“That was a difficult decision,” Beth admitted. “My freshman year of high school I would have laughed at the idea of not going immediately to college and then on to post-grad AI work—I was obsessed with robots and science stuff for as long as I can remember.<br/><br/>“For me the school mech team started mostly as something that sounded fun, and would look good on my college applications. But over the course of three years it grew into another passion of mine—the thrill of dodging missiles, hitting that shot everyone thinks is impossible, the speed and explosions. And it didn’t hurt that I was so good at it, and that I had a thing for the head cheerleader.” Beth gave a slight laugh, though with a certain wistful quality to it. It was hard to think of Melissa without feeling a little sad, but at the same time she had so many good memories of those years.<br/><br/>“After the Mortars came in second in the nationals, I got a dream sponsorship offer for the professional league—fairly solid mech I could customize, decent repair budget, comfortable pay, and minimal obligations beyond some press stuff and having a winning season if I wanted to renew. I was very torn—on the one hand, it was such an amazing opportunity, but on the other the MBF is still just a game when you get down to it.<br/><br/>“I guess ultimately I wanted to do both. And while I could easily go to college later in life I couldn’t very well try to start an MBF career in my forties after my reflexes had dulled. So, I’ve been taking summer classes with an eye toward having my bachelor’s degree before I retire. I figure I’ll probably do that in my early thirties, so I can go out still near the top of my game. Then I’ll go on to grad school and keep up my charity work and advertising stuff on the side.<br/><br/>“Hopefully, that look into the inner workings of my fiendish mind wasn’t too boring,” she joked. “But anyway, I suppose I could turn the same question around to you. I recall you mentioned that you weren’t always so mech-obsessed and difficult to get out of a hangar. What brought you to the MBF?”