Writer's Notes: I don't normally do writer's notes but the boards have been so dead...
I have a dog. And the challenge was for a 'four-footed hero'. (I'm surprised nobody has written a story about a heroic rodent, but one might show up.
)
I have a habit of starting stories in the middle and this one's no different - we start with Nils and Sultan waiting to start on their first search for SHADO then backtrack to find out how Nils (a lowly SHADO security guy - AKA red shirt) ended up with the dog from Square Triangle.
And there were some interesting issues with the Square Triangle - Foster's assumption that the dog would be able to follow the alien's trail despite all the strange people and the trauma of losing his human partner was a bit of a stretch even when I saw the episode the first time. So some backstory for Sultan was in order - a partially trained (and highly capable) search dog would fit the bill.
And of course Jackson's ahead of everybody in recognizing what a treasure SHADO has stumbled onto - and sending Sultan to look for Straker... let's say that Jackson has a devilish sense of humor. :
Nils isn't a Control Room operative - I wanted someone for whom being called into Straker's office implied being called on the carpet. Someone who only knew Straker by reputation so Straker's orders for creating a SAR corps for SHADO would be a surprise..
On real Search and Rescue dogs - one of the hallmarks of SAR dogs is their capacity for play - and searching is the bestest game ever created, no matter how seriously the humans take it. And the relationship of human and dog in SAR is a true partnership.