Wildcat

[Tenacity]

Kat slammed shut the bulkhead door to her quarters onboard the destroyer, and slumped down on her bed with a frustrated sigh. She hated flying the werewolf, it was a piece of junk, never maintained properly... a deathtrap for any pilot that went out in it. Boss knew that, and he was probably betting on the local law dealing with her for him... dead or locked up in sugarland for a few years, either way she'd be out of his way. Not entirely a smart move, since Kat was his best pilot, even Marcus didnt come close, though he was talented in his own right.

She reached down under the bed and retrieved a small metal box, rusted and dusty. The hinges creaked as she lifted the top open, revealing a small nasal inhaler, several canisters, and a syringe filled with milky orange fluid... Liquid Cardamine. It was worth more than any other commodity on the market; more than gold, diamonds, hell it was worth more than food rations to a starving man. Kat had acquired the single syringe of golden liquid years ago on Malta, and had saved it up to this point... either to use as a bargaining chip or for a special occasion; now was neither, but it was as good a time as any to crack the bottle, as it were.

Pulling the plastic cover off of the syringe needle, she held her arm out, fist clenched and veins up. She hesitated for a moment, rethinking whether or not to use such an expensive drug for mere stress relief, before sticking the needle into her arm. Perhaps only half would do, the rest could be saved for later. Pressing in on the plunger, Kat emptied roughly half of the contents of the syringe into her veins before removing the needle and laying back onto the bed.

It was only seconds before the sensation hit, she could feel the cardamine the moment it reached her heart, spreading outwards from her chest like an electric shock. She gasped as the breath was knocked out of her chest, the sensation spreading from her core out to her limbs like dozens of tiny bolts of lightning running through her veins. The experience was not unlike an orgasm, one of the full body sort which could last for minutes on end... longer, if more of the drug was used.

The physical experience was only half the pleasure, though. Her eyesight changed, everything became more clear, more vivid. She could make out a spec of dust on the opposite wall of the room, as if looking through a magnifying glass. Her ears picked up every sound, she could hear people walking on the other end of the ship. She could even smell the chef's cooking two decks up.

Outcast pilots reacted more swiftly and with more focus than any others in Sirius, and it was because of cardamine. The substance not only gave an intangible sense of euphoria, it effected it's user with improved focus, sensory perception, and reaction time. Many of the other Rogue and Hacker pilots were users, but most received 'watered-down' cardamine, the drug was split with other chemicals to make it go further, nothing was in concentrated doses. Kat always bought from the best suppliers, but even pure cardamine taken through an outcast inhaler could not compare with the liquid variant of the drug.

Kat reveled in the high, breathing heavily as she lay on the bed, the world swirling around her in an odd fashion yet it was not in the least bit dizzying. The perfect clarity gave one the feeling of being more than human... sure, the side effect of sterility was of some consequence, but she was not interested in dealing with children any time soon, and the benefit of extended lifespan was worth the tradeoff.

She grinned at the ceiling and laughed to herself, "Damn, that's a kick in the ass."

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