Free Worlds League Information Centre
Solaris: The Game World
Solaris: The Game World
In
the world of Solaris, the true goal of is to gain wealth and reputation among
its population. As it is such a vague goal, there are many ways in which to
accomplish it. With the right skills you may never even have to put your life at
risk to win riches and glory, but then again no one is truly safe in a world
where conspiracy is the rule and death is, quite literally, a game.
However,
there are always other places where you can go in debt, most notably, within the
vast gambling network that has always been a part of the games. In order to keep
yourself from going broke it is often best to get a job as one of the following:
Mechwarrior - One of the warriors of Solaris
Tech - Those that repair and salvage
Manager - Managering a stable,
co-op or business
Other - Some of the shadier sides of Solaris
A
MechWarrior has two options in Solaris City: he or she can go freelance or join
a stable. By far the easiest option is to join a stable, though this
considerably limits a Mechwarrior's independence and freedom to accept matches.
Freelancing
is rather impossible for a new MechWarrior due to the simple fact that new
visitors generally do not have mechs. This option is there, however, for those
that become wealthy and reputable enough to support themselves without help from
a stable or co-op.
Neither
course in entirely risk-free, but despite the odds against a new Mechwarrior
making a name on Solaris, eager young warriors continue to flock there, hoping
to find the limelight and stand proudly with the elite at Valhalla or Hr 66.
Most
'Mech pilots on Solaris require the backing of a patron, usually the head of an
established mech stable and should be used to seek out employment. Once a
potential employer has been sought out, he or she should be contacted and a
contract should be negotiated.
Just
as MechWarriors are constantly taking their machines into battle, techs
constantly work in the background to repair and keep up these mammoth machines
so that the games can go on. Although lacking the luster of a MechWarrior's fame
and fortune, these jobs are necessary and fundamental to the survival of
Solaris.
All
of the many businesses, co-ops, and stables all are managed by one or more
persons, who may or may not necessarily be the owners of those establishments.
When you have enough money and a good base of support, MechWarriors have been
known to buy into one of these reputable businesses. Having stock in a business
allows them to own a small part of that business, which, when it makes money,
will return to them a share of the profit.
Having
enough shares of a business to control a majority of votes is considered
ownership of a business and that one person may make all the decisions that
concern it. Otherwise the shareholders meet to discuss action before it is taken
by the appointed CEO of the business.
Stock
has a value all its own and extremely variable from day to day, depending on the
demand and supply of it, which is usually proportional to the success of the
business. Certain shady reason exist for the opposite to be true however.
During
peoples' stay on Solaris, they will no doubt invent numerous more ways to earn a
profit. Buying and selling goods, services is quite legal here. However, for
those that would venture outside the legal bounds of this profiting arena,
higher profits await, if they dare to test their skill with the authorities that
comb endlessly for black-marketeers and ruthless assassins, yakuza and
saboteurs.
The
games in Solaris are divided into weight classes for ease of setting up
relatively fair fights. These classes are:
1 - Exoskeleton
2 - Light
3 - Medium
4 -
Heavy
5 - Assault
6 - Unlimited
Past Champions of Solaris
* Name * * Years as Champion * * Name * * Years as Champion * -------- --------------------- -------- --------------------- ~Cabol Hirsch 2812 - 2814 Daryoush Sabahi 2937 - 2938 ~Marco Moliotti 2815 - 2818 Arthur Rames 2939 Andrea Haskell 2819 Noburu Kuichi 2940 Drew Onada 2820 Margaret Portillo 2941 Falai Fouadi 2821 David Ewell 2942 Victoria Ghandell 2822 Norman Bales 2943 - 2945 Francois Drullet 2823 - 2824 Rideto Moriyasu 2946 - 2947 Ghinobu Ranedo 2825 Rex Falconburg 2948 Xin Lee Riang 2826 Julie Baumgartner 2949 Peter Grigg 2828 - 2829 Bennet Hammond 2950 - 2951 Charlene Madan 2830 - 2831 Alberto Diez 2952 ~Casai Iusang 2832 - 2835 Gary Markstaller 2953 Tetsuo Ronawa 2836 Alan Stubbs 2954 - 2955 ~Oliver Two Horse 2837 - 2838 Robert Cramer 2956 - 2957 Maki Murahashi 2839 Henry Curman 2958 ~Oliver Two Horse 2840 - 2841 Desiree Careaga 2959 Michael Craddock 2842 Rajid Malool 2960 Robert Gingharai 2843 - 2845 Corneliu Dlocea 2961 - 2963 Shola Umoja 2846 Faezeh Djeyfrouddi 2964 Shih Fenh 2847 Duane McComas 2965 Robin Wolfram 2848 - 2849 Rosemary Rubenstein 2966 - 2968 Trent Barton 2850 Diane Byassee 2969 Cuatemoc Cardenas 2851 Jame Caggiano 2970 Viktor Petrov 2852 Kevin Langworthy 2971 - 2973 Mohammed al Ibrahim 2853 Tomas Breissman 2974 Arleta Gordon 2854 - 2855 Jas Czesla 2975 - 2976 Winston Carter 2856 Masud Ahmaddi 2977 Roger Bostwick 2857 - 2858 Rafael Marella 2978 - 2979 Harriet Granger 2859 Astrid Schagler 2980 Yi Jiang 2860 John Mahpehpah 2981 Danielle Jenner 2861 Sidney Lakey 2982 Martin Essex 2862 - 2864 Thomas Moe 2983 - 2984 Letitia Donovan 2865 Charles Fagen 2985 Kyle Burton 2866 - 2867 Ernest Burroughs 2986 Arvid Ghiner 2868 Hector Garcia 2987 Samui Chichi 2869 Gloria Lillehaugen 2988 - 2989 ~Paul Fokker 2870 - 2874 Michael D. Martin 2990 Jenette Hart 2875 Dale Krueger 2991 - 2993 Drake Morder 2876 Gordon Marquand 2994 - 2995 Clinton Finn 2877 Nita Krevando 2996 Steven Mak 2878 Akia Toyoshima 2997 - 2999 Shanda Rambeaux 2879 - 2880 Brett Bartenberger 3000 ~Harrison Kent 2881 - 2884 Hans Schleinning 3001 Edmond Arens 2885 ~Terri Bates 3002 - 3005 Sheila Marie Bellows 2886 Phyllis Barnes 3006 Gunther Bellows 2887 - 2888 Danh Daravivanh 3007 - 3008 Tag Burton 2889 ~James O'Gordon 3009 - 3012 Richard Rapier 2890 Orlando Perez 3013 Linda Schwartz 2891 - 2892 Joel Groshong 3014 Echigo Rama 2893 Maxwell Boddi 3015 Shelley Bine 2894 ~Gray Norton 3016 - 3022 ~Paul Reese 2895 - 2898 Manuel Delvalle 3023 David Sells 2899 Hans Moder 3024 - 3025 Charles Tabey 2900 Phillip Capet 3026 - 3027 Erica Smale 2901 - 2903 Justin Xiang 3027 Rwan Tong Ngo 2904 - 2905 Chaka Mobuto 3028 Susan Beitz 2906 Anya Terrel 3029 Michael Ross 2907 - 2909 Allen Fitz 3030 Joseph Miracle 2910 Maurice Potter 3031 ~Kan Sho 2911 - 2915 Richard Townsend 3032 Nance Logan 2916 Taleb Rammadi 3033 Brent East 2917 Debra Fromherz 3034 - 3035 ~Meyer Bellagiorre 2918 - 2921 Andrew McCaffrey 3036 Fritz Schleiffer 2922 - 2923 Bao Zhan Fu 3037 Thar Drickle 2924 Matthew Balcomb 3038 - 3039 Sandra Higgins 2925 ~Amanda Hamilton 3040 - 3043 Steph. Van der Kellen 2926 Niculcea Dumitrescu 3044 Rico Totze 2927 Kyle Isaacs 3045 ~Rhian Caselton 2928 - 2931 Julia Marroquin 3046 - 3047 Michael Plevant 2932 - 2933 Michael Romney 3048 Lars Tebbit 2934 Brady Riefer 3049 Cara Brafwallner 2935 Jason Bloch 3050 Francis Rypczynski 2936 Elizabeth and Tanya O'Bannon (Co-Champions) 3051 - 3053 Kai Allard-Liao 3054 -
Any
of the champions with the ~ symbol before their names are considered to be among
the legends of the Solaris champions.
As
with any language, new words and new meanings for old words develop in response
to current events and technology. The MechWarrior games have spawned many slang
expressions peculiar to Solaris. Those considered "hip" and part of the "in
crowd" like to use the following phrases in their almost-constant discussions of
the latest, and upcoming, duels.
Arrowhead: Aerospace pilot
Blood pit: Small, undistinguished 'Mech arena,
usually outside of Solaris City.
Dead Zone: Anywhere where nothing is going on. In
reference to person, suggests supidity.
Divorce Court: The Federated Commonwealth. A
reference to the current state of relations between Houses Steiner and Davion.
DOA: A clearly outmatched MechWarrior.
Farmer: One who pilots a 'Tractor' (see below).
Frakker: All-purpose epithet, along the lines of
"dipstick" and "lamebrain."
Fringer: Anyone from the outlands, i.e., not a
resident of the five major sectors.
Ghost: An undercover agent for a Successor State,
criminal cartel, or corporation.
Gremlin: A thug working for a crime syndicate.
Headhunter: Derogatory term for a MechWarrior who
seems to favor killing his opponents.
Hillies: Davionists from the Black Hills sector.
Hitman: A MechWarrior who enjoys injuring or killing
his opponents. After "Hitman" Hirsch, the first major 'Mech champion.
Jack in the box: MechWarrior who favors jumping from
behind cover to fire down on his opponents.
Knievel: A reckless or glory-hungry MechWarrior who
takes unnecessary risks.
Mayflies: Young MechWarriors who advance too quickly
to high-level competition, only to be defeated and forgotten.
Mechbunny: A somewhat derogatory term for fans who
enjoy associating with MechWarriors. Both male and female Mechbunnies exist Also
known as wannabes.
No-hitter: A dull 'Mech fight, particularly one in
which no weapon hits are scored.
Peeker: An individual who comes to watch the 'Mech
games but does not bet.
Pinball Machine: A particularly flashy or
extensively modified BattleMech.
Pinball Wizard: A highly skilled 'Mech tech. Also
simply "Wizard."
Rackit: To overheat a 'Mech, specifically when all
the weapons are fired in an all-or-nothing shot at a quick victory. Also, to
push anything to its absolute limit.
Rats: The inhabitants of the slums of the Black
Hills and Cathay.
Romans: Silesians. A reference to the Roman-inspired
Steiner Stadium.
Sawbones: A cheap 'Mech repairman.
Scavs: Scrap merchants who deal in wrecked
BattleMechs.
Scrappers: Montenegrans. A reference to the numerous
pieces of wrecked buildings and scrap metal scattered around the quarter.
Seatfiller: A low-class MechWarrior recruited at the
last minute to fill up a fight card.
Spinner: A flamboyant MechWarrior given to fanciful
moves and maneuvers; usually applied to light 'Mech pilots.
Splitter: A MechWarrior who fights in the arenas
solely as a means of hooking up with a mercenary unit or finding work elsewhere.
Timey: A MechWarrior past his prime. See "Zombie."
Toilet Paper: Solaris scrip.
Tractor: A worthless or badly designed 'Mech such as
the CGR-1A1
Charger Tumor: An upper-class Solaran. In some
circles, a "healthy tumor" refers to a dead upper-class Solaran.
Ugly: A vicious or particularly violent 'Mech
battle.
Vampire: A 'Mech broker.
Wizard: A particularly successful or talented
technician. See Pinball Wizard.
WrenchWarrior: Battlemech technician.
Zombie: A burned-out or washed-up MechWarrior who
continues to fight (perhaps hoping to be killed in the arena). See "timey."
In
3057, as Marik and Liao forces invaded the Sarna March, Katrina Steiner-Davion
announced the formation of the new Lyran Alliance, declared Lyran neutrality in
the invasion, and called for all Lyran military units to withdraw from Federated
Commonwealth possessions in the March. With this act, ownership of Solaris VII
transferred from the Federated Commonwealth to the newly-christened Lyran
Alliance.
Along
the Lyran-Free Worlds border, however, many worlds keenly miss the benefit of
Prince Victor's military experience in dealing with the newly aggressive Free
Worlds League. They do not trust Thomas Marik's promise not to expand his realm
beyond its Fourth Succession War borders, and they could easily go over to the
Archon Prince's side at the first sign of Marik aggression.
In the meantime, life on Solaris has not changed much. The famed 'Mech games have continued as if nothing has changed, with fights being scheduled without as much as a delay, as the planet transferred hands.