was becoming too large to be readable and seems in-depth enough to become its own thing.

[Pegasus]

Right, thank you, pardon my forgetting to respond to this. The issue with the concept is that currently extra factions are not being added for a variety of reasons; something like this would have to be considered part of one of the current major entities in the setting. How would this best be incorporated into either the Empire or the Frontier Alliance?

[The Stryker]

Sorry for the late reply, I've been thinking about how to rework this lore into something that isn't its own faction and depending on how you want to fit it into the lore I can either give you:

1. Port Terrence within the Sol Alliance with slipping control and Frontier sympathizers who want independence.

2. Frontier Port Terrence as a result of Scarab pressure and large offworlder population. Sol sympathizers want to return it to the Alliance.

Although I want Dominia to be a major part of both possible lore rewrites, I don't see them being fully incorporated into the Empire owing to the distance and how such an action (SA colony being absorbed by the empire) would appear in galactic politics. If you still want to try for a Dominian Port Terrence, I'll see what I can do.

[simfantic]

@Pegasus

 

[Pegasus]

I am going to accept this with the following verdict: they will likely be integrated as a loose member of the Coalition of Colonies, and I will have a discussion with my deputies as to their opinions on how this should be done. Thank you.

[BoryaTheSlayer]

Locking and archiving.