Whizz Strike
© Bryan Kēhua
2356 AD
Smoke wafted and drifted. Technically, it wasn't smoke, but a softer vapour, but what the hell? Who gives a crap, right? We saw images within the waves and striations that we could see in the moving clouds of Techno-Whizz high that slipped through our nervous systems. The whole vista resonated with the sounds of Elektric Mistress work their way through “Turn to Grey”. The journey into the nether regions of our minds just picked up pace as the vapours worked their way deeper into our sense of self.
Tully happened to look out the porthole. The instant she saw the swirling mass of the sexily named 51 Pegasi B, she threw up in a fountain of ex-lunch. The station was slim on luxury, so the liquid lunch rolled down the metal walls onto the metal floor. Adrian and Sarah both looked at each other. Through the haze that clouded their minds, they both had enough clarity to agree. Tully would be cleaning that lot up. Adrian just shook her head and put it all down to a newb's mistake. Everyone knew that heights of any type and Techno-Whizz did not mix.
“This bullshit.”, Sarah suddenly drawled.
“Maybe. But it happening.”, Tully replied, wiping the remnants from her face.
They were uselessly protesting the abrupt banning of all recreational substances from Terra's resource outposts. For decades, if not centuries, resource agents had been allowed a wide range of recreational substances to keep them sane on extended missions that could last decades themselves. Techno-Whizz, or just Whizz, was a favourite to mellow out on. Adrian figured she had vaped a good half a tonne of it in her long life. But then, what type of person counts? Despite a long record of accident free operations, someone on Terra decided that it was time to end the practice. The three women were well paid, but not well enough to do this crap-end job without some side benefits laid on. Sarah was right.
“We have to do something.”, Sarah persisted.
“Like what? How the hell are three people stuck fifty light years from Terra going to change their mind?”, Adrian threw out.
“We can do plenty.”, Sarah smiled wickedly. Usually a bad sign.
The last time Adrian saw that smile was just before Sarah hospitalised three Star Corps marines.
Adrian was not sure about how to take this all. Tully usually went with whatever the other two decided, so it was really up to Adrian to either run with Sarah's worse impulses or try and sideline them into something less likely to end in injury or worse.
“Such as?”, Adrian asked, trepidation about the answer filling her.
“Well, for starters, the shuttles.”, Sarah answered immediately. She had clearly been doing some thinking. “They programmed to return to Terra. We re-programme them. Simple.”
“To where?”
“Where do you think? The star. It less than point one of an AU from here. The shuttles'd vapourise before anyone could do anything.”
“Doesn't leave us much room to escalate, does it?”, Adrian suggested.
“Who needs to escalate. It best way to get attention.”, Sarah waggled her finger while she drew back more Whizz.
“Tully?”, Adrian decided to try the other woman.
“I good with it. It good plan.”, Tully smiled, almost sweetly.
“You know they going to come for us.”, Adrian argued.
“When? Send message to other outposts. They will join. For sure.”, Sarah countered, revelling in the new waves of Whizz hitting her mind.
What had started as a simple protest, of sorts, an act of vandalism, had just reached the heights of revolutionary conspiracy in the space of two sentences. Sarah was right. Terra would easily move against a single resource outpost. But if even one percent of the outposts joined the protest, Terra would take years to regain control. It would be cheaper to resupply the crews with their comforts.
The three women went on far into the sleep cycle discussing what they would do and when. They made some hard choices, but they had settled on their course. They had made their first step into the unknown.
2456 AD
The hologram showed an enthusiastic reporter from the SolNet news hub standing before an enormous memorial to three women.
“On this centenary of the Free Worlds, we mark the actions of three heroes who started it all of. The Terran Tyrants tried to call it a 'war on drugs', but it was a war on freedom. On this day, we celebrate the three women who set the spark to the vape and started a conflagration across the stars!”