- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.
- [last lines]
- [Data explains his strategy during his rematch of Strategema against Kolrami]
- Lt. Commander Data: I was playing for a standoff, a draw. While Kolrami was dedicated to winning, I was able to pass up obvious avenues of advancement, then settle for a balance. Theoretically, I should be able to challenge him indefinitely.
- Doctor Pulaski: Then you *have* beaten him.
- Lt. Commander Data: It is a matter of perspective, Doctor. In the strictest sense, I did not win.
- Counselor Deanna Troi, Doctor Pulaski: Data!
- Lt. Commander Data: I busted him up.
- Commander William T. Riker: You're outmanned, you're outgunned, you're outequipped. What else have you got?
- Lieutenant Worf: Guile.
- Commander William T. Riker: [more than two days before the start of a battle simulation] Do you care to surrender now, Captain?
- Lieutenant Worf: I have wagered heavily in the ship's pool that you will take him past the sixth plateau.
- Commander William T. Riker: And if I don't?
- Lieutenant Worf: I will be... irritated.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: For over nine millennia, potential foes have regarded the Zakdorns as having the greatest innately strategic minds in the galaxy.
- Lieutenant Worf: So, no one is willing to test that perception in combat?
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: Exactly.
- Lieutenant Worf: Then the reputation means nothing.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: I'm less than one hour away from a battle simulation, and I have to hand-hold an android.
- Doctor Pulaski: The burdens of command.
- [Data has lost his first match against Kolrami]
- Doctor Pulaski: How can you lose? You're supposed to be infallible!
- Lt. Commander Data: [puzzled] Obviously... I am not.
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: If the warp engines fail to function, the result could be... unfortunate.
- Lieutenant Worf: Very unfortunate. We will be dead.
- [Riker has challenged Kolrami to a game of Strategema]
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: So, you're gonna beat him, huh?
- Commander William T. Riker: No.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Well, then it's gonna be a close one?
- Commander William T. Riker: No.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: But you have got a chance?
- Commander William T. Riker: Naah!
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Are you even gonna bother to show up?
- Commander William T. Riker: Sure. Kolrami is the best ever at Strategema. Just to get to play him is a privilege.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: So, aside from your being privileged, is there anything else I can look forward to?
- Commander William T. Riker: Nope.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: [lame] This is gonna be exciting.
- [Kolrami has criticized Riker's inappropriate joviality and lack of seriousness for a commanding officer]
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Don't confuse style with intent. Only a fool would question Commander Riker's dedication to Starfleet and the men and women under his command. He is simply the finest officer with whom I have ever served.
- Sirna Kolrami: We shall see if your faith is well-founded.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The test is whether the crew will follow where Commander Riker leads. His... his "joviality" is the means by which he creates that loyalty. And I will match his command style with your statistics anytime.
- [despite Data's reservations, Dr. Pulaski has suggested that he play Kolrami in a game of Strategema]
- Sirna Kolrami: Play against a machine - hmm... Why should I wish to?
- Doctor Pulaski: I don't blame you. It's no fun going into a game when you know you're going to lose.
- Sirna Kolrami: But I wouldn't lose. Now you're no doubt going to tell me that I have to prove it to you.
- Doctor Pulaski: Come on, Data, you can't let that pass!
- Lt. Commander Data: Indeed, I...
- [Pulaski, imploringly, mouths "please" to him]
- Lt. Commander Data: ...cannot.
- Commander William T. Riker: The simulation begins in one hour.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: You'll have warp drive, Captain, though it may not be what you expected.
- Commander William T. Riker: I think that deserves some kind of explanation.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: We'll have warp 1 for about...
- Wesley Crusher: Just under two seconds.
- Commander William T. Riker: That's not long enough for an escape, but used as a surprise, it may give us a strategic advantage.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Sir, all of this is theoretical.
- Commander William T. Riker: And if your theory fails to pay off?
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Have you ever driven a Grenthemen water hopper?
- Commander William T. Riker: Sure.
- Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Ever popped the clutch?
- Commander William T. Riker: You're saying we're gonna stall the Hathaway?
- Wesley Crusher: And the Enterprise will waltz right over and pulverize us.
- [Data is taking on Sirna Kolrami in a game of Strategema and getting some last-minute advice from Dr. Pulaski]
- Lt. Commander Data: In the present context, what did she mean by "bust him up"?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: In her own way, Dr. Pulaski was instructing you to take the shortest route to victory.
- Lt. Commander Data: As opposed to what?
- [Data and Troi are analyzing Riker's tactical abilities]
- Lt. Commander Data: The weaker his position, the more aggressive will be his posture.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: And he won't give up.
- Lt. Commander Data: Then, despite whatever... options he is given, he must be...
- Counselor Deanna Troi: ...the man that he is, exactly.
- Lt. Commander Data: Hm... Is that a failing in humans?
- Counselor Deanna Troi: You'll have to decide that for yourself.
- Commander William T. Riker: What is that?
- Wesley Crusher: My experiment from the Enterprise.
- Commander William T. Riker: Wes.
- Wesley Crusher: It deals with high-energy plasma reactions with antimatter.
- Commander William T. Riker: You went back to the Enterprise for that? Wes, you cheated.
- Wesley Crusher: No, sir. You told me to improvise.
- Commander William T. Riker: [to Picard] We're all here, waiting for you to pull another rabbit out of your hat.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Attack posture, circumvental attitude. Prepare beams for photon mode.
- Ensign Burke: Bye-bye, Hathaway.
- [the Enterprise is facing a real battle with a Ferengi ship]
- Lt. Commander Data: Our shields will not withstand another assault, sir.
- Sirna Kolrami: Then there are no options. Retreat - or die!
- Lt. Cmdr. Data: If the warp drive fails to activate, the results could be... unfortunate.
- Lieutenant Worf: Very unfortunate. We will be dead.
- Counselor Deanna Troi: You can handle defeat in two ways. You can lose confidence or you can learn from your mistakes.