Seek Him What Made Them Seven Stars
Waddie
Greywolf
Chapter 102
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." ~
James Madison ~ Federalist No. 51
At the dawn of humanity, the artificially engineered Fallen Angels
saw how miserably their masters treated the slave race whom they
artificially created but didn't include as many perks as they
provided the Angels. Many of the Angels came to look upon the
early humans as brothers and sisters because they were also
artificially created from a tribe of great apes whose blood
analysis indicated they were on the cusp of evolving more swiftly
into sentient creatures. They tried to teach, educate, encourage,
and guide the proto-humans how to strive and live better lives for
themselves by being compassionate to their neighbors and striving
for the good of their families and fellow slaves. Ultimately, the
Fallen Angels, who just assumed their actions were part of their
jobs, were caught, accused, and harshly condemned for their
efforts. The powers that be didn't want their massive slave-labor
work force to gain such talents for themselves. Sound familiar?
Nick, along with several others, were rescued and set free from
their Lizard overlords to become their own agents. The brightest
Angel of them all never bonded with anyone for several thousand
years. Over the remaining centuries, the few partners Nick did
choose to bond with and ultimately out-lived were six humanoids,
three Grigori Watchers, two Orks, and one huge Kagoli Demon. Five
of the humanoids died in his arms, but one gave his life in a
split-second, as a last minute decision to make sure Nick and his
comrades safely made it off a warring planet.
His faithful Watchers Warriors; one stalwart, stubbornly heroic
giant Ork; and, Nick's beloved Kagoli Demon were killed on planets
who were more than a little prejudice toward their kind. Nick
blamed himself for the unnatural deaths of his five partners and
vowed he would never take on another partner, especially after his
last, strong bond with his Kagoli mate – whose image he would
morph into from time to time for the pleasure of memory, which
brought strong miss-assumptions, distrust, and condemnation to the
less curious or uneducated what loved theys'selves some Jesus or
any other imaginary savior.
The large Angel shared the Swamp-Angel, Gator Gap's sorrow over
his loss of his own personal Kagoli Demon companion. Nick also
understood and empathized with the old Swamp-Rat's commitment
never to take on another partner. The once Bright Angel himself,
never considered he might one day find himself in a tight
situation where he would have to become a slave to a young,
enhanced human cowboy on Earth – the absolutely last world in a
vast universe he would ever consider spending more than a
fortnight. Meeting Billy was almost like Nick was completing a
great circle of his life, and as hard as he tried to avoid the
planet where he was sent after his creation, greater forces were
at work busily planning his every step.
The personality and physical types of Nick's past partners were
wide and varied, but his first three were the heroic,
full-of-themselves, warrior types who continually frustrated their
Angel-Warrior mate by jockeying for positions, trying to wrestle
mentally and physically to determine who would lead and who would
follow until they learned to make their different talents work for
the greater good of both. Unfortunately, the word 'compromise' was
rarely used in their vocabulary. Dealing with the giant-economy
size, super-masculine ego became one endless hassle after another
until they grew older, began to slow down, and couldn't muster
enough piss and vinegar to compete any more – then, they would
withdraw unto themselves to became more docile and considerably
more malleable companions. Nick felt guilty, but he had to admit
to himself, the later years of their lives together were the
memories he remembered as the best and most fulfilling of sincere
bondings. The pain of his loss was far worse than those whose four
footed companions came to the end of their life.
Those were the days Nick remembered fondly as the golden years of
their relationships together. After his last bonded-mate past
away, Nick swore to himself, he would never allow himself to
considered another hyper-testosterone type for a partner. While
they were bigger than life itself, their love was equally large,
encompassing, passionate, and powerfully emotionally consuming,
until the moment they took their last breath and their spirit left
their bodies. They carried those wonderful strong and heroic parts
with them when they left Nick alone again, leaving him as
emotionally flat as an old inter-tube what failed its last patch.
Nick was neither immune to the passion, the power of their
affections for him, nor their brute strength which they utilized
to protect him unto their last breath. The greater the passion,
the more painful the loss. He suffered mightily after each one
marked his passing.
History and fiction go hand in hand. Many heroes, fact or fiction,
bonded with the wing-man. The old testament tells the stories of
Ruth and Naomi, and David and Jonathan. For every Gilgamesh there
was an Enkidu, and for every Arthur there was a Merlin. Likewise,
the trend was kept alive with fictional characters beginning with
the first novel ever written; Cervantes's 'The Man From La Mancha'
(Don Quixote) and Sancho Panza to more modern characters; Crusoe
and Friday; Batman and Robin; Captain Kirk and Spock; Davy and
Goliath; the Lone Ranger and Tonto; and Wallace and Grommet – to
name only a few.
There were long periods of time Nick lived without a companion,
but as eons went by, he found himself being more and more drawn to
those who weren't particularly good looking, not necessarily
exceptionally brilliant, but possessed a modicum of bright talents
which would sometimes stun their mate; however, not unlike a
canine companion, they each were filled with a strong light from
the pure joy of life – its many possibilities and opportunities.
The dawn of every day became a new experience for them and they
rarely allowed themselves to become discouraged. Nick came to look
upon them in quiet awe and solid admiration which sometime
bordered on reverence, because they held within themselves what he
observed and considered the most important trait a human could
develop. They tried with every fiber in their being to impart to
others a greater sense of goodness, a genuine concern and honest
affection for their brothers and sisters of their species, and
their own family members in particular – and not by preaching
their personal philosophy but living it as an example. They simply
treated others as they wanted to be treated by them.
They didn't accomplish their purpose by dogmatically preaching
horrible myths or threatening others 'immortal souls' with angry
superstitions. Nor did they try to falsely manipulate anyone. Each
lived what he believed. Most importantly, he believed in himself
and tapped into the innate goodness of the Universe which Nick
thought should be possible to feel and understand by any sentient
being who developed the ability to leave their planet; with the
exception of, the Lizards and their insect drones. They were
completely void of compassion and the legacy of art – much like
the one percent of human society who rationalized choking the
middle and lower classes to premature deaths as part of their
birthright.
The type mate Nick was particularly drawn to, was a strong entity
who walked a narrow path of honest goodness, peace, and honor.
They walked in the darkest times into unknown places without fear,
guided only by a strong internal light. They lived their lives
with hope, that one day, the spirit of their light might conjoin
with a greater purpose to become a living contribution to a
greater source of pure and righteous light filled with
unconditional love and forgiveness – Lux Aeterna.
Nick quickly left behind the memories of masculine aggression,
massive, hard bodies, big cocks, and tight asses of the warrior
types, and found himself drawn to men of knowledge, peace,
compassion who possessed a strong sense of right and wrong, who
constantly worked to better themselves and their communities, and
those who learned early in life how to give and graciously
receive love in equal measure. He never imagined he might
eventually find these major traits in a human – let alone a young
West Texas Hill Country Cowboy – but to his amazement and delight,
he did. He began to wonder if his gig on Earth was given to him to
be the icing on his cake.
To Nick's pleasant surprise, Billy possessed every one of the
strong, stalwart, battle-weary Angel-Warrior's criterion for the
perfect human male – including being a handsome, hyper-masculine
Cowboy-Angel-Warrior, an extremely talented young man in several
different ways, with an amazing sense of humor and a strongly
decided appreciation for the arcane and bizarre. Billy was also an
attentive lover, a compassionate slave owner, and the perfect
master for a space-weary, affection-starved Fallen Angel who
appreciated above all his other numerous qualities too many to
list, to say nothing about Billy being a damn-good fuck to boot.
Nick asked himself, what more could he possibly want from a
companion? There simply was no cogent answer to his thoughtful
query.
Billy could play Nick like a fine fiddle, but as any good musician
knows, to get the sweetest music from your instrument, you must
take care of it and treat it kindly. It becomes a mouthpiece for
your soul, and should be treated as a close partner who shares the
purity and beauty of each inner-soul with every shared note. So it
was with Billy and Nick. Billy continually shifted personas when
he read Nick's needs, which made his surrogate Pa's life more
simple by the day, and the great Fallen Angel was neither reticent
nor afraid to speak his peace with Billy's Warrior persona with
equal passion as he might carefully whisper the unholy sins he
planned to extract from his young master's bright-soul when he
made love to his Cowboy-Angel-Warrior's strong, supple body. The
sweetest music comes from those who know how to tune and best use
their instrument to the max.
* * * * * * *
After the first Seal team left and returned, they quickly traded
duties and took over responsibility of guarding the alien
prisoners with an equal portion of Billy's Cowboy-Angel-Warriors
and Watcher-Protectors. Those who stayed on the ranch sat under
Seth's cloud chambers to learn even more. The second team was
poised and ready to leave especially after hearing what their
brothers had to say about their trip. Nick smiled at their
childlike enthusiasm. “I take it we ain't gonna' be accompanying
our military brothers on their journey into the Universe,
Kemosabe,” Nick said quietly.
“No, I thought about it, but I done got a door slammed
right-smartly in my face, Pa. As usual, I ain't got all the parts
what makes up a pitcher of what's about to come. Mean'n no
disrespect to our own fine Lawman, I got me a strong metaphorical
message to strap on my guns and become a surrogate Sheriff for our
own central family unit for the next couple of days until 'D' day
on Friday. Unless you ain't checked yore' calendar lately, that's
tomorrow. You noticed I urged our right-hand barrister, Brother
Grover Parsnip to remain behind and encouraged Brother Jack
McCormack to go along with Bubba's posse with them military
types,” Billy explained his unease as best he could.
Billy knew Nick was acutely aware of the incomplete micro-mini
messages they would get from higher powers in the universe, and
they shared an even stronger sense of respect for them random
ancient voices, no matter how obtuse or crazy the bits and pieces
served on the half-shell sounded. Nevertheless, they intuitively
knew they would soon be adding up the bits and pieces to fall into
place to become a full picture, a virtual panorama of unlocked
doors to future destinies which they learned should not be taken
lightly. Only one door would be the right one. Bubba analogized it
was like trying to get a rocket to land on a small raft in choppy
waters in the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. Threading a
needle on a buckboard with a new set of springs comes to mind or
blind kids playing hop-scotch.
“May I assume we're referring to the coming of age of them two
giant Orks, the last of their peculiar and particularly uncommon
race?” Nick asked with a grin while shaking his head in awe and
disbelief.
“Ain't the term 'last-of-race' become a household set-of-words for
our private world, Tonto? Who knew? Did you ever gather an inkling
of their tracks through history?” Billy asked Nick.
“How could I? I never got a playbill. They been landlocked on this
planet in the backwater outskirts of your galaxy for centuries.
There ain't no mention of them beyond one writer's satirical
novel, published in the early sixteenth century, around 1532 under
the pen name “Alcofribas Nasier” which is an anagram of the name
“Francois Rabelais,” an often used means of keeping a writer's
real name on the down-low – sort of like your favorite historian
you love to quote, Tyndall Wildleek. Even with that small bit of
arcane information, which the author of them works claimed to be
fiction, revealed very little factual information of them two
giants other than Gargantua's wife died while giving birth to his
son or shortly thereafter. Pantagruel was raised by his dad.
“Other historical writings and records confirm a small family of
giants who lived about that time in the area and era in which
these novels were written. There is no information about the
mother, whether she was an Ork or if she was a large human woman
who couldn't survive giving birth to such a large baby.
Howsomever, I got me a strong hunch you probably know more about
them Ancient Orks than anyone else on this-here planet,” Nick said
and grinned.
“Not much more'n you do, Pa,” Billy firmly assured his mate. “From
what I can gather, Rabelais saw them as freakishly-large, bumbling
clowns, and tried to picture them as crude social misfits with all
manner of disgusting habits. He used them as a sickening
allegorical parody to shine light on the even more disgusting
social habits of the so-called upper class whom he pictured as
little more human than giant buffoons with more money than brains.
Strange – we ain't come so far we can condemn his writing nor
point out much difference between his age and ours. I ain't got me
a clue what to expect of them today – neither does Captain Nemo, I
assume. He didn't have much to say other than they are desperately
trying to grab a foothold to introduce themselves to our family.
He gently warned me about them when Thular and Molly accompanied
me to his ship, and we rescued Lem from the ice flow.
“Captain Nemo didn't seem to paint them in a bad light. As a
matter of fact he collected a small colony for his own collection
of interesting and accountable souls. He did say they were such
fantastic shape-shifters they constantly disguised their hardcore
warrior forms so's not to disturb the status quo too much. He even
went so far as to say, they were never really given a chance until
recently when they began to hide hints of themselves and plant
their presence into the gardens of modern literature starting with
Tolkien and a couple of other writers. He pointed out, they were
now working hard to make themselves look more family oriented and
heroic entities with the younger group of humans who play computer
games. They easily insinuated their image and some of their better
qualities into the creators of them games to pave a path to
re-introduce themselves to the people of our world. Look how long
our Watchers were denied.
Billy continued, “Nemo's explanation and descriptions of Gar and
Pan were more like a fatherly, fireside chat about how best to
deal with the giant Ork and his son. It would seem, Pantagruel,
who seven centuries after his birth, is just now coming into the
first stages of puberty, facing the unsettling mood swings of Ork
adolescence, and looking maturity in the face. He gives the term
'late bloomer' a strange new dimension. He puts them sharks what
can't get pregnant until they's over three hundred years old to
shame; however, according to Him-What-Made-Them-Seven-Stars,
neither one of them giants ain't got themselves nary a clue what's
happening nor why. They intuitively know something big is hopping
down the buddy trail, but they ain't got a clue what it's about
and how it might affect them. Captain Nemo said he once heard of a
planet of Orks who lived to be thousands of years old but only
procreated every five to ten centuries or so. Talk about retarded
libidos. Us humans must seem like Mayflies to them giants.
“Daddy 7-Stars went on to say, he expected this would be the
youngest Ork's first taste of maturity. If he and his dad are the
last of their kind, his poor dad will either have to play catcher
for his young bull's growing need for sexual aggression and
release, which would undoubtedly alert the greater powers in the
universe. Unfortunately, they might find it necessary to place him
into a 'safe-keep' situation until the worst is past. As I
understand it, which Captain Nemo explained, the closest analogy I
can think of, is a half-way place between Heaven and Hell like
them Catholic Clowns invented and named it 'purgatory,' a
holy-guest-dude-ranch where you sit and atone for your minor sins
until you're considered absolved and cleansed enough to waltz
through them pearly gates. I'd hate to see that happen to
Pantagruel, and other than sensing their presence, I ain't even
met him,” Billy lamented.
“You look for the best in everyone – no matter the specie.
Sometimes I think you got too damn much empathy in you, Kemosabe,”
Nick said and smiled.
“You may be right, Tonto, but I'll admit I'm wary about them two.
Right now, with ever' thing else we got going and what Friday
might mean to our nation and family, we ain't got time to
wet-nurse no bad-ass, adolescent Great Orks – unless they's
house-broken and Claude and Clifford can control them. We ain't
got the time to change a giant's diaper, wipe a dirty ass, stifle
runny noses or making excuses for their giant mistakes. I'd like
to think, if they's being directed our way, they just might
uniquely fit in some'eres we ain't considered. Maybe they's the
key what starts the music box, or the last period in a long
sentenced paragraph – maybe even a joyful, strong, and sturdy,
exclamation point to announce the coming of a new world,” Billy
mused, “Ya' jes' cain't never tell about what them Ancients got
planned for them and us,” he added.
“Get thee behind me, Son! Old Satan, your loathsome, lonesome Pa,
and faithful asshole saddle buddy, Tonto – your very own personal
trinity will protect you, Kemosabe, but remember to keep your old
Ramrod, your raging Kagoli-Red-Demon Bull-daddy in the loop.
Lemme' know if you get any strange messages. Two heads is better'n
none, and we make a good team. Until that time, considering the
possible absurdity of the situation, I will continue in my usual
stoic manner while I fall back on my uncomfortable vision of
trying to feed a giant Blue Whale from a shoal of krill, one
teaspoon at a time,” Nick said and got a laugh from his mate for
his excellent cowboy hyperbole.
“Well, I'd say your 'trinity' metaphor passed Almighty Allegory
One-oh-one with an 'A' plus. Do you plan to apply for a research
grant do graduate work, Tonto?” Billy asked and laughed.
“Hell Fire, Boy! My graduate work began the day the Good Ship
Lilith crashed into the James river six months ago! Ever' damn day
I wake up with you by my side constitutes another day of advanced
studies. I've learned more about relationships and the benevolent
possibilities available in the universe in our short time than I
ever pieced together in the mind-numbing eons I spent banging
around the universe from one world to another without much purpose
– bouncing from hither to yon like one a them steel balls in that
pinball machine at the cattle auction barn you love to play.
Living with you as your faithful Trinity, is like reading the
Alexandra Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. The first three novels are
points of view from different people and their aspects, but the
last novel, Clea, shows change and resolve over time. Like the
eerie smile on the face of a dead baby, the concept was a simple
but brilliant stroke of prose. Over the eons, I have written my
major novels, but you have become my time line, Kemosabe – my
awaking to a greater purpose within my own personal story –
Lucifer, the Fallen Angel; the bringer of light, education,
reason, knowledge, empathy, and wisdom, with a kinky-hitch in his
get-along gifted to him by his one great Kagoli Demon lover,” Nick
said sincerely.
“Sweet Jesus, Lux-man! If old three 'B' - the Baby Boy of
Bethlehem was truly a real entity and not just an imaginary
Religioso Significado Three 'C', a Corporate Conglomerative
Concept of several popular deities at the time created by the
first Nicaean Counsel in three-hundred A. D., we can only hope and
pray, if he was even ten percent real, perhaps he's like our Lem –
maybe they's a goodly portion of him somewhere out there in the
universe, hiding under a leaf, waiting to hear this conversation.
Perhaps it would be of some small consolation for him to know
there are those who are totally capable of empathizing with his
pain and sorrow for his horrible bloody plight as described in the
New Testament. Somehow, those with good hearts, can't bring
themselves to swallow the lie of a political gathering of warring
religious factions with different beliefs to create one unifying
canon; which, when agreed upon and ratified, was then protected by
bigger cannons what go 'boom' to kill all them filthy,
uncircumcised non-believers. It's a little known fact, that's when
flags were invented.
“E Pluribus Unum faults with most religions when they refuse to
separate politics from beliefs. To make things worse, if you read
the teachings of Jesus, it was obvious he tried to teach others to
be good and kind to their neighbors on a personal basis and not to
allow themselves to be threatened or condemned by the dick-taters
of organized religions. The early Cathars from the 12th to the
14th centuries tried to live more of a Christ-like life than
appeared in the rigid corporate dogma of the early Catholic
church, and because they didn't join the 'status quo' and adhere
to the two Vatican councils' rules and regulations, they were
wiped out by Crusades paid for by the Holy See or Sancta Sedes.
Sound familiar? Bamboozle the innocent with pageantry and live a
life of false piety. I don't think that's what the life of Christ,
real or fiction, was suppose to support or accomplish.
Billy sighed deeply and continued, “Big religions became big
corporations, and conjoining with the ruling monarchs in the early
days under a papal bull declaring the Divine Right of Kings, they
worked hand in hand for centuries to fuck the middle and lower
classes. They still are to this day. The way I read the Bible, if
you consider it has any credibility at all, Jesus drove the
corrupt money changers from the temple – the first 'Occupy'
movement against big money and the one percent in history. As much
as them red-dress wear'n, child-molesting prelates would like to
deny it, J. C. was a radical liberal, sandal-wearing hippie. For
his bold stand against money in religion, the Roman government
agreed to leave the Lamb of God's fate to an angry mob of first
century Old Testicle, Wall-huggin' Rabbinical Re-biblican Jews,
and they chose to crucify the political rebel and release the
well-known criminal Barabbas instead!” Billy said firmly, “Christ
was not given the choice of 'Cake or Death' as a more moderate
Anglican Church might have offered some two thousand years later.
H'it jes' t'weren't dramatic or bloody enough,” Billy added and
grimaced at his mate.*
“Do you think there will ever come a time when mankind will learn
to live in peace and share prosperity without suffering false wars
and starvation, Kemosabe?” Nick asked rhetorically.
“Not if we keep on going like our so-called temporary government
is in power. Maybe, if we try a different strategy of leveling the
playing field by using a radically powerful political forces never
before seen on our planet. On the lighter side, we might achieve
more if we keep ringing them Star-bells regularly, Pa, and
encourage our family and others of our ilk to do the same. Which
reminds me – tonight! You! Me! Without fail! After ample flagons
of our magic herbal brew, your young cowboy-angel will gladly and
humbly give his'self to his incredibly handsome, masculine demon
dad for him to ravage and deflower his strong, pliant, supple body
– skyrockets in flight, an evening of delight – while committing
unspeakable primordial sexual crimes against nature so powerfully
erotic and stimulating he makes them two tiny figures on our
Star-bell come to life and they get into a knock-down drag-out
fight over who's gonna' ring the Fuck'n-bell,” Billy tripped the
light fantastic with his hyperbolic invitation.
“To quote the Bossman, I think I can fit ma'self right
comfortable-like into that 'hippie-boulder' scene, Son. I think
the cognomen 'Fuck'n-bell' is rather apropos. Is that wiff' boots
or without?” Nick asked and grinned wickedly.
“Fuck! I knew there was some'um I needed to take care of, but I
just done plumb forgot! I let myself get overly involved in
day-to-day traumas, I don't invest enough time for you and me to
kick-back, relax, and enjoy each others company. We talked about
our demon-feets being way too big for our regular buckaroo boots.
We need a couple pair of them Fuck'n Demon Boots for just that
purpose. Fuck'n boots to ring our Fuck'n-bell. I can just see them
big Green boots on two Red Demons? Why, it's almost got a
Christmas feel about it! When Red Demons pull on their Green boots
you can bet chore' bottom dollar there's gonna' be a hot time in
the old bunkhouse tonight! Empty condoms well-hung from the
chimney with care, awaiting Kris Kringle, St. Nicolas, or the
Kampus Demon of despair to appear,” Billy sung the last line, then
continued, “How hot would it be with you wear'n a big pair of them
Green Lizard boots while you butt-fuck your Demon Son from the
outer limits to the twilight zone and back again? I'll bet we
could do the Kessel run in under twelve parsecs.
“Confused Festivus fans will go ape-shit crazy over dogma and the
symbolism of two stiff red poles instead of one, but that's good
for a budding faith. It opens windows in stuffy rooms filled with
old dusty, stale beliefs, and brings fresh-air to the new
thou-shalts and shalt-nots – breathing room, for new concepts;
however, our own considered act shouldn't be too difficult to
produce with one of Coo-zone Seth's reproduction applications. We
got my pair of Lizard Boots to use as a template. Bet 'chu a
blow-job either the Bossman or Major Bart's done got one a them
boot replication apps already in their Official Cowboy-Angel's Boy
Scout Utility Lists. I'll put out a couple of feelers and check
with Master Ironmonger to see if he can share some Lizard-skin
wiff' us. Lord knows, with them four big'uns locked up on the
Cowhouse, we should have enough,” Billy allowed, “Hosanna, and
ring them bells! Christmas, done come early for us poor lonely
cowhands this year, Tonto,” Billy added in his best cowboy lingo
and laughed at his own bullshit.
* * * * * * *
The second team of new cowboy-angels and their accompanying posse
were away about an hour before the men stopped for lunch. Billy
didn't delay lunch. He figured correctly the men were wined and
dined from wherever they departed. A dozen or so of the six pods
of six hundred Fallen Angels asked to go along with Billy's posse
and with General Heavy-Drop's approval he allowed them to
accompany the Military Platoons and included a few non-combatants.
Total number of new cowboy-angel-warriors were seventy-eight
including the six early representatives, Noah Carpenter; Jeeter
Boatswain; Mahon Gardner; Neal Stout; Samwise Gamgee; and, Yom
Copper.
* * * * * *
The younger set were allowed to eat lunch with the rest of the
hard working crews of cowboys and building workers. They were
joined by the returning first half of the dual platoons and were
expecting the second half shortly after they finished. There was
still well over half the children rescued from the West Coast raid
on the Alien Underwater Base, who were not yet claimed by anyone.
Since Billy took pity on the youngest, Cindy Lou Gates, the rest
were equally adamant they wanted to remain with the Daniels
family. They quickly realized they very possibly might not have
another, better chance at life than what they sensed and witnessed
happening within the brood hive of the Daniels family. Besides,
they witnessed some of the most unusual things happen on Captain
Nick's ship, even the very youngest knew no one would believe them
and chastise them while insisting they were not telling the truth.
They quickly realized, the more they learned, the less dependent
they became and the greater their possibilities grew to become
solid assets to the family and each other. The Daniels family
watched them grow more aware and sensitive to each other and how
best they might fit into an ongoing picture with such a
comfortable and understanding group of people. From the youngest
to the oldest of them, once they sat under Seth's cloud chambers,
they couldn't imagine the drudgery and boredom of sitting in a
class of in-bred under achievers. They used the old argument “how
you gonna' keep 'em down on the farm” with a twist – after they
experienced life with the Daniels family? Bart nailed it with one
strong statement, “Listen to me and heed my words, them kids ain't
dumb, and they learn quick. They been spending more time under
Seth's cloud chambers learning more than most of our resident
cowboy angels. They wouldn't fit into their old lives if the
Daniels agreed to let them go. Knowing what they know without our
supervision could be a catastrophe for them and those outside our
sphere of confluence,” Bart said firmly.
* * * * * * *
They were just finishing lunch, when Billy's cell phone buzzed in
his pocket. He pulled it out and whipped it open. “You got Billy
Daniels! Speak to me!” he said as his usual response. Billy
sometimes got hundreds of calls daily, and his greeting said he
was busy and not to waste time with flowery intros. The kids
watched as their leader's eyes grew wide and a comfortable smile
crossed his face. The young one's knew and read Billy like he was
one of their favorite comic book heroes and were reading over his
shoulder. There was a long pause, but Billy was smiling and
looking around the table at his family and grinning real big.
“It's them Lovejoy men!” exclaimed Billy Don Blankenship quietly.
Bee-Dee, the boy with the bad tattoos became the leader of the
young boys and several of his bonded posse nodded their heads in
agreement.
“What?” Billy exclaimed and laughed. He listened for a while
longer, “Hail yes! Where you been? H'it's about time you men
called! I been missing yore' handsome faces all freak'n week,
ever' since you drove down the driveway and turned onto the
blacktop,” Billy stopped and listened for a good while longer with
his face registering different emotions like a video run in
fast-forward mode. He threw his head back and shook it like he was
disturbed and then looked around the room at the anxious faces of
his Junior Buckaroos. “No! I swear to you, Brother Cliff, a
feeling of emptiness done come over me when you men left like I
ain't never experienced before. It was like my old heart failed me
– shattered into several pieces, and each one wept silently. Now,
thanks to you, I know what a mother hen feels like when she can't
find two of her brood and how relieved and happy she is when she
finally hears them peep'n in the tall grass,” Billy cut off again,
grinned real big, and shook he head negative.
“No, no, no! That ain't right! I swear on the name of ten unknown
gods and half their children sit'n at the table rye-cheer in front
of me! When I watched you men drive off Josh's lot at Camp Air,
onto the blacktop, and you made a turn at the intersection and
headed South, I felt like I done lost two of the most important
brothers in my family. I entertained the insane idea when we got
back to the ranch I might rustle up a big posse, saddle up our
ponies, ride-out after you, cut chu' off at the pass, lasso you
men, hog-tie you, teach you a lesson, and drag yore' sorry asses
behind our ponies, all the way back to this ranch where you
belong! Alas, life must go on and we each have our particular row
to hoe,” Billy exclaimed, pouring on his best cowboy hyperbole for
his young audience sitting before him to enjoy. They were laughing
and giggling at Billy's nonsense. Everyone could hear Cliff and
Claude laughing over Billy's phone.
He listened for a good while longer. His face went blank for a
while like he was listening to some ancient holy writ while his
eyes slowly grew bigger and his face grew pale like it was slowly
being drained of blood the more he heard. He elbowed his Pa like a
nerve was hit about something they talked about earlier and
grimaced at Nick. “Yeah, I know 'em old boys, but only by
reputation. Ain't nobody knows what-all they's capable of doing. I
done heard me some rumors from several different sources, but none
of it's really bad. Mostly, it was mischievous pranks; howsomever,
a couple were drop dead funny at that – less'n you's on the
receiving end. I was recently made aware of them by Captain Nemo
when we went to gather young Lem from the ice flow. They been on
this rock since early in the Twelfth Century and maybe long before
that – nobody knows for sure,” Billy said and listened for a while
more. “I know! God love 'em, they ain't none too pretty, but
depending on their care, I've heard tell, once't you clean 'em up,
they can become outstandingly handsome critters – that is, if'n
you're into giant brutes what got tusk instead of canine incisors
like us humans. I ain't point'n no finger at nobody. As you good
folks know, I'm guilty of being possibly the greatest lover of
giant beasts. It's part of my makeup and heritage what seems to
come natural wiff' me. I'm sure it ain't got nothing to do with
spending my youngest days on a planet with nothing but huge beasts
to love, nurture, and teach me,” he said ironically.
Billy listened some more before he responded again. “I don't know.
Their appearance varies depending on those they associate with and
in whom they choose to place their trust. They's capable of
lock'n-in to look like anybody you find easy to look upon, and
they will insinuate themselves into your hearts. Nobody knows what
they look like in their original, natural form, but I got me a
feeling we just might find out. I been looking for them to show
their faces some time or another – sooner or later. My best guess
is, they's looking for a new home,” Billy said and listened some
more and got serious.
“Captain Nemo told me he caught them sneak'n and a sniff'n around
his operation, and recently they come in spirit form to check us
out a couple of times. Sounds like to me, they showed up at just
the right moment. Me and Tonto highly suspect somebody – other
than them – is look'n out for you men and led them to you for a
purpose,” Billy allowed and seemed to relax like it was easier for
him to deal with the reality of a situation than speculate like he
and Nick tried to second guess earlier. He listened intently for
several more minutes and responded physically so greatly the kids
were laughing at him.
“What! Oh, my God! No! You's shit'n me! They did what? No! Really?
I can't believe it! You didn't! No! They did? My god – that's
incredible, but we done some incredible things before, so we ain't
new to the phenomenon. Actually, it sounds about right from what
little I know about them old boys and rumors of what they can do.
No, I ain't upset none as long as you men are all right, and I'm
gonna' get to see you again pretty soon. Let's face fact, we live
in perilous times. You never know'd nor can you predict when you
might come upon a nest of alligators what won't hesitate to wipe
you out if you don't play ball the way they tell you. After them
Lizard critters damn near killed a member of our family, I ain't
got me the slightest empathy for them bastards or humans who have
sold out and are in cahoots with them. Right is right, but wrong
at negotiable!
Billy continued, “So them dog whistles our kids gave you came in
handy to expose them and them big-old boys did the rest. I can't
wait to see the videos of what went down, and the rest of my
family – especially them kids sit'n across from me's about to fall
out of their chairs laughing their asses off. They can't wait to
hear your story and what them big clowns pulled off, but I ain't
gonna' tell 'em nothing until you get here and you can tell 'em
yourself,” Billy said, and listened some more amid the groans and
deep sighs from the peanut gallery.
“Naw, you should've known from the time we worked on you men, you
were assigned three invisible video cameras to keep an eye on our
new family members. We didn't keep it a secret from you. You
gotta' understand, we didn't do it to spy on you none. We
explained their presence and showed you videos of us rescuing you
and them others from the wreck at Camp Air. Good thing! From what
you told me, if push comes to shove, you men will need all the
proof you can muster to back up your word,” Billy said, and added,
“It's too damn bad – a real cry'n shame them old Orkie-boys didn't
realize the potential gold mine they wiped out by not saving them
dead Lizard carcasses. They's so many cowboys what want a pair of
Lizard boots made out of their hides, I decided to offer five
hun'nert bucks bounty for every hide in good condition, but they
got to bring 'em to us skinned and deodorized. Master Ironmonger
is taking on several apprentices to fill all the standing orders
we done already got. Depending on the size of the cowboy, Master
Ironmonger can get three to four pair of boots out of one hide and
sell them for five hundred to a thousand a pair,” Billy said and
paused to listen to Cliff for a spell.
“You're kidding! Really?” Billy asked in surprise, “Well, damn,
them old boys is more talented than I thought!” Billy exclaimed,
“Sure bring 'em wiff' ya. So what's your twenty? Where are you
now, and what's your status?” he asked. Billy waited and listened
to Cliff's reply for another several minutes. “So you men
basically cut your umbilical cord from Texas United Gas and Oil,
one of the major gasoline distributors, and from your explanation,
your oversize saviors done went and burned your bridges behind
you. There might be fallout, but I'd rather have you men here with
us when them Big Guns look for answers and come sniff'n around. We
can make you, your new hired hands, and truck disappear. Are you
still in the Houston area?” Billy asked and waited for a few more
minutes.
“Naw, now listen to your new Bossman. Have them two big Orks use
their skills and change the color of your tractor, but don't do it
until you get to your first stop. If they look at you like they
don't know what the Hell you's talking about, you tell 'em
big-suckers your new Bossman was tipped-off to their powers from
two other advanced races what got theys'selves a goodly investment
in our home world. Oh, yes, and they'll eat you into the poor
house if you let them, so when you make your first pickup for the
Highland Shire Corporation, it will be for slave chow and nutrient
biscuits. Have them put two sacks of chow in your living quarters
and one sack of nutrient biscuits. They'll love it, and they can
thrive on it. Feed them twice't a day depending on their activity
and the amount of work they put in. It will be a better diet for
them than human junk-food and get them back into shape so's they
will become more useful and faithful. Their size don't matter
none. They can be trained and come to love their masters just like
any other animal. You just got to set some firm but fair ground
rules. We'll help, but remember to show them compassion. Listen to
your Bossman and his cowboys and you will have them monsters
eating from your hands.
“I'm gonna' text you an address to drive to, where they got a
trailer what's less than six months old and repossessed a week
ago. It's been gone over, everything checked out, and refurbished
like brand new. Its got our Corporate Logo like you saw on our
vehicles, on the sides and the rear. Have them Orks use one of
their spells and change your tractor to Kelly Green to match the
color of our logo so's your truck will draw less suspicion. The
truck company where I'm sending you men, is a subsidiary of one of
our family members, Mr. Tom McMartin. Since you're now officially
working for our family company, they'll remove your old license
plates and install a new set with our numbered series. It
shouldn't take you more'n a couple of hours to hitch up, have them
old-boys change the color of your tractor, and leave there. Then
you and your giant posse drive to the second address the Martin
people will give you.
“It will be a big company what makes Slave Chow, and they
distribute at the same stop. Fill your new trailer with as many
bags of Slave Chow and Nutrient Biscuits as you can safely load to
weight standards and return here to little piece of Heaven on the
Llano and James rivers. The company knows the exact number we
ordered, and they will help you. I done give 'em your names. Just
show them your license, have your dad sign for the load, and hit
the road back to God's country. Put them two big Ork-men to work
and let them start earning their keep. Tell them I'm impressed by
their heroic act saving your lives which will go a good way to win
me over to grant them a boon, but it will also depend on how they
treat you men, and how willingly they work for and with us. Advise
them I will neither tolerate any black arts shenanigans nor
dishonesty. I will expect them to reveal themselves completely to
me and my family with no exceptions – or deceptions. All their
actions will be taken into consideration should they entertain
ideas of petitioning us to join our family, but there will be a
three month trial period,” Billy said firmly.
Rather than stop the flow of conversation at the table, Billy got
up and moseyed out of the great dining hall into the chambers
connecting the various halls, dungeon, and baths to continue his
conversation with Clifford. When he finished, he no sooner send
his text messages and received confirmation of receipt from Cliff
when a huge gate appeared in the dungeon. The second away-team
returned. After many hugs, manly slaps on the back, and a few
stolen kisses, Billy invited the large group of men into the
dining room for dessert. He checked with his head cooks and they
assured him they had plenty, but some of the kids might have to go
without seconds. The men marched in and found places to sit, but a
few remained standing around the high, large, shelves which looked
like side bars where the over-sized critters and humanoids set on
tall sturdy stools to eat and listen to conversation.
Billy looked across the long, huge table at three of the prettiest
little girls, Cindy Lou Gates, Jenny Robertson, and another
exceptionally beautiful and musically talented young lady, Bonnie
Jackson. They had frowns on their faces and were not eating the
delicious dessert which the crew set before them. The other female
children followed their sister's lead and sat without even picking
up a fork. It was an unprecedented situation. It reminded Billy of
a hive of killer bees waiting for the right moment to attack.
Billy knew before he spoke a word what was bothering them. He
stepped over his own barrier, he was in the dog house, and he knew
he was duty-bound to correct his error.
“Is there something wrong, Ladies? You look like old hens sitting
on a nest taking care of business waiting for your eggs to hatch,”
he said and got an evil glance from them. “Wow! I know better than
to disturb a setting hen. Would one of you pretty ladies like to
share with me why you're so quiet,” he asked. The young ladies
turned and looked at Bonnie and nodded their heads like they held
full-faith in her abilities, and they had her back.
“Our regular supervisor and main Warrior, whom we go to if we need
anything is Major Langstrom. He is a supreme gentleman, and is
never too busy to find time for one of us if we have a problem, no
matter how small or large, he will stop everything to accommodate
us. He is a never ending source of good, solid information. He was
right when he told you earlier we are learning at a rapid rate,”
Bonnie said quietly.
“You know we have an open table here for adults and children
alike, Miss Jackson, would you care to express your opinion,
ma'am,” Billy asked
politely.
“We use the Cloud Chambers every day, five days a week, for three
hours in the morning. After lunch and a nap, we spend three more
hours with our wonderful friend Seth. We have learned and are
fully aware what the term 'double standard' means, Master Billy,”
Bonnie replied.
“I see, and would you like to tell me your learned opinion about
the term and why you ladies have brought up the subject?” Billy
knew damn-well what Bonnie was talking about. He broke his own law
and was about to stick his head into a hungry Lioness's jaw, but
his empathy and deep sense of fair-play told him he must sacrifice
his pride to teach them the lessons they were learning were valid
and applied to everyone – not just the few.
“We were taught, in a true democracy, the laws which are agreed
upon and put into place must apply to everyone equally and no one
should be above the law. Would you care to explain to us why you
have suddenly developed the right to curse like a drunken sailor
and use questionable cowboy talk at the table, sir, when you have
strongly admonished several of our brothers for a mere slip of the
tongue from time to time?” Bonnie asked.
A great silence fell around the table and many were holding their
breath waiting for Billy's reply.
“You're right, Miss Jackson. Color me embarrassed. In my high and
mighty, testosterone induced exuberance hearing from my new
brother and his dad, I'm afraid I got carried away with some
pretty ripe cowboy hyperbole in an effort to be sincerely amusing
and express my surprise. My pleasure and relief in communicating
with them again and learning they were well and safe brought me
unbridled joy. It also caused me to forget my social manners for
which I have no defense, Miss Jackson. I apologize to you, your
brothers, and your sisters. My brain flew out the window, but any
lame excuse I might use and my position as Top Waddie on this
ranch, don't make it right. I ain't neither got me an argument nor
could I find the words what wouldn't sound like double-speak and
make a bigger ass of myself than I already have. You young men,
and especially you young ladies, have every right to be upset and
angry with me for not abiding by and living up to my own rules I
set down. You're correct Miss Bonnie, it is a classic case of
double-standards. Glad to see you're paying attention and
learning. What can I do to rectify this situation and regain your
respect?” Billy asked sincerely.
“What would happen to us if we refused to obey your laws of
genteel conversation?” Bonnie asked.
“You would be assigned punishment by the consensus of a jury of
your family peers,” Billy replied quietly.
“Would we be assigned an attorney?” Bonnie asked.
“Yes, if you truly thought you needed one; however, I doubt there
would be a need in a family matter unless you felt you were being
threatened with an outrageous decision; which, is highly unlikely
among people who love and care about you,” Billy reasoned.
“Brave man,” Grover said quietly and grinned while shaking his
head and taking another bite of his dessert. He got a nervous
laugh from the other cowboys, the returning military men, and
several of the children.
“Fine!” Bonnie exclaimed, stood, and continued, “Then may I see a
show of hands from my peers and equals around the table who feel
Master Billy should be punished for ignoring his own law?” Bonnie
asked loudly and every hand in the great hall went up including
Billy's husband and his faithful sidekick, Tonto.
“Et tu, Brute?” Billy asked Nick dramatically like he was Julius
Caesar just stabbed through his heart. “And you Cassius?” he
looked across at Grover and held out his hand. “Gimme' a break!
This ain't the Ides of March! It's the first of August!” Billy
exclaimed, but he received no sympathy.
“I keep telling you, you can't go put'n yore' head in a lion's
mouth and not expect them to bite you,” Grover said and got a
nervous laugh from around the table.
“Do you accept the judgment of your peers, Master Billy?” Bonnie
asked.
“I want a lawyer!” Billy said loudly in mock horror. Everyone
laughed at him. “All right! All right! All joking aside! Fair is
fair! I accept the judgment of my family peers, Miss Jackson,” he
said firmly.
“Your punishment will be no dessert for you at any meal on Captain
Nick's ship, in the front house, or any of the slave quarters, for
a week beginning with this meal,” Bonnie said firmly and would
have banged her gavel on the matter if one was available. “May I
see a show of hands of those who agree with my judgment?” she
asked and once again everyone in the great hall raised their
hand.
“I accept your judgment, Miss Jackson, and humbly bow to your
reason and your fearless action. Let this be a lesson to you
young'uns. Don't be shy or afraid to stand up to us adults if you
think you're right. Many men around this table can attest to
another of you young'uns, Bossman Randy, has taken me down a notch
or two on several occasions, and he was right to do so. Just
remember your manners even if I forget mine, and before you take
it as a double-standard, what I'm trying to say is, you don't have
to be an ass like your Ramrod of this here gig to get a strong
point across. You have nothing to lose, and even if you're wrong
from time to time, if you continue to remain among our family, you
have the right to question authority,” Billy said.
“Have you considered a career in law, Miss Bonnie?” Grover asked
firmly.
“Hear! Hear!” Tron Garrett exclaimed.
“Hosanna!” shouted Randy.
“Hear! Hear! Hosanna in the highest!” shouted the rest.
Unfortunately for Billy, they served a wonderful hot blackberry
cobbler just out of the oven with Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream
melting on top. Billy wondered hyperbolically if the jury of his
peers might consider a quickie crucifixion instead. He got several
mocking laughs from those who monitored his channel. Billy kept
his word and abided by the decision of the jury of his peers. From
that time on, he was careful to remove himself from the table and
walk into the dungeon area if he received a sensitive call. He
also earned great admiration from his Warriors and the visiting
military as well. If they held any lingering doubts, they quickly
dissolved within Master Billy's humanity. They came to look upon
Billy as a strong but compassionate leader. They formed bonds
which rivaled and surpassed those of the Knights of the Round
Table.
* * * * * * *
After they finished their dessert, the children were excused and
were taken to their afternoon gathering area where they could
enjoy many different activities. Billy assigned two couples on the
ship who were well past middle age and whose children were grown,
to work with them, and see to their entertainment in the evenings
and on weekends. A few of the Irin slaves expressed interest in
working with them and several men and women were occasionally
allowed to help. They always had several people watching over
them, but the undisputed director of them was Uncle Gus's
daughter, Jennifer Daniels. She became the accepted Queen-Bee of
the hive and the children came to look upon her as their Earth
mother.
Jennifer took her job seriously, but never failed to show her
empathy or concern for every child. The children gave her the
official title of Mother Goose. Jennifer neither asked for the job
nor did Billy officially appoint her to the position. The children
decided that was the way it was going to be and there was no need
to consider anyone else. Their Mother Goose whom they later called
Auntie Gaia, would be just fine with them. Billy learned when to
allow somethings to develop naturally. Jennifer did the work out
of the goodness of her kind heart and because of her strong draw
of empathy for the children. She saw they had much in common with
her when she was growing up.
Her sisters were older than her, and they had very little in
common with their little sister. They were in a world of their
own. Jennifer was alone with her mentally confused mother and saw
no escape. In her new position, she was pleasantly shocked at the
end of the month when she was handed a pay-envelope containing a
sizable check for her work. She was told she was on the Daniels
payroll and would continue to be as long as she chose to work with
the children.
* * * * * * *
The rest of the military men and the other half of Master Billy's
cowboy-angel-warriors and their warrior-protectors along with a
goodly posse of the newer fallen-angels returned. They were busy
catching up with each other and telling of the wonders they
learned. At first everyone was talking across the table and
exchanging experiences and ideas until, after dessert, General
Boynton stood and knocked his fork several times against his large
glass of Texas Tea to get everyone's attention.
“We could sit here all evening exchanging experiences and each one
would be as interesting and timely as another, but we have little
time left to go over and consider every iota of information we
have gained. It has been brought to our attention our meeting
tomorrow morning with the President and his staff may well be the
turning point for the way our nation will be run. We've learned
many things about our 'Shadow Government' better known as the
'Cabal' or 'The Deep-State' who are the ones who have been pulling
all the strings on our world, and during the last couple of weeks
on Retikki Prime and Fort Adam Lear we have had the gruesome
information burned into our memories.
“We learned Deep State members are not elected. They are appointed
by the Cabal and are accountable to no one but their overlords –
the two percent. They profoundly influence virtually every
domestic and foreign matter of any consequence. The basic system
served by the Deep State is not the United States of America most
Americans believe they live in; the system it serves is Globalized
Capitalism, and they have done so without regard for any political
party who is nominally in control. Several Mega-corporations and
religious organizations have joined forces to take over our
government. They have become independent nations of their own and
can't be touched or regulated by government. They treat the people
of our nation like cattle for their banquet. Since they done away
with our constitution we have no checks and balances. Everything
is their way or the highway.
“As long as we buy their unhealthy products we remain their
slaves. I don't know how we're going to do it, but our nation, the
future of our world, and the preservation of our species is at
hand. They refuse to see the hand writing on the wall. We simply
can't continue producing unhealthy foods requiring more and more
fossil fuels which poisons and destroys the Eco-system of our
planet. Like an unstoppable cancer, Deep State has evolved over
numerous decades to become the antithesis of democracy. It has
become a coven of diabolical conspirators who strive to have less
and less government control over their actions brought on by greed
and disastrous business practices,” the General started his
delivery.
A hand went up. “Yes, Admiral Ben?” the General asked.
“What are the chances most of those unregulated positions are
being staffed by them nasty Lizard critters?” Admiral Ben asked.
“Let me put it this way, Old Friend, I'll be gob-smacked if we
find out they ain't,” General Heavy-Drop replied.
“Do we have enough of them dog whistles?” one of Admiral Art's men
asked.
“Major?” the General asked Bart Langstrom knowing, without a
doubt, his officer would have an answer.
“I called my favorite pet store worker, George, in Houston and
asked him to order as many as he could from the factory. George
told me they just received a batch from the company, and they sent
him way too many. He ordered twenty whistles but the clerk who
submitted the order clicked on twenty boxes instead. Each box
holds fifty whistles. I told him to hold them for me and asked him
to call the distributor and find out how many more they could let
him have? He said they could send five thousand, but it would wipe
out their inventory. I told George to have them sent directly to
him A.S.A.P and I paid for the whole caboodle with your Government
VISA card as your signed-on representative, General. We picked
them up right after our rumble with them Lizards. I tipped George
handsomely, and gave him five whistles – one for every family
member and told him to make sure he watches the Televised meeting
at the Pentagon on Friday for more information. I distributed a
handful to our children in our family group as we confiscated some
of theirs to pull off our last rumble. So, give or take, we got us
approximately fifty-five hun'nert of them LDT's, Lizard Death
Trumpets,” Major Langstrom reported.
“Fine report, Major!” the General exclaimed, “I like an officer
what thinks on his feet even if he got greedy and maxed-out
my credit card,” Royce Boynton added and laughed. He got a laugh
from the rest of the men.
Lieutenant Dirk Evant spoke up, “As much information as we got
pumped into our brains during our time on them other planets, us
lower ranks have been talking among ourselves and sharing with
Master Billy's Warriors and Watchers. Collectively, we done come
up with only one explanation why we needed such a crash course in
currents politics, about our new Theocratic Corporate government
including the Deep State and their many underhanded ways of
manipulating everything to their benefits with no thought for the
middle and lower classes. Is there a possibility we're being
educated and set up to make a military take over of our government
until we can get it straightened out and return it to a healthy
checks and balance democracy?” Lieutenant Dirk Evant asked and
several of the other men grumbled their support of his question.
“You can't say them folks don't know and understand what's going
on here on this small blue planet,” the General prefaced his
answer, and the room agreed with him, “Is there any man in this
room, including our Joint Chief's of Staff, what has any fear of
discussing the possibility?” he asked. Everyone looked around the
room but no one raised a hand or said a word. “I take your silence
as a unanimous, negative non-response. The General continued, “If
I'm correct, Admiral Art and his staff have decided to throw their
lot in with Master Billy and his family and work for them – which
can't be denied, is one of the major steps to shifting you men's
complete loyalty. It would be more difficult for the Pro-Tem
Chairman – that would be me – and my Joint Chief's of Staff to
announce such a change until the moment came to fish or cut bait,
but when and if the moment comes, I will not hesitate to announce
a take over of the government of our country. It's already been
done once before without satisfactory reason claiming the life
choking ideals of an uber-conservative government would solve all
of our nation's problems. Let's face it! Austerity sucks! I ask
you to seriously consider what we got. Do you men really believe
three huge pay cuts with one more large cut looming on the horizon
since they took control is solving your problems and those of the
middle class to say nothing of the poor and the blight of
poverty?” General Boynton asked loudly.
“Hell, no!” the Navy seal team answered in unison.
“But what are our chances we can get away with it, sir?” Admiral
Art asked.
“If it can be done once, and they got away with it, it can be done
again. It took them a number of decades after Truman and
Eisenhower who tried to warn the public of a secret Cabal. Along
with Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan, and the Smirking Chimp, they worked
hard to buy and steal their way into absolute power. They made a
huge mistake when they just took for granted the military would
back them and for the most part, they were right. Our takeover
won't be so subtle, but we will ride on the back of conspiracy. We
will bring serious charges of treason and plotting to destroy our
democracy in the name of Absolute Corporate Capitalism!” General
Boynton said firmly.
“Hear! Hear!” several of his Chief's of Staff
agreed.
The General continued, “I agree with the Lieutenant, we certainly
learned a lot on them two worlds we visited and one of the most
impressive presentations we were introduced to and sat through was
the staggering power we have at our disposal. Until now, we were
unaware of the maximum potential strength we have available for us
as we venture into this juncture in our lives, the lives of our
people, and our planet. I don't know about the rest of you men,
but I sat there flabbergasted like it was the first day of grade
school when we started to learn the alphabet and one plus one
equals two. While I was disappointed we didn't get to revisit and
read 'Dick and Jane' again, I managed to pull myself together to
pay attention and to learn the knowledge they were presenting us.
“The epiphany of understanding the combined potential power them
two Shedus possess has no equal on the rest of our planet. The
presentation was intellectually and understandably staggering, and
I would venture there is no greater power in our galaxy. Also the
intelligence, power, and compassion of Master Billy's fallen
angels available to us is equally impressive, to say nothing of
the capabilities of the McPhee Warriors which have offered their
assistance should we choose to rebel and need assistance. Their
capabilities are way beyond any other on Earth.
“The complete gathered power and talent we have available to us
has never been seen on our planet before. It is beyond ordinary
beliefs. Our fallen angels, whom we rescued from their prisons of
sleep, have graciously consented to join and help us in our plight
at this pivotal moment on our world. It is easy for us to reason
the original purpose for which our angel brothers were created was
exactly for such a situation we have looming before us today, but
somehow they got railroaded into serving some uncompromising
pseudo-deity who set himself up as the one and only god over our
primitive ancestors who were still living in the stone age. For
thousands of years, the human race has been living in the backwash
of that period. The time has come to weigh our country and the our
current life-choking not-voted- for government-regime in the
balance.
“The image and ideals of those gold-grubbing pseudo-gods who
robbed our planet of valuable minerals was transferred to
Corporate Religions and the wealthy priest classes, who encouraged
Corporate business to cooperate with them to bilk the lower,
uneducated classes to become their slaves like it was an
evolutionary progression of history. I think every human,
including our angel brothers listening to me understand it is
truly a monumental moment in our history. I can't help have a
nagging feeling in the back of my mind, you gathered platoons, and
our angels were ultimately meant to forcibly end the infamy of the
Deep State and its oleaginous minions.
“The outcome of tomorrow's meeting could quite possibly mean the
doom or salvation of our planet from uncontrolled corporate power
and insatiable greed. The conundrum is, even if they gain all the
power and wealth of our planet, they would neither have anything
to sell nor middle class to sell it to. They would have nothing to
claim but a dying planet. What must they be thinking? Are they
planning to kill off the growing percentage of humans inhabiting
our planet and live in invincible protected communities? Do
they have escape plans we know nothing about? We have heard rumors
they have secretly gained the knowledge and technology from
back-engineering captured alien craft since the end of the second
World War. It is said they spent vast sums of our tax dollars
without our knowledge or consent which went way beyond National
Defense. We still have no idea what some of them black ops
programs were about. Perhaps they plan to leave our dying planet
to go to another which they can ruin. At this point in our
history, I wouldn't put it past them.
“As early as 1993, according to a UCLA engineering alumnus, Ben
Rich, who happened to be the Director of Lockheed's Skunk Works
from 1975 to 1991, one of the most advanced and secretive aircraft
development organizations in the world, said 'We already have the
means and capability to travel among the stars, but these
technologies are locked up in black projects, and it would take an
act of God to ever get the Cabal to admit free energy to benefit
humanity. Anything you can imagine, we already know how to do. We
found the key to the science of space travel without taking a
lifetime to get there. There was a mistake in our original
equations. We discovered our mistake and corrected it. The answer
lies in ESP. We now have technology to take ET home. When he was
questioned further about how was it possible, Rich asked if the
scientist knew ESP?
The scientist replied, "All points in space and time are
connected?"
"That's how it works," Rich replied.
"The scientist asking the question assumed Rich was speaking of
Maxwell's equation. No one knows for sure,” the General said, then
continued, “I promise, if we come out of this venture on top, we
will demand full disclosure. It will be priority number one to
investigate all areas of black ops and we will not accept an
unexplored negative answer. Any and everything we discover will be
released to the public. The word 'classified' will not be
acceptable!” the General said and got a standing ovation from his
men. Their blood ran thick with vengeance which fed their hearts
and minds with a strong hunger for retribution.
“I think we've all noticed since the launching of the
International Space Station our space program has almost been
completely phased out, and it ain't because our country don't have
the money. Not trying to shoot myself and our military men in the
foot, but our nation's military budget continued to grow to
obscene proportion over the last decade. The Pentagon seems to
have misplaced trillions of dollars every year and no one
investigates. We hear rumors they only use the Space Station as a
tool to draw attention away from their black ops projects. On a
lighter note, it's such a shame to hear the poor dears are still
dependent on space craft. Us world-to-world galaxy-hopping Veteran
Space Buckaroos might very well look upon them as using
'covered-wagons' compared to traveling from galaxy to galaxy
through a gate with zero time lost without having to worry about
the perils and wasted time of space travel,” the General said and
got a few laughs from his audience.
“I don't know if I can offer any more information or last minute
strategy plans after sitting through two weeks of endless
meetings, lectures, sitting under vastly superior cloud systems –
which our men have fondly labeled 'mass-info dumps', including
non-too subtle attempts at character building – the last was like
taking coals to Newcastle. As a result I feel like a massive bull
dog what can't wait to bite one a them space invaders in the
butt,” the General said loudly, and everyone laughed.
“However, within the hour we will part, and I will gate to my
quarters in D.C. to be ready for tomorrow morning's meeting with
the leaders of our government. There are still some loose-ends I
must see to what might be crucial to our success should the bottom
fall out, and ninety percent of the time it does. Personally, I
hate loose ends. Don't you?” the General asked and laughed. He got
a few 'blue' responses from his audience and everyone laughed.
“Should a 'crappie diem' situation occur, I want to be able to
grab them ruthless roosters by the neck and choke 'em to death
before they gets a chance to crow or place it in a hammer-lock
'afore it bolts and runs for its life. I have made arrangements
for the meeting to be open to the public and have reserved a large
number of seats for members of the public and the Daniels family
in particular, including most of Master Billy's cowboy-angels. As
a smart-ass aside, I'll just bet you cowboys thought you were
gonna' sit to-home, knitting warm-woolen jock-straps, drinking
your cup a' Texas tea, watching the boob-tube while your strong,
courageous, exceptionally handsome, General Heavy-Drop saves the
world and slams them vile smell'n Lizards critters to the mat for
the final take-down?
“Well, think again, Buckaroos! We need your presence to insure
secure contact with our greatest allies – those with special gifts
from large to small. I understand a couple like Captain Lem have
outstanding gifts, but I want to be sure we have a massive, major
majority of gifted people to fill in any possible gaps we ain't
considered. Massive! Major! Majority! I like them three words.
They bring me a certain modicum of comfort and a deeper
feeling of security. We'll refer to them as our family's 3M
platoon,” the General said and laughed at his own joke. Several
groaned at his silly streak. When the General was on a roll, no
one was safe.
General Royce Boynton finally got serious with the men who would
play a major role the next morning at the Pentagon. “For a final
word, I'd like to say, I ain't never felt more sure or confident
about myself or the men who will follow me in this room. After
having lived for two weeks in the massive training experiences and
information dumps on two different planets, I feel like I bonded
with each and every man in Admiral Art's platoon and the warriors
and watchers of Master Billy's platoon. I would even go so far as
to say, without a doubt, any and all of our various other brothers
of cowboy-angels and watcher-protectors who made this journey with
us have shown their readiness to become a part of our family as
well.
“I will not entertain any thoughts of failure, but whatever the
outcome, we will stand firm as a family unit and will live our
lives accordingly. Rest well, Warriors, Watchers, Gentlemen,
Children, and our Ladies Auxiliary. We will see most of you
tomorrow morning in the Pentagon. Those who are working in the
background will be in our thoughts of gratitude. We wouldn't be
able to be going into this Lion's den, a smoldering pit of
iniquity, without your hard work and devotion to our family.
Hosanna!” the General raised his fist on his right arm and yelled.
“Hosanna, in the highest!” the men and several women stood and
returned his salute.
“Howsomever!” the General exclaimed, “No matter the outcome, I for
one, am looking forward to a long, relaxed, laid-back weekend with
my family. Come Hell or high water – ain't nothing gonna' keep me
from spending my off-duty time with the people and wonderful
critters I come to love and think on as my extended family here on
the Daniels Ranch,” General Royce Boynton said and he was
finished. He got another standing ovation.
* * * * * * *
Arrangements were made for the Daniels family to gate to a secure,
old, abandoned warehouse where they would be met by limos and
drove to the Pentagon as highly ranked public visitors. There was
some talk the General might call on Billy and his men to show
video clips of their experience with the aliens. Therefore, Billy
thought the public allowed to attend would probably be mostly
male, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Grandma Kate Daniels
and Dame Zelma Redbone made it quite clear, they would also be
attending the meeting in person in such an assured manner Billy
didn't dare argue the matter.
“Do you really think we'd let you men go without us, Son?” Kate
asked Billy and grinned wickedly, “Get a grip on reality, Cowboy!
Here's a news bulletin for you! My calendar says we ain't living
in the early days of the Twentieth Century even though most people
in Texas are still living in the nineteen-fifties. We have a
chance to witness history being made tomorrow which has the
earmarks of being so important we may never get a chance to see
the likes again – especially, at us mature ladies age. It just
might become the pivotal change which might re-set our world on a
better path. Mark my word, we wouldn't miss it for any amount of
money or male harassment about us fragile little ladies with weak
constitutions who are too easily frightened by the possibility of
coming face to face with an Alien Lizard. Listen up, Buckaroo! Us
'little ladies' have proved our strength many times, over and
over, and to use cowboy talk to make a strong point, you can
guaran-damn-tee the 'little ladies' of the Daniels family will be
there on the front row in equal proportion to you cowboys!” Kate
said firmly and everyone broke up laughing at the look on Billy's
face. The other women stood in support and applauded for Kate.
“You tell 'um, Tomboy! Your 'Precious' is so proud of you. If they
don't get the message it's only because they's too full of fresh
pasture-pies,” Zelma said, slammed her hand on the table and broke
up laughing.
“Does that mean some of us kids get to go, too, Ms. Kate?” Kayla
Rutherford asked before Billy got a chance to reply.
“Like every thing else you experience with this unique family
we're building, if your parents give their permission, I don't see
why not. If you can play with the orchestra, carry your part like
a pro and make beautiful music, in my opinion you have earned the
right to participate in your greater family's concerns. Besides,
to be blatantly honest with you, Young Lady, I'd feel one heck of
a lot safer if you and your younger brother were sitting in a seat
next to me or as near as we can arrange. We've seen you young'uns
bail-out them cock-sure cowboys more than once,” Kate said and got
a laugh out of the gathered crowd.
Billy was about to put the kibosh on both comments when he heard
the voice of his pa in his head. << Run away, Cowboy! Run
away! Don't make a stand! Some female species eat their young.
Trust me! Grandmothers can be lethal. How many times I done told
you to run away and let it be? >> Nick asked.
“Hear! Hear!” Tron Garrett agreed with Kate and Zelma.
“And a hear, hear, too!” exclaimed Randy in support.
“What them two cowboys said!” added Billy's Uncle Nathan.
Billy's mouth dropped open but nothing came out. He closed it and
shot a glance at his old man what would fry eggs on a flat surface
– then his demeanor suddenly changed to one of brightness and joy.
“Maybe grandma's got a good point, Little Brother. How many times
you checked me when I's about to step in a big-old fresh cow-pie
in similar situations?” Billy asked.
“Two more'n I got fingers and toes to count. Want me to recall 'em
for you?” Randy replied.
“Err, no, I'll take your word for it. You're right. I can
personally recall most of them. Since this is suppose to be open
to the general public, I take that to mean families, but I also
agree with my grandmother you must have your parent's approval,”
Billy said. Billy was playing a wild card. Ruth Rutherford
might put the kibosh on that idea real quick.
“Besides, you need us younger-set what ain't reached
poo-bear-tea,” Randy said.
“You can't throw-out a line like that without some backup,
Bossman,” Billy checked him.
“We become the eyes and ears for Madame Spartza and Sir Beauford.
They would never let anything happen to you or us!” Randy said as
a matter of fact. Randy shot Billy's legs out from under him.
Billy felt his pa tickle him again. << Run away, Kemosabe!
You ain't gonna' win this one, Buckaroo. You done been checked and
mated. You's dead in the water! The Bossman is right. Our minds
just might become so busy we ain't got room for a tickle from our
Lord and Lady Protectors, but them kids got new, fresh minds what
work faster than ours. As you know from sitting in the seat of one
a them Burma-shave-shuttle-buggies, a lost second could mean the
difference between success or failure, >> Nick sent.
<< Yikes, I hear what your saying, and it makes sense. I'll
gather my ducks in a row, do a quick shuffle-off-to-Buffalo, and
ease my way off stage, tipping my hat like the ever magnanimous
Magi. >> Billy returned.
Captain Nick let out a deep sigh like another crisis of a major
social faux pas was timely averted.
* * * * * * *
The final goodbyes with promises to see each other the next day
were done. The military brass, and the Seal Team left for their
individual facilities. The cowboy-angels and their
watcher-protectors who were helping the Seal Team guard the grays
and lizards returned to Captain Nick's ship. The rest of Admiral
Art's men were capable of fledging and the entire team could take
care of the prisoners without fear of being mentally manipulated.
The members of Admiral Art's platoon were once again together and
felt very much at home visiting with each other and renewing
friendships with their two beloved watcher mascots. They spent the
evening catching up with their brothers, exchanging new ideas they
learned, and generally comparing their experiences on the two
different worlds. They never felt more like family than they did
that evening. Their experiences on the other worlds brought them
new and wonderful perspectives about themselves with many
possibilities open to them. They no longer expressed doubts or
despair. They were looking beyond tomorrow into the possible new
world they would help create. Admiral Art, his men, his supporting
staff, and their two Watcher mascots set together and talked about
their possible prospects for a better future and seemed to have a
new vision for a better life.
* * * * * * *
Billy and his family were making plans about who would be gating
with them to the coordinates in D.C. to be picked up and driven to
the Pentagon. They just sat down for supper and were sitting
around the tables chatting with each other when Billy got a tickle
from his two male guard cattle at the front gate. << You
expecting a big green truck with our Highland Shire Corporation
Logo on the sides, Master Billy? >>
<< Yes, Son, that would be the Lovejoys and their crew. Let
them pass, >> Billy replied
<< Sorry we didn't have time to check them out. They came
trough an enormous gate just before they got to our front gate,
and we didn't have time to gather. They pulled into the gate and
started up the road. They're almost to the top of the hill, sir,
>> the lead bull sent.
<< No problem. Thanks for notifying us. We'll come out to
greet them, >> Billy returned his mental message.
Billy got up and announced to his family the Lovejoys arrived, and
he was going out to meet them. Anyone who wished to greet them
were welcome to come along with him. A large number of his family
members decided to go with him. Nick was by his side as they gated
out to the large compound. They showed the Lovejoys where to park
their big-rig. They parked it and got down from the cab. Cliff
opened the rear door to the small living compartment behind the
cab and the two giant men got down. The were not what Billy or the
rest of his family expected as Orks. They were about the same
size, but they were much more handsome than most Orks. While they
were incredibly well built, Billy thought they were better
looking. Nick was tuned into Billy's mental channel.
<< They's better looking because they probably ain't Orks,
Son, >> Nick sent.
<< What are they, Tonto? Have you ever run across their
kind? >> Billy sent his question.
<< I'm not totally sure, but my best guess is they just
might be Ogres. They're more like humans than Orks, and for the
most part more intelligent. I did run into several about a
thousand years ago when they were more plentiful, but their kind
slowly died out even though they lived much longer than the other
humanoid races. They were prized by many races as slaves because
they were strong and attractive but somewhat gullible and
child-like in their comprehension. They weren't dumb so much as
naive and trusting of bad people, which gave them a bad rap over
time for committing crimes against other races because their
owners ordered them. I can't remember seeing one in hundreds of
years. They are anatomically the same as humans except for the
lower canine teeth being slightly longer than the upper but no
tusks like the Orks, and they were mostly a hairless race;
however, as the men aged they grew facial hair. If I'm correct
they won't have a hair on their bodies – except for eyebrows and
eyelashes. They live much longer lives than any other primates,
>> Nick sent.
<< What are their characters like, Pa? >> Billy asked.
<< If they are treated well and respected, they form
damn-near the same emotional attachment to a good master as our
dogs are wont to do – and I say that as a compliment. They are
loving and faithful. Once a bond is made, they would give their
lives to protect those who are good to them, and they would never
betray you. Them big monster-men will work their asses off to
please and protect anyone if they are shown a modicum of
appreciation and respect. Their willingness to belong has often
been mistaken for naive childlike gullibility. You remember that
movie you and I watched about the Big Friendly Giant? >>
Nick asked.
<< Yeah, Pa. You said the giant reminded you of another
extremely rare race of giants. Was them giants what you was talk'n
about? >> Billy asked in reply.
<< E'aup, I'd bet ma' wings on it! >> Nick replied
firmly.
<< Not while you call me 'master' you won't, Tonto. I love
your wings, but thanks for the conformation, Pa. Now I'm sure why
them ancients sent you to me. If they didn't, I'd probably be
making a fool of myself right about now, >> Billy returned.
After the Lovejoys shook hands and exchanged big, manly hugs with
firm pats on the back along with a couple of stolen kisses with
Billy and Captain Nick, the men introduced their two passengers.
The two humanoids were huge at eight and nine feet tall. They were
as tall, and in a few cases taller, than their average Watcher.
Billy wondered about their size and thought they might be larger
than they appeared.
Nick heard his thought. << They're probably morphed to the
smallest size they can maintain comfortably for any length of time
and it's possible they have taken on a more handsome appearance.
You never know about shape-shifters until they know they can trust
you. You can't blame them for a strong need to protect themselves
from hunters and readers of cheap tabloid news papers. >>
Nick sent.
They were wearing old clothes which were nearly threadbare and
hung on them like they were two scarecrows in an abandoned
cornfield wearing worn out shoes with almost no heels. They looked
like two bums from the skid-row district in any major town. They
didn't smell very fresh either, and they hung back from
embarrassment and being shy about meeting the man whose life they
were secretly following and whom they had come to adore. For all
their talents, they intuitively arrived at the conclusion this was
a man, but not just any man – a man with great talents and even
greater empathy for his family and fellow men. They were convinced
Master Billy Daniels was a born leader to whom they wanted to give
their lives for what talents they might provide him and his
family. The two enormous men held great hope the powers they
possessed, which kept them alive for so many years on the planet,
would help Master Billy and they could finally find a community
who would appreciated them for their abilities.
“I am Gargantua, Master Billy, the father of my son, Pantagruel,”
the larger of the two stopped and put his hand on his son's back.
He and Pan bowed to Billy, “You may refer to us as Gar and Pan. It
is with great joy and humility we have finally found ourselves in
your presence, sir, to have the fortunate opportunity of meeting
such a remarkably handsome and talented young master. May I have
your permission to humble myself, pay homage to your handsome
boots, and give myself to you to become one of your many slaves,
Sire?” he asked.
“You have my permission to pay homage to my boots, but to become
my slave, you and your son must be interview by me and a posse of
cowboy-angels who will vote on you men whether we find you worthy
or not, but I will have the final say in the matter,” Billy
replied.
“As you wish, Master Billy. We understand, and we are readily
willing to comply with your traditions and your authority, Sire,
for the great honor of becoming part of your growing family,” Gar
said and fell to his knees.
Billy allowed each giant to complete the homage ritual and gave
each a brotherly kiss of welcome, but he didn't show too much
enthusiasm as he might with one of his beloved slaves or
cowboy-angels. He invited them to join him and his family, as they
were just beginning to have supper.
“Have you men eaten?” Billy asked.
“No, Master Billy, we were going to stop on the way after we
finished loading, but Gar and Pan suggested a quicker way to get
here. Like you men, they opened an enormous gate on a little
traveled back-road, and we managed to cut our trip from four hours
to one. It took us an hour to find a secluded spot. If we didn't
have Gar and Pan with us we would still be there loading. We
showed the men at the loading dock our skip-loader licenses and
the company was kind enough to loan us a couple. Dad and I would
no sooner pick up a pallet, set them on the back, and by the time
we returned with two more loads, Gar and Pan would have moved and
stacked them big bags to the front of the truck. It only took us
about an hour to pack the whole load and strap everything down
tight. We never loaded a truck that fast before,” Clifford said.
“I'm glad they came to you men's rescue and helped you load your
truck. You can unload tomorrow. You'll have lots of help. Come
with us, well take you to your apartment. You can clean up, and
then come down to the dining hall. I'll have the cooks save you
some good Cajun food. We will send our two halfling grooms to help
Gar and Pan, and we'll bring them some new clothes. Give their old
clothes and shoes to my grooms, and they will dispose of them. I
hope you men don't mind dressing Western. You'll probably find it
more easy to blend-in with my other cowboy-slaves,” Billy said and
grinned.
“It would be an honor, sir,” Gar replied.
“That sounds great, Master Billy. We've been through a lot today
and we apologize for our overly ripe smell. It is the smell of
fear, blood, sweat, tears, and death. We'll certainly take you up
on your kind offer to rid ourselves of the stench, sir,” Claude
replied for them.
Billy and his posse took them into the barn and gated to the
dungeon on Captain Nick's ship. He called for his two halfling
grooms and Buck and Hank to assist the men. Billy promised he
would have the cooks set aside a goodly portion of food for them
when they came back to join them. They took over from Master
Billy, Mace opened a gate to the third story in the castle and
ushered the big men and giants through. They were standing before
the door of the apartment where Claude and Clifford stayed before.
Picard opened the door for the men, and they walked through. The
truck drivers stayed slightly behind to observe Gar and Pan's
reaction to the apartment.
They were stunned – speechless. They looked around in awe. “This
is your apartment on the Daniels Ranch Master Lovejoy?” Gar asked
quietly.
“Yes, and that door over there in the corner will be you and your
Son's room. It has it's own bathroom,” Clifford replied.
“Our own room?” Pan asked like a little boy who just couldn't
believe his good fortune.
“E'aup, you're own room,” Hank replied, “Now lets get busy and get
you men cleaned up, and we'll bring you some new clothes. You
giants strip our here. Me and my mate need to see you in the raw
to cogitate the size clothes and boots you wear. Are you men at
your maximum morph or do you need to spend some time in your full
morph?” Hank asked.
“No, sir, our standard height is just under fifteen feet for me
and about fourteen feet for my boy, sir; however we're used to
morphing ourselves to our present size so's not to frighten
anyone, and we can maintain it for long periods of time. We do
need to sleep stretched-out to our complete size several times a
week for health reasons,” Gar explained.
“Then you shouldn't have much problem here. We're almost sure this
old castle was built for giants just about your size. You may
sleep every night at your complete height. You do realize Master
Billy will have you strip naked and morph to your natural size and
appearance for him and his men,” Hank said.
“We expected as much. We will have no problem with his request,”
Pan replied.
“Mace, Picard, you men get us two large garbage bags from the
laundry room," Hank ordered the halflings then turned his
attention to their new guests, "When you men strip, just put your
old clothes in them two bags. You won't need them anymore. Picard,
them giants is kinda big. You men might wanna' morph into your two
favorite slaves to help them in the showers,” Hank said, “I know
me and my old man get an extra added kick when you groom us in
their form,” he added and grinned.
“Thanks, Daddy Hank, that's a good idea,” Picard replied, and they
threw off their clothing to stand naked before the men and
instantly morphed into Earl Hickson and Harley-Buck Johnson –
complete, with their magnificent horns.
Claude and Clifford laughed at the two giants. Their eyes almost
popped out of their heads. “They're magnificent!” Pan said.
“And we thought we were the only ones on this planet who can
morph. That's why Master Claude and Cliff weren't afraid when we
morphed to protect them at the gas company. They already seen it
done. How many in Master Billy's family can morph?” Gar asked.
“Just about everybody, except our kids under puberty,” Buck
replied.
“Ain't you men underage?” Pan asked.
“No, they's mature halflings. They're as big and tall as they's
gonna' get, but it don't stop them from being mighty warriors.
Don't let their smaller size fool you none. They got hearts like a
lion, and the cunning of a Badger,” Buck assured them.
The two morphed halflings returned and held a large plastic bag
for the giants to drop their clothes into while Hank was barking
off measurements, and Buck was entering the info into an I-pad
file he labeled 'Giant's Measurements.' Claude and Clifford didn't
need any clothes. They carried their canvas sea-bags with them on
their final run to Houston. Billy provided them with several
changes of clothes with a couple of pair of new boots before they
left. They said their goodbyes and went off to their bedrooms.
Buck and Hank departed. By the time Mace and Picard assisted Gar
and Pan in the shower, they returned with one complete change of
clothes and left them on the two enormous beds in the giants
quarters. They left a note they would take them to their clothing
emporium after supper and issue them several more of everything
including another pair of boots.
Gar and Pan seemed to have a dark cloud over them most of the
time, but they didn't after Mace and Picard worked them over. The
giants had no problem with the two halflings morphed as Earl and
Harley-Buck and almost couldn't keep their hands off of them. The
young grooms laughed, joked with the huge humanoids, and
encouraged them. Mace and Picard were highly developed
personalities and made anyone they groomed feel like kings. The
giants thought their grooms were wonderful, and they looked
stunning when Mace and Picard finally got them dressed.
It didn't take Claude and Clifford as long as it did for Mace and
Picard to turn out the two giants, but they waited patiently for
them to go down the stairs as a family – as Claude put it and got
a wicked grin from Cliff. “We wouldn't be alive right now if'n it
weren't from them two giants, Son. Ain't no doubt in my mind, them
son's of bitches at the Gas Company were gonna' kill us for sure,”
Claude said quietly, almost in a guilty moment of a reverent
confession.
“You know the Code of the West and the Cowboy Way as well as I do,
Dad. You done raised me up to believe in it and taught me to live
my life accordingly. I ain't never entertained the ideas of any
religion as being better than what you taught me. In fact, the
bits and pieces of religion I pick up from various people what
claim to be true believers seem to contradict and confuse what
someone else believes. Do you think we should give ourselves to
them giants as their slaves because they saved our lives?” Cliff
asked.
“I've thought about it, but somehow, I don't think it's what
they's looking for – h'it ain't what they want from us. I think
they done got themselves a greater method for their personal
madness to be in the right place at the right time. Bless them
Ancients, I'd swear on the name of one of them unknown gods, Gar
and Pan planned to be at the truck stop where we met them. It was
too much of a coincident they were there at the right moment
hoping for the opportunity to join us so's we would bring them to
Master Billy. I think their motive and the consequence of bringing
them to meet the man they most want to serve might cancel our
responsibility. Who knows, in a convoluted way, we just might be
saving their lives by helping them become slaves to Master Billy.
They certainly would fit in here and be protected to live a more
normal life. I can't help feel like this is the best place for
them, and they just might come in handy working with us as a
team,” Claude said.
“What about us, Dad?” Clifford asked.
“What about us? You given much thought about us giving ourselves
to Master Billy, Son?” Claude asked.
“He did more than just save our lives, Pa. He completely
refurbished our old tractor and the gas trailer, filled it with
gas, offered us a steady, healthier, more lucrative job and a
stable home-base to become a part of his wonderful, but different
kind of family. I ain't got me no problem with it, if it's what
you think we should do, but since I've expressed my opinion and
feelings, I'll leave the final decision to you,” Cliff replied.
“You have that much faith in me, Son?” Claude asked his boy.
“Of course, but to be honest, there were a few times when I didn't
feel comfortable with your decisions; however, I neither spoke-up
nor tried to change your mind. You've always been my dad, but once
I decided to accept you as my Bossman and 'Bull' of our family, I
done always give you the benefit of any doubts. Nevertheless, I
tried to be as supportive as you might hope. Your decision to work
for Texas Gas was one I wasn't comfortable with from the get-go,
but I never expressed my opinion. To my relief, there ain't no
doubt in my mind you finally saw the handwriting on the wall and
decided to bail-out after them two big monsters stepped in to
protect our butts and wiped-out them criminals. Sweet Jessie, I
don't never want to be on the wrong end of them brute's wrath.
“From the very beginning when we signed-on with them money
grubbing Gas bastards, I watched you grimace and grind your teeth
from their outrageous rules and unnecessarily harsh penalties what
came with the job. I think it was an eye-opening experience for
bow'fus what almost cost us our lives – twice! On the other hand,
in a rather convoluted way, I feel like I watched my old man
grow-up and mature within the past several days. I can only hope
you learned a lesson, but I'm pretty confident you did. On the
up-side, you never have to worry about forgetting. I will
faithfully remain by your side to dutifully remind you,” Clifford
said, grinned wickedly, winked at his dad, then continued, “I
certainly have faith in you to do the right thing now. You got us
on the right track. I couldn't be more comfortable with you and
our lives than I have been since you finally decided to accept
Master Billy's offer,” Clifford said.
“What did I ever do to deserve you, Boy?” Claude said with tears
in his eyes as he gave his son a big hug and bussed a kiss behind
his ear. They stood holding each other for sometime until the
giants and their grooms walked into the room, stopped, and stood
respectively watching the men quietly. They were sensitive enough
to realize it was a powerful – almost sacred moment between Claude
and his son.
“My god in heaven!” Claude said, “Turn around, Son, and look at
the miracle transformation them two young grooms have achieved,”
Claude said in awe. Clifford turned, and he was as impressed from
the sight of the two giants as his dad. They were stunningly
handsome and standing tall – they were no longer stooped over in
an attempt to draw less attention to their height.
“Congratulations, Gentlemen, you look wonderful!” Clifford said
firmly, “Mace and Picard, you men have damn-near accomplished a
miracle. I certainly hope me and my dad may call upon you
gentle-men's services very soon for an overhaul on our tired old
rusty bodies,” Cliff said.
“Well done, indeed!” Claude agreed with his son.
Mace spoke for him and his partner. He reassured Claude and Cliff
they only had to ask. “We have other duties on our ship, but
grooming is our main task,” he said as Picard opened a gate to the
dungeon so they wouldn't have to spend the time walking down the
stairs. They smiled and laughed at each other while grooming the
two giants because the huge men's guts were growling like two big
cats in heat. They figured the sooner they got some good food in
them, they better they would feel. It was only a brief walk from
the dungeon to the great dining hall on Captain Nick's ship.
“Hoe-lee Rack-my-nee-noff!” Growled Bossman Randy like he just
experienced a sacred holy vision as he caught sight of the two
giants standing in the doorway to the dining hall. The rest of his
posse laughed to support their brother.
“Easy Silver! Steady, big fellow!” Billy bellowed like he was the
Lone Ranger pulling-up and reining his favorite stallion, “And
that Roo-skie's name was Rack-man-enough,” he added re-butchering
the composer's name.
“You c'ain't never tell about them Roo-kies. They's shifty,” Randy
returned and got another laugh from his
posse.
“Come in, Gentlemen, and sit down. We reserved seats across from
us so we could talk while we eat,” Billy welcomed the six men and
motioned to the six place settings across from him, “That includes
you, Mace and Picard. We rarely get to share a meal with you
gentlemen due to our conflicting schedules. Sit down and we'll
have the kitchen staff bring your food,” Billy urged like a good
host.
Gargantua and Pantagruel were impressed by several of the other
giants at the table and the Watchers who were sitting on high
stools next to a sturdy shelf which ran down either side of the
the great hall close to the walls. Billy saw their look of
curiosity at the huge Watchers who seemed to be eating from
lightweight stainless-steel bowls with large wooden spoons or
using their hands to eat. “If you're wondering about our
Watcher-Protectors and Warriors sitting and eating around the
periphery of our great dining hall, it's their choice. Most of the
time they prefer slave chow and nutrient biscuits. It wasn't made
specifically for their intake. It was originally made for human
slaves; however, it seems to suit them and their nutrition
requirements perfectly. It will make a fat Watcher lean and fill
out a lean one to his maximum potential. It also happens to be
quite tasty. Many of our men, including me and Captain Nick, often
eat slave chow and a nutrient biscuit for our noon meal –
especially when we're busy and don't want to take a lot of time
away from some must-do project we're racing to finish. Our
Watchers and giants are welcome to join us around the table, and
sometime they do when our cooks prepare something they
particularly like,” Billy explained.
The giants ate the food set before them, but they didn't say much.
Billy wondered but didn't press the matter until they finished.
“Are you men still hungry? We anticipated your coming with
Clifford and Claude. We have plenty more food and the portion set
before you was what an average human might eat. If you're not
sated we will neither be surprised nor angry if you require more
food for your sustenance. Look around you, and you will see
several or our family are still eating and will continue for a
while. You only have to ask,” Billy said as sincerely as he could.
“Could we try some of the chow your Watchers and several of your
larger protectors are eating, Sire?” Gargantua asked.
“Of course, but didn't you men get a chance to eat before you
loaded the truck in Houston?” Billy asked.
“No, Master Billy. We offered to feed them while we were underway,
but since we decided to 'gate' back to the Hill Country they
decided they would wait,” Cliff spoke up on the giant's behalf.
“You pour things! Of course you're still hungry. You're welcome to
either, but you certainly may try our slave chow with a couple of
extra-added nutritional biscuits. Mace! Picard! Are you finished
with your meals?” Billy asked his grooms.
“Yes, sir, Master Billy. We'll clear their places and bring them
some chow and a couple of biscuits,” Picard replied.
“Good, I would appreciate it, and tell them cooks to give you men
an extra sweet-treat to share for your trouble. Tell them it's
Master Billy's portion of dessert he can't have because he's been
a bad boy,” Billy said, smiled, winked at Bonnie, and got a laugh
from the junior members and his regular posse. Bonnie returned
Billy's smile, and continued eating her delicious dessert.
* * * * * * *
There was no doubt in anyone's mind, the two giants were enjoying
their second portion of food considerably more than what they were
previously served. Conversation was light around the table as
Billy and his family were subconsciously contemplating the
possibilities of the impending day they would experience on the
morrow. While they tried to remain in good spirits, the reality
hung over them like a dark cloud of apprehension for the unknown;
however, they managed to maintain a modicum of joy and humor
watching Gargantua and Pantagruel enjoy their meal. The giants
were politely and effortlessly insinuating themselves into the
greater Daniels family and felt more comfortable than they had in
years. While they were quiet and reserved, they seemed to wallow
in the comfortable probability, they not only found a group of men
who were neither intolerant nor intimidated by their physical
size. The giants were developing a substantial feeling of having
found a safe harbor with Claude, Clifford, and the Daniels family
in general. After the giants ate the final bits of their second
serving, the women and underage children left the dinning area,
Billy stood and made an announcement for the rest of his men and
younger boys.
“An hour after supper, the male members of our regular family, who
wish to soak for a while in the tubs in the dungeon area, are
welcome to join us. I don't think anyone here at the table will be
surprised when I tell you, at that time, we will call upon our new
larger-than-average guests to show us their original form and
size. Let me add, we are also quite proud to have our younger
brother, Jack Rigby, join us for his first time as a complete male
cowboy,” Billy said, smiled at Jack, and motioned for him to
stand. The rest applauded for the young cowboy as he bowed and
blushed at the same time. “Curfew for our pooh-bear-tea-warriors
will still be observed...” several groans went up, “…. but since
tonight is a special evening, I have agreed to extend their time
for another half-hour rather than their usual nine p.m.
departure,” Billy said. There went up a cheer from the younger
men, then Billy continued, “… so you aging, dirty old men will be
expected to moan and groan, bite your forked-tongues, and mumble
while swallowing your urge to talk about insatiable dark
deeds, and you must promise to refrain from speaking about the
dirty-bits until the younger set will be escorted to their beds,”
Billy said and giggled. Everyone laughed at his nonsense. The
older men grumbled and stomped their feet as they feigned
irritation and indignation.
“I can promise you he won't get no better, Miss Bonnie. You should
have pushed for two weeks without dessert,” Grover said as he took
the last bite of his black berry cobbler with a scoop of Blue Bell
Vanilla Bean ice cream melting among the warm tart and got a big
laugh from everyone.
* * * * * * *
The man gathered in the dungeon. It was the largest, single
gathering of the Daniels family and many guests from the
peripheries. No one made any discernible difference. There was
little conversation about it, but there was not a man nor a young
boy who didn't consider themselves a part of a unique family
gathered to relax for a couple of hours and enjoy each others
company. Bubba asked Orville if he wished to join his two
horned-brothers for a while. Billy thought the three horned
punishment slaves, along with a rather considerable retinue of
other rare giants, to say nothing of several larger men who
comfortably morphed to Kagoli demons for relaxation might make a
strong statement. Billy thought such a melange of super masculine
flesh would surely impress the new giants.
Most of the men were already there when Claude and Clifford led
the giants into the huge hot bath area. Gargantua held Mace, and
Pantagruel was holding Picard. They were so taken with the young
grooms they didn't want to let go of them. The giants insisted
they carry the two handsome young grooms least they stumbled and
hurt themselves. The halflings were wallowing in their genuine
attention. They were laughing and joking with each other as they
came into the dungeon and stood in awe looking at the strange and
unusual gathering of various other males of several different
species. The two giants stood like they were dumbfounded and moved
their free arms to surround their halfling brothers and hold them
closer to their bodies like they would protect them with their
lives should one of the strange critters might lunge for them.
There was a moment of pregnant silence, then everyone started
laughing at the giants reaction and were touched they fully
intended to protect their new little brothers – which, to them and
their size, included Claude and Clifford.
“Welcome, Gentlemen! Relax! There is no one here who would do you
or your little brothers harm. We decided to introduce ourselves to
you in one large gathering rather than one by one. While there is
a handful of our family who would not be comfortable in the heat
and humidity of our bath area, they will be introduced to you
later. After this evening, when you have had time to consider a
life among us, you will soon began to become use to the variety
and the greater positive nuances of each species we have gathered
here this evening. They have come to meet you and learn about your
race. We have little to go on, so as soon as you find places
around the pool where you feel comfortable, we will begin and you
may introduce yourselves to us while morphed into your full
original selves.
The giants carefully set their little brothers down and left them
in the care of Claude and Clifford. They took a stand in the
middle of the large, steaming pool facing Master Billy and his
main posse. They slowly began to morph and grew larger until
Gargantua was approximately fifteen feet and Pantagruel was a bit
shorter at twelve feet. Their corresponding bodies grew larger to
massive muscular proportions, and their faces morphed to look like
two Ork warriors whom the younger, computer game playing set of
young humans recognized immediately. The huge monsters were fully
fledged Orks. They were as fearsome as they were awesome to
behold. There were a number of gasps which went around the room,
but several cheers and jubilant sounds came from the boys who were
faithful followers of the WarCraft games.
“So much for my Ogre theory,” Nick whispered, in a tone of
self-depreciation with disappointment and a soupçon of disgust.
He made Billy laugh, “I don't think so, Tonto. I think you might
have nailed it, even if it was only fifty percent. My money is on
Ogre/Ork hybrids. At this point – like all the rest of our growing
family what's been dropped in our laps – I'll wager they's the
last of their race, and they been sent to us for a reason and
purpose. We's only the fertile soil for them to metaphorically
cast their seed to work and grow into a new, more healthy, and
considerate society for all,” Billy replied.
“May any deity listening forgive my sworn oath, they are the
perfect images of Garrosh and Grommash Hellscream Orgrimmar in the
WarCraft games,” Billy Don Blankenship said in awe and the other
young men gathered agreed with him. The enormous creatures sported
massive muscles which made them look like power-packed Ork
warriors. They were the very image of the most magnificently
fearsome but sexually stimulatingly appealing male humanoids any
of the others ever experienced. They looked like endless mountain
ranges of massive muscles. Their appearance went way beyond the
casual flex and chatter gym participant.
“Good for you, Young Human!” Gar said and smiled, “We worked hard
to insinuate ourselves and our physical appearance into the
creative minds of artists and computer geniuses to cause a
generation of interactive game players who would become accustom
to our original forms, so when the time came, we could show
ourselves to those whom we might choose to reveal ourselves, in
hopes, they will neither be frightened nor find us too horribly
disgusting to look upon,” the giant Ork said, “We have kept our
real selves secret for centuries awaiting the coming of the
Messiah,” he added which caused a great silence to come over the
men in the dungeon. It became obvious, most thought of themselves
members of the Daniels family but never considered their young
stalwart Ramrod just might be the great leader who quite possibly
could return the Earth to the garden it once was just east of
E-dan.
Leave it to the younger cowboys to quickly set the seriousness of
the moment aside. “Well – all I gotta' say is, your clever plan
certainly worked – at least with my generation. Holy Crap!”
Dermont, the oldest Ondine son exclaimed,“Does this look like I
find you great beasts disgusting?” he asked and stood in the water
to show his roaring erection to the men gathered. One by one,
several other of young men and a goodly number of the older men
stood to confirm their brother's comment. It was a strong,
standing ovation – almost a total short-arm salute. T'weren't a
limp one among them. A strong, handsome bull's pheromones will do
that to a cowboy. The giants seemed to be deeply touched and
sincerely moved by such strong statements of approval.
“Remarkable!” said Billy, which was followed by several 'Hear,
hears,' and a couple of 'Hosannas!' “You men find a comfortable
spot and tell us your story,” he urged.
The giants sat on the bottom of the pool at a comfortable depth
which raised the water level considerably but not uncomfortably.
They opened their massive arms to their young grooms and they
continued to hold and pet them as Gargantua told his and his son's
story. Mace and Picard were the envy of every young man around the
pool, including their master.
“My story and that of my son is a long tale in comparison to the
average human's life. I hope my comment doesn't sound
braggadocios. I only mean we are more like your Watchers who can
live for hundreds of years. I'll leave the 'whys' and 'wherefores'
to genetic scientist and species historians. Me and my son are
fully prepared to sit under a Cloud Chamber of Captain Nick's
teacher and intelligence-gatherer whom you call 'Seth.' We would
be pleased to leave a recorded story of a more complete history of
our pasts and progress over the centuries which you may peruse
when you have more time and things are neither so foreboding nor
hectic. So, by your leave, Sire, this evening, as you have
requested, we will only give you a brief picture of our journey. I
will speak of the high points and leave the rest for questions you
might have,” Gar started.
“Sounds like a solid plan to me, sir. Tell us your tale,” Billy
said calmly and urged the giant to continue.
“Since the day I was born on a large planet in the Sombrero
Galaxy, I was a slave. I was born to a warrior and his mate, and
as large as my family and our tribesmen were, we were all slaves
to a smaller but more powerful race of beings. The aliens who
invaded our planet happened to be reptilian and were learning to
use a less intelligent race of insects to do their bidding and
their dirty work. By 'learning-to-use' another race who thought
like a hive might, the reptiles seemed to have endless problems
with them, and they were in constant turmoil with them. A few
among the three other races they enslaved were slowly learning to
use that information as a wedge against our masters.
“When I was a young boy, I was separated from my family and sent
by our Draco masters to be taught how to become a builder-slave on
a crew of over three hundred warrior-slaves of all races, ages,
height, and strength. Most were fully grown and were impressively
masculine monsters who were the backbone and power for the
'masters' building crew. They were very cruel to their slaves and
their sloppy reasoning was to throw the young ones in with the
huge hardcore builder slaves. You either learned quickly or you
perished from overwork with too little food or from a dangerous
construction job they wanted finished faster than was safe. I
watched half the young Orks and a few Ogres the first month I was
working. Fortunately, I caught the eye of the largest Ork Warrior
builder and from the first time I brought him water on the job he
looked out for me, protected me, and made sure I had enough to
eat. He would even share part of his food to make sure I grew
strong quickly. You can fill in the blanks for my part and
contribution I was expected to do for my surrogate dad without too
much effort. It is enough to say, he never hurt me not expected
too much. I later found out his four sons were taken from him, and
he was only trying to do for me and one other young Ork, what he
hoped another warrior might be doing for his boys to see they
survived,” Gargantua began his story.
“What time period are we talking about, sir?” Billy asked.
“Many years before the common era, Master Billy. Well before the
disaster of Atlantis and the great flood recorded in the story of
Gilgamesh, Master Billy. My masters were known as Olmecs but they
called themselves the 'Xi' people. They were enormous people, even
larger than myself,” the giant Ork replied.
“Then do you hold within the memory of your life-files a first
hand knowledge which might solidify the difference between myths
and the truth?” Billy asked in awe. Everyone else in the pool were
suddenly stunned at the prospects of having someone among them who
actually lived during the reign of the false alien deities well
before the old testament of the bible. Gar's knowledge would
contribute greatly to the confusions of religions and true
descendants of the early kings and rulers of the old world as well
as those of the new.
“Yes, sir, I have that information available, but it will take
several sessions with your synthetic intelligence to explain it
all,” Gar said.
“There is no rush, but please tell us how you managed to survive
and how your son came to be,” Billy requested.
“Olmecs or Xi people were a blood thirsty lot and were forcing the
natives who were little more than intelligent apes at the time to
play games to the death and the bloodier the better. If one of
their people needed a new heart, using obsidian knives, they would
rip one from the chest of one of the strong native men and
transplant it into one of their kind. Then they would throw the
body from the sacrificial pyramid as a token of their superiority
and power. Another race of feathered-serpent beings who came from
the stars were watching their evolution and found the Xi unworthy.
They came to Earth and destroyed them all. They left governing
crews who taught the intelligent ape like creatures how to plant
corn and feed their people. They no longer had to survive by being
hunter-gatherers.
“Unfortunately, when the feathered gods left, the proto-humans
reverted back to the ways of their old masters, the Xi people, and
without continuing supervision became as blood thirsty as their
previous masters. It was during that time I managed to escape
their attention. I quickly learned their language and ways and
heard talk of another, more civilized group of people living on
another portion of the planet. I morphed to look like one them and
hitched a ride to the other continent and began to live among the
early people of Europe and Asia.
“Early, in the twelfth century, I heard a story there was a huge
woman who was found in the back country of Russia and was bought
by one of the kings of Italy to work in his castle as a chamber
maid. Her name was Brexanna, but everyone called her Bree. She was
not a pretty woman but one might look upon her as a handsome woman
for her enormous size. The King was impressed with her because she
seemed highly intelligent, and despite her size, Bree was
thoughtful and considerate of those smaller than herself. She was
good hearted, sensitive, humble, and never used her formidable
size to intimidate anyone. The King's children loved her. She
understood her place in the society of the time and worked hard to
please; otherwise, she might have starved to death.
“It was also necessary for her master to be a wealthy man to take
her on as a servant and keep her healthy. The King certainly
possessed the wherewithal to make sure she was fed well and taken
care of properly. While food for the slaves was not the greatest,
nevertheless it supplied the nutrients necessary for existence.
Many were not so lucky and starved to death. In those days there
was no such thing as welfare or social security. Still, by
comparison, the people of the other half of the world were
learning to become more socially conscious,” Gargantua said and
stalled for a minute to see if Master Billy might have a question.
The giant Ork continued, “I was already in the service of the King
as one of his larger warriors. Over the many years of living by
myself and off the land, I ran across a number of Watchers who I
would bond with for a while, and they taught me how to morph more
readily. I learned to change my shape to any critter whose blood I
tasted. I was working for the King in the form of a Mennonite
giant warrior. I fell in love with Bree the first time I saw her.
I watched the way she looked at me and I knew she was as equally
interested in me. Our courtship took a while, but true love can
not be denied. I thought if I revealed my real self to her she
might not want me, but in all consciousness, I couldn't force my
beast on her without her full knowledge and consent. One night
before we decided to copulate, I told her about myself, and I
could morph into a great Ork beast. Bree urged me to morph. She
wanted to see me in my original state, and I obliged her. As I
fully morphed into my Ork warrior persona, I thought she might run
away screaming, but she didn't. She simply looked into my eyes and
smiled; then, she morphed into a fine looking lady Ork. It became
our secret and no one ever knew.
The King allowed us to marry, and we lived in the servants
quarters of the castle. The next spring she gave birth to my son,
Pantagruel, but he was much larger than we considered and Bree was
too frightened to morph into her original size. It weakened her
considerably. As a result, Bree contacted the plague and died
within a fortnight. She only lived long enough to see her son take
his first steps. Everyone was coming down with the disease, and I
knew if I didn't take my boy from the city into the wilds, we
would probably catch it and die. We left the service of the King –
surprisingly with his blessing, and began to stay ahead of the
spread of the disease. Whenever we heard people were dying in an
area, we would go deeper into the forests, and we learned to live
with the wild Watchers. They taught us to eat raw wild garlic and
rub it onto our bodies to keep the small insects the rats carried
from biting us. They took pity on a number of the Monks in
secluded monasteries and taught them how to eat garlic and ward
off the dangerous little blood suckers. Of course they claimed it
was a miracle from God,” Gargantua explained.
Gargantua stopped for a brief while to let the deep feelings from
his loss of his mate dwell among his audience for a few minutes.
“And no matter the linage or blood lines of an Ork, a mature Ork
male who has bonded and known an Ork female who agreed to cohabit
and birth a bairn together, will never mate with another female
Ork unless the race is imminently endangered of extinction,” said
the giant 'Blue' sitting next to his brother.
<< Well, there goes my suspicious feelings of Orks being
two-faced, ruthless, and unable to pledge themselves to anyone,
>> Billy sent a mental message to his surrogate Pa, but as
usual, he forgot to make it a person-to-person call and the
party-line around the pool of dark, hot water who just happened to
be tuned into his frequency, tried their best to stifle a laugh.
Even Pan heard his message and grinned. It was obvious Billy's
admission was nothing new to the two giant Orks. They got that
kind of reaction from many different races over the eons during
their time on Earth. Fortunately, they developed healthy senses of
humor which went a long way to make clear between them, it was a
false prejudicial idea caused by their imposingly enormous
statures and fearsome faces.
“Well, all I can add is, if Gar decides to love me to death and
eats me for an evening snack, I have to insist he must agree to
pick his big teeth and sharpen his handsome tusks with my bones,”
Randy said bravely and everyone around the pool who was tuned in
laughed. Several agreed there had to be something near to
sadomasochism in his comment – or was that soda-mechanism? In
Randy's young but fertile mind, either was close enough.
“That would be difficult for a vegetarian giant who has never
tasted the meat of another animal,” Captain Bart Langstrom added
out loud.
“How do you know that, Brother?” Billy asked aloud, knowing full
well he was getting in over his head. He knew better than to
challenge his highly intelligent, strong, left arm.
Bart continued, “To use a bad metaphor, I boned up on what
historical myths Seth has stored within him and Gargantua's story
is in perfect sync with Seth's Historical Chronicles of Gaia, who
was a member of the Greek Protogenoia and a Primordial Deity of
Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life: the primal Mother
Earth goddess. She is the immediate parent of Uranus (the sky
god), from whose sexual union she bore the Titans – themselves
parents of many of the Olympian gods, Giants, and Pontus (of the
sea), from whose union she bore the primordial sea gods. Gaia was
a busy lady. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra,” Bart
explained, “According to Greek mythology, Gar and Pan have
impeccable breeding blood lines,” he added.
"Hesiod's Theogony” tells how, after Chaos, "wide-bosomed" Gaia (
representing Earth) arose to be the everlasting seat of the
immortals who possess Olympus above, and the depths of Tartarus
below (as some scholars interpret it). He carefully explains Gaia
brought forth her equal, Uranus, as her mate. Uranus, who is
identified as Sky and Heaven beyond. His job was to cover her on
every side to create the abode of the gods. Gaia also bore the
child of the hill countries (Ourea), and the child of the Seas
(Pontus): "...without a sweet union of love, Gaia brought forth
the three children, sans sex. (i.e., virgin birth with no father.
Sound familiar?).
“Afterwards, following a romp in the hay with her son Uranus, Gaia
gave birth to the Titans, as Hesiod tells it: According to Hesiod,
Gaia conceived further offspring with Uranus. First the giant
one-eyed Cyclopes (Ugly and not too bright): Brontes ("Thunder"),
Steropes ("Lightning"), and Arges ("Brightness of Brilliance or
the Light of Genius"); then the Hecatonchires: Cottus, Briareos
and Gyges, each with a hundred arms and fifty heads. (Neither too
organized nor physically agile but tons of fun to watch as half
want to go one way and the other half insist on going in the
opposite direction. Back row Bettys who never made it to the front
line of the chorus. Imagine Keystone Cops revisited or a metaphor
for a Rebiblican caucus vote? Take your pick. It's an equal
opportunity metaphor.)
“As each of the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires were born, Uranus hid
them in a secret place within Gaia, causing her great pain. He
pissed-off his own mother, but Gaia devised a plan. One should
always remember, it's not nice to fuck with Mother Nature. She has
a wicked sense of humor. Gaia created a gray flint (or adamantine)
sickle, and Cronus used the sharpened tool to castrate his father,
his own dad, Uranus, as the big buckaroo approached Gaia to have
sex with her. From Uranus' spilled blood, Gaia produced the
Erinyes, Giants, and the Meliae (ash-tree nymphs). From the
testicles of Uranus which she cast into the sea, came forth the
lovely and talented Aphrodite on a half-shell.
“By another one of her sons, Pontus, Gaia bore the sea-deities
Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia… oh yes, and the
Kracken, a handsome brute. Because Cronus, the kid what castrated
his own dad, learned from Gaia and Uranus, he was destined to be
overthrown by one of his children; consequently, he swallowed each
of his children born to him by his Titan sister Rhea. Later, when
Rhea was pregnant with her youngest child, Zeus, she sought help
from Gaia and Uranus. When Zeus was born, Rhea gave Cronus a stone
wrapped in swaddling-clothes in his place, which Cronus
immediately swallowed, and Gaia took the child (Zeus) into her
care. (Can you imagine a man swallowing his own child? And wrapped
in swaddling-clothes to boot? Where have we heard that line
before? Probably just a coincidence, wouldn't you agree?) With the
help of Gaia's advice, Zeus defeated the Titans, but afterwards,
Gaia, in union with Tartarus, bore the youngest of her sons
Typhon, who would be the last challenge to the authority of Zeus,”
Captain Langstrom finished his mythological history report and
grinned, “It sounds almost sane compared to Judaism, Christianity,
or Islam. It certainly kicks them Mormons in the butt, don't it!”
he said and got a laugh from the men around the pool.
Gar and Pan answered several questions and soon the talk drifted
to other things and what was most important on their minds of
attending the meeting at the Pentagon. The time came for the
younger set to depart and bed down for the night. No one had any
snide complaints about the curfew as they were grateful to get the
extra thirty minutes Master Billy promised, but they had no
temerity of extending their goodbyes, brotherly hugs, and gentle
slaps on the back. They didn't fool anyone present. Finally, Hank
Renfrow stood and bellowed, “Will you get them young'uns out of
here so's we can talk about them dirty bits, I's about have me a
conniption,” he said loudly and several backed him up. Everyone
laughed but the junior posse. Tom McMartin roared with laughter at
their sad faces. The big, handsome cowboy gently chided them and
promised their day would come sooner than they might imagine.
End of Chapter 102 ~ Seek Him What Made Them Seven Stars
Copyright ~ © ~ 2017 ~ Waddie Greywolf ~ All Rights Reserved
Mail to: Waddie Greywolf <[email protected]>
WC = 22,921
05/27/2017
* Cake or death? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFyuhTwi_OE
Postscript: A moving e-mail from a reader.
Dear Master Waddie,
Allow me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a 59 year old Air
Force veteran. I joined up 1 month after the end of the Vietnam
Era. I am gay and pert near everyone knows it. The last six years
have been a series of medical maladies for me. When liver cancer
came on with a rush, I just about quit. I was diagnosed about six
months ago. I recently left Hines VA Hospital in Maywood, IL which
is a suburb of Chicago. So here is what happened from the doctors
viewpoint. Monday, Jan 16th, my viral count was 8,100,000 which is
a death sentence. I was on a liver transplant registry, but it
didn't look good.
It was around this time that I started reading 7Stars. The count
was about the same on Tuesday. The doctor told me on Wednesday it
dropped to 100. I asked 100 what? He said 100. He thought there
must be a problem with the test, so they ran it again. Thursday
the count was 50. Friday it was undetectable. I was scanned,
poked, and prodded. My doctor can not understand what happened. As
I said, I just left the hospital. I have been taken off the
transplant registry and my liver has been given a clean bill of
health. How did it happen? They don't know, but I think you and I
probably have a good idea.
By the way, I managed to read Waco's Lummox and am totally in
love. What a wonderful story. I was laughing and crying and
feeling all the emotions a good book should provide. I love your
style of writing. Only problem is, now I find myself talking like
them cowboys! Keep up the good work and thank you for saving my
life! I am forever indebted to you and I guess by the greater,
unwritten laws of the Universe, I should consider myself your
devoted slave. Thank you Master Waddie! ~ Tom
The last Pope was beatified with less proof of a miracle than is
expressed in this man's e-mail. ~ Saint Waddie the Divine? I
rather like the cognomen. Mother Gaia would be
proud.