Time passed far too quickly for Xiao’s liking. One moment, she was resting after her match against the bear where she pulled out an incredible win. The next moment, she was already suiting up for her next match with Puhi. The four versus four battle was about to begin and she was hastily finishing her final preparations. The young woman wasn’t surprised to see herself as the last to arrive in the meeting room where all four pilots met for their final briefing of the match. Puhi, Huxley and Zander were already in the middle of discussion when she entered.

  “Sorry I’m late,” apologized Xiao. “I overslept.”

  Xiao sat down in her chair and took a quick breath. She was originally supposed to train more after her fighting ring match with the others but that was thrown out the window following her battle. She didn’t realize the toll the match had on her until she woke up the afternoon of the following day. Even then, she couldn’t get up from bed so she skipped the remaining training. She sent a message to which Puhi replied with a simple okay. The young woman knew she would have to apologize at a later date. Still, she never regretted taking the rest as she still didn't feel a hundred percent this day.

  “How’s the recovery?” asked Huxley.

  “Recovery?” asked Xiao once she realized the question was directed at her.

  “Yes, your experience of getting shot at by plasma weapons.”

  “I can fight my match today, if that’s what you are inquiring about.” Xiao did feel much better. She wouldn’t have minded a couple more days of rest but the match was already scheduled. “I’m almost at 100%.”

  “Good,” interrupted Puhi. “I have no intention of tossing this match, even if the odds are against us.”

  The group returned to discussing the strategy on their tablets. As they talked, Xiao spent the next two minutes joining the meeting on her tablet to see the notes. She half listened to the discussion as she had to read through all the notes Puhi made thus far. Once she was caught up, Xiao felt a bit of annoyance knowing that she was considered the weakest link once again. Her ant mech was believed to not last longer than a few minutes so the actual plan revolved on how three mechs on their side would beat the four mechs on the opposing side. Her job was sadly serving as a distraction and waiting in her mech until the match was over. Some notes were even made regarding what she should take into her cockpit to pass the time.

  “What’s your confidence in fighting their mantis one on one?” asked Puhi.

  Huxley replied that he studied the videos and, in a one on one, his odds were pretty good. He believed in his abilities and, should he be underestimated, then he should come out ahead easily. Puhi then discussed her and Zander’s approach on the enemy backline. As long as Huxley and Xiao successfully distracted two mechs to them, then the opposing backline should be exposed enough to be taken out, though the beetle mech could be a hard mech to defeat quickly.

  “Our success will depend on how long Xiao can hang on,” said Zander. “Don’t let us down!”

  The young woman could only nod her head and force a smile.

  Don’t worry! I’ll do more than just hang on! Watch me beat my opponent!

  Despite being told by Wattan that being underestimated was something she could use against her foes, it didn’t mean she liked being treated this way by pilots on the same team. Ever since she started school, Xiao hated being a deadweight in any group projects or team sports. Apparently, her stance on this matter had not changed despite her becoming an adult. What changed was her willingness to stay silent. She merely nodded to keep her squadmates happy. She would surprise them later once the match began.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Please head to your mechbays,” said an individual after he knocked on the door and entered upon receiving permission. “The other team will be reaching their mechbay shortly.”

  The group headed downstairs until they were outside their respective mechbays. Unlike their foes who shared the same mechbay due to being part of the same mech organization, they had four separate mechbays to ensure that no secrets leaked to a rival. As Xiao entered her mech bay, Wattan was making final adjustments on the bolt on weapon. The head mechanic waved at her before he gracefully slid down the mech and performed the perfect landing on the ground.

  “Missus! Your foe won’t know what to expect when you use your weapon.”

  Xiao nodded her head, agreeing with the head mechanic’s assessment. For an outsider, the bolt on weapon could be just about anything. The benefits of bolt on equipment was that they didn’t require space within any of the components, thus giving a mech more options when it came to combat. This usually came at the price of extra weight but her bolt on weapon was designed to be as lightweight as possible.

  “Thanks, Wattan! I’m going to show them what I can do!”

  Xiao got into her ant mech and went to work immediately. Except for the standard questions needed for tuning the mech, she didn’t speak otherwise as she needed to focus on her work. She had something to prove and chit chat could come later.

  “You may proceed to your start location once you are ready,” said Vesna.

  After responding that she received the message, Xiao navigated her new and improved ant mech towards the mechbay exit. As she made her way, Wattan shared that he wouldn’t be available for the rest of the match. The head mechanic had to inspect the new crates of subcomponents she won by defeating the bear mech.

  “Can’t inspection wait? Or are there rare subcomponents in there?”

  “I can’t be sure, missus. The message left by the client suggested that possibility and you know I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of this.”

  Knowing the head mechanic’s dedication to subcomponents, Xiao wished him a good trip. In truth, she had little to worry about since both Ahote and Tuari were very good at their jobs as well. Wattan had taught them well and the two men had always impressed her with their knowledge. For the early stages of the upcoming match, no mechanic would be much help. She would need to put her complete attention on the upcoming fight.

  “Puhi told you to do your best,” said Vesna.

  “Please tell her to not let me down,” quipped Xiao.

  I wonder how they will respond. I’m the bait and we’ll see how alluring my mech is to them.

  Once the match started, she and Puhi both advanced towards their foes. The opposing side was sending a hornet to intercept them while both the backline mechs turned their attention to Huxley and Zander.

  Think we’re only fielding one and a half mech here? I’ll show you!

  “Vesna, tell Puhi to go and attack their backline!” said Xiao just as she activated her engine booster.

  By combining her engine booster and her jump jets, Xiao was able to propel her ant mech ahead of Puhi’s hornet. The approaching hornet mech quickly braked to avoid a direct collision between the two mechs. The young woman immediately unleashed her weapons on the hornet, taking advantage of her opponent’s delayed response to retaliate. By firing as her mech moved, her opponent had a hard time locking onto the ant. After a minute of circling around the hornet, her opponent finally landed a few hits to which Xiao backed away hastily. She knew she couldn’t win until she withered her foe’s armor down more.

  “Puhi had now closed in on their bomber. I don’t think the match is going the way our opponents want it to.”

  “Good,” was all Xiao could respond with as the opposing hornet was ready to tear her apart.

  Her zigzagging allowed her ant to avoid some of the attacks so, in terms of damage inflicted, she suspected that she was more efficient. Sadly, higher efficiency might not be enough when her mech had less armor than her opponent’s. Thus she couldn’t call this a victory yet. However, she was glad that the enemy’s backline was in disarray.

  I just need the hornet closer.

  Xiao had purposely backed away regularly, forcing her hornet opponent to constantly close the distance to maintain pressure. After repeating this process three times, she waited for the fourth moment to close the distance rather than back away. As the two mechs collided, Xiao’s ant reached into a mech pocket on its right leg to pull out the dagger. Before her opponent could respond, she stabbed the dagger into the hornet’s head, taking it out in a single blow. As the hornet fell backwards, she returned the dagger to the pocket and began going after the opposing backline.