During the weeks after the Charity Ball, Blair and the rest of Team Balisong continued their training under the tutelage of Lucia. The coach was pleased with the progress they were making. As their training came close to an end, she felt the team needed a final test before finally competing in the IG-1.
"Congratulations, Team. You managed to somehow make it to the end of the summer and survived my training. I'm so very proud of you all," said Lucia with a content smile. The team had just finished their last day of exercises at the IGPX training facility. Lucia was situated in front of the briefing room, facing the pilots and other members of the team.
Blair yawned loudly, tired and sore from the day's drills. "Does that mean we're finally ready to take on Team Velshtein and the other IG-1 teams?" she asked.
Lucia smirked and focused on Blair. "Not quite, actually," she said.
Upon hearing that, Shizune and Miharu groaned out loud as they flopped forward on their desks. "Really?" they asked together.
Even Roxanne was a bit discouraged as she tilted her head slightly. "Not ready? What else is there for you to teach us? We've learned just about every technique and formation you used in the IG-1. Do you have something new for us?" she asked.
"That's a negative, Jack. Lucia and I have something else planned for you all," said Sarah, stepping forward and standing next to Lucia. "Lucia has indeed taught you everything she can to prepare you for the upcoming event, but as you know, training can only carry you so far. You'll need experience in addition to your training in order to be truly ready for what's ahead," she said, pacing in front of the room as she kept her eyes on the pilots, her hands held behind her.
Blair perked up in her seat as Sarah began to address them, something her superior's voice always did since they first met. "Well, we're not totally lacking in that, ma'am. So what kind of experience are you talking about?" she asked.
Sarah smirked, glancing to Lucia who gave her a nod. "Come on in, ladies," said Sarah, looking to the door.
Seeing Sarah talking to someone outside, Blair and the rest of the team turned their attention to the entrance and waited for the mysterious guests to enter. Blair was especially curious since Sarah addressed them as "ladies" and wondered who they could possibly be. Suddenly, the sound of a girly, French accent rang in her ears which made her smirk, finally being able to see who it was that came in.
"My my… the witch is playing with the big boys now? How does it feel to replace us in the IG-1 as the all-female team?" Standing in front of the room was nineteen year-old Fantine Valjean, the captain of the then IG-2 team, Team Skylark. She playfully stuck her tongue out at Blair as her two teammates came in to join her. Along with Fantine, Team Skylark was also composed of Jessica Darlin and Elissa Doolittle, the latter acting as a mentor to the two younger pilots.
Sarah approached the other team and shook their hands one by one, as did Lucia. After taking care of the pleasantries, Sarah turned back to Blair and the others, explaining what they were doing there. "Lucia and I decided it would be best for you all to apply what you've learned so far. We arranged an exhibition race to test your mettle. Team Skylark graciously agreed to be your opponents, being a former IG-1 team and all," said Sarah.
"Skylark, huh? This should be fun," said Blair, reclining in her seat as she looked to Fantine. "And it feels great to be the new all-female IG-1 team. Someone had to fill the void left by you losers." She returned Fantine's playful gesture with one of her own, giving her the trademark Japanese "eye and tongue" expression.
Lucia shook her head and continued on with business. "Indeed. Team Balisong and Team Skylark will face off in a standard three-lap race around the practice track. Same rules apply and let's keep it civil, okay, ladies?" she said, looking to both teams.
Fantine turned on a heel towards Lucia, bowing slightly. "Don't worry, Madame Cloverson. The pilots of Team Skylark would never do anything to tarnish our name, especially in the presence of such an esteemed pilot such as yourself, ma'am. We'll do our best to give Madame Casing and the rest of your team a challenge, something to test their grit against as an IG-1 team, or rather, a former one," she said.
Blair teasingly mocked her as she spoke, making mouthing motions with her hand. "Well that makes two of us, ma'am. We'll do our best against these has-beens and take no prisoners. Your hard work won't be for nothing! We'll mop the floor with these gals!" she said, riling up her team in the process. Roxanne gave an approving nod, smiling as she looked to her. The twins were grinning too, sticking their tongues out as well at Fantine and her team.
Lucia smiled light-heartedly at her team's enthusiasm, refreshed by their competitive nature. "Okay, enough with the big talk. Settle it all on the track, you two. The race will begin in one hour. Use this time to make preparations to your bots and come up with a strategy. Blair, I'll leave you to lead the team and make the calls. This is your final test, so neither I nor Sarah will be helping you out. We'll be on the observation deck with Team Skylark if you have any questions," she said, motioning to Maggie to wheel her out. She left the room along with Sarah and headed to the observation deck to watch the race. Once she was gone, Blair and her team got up to say hello to their opponents.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Fantine?" said Blair, approaching her and grasping her hand in a firm handshake.
"Yes, it has. When was the last time we saw each other? The Gearbox Tournament?" said Fantine, smiling as she shook Blair's hand.
"That sounds about right. Dang, that was like... almost a year ago? What have you been up to since then?" asked Blair as Roxanne and the others mingled with the rest of Team Skylark.
Fantine sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "Haven't been following the news? Team Skylark and I were racing in the French IG-2 Invitational event a few months ago. My mech suffered a major systems failure during our last race and has been out of commission since," she said, looking to the ground.
"What's the matter? Did your bot foolishly overheat again like when you fought that Takeshi kid?" asked Blair with a chuckle.
Some things never changed and Fantine knew Blair would never let her live that down. "No. I got that problem fixed right away after that race. Now can you stop bringing that up?" she asked, sighing in an annoyed fashion.
"Not a chance, Love Bird. That's a rookie mistake me and my team will never make," said Blair with a wink. "So if that's not it, what happened?"
"Well, one of the parts I used to fix that problem was defective. During the last race, it cracked and caused everything else to fail, so… it pretty much ruined my bot. It took several weeks of repairs and a big bill to fix, but now it's finally complete. I'm just as eager as you are to race, so I can finally get back into the pilot's seat," said Fantine, looking to Blair with a determined look.
"Maybe we can finally settle who the better all-female team is, huh?" said Blair.
Fantine smirked then glanced away. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? But my team already beat yours during our first encounter last year, so you would think that qualifies us as the better team. Even if you do best us today, it'll only even up the score," she said, waving over to Roxanne and the others.
Blair scoffed, walking up beside Fantine. "Yeah yeah, but who cares about numbers. I think we have what it takes to beat you gals in a fair fight. The last time we raced, we were a rookie IG-2 team, but now, we're a more refined IG-1 team," she said.
"Oh, and is that supposed to scare me?" asked Fantine with a snicker.
Rolling her eyes, Blair playfully nudged Fantine's arm. "Look at you, getting all sarcastic on me. And no, we all know you're an awesome team, so we'll play it real close to the chest. We're not about to underestimate a former IG-1 team like mere amateurs," she said.
"Well, I'm glad we see eye-to-eye. You won't see us underestimating you and your team either, being an IG-1 team now," said Fantine with a nod. "Speaking of which, have you met Takeshi or Cunningham lately?"
Blair let out an annoyed sigh, crossing her arms. "I saw Takeshi briefly at the Charity Ball, but never really talked to him. Cunningham, on the other hand- I've seen him plenty enough," she said.
Fantine smirked, placing her hands in her pockets. "Did he give you his 'respect' speech after getting into the IG-1?" she asked.
"Urgh! Don't even remind me of it. Yeah, he gave me it, but I shoved it right back in his face. How'd you know about that? Did he give you that speech when you first joined the IG-1?" asked Blair.
"Um, no. I actually heard it first from Maxine of Team White Snow during one of our chats. Apparently, he started doing it to all newcomers after Takeshi and Team Satomi showed up," said Fantine.
Blair huffed and looked to Fantine. "Whatever. The guy doesn't impress me," she said.
"Nor I, but he does have a certain… charm to him, wouldn't you say?" asked Fantine with a giggle.
Raising an eyebrow, Blair looked to her as if she had said something completely absurd. "Cunningham? Oh please. There is not a single ounce of him I find 'charming'. Besides, I've got Roxanne, remember?" she said.
Fantine smiled as she and Blair looked to Roxanne, seeing her chatting with Elissa off to the side. "I almost forgot. You fancy women, don't you? Maybe that's why his charms seem to be ineffective on you," she said.
Blair scoffed at the remark, giving her girlfriend a wave before turning back to Fantine. "No. He's just an idiot," she said with much disdain for the man. "What's the matter? You starting to get a crush on him now that you and Tack or no longer dating?"
Even though she knew Blair was fibbing, Fantine couldn't help but grimace. "Takeshi and I amicably went our separate ways. That was long ago. And no, I don't have a 'crush' on Cunningham. I just think he's an okay guy," she said with a huff.
"All right all right. Geez. Chill out, gal. You're starting to get uppity on me," said Blair as she patted Fantine's shoulder.
Fantine exhaled, getting a grip on herself. "You're right. I'm fine," she said as she whisked her bangs to the side with her hand. "I think it's about time for my team and I to talk strategy, no? I'm sure you want to do the same with yours before we race."
"Yeah. We should start doing that, though it's not going to take much in order to take you down," said Blair with a wink.
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that," said Fantine before heading over to the others and saying hello to the rest of Team Balisong. She then excused herself and left with her teammates to head towards their hangar.
Once they were gone, Roxanne and the Anko Twins came up to Blair. "So how's Fantine doing?" asked Roxanne.
"She's doing fine, but we can talk all about that after the race. Now we have to come up with a plan to take her and the rest of her team out," said Blair with a confident smirk. Roxanne gave an approving nod as did the twins, huddling around their captain as they listened to what she had to say.
For the remainder of the hour, Blair and the team discussed their plan of action against Team Skylark. This was going to be the first race in their illustrious career where Blair had no guidance whatsoever from Sarah or their coach. She was completely independent and autonomous in her decision making, deliberating with her team on how they would tackle the race. After thoroughly going over their strategy and suiting up, the team went to their hangar to get their bots ready.
As Blair was conducting the pre-race start up procedures in her cockpit, she suddenly heard a voice in her helmet. "How's it going, Blair? I've been observing Team Skylark and I have to say, I'm quite impressed. I'm sure you have a plan to take on these seasoned racers?" asked Lucia over the radio.
"Uh. Of course, ma'am! You won't be disappointed. We'll take them out, no problem," said Blair as she fully brought her bot online. The engine roared to life as she checked the mech's static motor functions, moving the bot's fingers and wrists.
"Good to hear. Because I've tossed in a bit of a… surprise for you," said Lucia with a slight chuckle in her voice.
"…a surprise?" asked Blair.
"Yes. To make things interesting, I've taken Shizune out of the race and replaced her with Roxanne. I hope you planned for a situation where the back-up pilot would be racing, so just be aware of the last minute change," said Lucia.
Upon hearing the news, Blair tapped her helmet. "Roxy, you there?" she asked.
"Right here, Hon. I'm in Shizune's mech and starting it up now. Glad I got hers instead of Miharu's; it's more my style," said Roxanne over the radio. "Ah, no offense to you, Miharu."
"It's cool, Rox. Besides, I wouldn't want you messin' up my bot anyway," said Miharu with a playful wink.
"See? Now, like I said earlier, Sarah and I will be staying out of the race. We won't be coaching you but instead just observing. But don't worry. We have faith in you," said Lucia.
Blair smiled, satisfied by Lucia's reassurance and that Roxanne would be racing with her. "Thank you, ma'am. We won't let you down," she said.
"Glad to hear. Now get your game face on. You're clear for launch," said Sarah over the radio. She was situated on the observation deck along with Lucia and the rest of Team Skylark.
"Roger that, ma'am. Brass, heading out," said Blair as the hangar's safety lights turned green. Her bot left the maintenance cradle and began taking steps towards the elevator, her teammates following close behind.
Already on the track was Team Skylark, waiting after having taken their places on the starting grid. Fantine's bot was fully repaired and glistening in the sunlight as her new armor plating shone brightly. Seeing Blair and her team approach, the head on Fantine's bot's turned towards them. "Good of you to join us," said Fantine over the radio.
Blair and her team approached the starting grid and took their positions. "Yeah, I'll be saying the same thing to you at the finish line," said Blair, using her mech to give Fantine a playful salute.
Once everyone was in place, Lucia addressed the pilots. "All right, everyone! Keep it clean and have fun!" she said as she began the countdown.
Blair focused on the lights, waiting for it to flash green as she gripped her bot's controls. Roxanne was equally as focused, determined after having not raced against other pilots in a while. She had to keep her edge or else she'd grow rusty, and as the team's last resort, she couldn't afford to fail them. Besides, she was finally able to race with Blair again, and she always enjoyed being by her side.
Miharu, on the other hand, was a bit less enthused since her sister got replaced on a whim. The team's dynamic wasn't going to be as fluid as it normally would be with Shizune on the sidelines. But she couldn't doubt her team, not now, she thought. Roxanne and Blair made a good pair and worked well together, so she had nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be fine. Miharu exhaled and grasped her mech's controls, smiling slightly as she looked to the observation deck where her sister was watching from.
Sensing her twin looking at her, Shizune reached for a headset to wish her sister good luck. "You'll be fine, Mimi. This isn't the first time you've raced without me, so just keep a cool head. You hear?" she said.
"Got it. Just wish you were here is all," said Miharu before focusing back on the flashing lights on the countdown. "Not that I don't appreciate your company as well, Rox."
"It's okay; I know what you mean," said Roxanne with a reassuring tone. "But don't worry. I won't let you down."
As the two teams poised their hands on the controls of their bots, the indicator light on the countdown finally flashed green. And with that, the six mechanical racing machines accelerated off the starting grid and barreled down the track.
"All right, team. Form up! Single column!" said Blair over the radio as she took the head position of the group. Roxanne and Miharu acknowledged and formed a single-file line behind Blair with Miharu in the middle and Roxanne picking up the rear. As her team got into formation, Blair looked over to her right to see Fantine and her team copying her. Fantine was at the lead with Jessica behind her and Elissa at the tail end. Blair sneered at her then got on the radio with her team. "Careful out there. They're up to something," she said as she kept her bot steady.
"Roger that. I've got my eye on them," said Roxanne as she kept her attention on the opposing team.
Blair and the rest of Team Balisong proceeded down the first straight away and began going around the first bend. All the while, Team Skylark kept pace beside them, gliding along directly parallel to them. Blair kept her guard up as did the rest of her team, watching for their opponent to make a move. As the two teams were about to finish coming around the bend towards the second straight away, Team Skylark struck first.
After coming out of the turn, the mechs of Team Skylark immediately turned to their left and lashed out with a sudden lightning-fast attack, each of them striking out at one of Team Balisong's bots. Fortunately for Blair, she was expecting something like that might happen and had her fingers ready at the controls to react at a moment's notice.
"Figured you'd try something like this!" said Blair as she pressed a button on her control sticks. As soon as Team Skylark made their move, Blair and her team initiated their mech's jump-jets and jumped over their sneak attack, landing right behind Fantine and her team.
Fantine was surprised at Blair's response time and quickly recovered after her failed attack as did the rest of her team. "How did you know I'd go on the offensive so early in the race?" she asked over the radio.
After touching down back on the track, Blair recovered and prepared to counterattack. "The track's much smaller than the normal one, so I correctly guessed you'd want to take us out as quickly as you could. Too bad I read you like a book and prepared for that," she said before lashing out at Fantine with a punch. "Team Balisong, engage! Lock a bandit and hit 'em hard!"
"Acknowledged. Beginning my assault," said Roxanne with a cool and calm demeanor, dashing towards Elissa in the rear of Fantine's formation.
"Let's get 'em!" said Miharu as she focused her attention on Jessica.
Elissa prepared for Roxanne's attack but was unprepared for what she did next. After getting right in front of Elissa, Roxanne used her boosters to quickly maneuver around to her opponent's flank. There, she grabbed a hold of Elissa's bot from behind and performed a devastating grapple throw on her.
Beside them, Miharu and Jessica were locked in a battle of their own with Miharu keeping her opponent on her toes. Miharu was a big fan of using the mech's jump-jets as was her sister, using them to great effect in dodging her opponent's attacks or positioning her herself for an attack of her own. Jessica was having a hard time keeping an eye on Miharu as she constantly kept boosting in completely different directions at a moment's notice. Miharu and Shizune were used to the sudden change in G-forces due to their dog-fighting days as fighter-pilots. They were considered adrenaline junkies by their squadronmates while in the military which probably explained why they favored using the bot's jump-jets so much during races.
At the front of the pack, Blair and Fantine were duking it out, matching each other blow-for-blow. Blair had a competitive grin on her face all the while, not having fought against a pilot that wasn't a teammate in so long. She kept dishing out blow after blow, not giving Fantine a chance to rest or recover.
Before they knew it, the racers were already mid-way through the second lap and were approaching the last bend before the final lap. Both teams were still engaged with one another in fierce combat with neither side showing signs of backing down. With the end almost in sight, Blair decided to enact one of their carefully crafted plans to hopefully secure the win for her and her team.
"All right team, I think these girls have had enough," said Blair over the radio to her team. "We're going with Blackbird. Rox, Miharu, you know what to do." Roxanne and Miharu acknowledged and went about carrying out their plan.
"Understood. I got this," said Roxanne before exhaling, rehearsing the plan once more in her head.
"Ryoukai! (Roger!)," said Miharu as she readied her bot.
Blair, Roxanne, and Miharu then began maneuvering Team Skylark together before surrounding them. Once Fantine and her team were all bunched together in a group, Blair and her teammates began using their boosters to dash around Team Skylark in a ring, keeping them in the center. Team Balisong's mechs kept dashing in the same direction while keeping the circle tight around their opponents, the images of their individual mechs starting to blur together in Team Skylark's eyes.
"Keep it tight, ladies! We're almost there," said Blair as the constant G-force from the encircling pushed on her body.
Inside the Forward mech of Team Skylark, Fantine gritted her teeth as Team Balisong continued to circle around them. She then had her team all lash out at once to try and break up whatever Blair and the rest of Team Balisong were doing. As Team Skylark's mechs advanced and struck out from the encirclement, Team Balisong disengaged and regrouped out in front of Team Skylark. To their surprise, Fantine and her teammates only saw two mechs from Team Balisong.
"Huh? Where's the third one!" said Fantine as she looked to see only Blair's bot and one other. She could tell Blair's bot apart due to its red eyes, but she was unsure which of the others was which since Team Balisong's Defender and Midfielder mechs looked so alike. As she looked around their immediate area, checking her flank, Jessica's voice was heard in her headset.
"Uh, Fantine? Out there…," said Jessica as she pointed to way further up the track.
Fantine looked to where she was pointing and saw the missing mech had transitioned to speed-mode and was speeding away. It was Miharu and she was able to break away from the battle and take the lead thanks to Blair's and Roxanne's diversionary tactics. Since her Defender mech was the slowest, but only by a small margin, she was chosen to be the one to shift into high gear and sneak away. Meanwhile, Blair and Roxanne stayed behind to continue and keep Team Skylark busy while Miharu got far enough away. Blair was just lucky enough that Fantine waited as long as she did before commencing her attack.
"No… way…," said Fantine as she momentarily got lost in the fact that she was so easily duped. Just as she was about to speak again, Roxanne took her by surprise and did a quick Judo leg-sweep to knock her off guard. Fantine fell back onto the track as Roxanne turned away, transitioning into speed-mode and hurrying off.
"Catch ya later, Fantine!" said Roxanne as she hurried to get some distance between her and the other racers.
As Fantine hurried to get back on her feet, Jessica and Elissa came to her aid was about to pursue Roxanne until Blair got in their way and stopped them. Once Fantine had recovered, she looked to Blair standing in front of her, alone against her and her two teammates.
"Do you really think you can take on the three of us by yourself?" asked Fantine as she prepared to attack Blair three-on-one.
Blair readied herself as she looked to the three opposing mechs. She stared Fantine down then smirked. "Nope. Course not," she said before using her boosters to dash away before switching to speed-mode.
Fantine just stood there, completely dumbfounded by how easily Team Balisong got the better of her and took the lead.
"They're getting away!" said Jessica as she watched Blair get further and further ahead of them.
"Do you want us to switch to speed-mode as well and go after them?" asked Elissa.
Fantine just watched as the gap between her and Blair's team grew larger by the second. "No. It's over. We've lost. Their Defender or Midfielder is already more than halfway done with the final lap while we just started it. The other mech that left isn't far behind her. No. They've beaten us so let's not put any more unnecessary strain on our mechs than we have to," she said. Elissa and Jessica sighed within their mechs and complied, forming up with Fantine in a simple V-formation as they casually finished the race. When they finally reach the finish line, Blair's team was already there waiting.
As Team Skylark returned to the starting area with their bots, Blair disembarked from her own mech and went over to them as did Roxanne and Miharu who joined her. After coming to a complete stop and shutting off her mech, Fantine exited the cockpit and joined her team on the ground. She then saw Blair and her team approaching and sighed, preparing herself for whatever insults Blair might have had for her.
Once Blair finally made her way over to Fantine, she smirked, stopping right in front of her. Instead of her usual witty remark or sarcastic joke, she just held out a hand as a sign of respect between team captains. "Good race," she said simply as she waited for Fantine to shake her hand.
Fantine was surprised by the lack of a quip and hesitantly shook Blair's hand. "What is this? No mocking joke or remark like 'nice of you to drop by' or the like?" she asked while remaining skeptical of Blair's display of good sportsmanship and lack of her usual self.
"What's the matter? Am I not allowed to congratulate a fellow racer in a respectable manner after defeating them fair-and-square? We are IG-1 teams, after all… at least, at one point or another," said Blair as she tried not to make her statement not sound like an insult.
Fantine managed a slight smile, taking Blair's back-handed comment as a compliment after realizing she meant no ill-intent by it. "It's nice to see you can be civil, at least," she said, withdrawing her hand from the friendly handshake. "It's also refreshing to see that it was your cunning that defeated us -something I didn't think you had- and not something like brute strength, which is what I imagined you only capable of."
"Well, we have been training all summer long, so we better have picked up something new from Lucia's tutelage," said Roxanne as she stood beside Blair. She then shook Fantine's hand as well, congratulating her on a well-fought race.
Both teams exchanged friendly gestures as the rest of Team Balisong's and Team Skylark's members joined them on the track. Fantine and her team waved goodbye to Blair, Roxanne, and Miharu as they returned to their coach for a debriefing and to get their mechs back in their hangar. Meanwhile, Blair and the others did the same with their team.
"That was so great racing out there, guys! Congrats!" said Maggie as Blair and the others met up with her, Sarah, Lucia, and Shizune.
"Indeed. Well done, team. I knew you had it in you," said Sarah as she congratulated her team on a hard-fought victory.
"Thanks, ma'am. Couldn't have done without my team and Lucia's great mentorship," said Blair as she looked to Lucia.
Unlike the rest of the team, Lucia remained stoic, saving her emotional reserve for the real IG-1. "Yes… Congrats on your victory. But this was only an exhibition match against a former IG-1 team," she said while dampening the mood.
Hearing Lucia's less than cheery words, Blair frowned slightly. "Aw, c'mon, Coach. Can't you be happy for us this one time?" she said.
"I am happy for you. Well done," said Lucia as she looked to Blair and the rest of the pilots. "What I am not happy about is all this time you're wasting patting yourselves on the back when you should be at home packing your bags."
"Well I'm not- Wait. Pack our bags?" asked Blair, confused as to what Lucia meant.
Sarah smiled and stood beside Lucia, looking to all the pilots as well. "We have an early start tomorrow and a long drive. There won't be any time in the morning to do so," she said.
"Long drive? What is going on, ma'am?" asked Roxanne who was just as confused.
"I've arranged a special treat for us all to celebrate your victory and commemorate the end of your training. You'll all be accompanying me on a three-day stay at a lovely beach resort complete with a villa for us to stay in. We leave bright and early tomorrow so hurry up and get the bots back in the hangar for repairs then head home to pack. I'll send you the details in an email later," said Lucia.
Unable to contain their excitement at the news, Blair and the other pilots let out an exciting cheer before leaving to finish up their business at the track. Roxanne and Miharu hurried back to their bots while Shizune hurried back to the observation deck to collect her things. Before leaving, Blair looked back to Lucia.
"You planned this all in advance?" asked Blair.
"I did," said Lucia.
"So… what if we had lost today? Would we still be going on this trip?" asked Blair.
Lucia chuckled, making direct eye contact with Blair. "Of course. You did all train very hard these past few weeks, so at least we had that to celebrate before the start of the IG-1 Invitational," she said. After Blair gave her a nod and began to walk off, Lucia spoke up once more. "I was also sure you wouldn't let me down, Captain. I knew you'd pull off a victory today." Blair smiled and gave her a thumbs-up before continuing on back to her bot.
Once Blair was gone, Sarah turned to Lucia with a trouble expression on her face. "You know, you could be a bit more supportive of your team's achievements," she said. "This victory was a big accomplishment for them."
Lucia scoffed at her remark. "I am supportive. What do you think this trip is meant for?" she asked.
"Then why not tell them that you're proud of them or congratulate them on winning," said Sarah.
Lucia glanced at Sarah then looked out towards Blair and the others as they walked their bots back into their hangar. "Because, Ms. Davis… they're not in the IG-1 yet. As they keep up the hard work and eventually take the title, then I'll finally say I'm proud of them. Until then, I find it's not wise to get their hopes up and inflate their ego with false praise," she said.
"Is that what happened with you," said Sarah outright.
Maggie gasped at the comment but Lucia raised a hand to put her at ease. "That was uncalled for. Whatever happened to me has nothing to do with how I treat the team," she said before motioning Maggie to wheel her away.
As Lucia and Maggie left, Sarah remained standing there alone, watching the former IG-1 racer while thinking to herself. After lingering for a few moments she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She took one out and placed it between her lips, lighting it with her pocket lighter. After a puff of smoke, Sarah turned back towards the complex and headed inside, retrieving her things before heading on back home.