Kwassass - Grunt

Radio turned to static.

"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small."

The thrumming beat filled the room.

"Sounds like a different guy."

I rolled the blunt.

"Radioman is a title."

My term in the military ended just before Black Harvest, I survived and came home with a little something special. I looked at the smoking weed as it grew under the harsh light.

"Yeah, I get it."

There isn't much work out there for people like me. I didn't have the right skills to find a job back home, I didn't fit in back home. People didn't understand what it was like out there and too many things came back to me, too many nightmares. The music played as I rolled another blunt.

This paid well enough. A knock at the door and I wait, the door opens and a man looks at me.

"Need some grass for the protest."

"Yeah, sure. How much?"

He pulled out some money and I took it, I continued to roll blunts as music played. I looked outside and winced.

"Wow."

My partner nodded.

"Lots of people not happy about the war."

I watched as countless people walked forward with signs and peace symbols.

"Hells no, we won't go!"

They were chanting and I grimaced.

"That's dangerous talk."

"It's a dangerous war, you might have a better chance of surviving this than fighting Huey."

I nodded my head, Huey could be a vicious fuck. I rolled another blunt.

"There is an offer for our plants."

"Really?"

"Yeah... It's a lot of money."

I looked at my dingy apartment.

"How much money?"

"Enough to move out of the city. Enough to get a girl, a family."

I looked outside as people chanted.

"Worth thinking about."

I frowned as the Guards came.

"Why is it that we don't have anyone on the guard?"

"We're low caste, can't expect us to follow the Prophets' holy writ... bunch of shit."

"We fought in this war, we're dying in this war. Shouldn't we get a little recognition?"

"Dangerous talk, man."

"It's a dangerous war. If we're a bunch of losers then why have us do all the fighting? If we're good enough to fight in their wars then why aren't we good enough to have a say in how things are run? At the very least they could let us be in charge of our communities."

"True dat."

I froze as the chanting stopped.

"Get down."

"Man?"

"GET DOWN!"

My gut was never wrong and then I heard the sound of Plasma fire, and screaming. Then I looked out, normally our people ran after a show of force. I froze as a lit bottle slammed into a Brute's face, burning him.

"Contract the buyer!"

"Man?"

"We need to get the fuck out of here before they glass the city."

He froze and got on the phone, I took some seeds and put them into a pack.

"He wants a full collection."

I heard the price quote.

"Tell him his boys can pick up all of our plants, if he can arrange transport."

I looked outside and watched the beginnings of what I knew would be a city-wide riot.