The Good Times, as one captured elemental put it, was when the clans first arrived in the Innerpshere. During the initial rush and up to the battle of Tukayyid the elemental was a site to be feared almost as bad as seeing a clan mech barring down on you. This good time however, quickly faded and now is nearly forgotten as Innerpshere pilots learned how to deal with the little toads hoping about the battlefield. Looking to increase the potency of the elemental, the clans began a program of upgrading and engineering new designs to help give the elemental more punch. While the new designs were helping the elemental it still did not seem to be enough and with the general failure of proto-mechs Clan Jade Falcon commanders looked at a different approach.

After some debate, following the rebuilding of JD Heavy Industries on Goats Path Clan Jade Falcon decided to build an ultra-light mech that would not only support a point of elementals but become one taking the place of an elemental. The idea was to provide direct mech support, commanded by elementals, increasing the fire-power of a star in medium range and short range. This ultra-light mech would have to be cheap and built with minimal clan technologies. The next problem is it had to be fast enough to catch mechs that may try and run tying them up long enough for the rest of the point or star to catch up. The clan engineers began looking into the problem and worked out the first design named the Fire Flea.

The Fire flea was first and foremost designed to fight as a part of a point taking the place of an elemental. The Fire Flea helps to provide a concentrated heavier punch against mechs and vehicles that the standard point may have trouble in dealing with. With a top speed of just over 118km/h the little mech can also be used in a scout role in a pinch. However, lacking any advanced electronics will hamper this role of the Fire Flea. The speed of the little mech also helps when supporting multiple points becomes a priority such as when a fellow Fire Flea goes down.

The mech is 25 percent smaller than anything produced by Jade Falcon's mech producing plants and uses nothing in the way of advanced components. Techs even took care of not installing double heat sinks making the mech as cheap as possible and un-reliant on clan technologies. Despite coming in at 15 the Fire Flea has enough fire power to disable even 25 ton Inner Sphere designs. With the Fire Flea's main firepower coming from a Franciscan Monk Heavy medium class laser the star gained some range in their attack. The engineers also choose to keep hand actuators as the mech would inevitably be drawn into hand to hand fighting while supporting his/her point mates. However as the ethos of warfare rejects hand to hand fighting and the Fire Flea being such a light mech, it is doubtful that any pilot in their right mind would try it. The Fire Flea also makes use of an ancient SRM 2 pack with a ton reloads to support the heavy medium laser.

The ancient "dumb" Holly SRM pack was chosen by clan engineers more because of the ammunition it uses more than the damage it could do. The idea was the Fire Flea could act as a mobile SRM supply between fights for the rest of the elemental star. To help supply the elementals engineers chose a unique ejection system in which the elemental walks up to the kneeling mech opens a hatch and presses a button ejecting a round. It was quickly discovered that supporting elementals with reloads made the one ton of ammunition nearly ineffective for supplying the mechs needs in combat.  

Engineers again shied away from using clan technologies instead relying on locally produced standard armor which could easily be patched and replaced from salvaged Inner Sphere mechs and industry. With three and one half tons of standard plate armor the little mech does have some staying power before being destroyed. However, clan pilots have no illusions of the little mech and prefer pirate hunting duties than piloting the Fire Flea in combat.

Despite the design being new to Clan Jade Falcon it has already seen one battle. The Falcons had recently sent a star worth of the ultra light Fire Flea for field testing. Composed of four of the normal FFa and one prototype FFb model (see variants) the Fire Fleas were quickly placed into a garrison elemental star. About a month into the training a small unknown pirate group attacked the outpost LaGrave. With only elementals and a few mechs on hand, the majority of which was the Fire Fleas the commander had little choice but to bring the untried mechs into the fight.

As the pirates came close to the small ammunition plant the Falcons had built it quickly became clear the small garrison was going to get bloodied. Supported by light tanks and infantry the assorted two lances of light and medium mechs quickly ran into the Jade Falcon defense where no quarter was to be given. During the heavy fighting, in which the Jade Falcons barley won, it was only the FFb model that was to come out in one piece. The pilot of the surviving Fire Flea had two kills and an assist to his name taking down a pair of stingers and crippling a LCT-1E locust enough that the elementals supporting it quickly took the mech down. The other four Fire Fleas was destroyed with no kills but three assists. After reviewing the footage of the battle it was quickly determined that the Falcons should stop production of the FFa model and only use the FFb model. It was determined that the FFb's dual Franciscan Monk Heavy lasers provided the much needed punch that a point of elementals needed.

Expected to be ready for production by Jan 3068 is the Fire Flea FF_JFb. This vairent is a nearly whole new monster relying on enegery weapons to give a maximum punch. Two Fransican Monk heavy medium lasers provide a strong punch for such a light mech and backing the twin lasers is a Series I small laser in the left torso. To offset the the new heat burdend placed on the small frame double heat sinks replace the older single ones. This varient is expected to become the main stay of the Fire Flea as it provides the biggest bang for the C-bill while providing the rest of the elemental star with a strong medium range punch.

The Fire Flea is too new of a mech to have any notable pilots or mechs.