SOLARIS
VII HISTORY ARCHIVE
Solaris VII. The name conjures up images of veteran Mechwarriors battling
for fortune and glory, of sweating throngs of eager bettors standing in
line to wager their meaqer earnings on the outcome, of noblemen and crime
kingpins reaping C Bills along with fame, influence, and all their associated
advantages.
For centuries, the games of Solaris VII have represented the hopes
and dreams of generations, where fortunes are won and lost, and notoriety
gained by the lucky few who survive. The roll call of immortal MechWarriors
who have fought there is almost endless: Cabol Hirsch, Marco Moliotti,
Hans Moder, Billy Wolfson, Gray Noton, Justin Xiang, the O'Bannon sisters,
Amanda Hamilton all these and more have sought, won, and lost glory in
the deadly arenas of Solaris.
Through all the years of strife the endless slaughter of the Succession
Wars, the raids and counterraids of the interim periods, and most recently,
the Clan invasion that threatened to devour the Inner Sphere-Solaris VII
has remained an island where the violence of the Successor States could
be organized, channeled, and in some ways, controlled. Here, war is a game
and warriors a commodity. All across the Inner Sphere, the teeming masses
daily watch the Solaris fights, rooting for their favorites and wagering
their C-Bills. Thus has it been in the past and thus, for as long as there
is an Inner Sphere, will it remain.
Overview:
Solaris VII is the largest of the twelve planets in its
system. Exploration of the system's other worlds has found them unsuitable
for habitation, though the fourth planet is the site of an extensive though
only marginally profitable mining operation
An earth sized, water rich world, Solaris has only two major continents,
Grayland and Equatus, only one of which is extensively inhabited. Rouqhly
the size of North America on Terra, Grayland is a place of great, shallow
seas and wide, sluggish rivers. Vast stretches of taiga in the north give
way to forests of conifer-like trees in the central region and open into
grasslands in the south. The climate of central Grayland, the location
of Solaris City, is damp and chill. A brief spring season brings a wan
light for a few weeks before the rains close in again. Were it not for
the `Mech games, Solaris City would be a dismal place, indeed.
The rest of Grayland is comparatively pleasant. Many nobles maintain
summer homes along the southern coast, where rainfall is rare and the cool
sea breeze moderates a warm climate. Some sections of central Grayland
boast forests vast enough to support a profitable timber industry, but
even in such communities, the `Mech games are still the most important
industry. Solaris' other continent, Equatus, has considerably less arable
land. Populated with only a few coastal fishing and inland mining communities,
Equatus is the planet's "wild frontier."
History:
Despite its prime location along the Steiner-Marik frontier, Solaris VII's
history has been relatively peaceful. Originally a Free Worlds planet,
Solaris fell to the Lyrans during the First Succession War, then suffered
heavily from Free Worlds depredations through out the Second Succession
War. In 2928, a Marik raid severely damaged Solaris City's `Mech repair
facilities, but four years later Steiner forces roundly defeated a major
Free Worlds invasion in September 3002.
BattleMech contests are the major industry upon which the entire planetary
economy is based, and this has been so almost from the earliest period
of Solaris history. Those corporate executives who first used Solaris VII
as a testing ground for new `Mechs could never have imagined that these
test trials would one day become gladiator-like contests of a nightmarish
form
Early
Years: Solaris VII's gaming industry began inauspiciously
enough. Originally colonized for industrialization purposes during the
Star League Era, its heavy industrial base made it ideal for BattleMech
production. It was natural that several `Mech producers should decide to
use Solaris as the site for their major testing laboratories
The planet's rugged terrain provided excellent testing grounds and
dry-run sites for new `Mech designs. Vast `Mech bays were reinforced and
strengthened to serve as live ammo test sites. It was only a matter of
time before rival corporations competing for valuable Star League Military
contracts began to pit their prototypes against one another in order to
impress government officials.
The first military `Mech competition between competing designs took
place in 2695. In that first conflict, Orguss Industries' fledgling Phoenix
Hawk defeated rival Defiance Industries' Sentinel. Long in use
by House Steiner, the Sentinel was now under consideration for purchase
by the Star League Defense Forces.
Though both `Mechs eventually found their way into the SLDF, the Phoenix
Hawk's performance on Solaris gave it a definite edge. Viewed by a
small, select audience of corporate executives and their guests, the fight
proved so exciting that within a year, `Mech contests had become a regular
entertainment feature broadcast to the Solaris populace. The Solaris Games
had begun.
The popularity of these contests did not escape notice by the rich
and powerful. Battles between corporate teams were popular, so why not
use that popularity to generate profits? Private `Mech stables were born,
along with cash purses, trideo broadcasts, and the beginnings of the modern
betting system.
In addition to corporate teams, mercenary units used Solaris for training
purposes, honing their skills in fights against local MechWarriors. Some
warriors even found it possible to make their living on Solaris. Although
the betting and purse system was informal, and profits varied widely, many
Inner Sphere promoters saw the potential to get rich quick.
The
Hidden War: In 2704, Colonel Daniel Allison, one
of the famous Star League Gunslingers, was called in as grand marshal of
the `Mech games. The battle at which he was to officiate was a mock battle
with low-powered weapons between two teams of Lyran MechWarriors. The team
representing the Thirty-second Lyran Guards won victory that day in a contest
that was broadcast throughout the Commonwealth, beating out every other
program showing in the same time slot.
This
was the era of the Hidden War, when the resentful Coordinator of the Draconis
Combine secretly condoned duels of honor between Kurita warriors and members
of the Star League Defense Forces. Though the First Lord of the League
protested, Coordinator Urizen Kurita explained that these were masterless
warriors, or ronin. Mechwarriors now served only private armies since the
Edict of 2650 had commanded the various member states to dismantle some
of their official military strength. Kurita pretended that he had no authority
over these ronin, who were giving their SLDF opponents a beating.
In response, the SLDF responded in 2682 with what would eventually
become known as the Gunslinger program. As part of this project, selected
MechWarriors underwent extensive training using the most advanced techniques
and technology available. The Kurita challengers were more eager than ever
to duel these intensively trained warriors.
In 2709, after the so-called ronin and the Gunslingers had exchanged
and accepted another series of challenges, they decided on Solaris as the
site of the battles. Once more, enterprising broadcasters arranged to have
the fights broadcast, this time throughout the two competing realms.
The response was phenomenal, particularly to a grudge match between
Colonel Daniel Allison and ronin Kaneda Fujima. Defeated by Allison two
years previously, Fujima had gone into seclusion, shamed by his loss. When
Coordinator Urizen Kurita personally requested his return to service, Fujima's
first act was to challenge Allison to a re-match.
Boom
Town: After the smashing success of the duels, athletic
promoters on Solaris invited ronin and mercenaries to test their skills
in the stadia and arenas. By 2750, full-scale battles for blood were common
practice. As money from betting rolled in, the economic importance of the
`Mech contests grew. The income generated was considerable, and Solaris
was rapidly becoming a showcase for Free Worlds League culture. When Aleksandr
Kerensky registered an official complaint against the violence and corruption
surrounding the games, Council Lord Ewan Marik politely but firmly refused
to end them.
Caught up in the complexities of a slowly collapsing Star League and
the tasks of the Regency, Kerensky was unable to respond, and the games
continued. Kurita ronin and SLDF Gunslingers also continued to use the
world as a neutral location for their fights, which were almost always
broadcast. By this time, wagering had become widespread.
By the time of the Amaris coup, Solaris had become famous for its battles,
some of which were broadcast across the whole Star League. Solaris, long
since surpassed as a major industrial site, had begun to rely upon the
`Mech games.
Changing
Fortunes: As the century drew to a close, the Star
League had collapsed, General Kerensky had left the Inner Sphere with most
of the Star League army in 2784, and the first of what became known as
the Succession Wars broke out. When Lyran forces seized many worlds near
Solaris VII in a series of lightning strikes, Solaris, never closely aligned
with the Free Worlds to begin with, easily changed allegiance. Though it
has remained in Lyran hands ever since, the Commonwealth government has
approved a kind of neutrality for Solaris, much like that of Switzerland
on old Terra.
The battles for Terra, Kerensky's Exodus, and the terrors of the First
Succession War had drawn many of the best MechWarriors away from the games.
When mercenaries could earn fortunes fighting real battles for the Successor
Lords, the comparatively small purses for Solaris contests looked less
and less appealing. Within a decade of the Exodus, the planet's prospects
seemed no better than the abandoned shells of its `Mech arenas.
Reconstruction:
The inexorable descent toward economic ruin began to
reverse in 2795, when the surviving promoters came up with a last-ditch
plan to save Solaris. Seeing the chance for a new source of income, the
Commonwealth government agreed to the unorthodox proposal.
The promoters' plan was simple. Now that the Inner Sphere had split
up into the five Successor Houses, the plan was to duplicate the conflicts
of the wars in miniature on Solaris, with each House government building
and maintaining its own arena, where champions could fight for the glory
of their nation. In this way, some reasoned, the bitter conflicts of the
Succession Wars could be redirected, and the aggression possibly subsumed
in the brotherly spirit of competition.
Of course, no such thing occurred. Although the leaders of the Successor
States seized upon the proposal with enthusiasm, the contests on Solaris
served only to widen the already irreconcilable differences between the
powers of the Inner Sphere.
By 2800, Solaris VII was once more the capital of `Mech contests. Zones
around each stadium in Solaris City began to take on the character of their
corresponding Successor House, with emigrants from each state maintaining
the character of their respective sectors. The Lyrans quietly allowed this
to continue, realizing that encouraging emigration meant greater income.
Though officially administered by the Commonwealth, Solaris became
almost an independent planet, with residents allowed to maintain citizenship
in their respective states, but required to live in the appropriate sector,
or quarter, of the city. Though treaties strictly forbade spying or nationalistic
activities, the various House governments treated the law with merry disdain.
By the middle of the 29th century, Solaris had become a hotbed of intelligence
activity and other intrigue.
The international nature of the world had its advantages. Like the
equally neutral Switzerland on old Terra, Solaris became a financial center,
where residents of many other worlds of the Inner Sphere maintained numbered
bank accounts. The planet's political position kept it safe from attack,
with the aforementioned raids in 2928 and 3002 drawing widespread criticism
and condemnation. Even Wolf's Dragoons, well known for their rejection
of Inner Sphere tradition, left Solaris alone during their famous `Mech
raids into neighboring areas of Lyran space in 3019.
The
Succession Wars: While conflict smouldered in the Inner
Sphere, flaring up periodically into the doomed, pointless struggles known
as the Succession Wars, MechWarriors, particularly mercenaries, continued
to travel to Solaris for training and to pick up needed cash for repairs
and parts.
In the Fourth Succession War, Maximilian Liao, then Chancelor of the
Capellan Confederation, believed that the propaganda value of House Liao's
victories would be more valuable than any military victory in motivating
his weary troops to battle. On Solaris, however, Capellan warriors were
not enthusiastic in their response to Maximilian Liao's desperate call
for aid in fighting the war. By the time some of these same `Mech pilots
might have become receptive to helping their beleaguered nation, the war
had run its course, and House Liao had been defeated and disgraced.
When Houses Davion and Steiner were joined in the marriage between
Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner in 3028, many expected Solaris to change.
Because it seemed that peace and a new Star League under Davion leadership
was inevitable, many believed that the need for such wasteful violence
as the Solaris Games would decline.
These people were dead wrong. Not only did the games continue, but
their fervor increased, with Liao fighters determined to avenge the humiliation
of the Fourth Succession War. Even the two sectors of Black Hills and Silesia
remained officially separate, although freedom of movement between them
markedly improved.
War
And Peace: Relations between House Marik and the
Federated Commonwealth were strained during the War of 3039, making it
look as though Solaris might once more become the target of concerted military
action. As House Kurita defended itself against Hanse Davion's final drive
to destroy them, the Combine's Coordinator, Takashi Kurita, called upon
his allies to attack the Federated Commonwealth to relieve the pressure
on his forces.
House Liao, still reeling from the destruction of the Fourth Succession
War, could provide nothing save encouragement. House Marik also stood by.
sending dire ultimatums and hinting at grim consequences should the F-C
armies continue on their course. In one communique, Solaris was mentioned
as a possible target of Free Worlds operations. The populace braced for
the expected attack, then heaved a collective sigh of relief as the war
wound to its bloody, inconclusive end. Though Davion won more worlds than
he lost, most consider the 3039 War a defeat for the F-C forces. Solaris
was once more spared the horror of war
Despite the violence of 3039, and the subsequent conflicts between
the resurgent House Liao and some states of the Periphery, by 3050 peace
might have been on the horizon in the Inner Sphere. The technological advances
of the past decades combined with general war weariness led many to believe
that perhaps the incessant wars would finally end.
In this optimistic climate, the games on Solaris became more popular
than ever. ComStar stations linked virtually the entire Inner Sphere, and
even the small percentage of revenues that the promoters received for this
service made many rich beyond imagining. In this atmosphere of growing
optimism, a movement began to ban live-ammo `Mech fighting, to be replaced
by simulated battles with training weapons and damage-mimicking sensors.
Surprisingly, this movement began to win support, even among MechWarriors.
In December 3049 a bill went before the Solaris Civic Council, proposing
the appointment of a committee to investigate the possibilities of such
a change.
Coming
Of The Clans: In human history, time seems to favor
the pessimist. and so when the Clans burst unexpectedly on the scene in
early 3050, any hopes for peace in the Inner Sphere were shattered. Kerensky's
descendants had returned, but they had grown strange and violent, sweeping
down upon the Successor States with fanatic intensity, slaying and conquering.
In their wake, old alliances were shattered and new ones forged, and all
those solid, reliable things that men and women had come to know and depend
upon were swept away as if by a flood.
The apparently unbreakable alliance between Davion and Steiner was
showing signs of strain, as some citizens of both Houses still protested
the union. House Liao again awoke to thoughts of greatness and ultimate
victory. The Free Rasalhague Republic, which had seemed the perfect counterweight
against the power of House Kurita, was gutted and brought to its knees.
House Marik, largely untouched by the conflict, saw its fortunes rise.
Driven together by conflict and catastrophe, Houses Davion and Kurita began
to look at each other in a new light. ComStar, the ancient secret Order
of Blake, seemed on the verge of collapse.
All
these were tragedies for the Inner Sphere, but food and drink to the hungry
promoters of Solaris. The fights raged on, any thought of humanizing them
or reducing the bloodshed forgotten. Desperate, half-convinced that the
end was near, many people spent previously hoarded C-Bills in an orgy of
self-indulgence and debauchery. Much of this money found its way to Solaris,
as men and women wagered fortunes, hoping against hope that a big win might
buy escape or salvation from the Clans' inexorable march toward Terra.
Trillions and more changed hands overnight. Paupers became princes in a
day, then became paupers again. Blood flowed, `Mechs fought, and the arenas
were always full.
These were grand days for Solaris promoters and MechWarriors alike.
Always a microcosm and barometer of the Inner Sphere, Solaris seemed to
have run out of control, with its teeming citizens finally acknowledging
that the future held nothing but war and terror, and deciding to wager
everything on a last fling.
The Frenzy, as it came to be called, lasted well into 3052. When at
last the Com Guards halted the Clans' advance, the people of the Inner
Sphere began to hope once more that perhaps life might go on. Slowly, the
frenetic pace of life on Solaris began to return to normal.
Solaris
Today: In the wake of the Clan invasion, the games
continue. At first, many believed that the honor-driven Clanspeople might
look favorably on the games of Solaris, providing new blood to the game
circuit. Far from admiring Solaris and its games, however, the Clans apparently
despise the notion of fighting for money or the idea of wagering on the
outcome of combats. They see such activities as a filthy perversion of
a noble profession, a twisted caricature of their famous "bidding"
system, by which commanders earned glory and status.
Should the Clan Wars begin again, many believe that one of their first
goals will be to destroy the world they consider a den of degeneracy and
evil-Solaris. Meanwhile, the games go on. They can never end until the
Successor States have passed away, and peace again reigns over the thousands
of stars of the Inner Sphere.
SOLARIS STARPORT
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Created by 
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Most recent revision Thursday, September 25, 1997