With a smile, Galileo sent off the last customer. The man rudely nodded and left, granting Galileo a brief moment of respite. The wide-screen TV attached to a wall not far from him displayed a female news reporter, and her words momentarily attracted Galileo's attention.

"The flight data recorder from flight 520 has been recovered. The investigative team has stated that the fortified black box had been damaged beyond use, ruling out any possibility of an accident. Since no terror group has claimed responsibility this long after the act, many experts reckon that the terror attack had been committed by a lone vigilante or fanatic. The airline refuses to comment on how a dangerous device got on board until the investigation is concluded."

A whole week had passed, and Galileo was now more closely familiar with the accident. Rather than forging a new identity, he had stolen one. The Covenant had found him some poor man who lost his entire family in the plane crash. The man apparently snapped, cut ties with all his friends, put his house and property on sale, changed his name and moved to a distant metropolis. At least that is the cover-up story. Galileo was not sure how much of it was forged nor whether the man had committed suicide or been removed. Not that it mattered much.

An approaching customer interrupted his thoughts as he put on a smile. Galileo still lacked a lot of the technical skill needed to properly do a job that interested him, moreover, that thing called certified qualification was already giving him a headache in advance. So he had figured that temporarily experiencing the lowest of the low jobs in retail might be interesting. Needless to say, after a week he was already bored beyond compare. Galileo couldn't exactly quit, however, as not working apparently closed many doors for his identity.

Galileo didn't even realise it as he finished serving another customer, basically already on autopilot. He was always willing to spend literal millennia on research, yet he could not bear such an insufferably repetitive work. For that reason he was already looking for something else then this cursed vocation.

"Hey, Gali," after a significant amount of boredom, Galileo arrived at just an hour before the end of his shift, and his ever cheery manager called out to him, "Close up and get ready for the tournament."

"Tournament?" Galileo asked as he made sure to show surprise on his face, though he really had no idea what the man was talking about.

"Oh right, you are new," the manager slapped his own forehead, "You are so proficient I forgot, haha. Anyway, every year all branches in our district hold a chess tournament among all employees, so we all close up sooner and gather. This year it's being held at our store. There is a disclaimer at the front door, guess you must've missed it.”

“I am not interested,” Galileo shook his head. He had better things to spend his evenings on, “Moreover, I have never even played the game.”

“Sorry, attendance is basically mandatory,” the manager laughed awkwardly, “But it's not that bad. You get paid half an hour’s work worth of money each time you win a round. Although experience is important, you could probably snatch a few wins since you seem pretty smart. I can even teach you the basics.”

“Fine,” Galileo decided to give in. Since he basically inherited a not insignificant amount of wealth with this new identity he was not in need for money, however, this situation would probably require him to perform an annoying amount of mind magic to get away without any problems. He might as well see what this chess was about, though if it could be played by the dimwits who worked with him Galileo’s expectations were low.

“Bob!” the manager called out as he nodded. That prompted a man to peek out from a staff-only door, “Close up, would you? I will go for a practice match with Gali here,” he half commanded. Bob grunted but got down to it. Once that was over with the manager lead Galileo over to a large conference room on the second floor. It was in the middle of being rearranged for the event, though no one dared question the manager as the man took one of the boards and sat in the corner with Galileo.

“The rules are simple. You have these 16 pieces of your colour,” he said as he arranged them on the board, “You arrange them this way. Each of them can perform different actions. Your goal is to corner this, the enemy king.”

“I see,” Galileo nodded, “I think I have played a similar game in the past,” though from what he remembered the version he had played was quite a bit more complicated.

“In the real thing you have a budget of time you can spend over the match, so you need to think fast, but not hastily,” the manager nodded and continued, “For now we can just ignore that,” he then illustrated the individual moves the chess pieces could take including some additional rules and exceptions.

“Curious,” Galileo began to smile during the explanation, “It is far more complex than I have expected. Alright, let’s play. It’s my lead,” he reached for a pawn in the middle and moved him forward. Although it was different from what he usually did to pass time, the game managed to spark a bit of curiosity. This tournament was shaping to perhaps be a light exercise before his inevitable all-night binge of the internet.

One piece after another moved. Although Galileo was not experienced with the game, he began to pay attention. There were many possibilities with so many pieces and Galileo quickly realised that the game was about thinking ahead. Since he lacked experience he could only make up for it by considering far more lines of play than necessary, still, he was thinking roughly 20 to 25 moves ahead. He found the strain on his mind enjoyable, although only until he realised that his manager was far too easy to read. The slight exhilaration began to disappear with each move as the man on the other side of the board failed to put up even a sign of competing with what Galileo was doing. It did not take long for Galileo to achieve a checkmate.

“Holy shit,” the manager laughed out loud, “You liar, no fucking way this your first time playing,” although he was cursing, the man appeared jolly.

“I used to play a very similar game regularly,” Galileo tried to make something up to calm the man. Mind magic was bothersome so he would not be trigger happy with using it, “It appears that the tactics are similar.”

“Well I will be damned,” the man laughed one more time, “Do you know why we hold this event annually, even though most employees can barely play?”

“Of course I don’t,” Galileo nearly sighed at the man’s rhetoric.

“It’s because the CEO is a huge chess enthusiast, even a bit of a famous figure among chess players in the region. A big tournament is taking place a few days after this event, he usually chooses one district to join in as practice. Rumour has it that we will get the honour this year,” the man said, though since he bothered mentioning it, the chances were that it would be more than just a rumour. As though to confirm Galileo’s suspicions the man bent a bit over the table and whispered: “The man is good sports, don’t hold back, and if you are good enough, you might catch his eye and get a raise,” he then leaned back and began put away the chess pieces still lying around, “Alright, Gali. You should help the rest with preparing the room.”

Thanks to the extra pair of hands the room was ready soon and employees from other stores began to pour in. His manager was chatting with the rest of management while Galileo sat alone in the corner lamenting why he still hadn’t bought a smartphone, as he adamantly refused to talk with the barely sapient simpletons around him unless absolutely necessary. He usually wasn't nearly as annoyed with them, but he blamed that on the week of retail. Just when the start was nigh and everyone had seemingly gathered, the entrance door once again opened, and a man in a well-fitting black suit accompanied by 2 people who appeared to be his bodyguards walked through. By the very polite and bootlicking welcome from the managers, it was not difficult to conclude that this was the CEO. The man did not delay for long, as he got himself seeded for the later part of the competition, and Galileo entered the quickly going one-game elimination, each opponent he defeated disappointing him more than the last. He met his coworker Bob along the way, and the man’s intellect was particularly abysmal, though Galileo mostly ceased to care at that point. Based on the quality of his opponents he was sure that the worst players were far from weeded out, yet without even realising it he was suddenly seated in front of the CEO in the final match.

“You are a new employee, right, what is your name?” the man acted rather casually, though that was undermined by the two bodyguards which never stood more than 2 steps away from him.

“Galileo,” he said, but couldn’t be bothered to return the question. After this excruciating evening, he didn’t care much whether he was fired for his rudeness. In the worst-case scenario he could always fall back to mind magic, “Let’s begin, it’s your lead,” Galileo stated and waited for the man to move his first piece. Although the CEO was a bit startled by the attitude he laughed momentarily at Galileo’s bluntness before his gaze focused. The man's demeanour became incomparable from the casual attitude he had adopted before. Only then did the man move a piece, starting the clock.

At first, Galileo was not paying full attention, but quickly enough he realised that this man was on a completely different level than the rest. Each move had a purpose and a plan behind it, and each action was swiftly yet deeply considered. Without even realising the smile which had crept up to his face, Galileo decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt, and truly focused on the game. His thoughts expanded as he began to systematically consider every possibility, every feasible move and all actions that his opponent could take. Despite that Galileo felt resistance. It was a sweet sensation, to meet someone who would not helplessly crumble in mere few steps. It was exhilarating when the man managed to counter his offensives, and it was just as satisfying to destroy the attack the man threw at him. Galileo had no idea he could find so much enjoyment in a battle of wits.

“Checkmate,” however, few good things last. Although the CEO’s attempts were valiant, they were futile. With regret Galileo moved the last piece and finished the game. In the corner of his eye Galileo saw his manager who appeared completely dumbfounded, along with the rest of the management. Even the bodyguards and a few employees who had stayed behind were wide-eyed.

“I felt like I was trying to fight off a crazed bloodhound,” the defeated man did not seem bitter, in fact, his eyes and smile were no less excited than Galileo’s, “How have I never heard about you?” he then asked. Galileo just smiled back, and with a gentle mental nudge allowed the man to figure out the most likeable answer himself. That was the best thing to do in such a situation.

“Have you received an invitation for the championship held in 3 days time?” the man asked Galileo, almost expectedly.

“No, I had no idea it was even being held until today,” Galileo admitted.

“I could manage to get you an invitation, if you are interested,” the man continued on, and Galileo could clearly see excitement, perhaps even desire, burning behind his glittering eyes.

“Are there many people better than you,” Galileo asked. Before what had just transpired during their match, he would not have even considered participating. But if he could experience the same thing again in such an event, it would be more than worth his time. He had plenty after all, his interest was far more important than efficiency.

“Most are not, however, there are some who can defeat me nearly every if not every single time,” he said before he stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and continued, the excitement in his eyes turning into focus, “I also have a selfish reason to invite you. I have been playing chess since I was very young, I went face to face with many grandmaster, and occasionally I won against them. Yet there is one person who I could never defeat. In fact, a person who no one could ever defeat as far as I know. Playing against you felt much like when I was playing against her. I want to see what a match between the two of you would look like.”

“I see,” Galileo said as a smile surfaced on his face. He had heard of warriors who could derive enjoyment from their feats on the battlefield and in duels. Of artisans who could compete in their art, and even writers who would compare their popularity. He had naturally tried all of them, yet there was little to no enjoyment for him in mimicking those acts. Perhaps what he had always craved was a different kind of fight. A battle of wits, he was almost sure. And even if that was not the case, he would soon enough find out and could move on. That way there was no reason for him to hesitate, “I will be happy to challenge her,” Galileo’s grin stretched as far as his face allowed.