The Solar Sprawl

Role in New Vance City

The Solar Sprawl is the main territory of the Solar Guardians. It sits in the ruined suburbs that ring New Vance City. The Guardians chose it because it offers clear sky, open ground, and many roofs for solar panels.

Today the Sprawl is a fortified energy district. Solar arrays cover rooftops, parking lots, and cleared blocks. Substations and control towers act as armored hubs. Patrols in exosuits move between them on fixed routes. The Guardians see the Sprawl as their base and as proof that strict order can still support stable life.

In city politics, the Solar Sprawl is a major power source. Its grids feed electricity into the wider New Vance network. Hospitals, pumps, comms, and some defensive lines depend on it. The Citadel Council needs this output but does not own the ground. The Hydro Hegemony fears how independent energy can weaken their leverage. Raiders and Gear Rats see the panels as targets and trophies.

To outsiders, the Sprawl looks like a harsh refuge. People who accept its rules gain light, water, food, and shelter. People who reject them face exile or worse. Many call the Guardians a cult. Others call them the only group that still plans more than a week ahead.

Landscape, Grids, and Defenses

The Solar Sprawl spreads across low, sun-bleached buildings and broken streets. Most houses are stripped to walls and support beams. Rooftops hold banks of solar panels fixed at careful angles. Old parking lots carry ground arrays on metal frames. Dirt around them is cleared and marked. Damaging the panels is treated as an attack on the whole community.

Converted substations serve as both control centers and strongpoints. Heavy inverters and storage banks sit behind concrete and steel shells. Fences, blast shields, and firing towers ring these cores. When alarms sound, Guardians lock these sites down first. They know the Sprawl dies if the nodes fall.

Road use is tightly planned. Some streets are sealed and reserved for Guardian convoys. Others act as lanes between housing blocks, hydroponic farms, and work zones. Battery depots sit at key junctions. Residents bring in drained cells and receive charged ones based on their quotas. Overhead racks carry power and data lines between nodes.

Heat shapes the rhythm of the district. Work on panels and towers happens in planned windows to reduce glare and fatigue. During peak sun, many people work under shade or indoors. At night, controlled lights keep streets visible but not wasteful.

Outer defenses link to the wider Perimeter but follow Guardian design. Trenches and walls protect tie-in points. Demountable barriers can close streets in minutes. In some sectors, mirror rigs and focused beam arrays stand ready.

Hierarchy and Daily Life

Life in the Solar Sprawl is strict but stable. The Solar Guardians act as both military and local government. Captain Anya Brights leads the command structure. She began as an engineer during the early blackouts and helped build the first stable grids. Under her, field captains, grid wardens, and quartermasters manage sectors and resources.

Residents belong to three broad groups. Full Guardians are sworn fighters and officers in exosuits with sunburst insignias. Auxiliaries are trained workers and reserve troops who repair panels, keep gear running, and support raids and defense. Civilians are families and workers who accepted Sprawl law in exchange for safety.

Every person in the Sprawl lives under an energy quota. Solar credits track how much power a household or unit can use and also trade as a stable currency. Lights, cooling, devices, and some water use count against this total. Essential medical tools and core defenses are exempt but still recorded. Overuse leads to fines, extra duty, or cuts. Serious theft or tampering brings arrest and trial.

Days follow a set schedule. Morning checks review power and storage. Commands assign teams to cleaning, repair, patrol, training, or field work. Civilians report to farms, workshops, kitchens, and support posts. Curfew and grid status announcements close each day.

In return, residents gain real security. The Sprawl offers filtered water, reliable food from stacked farms and vats, reinforced housing, and clinics with stable power. Many who came from raider zones or plague districts consider the loss of freedom a fair trade.

Doctrine, Discipline, and Conflict

The Solar Guardians follow a core belief: uncontrolled use of energy helped cause the Collapse. Their answer is strict control. To them, sunlight is a sacred resource, and they are its stewards. Their rule is built on the idea that “energy is salvation, but only for the worthy.” Captain Anya Brights adds another line: energy must be earned, not stolen.

Worthiness is measured in effort and obedience. People who work hard, respect quotas, and support the grid earn more credits and better posts. People who waste power, ignore orders, or sabotage systems lose standing. Minor violations bring warnings and extra duty. Major ones, such as bypassing meters or damaging panels, can lead to exile into the wastes or execution by directed heat.

Ritual exists but stays tied to work. Guardians salute the sun at shift changes and recite oaths before major repairs or raids. They paint personal sun marks on armor and tools. They call main substations “cores,” and some call them “shrines.” Outsiders see this and call them a sun cult. Guardians see it as focused discipline.

Internal dissent is rare in public. Some officers fear that the push for purity can excuse cruelty. Others argue that the Sprawl should share more power with other districts to stabilize the whole city. Brights allows limited debate inside councils but does not accept disobedience in the field.

Conflict with other factions follows clear patterns. Raiders and Gear Rats try to steal panels, batteries, or fuel. The Guardians respond with fast strikes aimed at rigs, depots, and leaders. They almost never try to hold captured ground outside the Sprawl. The Hydro Hegemony disputes new solar lines that cut into their control zones. The Citadel Council pushes for more current to its core systems.

Relations

The Solar Sprawl links to many parts of New Vance City. Its lines feed power toward the Citadel, the Waterworks, key Perimeter sectors, and some stable neighborhoods. These ties make the Guardians valuable and hard to ignore. If they cut supply, hospitals dim, pumps slow, and walls weaken. If they expand, they shift the balance of power.

People outside the Sprawl hold mixed views. Some want to earn entry and accept quotas in exchange for safety. They hear about secure housing, regular meals, and clean water. Others fear the Guardians as judges who may label whole blocks unworthy and shut off support. Stories of harsh punishment, forced exile, and public incineration spread fast.

Other factions respond based on interest. The Shadow Syndicate uses covert routes to tap surplus gear or buy stolen solar credits. The Citadel Council runs talks and quiet pressure to keep current flowing to its systems. The Perimeter Watch values Guardian support during large attacks but worries when Sprawl patrols act alone. Silent Walkers see the bright fields as proof of denial and sometimes test them with shambler pushes.

The Solar Sprawl offers light, water, and order in a damaged city. It demands loyalty, work, and obedience in return. Its people believe that every panel cleaned, every credit tracked, and every raid repelled buys New Vance one more day with power and light.