Rance smiled, appreciative of the compliment towards his machinery. It was a pride point for him, and while he didn't build it alone, he put a hell of a lot of work and ideas into getting everything working. "Hey, thanks! Built this one a couple years ago with a pal. Took us ages to make the engine strong enough to pull a lot of weight and still be quick. And, you know, not explode. That was a problem," He explained, also getting a bit distracted from the battle since Alexander had stopped attacking. It would've been unsportsmanlike to take advantage of the situation, really. Couldn't have the reputation tarnished in an arena fight. However, the announcer kicked things back into gear, and Reogane's leap caused the motorcycle to do a backflip out of Rance's control.<br/><br/>"Now wait a damn second!" Rance shouted, trying to stabilize the motorcycle in vain. Keizer fell away from the bike, which itself landed on its wheels and took off, its commands still telling it to go forward. The autpilot was good enough to keep it moving in circles, as to avoid a damaging crash, but Rance was now without his source of speed and extra armaments.<span style="font-style: italic">"Damn, been a while since someone's got me off that. Oh well. Just gonna need to be quick,"</span>He thought, regaining his bearings just as Reogane fired off some kind of plasma blast, which struck Keizer in the midsection. It sent the machine careening backwards, into a collision course with the wall. A sudden boost from some engines on Keizer's back helped steady the machine and prevent it from slamming into it, instead landing him in a stylish kneeling pose that the crowd cheered over.<br/><br/>Rance's HUD began to scan for an ideal strategy to take, round trackers and kanji-written information scrawling down the screen. The motorcycle, still going in the background, wasn't an immediate priority for remounting. It could make some good use as a weapon, though. After deciding to go for a pincer maneuver, he boosted forward with Keizer, holding each sword out to his sides. The blades deployed a secondary function, the plasma rails shifting position to resemble the teeth of a chainsaw. Each tooth then began to move as the rails themselves circled around the solid frame of the sword, and when the gap between the machines was closed, Keizer brought both down towards Reogane's shoulders.<br/><br/>From behind, the motorcycle turned away from its circular path, and instead aimed its way toward Reogane. Controlling it when not mounted was awkward, but as long as it remained a straight line, the path was simple enough to manage. The motorcycle pulled a wheelie as it got nearer, the sawtoothed front wheel ready to strike Reogane from behind.<br/><br/>Suddenly, in the midst of battle, a message and holographic image of a blue-haired girl appeared on the screen's lower right corner, and in a singsong voice, she alerted Rance of an incoming message. He loudly cursed as the message alert overtook the sounds of important combat information. "GOD DAMN IT MIKU NOT NOW!" In hindsight, replacing the mech's communications program with this might not have been the best idea.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>"What are y-..." The soldier stopped, closing her eyes for a moment in annoyance. Okay, so maybe she couldn't bullshit these two as much as the mission statement ordered her to. Fine, that was alright. What mattered is that they were willing to fight. Rivas, at least. She sort of assumed Rance would go along with it, because he didn't strike her as the kind of person who could make his own decisions and still be alive a few hours after doing so. "Well, good. As soon as the match is finished then, it would be ideal for us to head out. Of course, you'll probably need to do some repairs, and our hangars are happy to provide supplies for that." She put the tablet back into the pouch for safekeeping.<br/><br/>It was no secret that the world's technology level was the result of extraterrestrial influence. Not from aliens themselves, but from mysterious asteroids and derelict vessels that just sort of fell out of the sky one day without warning, and continued to do so in smaller bursts even now. But never had there been any actual contact with the beings that might have made the technology before. She wasn't sure if they were connected, or if they were something else entirely, but if they were responsible for the tech that came to Earth in the fall, then ordinary military machines wouldn't stand up against them on their own. Pilots with powerful custom mechs would be a hell of an advantage in such a fight.<br/><br/>Since she'd convinced Rivas to sign on, she figured it was time to give a more proper introduction to him. "Since we'll be working together, it's probably best for you to know who I am. Name's Emily Reinhart. Captain ranked in the east coast federation of the United States military. Pleasure to meet you." She still didn't sound especially thrilled, but since Rivas had gone along with the deal so well, she allowed herself to lighten up at least a little. A handshake was even offered to him, though she refrained from smiling at all. Maybe not the warmest welcome, but it was good enough.