sith_happened | Office hours [all day]

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Office hours [all day]

Vader hadn't slept well, and being awakened by the Emperor's face was a guarantee towards having a terrible day.

So he was in his office, and in a Mood.

Not that this was terribly different than most days, but at least today he had a legitimate excuse for being annoyed.

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Making a little gleeful noise, Wilson pulled the chair over and sat down.

"Okay..." He began to explain the rules (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversi) as he unfolded the handsome game board and started to set up the two sided pieces.

Once he was done, he smiled over the desk towards Vader. "Would you like black or white?" He asked, absolutely refusing to assume anything.

A game based on turning light pieces dark. The Emperor would love it.

"Black," Vader answered immediately, then set up the board, immediately turning one of Wilson's pieces to the dark side.

In his head, Vader was naming the pieces. He'd never admit it to anyone, of course.

Wilson blinked.

"Ah, good...you've got the rules down." He said in a bit of a surprised tone then settled in to set up a thread to turn a group of Vader's pieces back to white.

Nice thing about a good board game? You didn't have to indulge in small talk while at the same time being able to share some diversion. Wilson had learned this balance in the months when House was at his most intractable.

"Turning a piece back to the light is more difficult than that, Doctor," Vader said as he began to counter Wilson's moves with military precision. "There are certain schools of thought that say it cannot be done at all."

Tilting his head at the board as he saw Vader smoothly begin to counter his set up, Wilson caught his lower lip between his teeth and focused that much more intently upon the game.

"Does not mean, that one should give up trying." He said, reaching to set up another spot where he could flip some pieces.

"Of course it does," Vader insisted. "Why waste your effort trying to correct something that is unchangable? 'Once you go down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny,'" he quoted as he began an offensive of his own on the board.

"Dominate, does not necessarily equate control." Wilson said in a pensive manner that indicated he was debating the subject, not making any direct personal references to Vader himself.

Since, technically speaking Wilson was completely ignorant of the Vader gossip flying around...well...except for that bit about V.

Moving on!

Quirking his mouth in a thoughtful manner, Wilson reached to salvage what he could on the board but it was fairly obvious that Vader was going to outplay him in this game.

"And I suppose you could say that the Universal fight is not between Good and Evil, who need each other to validate the existance of both but rather it is between Action and Apathy. For when either side gives up trying then what is left but nothing?"

"Sometimes the nothing would come as a nice relief," Vader remarked, continuing his dominance of the game. "The greater movements of good and evil--or action and apathy--can become...tiresome."

Watching, woefully as more pieces flipped over to black, Wilson was stuck for a few minutes, weighing his rapidly diminishing options.

"I can understand...hell, I can even agree with that." He said solemly, eyes still fixed on the board.

Then, as he reached to make his next move, he looked over at Vader and gave a half grin.

"But, that's where friends come in useful."

"I don't have friends," Vader said, turning another piece from white to black. "Nor do I need them."

Wilson glanced up at Vader for a long beat, then returned his focus to the board between them without comment.

He didn't try to contradict Vader's comment with words because at a point, words could become little more than bothersome noise, which would interupt the nice game they had going.

Well, the nice game that Wilson was loosing at.

A few moves later and the game was all over.

Vader looked up from the completely black board. "Would you like a rematch?"

Looking up from the evidence of his utter defeat, Wilson smiled warmly and nodded.

"Yes, I would."

"This time I won't go easy on you," Vader said.

For him, this was being terribly funny.

Wilson smiled, genuinely smiled at the joke and nodded as he reached to start setting up the board once more.

"I wouldn't expect you too, Lord Vader."

Vader began to move pieces again. "I believe a 'mwahaha' would be traditional here, yes?"

Okay that caused Wilson to blink, a little taken aback but his surprise was quickly replaced with light, amused laughter.

"Indeed! Just so long as I don't have to lay on train tracks with my ankles tied together, wringing my hands and having a case of the vapours." He responded with a definitely good natured twinkle in his dark eyes.

"As I explain my evil plan in gratuitous detail?" Vader snorted. "Hardly. I leave speeches for the politicians."

"It is wise to leave the pontification to those who study it as an art form." Wilson agreed as he began to work his pieces on the board.

Showing a hint of sense, he was not trying the same moves as he had the first game choosing instead to apply a different strategy entirely.

Vader noted the change and began to counter it in a leisurely manner. No sense making the game end too quickly.

Not that he was lonely or anything. Not at all.

Really.

"We dissolved the Senate at home a few months back," Vader commented, "significantly cutting down on pontification."

And democracy, but details.

Wilson might have actually been of the belief that he had a shot this time around!

.... maybe a little belief?

Didn't stop him from focusing on the board and really putting thought into his moves, however and after he'd managed a small gain he sat back, looking at Vader.

"A total change in government?" He started to ask, more out of simply curiosity than any judgement, hell...he had no clue how the governments of other galaxies worked, maybe the Senate was a really bad idea and dissolving it was the best move in the world...or not, still...one did not cast stones at other people's governments.

"I imagine it did clear the airwaves a bit."

"More like a final modification of a broken system," Vader said, beginning to reassert his dominance of the game. "The local system governors now handle the bureaucracy. "An Empire has little use for democracy, after all."

Catching his lower lip between his teeth as he watched a substantial number of his pieces ~~turn to the dark side~~ switch from white to black, Wilson pondered his few options and elected to try something a bit risky.

"Is it a more economical way to run things then?" He asked curiously as he worked on the board.

The mask hid Vader's sly smile as he read what Wilson was trying to do on the board. He let it unfold for a few moments--no need to crush the doctor quite yet.

"Quite," Vader said. "It has cut down the whining out of Imperial Center by a factor of 30."

That...got another laugh out of the young doctor as he continued to press his advantage.

"Anything that cuts down on whining." Wilson said in agreement. "It's always baffled me, how such a good system in theory could open itself up to such abuses."

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