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V'Rel examined the board with a critical eye. "You've misplaced your queen," she said, and moved the offending piece one square over.
"Thanks." Jim considered joking about her adjusting the board to her own advantage, but wasn't sure that now was the right time. "Your move."
They played in silence at first. Jim struggled to remember what his plan had been for this game; he couldn't seem to get into the right mindset, the place where everything clicked together and made sense and he could think three steps ahead without breaking a sweat. Right now, it felt like the works were all gummed up.
"You are distracted," V'Rel finally said.
"Yeah, I am." Jim wasn't in trouble yet, but he'd let his advantage erode, and the outcome of the game was less securely in his favor than it had been. If he couldn't find his focus, it would be just another game lost.
He moved his bishop. He needed to regain control of the board, but it was slipping away from him little by little no matter what he did.
"Your decisions after Helicon Gamma were effective. There is no need for..." She tilted her head slightly, considering. "Chagrin."
"Not the word I would use," he said, but he took her point. "I did my best." She moved, he moved, she moved, he moved; the pattern struggled to align itself. Maybe he needed a different angle.
"Do you know why I chose you as First Officer, after Cseh transferred?"
"Because I'm good at my job?"
"You are, but there are many who would qualify under that condition alone." She sure knew how to make a guy feel special. Jim suspected, with wry amusement, that this relationship would be good for him. She moved a pawn, he moved his bishop again. "Cseh was too similar to me in temperament. You are a competent officer, you can command, and you challenge me." She took his bishop. "I won't always agree with you. You won't always agree with me. Nevertheless I will always take your position into account, and I expect the same from you."
"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations," Jim murmured, his gaze skating across the board. He was, he realized, still trying to play the game as it had been before Helicon Gamma, but it was effectively a new game now. He moved.
"Just so."
They continued playing while Jim mulled over her words. V'Rel had been a good XO under Garrovick and she was a good captain now, but he thought she was right that it wasn't just the captain themself but who they had around them that made the difference. He'd seen that, working with the Enterprise crew; who knew what he might have done on his own, but he doubted it would have had the same result. He'd already come to that conclusion on his own, but he hadn't made the logical leap to apply it to his own position - that challenging his captain wasn't something he got away with if she was happy with his performance everywhere else, but indeed was part and parcel of his job. As, of course, was letting her challenge him in turn.
He had a lot to learn, and he was self-aware enough to know that it wouldn't all be gracefully done, but he was looking forward to it all the same.
"Mate in three," he said, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers above his lap.
V'Rel's sharp gaze darted from one point on the board to another as she evaluated possible moves. Jim could almost imagine exactly what she was seeing and thinking, the possibilities she was exploring and dismissing in turn. Then she nodded once and tipped her king.
"A stimulating game," she said as they rose from their seats."I look forward to our next."
"I'm looking forward to beating you some more."
"I welcome the attempt," she said, and left him to reset the board.