Dumont had been drowning his sorrows in his private mansion. He sent most of the the staff away, allowing him to avoid the scornful gazes of his own men.
"Here I am, a drunk and a failure."
Despite setting up the board in his favor, he failed to secure a crucial victory. Dumont put his own reputation at stake when he pitted his Havalax against Larkinson's Blackbeak. It should have been a slam-dunk win considering the Havalax's high performance characteristics turned it into an excellent dueling mech.
Nothing was ever set in stone.
He learned that lesson in the most painful way. Even a captain of the Mech Corps failed to account for the treacherous terrain and the bewildering decisions made by his opponent.
Dumont raised a glass at Melinda Larkinson's resourcefulness.
"People always say that the Larkinsons can't be messed with. They're the Republic's mangy wolves."
