Republic of Port Townsend

The Republic of Port Townsend is a country on the former American West Coast. A sovereign democratic parliamentary republic, it was able to defend itself from the Nuclear Blast of 2069 due to help from intergalactic allies and the Purple Guardian. It is an incredibly modern city-state and a galaxy-renowned trading location, playing host to the Solar System branch of the Milky Way Stock Exchange and one of the largest intergalactic street markets in the Solar System.

## History

#### Pre-Contact

Port Townsend prior to the initial contact by aliens was a normal American town of its era, depending on a small port and a tourism industry to keep the small town afloat. Much of the architecture of the time was derived from the town's Victorian origins as well as contemporary Craftsman style houses of the American 1950s.

#### Contact and Growing Autonomy

The first alien contact on Earth was made in Port Townsend on June 24th, 2027, when an Alpha Centauri Class 4 Frigate uncloaked above Port Townsend Bay, just south of the town. The Centauri delegation founded their Earth Embassy in Port Townsend due to the town's favorable weather and access to Earth's shipping network without being a highly prioritized location by Terran humans at that time. Dozens of other Interplanetary Alliance races of aliens also began setting up embassies and organizational headquarters in the city, quickly drawing people from all over Earth in search of jobs and opportunities on the galactic scale. This era of immigration is what inspired the building of advanced skyscrapers, making full use of alien technology to build quickly. In addition, Port Townsend began to be seen as the "Gateway to Earth," inspiring many countries to open consulates in the quickly expanding city. The influx of new residents also aimed to represent their home cultures in PT, leading to the founding of many ethnic neighborhoods, contributing to the city's multicultural prowess.

Initially, the US Government intended to make use of these new commercial opportunities, making Port Townsend an Autonomous Economic Zone in 2040. However, the economic might of the Interplanetary Alliance gave the city government an outsized influence on the US's ability to control the city. Instead, the US Marines and Navy Boys chose to expand operations on their existing base on Indian Island, across the bay from Port Townsend and bordering Marrowstone Island. Due to this presence, the city was forced to expand west, absorbing municipalities such as Sequim and Port Angeles into the city as the urban areas crawled both upwards and westwards, creating one of the galaxy's most legendary skylines in the process. The deepest natural habitats of the Olympic National Park were preserved, but the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountain range were converted to spaceports to accommodate the trade within the region, much to the chagrin of local preservationists.

Due to this shift in global power on Earth (referred to as Terra on Interplanetary Alliance maps), the Purple Guardian and the Sixty-First Leader of the TiburcioSoccer Clan, Bandit Insane, chose to relocate Vigil Center to the Discovery Bay-Sakurachiku neighborhood of PT from its previous location in Shibuya in 2047, twenty years after the first contact with aliens.

#### Orange Guardian War

While economic growth began to slow in the 2050s due to the opening of spaceports in Kota Kinabalu, Kuwait, and a new offshore city in the North Sea, Harborsmouth, UK, infrastructure investments into new train systems and schools as well as expansion of the tourism industry allowed Port Townsend to maintain its presence on the world stage. In addition, the arrival of the Purple Guardian and the TiburcioSoccer Clan prompted the regional government of Port Townsend to create its own Guardian Defense Force, as conventional military matters were still handled by the US Marines at this time. However, the region was turned on its head due to the opening of a portal to the Fire Realm and the ascension of Forrest to the mantle of the Orange Guardian in Marrowstone for the first time in 250 years, igniting the Orange Guardian War. Due to the Proximity of Marrowstone to Port Townsend, the previous investments in the Port Townsend Guardian Defense Force, or PTGDF, came in incredibly useful in the defense of the city. While the rampages of the Orange Guardian and its followers devastated much of the west coast, such as the Lake City Dead Zone, Port Townsend was left relatively unscathed due usage of Centauri Cloaking Walls in Port Townsend Bay, allowing the city to fortify itself from any attacks across the bay while the PTGDF, branch members of the TiburcioSoccer Clan, and Purple Guardian were deployed on offensives. In addition, some of the most intense fighting was between the US Marines, the US Navy Boys, and the Cult of Forrest in Kilisut Harbor, the body of water between Indian Island and Marrowstone.

As the toll on the West Coast from the battles between the forces of the Purple Guardian, Teal Guardian, Green Guardian, and Orange Guardian became apparent to the US Government, they began an evacuation of all civilians still living, relocating them to population centers east of the Rocky Mountains and abandoning all remaining population centers to fend for themselves. As a result, Port Townsend declared independence, along with other governments, such as the Baja Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Aberdeen, among others. After Forrest killed Bandit Insane in battle in Lake City, the Purple Guardian was forced to retreat to Vigil Center and prepare for a new mantling after recovery, and the US Government prepared a tactical nuclear strike on Lake City, launched on February 1st, 2069. This attack gravely wounded Forrest and the Orange Guardian, forcing them to fall back to Marrowstone to recover. The Lake City Dead Zone was left in the wake of the battle. The damage to the newly independent Republic of Port Townsend was minimal due to the use of Black Star Company antinuke technology, which was able to absorb the radiated molecules.

#### Post-War Recovery

In the years since the war, the RPT has focused on rebuilding the RPTGDF after the heavy casualties sustained during the war. In addition, the only openly friendly nation in the vicinity is the United Vancouver Territories across the strait, making self defense a critical investment. In addition, further levels of immigration were encouraged to help replenish the aging population, creating a postwar boom. The government has continued to improve the quality of life for its citizens, building the new Forks Inter-Aerospace Intermodal Port, providing connections to both planetary and galactic destinations. The loss of the US as an easy trade partner for resources the RPT lacks, such as food, has led to increased partnerships across the Pacific Ocean, enhancing the Asian influence in local Townsender cuisine and culture. In addition, many ethnic Townsenders have begun to emigrate to other galactic cities. In Centauri One, the largest city of the Alpha Centauri system and the neighboring major city in the Interplanetary Alliance, a Townsend District has been founded by immigrants, exporting Townsender culture.

## Geography

#### Location

The territory of the Republic of Port Townsend covers the northern portion of the former Olympic Peninsula, forming a border midway through the Olympic Mountain range. The RPT is bordered by the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Democratic People's Republic of Aberdeen to the south. The most heavily patrolled borders are to the east, with the US Marines-controlled Kitsap Peninsula and Marrowstone across Port Townsend Bay, one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world.

#### Topography

Although the area of the country is quite small, the heavily populated coastline and the sparsely populated southern mountains form a fascinating juxtaposition. the coastline remains quite temperate, due to the climate control measures undertaken by the RPT Central Government. However, the mountainous region and the small villages inside them often experience large snowstorms during the winter.