Prompt: “Enough talking, this ends now”
Fandom: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Rating/Warnings: General / none
Space UNO is all fun and games until friendships are left in ruins
Carmois cackled as Nadia, trembling with rage, drew four of the colored cards from the middle of the table. His own +4 card shimmered in the middle of the table, turning red as the turn skipped to Kavilna. She slid her own card onto the stack, folding her remaining card, a wild, down from prying eyes.
She didn’t notice the glance Rujia gave Rhina as the hunter quickly laid down her own card. Ja’lane was about to lay down her own before Rujia raised her hand, halting the Jedi.
“Draw seven, Kavilna,” she said.
Kavilna glanced up, surprised. Draw seven?
Rujia gave a pointed stare towards Kavilna’s remaining card as the table grew silent. Slowly, it dawned on Kavilna that she had one card remaining… and she hadn’t called it.
“You’re dead to me,” she growled, reaching for the draw deck.
“Watch out agent,” Rhina snorted, “Ms. Princess here is going to try and kill you tonight.”
Rujia only raised an eyebrow in Kavilna’s direction, causing Rhina to erupt in a coughing fit as the hunter tried to keep in her laughter. Nadia, having recovered from Carmois’ attack, had a fist to her mouth, eyes shimmering with tears of laughter. Carmois and Lansera didn’t even try to hold theirs in.
Ja’lane, grinning widely, laid down her card, the color changing as she matched Rhina’s card. Lansera’s laughter faded as she looked at Ja’lane’s card, then to her cards, then back again. Her eyes gleamed with hatred.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Lansera!” Ja’lane exclaimed with mock sympathy, “Do you not have a yellow?”
Lansera gave her a death stare. Ja’lane kept her composure for one, two seconds before she broke down. Her shoulders shaked as she buried her head in her arms, muffled laughs squeaking out. Lansera kept drawing cards, never looking away from Ja’lane until she slammed a yellow 8 onto the table.
Rujia, the corners of her lips twitching with suppressed amusement, laid her remaining card on the table, crossing her arms.
“Remind me to never play cards with you again,” Nadia sighed, glancing down dejectedly at her own collection of cards.
Rujia smirked, leaning back in her chair as Carmois, grinning, laid down a +2 card. Another round of laughter rippled through the table as Nadia, glaring daggers at Carmois, drew her cards.
However, Nadia was unable to conceal a giggle as she surveyed the cards she'd picked up. Carmois blanched, staring pleadingly at Kavilna.
“Please don’t reverse it.”
Kavilna flipped through her own cards. Green zero, wild, wild, blue skip, red two, yellow.. ah. Not breaking Carmios’ gaze, she placed her card down.
“Your move, Commander,” Kavilna smiled.
Carmois groaned, burying his face in his hands as Nadia triumphantly slapped a +4 card down.
Several rounds went by. Ja’lane was the second to finish, followed closely by Lansera. The Sith excused herself, citing she had agreed to help Lana train some of the younger acolytes who’d joined the Alliance. Not soon after she left, Carmois called his remaining card. Rhina was now staring at her remaining cards, deep in thought.
“Agent, what card does Carmois have?” she finally asked.
Quicker than Kavilna’s eyes could follow, Rujia had leaned over, folding Carmois’ card in her direction. He swatted at her, but she had already leaned back, smirking.
Carmois was staring at her in disbelief.
“You’ve already won!” he exclaimed.
All eyes were on the two friends as they argued. The idle chatter grew silent.
“And?” Rujia cocked her head.
Carmois stared at her for a long time, a muscle on his cheek twitching.
“We’re not friends anymore,” he muttered.
“Fine by me,” Rujia replied, crossing her arms.
Kavina snorted unable to keep her laughter in. As if on cue, the rest of the table broke down in laughter again as Rhina changed the color to yellow.
Soon, it was just Kavilna and Nadia remaining.
“My bet’s on the Princess” Rhina argued during a brief lull, “She's been hiding something since Rujia called her out.”
“Nonsense,” Carmois retorted, “The Commander has victory already gleaming in her eyes.”
“As long as someone wins before Lana pressures Lansera to tell her where we are, I don't care who wins,” Rujia said, frowning.
A collective shudder ran through the group at the mention of Lana. The Sith advisor had been enforcing a strict schedule of meetings and reports for the past several days; it was a miracle Nadia and Rujia had been able to get away.
Kavilna tapped her foot lightly, waiting for Nadia to make a move. The sooner they finished the game, the better. They'd already been here for over an hour.
Rhina and Carmois kept arguing, going back and forth, back and forth, until Nadia held up a hand to silence them.
“Enough talking, this ends now,” she said, laying down a wild card. “Red.”
Now that it was just the two of them left, they'd agreed they wouldn't need to call out their remaining card. Kavilna held in a sigh of relief, grabbing the wild card she'd been saving since the beginning.
“Blue,” she smirked, laying down her own card.
All eyes were on Nadia now, who showed no reaction as she slowly reached for the deck of spare cards. Kavilna suppressed a gleeful giggle. This was it.
“Well,” Nadia began slowly. Her hand hovered over the deck of cards before she broke out in a smile. She laid down her remaining card: a blue three. “Good game.”
“You’re kidding me,” Kavilna blurted out, slamming her remaining card, a blue seven, onto the pile.
“How did you know she'd choose blue?” Ja’lane asked, every bit as surprised as Kavilna as she broke the stunned silence. Even Rujia had shown the briefest flicker of shock.
“Luck!” Nadia replied, still grinning like a fool.
Kavilna stormed into the cantina soon after the group disbanded. She needed to find that pilot and--
“Whoa, slow down there, Princess,” Koth exclaimed as he intercepted her. “You’re more red than Gault over there. What’s gotten you worked up?”
She took a deep breath, considering telling him about her loss. No, that'd be too embarrassing.
“Teach me how to play cards,” she demanded instead.
Koth broke out into a wide grin, steering her towards where several of his crew were sitting.
“As you wish! Come on, we're about to start a new game.”