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Behind the Scenes of
Fallen Heroes
by Denise Felt 2011
Wow! I actually did a UFO ghost story! The original plot idea for this story came to me when I was just beginning my Conover Saga, so this story has been waiting ten years to be written. However, the original flow of the story was different, and did not use Craig Collins as the ghost. But as I was starting this story, the focus in Straker’s mind seemed to go to Craig, and since a friend of mine once wrote a short short story using Craig as a ghost, I thought of the emotional possibilities of using him instead of one of the many other deceased SHADO personnel. I put him into the mix and immediately everything else I wanted to do made sense.
I have both Straker and Lake be sceptics when it comes to ghosts in this story. But personally, I do believe in them. In fact, I’ve lived in two houses that were haunted – one nice, one definitely not nice – so I have the empirical research to back up my writing. However, ten years ago I couldn’t have written this story even with that knowledge. I was just too firmly in the box for that. So this story had to wait until I’d thrown the box out the window.
Title – The title for this story has many interpretations. Those kinds of titles are my favorite, because as the reader gets immersed in the tale, new meanings reveal themselves. First and foremost, of course, it refers to Craig Collins, one of the many fallen heroes of SHADO, who died fighting the war against the aliens. That his death was turned into something truly awful by the enemy adds a great deal of angst to the story, as well as a lot of ambiguity in the minds of the characters. In other words, it gave me a treasure trove of emotions to write about for my tale.
Other fallen heroes in the story are both Straker’s and Lake’s mothers, who although they’re dead, still watch over their children. Later, we find that the two of them also think of the other in terms of a god (or goddess, as the case may be), and once they get intimate, Straker assumes that he’s fallen off his pedestal. Until Virginia tells him he hasn’t. So heroes abound in this story, fallen or otherwise, including Corky, who Margaret thinks of as her hero at one point.
Chapter 1 – Just as I couldn’t have written a ghost story ten years ago (without turning it into an inter-dimensional story; see Scotland Waits), I also could not have written a Straker-Lake love story even one year ago. However, since reading Matt White’s take on Col. Lake, which is decidedly better than the series take on her, I’ve been able to finally see where such a pairing might work. The largest obstacle for me was the sexual aspect. Straker is portrayed in the show (except for one glaringly obvious exception in one episode) as an extremely moral man who would never consider hooking up with someone who slept around. And Lake is portrayed in the episode involving Craig Collins as just that sort of woman. Once I got past that block – mostly with Matt’s version of that episode that somehow didn’t break canon – I was free to see where these two people actually had some chemistry.
So, now that we’ve covered the groundwork for this story, let’s get to the actual tale itself. The story begins with Straker in full rant mode. I have him use one of his trademark questions from the show, complete with glare and narrowed lips, to identify him to the reader instead of using his name. I’ve never believed that my readers needed to be spoon fed everything. They’re smart people or they wouldn’t be reading sci-fi. So I often give them just enough clues to figure things out on their own. It’s amazing how much they appreciate being treated as though they have some intelligence!
Poor Col. Lake gets the backlash of the commander’s temper. We can sympathize with her, because she’s doing everything she can. But hopefully we can also see Straker’s side of it, because the last place SHADO needs to be is blind. The series dealt with the problems caused by solar flares in at least one episode. They are a real issue with radar tracking, and the commander would not be willing to take those limitations in stride.
Things get interesting when he suddenly backs down as she loses her temper. Straker’s no coward and is not afraid of his staff, so this change in his demeanor should make the reader wonder what is going on in his mind. Once the colonel leaves his office, we get to see what he was thinking. He’d been goading her. Not out of malice or anything nasty like that, but because he wants to reach the warmth she hides inside her ice queen shell. I absolutely loved the irony here, since he himself is known for his icy shell.
And that brings me to my biggest concern when putting these two together. I was afraid that their many similarities would make for a bad match. I’ve seen how two scientists with the same strength of purpose and dedication work as a team, and it’s not pretty. They burn each other out. Amazingly, Straker and Lake didn’t follow that pattern. I was astonished to find that in a relaxed setting, he actually got playful. My beta tester explained that it was because they were so in tune with each other that he could relax with her, knowing that she understood where he was coming from. Since she’s in a relationship like that herself, I suppose she’s a good judge of it. But it really surprised me.
As the commander is thinking about Col. Lake, the subject of Craig Collins comes up in his mind. And it would, since the only person the series showed her involved with was Craig. (By all rights, Paul was a rebound situation, and we never see that relationship going very far.) In this way, Craig is introduced before he appears, which I hope makes the reader wonder afterward if he had ever actually been there. But his words are terrifying. Who does he need Straker to save?
Naturally, the commander assumes Craig means Virginia, and he rushes to her rescue. *sigh* That’s just so romantic! However, he’s embarrassed when he sees that she’s fine and turns to leave. But she makes him explain himself; not with demands, but with that understanding they share. More than once in this story, we see the implicit trust they have for each other. This is just one of those instances, as he tells her what occurred.
And we see that he is right to trust her. Even though we find out later that she doesn’t believe in ghosts, she does not laugh at him or try to find a different explanation for what he experienced. She accepts it, because she trusts him. A further example is shown when he asks her to take a security detail with her when she goes home. She accepts it without question, even though it was bound to be an inconvenience for her.
Chapter 2 – The next day finds Straker wondering if any of it had been real. Col. Lake was fine, nothing had occurred in the night to worry about, and Craig himself had seemed out of character. The commander goes to the park to think it over and try to resolve it in his mind. I use the park past the back lot in many of my UFO stories. Although each tale or saga takes place in its own unique UFO universe, some things transcend that. This park is one of them. It’s just such a perfect place for the commander to unwind when time demands wouldn’t let him leave the studio. No one goes there but him, so he can be assured of being alone.
However, today someone does come there. Virginia comes looking for him. A note about that. Most men prefer to avoid confrontation, going out of their way to keep it from happening. Women, on the other hand, prefer to get everything out into the open, so that it can be dealt with. It doesn’t mean one sex is braver than the other. It’s just the way we’re wired. So of course, she would go looking for him, wanting to help him make sense of what had occurred. And by doing so, she manages to give him a piece of information he can use. Craig had an ex-wife.
In typical Straker fashion, once he knows where to go, he doesn’t hesitate. He’s not sure if the colonel feels the same about it, though, so there is a slight hesitation when he asks her to accompany him. Of course, she agrees. Beyond her desire to help him in any way he needs her, she would most likely be curious herself where all this might lead.
Chapter 3 – This chapter was one of the most emotional ones for me to write. On the jet they talk about Craig, and how they felt about his friendship. They saw different aspects of his personality, but what is revealed is that Craig was basically a clown – one of those people who go through life making everyone else laugh. Tragically, these people tend to be the saddest of anyone, using humor to mask their own pain. We find out later the reasons for some of Craig’s pain.
But in this chapter, they focus on other things. His death – and his return to SHADO afterward. I truly believe that there must be many people who died that the operatives at SHADO do not talk about. It would be far too painful. I touched on that aspect of their job briefly in the Conover Saga, because Paul had never heard of Sheila, even though she’d worked there. But here in this story, I allow all the emotional trauma to be exposed. Craig was their friend, but he was used against them and in fact, tried to destroy them. How does anyone deal with that?
By discussing it, they find that they feel better about it (which is actually a natural part of the grieving process.) But that shared feeling is tested when Straker wipes a tear from her cheek. He retreats, but the reader is made aware that more is going on here than just helping a lost friend. Maybe, in the process, other things will be resolved as well.
Chapter 4 – I had a lot of fun with their byplay in this chapter. For those who don’t live in the United States, this section might seem a bit baffling. But the US is so large that we not only have several different climates, we also have several types of societies, from the tiniest village (which they pass through on their trip) to a large metropolis. Those who live in urban areas can have almost a phobia about the rural scene, and I got a kick out of making Straker a firm urbanite. Virginia still remembers her upbringing in the mountains (a part of her back story that I have used in every tale I tell), but she definitely understands his contempt. After all, she considers herself very much a city girl.
After their light-hearted banter, the mood changes. As they approach their destination, the commander starts worrying about what he will say to Craig’s ex-wife. Virginia’s persistence eventually gets him to open up and explain his concerns. And together they are able to come up with a way to handle the situation.
But in the end, things don’t pan out as expected. It isn’t Cecilia who meets them at the door. It’s her daughter – who just happens to have Craig’s eyes.
Chapter 5 – I loved working with Mags! The template for her was actually me, since I was just a bit older than her in the 80's, and I well remember the drama and the drive and the rebellion of those years. I never had a piercing, but I wanted one (not in the nose, though.) Her boyfriend Corky was the story’s comic relief, a guy who Mags was no doubt attracted to because he spoke to the part of her that was like her father.
I never explain why Virginia got Straker to give Corky his autograph. In the end, it wasn’t really important, so I let the reader make their own interpretation. But in my mind, she was just being kind – while at the back of her mind she was hoping to use it to help win their trust. Hey, she had a job to do. She’s allowed to have more than one agenda at a time.
Chapter 6 – This chapter gives us a glimpse of how well they work together as a team. They don’t even need words to communicate. Sometimes even a glance isn’t necessary. They’ve worked together so long that they just know.
Straker’s solicitude is shown in several of the episodes. It’s always surprising when it happens, because he’s such a hard-ass most of the time. But that makes those rare occasions even sweeter by contrast. Here, he senses that Virginia is churned up about their mission, and he digs until she tells him why. Her story is so sad that she breaks down and cries, and here I hope the reader can see how much she trusts this man. Because a woman doesn’t let herself cry in front of just anyone. He comforts her, then offers her a handkerchief.
The handkerchief gag was a fun one to use for this story. It wasn’t planned, but there’s so much emotion going on in several of the scenes that it just sort of happened that way. And I figured that Straker, used to dealing with actress’ dramatic temper tantrums, would be used to handing out his handkerchief.
This story deals with several themes. The one that most surprised me while writing was the theme of family and the idea that parents watch over their children long after they’re gone. My father died a few years ago, but I’m fortunate to still have my mother around. I hope I never lose touch with her, because she’s always been dear to me. I think that she and my dad will always be watching out for me. I know I will do the same for my kids. It’s not something I ever talk about; it’s just something I feel very deeply. And I guess it wanted to get out in the open and be discussed in this story.
Straker asks an important question when they begin talking about the gizmo that Mags was working on. He wonders who she might be trying to communicate with. We don’t find out the answer to that question yet, but I hope it stays in the reader’s mind.
They watch each other when the other one isn’t aware of it. There are hints of this in the series, but they’re subtle, and open to many interpretations. But I used that in this story to show how strong their feelings are for each other. And Straker breaks first, asking her the question that’s been bugging him for a long time. Would she have married Craig?
Notice how she never mentions that one of the “many reasons” why she wouldn’t have married Craig was because she was in love with her commanding officer? All her other reasons, for all their merit, mean nothing next to that one. But when Straker realizes that they wouldn’t have married, and in fact, were never intimate, his final block to a relationship with her falls – and he acts.
They’re interrupted. I actually took a leaf from the episode where Straker’s on his honeymoon and had the waiter be the interruption. But these two are not on their honeymoon, and he can tell once the boy is gone that the moment is, too. Those readers who’ve enjoyed my other works will know that this setback in no way means that it’s over.
Chapter 7 – Names are very important. I’ve always believed that. It was telling to me that Straker never called her by her first name in the series. Actually, I didn’t know that he ever slipped until Matt pointed it out to me. I had to rewatch the episode where it occurred before I believed it! I also took note that she never called him by his first name – except when he wasn’t around to hear it. This sort of enforced formality tells its own tale, and it made it easy for me to bring up when they finally begin to admit their feelings for each other.
She confronts him with the impossibility of their situation – and he agrees. Then turns the tables on her entirely by confessing his love. She’s shocked to the core, because she’s always assumed that he never thought about her that way. But he’s ruffled her feathers one too many times, and she retaliates – by attacking him.
Chapter 8 – A great deal happens between the end of chapter 7 and the beginning of chapter 8. But since I didn’t want this story to be an adult one, I didn’t include any of that. Besides, it was unnecessary. The reader’s own imagination can easily fill in the blanks. When we return to our couple, they are talking after the fact. Janet Jackson said it best when she said in a song: “It’s not what you say before we start to play, but what you say after, that makes me want to stay.” Post-coital conversations can make or break a relationship. And here we find our lovers tenderly teasing each other as they tell what they really thought about each other when they met.
They’re interrupted before they can play any further, and Straker mentions that they have timing issues. I have a feeling that – for these two – that’s always going to be a problem because of their work. But the tender mood that began the chapter quickly turns dark when we find out why they were interrupted. The aliens are attacking, and their target is Mags!
Now at last we find out why Craig’s words to the commander were so urgent. His daughter was in terrible danger from an enemy only Straker could protect her from. But when they get to her house, they’re too late. In the scene afterwards, in the hotel room, we come face to face with their fresh grief over the loss. And Straker blames himself for not being quicker. Although Virginia doesn’t know what he’s referring to when he says that he’s always too late, I hope the reader does. After all, his son died because he didn’t get the medicine to save him to the hospital fast enough. I was crying when I wrote this scene, which is something that rarely happens when I write. But I tried to keep the angst to a minimum, since wallowing in pain doesn’t help anything. However, I hope it was obvious to the reader how much Straker trusted Virginia to allow himself to break down in front of her. I also hope it was obvious how much she helps him by staying close. She’s good for him, and that’s been a revelation to me during the course of writing this tale.
At the last minute, we find out that all is not lost. Corky and Mags are alive – and they need Straker’s help.
Chapter 9 – The reveal was fun for me to write. And after the emotion of the last chapter, it was also a welcome break. Corky once again is our comic relief, and we find out why the aliens were targeting Mags. Her gizmo intercepted their computer signals. Corky gets to be a hero, and Straker gets them rooms at the hotel for the night.
And Mags makes a comment that flusters Virginia, telling her she thought they were married. So Straker gets to be Virginia’s hero by coming up with a response to that, and the scene ends.
I loved having the device created for something entirely different from what it actually did! Many scientific inventions were actually meant for other applications than those they ended up being used for. And Mags had a unique method of dealing with the ghosts in her life. She tried to find a way to communicate with them. I don’t go into detail about what she experienced, but I hope the reader can tell that her contact with ghosts was similar to what Straker and Virginia had with their own parents.
Epilogue – I don’t always do epilogues, but this story demanded one. We had a few loose ends to tie up between Straker and Lake. We find out that Mags and Corky join SHADO, which should have been expected from Straker’s comments in the last chapter. But it’s nice to have it confirmed. And the commander refers to his colonel by rank, which might make the reader wonder if he’s going to ignore everything they’ve been through since the start of this adventure. But no. He calls her Virginia and asks her for a date. She agrees, calling him by his first name too. And we’re left knowing that their relationship has altered completely. Where will it go from here? It’s anyone’s guess.
I think I’ll just leave it up to your imagination.
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