Emergency Meeting

The manner in which Melinda achieved victory looked comical, but it happened to have worked out in the end. Nobody knew whether she decided to roll the Blackbeak on a whim or with calculation.

Even Melinda didn't know how to answer that question. At the time, she had entered a highly immersive state where the boundaries between herself and the mech had blurred. Even as she exited her cockpit, a horde of reporters tried asking her how she came up with the idea.

"I got hit in the head and decided to take a tumble!" She shouted randomly and pressed her way past the annoying people in order to head for the showers.

Her answer became headline news along with a recounting of the duel. Various publications put their own spin on it.

Some saw it as a classic David vs Goliath struggle. Piloting a lower-performing mech, Melinda did her best to hang on to the end where she found an opportunity to upset the balance between the Blackbeak and the Havalax.