Disclaimer: This writer holds no claim to Star Trek or any of its characters or names. He only holds claims to his own ideas and story lines.

Chapter 11

One Week Later on Earth

Man's One Constant

The one constant in the universe, it seems, is politics. No matter where you go, or what you do, there will always be some Politian with his/her nose stuck right in the midst of things. This was what was going through Logan's mind as he sat before the Senate Oversight committee. He heard someone say "Captain McDaniel, could you please give me your undivided attention?" He looked into the eyes of Senator Carol Seigle, who was a liberal that would do whatever she could to stunt military spending. Logan said "Sorry…what was the question again?" Seigle chuckled and replied "Your heart really isn't in this is it?" "No" replied the captain "I just attended the wake of a friend whom I have known since I was 10 years old. I am sorry but I am having a hard time concentrating. What was the question again?" he asked.

"The question Captain was this: Once you saw that the Borg ship was damaged so severely that it was splitting in half, why didn't you direct all ships to stop firing on it? Why didn't you offer to help these beings, and maybe by extending an olive branch you could have made a truce with them?" "A Truce?" replied Logan as he sat straight up in his chair and he said "Senator, you obviously don't have the ability to grasp the situation here. They are not some benevolent race of beings whose intention it is to give us a cure for some terrible disease! No! They are a conquering race who assimilates their captives and turns them into their own race, whether the captive wants it or not." Senator Seigle said "And you know for a fact do you?" "Yes I do!" shouted McDaniel. "I viewed the logs of the Saratoga and that ship came out of hyperspace and without any warning whatsoever fired upon the Saratoga, not once, but four times knocking out both the front cats and the angle cats, and hitting her amid ship so they couldn't get planes from the launch bay to the receiving bay." "There was no reason for it, and if you would have taken the time to look at the log you would have seen that." Seigle rolled her eyes and said "Captain, I know how easy it is to doctor log recordings, so those recordings don't mean a thing. As far as I am concerned Captain Macy fired first upon a race of people that she knew nothing about because she got scared being out there without her precious battle group." McDaniel stood up and pointed his finger at the senator and yelled "Lynn Macy wasn't even on the bridge when this attack started she was headed for her quarters, and no one doctored the logs!" With that he turned and briskly walked out with Senator Seigle yelling for him to return to his seat.

As he walked outside a Humvee pulled up and a Marine got out and said "Sir, the Yorktown is under attack from one of those cubes and the Hancock has been ordered to assist." About that time Senator Seigle came up and said "I think I'll tag along and show you how to do things." "Fine" said McDaniel "just stay out of my way!" Logan got in the front on the passenger side while Seigle got in the back and they left for the air field.

When they got to the air field a Star Wolf was waiting for them. They got in strapped in and the pilot lifted off and headed for the sky. Logan looked at the wall across from him and remained silent, but Senator Seigle tried to make small talk. Finally Logan told her: "Look you wanted to come along, but if you are going to talk incessantly I will make you stay abort this craft and have the pilot deliver you back to earth. If you want to come along, keep quiet. Understood?" "Yes Sir!" She retorted giving him a sarcastic snappy salute. She sat there for a few more minutes and then said "I don't know how your wife puts up with you! Are you this way around her?" Logan stared at her with piercing eyes and said in a firm voice "Please Shut Up, Will You?" That seemed to end the conversation part of the trip.

After they landed on the deck of the Hancock Chief Fallon looked at the Senator and asked Logan "What's she doing here?" "Oh…hmm…she thinks she's going to extend an olive branch" he said in a mocking voice "and make a truce with these things." Fallon said, "Well, I learned my lesson about them there's no making peace with them, and I have a feeling that she will figure that out. Logan looked at and cracked a smile and said all it took for you to see it was to see one of your own get assimilated, but she is going to have to be assimilated before she will see it." They both chuckled and Logan said "Find her a berthing quarters would ya?" "Sure." And then Logan headed towards the bridge.

He went through the hatch and heard someone follow him, as he turned around he saw Senator Seigle coming towards him, and he put up his hand and said "Stop right here, I told Chief Fallon to find you some Quarters, so you go with him." "Psst" she said "I didn't come here to be pampered, I am going to the bridge, now either lead the way or get out of my way Captain!"

Now he was really regretting allowing her to tag along. Who did she think she was anyway? He was the commanding officer of this ship and she was treating him like he was a little child. As she started to go around him he put his hand on the bulkhead blocking her way. She backed up and stared at him with anger in her eyes and said "Who do you think you are?" He responded "I think I am the Commanding Officer of this ship." Then he picked up the phone on the bulkhead and pushed the button for the Marine Detachment and asked for a Marine Guard to his location at once. The voice on the other end responded "Aye Captain." She looked at him suspiciously and said "You wouldn't dare!" and he said "No? Watch me!" So they stood there until the two marines showed up. One of them was SSgt Mathers, and Logan said "Good Mathers Find this woman some appropriate berthing and don't let her out of your sight! Understood?" Mathers snapped to attention and said "Understood Sir, I won't fail you again." "I'm sure you won't" and with that he turned and started off towards the Bridge all the while putting ear plugs in his ears to stifle the very loud protests that Senator Seigle was yelling.

He stepped on to the escalator and rode up to the upper level and stepped off and walked up to the hatch leading on to the bridge. He opened the hatch and walked on and heard "Captain's on the bridge" and immediately everyone snapped to attention—well everyone that is but Marsha, she had gotten a little tired of snapping to attention when all he was going to do was tell everyone to stand down anyway. Logan had a sick sense of humor and if he had more time he thought about reading her the right act, and a smile crossed his face. She saw it and knew what was on his mind and said "Don't even think about it." He chuckled and said "everyone stand at ease" and everyone went back to what they had been doing.

Marsha moved in close and asked "Is it true what I'm hearing?" Logan replied "I don't know! What are you hearing?" She said "I heard that the wicked witch of the west was aboard." Logan chuckled and said in a low voice "Weeelll if you are talking about Senator Seigle, you are correct, but she is under Marine guard locked away in some berthing quarters." Marsha gave him a mischievous grin and said "Only you would have the guts to do that to a sitting Senator." He put an innocent look on his face and said "What? It is for her protection! I would hate for someone on this ship to mistake her for a Borg." With that Marsha died laughing.

He asked "Are we ready to get underway?" "All departments have checked in sir" replied the helmsman, so he turned to the officer of the deck and said "Go To General Quarters." The Officer said "Yes Sir" then he said over the mic ": "Now Hear This! General Quarters! General Quarters! All Hands Man Your Battle Stations! General Quarters! General Quarters! All Hands Man Your Battle Stations!" Starboard side up and forward, port side down and aft. Move it people, this is not a drill. Set condition Zebra throughout the ship! All departments check in with DC Central!"

He looked at the helmsman and said full speed ahead, and the helmsman informed the ship that we would be going to full speed and then pushed the throttle to full speed, and the carrier began to move. They had to get out of Earth's space before they could use the FTL's so they wouldn't be caught in any of the outer planets gravity wells.

The deck officer stated that all departments were manned and ready and Logan informed the officer to go to flight quarters, but not to launch. Then the officer announced "Flight Quarters, Flight Quarters, All Hands man your Flight Quarters Stations." By the time they got to Fight Quarters they were well past Jupiter's moons and Logan instructed the deck officer to input the co-ordinance for the Yorktown into the FTL computer and standby to jump. The deck officer instructed the helmsman to input the co-ordinance and while he was doing that the deck officer got on the ship's 1MC to the Ship and said "All Hands Prepare to go to FTL." As the captain sat back in his chair he listened as the helmsman called out "5-4-3-2-1" and in a blaze of lights the Hancock jumped.

When they emerged into normal space again Logan could see the Yorktown lisping to the port side her receiving bay was on fire and on his com he could hear all the chat from her fighters. They couldn't land and/or refuel or re-arm. Logan picked up his receiver and pushed the button for communications and informed the communications officer to let the fighter pilots from the Yorktown know that they could land, refuel and re-arm and relaunch on the Hancock. He then informed the Flight Officer to get ready to receive. He also instructed him to start launching fighters.

He heard "Communications to the Bridge" "This is the Bridge" Logan said. "Captain you have a communique from CTF. Do you want me to send it up?" No, I do not; I am in the middle of a battle here. Whatever it is I am sure it can wait!" He then ordered "Fire all cannons" and all cannons began to fire at the Borg vessel.

"Captain, CTF demands to speak to you now" came an announcement from communications. Logan sighed as he knew what this was all about; that woman probably called it in that he had her under guard. "Go ahead pipe it up here."

He saw on his view-screen Admiral Watson who said "McDaniel, what are doing, locking a sitting Senator away in a room under Marine Guard?" "Excuse me Admiral" Logan replied "but I don't have time to baby sit her, I am in the middle of a battle, and I don't want her on the bridge while this is going on. She will get the grand tour after we mop up." "Don't play games with me McDaniel" Watson said with an angry voice "Just because you got command of the Navy's Flag Ship doesn't mean you will keep it. Now you get her out of that room and let her go where she pleases, and I mean NOW MISTER! IS THAT CLEAR?" Logan stood there in silence for a moment and Watson should "NOW McDaniel!" "Fine" Logan said "as you wish, but whatever happens to her is on your head Admiral because I wash my hands of the whole ordeal. Watson said "As of this minute Senator Seigle is in Command of this Armada."

People on the bridge couldn't believe their ears. Did Admiral Watson really mean what he said? Was he really going to put a Senator who had never been in the Military in command of a ship over a Captain who grew up in the Military with numerous battles on his record?

Logan picked up the phone and instructed SSgt Mathers to let Senator Seigle go where she wanted to go and to take her where she wanted to go. Moments later she walked on to the bridge. The first thing she did was to instruct communications to connect to all ships and fighters. When that was done, she said "This is Senator Seigle, and as of this moment I am in charge. So stop fighting right now, all fighters pull back and land." Logan heard the fighters start saying "I am not doing any such thing I answer only to the Old Man." She looked at Logan and he stood there silently. She said "Tell them to obey me!" Logan said "You can take my command away from me, once that is done I have no right to tell them anything at all. You are in command, you make them follow your orders."

She told the helmsman to get closer to the cube and the helmsman refused, he said "I am not that stupid Mam, you might be, but I am not." She said "Then you will be court-martialed." He said "Maybe so, but I am not going to put this ship in danger." Seigle looked around the bridge and saw that no one was going to obey her so she threw the receiver of the sound powered phone against the deck and broke it and she stormed out screaming at the top of her voice.

Logan went down the ladder and informed Marsha of what had happened and asked her to take over as acting Captain. She agreed if he would take over as acting first officer. He stayed at her post in CIC while she went to the bridge. The battle raged on for 20 more minutes when the Borg cube disappeared into space.

The ship secured from GQ and Logan went to his quarters to make a call to CTF to talk to Admiral Yancy about what had happened. He couldn't get through to the Admiral at that point so he laid back on his rack and waited.