Peace River

Nowhere else will on Terra Nova you find a city-state like Peace River, a symbol of pride for the Badlands. Paxton built the city into the side of a large mesa and protected it with 350 meter tall defence shutters. These can close in a matter of minutes, to repel even the worst Badlands Tempests; incidentally, they will also repel any bombardment short of an orbital nuclear strike. To further this image of strength and power, the city was topped by a mighty airfield whose runways form a peace sign. Towering over the airfield and the rest of the city were the executive offices, the original oasis tower purchased by the city’s founder, Ebert Paxton. The whole city was a massive symbol of Paxton’s military, monetary and emotional power.

Shields of Freedom

The city itself was run as a branch of Paxton Arms and the CEO of Paxton Arms was also the ruler of the city. Residents were divided into one of three castes – Executive, Management and Worker – based on their role in the company. This system has been widely criticised, and while reforms are being made to bring things closer to the original vision of Ebert Paxton, riots over worker’s rights were a regular occurrence. The Peace Officers Corps (POC) and Paxton Security (PaxSec) have been known to use extreme methods to control riots, motivated at least partly by fears of terrorists using these riots as cover for more malicious, destructive activity against Peace River or Paxton Arms. In stark contrast, the military arm of Paxton, the Peace River Defence Force, stood as the guardians of freedom for all those within Paxton’s voluntarily-established Protectorate.