Vincent Ricklin threw himself into the fight for the same reason as many of his other comrades.
He was looking for his chance today.
The opportunity to fight in a real battle wasn't exactly common. Outside of wars, only incidental encounters with hostile forces could give the mech pilots of the expeditionary fleet the opportunity to fight while putting their lives on the line!
Numerous people had already heard that the Golden Skull Alliance would be taking it easy after the conclusion of this campaign.
Though there were many mech pilots who felt relieved at the opportunity to spend a few years away from any battlefields and danger zones, they were also cognizant that long-term idling was not conducive to developing their strengths.
There was a limit to how much they could improve through training!