oncoming_storms Prompt 50
Leela sat on the floor of the console room with her legs crossed beneath her, observing the chessboard with a very serious expression on her face. The game in progress was distinctly one sided, with a marked difference in the number of white and black pieces, and this was doing little to improve Leela’s mood.
She reached out to move her rook forward and aggressively attack her opponent’s knight, but, before she reached it, he caught her wrist and guided her hand away.
“No, no,” the Doctor said, his patience wearing thin but, for now, still holding, “If you do that, you’ll leave your king exposed to an attack from my other knight. You need to be less reckless, Leela. Pay attention to the rest of the board.”
“In a real battle,” Leela muttered mutinously, moving one of her few remaining pawns instead (in a half hearted attempt to improve her defences), “This king would not be allowed to fight.”
“Chess is a real battle, Leela!” the Doctor exclaimed, “A battle of wits! You can set and achieve long term goals, carry out lightning manoeuvres, outsmart your opponent. It requires skill and, and ...”
“Patience?”
“And, well, yes, patience. It requires strategy!”
She raised an eyebrow. “If that is what you want, why do you not play with K-9?”
“I thought you might like to learn ...”
“You mean I will not beat you,” Leela amended, shaking her head, “It does not matter. That is not how you truly win a battle. A battle is won by the strength of a soldier’s sword, not the strategies of a general!”
“Nonsense!” said the Doctor emphatically, “The allies wouldn’t have defeated Napoleon at Waterloo without the Duke of Wellington and the French Revolution would have been very different without Napoleon. Julius Caesar, Sun Tzu, George Patton, Alexander Haig. Their actions - their strategies - changed the course of history.”
"I would still choose to be a warrior," said Leela, stubbornly, and the Doctor laughed.
"That doesn't surprise me. You have a sharp mind, Leela, but you prefer a sharp knife."
“Oh,” he added, moving his queen through Leela’s sparse defences to intercept the king, “And I believe that is checkmate.”
“You would make a good General, Doctor,” said Leela admiringly, and the Doctor gave her a wry smile.
“Oh, I hope not, Leela. I hope not.”
Prompt: It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Word Count: 392
She reached out to move her rook forward and aggressively attack her opponent’s knight, but, before she reached it, he caught her wrist and guided her hand away.
“No, no,” the Doctor said, his patience wearing thin but, for now, still holding, “If you do that, you’ll leave your king exposed to an attack from my other knight. You need to be less reckless, Leela. Pay attention to the rest of the board.”
“In a real battle,” Leela muttered mutinously, moving one of her few remaining pawns instead (in a half hearted attempt to improve her defences), “This king would not be allowed to fight.”
“Chess is a real battle, Leela!” the Doctor exclaimed, “A battle of wits! You can set and achieve long term goals, carry out lightning manoeuvres, outsmart your opponent. It requires skill and, and ...”
“Patience?”
“And, well, yes, patience. It requires strategy!”
She raised an eyebrow. “If that is what you want, why do you not play with K-9?”
“I thought you might like to learn ...”
“You mean I will not beat you,” Leela amended, shaking her head, “It does not matter. That is not how you truly win a battle. A battle is won by the strength of a soldier’s sword, not the strategies of a general!”
“Nonsense!” said the Doctor emphatically, “The allies wouldn’t have defeated Napoleon at Waterloo without the Duke of Wellington and the French Revolution would have been very different without Napoleon. Julius Caesar, Sun Tzu, George Patton, Alexander Haig. Their actions - their strategies - changed the course of history.”
"I would still choose to be a warrior," said Leela, stubbornly, and the Doctor laughed.
"That doesn't surprise me. You have a sharp mind, Leela, but you prefer a sharp knife."
“Oh,” he added, moving his queen through Leela’s sparse defences to intercept the king, “And I believe that is checkmate.”
“You would make a good General, Doctor,” said Leela admiringly, and the Doctor gave her a wry smile.
“Oh, I hope not, Leela. I hope not.”
Prompt: It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Word Count: 392