Decision
They moved to sit at the table, Straker at the head, now looking stern and grim and forbidding. This was the deadly serious part of the whole procedure. He opened the folder and took out four copies of a report, several pages long, from the looks of it. These were handed out to all except Foster
They sat in silence, reading. Straker, leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, relaxed, making notes on the pages in his elegant script, his expressionless look now not revealing any clues as to his thoughts. Alec, frowning as he read one part; Ginny, reading with utter concentration; Rachel, flicking back and forth through the pages to confirm facts.
The minutes passed. There was no noisy clock in the office to tick the seconds away, but Paul had the sensation that his future in SHADO was being assessed and either approved or rejected depending on the outcome of the report, and what Straker had to say about it. Paul sat there, almost too tense to breathe. He knew that everything hinged on the outcome of the next few minutes.
For make no mistake; if Ed Straker disapproved of Foster's leadership abilities, then there was no way that Foster was going to walk out of this office — alive. He knew that; knew that everything depended on the SHADO Commander being totally satisfied with Foster's performance today, and satisfied with his performance over the past two years as well.
Even if the entire IAC backed Paul, Ed Straker had the last say in the matter.
Paul remembered the recent months; his mistakes, his lack of concentration when he was bored, his complacency that had led to the aliens successful attack on Ed. He almost didn't dare look at the Commander for fear that he would see nothing but contempt in Ed Straker's eyes. And he didn't think he could bear that.
And then the SHADO Commander put his papers down. He looked at Foster and sat up straighter in his chair, leaning forward to rest his interlaced fingers on the desk as if to pronounce judgement. 'Colonel, if you would wait outside while we discuss your future with SHADO?' His office door opened and Paul stood up, nodding a formal salute to his commanding officer before walking out and heading for the Control room, escorted by the two waiting guards.
Straker watched him leave, and then closed the door.
He turned to his senior staff members, 'Well? I'll listen to any reasonable arguments, and then I'll tell you how it's going to be.' And leaned back, waiting for their responses.
Alec Freeman nodded his head. 'I know what the report says. Satisfactory responses, acceptable procedures and use of resources.'
'Exactly, Alec,' Virginia Lake said quietly. 'Satisfactory. Are we happy with satisfactory?'
'It's what I got in my report,' Freeman glared at her.
'Come on now, Alec, that was different and you know it,' she countered. 'You were virtually by yourself, and the organisation had only been up and running a few months. Paul had the support of Keith Ford and all the control room staff. And remember, SHADO runs smoothly thanks to Ed and you. Paul had very little to do really, apart from use his brains. And that's what we need to discuss. Did he use his brain? Or did he simply rush into his decisions?'
Straker sat there, letting the argument flow around him, back and forth across the table. He looked enquiringly at Rachel Philips. She shook her head, obviously unwilling to get involved in the discussion at this stage.
'Rachel, you're part of this procedure. I would appreciate some input from you. How did you feel about Paul's overall performance?' He leaned back in his seat studying her as if to gauge her reaction.
'Well…' she hesitated.
'Go on.' Alec encouraged her with a smile.
'I don't really know what you expect from anyone in the procedure. Is it enough to simply be successful? If so, well, that's what Paul Foster did. He succeeded. Is that enough? Or do you need more? After all, I wasn't there to watch his reactions. Although I do think he coped well with the fact that the three of you were badly hurt.' She grinned at them. 'I think I'd have gone to pieces in that situation.'
Straker nodded. 'Yes, but we train our command staff to deal with those circumstances, should they arise. Heaven knows, Alec coped without any difficulty last year when I was kidnapped. And so did you, Rachel. And Colonel Lake has proved that she can remain focussed and detached in very difficult situations.' He turned to the blonde SHADO scientist. 'Virginia? Your honest opinion, please.'
She looked at him as if to assess his mood, his response. 'No, he's not ready,' she said hesitantly. 'Maybe in a few years time, maybe then, but right now Paul is still too young to be able to do what it takes to keep SHADO operational. He still dreams about commanding SHADO in the future. I don't think he would be able to make the ultimate decision, do you?' and she looked at Alec Freeman questioningly.
Alec Freeman paused, thinking, considering.' The ultimate decision? Who knows. Who can honestly say, here and now, that they are ready to make that decision?' He looked at Straker. 'Yes. You could. And have. I know that much. But it's quite a different matter when you are faced with the theoretical question, not the reality. In reality, Paul Foster could well have taken that choice to sacrifice his own life to save SHADO. We simply don't know. I don't know,' he qualified his statement.
Straker leaned forward. 'I need an answer. Do I approve his Verification or not? Henderson and the IAC are agreed that he has done well enough to pass. Has he? I don't pay any attention to what the military minds upstairs have said. It's up to us, here and now, to decide.'
Colonel Philips reached out and touched his hand. 'Ed, what do you think? Is Paul ready? You should know better than anyone else. What thoughts do you have about his performance?'
He looked at her, grimly. 'Where should I start? Well, there are several points.' He paused, looking at the other staff members. 'Firstly, he should have known straight away which Skydiver was in the immediate vicinity. I expect all my senior staff to be able to give locations of the main attack and defence forces at any given moment. He failed on that point, and if it had not been for Keith Ford, any UFO might have got past our defences. Secondly, his action in leaving Control in order to deal with the UFO himself was, while highly commendable, also extremely foolish. He left HQ without a leader. He did not appoint anyone else to take over his post in the event of his death, and he failed to ensure continuity of command. Both could be considered serious failings. There are other minor points, but I won't bother with the fine details. It comes down to one fact. Can he be relied upon to take charge of this organisation in the event of a real emergency?'
He paused, picking up his coffee for a drink, before continuing. 'Now let's think longer term. Falklands, Moonbase, those are the starting points. How well did he do in those bases? And not just as a potential commander, but also as a general member of SHADO. Does he fit in well? Does he cope with the isolation, the stresses, the everyday petty niggles? Is he able to stay alert and focussed despite everything that may be going on around him? And is he able to look at the bigger picture; to see past the immediate here and now and see how current events might affect the future? Above all, does he have the absolute and total understanding of SHADO and all its operations that any future commander must have?' He looked intently at each of them. 'Those are the questions that we need to answer, here, now.'
…..
Paul Foster paced impatiently around the Control room, unwilling to stop or talk to any of the operatives. This could be the last time he walked the corridors of SHADO. He could not bear to look at Keith Ford, who he knew was sitting watching him with concern. The two guards were there, in the background, discreet and unobtrusive, but Foster was well aware that any move on his part to leave the underground HQ would result in his immediate arrest.
There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned, startled.
'Keith?' Paul looked into Ford's amused eyes.
'Here, Colonel, have a coffee and please, stop worrying. I've been in charge of several Verification procedures, and yours was just fine. Commander Straker just likes to make his senior staff sweat, if you want my opinion.' Keith Ford handed him a mug of strong, black coffee. 'There, black, just as you prefer.' He grinned at the bemused Colonel. 'I have my orders, Colonel, and I obey them, just as you do. I may not like them, but Commander Straker gets the job done, and done well. There is no one I would rather see in command of SHADO than Ed Straker, but one day we may need someone else, and that's why you went through today's test. I don't want someone at the helm who hasn't experienced a full verification. I want to know that whoever is in charge can deal with anything. Colonel.' He smiled at Foster.
'I just hope that Ed Straker feels that I've done well enough, Keith.' Paul replied quietly, concern still showing in his face. 'What happens if he doesn't?'
Keith Ford simply looked at him, expressionless, and indicated the two guards. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, then turned back to his console.
There was a movement from the office, and Alec Freeman came towards him.
'Colonel Foster, will you come with me, please?' His voice was quiet and gave no hint as to the outcome of the meeting.
Paul took a deep breath and followed. Straker was still sitting at the conference table, his Glock no longer in its holster, but in front of him on the table within easy reach. He looked up. 'Colonel. Take a seat.'
Paul sat at the vacant seat opposite the Commander. He perched on the edge like a schoolboy in front of his headteacher.
'Right, let's get this over and done with and back to work.' Straker was all SHADO Commander now, wanting to get the messy business over and done with. He turned to Paul. 'Colonel, would you care to evaluate your own performance today?'
Paul swallowed. 'Not really, Commander. I know that I made several mistakes and rushed into things without really planning or thinking through to the eventual outcome. Looking back, there are several areas where I really let the side down, and to be honest, I'm not at all proud of my performance.' He stopped, unsure of what else to say.
Straker smiled coldly at him. 'Very good, Colonel. If you had said your performance was satisfactory, I would probably have fired you here and now. We, as a staff, are agreed that you have fulfilled the requirements of the IAC procedure, and therefore you are now formally recognised as one member in the chain of command. Don't get too excited about that prospect though. I have no intention of retiring at any time in the future, and I am sure that Colonels Freeman and Lake feel the same way.' He looked enquiringly at the two colonels.
'No complaints from me, Ed.' Alec Freeman laughed, and Virginia Lake nodded in agreement.
'Very well then. Colonel Foster.' And Ed Straker stood up, walking to the end of the table to where Paul sat, stunned with relief. The Commander held out his hand. 'Congratulations. Here is your new identity card. It's identical to your last one, apart from the small letter 'v' in one corner. I'm sure you can work out what it means.' He shook Paul's hand. 'Okay, transport is waiting for you. Go home now and take the next week off.'
He nodded to Paul in dismissal. Foster stood up, almost shaking with relief and grinning widely. They watched him leave the room, watched him shake hands with Keith Ford who had been waiting outside.
Epilogue 1
Paul was nearly asleep in the car on the way home. Exhausted and thoroughly bemused and bewildered by what had happened to him, he was in no mood to make pleasant conversation with his driver.
They arrived at his flat and escorted him inside the building. A pizza box was on the floor outside the door. Cold. It was nearly eighteen hours since he had been dragged from his modern, spacious flat to the claustrophobic confines of Auxiliary Control, and he had not had anything decent to eat. He nodded to the driver and security agent, went inside, almost unable to walk in a straight line, he was so tired.
With a sigh of relief, he collapsed on top of his neat, unaired, unslept-in bed and fell asleep, worn-out, exhausted but also unbelievably elated, and in his dreams he walked through the SHADO corridors, in a cream high-collared suit, Commander of all that he surveyed.
LtCdr March 2010
I re-wrote the ending of this story to be more accurate. Initially I disliked Paul Foster, but I came to realise that he was a very decent character, and not the bumbling idiot who wanted to take over from Straker. So there was a serious re-write of the last part. Hope it makes it better!
