Waco Lummox 49
WACO’S LUMMOX By Waddie Greywolf
Chapter 49
Sam and his suitor Commander Hawkins were great fans of the Visallian warriors and spent a good deal of time in their company. They exchanged many workout tips and exercises to hone their bodies to perfection. They spent many pleasant afternoons working out in the warrior’s excellent gym with their warrior buddies. The Commander and Sam had learned the basics of the Tao’mak, the warrior’s sacred exercises and had been accepted as apprentice warriors by Travis’ mate Sergeant Major Doggoral. Along with several cowboys, they were invited to take their evening meal with the warriors. While the warriors were not carnivores, they raised the standard of vegetarian cuisine to an art form. No one ever walked away hungry from a meal with the Visallian warriors, and each dish was more delicious and nourishing than the next. The warriors ate very well. Sam and Del developed a taste for their food and were thrilled to get an invite to join them. They couldn’t get enough of Visallian cuisine.
Before they were to go in for supper, one of their close warrior friends in the sickbay on the Banshee was doing a rush job to analyze Basil Troubadour’s blood. He didn’t know exactly what they were looking for but arranged with Cable to have access to medical files on the Bandersnatch. At the request of Commander Hawkins, who was curious about the rush to test the man’s blood who was becoming close to his officer, their friend, the head warrior-technician Rollon Southwicky-Gabberdean was explaining the differences between human and Visallian DNA to Del and Sam. He placed two blood workups on the holo-vid screen so he could point out the important markers and the major differences. One blood chart was Sam Stamper’s and the other was Rollon’s, the technician who was explaining the difference. When he was through, Rollon thought he’d show Sam the similarities between Sam’s chart and those of his brother’s DNA. He put up on the screen the charts for Sam’s five brothers for comparison. Along with Sam’s chart, there were six charts on the vid-screen. Sam was stunned for a minute. He thought there must be some mistake.
“Uh, excuse me, Rollon, but I don’t have five brothers. I only have four brothers other than myself. There’s only five of us total. We had a younger brother, Caleb, but he’s dead.”
“Well, let me see.” said Rollon. “Humm, this one shows a younger brother’s DNA, but there’s no name on the chart, just the initials C. S., but as you can clearly see from the markers, while it’s a little different, it’s definitely the chart for one of your brothers. Let me check the file. Ah, yes, here it is. There’s a series of photos that accompany the blood work-up.” Rollon pressed a key on the ship’s computer keyboard and about a dozen horrible pictures of a massively beaten and deformed young boy came onto the screen in lifelike three dimensional vivid color. It was so clear and lifelike, it looked like you could reach out and touch the boy. The pictures were obviously a photo study shot from every angle. The young boy on the screen looked like little more than a blob of flesh, broken, bloody and mangled. One couldn’t be sure from the pictures if he was alive or dead. In horror, Sam recognized the photos immediately as his youngest brother Caleb. Sam let out a gasp, a groan like he had suddenly been disemboweled. All the horror, guilt and grief Sam felt for his little brother he managed to put behind him was suddenly dredge up to confront him on the vid-screen like a ghost from the past. It was like someone ripped a scab from off his soul and left a festering wen of a void he could neither properly fill again nor heal. As the realization swept over him, Sam turned ashen white and was visibly shaken. His partner was watching him closely.
“Is that your little brother who’s dead, Son?” Hawkins asked as he saw Sam was in distress.
“Yes, Sir. Why would they have pictures of him in their files?” Sam managed to get out.
“Wait!” exclaimed Rollon, “There’s more. There are other pictures of him in the file.” He struck another key and up popped a series of thirty-five or forty progressive picture files showing dates, results and recovery from operation after operation until the final picture; a shot of a younger, handsome, and happy, Lucas Long, with no deformities and smiling with a perfect set of teeth.
“Oh, my God! No! That just can’t be!” wailed Sam. “Are you sure those pictures are of the same man?” he demanded.
“Without a doubt.” Rollon confirmed, “The DNA work up is the same for both. It’s the same boy. Damn, he sure looked bad. No wonder folks thought he was dead, but you humans are way ahead of us in the art of reconstructive and augmentative surgery. There are rumors about how excellent Admiral Long, Captain Jones and their medical staff on the Bandersnatch are. Cable, himself, who was trained by Admiral Long, is reported to be one of the finest microsurgeons in a dozen galaxies. Even the Daleks don’t have anyone to compare with his skills. After seeing these pictures, I believe those rumors. What they accomplished with this boy is nothing short of a miracle. So according to these files, Lucas Long was your brother Caleb.”
All of a sudden the vid-screen went blank and a message came on the screen flashing in big red letters: Unauthorized Access To Sensitive Material! For access see Cable or Admiral Long, but it was too late. The horse was out of the barn. Sam collapsed into Commander Hawkins’ arms weeping quietly. He was little more than a vegetable for a while. Sam recovered somewhat, but thought about how all this was affecting his mate and his Visallian warrior friend. Rollon felt terrible and apologized profusely for his unintentional faux pas. Sam assured him he couldn’t have known and knew Rollon wouldn’t have gone into restricted files without permission. Sam was more concerned about Rollon being reprimanded by his superiors for mucking about in the Bandersnatch’s medical files. Del Hawkins, an old hand at political correctness, pointed out there might be consequences, but the best course of action was to go directly to Captain Vinceeth, and Admiral Long, tell them what they found, explain the innocence of their actions and seek their forgiveness. Del promised Rollon, he and Sam would stand up for him and insist there was no malice intended. It was an accidental discovery. Sam managed to pull himself together for his partner’s sake and did his best to enjoy the evening. He was a little more reserved than usual, but Hawkins had big shoulders and didn’t push the young man. He just let him know he was there if he needed him. Rollon quietly asked Sam a few questions over supper.
“I don’t understand, Sam. If Caleb Stamper was your brother, and he’s been given a new identity as Lucas Long, son and slave of the Admiral, why wouldn’t they tell you and your brothers?”
“The answer to your question is almost too horrible, embarrassing and painful for me to talk about, Rollon. Not even my mate sitting here next to me knows the full story. It’s time he knows. He deserves my honesty in all things, and I know without asking, you will be discrete.” Rollon assured Sam his secret was safe with him. Sam continued, “Caleb was our youngest brother. He was born with a cleft palate and due to a couple of accidents, he had a bad eye and several other physical deformities. Our mother died shortly after giving birth to him, so consequently our dad blamed him for her death. Caleb was ignored and neglected by our father and treated like a slave by us boys. His deformities could’ve been corrected, but dad refused to spend the money. Our father was a wicked, narrow minded, bigoted little man who saw his refusal to take care of our little brother as punishment for killing his wife. Caleb was a constant reminder to him of our mother’s death and us boys picked up from our dad an irrational hatred for our little brother. We didn’t know no better and accepted our old man’s insane idea Caleb killed our mother.
Caleb never had a chance in life. He was kept in a small cage like an animal and was never allowed to go to school. We were busy with our lives and spent as little time as possible with him. None of us showed him much attention or compassion. We were better to the animals on our farm than we were to him. He was just an extra burden we had to take care of, but most of the time we didn’t. After my older brothers reached puberty, they raped him and made him fellate them. He was only five or six. They were rough with him and hurt him pretty bad sometimes. I was just as guilty, because when I reached puberty, I took advantage of him, too. I never raped him, but he begged me to let him fellate me and I did. My dad caught him sucking off my second oldest brother Phil and became enraged. He beat Caleb severely and called him a deviate spawn of the Devil.
(Since Visallians are bisexual it was difficult for them to understand why anyone would object to male/male sex. It was barbaric beyond their comprehension.) After he almost beat Caleb to death, dad called the sheriff to come arrest our little brother for being a homo and hold him in a cell until he could make arrangements with the slave trader to sell him. Sheriff Lassiter and his men came and got him. Our dad tried to sell him as a slave, but Caleb was so messed up no one would buy him. Aside from his deformities, dad broke his clavicle, his right arm and his left leg, so the slave trader sold him for ten bucks a pound to a pet food rendering plant to be ground up for dog food. At least, that’s what our dad was told, and that’s what he told us. Shortly thereafter, a week before my oldest brother’s eighteenth birthday, our dad sold all of us into slavery, and we were bought by Admiral Long.
It all makes sense now. Admiral Long made our little brother his son, and I guess he thought it was only fitting he should buy the rest of his son’s family. Once we got over the shock of becoming slaves, us boys have always been grateful for becoming Admiral Long’s livestock. It was the best thing what could’ve happened to us. We’ve had better lives being his slaves and working for Master Hoot, Cotton and Boss Tindell than we ever had with our dad. We were little more than a pack of wild dogs trying to survive as best we could without any adult leadership or supervision. We sure got that when we became slaves. It’s kept us out of trouble and brought us together as a family. We weren’t a family before we became slaves. We’ve grown and developed to where I know I can count on my brothers to be there for me, and I’m there for them if they need me. I love my brothers, and I know they love me. I couldn’t say that about them before we became Admiral Long’s slaves. I couldn’t have an open and honest relationship with someone like Commander Hawkins if it weren’t for Admiral Long and my family.
After what Lucas went through, my little brother deserves to be number one in our Master’s eyes. We’ve all seen how devoted Lucas is to his dad and how hard he works to take care of him. None of us boys ever doubted their love for each other. The love that passes between them is palpable. We never doubted Lucas was Master Long’s natural son. He looks just like him down to his private parts, but we never fully understood why Master Long made his son a slave. We came to accept it was for Lucas’ best interest. Now it becomes more clear. I’ve never known the Admiral to give him more than us or put him above us. Lucas has worked for everything he got. Lucas has never acted like he was better than us, if anything, he’s gone out of his way to include us in everything, and he insists he’s no more than a slave just like us.
Now I can understand a lot to things I used to only wonder about, like Lucas’ close bond with, Master Waco, Master JR, Little Bear, Travis, Gavin, Jerry, Bronc and T’gan. They are brothers in the truest sense. They share a common history. I can understand why the Admiral wanted Lucas to have a new identity to protect him from us and allow him to heal. The Admiral leveled the playing field and gave Lucas a chance for a fresh start. He’s been a good and loving brother to us. I know he thinks on us as his cowboy slave brothers, but he’s kept his secret all this time. I know in my heart he don’t hold no grudges, but he’s also kept just enough distance between us, none of us can claim we really know him very well. He’s much closer to his cowboy brothers. I probably know him better than the rest of my brothers. We’ve shared a few personal things, but not many. I doubt I would’ve ever known. I don’t think he would’ve told us. I think, to him, Master Lazarus, and his cowboy brothers, Caleb Stamper died the night the Admiral and Master Charlie brought him home to the Bandersnatch and remade him. Like the phoenix bird, Lucas Long was reborn out of Caleb’s ashes.
My old man will never know. Somehow, it seems fitting, that’s the way it should be. He should go to his grave thinking his youngest son was sold and processed for dog food. I remember what pissed him off enough to sell us into slavery. Somebody had a case of dog food delivered to him and there was a note on it that said it was his boy. He accused us of sending it, but it weren’t us boys what done it. Hell, we barely had enough money to buy food for ourselves let alone a case of dog food. Now I think back on it, whoever done it was pretty smart. They knew how he would react. Fuck my old man, the old bastard deserved it. He’ll never learn about Lucas’ secret from me.”
* * * * * * *
After a fine supper in the Lodge dinning hall, the men slowly walked to the space-port landing site to the Banshee with Waco and Captain Vinceeth. With them were the Admiral, Captain Jones, Charlie Goodnight, Chief Tin Penny, Jesse Watkins, Utah, Brett Jones, and Basil Troubadour. The men were a little surprised but pleased to find Cable, David and Jonathan waiting for them. Also present were Commander Hawkins and Sam Stamper.
“We took the liberty of coming through the gate, father.” Cable spoke to Lazarus, “When we saw the results of Basil’s blood work we thought there might have been a mistake, and the tests would have to be run again. I offer my humblest apologies to the medical team on board the Banshee, the test were performed with utmost care and professional skill and were not incorrect. Rollon, if you would be so kind as to put up Officer Jones and Basil’s charts.” Cable requested of the lead technician. Rollon complied, then spoke,
“Would you like to explain what we discovered, Cable?” Rollon asked.
“Thanks, I’d be happy to. If you notice we’ve circled certain genetic markers on both charts. We’ve used a different color for each matching pair of alleles or markers. Rollon and his team discovered Officer Jones and Basil Troubadour came from the same state. They have almost a complete majority of matching genetic alleles in their DNA make up.” Cable turned to speak directly to Brett and Basil, “The nearest we can tell, gentlemen, is your grandfathers’ were brothers and you share the same, paternal great-grandfather. See this particular allele here?” Cable used a green laser pointer to show the alleles circled in red on each chart. “This is the abnormal gene that gives Brett Jones his unique abilities. Your great grandfather was probably the first or second to carry this abnormal gene. Most times an abnormal gene will skip a generation. (i.e. the bad seed paradox) If your grandfathers had the gene but didn’t live to an age when it matured enough to be turned on, they never would’ve known about it, but they would be able to pass the dormant gene onto your fathers.
Since Brett and Basil are of the same generation, Basil carries the same abnormal gene, but it probably wouldn’t have been turned on until he’s about Brett’s age, perhaps another ten years. There may be some qualifications for that observation. We think there’s a good probability it may be sooner in Basil’s case with his exposure to Officer Jones. As a matter of fact, we see signs he may already have started to change. The Evanescent young adults realized this afternoon how close his genetic makeup is with Officer Jones, so did the second Langer family after Basil unwittingly managed to jump-start the young Langer male onto his road to recovery. He began to heal as Basil was playing with him. Brett’s milk was only icing on the cake to give him strength.”
“Then that would make Basil my...?” Brett mused.
“Second cousin.” Jesse finished, “And in cowboy lingo, h’it don’t take no rocket scientist to figure out his original last name.”
“I never knew I had any cousins.” said Brett.
“Neither did I.” added Basil.
“You mean you’re a ‘Jones’ like me, Basil?” Brett asked him.
“I was, Brett, but I swore to myself I would never be known by that name again after my family turned their backs on me. They didn’t want me, and I made up my mind I didn’t want them either. I still don’t want them in my life, Brett.”
“Can’t say’s I blame you none. Other than my officer brothers, I ain’t got me no family neither.” Brett paused for a moment then added, “But, I want you, Basil. No, that ain’t right, neither. I need you, Son. I need you to be my family. We are family, you and me. I think that’s why we’re attracted to one another. I think there’s stored memories inside us that ain’t our own, memories what belong to groups of ancestors certain incidents turn on and wake up so’s we’ll recognize one another when we need each other. I even know what it’s called. It’s our phylogenic memory that’s stored within us as a specie.”
“Oh, God!” laughed Charlie, “Never a dull moment. This is what I live for. A new discovery under every rock. Where does it end? What are the odds?” he spoke to Lazarus.
“There are no odds anymore, brother. This is all unfolding like the pages of a book.” said Lazarus, then added. “These are the stories about which men write bibles and swear they’re God’s holy words.”