Where do I sign?

 Cathay    

Solaris City

Solaris VII

7 April, 3061

                    True to his word, Grimes had arranged a meeting for Lin Ming to attend with the prospect of getting a chance to fight somewhere on the gaming circuit. At the moment, Lin found herself in an office, facing off againts two agents of the company that was looking to hire her for a job.

                    "We are a subsidiary of Ceres Arms. We have several projects in the works here on Solaris. Your qualifications seem to fit the parameters of what we are looking for. The key matter here is confidentiality." The man on the left seemed to take the lead in any conversations.

                    "What is confidential? This is a public fight, it's going to be broadcast across the Inner Sphere."

                    The man on the right slipped a sheet of paper across the table to her. "There are certain elements of the Battlemech you will be piloting that are proprietary items. We are looking to develop new technology, and Solaris is the perfecet test bed for us."

                    She glanced at the paper, which appeared to be some kind of non-disclosure agreement. "So you're trying out new tech on the Mech I'm piloting and I have to keep my mouth shut about anything I see. Seems straightforward enough."

                    The man on the left took the lead again. "There have been several leaks of late, and we are looking to put a stop to that. New talent as far as the test pilot is required. Can you fit this bill for us?"

                    "Where do I sign?"

                    True to their word, the agents had provided her with a fight in an arena in the Reaches, the outskirts of the city. It was not in one of the main arenas, but she could not complain about that. The fight was to take place in a scrapyard arena, and the theme was an "Urbie Durby." Twelvve Urbanmechs would enter the contest, and whoever was left standing at the end was the winner. It wasn't pretty, but it was a fight.

                    She found herself in the cockpit of the UrbanMech she was going to pilot, along with the chief technician for the corporation that was paying her way. "We are developing a kind of stealth armor, hopefully something to rival the long lost Star League Null Signature System."

                    "So it is built into the armor of the mech?"

                    The tech nodded. Mostly. There are also a series of heat baffles and modfications to the frame, as well as an integrated Guadian ECM Suite. When the system is engaged, you should disappear from most sensors and targeting systems. While still visible to the naked eye, it will be harder for enemies to target the mech and achieve lock ons."

                    She ran her hands over the consoles. "So what's the catch?"

                    "The catch, as you say, is that when engaged, the heat sinking of the mech becomes highly inefficient. You will not bleed off heat at the normal rate. In addition, you will not have access to any active targeting systems. Only passive sensors will function, so your sense of the battlefield will be limited. You will be somewhat blind to what is going on around you. It is the price you pay for invisbility."

                    She nodded. "I think I can handle that. When do I get to practice?"

                    You can take the mech out on our field here, but there is no live practice available. You will be piloting this thing for the first time in battle. We have had limited  success so far. We are hoping to improve the performance with you coming on board."

                    "So what happened to the last guy piloting this thing?"

                    "No idea. He disappeared. I haven't asked too many questions, but I get the feeling there was something wrong. Just keep your mouth shut and you should be fine, at least thats how I've been playing things."

                    "Roger that."