Hydro Hegemony

Origins and Purpose of the Hydro Hegemony

The Hydro Hegemony started in the first months after the Collapse, when the city’s water system failed in stages. Rain burned skin. Old wells pulled up sludge and chemicals. People boiled what they could and still got sick. Small groups of former utility workers, plant technicians, and plumbers tried to keep parts of the grid alive. Most failed. A few did not.

Valve was one of those survivors. Before the Collapse, he worked maintenance on city pipes and filtration units. He knew which plants still had working membranes, which pumps could be restarted, and which lines were corroded beyond repair. When the old city government fell apart, Valve and a small crew took control of one filtration station to protect their families and neighbors.

At first, they handed out water for free. That ended quickly. Crowds grew. Fights broke out at the gates. Armed gangs tried to seize the plant. After the first serious assault, Valve changed his approach. If water was the only thing keeping people alive, then control over it could not be casual. It had to be strict and enforced.

From that point on, the group around Valve acted with clear purpose. They repaired and reconnected parts of the filtration grid. They secured reservoirs and cisterns. They put guns on the gates. They charged for access, not only in items and labor, but also in obedience. Over time, this effort turned into a unified force. People began to call it the Hydro Hegemony.

Their stated purpose is direct. They claim to keep clean water flowing in a world where most water kills. They say that without hard limits, taps would run dry in days. They present their rule as the only workable way to stop riots, disease, and sabotage from destroying what remains of the water network. Whatever the truth, no one in New Vance can ignore them.

Valve, Hierarchy, and Organization

Valve is the founder and central figure of the Hydro Hegemony. He is not a distant ruler. He walks plant floors, inspects valves and filters, and visits enforcement squads in the field. He wears a reinforced work harness instead of a formal uniform, and he carries old tools that now double as weapons. To his people, he is proof that practical knowledge and willpower can still shape the city.

Under Valve is a clear hierarchy. Each major district plant or reservoir is run by a Foreman or Forewoman. These leaders manage both technical staff and armed guards. They are judged on a simple set of results: uptime of their facility, volume of clean water delivered, and the level of unrest in their service area. Failure brings demotion or reassignment to more dangerous posts.

Below them are the Lines. Each Line is a combined unit of technicians and enforcers assigned to a specific sector of pipe runs, kiosks, and street taps. Line Techs keep pumps, filters, and valves in working order. Line Guns protect them and enforce policy on the ground. Lines patrol pipe corridors, inspect connections, and collect payment and compliance data from public kiosks.

Supporting this structure are the Tally Clerks and Rate Setters. They track water volume, ration levels, and payment patterns. They decide who gets priority flow during shortages, whose ration cards are cut, and which blocks move from “stable” to “restricted” service. Their records feed back to Valve and the central council of senior Hegemony officers.

This organization is not loose. It runs on schedules, quotas, and direct accountability. Every leak is logged. Every delayed delivery is traced. Every act of resistance is recorded and linked to a responsible Line. The Hegemony presents this as efficiency. To those under their thumb, it feels like a complete lock on the basic need to drink.

Control of Water and Everyday Life

The Hydro Hegemony controls intake towers, filtration plants, pumping stations, street kiosks, and main pipe junctions across most of New Vance. Large storage cisterns sit behind fences and concrete walls. Armed guards watch them from elevated platforms. Access is only granted to authorized personnel.

Most citizens interact with the Hegemony through water kiosks. These clean, well-lit units stand on street corners, plazas, and inside controlled markets. Each kiosk has taps, ration scanners, and a small booth for an attending clerk or guard. Citizens present cards or chips that track their allotment. The kiosk releases a measured amount of filtered water, often into personal containers approved and inspected by Hegemony staff.

Ration levels depend on location, status, and behavior. Districts that cooperate with Hegemony rules get more generous flows. Areas that shelter enemies, hide illegal taps, or disrupt Line patrols see their rations cut. In some zones, families wait in long lines and walk away with barely enough water to drink, with nothing left for washing wounds or cooking.

Payment comes in different forms. Some people pay with credits, labor, or materials. Others pay with information or enforcement support. The Hegemony builds networks of local helpers who report on illegal wells, shadow traders, or suspected sabotage. These informants get better access to water for themselves and their kin.

Every major faction in New Vance also deals with the Hegemony at a higher level. The Citadel Council needs stable water for its clean districts. It negotiates large-volume contracts and offers political protection, technical documentation, and medical support in return. The Solar Guardians trade power for priority access to key water sites and mobile purification units at their forts. Even the Shadow Syndicate and Gear Rats sometimes accept formal deals to keep their own zones supplied.

For ordinary people, the result is clear. When the Hydro Hegemony turns a valve, a whole district feels it. Daily life is shaped by their schedules and moods. A dispute with local Hegemony officers can mean dry taps by morning. A sudden favor from Valve’s office can raise a settlement from desperation to stability in a week.

Enforcement, Punishment, and Conflict

The Hegemony presents itself as a public service, but its enforcement is harsh. Any attempt to bypass the system is treated as a direct attack on the city’s survival and on Valve’s authority. Unauthorized wells, illegal filters, or hidden tap lines are high crimes.

When Lines discover an illegal connection, they respond with force. They cut and weld shut the offending pipes. They seize equipment and often arrest the people involved. In many cases, nearby ration amounts are also reduced, to reinforce that the entire block shares responsibility for keeping the system “clean.”

Punishments scale with the offense. First-time offenders may lose ration privileges for a set period or be reassigned to heavy labor in filtration plants or pipe repair crews. Repeat offenders or organizers of larger resistance efforts face exile from controlled water zones or targeted strikes on their homes and workplaces. In extreme cases, execution is used as a public warning.

The Hydro Hegemony also practices sabotage outside its territory. Rivals who try to set up independent water systems often discover their pumps failing or their intakes fouled by contamination. Pipes crack without signs of age. Storage tanks spring leaks at the worst moments. When questioned, the Hegemony denies involvement, but the timing is rarely a mystery.

Conflicts with other factions stay mostly cold but can flare up. The Citadel Council argues over rate changes and emergency cuts to Council-aligned districts. The Solar Guardians clash with Hegemony guards over control of certain wellheads, especially near key energy sites. The Shadow Syndicate runs black-market water in some zones, using portable purifiers and hidden cisterns. The Hegemony responds by hunting Syndicate couriers and shutting down suspected routes.

Despite this, the Hegemony rarely commits to open war. They do not need to. Their greatest weapon is the ability to cut supply and to wait. Enemies who cannot secure their own clean water must either submit, move, or die.

Image, Influence, and the Future of New Vance

On the surface, the Hydro Hegemony uses a clean and professional image. Their workers wear matching uniforms with clear insignia. Kiosks are kept bright and orderly. Signs show simple rules for ration use and health warnings about untreated water. Public notices talk about “service coverage,” “scheduled maintenance,” and “safety standards.”

This image is not a lie, but it hides the price. Behind every kiosk stand armed escorts. Behind every “maintenance delay” may sit a deliberate pressure tactic. Communities learn quickly that complaints only matter if they also come with respect and compliance.

The Hegemony’s influence reaches into politics, trade, and community leadership. Many settlement heads hold their position only because they can “keep the taps open.” They serve as informal agents, balancing the needs of their people with the demands of Hegemony officers. In return, they gain some leverage to request extra flow during crises or festivals.

For New Vance as a whole, the Hydro Hegemony is both stabilizer and threat. Without their organized control, many districts would lose all access to safe water. Disease and unrest would spike. The death toll from contaminated sources would rise. At the same time, their monopoly blocks any real chance at shared governance of this basic resource.

Some groups talk about building alternative networks: rooftop condensers, deep filters, or reclaimed pre-Collapse plants beyond Hegemony reach. The Solar Guardians experiment with solar distillation systems. The Shadow Syndicate moves small purifiers through secret routes. The Gear Rats sometimes test crude treatment rigs in the Rust Belt. So far, none of these efforts can match the scale and reach of the Hydro Hegemony.

Valve understands this. He invests constantly in maintenance, expansion, and the training of new technicians. He does not plan to give up control.