Chapter 1

Xolara
Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Alliance
12 March, 3067


It wasn’t exactly a seedy bar, but it wasn’t the most upscale of places either. Faith sat towards the rear of the bar, the better to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the various patrons. For the most part, the people frequenting the bar were working class locals with a smattering of tourists thrown in for good measure. Faith was fairly certain that she had pegged the local criminal element doing their normal running, and from the look of it, it was mostly low level trade in illicit substances, and some kind of sex ring that she wasn't quite sure of, and was pretty sure she didn’t want to be sure of.

Today, however, held a new surprise. From a back hallway of the bar emerged a woman, followed closely by two men who were clearly auditioning for the role of archetypal bodyguard. The blonde woman was probably in her forties, perhaps early fifties, but had a certain grace about the way she walked. It didn’t exactly put her out of place here, but it did make her stand out. She was dressed in a dark gray business suit over a teal blouse. Her blonde hair was swept back and her earrings showed a trace of norse influence in them, pegging her as a Rasalhagian native in Faith’s quick estimation.

Not particularly to Faith’s surprise, the woman made her way over to Faith’s table. Faith was the new arrival here, and more likely as not, she knew she would have to explain herself to someone, sometime. The bartender had taken little interest in her, and she had quickly dismissed any notions that he might be one of those bartenders who truly ran a watering hole and had the feel for the information that flowed through it. No, the one who ran this particular establishment was now making her way over to meet Faith.

“Am I disturbing you?” The woman’s tone was neutral, and her voice held a surprising warmth that Faith wouldn’t have anticipated.

“No. And given all the options that a local boss could have been, I’ll take you.”

The other woman took a seat across the table from her and smiled slightly, almost self-reflectedly. “So I’m the ‘boss’, am I?”

Faith kept her tone no-nonsense. “I don’t know what the title is that you go by, but yeah. Seems to me you’re the one in charge. At least of this place, and I’d wager a little further. Nature abhors a vacuum, so there’s always someone who manages what goes on in a given area. You’ve got the presence, and you’ve got the goon squad following you around. So I figure it’s you.”

“I’m Astrid Bensen, and I’m a...local businesswoman. So, what is a low level mech jock doing slumming it here in Xolara in our beautiful neighborhood?” This woman’s stock just rose a notch in Faith’s eyes. At least she had done her research before the meeting.

“Well, you obviously know me. That means you also know I’m a little bit more than a mech jock. I like to keep my hands in a few different cookie jars. For now, I’m just scoping out talent for a friend of mine.”

“And you expect to find it here? This isn’t exactly the Hiring Hall on Outreach.”

While there was some truth to the woman’s words, Faith had plied her trade in the Solaris underworld long enough to know that plenty of talent flowed through the bottom levels of the Solaris experience, it was just a matter of filtering out all of the muck. “I’ve spent plenty of time myself away from the fancy lights of the big city, so I know that talent doesn’t just pool in one place. But I’m sure you know that too. Even if you don’t trade in it, you know what goes through your little piece of the pie.”

Astrid smiled with the corner of her mouth. “You might be surprised what I trade in. But mostly I just watch, make sure things run smoothly. It has it’s rewards.”

And there it was. Faith nodded. “I understand, this is your turf. Anything I find here comes with a storage fee attached. That’s not a problem. Although that might be.” She nodded towards the front of the bar where two drunk patrons were nearly at blows with each other over the virtues of Lyran vs. Davion mechwarriors.

Astrid chuckled. “Those two have been fighting since before the riots. They know that if they break anything, they have to pay for it. Other than that, they’re harmless. As for you and I, I’m glad we understand one another. I like to look at everything as an opportunity rather than a problem. If there’s anything you need during your time here, I’m sure I can point you in the right direction.”




It was about half an hour past last call, and Faith made her way down the sidewalk. It had been raining, but right now the air just hung heavy with moisture and all the surfaces were slick with rainwater. She hadn’t really found anything tonight, but at the very least she had come to an understanding with the local turf boss, such as she was. She didn’t plan to make her way all the way back to Solaris City proper, she had rented a small hole in the wall apartment here in the Reaches to crash at on nights like this. She had nursed her drinks, but there was still a bit of a buzz going on in her head.

Enough of a buzz that she paused instead of walking past when she heard a commotion in the alley to her left. It was the kind of alley that was straight out of some pulp fiction novel, narrow with high walls on either side, suitably dotted with various fire escapes, small fences, and other assorted ironmongery, and just enough lighting from sources you couldn’t make out to illuminate the things you didn’t want to see.

At this hour, what Faith didn’t want to see was a tourist-looking couple backed against the side wall of the alley, and three archetypal low life thugs menacing them in a rough semi-circle. As she approached, Faith could make out some of the conversation.

“We….we’re just asking questions, looking for information, that’s all. We didn’t mean to bother anyone” stammered the male half of the tourist couple. He looked to be in his fifties, easily pegged as a tourist by his business casual clothes and the frightened tone in his voice.

“Yeah, well too late for that, pops. You already caused a bother. You come around here looking for something, you gotta pay a finders fee. Lucky for you, you found the tax collector. Me. Now all you gotta do is turn over everything you got on you, and hey, we’ll even go easy on the little lady there.” The large oaf in the center of the semi-circle was obviously the self-appointed leader of this “tax collection” gang.

The thug to the left guffawed. “Speak for yourself, Manny. Takin’ care of the ole business don’t come cheap down here for some of us. I bet momma there could help me out.”

“Just leave us alone!” The man yelled.

“Hey, chill man. You can watch if that’s what heats up your PPC,” the second thug laughed heartily at his own humor.

“Hey boys, you’re a little way from the tax office, wouldn’t you say?” Faith interjected, causing all three of the goons to turn and face her. Manny, the one who passed for an alpha in this particular pack shook his hand casually, showing off the medium sized knife he held in it.

“What’s it to you, girl scout? We’re having a private conversation here with these fine folks. Why don’t you take that tight little ass of yours outta here and go work the circuit, if you get my drift.” She could tell these three were small time, they obviously weren’t Yakuza, Tongs, or Mafia, and had probably just stumbled on these two tourists who just happened to be practically wearing a giant “rob me” sign.

“Because, Manny, watching the local dropouts roughing up the paying customers isn’t my thing. It gives me heartburn. So why don’t you go on home, help each other out, and call it a night. I assure you that this tight little ass is more trouble than it’s worth to you.” By this point she knew that a fight was inevitable. She also knew she could handle this street trash.

Goon number two was the first to make a move, producing a club of some sort from behind his back and casually walking toward her. “I got just the thing to loosen that asshole, bitch!” As he spoke, he wound up and took a clumsy swing at her. She deflected the blow and grabbed the man’s arm, shoving down with enough force that he awkwardly stumbled to the ground. She slammed her booted foot down on his arm, hearing a satisfying snap as his grip on the club gave way. As she spun around to face the remaining two criminals, she drew the semi-auto holdout pistol that she had squirreled away in the back of her belt.

“Anyone else looking to loosen me up tonight?” She wasn’t sure why, but she caught a hint of indecision in Manny’s eyes. She squeezed the trigger, sending a slug through Manny’s shoulder with a sharp crack. The thug spun around with the impact and let out a howl.

At about that time, the combination of the alcohol and the adrenaline hit Faith’s brain. Time seemed to freeze, lights blurred, and sounds fell to a muffle. She was vaguely aware of the trio of men scurrying their way out the back of the alley, and the shocked couple running up to her after a moment or two.

“What are we going to do?! Miss? Lady?!,” the female of the couple was practically pleading with Faith for a response. Faith blinked hard, shaking herself out of the fugue state.

“Wait for the cops. Always wait for the cops.”

Prologue

Solaris Spaceport

International Zone, Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Alliance

10 March, 3067

Solaris VII. I can't count the number of times this world has tried to kill me. That it hasn’t yet succeeded isn’t for lack of creativity or lack of trying. Yet I always seem to find myself back here. Maybe it’s the money. Maybe it’s the fame. Shit, who are you fooling, girl, it’s the adrenaline and the danger. Like a junkie who has sworn off drugs, I can never quite turn down the lure of the good stuff. Just one more time. At least that’s what I tell myself every time I come back. One more time. And if history is any guide, I’ll end up with my life hanging in the balance somewhere, my heart pounding in my head and the life pulsing slowly out of me, and I’ll tell myself this is the last time, I’ll tell myself never again. Some people call me a glutton for punishment. Some people call me an idiot. And some people, some people call me a marshmallow…

Faith McCarron walked slowly through the crowd with her hands stuffed in her pockets. There wasn’t much use in fighting the crowds, at least not at the spaceport at unloading time. The crowd here was no different than the crowd in an arena, there were certain times you weren't going to move it or change it, you just had to ride it.

This was one of them. She had come in on a commercial passenger hauler, and hers was one of three that was unloading at the spaceport at this hour. The crowd was big, and the crowd was mixed. There were the scattered hopefuls, she could still spot them. They were the new warriors, coming to Solaris hoping to make a name for themselves. Some were starting out. Some were trying to start over. Almost all of them would fail. Some of them would die. But right now, they were soaking in the sights, trying to get a feel for their new home. 

She had been in that position once, years ago. Disillusioned with the life of taking orders as a simple soldier, she had come here to carve her own path. It hadn’t worked out the way she had planned, but life seldom did. But neither had it been a failure. She rolled with the punches, adapted, and got good. That’s what you did on Solaris, you got good or you died.

But life on Solaris was never really simple, and one tended to get entangled in complications, no matter if you wanted to or not. Those were the kind of complications that had taken her offworld for a time, back into the service of House Liao, and she had served well. But now it was time to return home. Things were changing. The Federated Commonwealth had split in two in a bloody civil war, and the Inner Sphere was never going to be the same again. When things changed, Faith tried to ground herself, and that meant coming home to Solaris.

Solaris, too, had seen its share of change. Riots had torn the city apart, as the FedCom Civil War had spilled into the streets, eventually embroiling even the other sectors of the city. Even the games, that stalwart center of Solaran life, had ground to a halt for a time. They were slowly coming back, but that meant opportunities. And opportunities were why Faith was back here. Opportunities for what, that was the question.

For now, she simply let the crowd move her along until she had made her way outside the confines of the spaceport building. The skies were cloudy, but the rains for which Solaris was famous were not, for the moment, falling. Vehicles, both wheeled and hover propelled, were fighting each other for position along the roadway that led away from the complex, and people swarmed in and amongst them like insects. The vehicles seemed to be in an almost constant state of motion, like a system of blood vessels carrying the newly arrived deeper into the city to whatever fate awaited them. There were a million stories being carried into the city that way, Faith’s just another among the flow.

“Sneaking into town without so much as a whisper, are we?” The owner of the voice slipped casually into step beside Faith. She silently scolded herself for allowing someone to have followed her and slipped in beside her without notice as she had been lost in her reverie at returning to the city, even as a smile crept onto her face at the recognition of the voice itself.

“I had no idea you were in system, Victoria. You never call, you never write,” Faith replied. She cast a sidelong glance at her new companion. “And besides, it looks like you’re slumming it, too.”

The woman chuckled. Victoria Merryweather was the owner and head of her own corporation, and worth more millions than Faith cared to guess, but today she wore jeans and a simple sweater, along with what Faith judged to be obnoxiously large sunglasses. “What can I say, things are boring at home, and you know my love for the games here. Besides, with things heating up in the Chaos March, this is as good a place as any to get your pulse on the vein of the universe.”

That was a phrase Victoria had used before, and that pulse seemed always tied to money. If there were deals to be had, weapons to be sold, contracts to be signed, Victoria would be nearby, that was one thing of which you could be assured. But on top of all that, she had a gambling streak in her. She liked to take a chance, she liked the thrill of living on the edge, and that was what had brought her both to the game world and across Faith’s path in the past.

Faith took in her surroundings once again, feeling the pulse, as it were. Yes, it was the same game world, but there was a definite edge. And it wasn’t just here. Something big was on the horizon, and like animals before an earthquake, people seemed to sense it that it was coming, even if they didn’t understand what it was. “And you just happened to be strolling incognito through the International sector when you bumped into me?”

“Ok, so I might have had your name flagged to watch for when my people sort through all that boring data. I figured I’d surprise you, what with you being my favorite mechwarrior and all.”

Faith allowed herself a grin. “Now I know something is up. Ok, I’ll buy that I’m in your rolodex of keywords to look for on interweb traffic, right next to Ferro-fibrous armor. But buttering me up on top of that? You have a plan.”

“I like to call them programs, but yes, I have a plan. Find me after you get settled?” Good, bad, or horrible, Faith had found her thread to pull on. The game world was alive once again.

Penthouse Number One, TharHes Tower

Silesia, Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Alliance

11 March, 3067

The aroma of synthetic opium hung in the air as the two women gazed up into the surprisingly clear Solaran night sky. It was a cloudless night, and the glass ceiling afforded a totally unobstructed view of the stars above.

“All those stars, and we always seem to end up around the same few. Makes you wonder if we really choose our own paths at all, doesn’t it?” Faith mused, half to herself, as she let the lingering effects of the drugs coursing through her veins run their course. She wasn't often openly self-reflective, but she allowed herself the indulgence here in the relative safety of the company of a friend.

“Don't get all philosophical with me. We make our own way, you should know that better than most. That’s part of what makes you my favorite mechwarrior, you and I, neither of us have anything that we didn’t fight tooth and nail to earn. There’s a lot to be said for that.” Victoria countered as she rolled from her back to prop herself on her elbows to look at Faith.

Faith chuckled slightly, “Your favorite? So you keep a harem of mechwarriors around, do you?”

Victoria smiled. “On this world, they call it a stable. And no, I don’t keep one. Yet.” She paused for a moment. “That’s what I was referring to earlier. I’m thinking of forming my own stable, and I’d like you at the top of my fight card.”

Faith paused and pondered for a moment, before turning her head slightly to meet Victoria’s now intense gaze. “You’re serious?”

She nodded. “You’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t play around when it comes to business. When I inherited Merryweather Industries, it was a joke, we had fallen from being the first private company to ever build a BattleMech to a parts supplier and builder of industrial farm equipment. And now, we’ve got mech’s rolling off the line, we’re producing top of the line equipment, and we’re more profitable than ever in our history. I fight to win, just like you.”

Faith knew the truth of what she was saying. A chance contract on Alula Australis had crossed her path with Victoria years ago, when she was still in the process of rebuilding her family company. Their friendship had grown, and so had Victoria’s company. If you were going to have a friend with benefits, you may as well go for a financially solvent one as not, she had figured, and their relationship had grown and paid dividends for both of them.

“Why me?” she asked, then followed up, “And why now?”

“Why now? That’s easy. There was no way I could break into the field of stable owners before. You have to have more than just cash to open up a stable, or the planet would be littered with them. No, they’re a closed group. But things have been shaken up here. The riots, the Fed-com split, everything. It’s a more open world than it’s ever been before. And I intend to cash in on that.”

It made sense. Solaris VII had a system that had worked well for decades without change. Sure, Kai Allard-Liao had shaken things up a bit after the Clan Wars, but that change was small, and had been met with resistance from many of the other stable owners. But the split of the Federated Commonwealth had broken the whole system wide open, with riots in the streets, and stables fighting each other across Solaris City in BattleMechs. Things had started to get back to normal, but if there was a time to make a new normal, it was now.

“Okay, that settles the why now. But why me? You’re not going to break into the big time with a fighter like me,” she paused as she brushed a hair out of her face. “Yeah, I’m good, but I’m not predictable, and I’m not big time. You’d need to score a Top Twenty, wouldn’t you?”

Victoria smiled. “You always go for the jugular right away. That’s not how I’m going to succeed at this. What you are is a known quantity to me, and an unknown to the rest of them out there. You’ve been away long enough that they’ve forgotten about you for the most part. But I haven’t. I know what you’re capable of. And you also don’t build a stable on the back of one fighter. I’ll need to recruit talent. I’ll need you to judge that talent. And on top of that, there’s the normal recruiting channels, which are open to me, obvious, and clogged with chaff. But you know this city. You know the system. I’m counting on you to find a few diamonds in the rough, as it were.”

It was a tempting offer. Not that she was hurting for money, but taking Victoria up on her offer was tantamount to gaining a sugar mama. It was steady work with an almost limitless income stream.

“It’s going to tie me down here. Indefinitely.”

Victoria slid closer to her, caressing her arm. “That may not be a bad thing either. I would love having you around, but putting my own personal interest in things aside, maybe this is a good time for you to settle down for a bit. I know you’re a free agent and always will be. I respect that. But things are getting deadly out there. I know it’s a free agent’s market right now, but I have a bad feeling about things.”

Faith rolled onto her side to better match the other woman’s gaze. “They don't call it the Chaos March for nothing. It’s crazy out there, but that’s nothing new. I’ve survived, no, I’ve thrived in that environment. What has you spooked now?”

Victoria looked away for a second, composing her thoughts. “It’s not anything I can put a finger on, it’s just a feeling that something major is about to happen. There’s a lot of money and arms flowing out there, more than there should be. And technology. It took decades for the Grey Death Memory Core to bear fruit in terms of production level improvements. Now, as the owner of an arms firm, I can get access to levels of technology we couldn’t even dream of just a few years ago. I’ve already got licensing agreements to produce LFE’s, Rotary autocannon, and improved Medium lasers. Twenty years ago, I’d have had to murder someone to get plans for an ER large laser. Now, hell, it’s harder to get drugs than it is to get new tech. It’s all flowing from somewhere, being seeded, and I don’t know why.”

“Isn’t that like looking a gift horse in the mouth?,” Faith parried.

Victoria sighed. “Maybe. But if I’m going to be indebted to someone, I’d like to know who the paymaster is. And either way, I don’t see things ending calmly. Either way, it would be good for you to get a solid footing for once, don’t you think?”

Faith chuckled. “I built myself a castle back on Altorra. I think I have pretty solid footing.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. When things go bad...if things go bad, you’ll need to surround yourself with the right people. This could be a start.”

Faith smiled gently. “A start then.”