Saving Private Bugle

December 14th 2021

7.15am

The hostess on the Air Canada flight kept checking on the human and transgenic freak seated beside each other. They looked like trouble.

Logan and Mole sat glaring at each other. They couldn't believe they both had had the same idea as each other to go to Nome and work on persuading Max to choose one of them.

"This is a non smoking flight." Logan pointed out coldly to Mole.

"My cigar is out." Mole sneered. "Kinda like you when it comes down to 452's decision on who to permanently pair bond with."

Logan looked at his breakfast of ethnic Canadian food and grimaced. Porridge and Maple syrup from those foreign Canadian trees with grated Canadian Bacon on top. Logan prided himself on his open mind but it was too much.

Kind of like the position his wonderful Max had put him in now.

7.20 am

Max and Alec helped Joshua onto the Canadian United Northern Territories Snowmobile that Max had brought.

"On tight, big guy?" Alec checked with the fragile Joshua.

"Uh huh." winced Joshua. "Joshua want morphine now," he added indicating his stump.

Max knew Joshua was worried about not being able to paint again, having lost his right forearm to an extra aggressive polar bear. However Max was sure he could produce the same if not better results by painting with the other hand or his foot or blind by touch.

Max turned to say a significant good bye to Alec.

The two transgenic looked a mess and were very sore because of what they had been doing the night before. Max was finding it difficult walking upright this morning for instance. (She had tripped over a husky in the dark on the way out of the igloo to pee and sprained her ankle). Max also had half her long hair missing because while Alec had been bending her backwards in a swoon inducing kiss her tresses had fallen in the fire and caught alight and Alec had burnt his hand putting it out

"So your plan is to tell me who've you decided to be with at twelve o'clock today." Alec reconfirmed with her.

Max put her hand to Alec's cheek. "Yeah, I have to do some thinking with out the influence of hormones right now."

"Well drive safe back to Nome." Alec told her coolly. "I guess I'll see you at twelve."

In a previous time he would have punched the wall of the igloo in frustration. How could Max still be deciding on her mate after that night of animal passion they had just participated in?

Alec was more evolved now however and quickly whipped out his dream journal and recorded how he was feeling. In touch with himself emotionally again he went to harness the huskies.

8.15 am

Max dropped Joshua off in front of the Nome field base hospital.

Zane came limping up to her hurriedly. "Thank god you're here Max." he said. "The Alaskan National Guard has just grabbed the Bugle Corps and is now holding them all hostages."

Max was furious, she had been assured the young eleven year old X8 Bugler would not be in any danger before she signed his permission slip to join the army and watch rated T movies during his rec hall times and here he was a hostage.

Now she was going to have to come up with a cunning plan to rescue Bugler and the rest of the Canadian Liberation Infantry Troops Bugle Corp. When Max had planned to get her hair done at the Nome beauty salon that morning and reflect on her love life while under the dryer. Damn them, damn them. War was hell alright.

9.00 am

Max and Zane sat with Commander Benton Fraser of the Canadian Liberation Infantry Troops in his war office the commandeered rooms of the Nome Kennel Club.

Fraser had been put in charge of wiping out the Nome insurgence because of his familiarity with American Behaviour after working three years in Chicago as a police officer. Fraser was normally a Royal Canadian Mountie but he was so brilliant he had been head hunted by the Canadian Liberation Infantry Troops to spearhead the integration of Nome into the Canadian United Northern Territories.

Zane and Alec often benefited from his wise words of wisdom as they were still planning on becoming Mounties when this damn war ended.

"What's wrong with that idea?" Max said puzzled to Zane and the other four Canadian officers at the table.

Commander Fraser a handsome man in his late fifties looked at her kindly. "Well Max." he said "Dressing up as a hooker and going into give everyone a free lap dance is just not going to work with the Alaskan National Guard."

Max blinked in disbelief as her normal strategy for defeating villains was dismissed out of hand. "What if I stand outside and raise my top?" she offered as an alternative. "Then while they're distracted you can rush them."

"The Alaskan National Guard's mission was to provide well trained, well equipped men and women to augment the active force during national emergencies and war, and during times of peace, provide assistance for natural disasters and civil disturbances." Fraser explained patiently.

"They're not some illiterate Seattle street gang high on Andies." Captain Dudley, Fraser's second in charge burst out. "Those fine young men and women grew up doing crowd control duty or participating at the lditarod Sled Dog Races, Miners & Mushers Ball, Bering Sea Ice Golf Classic, Nome-Golovin Snowmachine Race, Midnight Sun Festival and Annual Fireman's Carnival they're experienced crack troops."

"Hey!" Zane reminded them. "They're the enemy and they've got our own."

Fraser nodded understandingly at Zane. "Wise men walk while fools sleep." He informed him. "They grabbed hold of the Bugle corps because they couldn't stand hearing Brittany Spears "Hit me baby one more time" played on brass."he raised his eyebrows. "So..."

Max clicked. "So we up the psychological torture." She beamed.

Fraser grinned. "Sometimes if you stand still the world comes to you." he turned to Dudley. "Find all the bagpipes you can find."

10.00am

Like all the musically gifted transgenics it took an extremely short time for Max and Zane to master playing the bag pipes. They quickly progressed from Row Row Row your Boat to Scotland the Brave in a matter of minutes.

Max and Zane walked down the main street of Nome bagpipes at the ready. They were going to join the offensive to break the Alaskan National guard.

Everyone was standing round the fish gutting factory behind barricades wearing Kevlar armour and helmets and blowing their bag pipes experimentally. Commander Fraser led them in a round of "The Crazy Frog Song".

A new figure slipped beside in Zane and Max. It was Alec fresh from returning with his dog team. Alec had brought a piano accordion with him.

11.00am

Max's eyes widened in horror above her bagpipes as she saw Logan and Mole walk towards her.

The transgenics stunningly beautiful shiny raven haired (the part that wasn't burnt off), olive skinned, deep chocolate brown eyed, full busted, seven month pregnant, white leather clad leader, took her ear plugs out, removed her bagpipes from her mouth and looked at them angrily.

"I said I'd tell everyone what I decided at twelve o'clock for god's sake. What are you two doing here?" she demanded of her oldest and newest lovers. "This is a war zone you just can't walk in here." She sniffed at Logan. "

Max then glared at Mole "Who the frickin Hell is running Terminal City if you're here?"

"Dix and Zack" Mole said defiantly. "I felt I must come up and help in the war effort. I heard about Bugle trapped as a hostage." He looked at Max earnestly. "I just love kids 452."

"Oh whatever!" Max said in disbelief.

"I'm here as a journalist." Logan told Max defensively. "Sketchy told me about what was happening here and I had to be here to record this for posterity."

"I bet" Max scoffed. She picked up her bagpipes and resumed playing "The crazy frog song."

12.00

At twelve o'clock the Alaskan National Guard came out sobbing with their hands on their hands.

The Bugle corps came out skipping out after them. Bugler flew into Max's outstretched arms and she swung him round.

Zane clapped Bugler on the back and Joshua sitting in a wheelchair near by barked in happiness.

Max was aware of three pairs of eyes staring at her with the hopeful intensity of a cocker spaniel under a toddler's high chair. She turned round her hands on hips and drew in her breath ready to deliver the bad news for two of them.

"Oh alright, god" Max snapped ungraciously.

AN: And now it's time for a choose your own adventure fluffy ending.

If you want to see Max end up with Logan you traditionalist romantics read chapter 5 I dream of Max and as a bonus I'll give you a Max nightmare of being married to Alec.

If you want our transgenic heroine to be with Golden boy 494 then read Chapter 6 Discovery Channel and as a bonus I'll have Max having a hallucination at the dentists about what it would be like married to Logan

If you want to know what I want Max to do read chapter 7 Surprise!

I'll be posting them all at once so give me a couple of days to write them.

There you are Isobel, Benton just for you.