Cowgirls in Space — Deborah Coates

They called themselves the Junkyard Girls, used to ride drill team in the summer parades all over Nebraska. One hot July day in the back of the junkyard where they practiced, Big Patti found a Thing. The Junkyard Girls--and the world--would never be the same....

Cowgirls in Space was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in 2009.