BREAKING POINT
By Robin Day
Illustrated by Robin and Pauline Day
The illuminated sign beside the door flashed ‘Enter’.
Two smartly suited men stood up quickly, exchanging worried glances.
“Okay, Paul, let’s see what’s up.”
Paul Foster managed a slight smile, “Good news perhaps?”
Alec Freeman shook his head doubtfully as the door slid aside to admit them.
Ed Straker, Commander of SHADO - Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation - sat at his desk.
“Alec. Paul.”He acknowledged, without looking up from the file which lay open in front of him.
“Trouble?” Freeman asked, when Straker didn’t say anything further.
Straker finally looked up, his features tired and drawn.
“I suppose you could say that Alec.”
“The Utronic communications with the Aliens didn’t work?” Foster prompted.
Straker sounded bitter, “Oh it worked Paul. Finally, a dialogue between Earth and the Aliens. A triumph for peace.”
“Peace?” Alec looked startled. “So soon?”
“But that’s fantastic Ed!” Paul said hesitantly, “Isn’t it?”
Straker picked up two slim files of documents. “Here, you can both read for yourselves,” he said, tossing them across the desk.
Freeman and Foster sat in silence as they leafed through their folders. Straker watched impassively until the two men had finished reading, then he got to his feet, slamming his own file down on the desk.
“Not a word of this to anyone.” he said coldly, “I’m making an official announcement tomorrow.”
“What will you say?” Alec asked, his face ashen.
“I’ll tell them how it is Alec. I’ll tell them how we’ve sold out to the Aliens...”
That afternoon Paul Foster was strapping himself into the pilot’s seat of a Moon Module.
“What’s up Paul?” his co-pilot wanted to know.
Paul tried to summon up some good humour. It was a long way to the Moon. “I’ll tell you later Alan. Let’s just enjoy the trip.”
Paul wondered how he was going to talk to the people at Moonbase.
He had his script. He knew what to say. But how could he bring himself to stand there and tell them? There would be questions, endless questions. He had the answers too. All neatly itemised in the documents in his briefcase.
A long winded way of telling people that they had to obey orders and not question them.
Colonel Paul Foster had questioned them.
He’d spent an hour arguing with Straker after he was ordered to report to Moonbase. Waste of time. He could bet that Straker had argued the same way with General Henderson.
