Marquette

Marquette officially The Republic of Marquette (French: République de Marquette) is a Parliamentary Republic microstate, bordered by the Republic of Westfield to the south and United States to the east, and Canada to the west and north. The country is an associate member of the Alliance of Independent Nations.

The official languages are English and French with 68% of the population English speaking and 30% French speaking.

Marquette has a total area of 650 square miles (1046 square kilometers); and a population of 4.6 million as of last year's census, however 90% of the population is centered in the area known as the Quad Cities, a large and expansive metro area near Lake Canada. The largest city is New Chatham which also serves as the capital, coincidentally New Chatham lies within the Quad Cities Metro Area.

History
Until 2010 Marquette was part of the United States and Canada, however citizens in the area had always felt they had a seperate identity from the US and Canada. In June of 2009 an Independence Council was formed to meet with federal politicians of both countries. After much deliberation on March 5, 2010 the US granted independence to the Quad Cities region, and also annexed 550 square miles of land around the Quad Cities. Canada soon followed and annexed another 100 square miles to the country. One condition of both countries was the right of free shipping through the Marquette controlled portion of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Canada until 2050.

After independence was gained the new country set itself in motion, naming itself Marquette after a French explorer who first explored the area around Ste. Frederic. City Councils worked together to form a federal government, and soon Prime Minister Louie Marc Boudreau was elected after 5 years as Mayor of the city of Ste. Frederic.

Government
Marquette is considered to be a Parliamentary Republic. Currently Parliament is split equally between the two main parties in the country with 25 seats held by the MCP (Marquette Conservative Party) and the other 25 seats held by members of the MNLP (Marquette National Liberal Party), making up the total of 50 seats. Although other parties are allowed in government no representatives from other parties were elected nationally. The Prime Minister oversees the Executive branch which includes Parliament and signs new laws into action. The Prime Minister also acts the main dignitary, representing the country on tours and at international summits.

The Marquette Supreme Court handles all apeals from district courts, and acts as a check and balnce to the Executive branch of government, also making sure Parliament doesn't cross its boundries. The Supreme Court has a total of 10 judges that are appointed by the Prime Minister and serve a term for 5 years.

The Citizens rights are protected by the Marquette Doctrine that was signed by government officials at the time of independence. It guarentees the rights that each citizen has. The Doctrine also defines the limits of some branches of the Federal Government, and the basic laws of the country. The first ammendment to the Doctrine was made in February 2012 when Parliament passed the Illegal Pet and Domestic Animal Act.

The Government is divided into different departments that are responsible for daily affairs of various things. These Departments include: Department of Defense and Foreign Affairs, Department of Commerce, Department of Environmental and Energy, Monetary and Economic Department, Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health and Education.

Security
Marquette maintains a small standing army of 5,000 active troops, and 1,000 reserve troops. During times of war, a draft is put in place which brings the number of active troops to 7,500 and the number of reserves to 2,000. Marquette's troops are mainly used in search and rescue missions. However other duties include peace keeping missions, and protection for visiting and Marquettie dignitaries. Troops are equipped with a C7 Rifle (manufactured in Canada), a Smith and Wesson M&P Pistol, utility knife, and CG634 helmets. The military also includes a mechanized division which operates 200 MRQ1 Predator Tanks, and 70 aquatic vehicles.

Two MRQ1 Predator Tanks part of Military Day in 2011

The Marquette Military is made up of the active and reserve troops. The Army is based out of 3 main bases which are, Fort Capital, Fort Phillips, and Military Island. Military Island is the largest military base in the nation, located on a man made island it is home to the National Armory, and also is home to the Raskin Military Docks. Along with the Sea Command, Ground Command, and Air Command Headquarters.

While the country has no official Navy, the Military Sea Command is responsible for the control of two frigate class ships purchased from Canada, as well as several patrol boats, and amphibious vehicles. The ships mainly used in search and rescue missions, are also available for transporting troops, and equipment, as well as small skirmishes. Currently 500 active duty troops and 300 reserve troops are being trained by the Cattalan navy in order fro better and more efficient operation of these ships.

''Left to Right: MSS. Canadian and MSS. Sunset docked at Raskin Military Docks''

Sports
Marquetties are crazy about sports and recreation. Due to the temperate climate and location near New England, Quebec, and North Eastern Ontario, both winter and summer sports are popular. In the winter sports fan take to the ice arenas to watch ice hockey and curling. Marquette has two STHL franchises along with ICHA college hockey, and high school hockey. The national hockey team is also greatly supported, in fact over 6,700 fans traveled to thier first AIN competition in Linktoria. Indoor Lacrosse, Curling, and Figure Skating round out the most popular winter sports.

In the summer, baseball and football take over in popularity. The MNFL (Marquette National Football League) is an 8 team league that combines the field dimensions the CFL with the rules of the NFL. The season is 4 months long, starting in August and ending in November. Teams play in stadiums ranging from 50,000 to as small as 10,000 people. Teams play annually for the Founders Cup, and on Founders Cup day the nation virtualy shuts down to watch as the final two teams battle it out, in fact the Founders Cup is the most watched television program in the country. Baseball is also popular, with two SLB teams and the nations very own ILB comprised of 14 teams, fans always come out to see their favorite local or most exciting teams in the heat of summer. Also the country is home to the Port Charlotte Green Sox and New Chatham Beavers franchises of the SLB.

MICA (Marquette Intercollegiant Athletics) is the governing body for all college sports in the country. Currently MICA is sponsors sports at levels D1-D3. However only ice hockey is sponsored at the D1 level. In total 34 colleges and universities are members of MICA.