Force of Nature

The Force of Nature (TFON) is a group of totem warriors of the Folk Nation. Most members of WON are of Native American descent, but a large minority are not. They are also primarily young adults; only two are over the age of twenty-five. TFON warriors believe that man's ability to manipulate the forces of nature has allowed them to incorporate their spirit-guides (which usually take the forms of animals in dreams and folklore) into their physical being. They make themselves over in the images of their dreams and beliefs, despite the fact that this brands them as fanatics, even among other Native Americans. Orthodox adherents of Native American religion feel that there is something unnatural about the entire idea, and most statics think of them as freaks, but both are wrong.

Overview

Within every society there are those who choose to seek out the most different, radical, or nonconformist groups because they feel lost in mainstream society. Membership in a group like this requires tireless dedication, hard work, and an ability to ignore a society's pressure to conform. This describes the members of TFON perfectly.

TFON is used as a sort of special forces by the Folk Nation. They are mostly warriors, and good ones at that, but their ranks include techs and medtechs, as well as a shaman and a fixer. Each member has a totem spirit they feel attached to. There are dogs, wolves, coyote, bears, raccoons, and many other animal types found in TFON. These totems are all worshipped -and this is a very free usage of the word worship- in different ways by the individual members. The members also share a common spirituality based on the spirits of the earth, wind, sun, and moon. They are led by a shaman called Remus, who takes the form of a wolf. Negotiation, with outsiders and other nomads both, goes though the family's fixer, Fred, who takes the form of a cat Remus and Fred are the pack's oldest members, with years of experience before forming TFON.

There are thirty members in TON, and they are one of only a few totem groups in the Folk Nation. These groups are rare because they are expensive. Given a nomads limited income, very few nomads could save enough money to become totem warriors and still survive, even if they wanted to. As many Nations do with their totem warriors, the Folk Nation's leadership has sponsored TFON and expects many favors in return for this capital investment TFON also takes work outside the nomad community to help keep themselves solvent; corporations, rock bands, and even the US. Marshals' Service have employed them at one time or another.

The primary means of TFON transportation is the motorcycle. It gives them maximum mobility over a variety of different types of terrain, and allows them full advantage of the scatter-and-swarm tactics common in their fighting style. Being a larger group of totem warriors than average. TFON also has support vehicles: a large wrecker-equiped pick-up, and a utility truck which carries their fuel and common supplies. The individual warriors also carry a pack with the supplies necessary for seven days' survival, with the exception of water. Most TFON cycles are heavy-duty enduro-style cycles which are customized or built by each individual rider. Many of the members have oddly-shaped joints and other physical alterations which make it very difficult for them to use stock motorcycles.

Vehicles

TFON members use conventional (not recumbent) motorcycles. These are primarily 16-24SDP heavy bikes with some combat modifications, including two bikes with small smoke dischargers. There are no pod-mounted rifles or machine guns on these cycles; TFON considers these to be too limited in use. The pack also has a large tow truck capable of towing almost anything including heavy trucks and some semis. The wrecker has a slightly outdated comm suite,and a small genera- tor as well. The utility truck is a heavily-modified ten-wheeler, similar to the Army's newer 2&1/2 ton trucks. It mounts a small generator and some advanced communications gear, as well as a small distillation and filtration unit for water. Both vehicles are equipped with heavy winches (two on the utility truck, and three on the wrecker) mounted front and rear. Both also mount 7.62mm miniguns in ring-mounts on the cab with a clear armored shield (SP20) to protect against wind and stray shrapnel. These weapons are used sparingly, as the larger vehicles enter combat only as a last-ditch measure.

Weapons

TFON relies on speed and agility in their vehicle-to-vehicle combat They consider accuracy to be somewhat less important All members of TFON carry Meta WarHammer assault shotguns with laser-sights. They chose the WarHammer because it has a slightly heavier punch than a standard assault shotgun, and the ammunition is field-reloadable. Precision shooting is also terribly difficult when both the target and shooter are moving, so the use of a shotgun makes more sense. TFON members also dislike ranged combat; unlike most nomads who would like to see as little of their foes as possible, TFON warriors like to get up close and personal, and shotguns make them more formidable in these situations. They are also vicious hand-to-hand fighters, and they carry varied melee weapons as well as a combat/survival knife. Many TFON warriors pack implant weapons like claws or rippers instead of worrying with hand-held weapons. Three TFON warriors are marksmen and carry sniping weapons similar to, the Galil or Hk PSG-1. These are chambered in 7.62mm NATO cased ammunition.