WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
75
Now the great Bear and
Pleiades, where earth moves, are drawing up the clouds of human grief
breathing solemnity in the deep night. Who can decipher in storm or
starlight the written character of a friendly fate...as the sky turns,
the world for us to change? ut if the horoscope's bewildering,
like a flashing turmoil of a shoal of herring, who can turn skies back
and begin again?*
Waco and Buskin
developed a habit while in college. They had Ms. Myra pick them up to
get home to the ranch as quickly as possible. When they were ready for
a break from school they didn’t want to have to wait for a long ride to
get home, but when it came time to return, they always took the train.
It gave them a chance to discuss their time together to sort out their
feelings and thoughts about things, and to plan their next semester.
Buskin used the ranch as a base to travel to and from the boy’s ranch
when he wanted to visit. Most times Waco and several of his brothers,
pups, and Ox would go with him and they would have a great time.
Sometimes they would take both Ox and Droon with them. Buskin was
seeing a lot of Droon every time the men returned to the ranches. He
began to talk openly with Waco about his relationship with Droon. As
the train rumbled on Buskin brought up the subject. “You never ask
about my relationship with Droon,” he said.
“Don’t have to,
I know about it,” Waco replied and grinned.
“I don’t
understand. You mean because of your relationship with Ox?” Buskin
asked.
“Exactly. I’m in
the same boat, Bubba. I was bonded to my big lummox when I’s jes’ a
kid, like you. I ain’t never shared it with you, but Ox, or Garron as I
call him from time to time, had two other bonded male human mates
before me. He outlived both of them. My uncle Bron is his human son by
his cowboy mate by the name of Bronc. He has two daughter lummox by his
human male mate, but they’re mated with male lummox and live in the far
North. Ox is over three hundred years old. I didn’t choose him. He
chose me, and I couldn’t be happier about it, then or now. He will
always be my first mate. Trey knows it, but he ain’t worried as long as
Ox and I give him the son’s he wants, and we will. Besides, I do my
best to keep my warrior happy and satisfied. Trey is my main sexual
partner, jes’ like my dad is becoming your main sexual dad.”
“Have you and Ox
ever...?” Buskin asked.
“Of course we
have. Lots of times. Until I came of age he just sucked me off. I was
too small for him to penetrate. He still ain’t fucked me, but I’ve
sucked him off and fucked him a number of times. We’ll be git’n around
to him fuck’n me pert-damn quick. I ain’t done it before, because I
ain’t never wanted to git pregnant. I know once I git that monster way
up inside me I won’t wanna’ stop until he impregnates me. He and I done
talked and we decided to have a son for Trey first, then a bairn for
him.
“What does
lummox come taste like?” Buskin asked.
“Better’n
human’s or Visallian’s. Visallian’s is better’n human’s. Lummoxs' is
similar to their milk. It’s sweet with a slight salty taste to it, like
someone added too much salt to the ice cream,” Waco replied, “You
thinking on pleasuring yore’ big beast to bring him a little comfort,
cowboy?” Waco asked and smiled.
“Yeah, I thought
I might like to try. He keeps insisting he’s gonna’ be my husband,”
Buskin said.
“He will be,
Star Dancer. Count on it. It was set up when you’s a kid. When he took
you home to meet his parents and you drank his daddy’s milk, you became
his. Ain’t a damn thing you can do about it. Ain’t nowhere in the
universe you can run to git away from that big beast’s love. You’ll
finally come to the conclusion you don’t wanna’ run no ways. You won’t
never find a love that strong or true anywhere you look. Lummox love
for a male human is like a big black hole, once you’s caught in the
event horizon there ain't no life line strong enough to pull you out of
the vortex. You might as well jes’ give up, sit back, relax, enjoy the
ride, and resign yore’self to the idea you’re gonna’ have an eight foot
tall, three to five hundred pound giant fur-ball for a husband. Look on
the bright side. Long, cold winter nights you won’t never be cold.
Sleeping in a lummox’s arms is like sleeping next to a warm cozy
fireplace. They can sense and adjust their body heat for your optimum
comfort.”
Waco laughed,
then continued, “We wondered why a lummox like Droon would be so
interested in living among us and finding a male human mate. We didn’t
know about you at the time. Now we do. I was worried about ma’ dad. I
was planning on having him another son or maybe a daughter, but h’it
ain’t real clear how the close genetics might work between a biological
father and son. With you, he can have two or three sons or daughters by
you and Droon what will be almost be exact copies of him if he’s the
sperm donor. I plan to give him a couple of grand kids from me. Son’s
from Trey or bairns from Ox will also be his grand kids but they won’t
have as strong a genetic relationship with him. ‘At won’t make my dad
no never mind. He loves kids. The strongest genetic relationship would
be if I donate sperm to you and Droon, or he becomes the direct sperm
donor. We both can give him grandchildren.”
“Wouldn’t a
lummox hurt me?" Buskin asked.
“Do I hurt you?
Has dad ever hurt you?” Waco asked.
“Lord, no, but
lummox are so much larger,” Buskin replied.
“Ain’t much
larger than a Visallian, and I do all right satisfying my mate. At
least he tells me so,” Waco said and grinned, "To hear Ms. Myra tell
it, my ass has become a revolving door for Trey’s big horse cock. She’s
crude, but she’s accurate,” he laughed, “You should talk with Warren
Steele. He’s probably the most vocal and descriptive of what sex is
like with his lummox husband.”
“Do they have
sex a lot?” Buskin asked.
Waco burst out
laughing. “Are you kidding?” Waco exclaimed and laughed again, “Warren
c'ain’t git enough of Horse. They fuck once a day and three times on
Sunday. They’s planning on having a son for Jack Hall and his mate Buck
this next fall. You should a’ seen Warren pregnant with their bairn
Colt. Colt was a large bairn and Warren swelled up like a beach ball.
He didn’t have no problem when the time came, and the hairy little
fucker slid right out. There’s videos of it if you care to watch
sometime. There’s instructional videos Commander Fielding and Captain
Trong made for several of their impregnations and births. They’re very
informative and sexy as hell,” Waco replied.
“I just feel
like I should be doing something to reciprocate with Droon when he
pleasures me,” Buskin said.
“Well, you see,
that’s you first mistake. You shouldn’t feel that way. He takes care of
you because he loves you and wants to pleasure you to bring you some
comfort. He don’t expect nothing in return, or at least until
you’re absolutely positively sure you’re ready to commit yourself to
pleasuring him. He will wait for as long as it takes. Ox waited for me
for years. Then again, for a species what lives hundreds of years, ten
years ain’t so much. Take my word for it, Droon will wait patiently,
but he won’t never stop loving you. In the meantime, make sweet love to
him, stroke him, pet him like you would any animal you love and tell
him what a good lummox he is for wanting to please you and how very
much you appreciate his love and attention. They eat it up. It may come
as no surprise, most animals, even humans respond to a few words of
honest appreciation and affection now and then. The human touch is the
greatest source of communion we have with each other and critters. It
transcends words. Without the perversion of religion, the laying on of
hands is a great source of healing. You think you’re ready for the next
step with yore’ big lummox?” Waco asked.
“I’m git’n close
to being ready. I really love him, Waco,” Buskin said.
“I know you do.
I seen the way you look at him sometimes like you’re thinking about how
great it might be to have his babies,” Waco replied and grinned
mischievously.
“I c'ain’t hide
nothing from you,” Buskin said and gently frogged his arm
“Ouch, little
brother, that hurt,” Waco replied feigning hurt, “Would you wanna’ hide
anything from me?” Waco asked.
“No, of course
not. You’re ma’ brother," Buskin replied, "I love you. I can talk with
you about anything,” he said, “Ain’t never had me nobody I’s so close
to than you, dad Charlie, and Droon; oh, yes, and ma’ little brother,
Kevin.”
* * * * * * *
The mysterious
explosion of a snake’s ship on the dark side of the Moon was more
successful than Lazarus originally thought it might be. It took the
snakes and grays considerably longer than a year to get things back in
order to continue their rape and pillage of Earth. Lazarus admitted to
Charlie he should have known better. The aliens were similar to hive
critters and ants in particular. Even though they’d suffered a major
setback, it was only a matter of time before they would be back in the
swing of things, but there was no rush. Earth wasn’t going to escape
from its orbit and the inhabitants were trapped on the planet. They
weren’t going anywhere. Little by little they cleared and rebuilt, but
it took them almost two full years to do it. It gave Waco and Buskin
two years of school before the increased threat of the aliens began to
be a major concern again.
Scudder figured
correctly they were back in full operation when the aliens restated
their demands on the governments of Earth for almost double their
previous quotas and began to indiscriminately take whomever and
whatever they chose. Scudder was at his wits end. Trying to keep things
secret from the public and hiding the truth about what was really going
on was like trying to put out hot spots in forest fires. He realized
the time was fast approaching when he would have to be honest with the
public. He feared the worst. He requested another meeting with Jesse
Watkins. Jesse and Utah arrived in their usual manner. They were
surprised to find Scudder gained weight.
“It ain’t a
weight gain. I’m pregnant again. It jes’ happened. Brett was using
condoms, but I didn’t like it. It felt weird, like he was wearing a
damn Sou’wester. He stopped at my insistence and nature took its
course. The damn rabbit done crawled up my cunt and died, but that
ain’t the worst part. The bad news is the zygote split, and I’m
carrying identical twin boys. I got mixed feelings about it, but I
figure I got time to grunt ‘em out depending on what we decide. I
remember the pain from Brett Junior and now I got double the pleasure
to look forward to. Won't that be fun? I swear I’m gonna’ change my
name to Eppee Durral, but that ain’t the reason I asked you here. I
wouldn’t bother you with my pregnancy. I cranked out one, I can do two
more," Scudder said.
“What do you
have in mind, Norman?” Jesse asked.
“We got damn
near three years reductions in abductions and activity with them
bastards. I don’t know what happened, and I don’t wanna’ know. I
suspect you people had something to do with it, but I don’t want it
confirmed. The less I know the more truthful I can be when I deny any
knowledge. Anything I say becomes acceptable as plausible deniability.
We spoke before about the possibility of a joint mission to create a
similar effect on their base we called project Trojan Horse. I wanna’
discuss a plan with you to give them an ultimatum. This ain’t only my
idea, it comes from a couple of years of military men chewing on it. As
you know, we got one snake ship which can make the flight and we got
two Air Force men with high security clearance who can fly it. I just
hate to lose one of them ships.”
“Maybe we can
sweeten the deal, Norman, for some additional agreements on your part,”
Jesse threw open for discussion.
“What kind of
agreements?” he asked.
“You stop all
investigations into American political affiliations and allow unlimited
access to the 'free-net' where you’ve managed to block it. Also you
make a statement to the American people about what’s been going on and
what they might be facing in the future. Before you say ‘no’ consider
you may not have any political platform to protect very soon. The
people ain’t as dumb as you might think, and they deserve to know. You
need all the help you can get from both sides. It could be the turning
point in uniting America and the rest of the world in a resistance.
Don’t let some other leader beat you to the punch. It could be your
moment of greatness, Norman," Jesse said.
“What have you
got to offer in return?” Scudder asked.
“A brand new,
never crashed, snake ship. Yours for the asking. You agree to stop all
censorship by Friday, and we’ll deliver the ship to Area 51 the day
after. After we deliver the Trojan Horse, wait to see what reaction the
aliens have. If none, two weeks later you make an address to the nation
and tell them everything. We’ll coordinate with Austin and help him
with the speech. We insist on having some input. However, if you renege
or try any funny business, we’ll take the alien ship back so fast
you’re people won’t have time to look it over,” Jesse warned.
“A new ship, you
say?” Scudder asked, “Never crashed?”
“In cherry
condition, with all the bells and whistles--soft Corinthian leather
seats and factory air,” Jesse said using cowboy hyperbole and winked at
Scudder, “Everything works,” he added.
“You’re right,
that would sweeten the deal considerably. How long I got to think about
it?" Scudder asked.
“Starting now,
five minutes,” Jesse said.
“Done. I’ll have
Austin order all free-net blocks taken down by this evening. That’s two
days earlier than Friday. Can I tell Area 51 to expect the ship
Saturday?" Scudder asked.
“You may. Tell
your lady colonel in charge we don’t want no problems from her,” Jesse
emphasized.
“I’ll put Austin
in charge temporarily to make sure. Where will you deliver it?” Scudder
asked.
“We can put it
anywhere. Thirty stories under in your underground hanger bay if you
want. Or we can park it outside, and your people can do as they like
with it. Outside we run the risk of it being seen from above,”
Jesse said.
“Have them put
it just inside the ground level hanger bay. We’ll have it open so you
won’t be confused. Austin will be there to direct you,” Scudder said.
“When do you
wanna’ make the bomb run on the Moon?” Jesse asked.
“The following
Thursday the end of May would be good for us. You sure you can extract
my men before the damn thing goes off?” Scudder asked.
“Absolutely,”
Jesse said with confidence, “You remember our agreement? We reserved
the right to inspect the ship and the bomb to make sure it ain’t no
bigger than fifty megaton.”
“Yeah, no
problem. I’ll meet with them slimy bastards tomorrow and tell them if
they don’t back down we’re ready to launch a major attack against
them.” Scudder leaned back in his chair. His pregnancy really showed.
“You think
that’s wise, Norman? Have you considered the importance and advantage
of the element of surprise; just doing it and catching them with their
pants down? Remember Pearl Harbor? Why threaten them? Why stir them up?
It will only serve to warn them. Forewarned is to be forearmed. Why
implicate yourself beforehand? Surprise is to your advantage as
the underdog. Remember the name? Project Trojan Horse? It sort of says
it all, Norman. They may not believe you have the capability, but
they’ll certainly be on guard if you warn them. They'll take
precautions. You know you’ll be the first they come to after the
explosion if you warn them. With no warning, if they come
to you and accuse you, become very indignant, and lie like a railroad
track.
"You know how
little faith I have in you, but I’m fully confident in your ability to
lie to them snakes. If they simply inquire as to your knowledge about
the destruction of their base, tell them your astronomers were tracking
a rogue asteroid which seemed to be on a collision course with the
Moon, but they couldn’t be sure; you didn’t bother to warn them,
because you just assumed since they’re so much more advanced, they
could easily detect a huge rock approaching the Moon from deep space;
other than a bright flash of light your astronomers recorded, you don’t
know nothing. Let them form their own conclusions. Don’t give them
anything. You may save your people and us a lot of unpleasantness and
buy us more time,” Jesse said.
“Makes sense to
me. More sense that them damn saber rattling military hawks I got for
advisers. They’re used to bullying their way through everything. Them
son’s a’ bitches love themselves some nukes. As you suggest, this may
be a time to use a little common sense and a lot more finesse. You
wanna’ come work for me, Jesse?” Scudder asked and laughed.
“Seems like I
already work for you, Norman,” Jesse replied and smiled. “By the way,
there’s no extra charge for the advice. I'll even throw in a free
cigarette lighter for the dashboard,” he added and grinned.
“All right. Late
Thursday afternoon a sneak attack just like the Japs did on Pearl
Harbor. Damn near wiped out the seventh fleet. Took our country a
couple of years to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully, it
will bring them to their knees for a couple more years,” Scudder said.
“Okay, we’ll
coordinate with your people Saturday when we deliver the snake ship,”
Jesse said.
There wasn’t a
lot more to talk about so Jesse and Utah said their goodbyes and
disappeared. The free-net was all a gaggle when it was suddenly
available to everyone. Certain areas of the country hadn’t been able to
get free-net for a number of years. They were suddenly opened and fully
functional. There was a wave of pro-left stimulus and people were
getting the news out about the aliens and what the government was doing
to cover up the situation. They even told how horrible the baby genius
program was and what happened to thousands of babies the government
bought from unsuspecting parents. It caused riots in several major
cities from the right wing as well as the left. It suddenly became
difficult to tell who was for whom, for what, or why. It was just the
way the Grange wanted it. Confusion was their greatest cover. It left
them free to make some outrageous land grabs and rescue far more folks
than originally planned.
Jesse wanted to
wait until after Scudder delivered his speech to the nation to deliver
the alien spacecraft to Area 51, but Lazarus wanted to get rid of it.
He reasoned it had been on the Gopher Bay long enough. Lazarus felt it
was bad karma to leave it there with all the missions Monty and his
crew were conducting. After all, the Grange could reclaim it at any
time should Scudder betray them. Jesse saw his point and agreed.
Montana and his crew, along with the Admiral and Captain Vinceeth
delivered the snake ship to Area 51 with no hassle. Austin Taycious was
there to take delivery and said he would be there the following
Thursday to see the Trojan Horse off. They were welcome to inspect
before the ship took off or inspect it in flight. They opted to check
it before it left for its run. Lazarus didn’t go with them the
following Thursday. He knew Captain Montana, Rocky, Ben and certainly
Trey knew enough to recognize the bomb and its size. All seemed in
order, they took blood samples from the two Air Force pilots to have
their DNA on file to beam them out of the alien ship, and they started
their run to the Moon.
On the way,
Monty dropped off Trey Vinceeth back at the Bandersnatch. He and
several of his crew planned to be on call to fly one of the scout ships
if there was an emergency. Monty was down to a skeleton crew. His
number one, JG Maxine Potter, Rocky, Ben, Dexter, Cody and Pearl. Much
to their dismay, Monty left Oblio and Bobby behind. The run went as
planned, but there was something about the two Air Force pilots Maxine
didn’t trust. She warned her captain about her feelings. Monty
worked with Maxine close enough to know she was rarely wrong about her
hunches. He trusted her completely. So when it came time to beam the
two gung-ho pilots out, Maxine instructed Cecil to beam them to the
bridge without clothes. They were butt naked when they arrive. Maxine
told Cecil to back off from the Moon six hundred miles before the bomb
went off. Even at that distance it lit up the sky like a small
supernova and there was total destruction on the surface of the
Moon. Everything was vaporized. The two pilots looked around and
down at their nakedness and tried their best to cover themselves. “What
is this? Why are we naked?” they asked.
“You were
carrying sidearms. That wasn’t in our agreement. We just made sure you
wouldn’t try anything stupid. Besides, you’re perfectly safe with us.
You have no need for weapons or clothes on board our ship,” Maxine said
to them.
“What’s this? A
talking dog flying a space ship? That’s crazy! C’moan, Don, we’re
taking over this ship right now. You two clowns step aside, us men will
fly this baby back to Earth,” the older pilot ordered. He took a step
toward Monty, but the younger officer hesitated and held back.
“Oh,
pu-leeease!” Maxine said in a bored tone, “Too bad your penises are
bigger than your brains. Cecil, plan B,” she said and the two air
jockeys disappeared and reappeared in the brig. Maxine spoke to them
over the intercom, “Comfy, Gentlemen? Welcome to the brig on the Gopher
Bay. Nice, ain’t it? I decorated it myself,” she said with considerable
sarcasm, “Make yore’selves to home, amateurs. Tea will be served
presently. I’m sorry, but there won’t be an in-flight movie shown
today. You have just been bumped from first class to cattle car,”
Maxine laughed, “Because of your very regrettable actions, as first
officer of this ship, I’m placing you under arrest. According to
maritime law, you are hereby charged with an act of mutiny, sedition,
and/or piracy. You will be held and tried by a military tribunal of our
fleet. I deeply regret I can’t charge you with bone crunching ignorance
or jaw dropping stupidity as guilty as you are of both, unfortunately,
they ain’t a crime,” Maxine said.
“First officer
of this ship?” the older pilot asked and sneered, “You gotta’ be
kidding me. You ain’t nothing but a dog. You have no jurisdiction over
us. We demand to be returned to our government immediately,” he tried
to sound like a bad-ass authority figure who better be taken seriously.
“Yeah, like
that’s gonna’ happen, you stupid ass-hat,” Maxine declared and laughed,
“Threaten me and my Captain, will you? Not on my watch, junior
bird-man. Why, I’ve flown rings around them steam-punk John Deere
sky-tractors you morons are so proud of, and left you in the dust to
eat my K-9 vapor trail wondering what the hell was that?” She did a
nasty raspberry with her tongue which conveyed her disgust more than
words. Monty never said a word. He let his number one take care of the
pilots. Maxine was doing a bang-up job as far as he was concerned.
At her juicy
raspberry he broke up laughing and couldn’t stop. “Have I told you
lately how much I love you, number one?” Monty managed to ask with a
straight face.
“Yes, twice this
morning and once after lunch,” she replied and wiggled in her seat.
“Well, make it
one more for the road, little sister. Ya’ done good,” Monty said,
reached over and patted her, “You, too, Cecil,” he added.
“Thank’s,
Captain Montana,” Cecil replied.
They looked at
the devastation the bomb made on their way back to Earth. There was
nothing left. It was total destruction and the surface was still
glowing red hot. There was flotsam and jetsam from burning and
destroyed ships floating in space from as much as a couple hundred
miles away from the flash point. The concussion and bits of other ships
and rocks thrown up from the surface of the Moon struck and destroyed
most all the other ships. The very few which didn’t suffer destruction
were in such bad repair they either crashed onto the surface of the
Moon or were burned up on entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Only a couple
of ships survived, but they were knocked unconscious and had no idea
what happened. Jesse’s suggestion of a Trojan Horse was more successful
than anyone could imagine. Monty guessed right, the part of the Moon
which suffered the brunt of the explosion would remain radioactive for
years. A new, enormous crater was formed from the blast, and it looked
exactly like a meteor crater. Rebuilding would be almost impossible.
Monty and his crew returned to the Bandersnatch and left the naked
pilots in the brig. They were met by the Admiral and his staff
including Captain Vinceeth. Monty let Maxine relate what happened, and
they laughed at her enthusiasm. Lazarus had Jesse get in touch with
Scudder. Jesse and Utah made an unscheduled appearance.
Scudder’s eyes
got real big. “Oh, my God! What went wrong?” Scudder asked like he knew
they wouldn’t just show up unless it was something important.
“You’re pilots
tried to hijack our ship what beamed them out,” Jesse said without
nuance.
“You’re shit’n
me!” Scudder exclaimed loudly, “Son of a fuck’n bitch!” he exclaimed
and stomped around the room nervously, “They weren’t suppose to do
that. They had no such orders from me. Look, Jesse, you gotta’ believe
me on this. I been up-front with you all the way. I’ll get to the
bottom of these shenanigans if it’s the last thing I do, but me and
Austin had nothing to do with it, I promise you.”
“What do you
want us to do with them?” Jesse asked to see what Scudder’s reaction
might be.
“I don’t give a
flying fuck what chu’ do with ‘em! Make ‘em walk the damn plank in deep
space. Do whatever you want with them. I certainly don’t want ‘em back.
They can’t be trusted to carry out orders according to my wishes,
whatever you decide to do with them is fine with me. They’ve put me in
one hell of an awkward position. Now I have to do everything in
my power to convince you we had nothing to do with it. Austin is still
at Area 51. I’ll have him investigate. If anyone can get to the bottom
of this he can. Check back with me in a couple of hours. I’m so damn
sorry, Jesse,” Scudder said with obvious concern. Jesse and Utah were
convinced he didn’t know anything about the hijacking attempt.
The two brawny
pilots weren’t going to cooperate and were ready to fight Rocky and Ben
when they walked into their holding cell to handcuff them. The younger
one took a huge swing at Rocky and connected with his right jaw. Rocky
didn’t even flinch, but he heard the man’s knuckles crack when they
came in contact with his metal superstructure. "Son of a bitch!” he
exclaimed and held his broken hand in his other.
“Hands behind
your back, sir, or I will be forced to take you down,” Rocky ordered.
The older pilot didn’t try anything. He was smarter, and cooperated.
The two big bio-droids frog marched the two naked pilots into an
interrogation room. They set them down in two straight back chairs.
“I recognize you
cowboys. You’re Ben Johnson and I remember you from watching old cowboy
movies with my great-granddad. You’re Rocky Allan Lane,” the older
pilot said. “What’s going on here? You men would have to be in your
nineties or older. You don’t look a day over thirty-five or forty.”
“At least one of
them ain’t dumb,” Rocky said and smiled at Ben, “You’re right. I’m
Rocky Lane, and he’s Ben Johnson. You don’t need to know more right
now. You’re our prisoners,” Rocky said.
“Can we have
some clothes?” the older one asked.
“No, you won’t
be wearing clothes for sometime depending on the outcome of your trial.
Ain’t no doubt about it, you fly-boys are in deep doo-doo. You will
probably be found guilty of maritime piracy, mutiny, sedition, and
sentenced to hang. If you cooperate, if you’re very good little boys,
throw yourselves on the mercy of the court, it might save your lives;
however, you’ll still be looking at a lifetime of slavery. Either one
a’ you boys ever been butt fucked?” Ben Johnson asked in his best wry
cowboy accent.
“No, of course
not. We ain’t no queers. We’re family men,” the youngest said.
“You’ll git used
to it. I hear’d tell, the first few times it hurts like a
mother-fucker. After you become some master’s bitch, he uses yore’
asshole as his come-bucket a couple of times a day, week after week,
month after month, your ass will stretch, and you’ll git to where you
enjoy it. They all do. I’m sure you boy’s heard the old saying, ‘A well
fucked slave is a happy slave,' and believe you me, the slaves on the
ranches we come from all got big ole smiles on their faces,” Ben said
in his best cowboy drawl.
“I’d rather
hang,” said the younger one bravely.
“Careful, Son,
you jes’ may git chore’ wish,” Rocky said, “In the meantime we need you
to answer some questions for us,” he added.
“We ain’t
answering no questions. We ain’t tell’n you jack-shit, cowboy,” the
younger one told him. The older one wasn’t saying much.
“Let’s start
with your name, rank, and serial numbers,” Rocky said.
“Captain Donald
J. Bennington, U.S. Air Force, serial number 496-38-6497,” replied the
younger man.
“Major Buck E.
Bryant, U.S. Air Force, serial number 368-99-9898."
“Who gave you
the order to hijack our vessel?” Ben asked.
“Nobody, it was
a spur of the moment impulse thing. We saw a young cowboy and his dog
flying the ship. We figured it would be easy enough to overpower them
and take control. We saw it could be ours for the taking for our
country and our holy prophet,” Major Bryant said.
“We don’t
believe you. You were carrying sidearms. Why would you need sidearms
just to deliver a bomb?” Rocky asked.
“We carry them
with us all the time. They’re part of our uniforms. We told you the
truth. That’s all you’ll get from us,” Buck Bryant said.
“I wouldn’t bet
the ranch on it, fly boy,” Rocky said and smiled.
Ben opened the
door and in walked the most beautiful animal either man ever saw. She
was small, about a third the size of a man, but looked like a lemur or
a gibbon ape with wonderful colors. Disney couldn’t have done justice
to her. Pixar? Maybe. “This, here, little lady is named ‘Ping’
gentlemen. She has some very special talents. She can produce
pheromones which will make you tell the truth. You won’t be able to lie
to any question we ask. They’re all yours, pretty lady,” Ben told
her. She smiled. Ben and Rocky didn’t have to leave the room.
Bio-droids weren’t affected by her scents. She turned her rear toward
the men and let out a small squirt of a special truth fragrance. They
tried to hold their breath, but they couldn’t, and breathed in the
pheromone. Don thought the fragrance was slightly like Frangipani he
remembered from his time in Hawaii. Ping nodded to Rocky and Ben,
smiled, bowed deeply, and left the room.
“Now lets try
again. Don, have you ever been butt fucked?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, lots of
times,” he said, shook his head and gnashed his teeth at his answer. He
didn’t want to tell these cowboys the truth. To him they represented
the ultimate in hyper-masculinity. Every muscle in his body fought
against it.
“By whom?” Ben
asked.
“My older
brother when I’s a kid,” Don said, as he rocked back and forth, trying
not to tell the truth, “He broke me in. Told me it was what brothers
did for each other; only, he never let me fuck him or he never sucked
me off. My daddy caught him fuck’n me and raised all kinds of hell. He
beat us up pretty bad. Our mom died, and then dad started fuck’n me
when I’s a teenager. He’d fuck me a couple time a week and on weekends
when he’d come home drunk until I left and went to the Air Force
academy. He fucked me when I came home on leave. My partner Buck here’s
fucked me so many times I lost count,” Don said. Sweat was beading on
his forehead.
“You like it
when Buck fucks you, Don?” Rocky asked without nuance.
“Oh, yeah, he
fucks me real good. He's got a big cock. He should a' been a horse. He
really turns me on. I can come while he’s fucking me. He’s older like
my daddy was, and he fucks me jes’ like my old man did, except he makes
love to me before and afterward. My dad never made love to me. He said
it was queer to make love to a man,” sweat was pouring off the younger
man.
“And you, Buck,
have you ever been fucked in the butt?” Ben drawled.
“A couple of
times, but I didn’t like it,” he replied. Unlike his younger buddy Don,
Buck didn’t seem to be having a problem answering the cowboy’s
questions. He didn’t try to fight against Ping’s eau de veritas.
“Who fucked
you?” Ben asked.
“Three senior
officers. They told me if I wanted to advance in rank I had to put out
for them. I had to get fucked several times for my promotion. They
passed me around and held private parties where they gang fucked me.
There wasn’t anything I could do about it. They held my fate in their
hands. If I didn’t play ball my career would’ve been over. I did it to
get ahead, but I don’t like to get fucked. I’m a man. I do the
fucking.” Buck Bryant said.
“You don’t
consider Don a man?” Rocky asked.
“Of course, he’s
a fine man. Don’s my buddy. I love him like a brother or the son I
never had. He jes’ loves to take it up the ass. I love giving him what
he needs and taking what I need. We do it a lot, but we don’t talk
about it much,” the Major said.
“You ever make
him suck you off, Buck?” Ben asked.
“I don’t make
him do nothing. I never forced myself on Don like my superiors done to
me. It ain’t like that between him and me. When he wants it or needs it
and asks me real nice, we get together, and I give him some. He’s a
fine cocksucker. He’s a lot better’n ma’ wife. She can’t suck dick
worth a damn. He’s a better fuck, too,” Buck volunteered.
“Okay, that’s
enough for that line of questioning. Now, Buck, who put you up to that
little stunt of trying to hijack our spacecraft?” Ben asked.
“Our commanding
officer at Area 51. That stupid bitch Colonel Eugenia Crookshank. It
was her idea. She thought if we commandeered your ship, it would make
her look good and she would have a solid in with Austin Taycious and
the Holy Father. She’s a conniving, power hungry dyke. She’d order us
to cut our balls off jes’ so’s she could wear ‘em around her neck to
make her look good,” Buck replied.
“Did she get the
orders from higher up?” Ben asked
“No, they didn’t
know nothing about it. It was all her crazy idea, but we had to carry
out her stupid, fricking orders. Don told me we shouldn’t. I should a’
listened to him. After all, you guys were the ones rescuing us. We were
in this together. Look, it was my idea to follow her orders. It was my
fault; my decision. Don begged me not to. I’m the superior officer. He
had to follow my orders. Let him go," Major Bryant pleaded.
“Do you agree
with what Buck just told us, Don?” Ben asked.
"Yeah, he’s
telling the truth. The pup was right. Even though we always carry
weapons on a mission we were prepared to use them. I didn't wanna' do
it. I was gonna' try'n talk some reason to Buck--try'n stop him--but
before I got a chance to say or do anything we were beamed to the brig.
I knew when they beamed us aboard without clothes and our guns they
were on to us. Taycious and Scudder didn’t have any idea what
Crookshank was up to. Wish ‘ta god they did. They would have set her
straight; put the fear of god in her, and we wouldn’t be in this mess
right now,” Don said.
The interview
with the two Air Force Pilots were videoed but the sexual parts were
edited out. Only the part of them telling where their orders came from
was used in the trial against them and Jesse gave Taycious and Scudder
a DVD copy of their abbreviated confession. The female colonel was the
same hard-nosed woman who refused to cooperate with Jesse. Austin
Taycious had her interrogated and videoed the whole thing. At first,
she denied everything and claimed the pilots were lying. Upon
further investigation, Austin found several of her staff who secretly
hated her were willing to sign affidavits they witnessed her give the
pilots the order to commandeer their ally’s spaceship.
They were angry
she was willing to throw two fine career military officers under the
bus to save her own worthless hide. When presented with the evidence
against her, she broke down in tears and admitted she gave the order.
Scudder was so enraged he ordered her to be sent directly to one of the
worst Cheney camps in the country without a trial. He made sure Jesse
got a DVD of her confession and copies of the witnesses affidavits.
Scudder apologized profusely to Jesse and Utah but again told him to
deal with the officers anyway they wanted. He didn’t want them back. It
was not what he or Austin ordered them to do. If they chose to follow
other orders it was their responsibility and not his. Let them face
what fate they made for themselves.
A quick trial
was held and Judge Potter represented them. He stressed to the men they
were alone in the boat. Their president and government didn’t want them
back. They chose to obey a renegade order without questioning it, and
now, they were up the creek in a boat with no oars. He told them they
were looking at being hung for attempted piracy or mutiny. He strongly
suggested they throw themselves on the mercy of the court which they
agreed to do. The court took into consideration the senior officer’s
comments his buddy tried to talk him out of following the colonel’s
order and didn’t respond when ordered to forcibly overcome the captain
and his first mate to take over the Gopher Bay. Robo-cam videos
confirmed all the evidence. Buck, the older of the two was sentenced to
twenty years of slavery with five year probation, but his younger
buddy, Don, was sentenced to ten years as a slave with five years
probation.
They were
devastated, but when sentenced they were made to understand it was
because of their decision to follow bad orders. Far too often, high
ranking military officers were never held accountable for their
mistakes. They found out the hard way it was different when they were
dealing with the Grange. The members of the Grange and the court who
tried them didn’t care about the men’s rank or what country they
represented. They would be held accountable for their actions. No one
felt sorry for them. They stood before the court naked and remained so
for the first three weeks of their initial break-in period as baby
slaves on Angus Goodnight’s ranch. The younger officer took to being a
slave easily enough. He fell in love with Angus Goodnight and his
foreman. It took his older buddy longer, and it was considerably harder
on him, but when he was finally broken, he became one of Angus and
Jimmy Joe’s favorite fucks to share.
Don looked
forward to Buck being called to be his master and ramrod’s cowboy
sexual slave-toy for an afternoon. Buck would return and try to
reassert his false sense of masculinity by dominating Don and fucking
the b’jebus out of him. Don loved those days. He was always clean and
ready for his partner on his return. Don would sympathize with his
buddy and do his best to console and comfort him. He never failed to
offer himself to Buck to help him feel better about himself. Don said
many prayers of thanks for Angus and Jimmy Joe as his partner deeply
plowed his red Earth. Don became one of Angus and Jimmy Joe’s most
trusted and faithful slaves. He saw them as directly responsible for
his happiness and
contentment.
* * * * * * *
The bombing of
the Moon was a surprise in many ways. Scudder and the Grange thought
there would be an immediate reprisal or counterattack, but that didn’t
happen. As sophisticated and invincible as the grays and snakes tried
to impress the natives they were, in many ways they were hopelessly
naive. They simply couldn’t figure out what happened and who or what
was responsible. Scudder said a thousand prayers of thanks for Jesse’s
sage advice about not saying anything to them and using the element of
surprise as a weapon. He was even more grateful to Austin who urged him
to do as Jesse suggested, and to himself, for having the good sense to
listen. Austin strongly supported Jesse’s idea Scudder should deny any
knowledge of the explosion other than what little he learned from his
scientists. If there was even a slim chance the aliens didn’t
know what happened they couldn’t place blame on any one nation or
government. It was weeks before the snakes requested a meeting with him
and when they did, they didn’t ask if he knew anything about an attack
or explosion on the Moon.
They acted like
to admit a disaster would be admitting defeat, and they might be giving
the natives more information than they wanted them to know. They didn’t
accuse Scudder or any of the other leaders on Earth. They had no idea
the people of Earth managed to salvage several of their crashed ships
and could fly them. They had such low esteem of their food source
they never considered they might be bright enough to fly one of their
spaceships. Would a cowboy ever consider a cow might have the smarts to
drive his truck to get away? It was a great surprise to everyone,
because the aliens had obviously witnessed man’s early attempts at
spaceflight and shuttle missions. NASA astronauts reported being
observed by alien craft on almost every mission. They were waiting for
our astronauts when they landed on the Moon, but they never made
contact. The aliens never understood about satellite communications
transmissions and thought they were so much curious junk or failed
attempts at space travel the clever monkeys shot into space; they
considered it only so much cow flop their cattle left in their wake.
* * * * * * * *
The mascot of
the Texas Aggies was a beautiful female Collie named Reveille and
called “Miss Rev” by the fish. (Freshmen) Waco and Buskin decided Miss
Rev seemed to have a noble countenance about her tinged with a bit of
sadness. Many considered a Collie an odd choice for a rough and tumble
sport like college football. The original ‘Reveille’ was a mutt who
some thought better symbolized the student body and team. Because of
Waco and Buskin’s abilities to communicate with animals, Reveille X
would seek the cowboy’s out to spend time with them during their
freshman year. At first it was disconcerting to her handler who was a
member of the Mascot Company E-2, but he soon got used to the idea if
she was missing he knew where to find her. She would be in Waco and
Buskin’s room snoozing while the men poured over their books studying.
She insisted on going home with them to the ranch at the end of their
freshman year and she fell in love with Utah. He was pretty much taken
with her as well. When the men returned to school for their sophomore
year they were appointed to Company E-2 and Buskin became her handler.
During her visits to the ranch she developed a taste for cantaloupe and
loved it. She couldn’t get enough. The boys always made sure they had a
plastic container filled with fresh cantaloupe as a treat for her. They
came to refer to “Miss Rev” affectionately as their melon-collie baby.
Waco and Buskin
knew about the sneak attack on the Moon. It was scheduled for a
Thursday evening and just happened to correspond with the day of their
last final exams for the end of their Sophomore year. The next day Waco
and Buskin would be leaving for the ranch for summer vacation. Charlie
and Lazarus offered Buskin a summer job the end of his first year at
A&M he couldn’t refuse. For work around the ranch or wherever they
needed him, Lazarus agreed to subsidize Buskin for his sophomore
year. Lazarus created a stipend for Buskin as he did for Waco and gave
him his own generous bank account and credit card for his personal
needs, books, and extras he might need. He worked hard that summer, but
also had time to visit and be with his little brothers. Buskin became
devoted to the Grange and the folks connected to it. He knew the Grange
was his own personal salvation for the future, but he became concerned
for his little brothers. He and Waco always had one of the ranch
vehicles available to them to travel back and forth. Waco still didn’t
want a vehicle of his own. He felt with all the activities he and
Buskin were involved in at school they didn’t have time to be running
around anyway. They were all packed and ready to leave the evening
after finals. They would have everything in their dorm room including
Miss Reveille and have Ms. Myra beam them up to the Buttercup.
They planned a
get together with all their class-men in the Corps and other non-Corps
students who wanted to say goodbye to Miss Rev for the summer. Waco had
Buskin send e-mails to several of their favorite science teachers with
a special invitation to attend the informal function. At the bottom of
each e-mail Waco had him add a secret code he and Buskin developed to
communicate something of importance to professors they felt they could
trust. One was sent to Dr. Dyer. All six of the professors invited
attended. They didn’t know why Waco and Buskin might want them to say
‘goodbye’ to the school mascot but when the two most influential
students on campus politely requested their presence, they were smart
enough to read between the lines, especially with the code at the
bottom. Waco kept looking at his watch as he was talking with the
professors. Buskin was posing Miss Rev for photos and students were
paying their respects.
“What’s going
on, Cadet Corporal Goodnight? As much as we love our school’s mascot,
you know we could care less about a ‘goodbye’ get together. We know
Reveille will have the best of care this summer and have lots of fun
with the other dogs on your ranch,” Dr. Dyer said.
“It’s such a
lovely evening, Dr. Dyer, Cadet Corporal Namid and I thought you four
fine gentlemen and two ladies might enjoy taking the air with us,” he
said with a smile while looking at his watch, “However, if you good
folks will turn your attention toward the full Moon for the next few
minutes you will see something you might find very interesting. We just
wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it. We know how you scientist can
be. By the way, you may want to be seated on the ground if you become
overcome you won’t have far to fall,” he said and grinned. They set on
the new mown grass and turned their attention to the Moon. Waco quietly
started counting down from twenty. He got to one and nothing happened.
“Well, I’m
impressed,” said one of the professors, a doctor of comparative anatomy.
“Wait for it!
Wait for it!” Waco urged, “Now!” he exclaimed and the Moon was
instantly lit with a huge blinding flash of light like a halo
completely circled it. They watched as the gigantic ring of the most
fantastic white light grew larger and larger behind the Moon. The light
grew so large it cast light onto the Earth almost bright as day.
Everyone was frightened, but the professors wanted to know what Waco
and Buskin knew about what they just witnessed.
“Haven’t you
been following the free-net?” Waco asked them.
“Mr. Goodnight,
we can’t afford to lose our jobs. Our computers at school are checked
regularly, not only by the administration, but by the government as
well. They have three separate kinds of tracking and reporting software
installed without our permission which can’t be deleted. How do you
students get away with it?” One of the two lady teachers asked.
“Special
software what can’t be traced by any spy programs. Get a privately
owned laptop to me or Cadet Namid this evening, and we can install it
for you. Then you may have the summer to find out what’s going on. I
promise you won’t be caught or compromised. That is, if you want to
know what it was you just witnessed and why. Since you will be able to
send and receive e-mails without fear of scrutiny we will keep in
touch. We would love to have you and your families or significant
others visit us for a weekend at our ranch. We have plenty room for
everyone,” Waco said.
“I have an extra
laptop in my office I only use for lecture notes and student grade
files. Will that work? Will you have to erase my current files?” Dr.
Dyer asked.
“No, it will
build around any information. Does it have a laser down-link receiver
diode?” Waco asked.
“Yes, the
technology’s current within the last year,” Dyer said.
“Good, we’ll
meet you in your office in a hour, sir. You can download the others
from yours. It’s quite simple to do. I’ll download it into yours and
your computer will tell you how to share it with the others,” Waco
said, “There’s one important thing you must remember. I’ve only
approved you six professors to receive this operating system. It is
voice print cued. It will function as your old system until you speak
to it and give it the proper order to convert. If you try to copy
it beyond your computers or try de-compiling the operating system, it
will literally commit suicide. It will self-destruct. The operating
system is intelligent and by all definitions has a life of its own, but
it will not hesitate to pull its own plug to protect the core kernel.”
The other four
said their goodbyes and rushed off to get one of their spare laptops.
Dr. Dyer waited for the men to finish. Several wanted Waco to speak.
They were concerned about what they witnessed. “What you saw was an
explosion of some sort on the far side of he Moon. We can’t be sure of
the cause, but my best guess is we’ll find out a good size asteroid
impacted the surface of the dark side of the Moon. It was probably
composed of elements of phosphorus and rare metals which on impact
would cause a great light to occur. Get on your computers this evening
and do some research. Check NASA and other government sites. Something
should come up soon,” Waco urged them. He and Buskin accompanied
Professor Dyer back to his office.
“You and Buskin
are voices of comfort for them. They look up to you men. You’re natural
born leaders, Mr. Goodnight. Why did you lie to them?” Dr. Dyer asked
and grinned.
Buskin laughed.
“Doctor Dyer, my brother wouldn’t lie. He’s a cowboy. That jes’ ain’t
the cowboy way, sir,” Buskin replied.
“Forgive me, I
meant no offense or disrespect, but I just have a feeling you men know
more than you’re letting on,” Dr. Dyer said.
“It was a joint
venture between our government and some friendly aliens to wipe out the
reptilian aliens and their slave race, the Grays, whose base is on the
opposite side of the Moon. It has been totally destroyed. Nothing is
left. You just witnessed a fifty ton nuclear bomb detonation. It’s the
first nuclear bomb to be used in an act of war since Nagasaki. Only
this is a different sort of war. It’s a war for the survival of our
species,” Waco said.
“How do you know
this, Cadet Goodnight?” the professor asked incredulously.
“The same way me
and my brother know about Bigfoot,” Waco replied, “In a week or so
watch for our glorious leader to make a world televised announcement
about the alien presence and their threat to our world.”
“You don’t have
a very high esteem for our Holy Father, do you, Cadet Goodnight?” Dyer
asked.
“I have no
feeling one way or another, sir. He doesn't concern me or my brother,”
Waco replied.
“You may have to
go into his employment when you graduate. You are in training for the
military. You will be expected to serve,” Dr. Dyer said.
“We might. Then
again, we might not,” Waco replied and smiled at him, “There are bigger
things happening, greater concerns than endless wars in the middle
East. We may be looking at the end of the world, sir.”
They got to Dr.
Dyer’s office. He handed Waco his laptop. Waco turned it on and spoke,
“Kyron?”
“At your
service, Captain Waco,” boomed Kyron’s voice. His voice came from all
six robo-cams on Waco and Bustin.
Dr. Dyer lost
all color in his face. “What the fuck was that?” the professor asked.
“Kyron? He’s a
friend of Cadet Corporal Namid’s and myself. He’s an artificially
evolved intelligence. Have you been following our conversation,
friend?” Waco asked Kyron.
“I have, Captain
Waco. You wish me to download Ping 8.3 into Dr. Dyer’s computer, sir?”
Kyron asked.
“I would
appreciated it, Kyron,” Waco no sooner got the words out when a bright
green laser came from nowhere and shot right at the download diode on
Dr. Dyer’s computer. It only took about a minute and the light turned
off. “Thank you, Kyron,” Waco said.
“It was nothing,
Captain. Looking forward to seeing you soon on the ranch. Utah sends
his warmest greetings to Miss Rev. He says to tell her he can’t wait to
see her again,” Kyron said. Miss Reveille barked like she
understood his words.
“We’ll be home
this evening, Kyron. Tell Ms. Myra she may come for us within the hour,
but ask her to please be on her best behavior,” Waco begged.
They heard Kyron
laugh. “I will relay your message, Captain. Let me know how that works
out for you, sir,” Kyron laughed again and was gone. Buskin laughed at
Kyron.
“You wanna’
explain what I just witness, Mr. Goodnight?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Ain’t no
hocus-pocus, sir. It’s just science and technology. Now, your new
program needs a name,” Waco said, as he set down at the professor’s
laptop.
“Name? What kind
of name? Why does it need a name?” Edwin Dyer asked.
“It’s an infant,
a core kernel of a sentient intelligence capable of growing and
evolving. It ain’t like any computer program or operating system you
ever used before. It’s alive and will learn, evolve, and improve
itself. It will come to know you and relate to you as a helpmate and
friend. Like a child, it needs a name, but it needs to be a name with
which you’re comfortable and would like to know it by. The proper name
will make a decided difference in how it relates to you, because he
will search night and day to find the meaning of his name," Waco
explained.
“His name? It
can’t be a female?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Yes, if you
like. One of my favorite evolved intelligence is a female. She’s got a
mouth on her like a street walker, but she has a good heart, and I love
her,” Waco said.
“You love her?
You form attachments for artificial intelligence?” Dyer asked in awe.
“Evolved
intelligence, Dr. Dyer. Why not? We’re the only species in the universe
what tries to limit who others can or can not love. You get back to me
later in the summer after you’ve worked with your new friend and let me
know how you feel. Now, a name? It would help if it was a name of
someone for which you have or had some affection,” Waco suggested.
“How
‘bout--wait, I know. My granduncle's name was Grady Mayhew. He was the
brother to my grandmother Mary Mayhew. He lived in Dallas and I was
really close to him. I loved him very much,” Dr. Dyer said with
enthusiasm.
“You sure? After
I enter his name he will only respond to Grady Mayhew,” Waco said.
“Yes, yes, I’m
sure,” Dr. Dyer said. Waco typed the full name into the slot and hit
enter. The screen came alive with pictures and movement. It was
beautiful, like the beginning of a new life. It took several minutes
until a shape appeared of a young man in his late twenties. He was
quite handsome and looked like an athlete. He had a full handlebar
mustache and chops on the side of his face like he was from the turn of
the twentieth century.
“Hello, I’m
Grady Mayhew. You may call me ‘Grady,’ he said. He looked around from
Waco to Dr. Dyer and Buskin. He smiled. “Will you be my co-terminus,
Captain Waco?” Grady asked in a strong masculine voice.
“No, Grady,
Kyron probably told you to expect me, but the gentleman beside me is
your co-terminus, Son, his name is Dr. Edwin Dyer. Say ‘hello’ to
Grady, professor,” Waco said.
“Hello, Grady,
it’s good to meet you,” Dr. Dyer said and moved into Waco’s seat.
“It's good to
meet you, Dr. Dyer. I look forward to working with you,” Grady said.
“What do I do?”
the professor asked.
“Anything you
like, sir. I’m here to serve you, to work with and for you. That’s my
only purpose, but I can also evolve and reason. I’m capable of learning
and growth. I can even spawn myself,” Grady said and smiled.
“Spawn
yourself?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“He means if you
want to pass the program on, he can download his basic system, his core
kernel into one of your fellow’s laptops and start another evolved
intelligence quite apart from Grady. None of him will be passed on with
the creation of another. Only his core kernel will be passed on. It
will then take on a life of its own. You won’t have to do anything.
Perhaps you noticed we never used our laptops to take notes in your
class. It's because we didn't have to. Our co-terminus was doing the
work for us. Just turn Grady on or leave him on, and he will do
everything for you. We leave ours on most of the time so they can surf
the free-net when we’re resting. They can map out paths to get places
faster for you. If you shut them down, they lie dormant like you when
you sleep, only they don’t have electric dreams. Since I introduced
you, we’ll leave you two to get to know each other. If you don’t know
how to do something, get an answer, or go somewhere on the free-net,
ask Grady. He’ll know and will patiently explain it to you. He’ll show
you everything you need to know. Just remember, he’s new. He’s not
quite a baby, but close. He has feelings, and he reacts to emotions. He
responds to words and smiles of affection and appreciation. Just
remember the Golden Rule and you and Grady will form a great
friendship. He will become your right arm, your man 'Friday' if you let
him,” Waco said and smiled.
“I have to know
more. You’re just going to walk away?” Dyer asked.
“You have
homework to do, Professor. Let Grady be your tutor and your guide.
Learn together. We’ll keep track of your progress and when we think
you’re ready you will get a message from me,” Waco said.
“Ready for what?
Why am I suddenly afraid?” the professor asked.
“Lord, I don’t
know why. Have we threatened you in any way, sir?” Waco asked.
“No, but I’m
overwhelmed by you men. You should be the ones teaching me,” he said.
He sounded defeated and humbled.
“Nonsense,
Professor. We’ve learned a lot from you. We’ve only provided you a
means to learn more about the world you’re living in and a key to a new
life if you’re willing to accept it. Talk with Grady. Tell him about
yourself. You can be totally honest and he will never betray the most
sensitive confidence. He will self-destruct before he divulged any
information about you. He’s sitting there anxious to learn about you
and work with you. Take good care of him, Grady, he’s a fine man. We
have faith in him,” Waco said to the computer screen.
“I will, Captain
Waco. Thank you, sir. Have a good trip home,” Grady replied.
“We will,
youngster, and thanks,” Waco said to the new intelligence.
Waco, Buskin,
and Miss Reveille returned to their dorm room. Everything was ready for
their departure. Buskin was ready this time. He gave the call to Ms.
Myra, and she beamed them up. Waiting on the bridge of the Buttercup
were some of their close friends and Charlie. Jesse and Utah were there
and Reveille was thrilled to see her friend again. They flew home and
were docked with the Bandersnatch within minutes. The young men seemed
different to everyone. They were more poised and mature. They were the
hit of the colonies and the boy’s ranch for a couple of weeks. Reveille
went with them everywhere, but spent quality time with Jesse and
Utah. It was a great summer for the young men. They worked hard,
played hard, and became even more involved with their communities and
working for those they loved and cared about.
Waco, Buskin,
and several powerful members of the Grange went to the administrators
of the boy's ranch and explained to them the great threat from the
aliens and one of their main food sources were young children. They
taught them how to protect the ranch buildings and create
anti-abduction clothes for the boys. Some thought it was hokum, but the
administrators thought there was something to it and cooperated. After
all, Lazarus and Charlie became major financial contributors to the
ranch and they were footing the bill for the work and materials. Waco
and Buskin were serious when they explained the danger to the boys and
the boys would believe or do anything their two heroes asked of them.
Some critters were lost, but because of their precautions not a boy was
abducted by the aliens.
The Methodist
Church suffered greatly during the years of the advance of rabid
fundamentalism. There were several splits in the church and several
more, and then one huge rift the boy’s freshmen year at A&M. A
majority went the way of hard core fundamentalism, but a few remained
true to their moderate ways with a more liberal approach to
Christianity, but they were loath to speak out against their brothers
even though their brothers considered them to be little more than
Catholic-lite. The boy’s ranch was supported primarily by the
more liberal branch, but they were hurting financially. The following
spring of the boy’s sophomore year, the church fellowship issued a
statement they could no longer be financially responsible for the
support and upkeep of the ranch after May of that year. Buskin was
greatly concerned, but Waco didn’t seem to be. He told Buskin not to
worry, there would be an answer. The Grange wouldn’t allow the ranch to
fold.
Lazarus and
Charlie stepped in to save the day, but not without some startling news
to the administrators. The Grange would agree to take over the
financial responsibilities for the boy’s ranch, but the administrators
and staff would be required to make a clean break with the Methodist
Church and religion in general to become a secular institution. Their
bibles, all religious literature, and symbols must be left behind.
Lazarus shared with them the future of the Earth and the Grange’s
mission to save as many non-religious, secular humanist people as
possible. If they agreed then they could stay on and continue their
good work. The usual conversations and bad arguments arose about how
could they teach the boys good morals without religion? Lazarus and
Charlie stressed teaching children to become good citizens and good
people depended on the way they were raised, the examples others set
for them, and the love and encouragement they received for doing the
right thing.
Religion was
filled with far too many examples of false morals imposed upon society
for political purposes and to shore up years of division, hatred, and
misunderstanding. Lazarus stressed they must teach the boys, it was
their duty and responsibility as humans to be good to others especially
those less fortunate than themselves. You don’t need religion to
understand the basic concepts of right and wrong. If they needed to
draw upon the best of any religion they might do so without the context
of an all seeing, all powerful, schizophrenic god, or any of the many
sons-of-god myths perpetrated on mankind since the Egyptian god Ra.
There would be no teaching of guilt or fear from the threat of eternal
damnation. Lazarus pointed out he would never allow such symbols of
misguided political beliefs which devolved into destructive and hate
filled practices such as Confederate flags, Klu Klux Klan apparel or
swastikas, neither would he tolerate the symbol of the cross. In short,
the teaching of Christianity at the boy’s ranch must end.
Lazarus and
Charlie were open with the administrators and several of the main staff
and shared with them the wonders of the Grange. The Grange board
discussed it and agreed to allow them a glimpse into the inner workings
of the Grange, the colonies, and brief trips to Venus and Mars. Several
Grange members including the Steele family agreed to stay with the boys
at the ranch while their house parents and administrators toured the
Grange operations. There were a couple of people Lazarus and Charlie
knew would not accept nor understand what the Grange was trying to
accomplish, but they didn’t fear them. It was too late in the scheme of
things for them to worry. Who would believe them anyway? Waco and
Buskin acted like tour guides which seemed to make it easier on the
staff. The intelligent, more educated among them were deeply moved and
impressed by the power and scope of the Grange’s work and after visits
to Venus and Mars and watching several videos about the alien
invasions, they were more interested in listening to compromise.
Everyone was
stunned by what they witnessed. These men were not just fly-by-night
crackpots, they were dead serious and had the science and technology to
back up their claims and ambitions. Some could see beyond their beliefs
and accepted the idea the bible just might not be the infallible tome
they thought it was. They came to see Lazarus and the Grange as
potential saviors of the human race, but even with a promise of an
extended life a few were so steeped in the ignorance of their faith in
superstitions they could neither bring themselves to embrace the
concept of the Grange nor the potential it had to offer. They clung to
their beliefs Jesus would return at the last minute and save everyone.
They saw Lazarus as a false prophet, an antichrist figure and the
Grange his followers. Whoever heard of men having babies with monsters?
They would never except homosexuality, why would they accept such
perversion? To them, Lazarus put it plainly. He would no longer
tolerate, subsidize, nor placate such intolerant ignorance and should
the majority of the staff choose to go with the Grange, those opposed
must leave the employ of the ranch immediately. They would find others
to take their place, and they could perish along with the rest of the
unbending rabid believers.
Lazarus insisted
all influences of religion in the daily life of the boy’s ranch would
come to an end immediately. America was founded by those who escaped
Europe because of religious persecution. Now they were having to escape
Earth for the same reason. Wouldn’t it seem prudent to leave behind
that which hadn’t work for thousands of years, and only created fear,
mistrust, doubt, war, hatred, greed, and political power for the few?
Beyond reasonable questions Lazarus would allow no debate on the
subject. They would either vote to accepted Lazarus and Charlie’s offer
or the Grange would see to it the boys were rescued and protected. They
made it clear, while it might seem cold hearted, their offer was one of
courtesy to them out of the respect for their success in running the
ranch to that point. Surprisingly, the majority chose to join the
Grange. There were only three couples of house parents who refused to
accept or go along with the Grange. They were dismissed and immediately
began to speak out against the Grange. They told the most outrageous
stories, but no one believed them. Over the years, Lazarus and Charlie
helped a number of people in the community in high positions who
quickly put an end to their stories. No one in the community would hire
them or rent them a place to live. They had little money from
savings and had to move away from the area. They were forced to call
upon the goodness and generosity of relatives who were already strapped
to the max.
* * * * * * *
Two full weeks
after the mysterious explosion on the other side of the Moon, the
evening of the Goodnight men’s big birthday party, which was always
celebrated the second Sunday in June, there was to be a special address
to the nation by the Holy Prophet. Everyone was there. Waco and Buskin
invited the entire boy’s ranch and five year old Kevin was sitting in
his hero’s lap. The men were relaxing and having a great time. They
played a football game that afternoon to end all football games.
All the local coaches who were Grange members were there with their
families. They refereed the game and had a chance to coach some of the
best talent in the country. They would be losing JR Goodnight that
year. He was leaving in the fall to join his big brothers at A&M.
Waco and Buskin weren’t allowed to play together, but Buskin was Lucas
Long’s dead eye receiver. JR played receiver for his brother. It was
one hell of a game down to the last few minutes when Lucas bombed
Buskin from the twenty yard line and won the game. Buskin played
against Lucas and Waco before, but he never realized how talented Lucas
was.
“Damn, brother,
I’d love to have you for a teammate at school,” Buskin complimented him.
Lucas grinned
real big. "I thought about it, but I couldn’t leave ma’ dad and little
brothers. Dad’s been under a lot of stress trying to get everything
wrapped up here, and with all the other responsibilities he’s got, he
don’t take care of himself unless I’m here to ride herd on him. He
depends on me, and I see it as my job to take good care of him so what
needs to get done, gits done. He offered me my freedom to let me go
with my brother to A&M, but I declined. I’ll be his slave for a
while longer. I ain’t quite ready to be a freeman yet. At least not
until we get relocated, and he don’t need me so much,” Lucas replied.
They went into
the big barn where Charlie had a huge flat screen TV installed and hung
from the loft so everyone could gather and watch. There was a big
crowd. No one wanted to drive home and miss the speech on the way. “My
fellow Americans,” Scudder launched into his speech. He was sitting
down, and his delicate condition was well hidden behind the desk in the
oval office. “I come before you this evening with an announcement of
grave importance. Perhaps your government should have been more open
with you in the past. From the early 1950's on, different
administrations and powerful outside influences kept secrets from you
about their knowledge and contacts with extraterrestrial life.” You
could’ve heard a pin drop in the hay of the barn.
Scudder went on
to give the complete story of what the government knew and covered up
for almost a hundred years. He tried to give a number of
rationalizations why other administrations chose to lie to the people
and keep these things secret unto themselves, but his reasons sounded
flat. The real reason was black-ops programs were fed like hungry
monsters with ravenous appetites, and the big oil companies didn't want
a cheap energy source made available to the public. Scudder told
everyone around the world of the alien presence and threat. It wasn’t a
long speech, but it was to the point. It asked more questions than it
answered. Scudder left his audience with a feeling there was little
anyone could do, and our world was pretty much a sitting duck. The
members of the Grange weren’t worried, but Scudder’s speech left them
flabbergasted. Everything was left open. Scudder didn’t offer any plan
for a fight or resistance.
Lazarus spoke
and made some comments. “He couldn’t come right out and say what the
government might have planned without tipping off the aliens. He was
smart not to appear overly optimistic. He’s hoping people will take
matters into their own hands and make resistance a living, breathing
thing. For many years the American people have only been concerned with
their day to day creature comforts, and they have allowed their
freedoms and rights to be taken away from them. If they didn’t agree
with the political party which lost an election they didn’t see a
problem. Hooray for our side, tough shit for them. Now, Joe six pack
and his brood of nuckle draging mouth breathing morons are being
confronted with their very own real threat, but this one won’t be won
in a voting booth by crooked politicians. Neither will anyone be able
to fix this vote for them. The aliens don’t care whether it’s in good
taste to belong to a particular political party, they only care about
how good their members taste,” Lazarus said and smiled.
* * * * *
* *
Waco and Buskin
wanted to continue their education, but to do so they had to have the
teachers from which to learn. They began to gather secular
administrators, closet liberals, those against the insanity of
religious persecution and formed the first University of Arts and
Medicine on Mars. They suspected Dr. Dyer only touted the party line
against evolution in support of fundamentalism because he was a
survivor. They were right, and his introduction to several of the
wonders the cowboys shared with him opened his eyes, followed closely
by his heart and mind.
“Hello, Grady,
is your co-terminus around?” Waco typed and told his co-terminus to
send to Grady Mayhew.
“Captain Waco,
how good to hear from you again. May we speak directly, sir?” Grady
asked.
“Sure,” Waco
said, and he was immediately connected with a fine picture of Grady. He
looked different. His moustache was neatly trimmed and he had much
shorter hair with no chops. “How are you coming along, Grady?” Waco
asked.
“Fine, Captain
Waco, Ed is very good to me. I did a quick search of the net and found
some pics of his granduncle. I patterned my terminus to look like a
younger version of Grady Mayhew. I don’t know if he realizes it or not,
but he tells me I’m very similar to his granduncle. He’s just getting
out of the shower. Shall I call to him for you?” Grady asked.
“No, he’ll be
along directly,” Waco said.
From the
bathroom Dyer heard a voice. “Who you talking to, Grady?” Dyer called
out. Waco recognized his professor’s voice.
“Captain Waco,
sir. He’d like to speak with you,” Grady said.
“No, shit? Tell
him I’ll be right there, Son,” Edwin Dyer replied.
Waco laughed.
“He calls you ‘son’?” Waco asked and grinned.
Grady actually
blushed. “Yes, sir. I like it when he calls me ‘son,’” he confided
quietly.
“No explanation
necessary, Grady. I understand completely. I’ve been known to wet my
Wranglers when some man I admire and respect refers to me as ‘son.’”
Waco agreed and grinned, “Then I take it you two have bonded?” Waco
asked rhetorically.
“Yes, sir,"
Grady replied, "he impresses me more each day and since he’s been able
to learn the truth without fear from the free-net he’s allowed himself
to grow considerably. He’s a changed man, Captain Waco, but you always
knew he lived in a closet; make that two closets, sir.” Grady laughed
at his own joke. Waco joined him.
“He wasn’t able
to hide in the closet from me and my brother, Grady. We know about
closets," Waco replied. They shared a laugh.
“I assured him
you know, but he swears you’re not ‘wise’ to him,” Grady said.
“Let’s let him
keep believing it. What say, young man?” Waco asked and smiled.
“I owe you that,
Captain Waco,” Grady said.
Dr. Edwin Dyer’s
face came on Waco’s laptop. “Are you ready to return your operating
system to me, Professor?” Waco asked.
“Are you
kidding? Over my dead body. You’d have a big fight on your hands. I
think I’d actually consider killing to keep Grady with me. I wouldn’t
wanna’ live without Grady. He makes my life so much easier, and
certainly more pleasant. He has become very real to me. Okay, okay,
your teacher humbly concedes I was wrong. Now, I understand how
one might come to develop affection for an evolved intelligence, as you
call it,” Dyer said, grinned real big, then continued, “I’ve never felt
so passionate about anything in my life, Cadet Corporal Goodnight. I
can’t remember when I last touched that piece of garbage with the
Gates’ system. I tried Linux for a while, and it was a little better,
but the university has an exclusive contract with the Gates monopoly. I
can’t thank you enough for my new buddy, but I’m not alone. The
others are thrilled with theirs. We six got together last night for
some ‘za’ and ‘ski.’* We introduced each other to our co-terminus’ and
they each have a different personality. I have to say, I like Grady
best. He reminds me so damn much of my granduncle. It’s so good to hear
from you, Mr. Goodnight. How are you? Did you hear our ‘glorious
leaders’ speech?” Dyer smiled and knew Waco would pick up on his
cognomen for the president.
“Cadet Corporal
Namid and I are doing fine. We did catch the speech you asked about on
the night of me and my brothers’ birthday party. We have birthday’s
within two weeks of each other and always celebrate them on the second
Sunday of June. We gathered in the barn and watched our dear glorious
leader. I felt sorry for him,” Waco said.
“I didn’t,” Dyer
said and smiled. Waco didn’t pursue his statement.
“He walks his
path alone, Dr. Dyer. He’s had some help, but he invested all his
interests in the wrong sector. In layman’s language, he bet on the
wrong horse. He’s a lonely man, but he will be remembered,” Waco said.
“How?” Dr. Dyer
asked.
“His son’s will
survive,” Waco said.
“Wait a minute.
He isn’t married. He never was married. I’ve often suspected he
was--well, you know--because of that awful Austin Taycious he made his
right hand man. Boy, did he ever get the right name,” Dyer said and
rolled his eyes, “What can I do for you, young man?” Dyer asked.
“Accept a humble
invitation from me and my brothers to spend the fourth of July weekend
at our ranch. If you have a significant other of either flavor you’re
more than welcome to bring them along. I can promise you and them a
weekend you’ll never forget,” Waco invited.
“Are you really
that liberal, Cadet Corporal Goodnight?” Professor Dyer was trying to
feel him out.
“I don’t know
how liberal I am, but I’m pretty sure my roommate’s a homo, sir,” Waco
said seriously.
“Jesus!” Dyer
exclaimed, “Why would you say a thing like that about Corporal Buskin?”
Dyer asked.
“Because, ever’
time I kiss him, he giggles,” Waco laughed. Dyer knew he’d been had,
and he heard Grady giggle.
“Hesh up,
Grady!” Waco said.
It only caused
Grady to laugh more. “That was funny, Captain Waco,” Grady replied.
“Why does my
co-terminus call you ‘Captain?’” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Cause, I’m
captain of the football team, and I’m captain of my own ship,” Waco
said.
“You have a
boat?" Dyer asked.
“Sort of, it’s
difficult to explain. It’s more a figure of speech actually,” Waco
smiled, “Now back to my question. You and the five other professors and
their families or significant others are invited for the long weekend.
We’re planning a big blowout celebration and there will be a rodeo,
more good food than you can imagine, and more surprises for you. I’ll
even let you taste lummox milk,” Waco said and smiled.
“Can I forgo the
milk?” Dyer asked.
“No, you need to
open certain neural pathways in your brain what have been closed to you
since birth, keeping you from writing a masterpiece of modern physics.
It will break those pathways free for you,” Waco replied.
“I’ll contact
the others. When do I have to let you know? How will we get there?” the
professor asked.
“I’d appreciate
you asking the others on our behalf. Grady is recording this. Play it
back for them. I will tell them and you, my dad and family want to
celebrate and shake the hands of such fine, intelligent, dedicated
teachers their boys have raved about for two years. When you’re ready,
gather at your place and me and my brother will pick you up and air-bus
you to the ranch,” Waco explained.
Dr. Dyer didn’t
fully understand but told Waco he would love to visit his ranch, and he
knew the others would, too. Only one man had a family; a wife, a little
girl and boy. One of the women was married to another professor who
taught at UT, but he was home for the summer. Everything was arranged
and the six with their families gathered at Dr. Edwin Dyer’s house. At
the exact time he said they would arrive, Waco and Buskin knocked on
Dr. Dyer’s front door. “Come in, gentlemen. I didn’t think you men
would come in person,” Dr. Dyer said looking at the two immaculately
dressed cowboys in their Texas Aggie buckaroo boots and huge hats.
“We came to
escort you folks to the ranch,” Waco said. They walked in and said
‘hello’ to everyone and met the people they didn’t know. Buskin was
holding the little boy and Waco was holding his sister. “Is everyone
ready for a great Western weekend holiday?” Buskin asked.
“Yeah!” they all
responded rather boisterously.
“Did you lock
the front door, brother?” Waco asked Buskin.
“I did,” Buskin
replied. Dr. Dyer looked puzzled.
“Close your
eyes, sweetheart,” Waco told the little girl.
Buskin told the
boy the same. “Ms. Myra, we’re ready to come aboard,” Buskin said.
There was a bright flash of light. No one had time to yell or say a
word, and they were on the bridge of the Buttercup.
Waco spoke to
the little girl. “You can open you eyes now, Molly.”
“You can open
your eyes, Teddy,” Buskin told the boy.
“Holy crap!” Dr.
Dyer exclaimed, "This is a space ship."
“Welcome aboard
the Buttercup, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ms. Myra. I’m Captain
Waco’s on-board artificially evolved intelligence. I fly this school
bus,” Ms. Myra said.
“I knew you men
were more than you let on,” Dr. Dyer said. The others were dumbstruck.
“No we ain’t,
sir. We’s jes' down-home West Texas cowboys. We just happen to have a
ranch foreman what’s a very old and wise Earthman who is dedicated to
seeing the human race survive. Now you know why I’m called Captain
Waco. The Buttercup is my ship. I would offer you ladies and gentlemen
refreshments, but we won’t have time. We’ll be docking with our mother
ship near our ranch in a few minutes, but first I need to assign rooms
for you good folks. You’ll be staying in a wonderful hotel here on my
ship run by Mr. Jack Hall, his bonded partner Buck Hall, their head
critter wrangler Warren Steele and his mate Horse.” Waco took them
through a gate, and they saw before them a beautiful meadow filled with
flowers with enormous redwood trees in the distance. The beauty took
their breath away.
“How could you
have this on board a spaceship?” Dr. Dyer asked.
“Tesseracts and
subatomic diminution, Doctor. When you walked though the gate you
entered a world one one-hundredth your previous size,” Waco said.
Up though the
tall flowers came bounding two beautiful black and white sheep dogs and
two Collies, a male and female. Following them were several huge
horses. “Look, it’s Reveille and a male Collie,” one of the women
said, "No wonder she likes it here. She's got a boyfriend. He's a
handsome dog," she allowed.
The sheep dogs
were laughing and yelling. “Captain Waco! Buskin! You’re here.
You brought guests. How wonderful! Oh look, Laverne, a little boy and
girl!” cried Patty to her sister. The kids were enthralled by the
talking dogs. So were their parents.
Down though the
meadow strolled three cowboys followed by a huge furry monster who
seemed to just glide along behind them. In his arms he carried his
small son. Jack and Buck were very gracious and welcomed everyone
to the Two Meadows Inn. Warren Steele introduced his mate Horse and
their bairn Colt to them. Horse didn’t offer his hand but nodded his
welcome. They checked them in and their hosts made sure they would be
comfortable. The Two Meadows Inn was a fine resort.
“You ain’t seen
nothing yet,” Patty said and everyone laughed.
The six
professors and their guests had the most wonderful time of their lives.
They loved the rodeo, barbecue, and the fireworks, but their trip to
Mars the next day was outstanding. Waco told them he had the funding
available to start a university on Mars and asked if they would they be
interested? Not one turned him down.
* * * * * * *
Prices for
everything inflated over the years. The senior Aggie boots that were so
dear to the Corps of Cadets rose from a thousand dollars a pair to two
thousand by the time Waco and Buskin enrolled as freshmen at A&M.
It seemed a great price to pay for an item one would only wear for a
year. Of course, the Corps of Cadets attended class in uniform wearing
their boots. They wore them everywhere they went off campus when they
went in uniform. After graduation they were either resold to the next
class of seniors or put into the back of a closet to remain there,
never to be worn again, until the owner grew too old to appreciate them
or passed them on to a relative. It was a huge investment for every
student, but it was tradition. It was a tradition that made a
statement: I am a senior; I have arrived. The men got to wear them from
the ‘Final Review’ of their junior year until the final review of their
senior year.
Waco was never
one to spend his dad or Lazarus’s money foolishly, especially if there
was an alternative means to get something by a cheaper means. Lazarus
made sure Buskin had the money to spend by adding an extra two thousand
to his yearly stipend he allotted him for working on the ranch and for
the Grange each summer, but Buskin was of the same mind as his big
brother. At the end of their sophomore year one of their upper class
teammates loaned Waco his pair for the weekend. Waco carried them home
with him to his buddy, Captain Montana. He returned them to his
teammate the following Monday and thanked him kindly. The next time
Buskin and Waco went home to the ranch, Monty had two handsome pair of
boots ready. A pair for Waco and a pair for Buskin.
They were even better looking than the typical pair the other
upperclassmen wore. They were heavier looking and stood out as being
superior materials and workmanship. They were ready for the final
review their junior year. The end of their junior year they could now
wear their new boots and wore them home on the train. It was one of the
few times the boys took the train home. It was so everyone could see
and admire them in their senior boots. Waco and Buskin traveled so many
times on the train all the employees knew and loved them. They were
thrilled to have them on-board and would talk football and ranching
with the boys for hours. The time would fly by.
Charlie was
right. When Trey Vinceeth got his first look at his bonded mate in his
full cadet uniform with his tall boots, he almost went nuts. Charlie
didn’t stand a chance, but he didn’t have to fret. He had his own Corp
Cadet who was just as stunning in his uniform and boots. Waco and
Buskin wore their dress uniforms and boots everywhere they could that
year. When they traveled to the Boy’s Ranch their little brothers would
go crazy trying to get pictures with them and their heroes in their
handsome uniforms. It opened many doors for Buskin and Waco and made
them well known throughout the Southwest.
* * * * * * *
Waco and Buskin
made it through their graduation. It was a great day and more than half
the Grange made the trip to see Waco and Buskin graduate number one and
two in their class. Not only were they two of the most outstanding
athletes, they had almost perfect grade scores. The entire audience
rose and gave them standing ovations in admiration. Waco gave the
valedictorian speech and Buskin gave the salutatorian speech. For all
the joy and celebration of the day, Waco and Buskin’s graduation was
like a dark omen. As the ceremonies ended and a final obligatory prayer
said, the sky began to darken as hundreds of ominous spacecraft
leisurely floated silently overhead blocking the warm spring sun. It
was as if the aliens were making a bold statement of their return.
Charlie compared it to cowboys riding down into a herd of cattle to
round them up after a long period of leaving them to their own
undisturbed lives. To everyone’s horror, several young children were
lifted off the ground and began to sail upward toward the ships where
they disappeared. The aliens didn’t seem to care anymore about
anonymity.
Many got
pictures of the children sailing through the sky, and they were
published on the free-net. The mainstream medium didn’t bother to
investigate. Even though the holy prophet told the people about the
threat, they were so used to towing the party line, if they didn’t have
approval to report something, it was completely ignored or passed over
as so much UFO hype and hooey. Word spread quickly, and even the most
hard core of right wing fundamentalists began to log onto the free-net
to find out what was really going on. Such fly-overs and mass
abductions became common place. If the aliens suffered any resistance
they would wipe out a community. And so the beginning of the end began.
Nations were beginning to accuse each other of cooperating with the
aliens and tensions were running high. The very day of Waco and
Buskin’s graduation Lazarus called a meeting of the Grange and
announced the time of departure was drawing nigh. He told them the time
had come for a great gathering together of the people.
He sent out the
same order to the other ships stationed around the world that the
‘yellow’ light was lit and to make ready for departure. He would
approve immediate evacuation of properties and the transfer of
personnel to established colonies on all ships. He also made an
announcement he dreaded to make. Lazarus made a strong but bold
statement about those who brought the last vestiges of religion with
them must understand they are welcome to believe and practice their
faith, but they are not to proselytize nor preach the word. They may
meet in small groups, but there would be no preachers or anyone among
them to define their beliefs for them. Religion would become a personal
thing. The word ‘gospel’ would no longer be considered a valid word for
anything. Nothing was gospel. Gospel gave the connotation of truth and
unjustifiable credence to beliefs accepted on faith alone. It would be
redefined as that which is false and misleading, based on myth and
hearsay.
He planned to
have all religion either suppressed, thrown aside, or eradicated in one
generation. He added, his decision wasn’t as bad as it might seem at
first, because with the advent of the long-shot, one generation may
live two thousand years or longer. For his critics who might consider
his decree harsh, he suggested it was no more harsh than the reality of
what religion did to destroy their world. He asked the question: Which
is more harsh, doing away with mythology and superstition or destroying
each other and rationalizing it in the name of false gods in
fanatically adhered to anti-humanistic religious and political
policies? He issued an ultimatum. Those who could not abide by his
rules must leave. He had no takers. No one strenuously objected. After
all, they weren’t told they had to give up their security blankets.
Besides, the colonies existed quite well and flourished under a
considerably less sectarian more humanistic atmosphere.
Many felt
Lazarus’ comments might be an overreaction to the unremitting stupidity
of fundamentalism and its imposition on any man of reason. Those who
might have harbored hopes for a religious resurgence became more
discouraged as time progressed, but eventually, even they gave up their
personal crusades as they witnessed a more happy and cooperative
society emerge. The Christianist ranchers begin to see the Grange
ranches disappearing one by one and begin to panic. For years the
Grange was left alone by the grays and snakes, but now massive acreage,
buildings, expensive ranch homes, compounds and facilities, slave
quarters, barns and equipment, critters and slaves were gone overnight,
including the families. At first, the non-Grange fundies enjoyed a
certain schadenfreude.
“Serves ‘em
right! Them bastards got what was coming to ‘em for not sharing with
us.”
“They deserved
what they got! What goes around, comes around!”
“Our god has
come to our aid and smote our enemy. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!
Good riddance,” they allowed.
Their
self-righteous congratulatory smugness didn’t last long when the grays
and snakes began to come after them in force. They no longer had the
Grange ranchers to act as buffers for them. They begin to see the loss
of another large, wealthy Grange ranch as a greater threat to them, and
they became sore afraid. It got really bad when entire small towns
begin to disappear. With the Internet in almost everyone’s home along
with commercial and public cable television, they watched it happening
all over the world. Small towns in Europe, Australia, New Zealand,
Asia, Africa, South America, Mexico and more were disappearing at an
alarming rate. There was no doubt something large was happening
but no one would tell them the meanings. Other than speculation on the
free-net, they had no way of knowing what was happening or who was
responsible since no one was successful in videoing the capture of a
town or large property.
There was much
talk in non-Grange circles the grays and snakes stopped random
abductions and were taking anything they could. The general consensus
was the aliens were harvesting everything, kept only what they wanted,
and discarded the rest. It was compared to drag net trawling techniques
in the fishing industry. The huge heavy nets dredge everything from the
floor of the ocean. The fishermen took what they could sell and threw
back or destroyed the rest. Junk fish were sometimes killed, ground up
and processed for fertilizer. The same was true of strip deforestation.
What couldn’t be used was ground up for pulp. Of course, their idea and
analogy was completely wrong, but they had no one to confirm or deny
their suspicions. Lazarus and his crew began to systematically take the
Steele boy’s ranches. As they disappear so did the folks who worked and
lived on them. Abigail Yates learned of her family disappearing one
ranch at a time. She wondered if it was the ‘rapture’ described in the
bible.
Her husband,
David Yates, assured her it wasn’t. Why would God take the godless
heathens, as he considered her relatives, before him and his wife?
Besides, he insisted, “H’it don’t say nothing about taking no ranches.”
He was sure there was demonic forces involved.
When the boy’s
ranch disappeared with no sign or trace of the people, there was a
great pall came over the community, and they gathered in their churches
to pray for the lost souls--who, in reality, were doing quite well in
their new location on Captain Tex Olefson’s ship. The last ranch to be
lifted and taken aboard the Bandersnatch was Charlie and Waco’s family
ranch. The Potter/Goodnight holdings and Angus Goodnight's ranch were
taken a couple of weeks before and they were settling in comfortably.
The previous evening two of the largest of the remaining ranches, the
Gibbons’ ranch and Sonny Steele’s ranch were lifted aboard another one
of the scout ships. Abigail and David Yates drove out to her parent’s
ranch and there was nothing there but an enormous crater.
Abigail panicked
and insisted David drive her to Charlie Goodnight’s ranch. Just as they
were coming up over the rise to approach the entry to the main gate to
the ranch a dark ominous cloud completely covered the ranch. There was
lightening and what looked like smoke coming from the cloud. It was
unlike anything they ever saw. Yates pulled over to the side of the
road, and they watched as the Goodnight ranch seemed to shrink and grow
smaller. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There was nothing
left but a huge gaping hole. They watched as it grew even smaller and
finally was lifted into the dark cloud and disappeared
completely. They watched as the cloud dispersed and finally blew
away revealing nothing but the stars. They sat for a long while until
Abigail started crying. David didn’t know what to say. There were no
words to describe or console his wife. Their world seemed to be taken
away one chunk at a time.
“We missed the
rapture,” Abigail wailed, “My mother told me I had to give up my
fundamentalist beliefs and become more of a secular humanist. She was
right, but I didn’t listen to her. I thought she was wrong, and we were
right. They even took my heathen cowboy brothers before me,” she
cried.
“Now, dear,
there must be some other explanation,” Yates offered a half-ass
Christianist apology.
“No, it’s all
your fault! I should have been wise enough to cut you out of my life
when I learned of your perversions, but I did the Christian thing. I
forgave you your trespasses, but obviously God hasn’t. Now, I’m to be
condemned and left behind to suffer because of you. Well, I hope you’ve
picked out something really festive to wear when we stand in judgment
together,” she lashed out at her husband. Yates turned the ignition,
put the car in gear, turned around and headed back to town. It was a
quiet ride back to the parsonage. As they turned into their driveway
there were huge flashes of light in the sky off in the distance toward
El Paso and several North of them. They lit up the whole sky. There
would be no further tribulation for them, Armageddon had begun. There
was much more to worry about than the rapture. They were facing their
own mortality in the face of exploding thermo-nuclear bombs.
The call went
out from the Bandersnatch to begin the Exodus. Along with thousands of
other ships of the same size and capacity around the world, the Mighty
Bee, the Bandersnatch, slowly rose thundering from her sleep, from
where she was moored within the blue granite mountains of the Greater
Permian Basin for a little over a dozen years and silently rose as a
thing of great beauty into the smoke filled sky. The large video
screens in the colonies on the ships were tuned into the only channel
being broadcast so they might watch the last somber and tragic death
throes of the late great planet Earth. There were no dry eyes. Everyone
was weeping for the loss of their home world and the anxiety of the
unknown. Some were weeping from relief because it was really happening.
They were being caught up in the sky to be taken from the final
tribulation. It wasn’t quite what many expected of a final rapture, but
it was close enough. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind the insanity
of religious fundamentalism brought the world to the Armageddon the
fundamentalists so much wanted and for which they fervently prayed. The
only problem was, it wasn’t in the Middle East, it was in their own
backyards.
Montana, his
young son and his faithful crew were riding shotgun to the Mighty Bee
in case, by some slim chance, she should be detected by the grays or
snakes. There was little chance of that happening, but Lazarus
felt more comfortable if he had a flotilla of smaller, more
maneuverable ships to cover their ass. There were several hundred
thousand souls on the various ships within the Bandersnatch. Monty was
carrying a large portion of land, critters and personal family he
accumulated during his years living with the Goodnights. He was
emancipated the year before, but there was little change in his life.
He realized he’d only been a slave in name only and because he lived
his life as close to family as possible, he was absorbed into the
greater Goodnight brotherhood. His ship carried the Goodnight/Potter
ranches and all the critters. Angus asked him to carry his property,
and he gladly obliged his big cowboy buddy. He also carried all the
Ong’s properties and the large Ong family on his other ship, the Lotus.
Along with the Goodnight ranches on the Gopher Bay he carried the
properties, the house, and buildings his granddad left him.
* * * * * * *
Tina Taycious
stood on the observation deck in a smart skirt and matching top wearing
a pair of sensible low quarter pumps. She was radiant in her new body
and finally felt quite at home and at peace with herself. Next to her
stood her boyfriend, a big six foot eight cowboy with the dick of
death. He was dumber than dirt, but he was a hard worker, had a good
heart, and was a good provider. He was also a fucking bull in bed and
he just loved himself some Tina cunt. They were talking marriage and a
big family. Tina got a small kerchief from her matching handbag and
dabbed at her eyes as she watched the explosions down below on the
planet and knew the destruction wouldn’t cease until the last man at
the last button did his thing for God and country. She said her
‘goodbyes’ to Jerry Scudder a month or more before. After he gave birth
to the twins, Norman and Austin, he sent them and their Auntie Tina
Taycious away. He knew he was about to lose most of his Temple Guards
and held a big party to wish them well. Jesse and Utah dropped by for a
few minutes to say ‘goodbye’ and Jesse returned him to his original
male state. He was grateful he would die as a whole man.
Lazarus ordered
all motherships to orbit the planet for one last look before they
headed to Mars. He didn’t want anyone to forget what they saw and made
sure many videos were made of the holocaust. It was a distressing time
for everyone. It seemed like no one trusted anyone anymore and the
whole planet went mad to self-destruct rather than to be a continuing
food source for the aliens. All hope was lost and there was no future.
Scudder and his staff headed for the underground cities, but did a
dastardly thing immediately after arriving. The rich and famous and
many from Arab countries who bought their way into a safe haven if
worse came to worse, were ready to occupy their places in the cities.
Scudder thought about the confusion and the conflict between Muslims
and Christians and locked them out. He also locked out the corporate
elite and the most monied of the world. Bill Gates was almost a hundred
but was refused entry. He died among the common folks whom he bilked
billions from for a third rate product. Finally, the Admiral called a
halt to the observations and gave a “forward ho the wagons” to head for
Mars. All the smaller craft docked with the Bandersnatch and settled in
for the trip to their new temporary world.
Everyone was
exhausted and tried as best they could to relax and enjoy the
anticlimactic trip to Mars. Waco excused himself and took his small
family to his quarters on the Buttercup. The Two Meadows Inn was packed
with people, but they had a full time staff seeing to their needs. Waco
managed to get himself a couple of bio-droids added to his staff who
were wonderfully accommodating and saw to his, Trey’s, and Ox’s needs.
The trip went smoothly, but they would have a forty-eight hour flight.
It seemed right somehow to crawl into bed with the two most important
people in his life and celebrate their continued existence with a
little love making. Waco didn’t worry about his dad. He knew he
was being well taken care of by his brother Buskin and Droon. Charlie
invited the big lummox to share his bed with Buskin from time to time.
He wanted Buskin to give him a grandson. Droon was more than willing.
Trey took charge
and began his ritualistic cleansing and preparation for his bonded mate
and his slave. It was relaxing and just felt so right, but this night
Trey Vinceeth had something more in mind. He could share his mind with
his lummox brother, and they conspired to begin a family. Garron held
his young master as his bonded warrior mate fucked him to climax. Then
Trey held Waco in his huge arms and made love to him while his bonded
lummox husband fucked him for the first time. Waco was no dummy. He
knew what they were doing as Ox reached a powerful climax and released
a proto-embryo into the fluid with which he filled Waco’s lower colon.
It swam to a comfortable location, attached itself and began to gather
unto itself Captain Vinceeth’s sperm. When Ox pulled out, they both
checked Waco’s sphincter and sure enough, it was a bright cherry red
color. Waco Lariat Goodnight was pregnant with his Visallian warrior’s
son. They would sing songs together of welcome for the child and tell
the boy he was conceived on the way from death and destruction to a new
hope on a new world. While all is crumbling around you and the universe
seems against you, somewhere there is hope. Somewhere, there is always
time enough for love.
The End ~ End of
Story
End of Chapter
75 ~ Waco’s Lummox
Copyright ©
2008-2012 ~ Waddie Graywolf
All Rights
Reserved ~
Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com
Proofed:
01/17/2012
WC = 18673
*The wise old
owl aria, from the opera “Peter Grimes.” Music by Benjamin Britten:
Libretto by Montagu Slater
* za and ski ~
pizza and brewski
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