The Prophet's Shield
The Prophets Shield is many things. To some it is a charitable trust, to others a social club or a political tool. The Shield began as an association of clerics dedicated to a renaissance within their church. Brought together in TN 1880 by Thor Hutchison, the Shield became a support network for his bid to become Second Follower. It was also the basis for a new generation of religious leadership he brought with him. The Shield was expanded to include secular members who shared their religious cohorts' dedication to the faith. It was at this time that the Shield developed into a public organization. On its public face, the Shield became a forum for the influential to dedicate their skills for the good of the faith. The rich and famous were approached to donate time and money to good will efforts and the resulting charity functions soon became one of the North's most important social venues. The Shield then created meeting houses for its august membership and encouraged them to make use of these for meetings and social occasions, slowly becoming a sort of "old boy's network" for the faithful. This social aspect has made Shield membership an important pillar of the careers of many political and business leaders.
Structure
The public face of the Prophet's Shield is organized into a large number of regional societies, each managing local functions and providing a "clubhouse" for local members. Every regional society is tied to the headquarters of the Shield in Sorrento, where action on a national or hemispheric level is overseen. The headquarters is also responsible for supervising spending of the regional offices and ensuring that the Shield does not become co-opted by local power-players or undesirable elements, such as business people dealing with organized crime. The Shield's duties as a charitable social club mask a three-tiered structure.The top tier consists of around a dozen people; it includes Thor Hutchison Hutchison himself and his closest advisors, and can be compared to a theocratic cabinet. The second tier is larger and is comprised of clerics who have been recruited for Hutchison's political agenda. They oversee the network of favors controlling the secular allies and other church members who make up the third tier. Few people working with the Shield realize the full extent of its influence and think nothing of the small favors occasionally asked of them.
Public Agenda
The third tier of the Shield is seeking to advance the cause of righteous living. Charity, social and political campaigning are all part of the members' daily activities, as are constant recruiting of people to join the cause for a renewed faith. The hidden core of the Shield has similar concerns, but is prepared to take more drastic action. Reverend Mother Fajil directs day-to-day operations with a careful hand, planting the seeds of wider support for the church and awaiting the time when more extreme measures may be necessary. Her most pressing concerns are NorPol inquiries and the struggle to reign in criminality in the inner city and Badlands frontier. Fajil must keep NorPol away from her affairs, but feels compelled to provide what assistance she can to break the hold of the Wounded Knee cartels on the Norlight underworld. So far, her agents in the Justice Ministry have allowed her to do both, but they may be exposing themselves to internal investigation.
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