Captain Vicar
As the center of landbound mechs in the Republic, Bentheim featured a lot of mech arenas. Ves himself had witnessed the famous Leviticus vanquishing over another opponent at a privately-run mech coliseum. That enormous venue only found enough space to operate by setting up at the outskirts of Dorum.
Their upcoming design duel took place at a massive stadium operated by Bentheim's local government. Its central arena took up the same amount of space as the domed arena he visited at Moira's Paradise.
Ves entered the chamber that held the first production model of the Blackbeak. The mech looked as pristine as ever, courtesy of the mech technicians scouring over its surface right now.
In the days since Melinda accepted to duel in his stead, a lot had changed.
The lack of major events at this time prompted many publications to blow up the rivalry between Ves and Dumont. They turned a minor scuffle between competitors into the battle of the century.