Editing Solaris VII (section)

== Solaris Culture ==
Just as the Games define the system, the Games define the culture of Solaris as well. Every aspect of living in Solaris City or one of it's many auxiliary towns is geared towards the games; nearly every settlement on the planet has an Arena; with the smaller towns able to keep a Class I or Class II arena steady, while most metropolitan areas can support Class III-V arenas, depending on their size and personal biases from past tournaments or influential stables. Most arenas don't have live crowds due to the seriously dangerous conditions of a BattleMech fight, so often people congregate at holovid terminals to watch the fights. Those arenas that ''can'' support a live crowd are almost always using some LosTech to keep the dangerous stuff out of the crowd, and are some of the most profitable places on the planet to be. 

The streets of any given Solaris settlement are a never-ending flow of activity: From legions of Mech Techs running around trying to get their stables' ''Charger'' up and running for the next match, to gamblers arguing about which mechwarrior will come out on top, to MechBunnies and other fans following star Mechwarriors from place to place, to the criminal element trying to fix matches and collect debts, it's all geared towards making the next game just that much more interesting. Rarely there is a place in Solaris where people aren't bustling about, and it creates a vibrant, chaotic atmosphere that only enhances the feeling of being in Mech-Vegas. Even in Equatus, there's plenty of places called ''Blood Pits'', where no less than what would be qualified as Class I-II matches are held in extremely brutal, "two men enter one man leaves" style rulesets.

Of course, that doesn't mean the Successor States are just sitting back and watching this shit happen from the comfort of their own homes; Solaris City's six neighborhoods have been carved up as enclaves for each Great House (with a single independant neighborhood for independent/recruitment purposes), and each take a special interest in pushing Mechwarriors who just so happen to align with their interests and cultural aims as Champions not only as a propaganda win, but as potential assets as battle-hardened allies should the need arise. This rarely works exactly as the Spheroids intend however, because fighting in an arena is never the same thing as fighting in a real war, where a Mechwarrior is supposed to be a cog (an important cog, but a cog nonetheless) in a larger machine as opposed to the people's champ. Some take to the real life fights well, others make themselves massive headaches for their employers, and are prone to streaks of independence or overdoing it simply because that's what they know how to do.

Solari VII is also a popular hiring hall for clients seeking to employ [[Mercenaries (Battletech)|hired guns]], mainly due to churning out MechWarriors who are skilled from fighting in the arena. However, compared to Outreach or Galatea, Solarian mercenaries have a reputation for being solo mavericks with independent streaks instead of whole combat units willing to take orders.