Checkmate in Twelve

Posted on 03/26/2020 @ 12:12am by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on on 04/01/2020 @ 5:10pm

Mission: Sum of our Experiences
Timeline: Day 1 at 0000

Well into Gamma Shift, the common area of their quad was deserted save for the pair sitting hunched over an antiquated two-dimensional chess board. It had become their pattern, chess and conversation before retiring for the night, a way for Cian, who had trouble calming his mind, to begin the difficult process of relaxing enough to sleep.

The Vulcan playing black looked up from the PADD he had been reading to observe the board; his opponent, Cian D’Anvers, could almost see him mentally sifting through possible moves as he leaned back in his seat. He reached automatically for the ever present cup of coffee emblazoned with the Academy logo on its side, as were all cups and mugs produced by the replicators, his hazel eyes twinkling with unspoken good humor as he watched Sovek sidestep an obvious trap and as a result, put himself in line for checkmate in twelve moves.

"We talked about this," he said as he made his own move. Not specifically one of the twelve because a bit of misdirection could be useful and he did like a good surprise, especially if it was his own. "PADDs away when we are playing."

"We did," Sovek said as he considered his own move. "However, you seemed distracted and I am reviewing the final report on the exercise.”

"I suppose that's true, about me being distracted," Cian said. He kept one hand looped around the bottom of the mug, his index finger moving back and forth ever so slightly, as he stared out at the passing starfield. "It went well. You know, I was thinking about the Coiri." In his mind's eye, he could still see the visceral reaction some members of the away team had had to a race of seven foot tall sentient spiders. "The biological necessity of hatching their young within the bodies of the dead turned them into a race of killers and left them wide open to manipulation by the Arawathi."

"Providing the Coiri with a growth medium that would simulate the environment their young required was an obvious solution," Sovek said as he moved the king's bishop forward. "And yet, not one they came to on their own. Your move."

"I like to think they would have eventually," he said as returned his attention to the board. "The Arawathi should not have interfered in the development of the Coiri and they'll pay a price for that ... or they would have if it were all real. How big a price," he said with a slight lift of his shoulders, "is not entirely clear. Hopefully, we'll get into that today. Seems right to me that their petition for admittance would be denied." They would be moving into end game soon and his own move reflected that.

Cian watched Sovek study the board. His Vulcan classmate had an agile mind that was more adept at Kal-Toh than chess but he was coming along and quickly.

"Checkmate in twelve," Cian said with a cheerful grin. "If its any consolation, you're making me work for it more."

"Twelve," Sovek murmured as he moved to what Cian thought of as his in-depth-this-will-take-forever-study of the board.

To give himself something to do he went back to discussing their away team scenario. "It was interesting to me that the Coiri, who seemed to be the more openly aggressive race, ultimately had more possibilities as productive members of the Federation than the Athwari. Within the parameters of the scenario, its clear that the course of their development had been altered but with a bit of help from Federation scientists, the damage could be mitigated." He rubbed his hands together and then automatically reached for his cup. “I’m looking forward to the discussion.”

“Checkmate in twelve,” Sovek confirmed and looked up to catch Cian smothering a yawn, “And I need to finish this review. Remember the meditation technique. It should help.”

Cian nodded, smothering another yawn, and headed off to his room. He was already marshaling his arguments for class which meant he’d be lucky if he could get to sleep at all. “Alright,” he murmured to his empty room. “I’ll meditate.” He lay down and began the deep breathing exercises Sovek had taught him and fell asleep without even realizing he had done so.

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Cadet Cian D'Anvers
Starfleet Academy