He who can cross the land, controls the land. And somehow, Gila Bill's crew keeps their tugboats running better than any of the other crews scrabbling for control of the desert. That puts him on top.
This is a detestable crew of animutes run by Gila Bill, a local warlord who's literally cold-blooded. They keep the peace, when it suits them. But they're also raging xenophobes against anything without a tail, so...