Being in her first three versus three match, Xiao was slightly nervous. She had confidence Huxley and Zander would play their roles perfectly but she was still worried she would mess up. Across the field, she could see two ant mechs and a flea mech. Comparing the mechs of the two sides on paper, her side had an advantage with Zander’s hornet mech. According to Vesna, the opposing pilots were from decent academies too so their skills weren’t to be underestimated. Still, she wasn’t worried about her opponents either.
This will be the first match my father will be watching live. I wonder if he’s already watching the stream.
As soon as the match began, Xiao charged at the ant mech directly across from hers. Their strategy for the initial engagement was simply three one versus one. Huxley and Zander just had to defeat their foes while Xiao only had to tie up her opponent. Once the opposing side lost two of their three mechs, then it would be a simple cleanup exercise. She could try to win her engagement but she wanted to play it safe.
I need to remember how I zigzagged against Zander.
Xiao’s ant mech eventually got in range and she started zigzagging while she fired off all of her weapons except for her flamer. Like the practice match, she wanted to keep it as a secret weapon. Her opponent had three small lasers but they were having a hard time hitting Xiao’s zigzagging mech. Lasers weren't as spammable as light machine guns so each miss was costly, especially with the added heat cost. Before long, her opponent’s mech lost a torso and tried to withdraw.
“Huxley and Zander are done with their fight. Don’t take your time, Xiao!”
Take my time? I was already pushing my limits there.
A minute later, Xiao also dealt with her opponent. The match made her really appreciate what she learned from Huxley as she wasn’t sure how the combat would have ended without the technique she acquired recently. She was also surprised by how one-sided the match was. Her other two matches were both closer with her side narrowly coming on top. This match wasn’t even fair for the other side.
Guess this is one of those lucky matches I shouldn’t complain about.
In the mechbay, she didn’t celebrate much because she didn’t actually feel victorious. She almost felt bad for her opponents but, after receiving a message from her father about doing a good job, she pushed the thought out of her mind.
“I have bad news,” said Vesna.
Xiao had to suppress her laugh upon seeing Vesna still upholding her smile even when delivering bad news. Apparently, her plan of forming squads with Huxley and Zander wasn’t going to work. Both of them had to participate in a special competition that she couldn’t attend. Based on what she gathered, Vesna was certain that pilots who did well in the competition could fight for a relegation spot without the usual requirements. For many pilots, this was an incredible opportunity, especially for someone like Huxley who only had four matches fought.
“I wouldn’t call it bad news,” said Xiao. “I’ll just have to get better without having strong pilots carrying me to the finish line!”
The young woman then asked if there were other matches available. Vesna stated that, as soon as the match was in the bag, she already signed Xiao up for a match in two days and another in a week.
“Your next match is here in this arena too and it’s a one versus one.”
Vesna clarified that, if a mech organization had two matches within four days of each other in the same arena, they could leave their mech and personnel on site. This would save them from the long travels while also giving Xiao some time to prepare for her next match.
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“How dangerous is my next opponent?” asked Xiao.
“Your next opponent is Puhi. She has a 5-0-0 record so she’s also undefeated. Like Zander, your opponent will be piloting a hornet.”
“A hornet? That will be tricky.”
“And Puhi only fought one versus one format so far. That might give her a slight edge.”
Following the match, Xiao and Vesna watched match footage of her next opponent. For all five matches, the hornet mech had different loadouts, making it impossible to figure out what Puhi would use for their match.
She’s doing a great job using the versatility of the hornet’s vaster arsenal. My answer will be using a loadout she wasn’t expecting.
For this match, Xiao was relieved that she didn’t reveal she had flamers. Unless Puhi knew someone present at the Mech Pilot Academy, her secret weapon should remain a secret until she used it. Her element of surprise was likely the deciding factor because, from the footage, she could tell Puhi was around Huxley’s level. Against such a foe, she had to catch her off guard to deliver a blow her opponent couldn’t recover from.
“Let’s take a break,” said Vesna. “We can focus on your fanclub for fifteen minutes.”
To Xiao’s pleasant surprise, she had three fans following her. She felt it was a safe assumption that her father was one of the three. The other two were either strangers who happened to catch her match live streams or were from the Mech Pilot Academy as the spectators. Even though it was just three people, it gave her great satisfaction that three people were willing to watch her matches and support her with what little credits they could spare. Her next match was certainly a challenging one and, if she lost, she wondered if her fans would still stay with her. For fifteen minutes, Xiao took the time to thank all of her fans personally and advertised her next match. Afterwards, she questioned the girl on fan interaction if her fan club grew.
“Once you grow large enough, you can use announcements to get your message apart. While you’re small, it’s better if you invest time on each of your fans to keep them loyal.”
On the next day, the young woman discussed with Wattan about using the same loadout template as her third match. The head mechanic did express his disappointment of not seeing the flamer in an actual match but he stated that he understood the need to hide one’s aces.
“Missus, know that your next opponent will be the hardest opponent you’ve faced so far in all of your official matches.”
“You know Puhi?”
“It’s more accurate to say that I know her father. Puhi came from a family of great pilots. They might not make the hall of fame but they have consistently raised pilots who are decent in the second highest league.”
“I’m surprised Vesna never found out any of that.”
“They have a history of being lowkey. I only know due to Puhi’s uncanny resemblance to her father.”
While Xiao appreciated the heads up, she was also losing her confidence as she couldn’t see herself overcoming the gap in their skills. For a family that produced many competent mech pilots, Puhi likely got training when she was a kid. Compared to that, Xiao started way too late in her life.
Or maybe I’m just too hung up on winning. Maybe I need such a fight to get me down to earth.
Despite it being late, Xiao messaged Lei to see if her friend was free to chat. Few minutes later, she and Lei sat in chairs facing each other. She shared her concerns and, when she was done, Lei asked a question.
“Do you remember why we wanted to become mech pilots?”
The question brought Xiao back to her days of studying with Lei and the others. They, like so many teenagers before them and so many after them, wanted to become mech pilots because they loved the sport. They enjoyed cheering in the crowd for their favorite pilots and celebrated when their pilots won. As fans of the sport, they had all envisioned themselves piloting the mechs in nail biting competition until one side came out victorious. Now that she somewhat made it, she only cared about her record or, more specifically, on how she could maintain her current win streak.
“Thanks, Lei! I forgot that I always wanted to have fun as a pilot! Win or lose, I need to give it my all and have no regrets!”
Having overcome her negativity for the next match, Xiao excused herself to go to bed.
“Don’t hesitate to chat with me just like the old days!”
Since their rooms in the office were adjacent to one another, it was a fairly easy thing to hang out with each other. Xiao also realized how much she missed having a friend there to talk about anything and everything. She thought back and realized how terrible her time at Cythetic was. She was working long hours being a general laborer with almost no chance of being a pilot. Due to her long hours, she had no life outside of work. It was a miserable lifestyle that, in hindsight, she was glad she left behind her.