Chapter 53: A Challenger Approaches
“Thunk” Mai closes her locker shut while dawning her coyote brown fatigues for the afternoon. It’s not so much that Mai is even serious about training. She just wants to try out her new factory-new Type 56 SKS that she received from Hikari yesterday. After redeeming the code at Flints, her new SKS came shipped directly to Lonestar Base in a matter of minutes. It’s now sitting fresh in the armory caked in factory cosmoline that she’s too lazy to clean off right now. She hopes to get a few shots at the range, play some arcade light gun games in the barracks, and see the new briefing room that her team had funded since winning the last match against Vampire Squad. She sits down on the bench, grabbing a pair of airsoft grade polymer knee-pads. They were cheaper than the military grade ones and are probably good enough in Mai’s perspective. She hears the locker next to her open and the voice of her squad leader greets her. “You’re here on a Sunday afternoon? Don’t you have homework tonight?”
“Nah. I took care of that yesterday. I have a brand new SKS rifle I want to test fire. I made sure to spare some free time just for this moment.” Mai doesn’t seem to look at Emi who is changing clothes at her locker. She’s too fixated on getting these knee-pads comfortable. They have foam inserts but the knee-pads are a bit too large for her knees. She sighs in frustration but tightens them a little more just so they don’t slip off. “What’s your game plan today, Emi.”
“Uh...not much.” Emi’s voice doesn’t sound as confident as it usually does. “I’m just going to watch Tomio by the sidelines while he duals some of our squad members with his quick draws. He’s been really obsessed with that lately.”
“Tomio’s dueling? Figures. So you’re not doing anything, Emi?”
“Uh...I’m afraid not.” Mai can hear Emi getting dressed quickly. What’s she in a hurry for?
“Well…” Mai shrugs. “It’s nice that things can slow down for a while giving us time to...WHAT IN TARNATION?” Her eyes beam over to Emi who’s wearing a Cowgirl Dance Team Uniform like you would see in some high school or college football games. Her uniform is a mix of black and khaki with leather dance boots, white and black pom poms, and a cowgirl hat with chin strap. The last time Mai has ever seen a uniform like that was back when Hikari and her would attend their school’s football games at night. “Emi! Where did you get that outfit and why are you blushing like crazy? Are we starting a Drill team or what?!”
“No. No. I’m...well...the thing is last night, Tomio and I had a three round match and we made a bet….”
“And you lost?” Mai sounds like she's interrogating a kid who got bad grades.
“Yeah...all three of them. He gave me a chance the third time but he’s just too good with his pistol.” Emi closes her locker with her pom pom. “So now I have to be his cheerleader for the day while he duals with his squad members.”
“I don’t believe it.” Mai’s horrified expression says it all. “It’s bad enough we lost to Longhorn Squad the first time, now our squad leader can’t even beat their squad leader. What has this world come to? It’s so over for Armadillo Squad.”
Meanwhile, The two can hear the doorway to the locker room opening. Mai and Chiara are walking side by side, seemingly having a discussion. “So you actually found and bought a Vampire Squad at the convention yesterday?” Chiara’s voice echoed from across the locker room. “Heh...that’s pretty hilarious, Hikari.”
“Yeah, I thought it would make a good nightgown shirt. My floor mates think it's just a shirt for finals week. They are so clueless.” They laugh together as they approach their lockers but their laughter is cut to a halt when they spot Emi in her new uniform. “Uh...Emi….what’s with the dance outfit? Are we shooting a promo for our squad? There’s something I wanted to bring up to you actually regarding our image and potential for merchandizing. Perfect timing.” She clasps her hands as if she made a business deal.
“Hikari! No! This has nothing to do with a branding promo, Hikari!” Emi cried out in embarrassment. “It’s…”
“She lost a duel with Tomio and now she’s dressed for a pep rally for her boyfriend.” Mai spelled it out as she heard it, much to Emi’s dismay.
“Amazing…” Hikari remarked sarcastically as she crossed her arms. She gives a serious look to Emi, like she’s about to spill some facts. “I don’t believe a capable athlete like yourself could lose to a guy like Tomio.”
“He’s been obsessed with his quick draws. He’s got really good, I swear.”
“Or maybe you wanted to lose so you could wear a cheer outfit for him.” Hikari’s face smirks like a cat. “My my…”
“Oh stop it...that’s preposterous!” Emi looks like she’s going to catch on fire from how red her cheeks are blushing “As if I’d be the sort of girl to want to dress up like a cheerleader. I don’t even use make up or anything like that!”
"Damn, Emi, I didn't know you could actually turn red through a tan." Mai joins Hikari with their teasing.
“This isn’t funny, girls!” Emi seriously wants to hide behind her pom poms.
“I think it’s cute, Emi.” Chiara’s voice finally chimes in, much to everyone's surprise.
“Huh? You really think so?” Emi was not expecting Chiara to admit such a thing.”
“Do you think there’s another uniform like that in the locker room?”
“Whaaaa! Are you crazy, Chiara! You want to play on the drill team too?!” Mai exclaims out in despair. “The shy girl with anxiety issues...a glorified cheerleader?!!! What’s the world coming to?!”
“Why not? I always wondered what it would be like to be one.” Chiara spoke thoughtfully. “Besides, If Emi’s going to do something embarrassing, then I’m in too. We’re supposed to be a team after all.”
“Maybe I should get uniforms for all of us.” Hikari rubbed her chin while she schemed. “I think we should do something cute together to promote our team if we wore them.”
“Oh no! Not you too Hikari!”
“I could suggest something more risqué if you keep it up, Mai. Pray I don’t.” She gives a nod to Chiara and Emi. “We should take it easy while we can. You two give your best cheer performances today. I want to see how it looks first before I consider it. We need to do some serious branding if we’re going to be taken seriously in the tournament.”
“Whatever.” Mai grumbled, finally getting her kneepads to stay in place. “Let's see if Tomio is actually a master with his Single Action Army.”
One of the newest additions to the Lonestar Base is an additional hanger, built from slabs of bricks and metal sheets. It’s a crude structure with a metal roof and concrete floors. Only a few paper targets are set up, with a sandbag bullet stop behind them. While still undergoing construction, this hangar is already being used as an indoor firing range and potentially a modular kill house training facility to practice for upcoming matches. For now, it’s being used as a crude arena. Tomio stands nine paces from Ramirez. Chiara and Emi stand on the side line in their cowgirl dance uniforms. Hikari and Mai stand and spectate from a distance with Fio and Kimberly on the opposite side as they have already been eliminated.
“Shoot...Emi wasn’t lying about his quick draw.” Mai fiddles with her Chi-com chest rig. “I don’t think we stand a chance, Hikari.”
“As if, I don’t even have my P320 with me.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m having second thoughts about buying Fio’s pistol. Flint told me I should wait until the new update introduces some new handguns.”
“You know, they make an aftermarket trigger for your pistol, Hikari.” Mai mentions to Hikari with an elbow bump. “It’s one of those trigger safeties like the Glocks have but made for the P320. You’re probably going to lose your competition trigger if you change it though.”
“That trigger was a liability, Mai.”
“True..but it’s still better than trigger on Ramirez Pistol.” Mai points to the pistol on his holster. “Look at Rami’s rig. He’s running a Smith SD9VE. It’s basically a budget Glock clone with a hinged trigger that feels like pulling a stapler through gravel. The reset is total garbage.”
“If you’re saying it’s not good, then it must be worse than you actually claim considering you are carrying a Hi Point for crying out loud.” She looks over at Mai’s waist for a holster. “How do you even carry that big piece of crap anyway?”
“Well, you know me, Hikari.” Mai scoffs and pulls up her tunic, revealing her Hi Point C9 pistol with her new 100 dollar Benjamin grips shoved right between her stomach and her belted pants in a crude appendix position. “It’s called Mexican carry, Hikari.”
“Why am I not suprised?” Hikari sighs in disbelief; seeing her pistol pressed up to her stomach. “Come on, Mai. Get a cheap nylon holster for that...thing. If it goes off while you’re carrying it that way, you’re going to shoot femoral artery and I can’t patch that up on the battlefield.”
“Nah. What for? This is more minimal, cheaper, and arguably quicker to draw. I’m not a total idiot, Hikari. I have a manual safety,” Mai said, thumbing the lever as she hitched her pants. “Plus, this trigger pull is like nine pounds. It’s harder to go off like that.”
“Yeah sure, whatever you say Mai. We’ll see when your turn is up.” Hikari rolls her eyes and focuses back on the stand off between Tomio and Ramirez.”
“You really think you’re going to outclass a striker fire pistol with that six shooter?” Ramirez taunts Tomio from his position. “I’ve got time behind my pistol. I know my draw.” His hand hovers over his side holster.
“Don’t count it, Rami.” He says with a confident smirk on his face. “I’ve spent hours watching videos online and applying it to my training. You’re going to see what I can do with this piece.”
“There’s a brief silence between the two as they wait for the cue to draw. Emi holds a timed beeper to start the draw. The beep comes in at a random moment so both shooters are expected to draw at a moment’s notice.
“BEEP”
Ramirez draws from his holster, ready to aim and fire but Tomio has already cocked the hammer on his pistol and fires from the hip, striking Ramirez in the thigh.
“Ah….fuck.” He drops dead on the floor but re-spawns moments later. “What the hell was that Hollywood shit?”
“Woo! Let’s go, Tomio!” Chiara cheers from the sideline, waving her pom poms in the air.”
“Nice one T..Tomio!” Emi cheers with more awkward enthusiasm than Chiara. Both of them doing air kicks in sync.
Tomio spun the Uberti Cattleman on his finger before holstering it. “Easy.”
"That had to be luck. That’s bullshit.”Ramirez complained, walking over to the loser's side.
“You can tell that to Kimberly and Fio.” Tomio chuckled. Kimberly and Fio both shrug their shoulders at Ramirez. “Man, it feels good to be on a winning streak today.”
“Says the guy using .38 special cowboy loads.” A soft spoken female voice interrupts the squad banter.
“Hey! That voice isn’t in my memory bank!” Mai draws her Hi Point out from her pants and waves her hands at the group. “Intruder!”
“Relax, short stuff. I showed my internet ID to the guards. I come in peace...mostly.” Her voice is soft spoken but doesn’t have that uncertainty like that of Chiara’s. A lazy looking girl in her early 20s, with blonde hair and a long pony tail, slightly unkept with a black headband bow. She looks out of place, with her denim jeans and sporty looking black and orange tunic with no insignia or squad logos of any kind. Her gloved hand rests upon her hips, close to her holstered pistol; a CZ-75 variant with a longer barrel. She speaks with a quiet authority. “So this is the fabled Team Lonestar...”
“No way! You’re Nina Marek!” Mai is the only one who recognizes the strange girl in the hanger.
“Who?” Hikari bluntly asks, with Mai elbowing her.
“Nina is our state champion for USPSA pistol shooting. She’s a legend in the competition shooting scene” Mai explains while she goes into a fan-girl mode. “You should see her runs. She’s like an assassin with her CZ!”
Nina gives Mai a thumbs up. “Thanks for the wiki rundown.” Her attention shifts over at Tomio and Emi specifically. “What she said. Plus whatever Garrett told you about me.”
“You’ve been watching our progress or something?” Tomio stands in the ready position, assuming things may turn sour.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” She smirks. “You’re representing our state. Just like me.” She slouches her posture, feeling nothing from Tomio’s weariness. “You can call me a fan, perhaps.”
“Perhaps?” Emi speaks skeptically. “Are we doing something that’s bothering you?”
“Hm…kind of.” Nina points to Tomio with her hand. “For a bunch of amateurs that took out one of the most aggressive teams in this tournament, you all seem...so...aloof.”
“Yeah and?” Tomio’s expression sharpens with distrust. “Are you another Asura clone?”
Tomio’s comment gets an explosive laugh out of Nina. She’s holding onto her stomach and is unable to control herself, even though she’s the only one laughing. “Ah….man...that’s a good one. Yeah, totally, can’t you tell from my totally gothic uniform?” She remarks sarcastically and waves her hand dismissively. “I don’t emulate losers. Let alone losers who bark more than they bite.” She narrows her eyelids at Tomio. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you an Asura clone?”
Tomio shakes his head. “Very funny. You seem really snarky and witty.”
“Not really. I’m apparently retarded according to social media.” Nina shrugs her shoulders. “Either I’m doing something right to piss off everyone or I’m totally wrong.” Her face shifts to something more cynical and enthusiastic. What do you believe, Tomio?”
“Now you’re just baiting.” He just adjusted his grip on the revolver's holster, his eyes never leaving Nina’s.
“Suppose I am.” Nina shrugs and shakes her head. “You seem trigger happy, cowboy. Be glad I’ve yet to push your buttons like I do with my students.” She points her finger at Tomio’s revolver. “You’re relying on low powder cowboy loads. I’ve seen old west enthusiasts do some cool stuff, but I wouldn’t call what you’re doing impressive.” Emi can see Tomio starting to get irritated. Her eyes start to show a worried glance at him.
“That’s just your opinion, Miss.” His thumb resting on the hammer of his revolver as his voice dropped an octave in contempt. “Do have what it takes to back up your argument.”
“Now we’re talking.” Nina claps her hands together. “How about it? You challenge me to a quick draw and settle our debate with a bullet. If you win, I’ll join your team and help you all out.” She holds her hands out with a thumbs up. “But if you lose, then you’re a sorry loooooooooser.” She sticks her tongue out like a child and tilts her hand so that her thumbs are down.
"Are you serious?" Tomio's voice was strained, his irritation finally bubbling over. "You come in here, trash-talk my squad like a child, insult my shooting, and then offer to join us like you're doing us a favor?"
“Yes.” Nina crossed her arms. “You know how much I charge for my classes?” Her posture is still deceptively lazy but her right hand starts to hover towards her holster. “So are you going to chicken out from a challenge and hide behind your cute cheerleaders?”
“Why you…” Emi wanted to go right for Nina but Tomio stopped her.”
“No...I’ll make sure she’ll get what’s coming, Emi.”
Kimberly shakes her head in disbelief. “Well...I guess we’re doing this duel.” She readies her shot timer.
“Come on, Tomio!” Chiara cheers on with her pom poms waving.
“Tomio...be careful.” Emi murmurs cautiously.
“You can do it T O M I O! WOOO!” Nina mockingly cheers. Her hand halts to the grip of her CZ-75.
“Oh man, look at her! She’s going to do her signature draw.” Mai whispers to Hikari.
“Tomio doesn’t stand a chance, doesn’t he?” Hikari whispers back to Mai.”
“Nope.” Mai whispers back nonchalantly. “This is going to be so awesome. Watch her draw, Hikari.
“Come on, Tomio…” Fio clenches her hands in anticipation.
“Shooters ready?!” Kimberly calls out to the challengers.
“Ready!”
“Ready Spaghetti!”
“Stand by!” Kimberly presses the button on the shot timer. The air is dead in silence. Tomio and Nina stare in a ready stance. The timer’s beep can come in randomly. Both shooters must be ready to draw and shoot. That moment comes sooner than both anticipated.
“BEEP”
Tomio cocks and draws his revolver with one swift motion. He holds his revolver at waist level and squeezes the single action trigger.
“Pop-Pop-Pop”
In a matter of less than a second, Tomio stumbles back and falls on his back. His hud red and pulsating. Nina’s legs were bent into a low crouch, both arms aggressively forwards with her pistol in her hand. Her lazy smirking expression replaced with one that was in the zone. The team watching the duel play out in front of them are in total shock.
“What the fuck was that?” Ramirez scoffed.
“Did you see that?! That was amazing!” Mai squealed with amazement.
“Heh...nothing personal, kid.” Nina did a mock imaginary fedora tip with her hand before carefully holstering her CZ-75 back in the holster. She watched as Tomio respawned. His face plastered in shock and confusion.
“I...I didn’t even get my shot out…”
“You were too busy fantasizing instead of keeping your head in the game...loooser.” Nina stuck her tongue at Tomio. “Bleeech. You fumbled like a boy impressing a girl with silly tricks. But I guess that’s the intention. Did you really think hip firing was going to work on me? You’re already handicapped by having a single action.” She pats her pistol by her waist side. “This baby was fired in double action first, because I wanted to give myself a handicap for your sake, but you’re not even at the novice level to take advantage of that.”
“Who do you think you are?” Tomio sneered at Nina. He gets up onto his feet, healed but absolutely disgraced from his winning streak today.
“Probably Autistic.” Nina snickered. “But not a larper like you.” Your grip was clearly shaky. Don’t tell me you hold a girl’s hand like that because phew...she’d probably dump you or think you have tremors. That caused your point of...well I would say aim but you didn’t even bother...to shift right and you would have missed me if you actually had time to pull the trigger.”
"Cut it out already!" Tomio snapped, finally pushing himself towards his limit. “You got a lot of nerve, you know!”
“Says the guy who can’t maintain his pride for his team’s sake.” She stood up straight, resting her hand on her CZ-75. “I’m in a good mood today. Maybe it’s from how much fun I have taunting you, but I want to give you a remedial match. A chance to protect your reputation.”
“I won’t fail this time. Not by the likes of you.”
Nina sighs, like she heard it a thousand times. “Yeah, sure. But let’s make it interesting. If I win…” Her eyes glare over at Chiara and Emi. “I’ll pull those two out of your team and make them do my in-game laundry, carry my magazines, and make them into my personal harem.
“How dare you!” Emi shouts in disgust. Chiara looked like she wanted to melt away in despair.
“Don’t talk to them that way!” Tomio rebutted. “You’re not going to do shit to them under my watch. Even if I lose again.”
“Tomio…”
“It’s okay, Emi. I’m not going to let this psycho have her way. Not a chance in hell.” Tomio’s posture changed instantly. ““You’re going to regret barging in here, Nina."
“She can’t be serious...right?” Hikari asks Mai under her breath.”
“Nah. She’s using her psychological methods to push his buttons.” Mai noted to Hikari. “She’s intentionally putting him into a stressful situation, to test him. That’s how she trains her pupils.”
"Uh...are the Shooters ready?" Kimberly’s voice calls out; barely audible over the tension.
"Ready," Tomio growled. His knuckles were white against the ivory grip of his revolver, knees were slightly bent, and his weight forward on the balls of his feet
“I’m always ready.” Nina said almost in a yawn. She didn't even look like she was trying, which only made Tomio’s blood boil hotter. “I’m going to enjoy making you look like Swiss Cheese.” She snickered.
“Stand by…” Kimberly presses the button on her timer.” All eyes are on the two. Tomio is entirely in the zone. His eyes are focused on the target, hands set on the grip of his revolver. Nina isn’t taking it lightly either. Less so than before. She stands like a statue, not even her breathing is visible. Controlling her breath and her posture, legs apart, aggressive slouch, just as she’s done numerous times in the real world.
“BEEP”
“Clunck POP!” With a his right hand hand he drew. He squeezed the trigger a fraction of a second before the gun was level, timed so that the hammer slipped from under his thumb the exact moment the front sight blade bisected Nina’s silhouette. Focusing entirely on the front sight, his shot nearly strikes Nina center mass but makes its mark on her left thigh, throwing her shot off from her injury.”
“Mother...fucker…” She curses Tomio, dropping to the ground as her HUD flashes red.
“I don’t believe it…” Mai murmurs quietly. “Tomio beat her with a thumb-slip draw.”
Tomio cocks the hammer of his revolver again, aiming down at an injured Nina. “Don’t you ever. Ever. Talk to my friends like that!” Emi couldn’t believe it. She’s never seen Tomio this furious.
“Okay, I’m sorry! You can’t take a joke, can you?” She raises her hands up in a surrender pose. She struggles to get up onto her feet, nearly falling again to the floor. “I was wrong about you. Most of my students will lose focus when I piss them off. But you remained focused and executed. Now could you hurry up and get me a medic!”
“Thanks, but those false compliments aren’t going to win me over. You need to leave.”
“No. I’m in debt to your team now.” Nina groans through her injury. “Garrett was right. Your team has a lot of potential, and I want to help you reach it.”
“Why should we let you in? You’re nothing but an instigator and possibly a fraud.”
“Actually, far from it.” Mai steps in for Nina’s defense. “She’s not kidding about being a USPSA champion. You all need to watch her runs. She’s a beast.”
“See? Why would she lie about me?” Nina lowered her hands down to her knees. “I was only trying to stress you so you can feel what it’s like to be under pressure. You have to be your best at your worst. Does that make sense?”
Tomio holstered his revolver reluctantly. He looks over to Emi who is still sour over Nina’s comment. Chiara just shrugs her shoulders.
“How much do you usually charge for your courses?” Kimberly asks out of the blue.
“Several hundreds. I never see undergraduate kids in my courses but then again, you all aren’t old enough to have a handgun license.”
“And you’re open to training us for free? Right?” Hikari asks.
“Not just train you...join you.” Nina suggests, grinning. “It’ll do wonders for your reputation and my reputation.”
“Your reputation.” Tomio spats out doubtfully. “How could someone as vile as you have a reputation?”
“Look, I’m going to be real with you.” Nina’s voice comes across as serious. “I’m obviously on the spectrum. I don’t downplay my skills in handgun shooting but friends are few and far between. Right now it’s just Garrett and me. The rest of the Mil-Simmers and competition shooters either idolize me or hate me for my behavior.”
"Your reputation and talents don't give you a pass to treat my teammates like trash for your weird power trips.” Tomio scolded honestly.
“We’re a family here.” Emi added, standing by Tomio. “We stand up for each other and have lives outside of all this you know.”
“This feels like one of those 'Mid-Season Rival' encounters.” Fio enthusiastically pitched in. “But I don’t think she’s anything like Asura when we faced off against her. She’s more chaotic neutral in my book.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Nina laughed in pain.
“Doesn’t excuse the rude comments.” Ramirez insists. “Chaotic is still chaotic. We’ve got enough enemies right around the corner. The last thing we need is one within our circle. I’m on Tomio’s side.”
“Why you…” Nina growled. “What? Are we just going to vote me out?”
"You... you said you’re on the spectrum," Chiara said, her voice small but clear enough to stop the bickering. "And that people either idolize you or hate you." She stepped out just an inch from behind Emi. "I know what it’s like to have everyone look at you as if you’re not worth anything. Despite being good at one thing; you forget how to talk to people in general." Chiara looked Nina in the eye with empathy. "You're acting like a jerk because you don't know how to make yourself seem likable. You’re afraid of being vulnerable. I’ve known that feeling before, Nina. I think you deserve a second chance."
“Chiara! You can’t be…” Emi scoffed.
“I am. You all handled me at my lowest point, why can’t we be there for Nina too?”
Nina let out a long, shaky breath, leaning her weight off her injured leg. She looked at Chiara, her expression unreadable for a moment before she gave a sharp. nod. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry... about the laundry thing. It was a bad joke. I apologized a million times now. But I am serious about working alongside your team, if you let me.”
“I say we let her in!” Mai raises her hand. “She’s a USPSA champion! She’ll help us shoot like John Wick!”
“I’m with Mai and Chiara too.” Hikari raises her hand with Mai. Chiara follows suit. “Anyone else?”
“Here here!” Fio raises her hand and nudges Kimberly.
“Fio! We can’t just…”
“Sure we can. Raise that hand, Kimberly!”
“Ugh...fine.”
“Kimberly!” Ramirez sighs. “Sorry Tomio but we need the additional support.” He raises his hand leaving Emi and Tomio the only ones left.
Emi sighed, crossing her arms over her cowgirl dance uniform, the pom-poms drop down her sides. “I’m still not happy about your comment, Nina. But if the squad says we give you a chance... then we give you a chance. Don’t piss me off.” She looked at the others and finally raised her hand, followed reluctantly by Tomio.
“We’ll give you a chance. Don’t waste it.” Tomio offered his hand to Nina. “Welcome to Team Lonestar, Nina Marek.” He welcomes her with a coldness in his voice.
“Nice!” Nina gives Tomio a firm handshake. “You won’t regret your decision. My guarantee, Mr. Cowboy.”
“Just call me Tomio…” He sighed. “Hikari, please patch her up before she bleeds out on my training grounds.”
“On it.” Hikari grabs Nina’s arm and lays it over her shoulder. "Come on, let's make you good as new."
“Hey, wait up! After she’s better, I’ll show her around the base and give her locker keys!” Mai accompanies them as they help her limp out of the hangar. Tomio rubs his face with his hands shaking his head.
“We’re making a terrible mistake with her. I hope you’re not wrong about her, Chiara.”
“I’m not. I think she’ll be part of the family someday.” Chiara looks over to Emi. “You trust me? Right, Emi?”
“I trust you, Chiara. Always have,” Emi said softly. She glanced down at her boots, then back up at Tomio. “Thanks for standing up for us.”
“I would have stood up for you even if she was serious. Even if I did lose.” Tomio strolls over to the center of his makeshift arena. “That’s enough dueling for today. We’ll see how Nina handles being part of the team.