IRW Delta Flyer, T'Sal's Singularity
Stardate 56688.7, alternate

"Knight to queen's level three. Checkmate."

"Impressive."

Wildman beamed. "Thanks, Seven. Although you played pretty well yourself."

"I am grateful for the encouragement. However, the fact that I still lose a significant percentage of games continues to disturb me."

"Seven, you're logically equivalent to a Vulcan, and you know how smart they are. So why do you think I beat you?"

"You unexpectedly change tactics. You perform moves with no apparent rationale, only to ultimately revealed to be part of a winning strategy. One can only assume you have a latent intellectual superiority which manifests itself only during chess games."

Wildman laughed. "I don't think so, Seven. I can think intuitively, and that's my advantage. If you want to beat me at chess, Kadis-kot, or any other game, you have to learn intuition."

"Can such a thing be learned?"

"Why not? Think of all the things you've learned in the last twelve years--love, hate, anger, grief. You've learned how to hold complex relationships. You've learned how to command a fleet. You've introduced a group of Borg children into our society. Why not this as well? If anyone can do it, Seven, you can."

As if sensing she was finished, Wildman's commbadge chirped. "Icheb to Wildman. I have something here you might want to look at."

Wildman looked at Seven and shrugged. The fleet—and Icheb in particular—was involved in studying T'sal's Singularity. What exactly had he found? If it was important, he would have contacted Seven or Tuvok. There was only one way to find out. "I'll beam over right away," she told him.