Since the Bad Batch had been living on Pabu, they had never been so happy and relaxed. After the chaotic life they had led so far, the leisurely pace of Pabu was like a quiet stroll for them. It had taken them a while to get used to the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere of the island, but they had finally gotten there.
Everyone was doing what they wanted, Omega was finally going to school, and all was well in the best of all possible worlds.
But we mustn’t forget that even if everything was going as well as possible, the Bad Batch was still a group of brothers and sisters. Have you ever tried locking up five brothers and their little sister together, telling them to behave and not do anything stupid? Yeah, we agree, it’s not really possible, and certainly not a good idea.
So, during the third day of the veritable deluge that was hitting Pabu, making it impossible to leave the house, everyone was going a little crazy. Wrecker couldn’t sit still, Crosshair was even more irritable and irritating than usual, Hunter just wanted to lock himself in his room, Tech couldn’t concentrate on what he wanted to do, Echo had a hard time not punching Crosshair in the face, and Omega was trying to survive it all.
Honestly, the girl was starting to get bored herself, but she also knew that if she didn’t find something for her super big commando brothers to do, they were going to end up exploding. And when they did, she didn’t want to be in the middle of it.
And since everyone was too focused on thinking, ‘I’m bored, I don’t know what to do,’ no one was really trying to find something to do.
Near despair, Omega sent a comm to Lyana.
Omega: Help! My brothers are going crazy locked in the house. What do you do when you’re locked in like this?
Lyana: Oh no, I’m sorry, I don’t even want to imagine being stuck with 5 big brothers like yours.
Omega: I know T-T
Lyana: Well, I don’t know if this can help you but know that my father and I have spent the last three days playing board games when we had the time. Dad is still working to try to manage all the village emergencies during this deluge, but when we can, we play games.
Omega: Oh yes, that's such a good idea! Thanks Lyana!
Lyana: My pleasure😊Good luck!
Omega put down her comm, an idea in mind of what she could offer her brothers. The problem was, they didn’t really have any board games, just a deck of cards or two. That would be enough. Lyana and others at school had taught her a game that would be perfect for her brothers. With a little strategy but not too much, competition, and simple rules.
Omega then went down to the living room, grabbing her deck of cards as she went.
“Guys, I have an idea!” She exclaimed, drawing the attention of the five men to her.
And it seemed like she arrived at the right time because Echo was sitting in the corner of the couch, trying to ignore Crosshair poking him in the ribs at irregular intervals, Wrecker was pacing the living room, Tech was perched on a high stool, his datapad clutched in his hands, and Hunter was curled up on the floor in the corner of the room.
When she arrived, everyone stopped and turned to look at her immediately.
“I know what we can do to keep ourselves busy.” Omega said, walking over to the living room coffee table, tidying up the few datapads and other trinkets lying around.
“And what were you thinking?” Echo asked, pushing Crosshair’s hand away for the umpteenth time.
“Game Night!”
“Nice try, except we don’t have any games.” Crosshair sneered.
“We have a card game.” Omega countered, showing her deck. “And I have the perfect game for tonight. The Chancellor’s Game! Or Scum, whichever you prefer.”
“The Chancellor’s... game?” Tech repeated slowly, skeptical. “What is that?”
“It’s a card game. Basically, you have to get rid of your cards as quickly as possible by playing them alone, in pairs or in threes. And if you play all four at the same time, it’s a Revolution, but we’ll see about that later. The 2 is the most powerful card, and then it’s Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, etc. All the cards are dealt, and whoever has the queen of hearts starts. We each take turns, and you have to finish playing your cards first, but be careful, you can’t finish with a two, or you’ll immediately become the Scum! The round ends when one or more twos are played, or when a four-of-a-kind is completed. At the end of the game, the first player to finish is Chancellor, the second player to finish is Vice-Chancellor, the next two players are citizens, the fifth player is High-Scum, and the last player is Scum. For the next game, once the cards are dealt by the Scum, the Scum gives his 2 strongest cards to the Chancellor, and the Chancellor gives him two cards he doesn’t want. The Hich-Scum and the Vice-Chancellor do the same thing but with one card. At the end of the round, the Chancellor gains 2 points, the Vice-Chancellor gains one point, the citizens gain nothing, the High-Scum loses one point, and the Scum loses two points. Play ends when the first person reaches 50 points. Or 100, or 150, or whatever you want. Got it?”
When she finished explaining, Omega found herself facing 5 men, 5 elite commandos, who were looking at her as if she had just grown a second head.
“Are the suits meaningful?” Tech asked, frowning.
“No, they’re not. Only the values matter.” Omega replied, smiling.
“That’s your only question, seriously?” Wrecker exclaimed, still trying to figure out the rules.
“No, I was also wondering what the Revolution was.” The engineer continued.
“So, the Revolution is when you have the 4 cards of the same value in your deck, and you put them down together when it’s your turn to open the round. At this moment, all the values of the cards are reversed so the 2 becomes the weakest card and the 3 the strongest.”
“That sounds… interesting and chaotic.” Hunter ventured, having roughly figured out the rules.
“That’s the spirit of the Revolution!” Omega confirmed with a big smile.
“This game seems entertaining.” Tech stated. “While not cognitively taxing, I can see the occupational value of this game.”
“I didn’t understand everything, but it sounds fun!” Wrecker enthusiastically agreed.
“I think it could be fun.” Echo confirmed. “As long as I don’t sit next to that little pain in the ass.” He added, pushing Crosshair away.
“Great!” Omega smiled, sitting cross-legged at the coffee table, dealing the cards into six piles.
Her brothers came to sit around the table and once the cards were dealt, each took his cards in hand. “And what do we do now?” Crosshair asked.
“Now we see who has the queen of hearts.”
“I do.” Hunter said.
“Perfect, you’ll start. Now, who has the queen of spades?”
“I possess this card.” Tech said.
“Okay, so we’ll turn this way." Omega explained, waving her hand from Hunter to Tech and so on.
“Why in that direction?” Echo frowned.
“‘Queen of hearts, you take the lead. Queen of spades, you take the suit.’” Omega recited. “Don’t ask me where that came from, I learned that in school.”
The first round of play began and like all first rounds of play, it was quite chaotic, and Omega had to repeat the rules a few more times, using her brothers’ cards to teach them the game.
After a few rounds, everyone had the rules down pat, and the game began to flow more smoothly.
Unsurprisingly, Omega won the first game. “Chancellor!” She exclaimed, laying down her last two cards.
The 5 men grumbled and when Crosshair went to lay down his own cards, he was surprised when Omega removed them from the board. “What are you doing? There were no twos and no squares completed.” The sniper wondered.
“We’re not playing over the Chancellor’s card, come on.” Omega answered, as if it was obvious.
“Since you’re the only one who knows the rules, I don’t know whether or not you’re just making them up as you go along.” Echo accused, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Me? Making up rules to abuse my brothers in a card game? You don’t know me, Echo. I’m hurt that you’d suggest such a thing.” Omega said, putting a hand to her heart with a hurt and indignant expression.
“Hm, I’m not convinced.” Echo muttered, looking at the rest of his cards.
“Speaking from experience?” Hunter asked, nudging Echo.
“Fives was the champion at that.” Echo confirmed. “He spent his time inventing ever-crazier rules for winning at cards. And he always had more justifications. ‘No, but that’s how we play on Ryloth. It’s an Alderanian variant. Dogma told me it’s a new rule on Kamino; you’re not going to doubt Dogma’s word, are you?’ And when you don’t have instant access to the holonet, you can’t check in real time whether he’s talking kark or not.”
“Sibling squabbles.” Crosshair smirked, laying new cards on the table.
“Wait until you’re Scum for five rounds in a row, and then we’ll talk about it again.” Omega said next to him.
Crosshair wisely didn’t respond to this, and the game continued in relative peace.
After that, the Bad Batch played a few rounds, finding the game quite fun and engaging, without being too difficult.
And soon, Omega’s obvious experience wasn’t so obvious anymore. This was to be expected when playing with five elite commandos. But even elite commandos make mistakes sometimes. “Kriff.” Hunter swore quietly a few games later, with only three cards left and the turn coming to double cards.
“What’s going on? Tech asked.
“Nothing.” The older man muttered, laying down a pair of 7s.
“Oh, oh! Gentlemen, pay attention. We’re about to witness an incredible spectacle!” Omega exclaimed, all smiles as she picked up the cards after closing the trick with the last two 7s.
“What are you talking about?” Echo asked, not having really followed what was going on.
“Gents and Gents, we are about to witness a phenomenal rookie mistake!”
“Can you stop?” Hunter said.
“When you put down your two, dear big brother.” Omega smiled, carnivorously, as she put down her card, a simple five.
Each of her brothers put down their card and Hunter, the last one, dropped his two in dismay.
“Scum!” Omega, Wrecker, and Crosshair exclaimed, pointing at Hunter.
“Oh, give it a rest, it can happen to anyone. How did you know I only had one left, anyway?”
“Talent.” Omega replied with a smug smirk. “I bet I’ll make a great Jedi.” She added, feigning thoughtfulness.
“Based on my personal experience, I can say that not all Jedi are clairvoyant and observant.” Echo scoffed.
“What do you mean by that?” Wrecker asked.
“Have you ever worked with General Skywalker? Even less, have you ever been in a room for more than 3 minutes with him? He’s so oblivious to anything that he never knew Kenobi and Cody were together.”
“What? Even I know about Cody and General Kenobi’s relationship.” Omega said.
“The entire galaxy must know.” Crosshair confirmed.
“The galaxy, minus General Skywalker. And he was convinced that no one knew about his relationship with Senator Amidala.”
“What?! But it's the worst-kept secret in the galaxy!” Wrecker exclaimed this time.
“I know!” Echo replied. “All that to say, not all Jedi are capable of predicting the future as well as our beloved little sister.” The cyborg added, ruffling Omega’s hair.
“I saw you all being born, I remind you.” The young girl mumbled, fixing her hair.
“Meanwhile,” Tech said quietly, laying down his last card. “I’m the Chancellor of this round. I didn’t finish first, but since my dear big brother finished with a two, he’s offering me that spot.”
Hunter groaned audibly, causing everyone to laugh, which he eventually joined in despite himself.
Omega smiled broadly as she laughed with her brothers. The flood had better watch out because her family was no longer at risk of exploding if left alone for another minute.
