Solaris City

The capital and beating heart of the Game World, Solaris City is the home of the movers and shakers of Solaris VII. The city (surveyed and plotted in 2370) is home to some five million people and it is divided into six principal districts and starting on the 2700s several ethnic neighborhoods were created. The International Zone holds no specific allegation, but each of the others is considered aligned with one of the five Great Houses. These are the Black Hills (Davion), Cathay (Liao), Silesia (Steiner), Montenegro (Marik), and Kobe (Kurita). Each of the districts hosts a Class Six arena, where the top twenty MechWarriors battle each year to determine the championship. Residents of the sectors are actually still considered citizens of their respective nations, so Solaris City finds itself the home of many individuals who are persona non grata in their home nations, but still wish to remain citizens. Because of this phenomenon, the residents of Solaris City are often unrepresentative of the people from their parent nation.

Solaris City is ringed by a suburb known as Xolara, which itself is surrounded by Burgton. To the northeast is Roland Fields, while Bracken Swamp is to the southwest. Many native Solarans live in these suburbs, as also do most of the Periphery natives, while Rasalhagians tend to live in Xolara. Xolara, Burgton, Rolland Fields and Bracken Swamp are sometimes collective known as The Reaches.

International Zone

Location: Solaris City, Southwest side

Dominant Affiliation: None (Lyran authority)

Population: 430,000

Dominant Language: English

Per Capita Income: 18,700 C-bills

Below Poverty Level: 12.4%

The International Zone is governed by Solaris' central authority and primarily serves as a transportation and general utilities hub, in addition to various tourist attractions. The main spaceport is located in the International Zone, offering access to the mass transit system which criss-crosses the entire city. The Solaris Police Department is known for its professionalism and incorruptibility, though they are often unwelcome in other zones, while the Solaris Times provides a full listing of upcoming fights and their associated spreads.

Known Locations

• BattleMech Center - The center features individual pods in with participants control a simulated 'Mech guiding it through computer generatd trivid terrain.
• Battletech Museum - This is one of the most popular tourist spots, it displays BattleMech technology, interactive demonstrations of combat, piloting, strategy and tactics, and valuable artifacts from the Succession Wars. The site is well protected. The crown's treasures include the cockpit from Aleksandr Kerensky's Orion, a head and partial torso from a Mackie, a group of ancient Kurita flags and Kenyon Marik's personal banner.
• Central Utilities Building - Where Heat, water and power are motorized and distributed to all city
• City 'Mech Bays - Where arriving 'Mechs are checked in, inspected and registered by Solaris Games Officials. This is mandatory step.
• City Police Department - Central Police facility on the city.
• Solaris Civic Hall - Place where the Solaris Civic Council meets daily.
• ComStar HPG - While located at Regency Street and Halloran Street within Black Hills, the planet's class-A HPG station falls within the purview of the International Zone and is busy day and night.
• Solaris General Court - Court destined to crimes against foreigners, damage to public property or smuggling are tried here (each sector deals with most crimes in their zones). Those convicted will be sent to the Solaris Prison near Xolara.
• Golden Atlas - This is a cheap hotel and the rooms cramped with a indifferent or rude staff. But the Casino it hosts (both for Solaris Games matches or traditional games, is a major tourist attraction. It is owned by Geraldo Pérez who will defend his staff and check against cheaters. A small army of bouncers will take care of infractors.
• Grafina Gerbert Concert Hall - And imposing neoclassical structure where orchestras perform the music of three millennia.
• The First Solaris Bank
• Solaris Mall - A tourist trap for them to buy souvenirs, clothing, books, pictures and other items. It includes a Theater specialized in Mech-related movies.
• The Mechwarrior - This is the premier sport bar in Solaris City, high-class and high-prices. It is owned and managed by Akim Rashid, and rumors say he can provide any form or entertainment (illegal ones too) for the right price.
• The Solaris River Water Park - This is a narrow strip of green hugs that provides whomever walks here with a pleasant place for relaxation. At nigh, its thick hedges and shaggy fir trees make excellent locations for secret meetings, contraband and other illegal transactions.
• Rover park Zoological Gardens - This is a collection of Terran and extraterrestrial animal life.
• Hotel Row - This is the section of the city where most of the hotels can be found. They are known for their outrageous prices and spectacular service, accommodations and views.
• Hotel Solaris - This is the ultimate budget accommodation (looking like an ugly cinder-block boxes). The hotel is usually packed with tourist on low-rent tours, and by the underworld who use it as a meeting place and transfer point. They known that only in event of gun play or major bloodshed the authorities will be called.
• The Imperial - This is a mid-range hotel with an average restaurant (the Imperial Restaurant), that nevertheless is one of the most popular hotels on Solaris. Only major property damage or flagrant lawbreaking will make the police be called.
• The Royale - This is the second most luxury hotel in the city, targeting wealthy clientele. The hotel has two highly recommended restaurants, The Crystal Rose on the main floor and the Stargazer Lounge on the top floor - also offering one of the best views of Solaris City.
• The Solaris Broadcasting Corporation - Located at Porter Street and New Avalon Street. Primary distribution point for the bulk of the holovid footage of the Solaris Games sent to the Inner Sphere and beyond.
• The Solaris Times: The city's largest newspaper, located in a Baroque structure with a clock tower. Bordering sensationalism (but never at tabloid level) the newspaper is published morning and evening, both flat and Tri-vid. Death or injury are not uncommon fates for reporters who push too far.
• Solaris Hilton: This is the city's prime hotel and the most expensive. It's restaurant, The Amber Garden, located in the main floor, has been described as a four-star restaurant with five-star prices. This is the hotel where visiting nobles, famous MechWarrirs, wealthy merchants and other Inner Sphere elites will come. Security, enforced by Aldo Riesfield is very strict.
• The Solaris VII Spaceport.
• The Star League Park, located and the end of the Hotel Row, and including the statue of the SLDF General Amanda Klark, one of the landmarks of the city.
• The Solaris Tourist Bureau
• The Solaris Tower - A monument topped with the symbols of the five Successor Houses, it was build as a tribute to the fighting spirit of Solaris VII. Its views are incredible.

Black Hills

The House Davion sector is a study in contrasts, with the uphill mansions butting against the slums of the Lowlands to the east. The local police department is well-staffed, including a lance of light 'Mechs for civil disturbances. Popular points of interest include the Sun and Sword Hotel, the Silver Swan restaurant and Running Fox Country Club, though the biggest draw for tourists is the Boreal Reach arena, the most popular of the five Open Class arenas.

Known Locations

• Seventh Heaven - Located at Minos and Hanse Davion Drive, the Seventh Heaven is primary known for the amount of techs that hang up there. Strangers are accepted, but it might get quite complex if not nightly impossible to get information from them.
• The Pelican - Located at Frances Avenue and Era Street, The Pelican is one of the more notable MechWarrior bars in Black Hills.
• The Open Class arena Boreal Reach.

Montenegro

The House Marik sector was originally an abandoned industrial zone when it was given over to them during the Reconstruction period, and while it has rebounded since then echos of that past remain with large areas of ruined factories and slums. This past was incorporated into the sector's Open Class arena, The Factory, built out of a decrepit manufacturing complex and numbering among the most popular of the open arenas. The zone's nightlife is another attraction, with establishments like Hanger 66 and The Riever drawing tourists and locals alike. The imposing Marik Tower implies a strong, central authority in the zone but, mirroring the League's politics, reticent provinces maintain their own offices separate and in defiance of this ordnance. Crime is rampant thanks to the most inefficient of Solaris City's independent police forces.

Known Locations

• The Open Class arena The Factory.
• Hangar 66 - Located at Riesman Street and Pender Street. A bit rougher around edges, Hangar 66 is second only to Thor's Shieldhall as a well-know haunt of accomplished MechWarriors. Hangar 66 attracts a similar crowd to its Silesian counterpart and as well as MechWarriors who feel like cutting loose and frightened their actions would be frowned upon in the sacred halls of Valhalla.

Kobe

The House Kurita sector existed in something of a limbo for most of its history, after Urizen Kurita turned his back on Solaris City in response to SLDF Gunslingers turning the tide against Kuritan ronin in the First Hidden War. Kobe was finally recognized by Theodore Kurita in 3056, revitalizing the sector's economy as it could once again (legally) broadcast matches in the Combine. The sector's slums are tastefully hidden behind tall trees and hills, allowing tourists to visit the open-air Kobe Theater, stay at the Hotel Dragon or relax in the War Memorial Park without being offended by such sights. In competition with Monenegro's for second-most popular open arena is Ishiyama, a man-made mountain which looms over Solaris River.

Known Locations

• The Open Class arena Ishiyama.

Cathay

The House Liao sector has a reputation for the highest standards of living in Solaris City, as well as for the criminal activity of the local triads. The highlands contain most of the sector's middle and upper class housing, as well as attractions like the Cathay Arms hotel and Sesame Inn restaurant. The Open Class arena known as The Jungle is an imposing pyramidal structure and central attraction in Cathay, though given the surrounding neighborhoods the required level of security often makes the arena's parking lot feel like an armed camp. The Maze and Rivertown neighborhoods along the riverfront are no-go zones for the sector's police force.

Known Locations

• The Open Class arena The Jungle.

Silesia

The House Steiner sector is known for its fashionable Upper East Side and the luxurious condos of the Riverfront District. That the Riverfront has minimal police protection and abuts the poor districts of Cathy, yet boasts one of the lowest crime rates in Solaris City, has resulted in some theories that the local criminal organizations recognize it as "neutral territory". Steiner Stadium is one of the few arenas which allows its audience to view 'Mech matches live rather than on closed-circuit tri-vids, a result of the arena's unique lostech weapons barrier.

Known Locations

• The Open Class arena Steiner Stadium.
• Thor's Shieldhall - Located at Arnulf Street and Cosgrove Street. Arguable the best known Solaris sports bar in the Inner Sphere, where the reigning Solaris Champion is given the seat of honor on the champion's dais in the exclusive Valhalla Club.
• The Skye Mall - Completed in 3061, the twelve-story complex was the brainchild of Ryan Steiner, who gave final approval shortly before he was assassinated in 3056, with his estate choosing to continue on with the project as a tribute to him. Its first level a extensive food-court and holovid multiplex, the next six floors an endless array of retail stores with the remaining floors a mix of high-end restaurants, business offices and a broadcast news station.
• Nashan Diversified - Local offices of the mammoth Lyran corporation, located at Roger and Dusseldorf Street.

Xolara

During the Star League Xolara was part of the heart of he City's industrial zone, but the collapse of the Star League triggered a spiral of decay that culminated with the Marik nuclear bombardments in 2903 as it levered entire neighborhoods and destroyed what had been called a model of urban planning.

But life is hard to kill and during the past 300 years life has returned to Xolara... but not equally, some 'Mech design and production firms have returned returning live to some neighborhoods, while in other places of Xolara, gangs and thugs reign among the ruins, unchecked by any kind of authority.

Known Locations

• The Hartford Gardens arena.
• The King of the Mountain arena.
• OGS Productions - Holovid production company noted for the hit series The Sterling Hawks and The Scarlet Bands.
• O'Neil BattleMechs - O'Neil is one of the more notable small 'Mech design firms that produce so-called Solaris 'Mechs for the games.
• Vining Engineering and Salvage Team - One of the more successful garage 'Mech design firms, VEST has developed a number of designs for both the arenas and the general military market.
• Matani's 'Mechs is an upcoming small firm dedicated to BattleMech customization.
• The Solaris Prison (where the Solaris Civic Council can hide the City's crime problem).
• The FRR Hall of Honor is a museum/memento for the FRR, built by several expatriates.

Burgton

Burgton comprises several communities and small villages spread out beyond the sprawl of Solaris City and Xolara. Minor arenas dot them, as do some small 'Mech design firms. Here gangs are free to operate as there is no police patrolling.

Towns of Burgton

• Dowagiac: The oldest town from Burgton with 950 inhabitants is also one of the larger. It started as a 'Mech production center's low-cost housing for their employers. When the League died so suffered Dowagiac. Now only a handful of family-owned firms do business there.

• North Pier: Was known ad Solaris City's wast dump. The conversion of these dump into a 'Mech arena brought money to the area and triggered its economic rebirth. Visitors now come to see the matches and even some of the monuments. Several former Free Rasalhague Republic refugees fleeing the Clan Invasion as well as some Lyrans doing the same have flooded the town. Travelers are now warned to avoid the Pier at night.

• Joppa: On 3050 this town was little more than a wayside bar and a munitions works. And then all changed. In 3053 the town had grown to a small ans secretive community. Rumors run wild on who this group of secretive residents come (Clan defectors, outcast...). All agencies in the Inner Sphere have sent investigation teams, but nothing has been discovered on them.

• Kalamazoo: The village originated to cater tourinst visiting the crash site of the Star League- era DropShip Trident. But the past two centuries haven't been keen to the place. This town has degenerated into a den of cutthroats and killers, an unofficial assassins court for Solaris VII. Several gangs operate here. The locals also operate several small 'Mech arenas, which are really nothing more than open fields outfitted with grandstands for spectators.

Known Locations

• Ryder's Modifications, a small company that modifies BattleMechs, located in Dowagiac.
• Kramer's Parts and Machinery, a small company that modifies BattleMechs, located in North Pier.
• Rakker's Machine Shop, a small company that modifies ground cars located in North Pier.
• The Scrapyard arena located in North Pier.
• Barrymore Munitions Works, a small company that manufactures ammunition located in Joppa.
• The Huntsmen Stables Stablehouse located in Joppa.
• The Warner Mechwarrior Academy, a small on not very professional MechWarrior Academy located in Kalamazoo.
• The Main Complex from the Dispossessed Cooperative is located in Burgton.

Bracken Swamp

The swamplands outside Burgton have been always a sparsely populated region of Solaris. During the Star League era it housed the massige sewarage-treatment plant, now lost with the decline of the technological expertise to mantain it.

Today only one arena and a few small communities of fugitives make a meager living here. Very few outsiders venture into the Bracken Swamp except those visiting the 'Mech arena.

Towns of Bracken Swamp

• Beal City was founded more than 40 years ago by the entrepreneur Kassandra Van Beal (a pirate), and lies deep in the Bracken Swamp, hidden by dense flora and near constant mists. The village's buildings rest on stilts sunk into the shallow swampland which makes the residents traven to and from via rope bridges and small boats. The majority of the inhabitants are fugitives from Solaran or Federated Commonwealth authorities.

• Rowe: Taking its name from arena's owner Rowe Julian, the village itself remains far from properous as the arena it is the only supporting business. Most of the families either work for the arena or a few of the related business around it. This is a rural community lacking basic municipal services, where villagers live in houses set on high stilts anchored in the mashy ground and with small boats as the only means of transportation.

Known Locations

• Snorkel's, a small company specialized in aquatic 'Mech modifications, located in Rowe.
• The Pool arena located in Rowe.

Roland Fields

Rolands fields is sparsely populated that was part of the planet wildlife preserve during the Star League, though after the fall in went neglected. Nowadays it hosts several testing locations where Stables and 'Mech design firms can put their machines to test.

Known Locations

• Barrymore Range, testing range of Barrymore Works.
• The Mud Pit arena.
• Solaris Arms Test Field - Private testing field used by the 'Mech design firm.

Bibliography

• Assumption of Risk
• Handbook: House Steiner
• Illusions of Victory
• Main Event
• MechWarrior's Guide to Solaris VII
• Solaris VII: The Game World
• Solaris: The Reaches
• Unbound
• Warrior: En Garde