A/N - for those that are not West Wing fans the characters Sam, CJ, and Will are all part of the show as are all of the people CJ lists at one time, that's straight-up fan service. All other senators listed are made up by me. Also, the acronym OEOB is West Wing for Old Executive Office Building, yes, I could have written that out but they never do in the show. I had to look it up at some point only to find out in reality it is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
A West Wing interlude
"CJ, good to see you," Sam Seaborn said rising from his desk as she entered his senatorial office. "It's been too long."
"It has, Senator" she agreed with a wink meeting him in the middle of the room and giving him a hug. "You too Will."
Will Bailey nodded, stood from the table where he'd been sitting, and hugged her in turn.
"Did anyone see you come in?" Sam asked her.
CJ raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Sorry," he blushed and laughed. "I guess it's not such a big deal."
Will chuckled. "Anyone who wants to bury NASA will expect that we've spoken. May as well make it true. Besides, nothing is more obvious than a person trying to sneak around. We're not doing anything wrong or against committee policies. People meet all the time to discuss testimony."
Neither of the other two responded, simply nodding instead.
"I feel like we're missing some people," Sam said as they sat down around the large round table in the corner of the room, looking at the numerous vacant chairs.
"I know what you mean," CJ replied, looking around as well. "With only the three of us, this room feels a bit empty. I half expect Toby, Josh, Ainsley, Kate, or Cliff to stride through the door with each with their opinion on matters. It would be worse if we met in the OEOB or the west wing. I think I can count on one hand the number of meetings I ever took part in here in the Capitol building."
"I'm actually surprised you haven't heard from Toby," Will commented. "I'd imagine he's pretty invested in the outcome of these hearings."
"Oh, he is. I think Molly may have threatened him that he'd never see any future grandchildren if he didn't stay out of the news. That or Andi said something, and I wouldn't be surprised if Huck called him to put in his two cents. Toby still calls me about once a week for updates, though," CJ said. "I first talked to him months ago, just before the leak."
"Before the leak huh?" Will raised an eyebrow.
"Molly was a bit concerned she'd take the blame when she found out that the story was going to be leaked."
Sam grimaced. "Understandable, all things concerned. Guilt by association. Of course, there would be reporters who would make the connection between her and her father and his NASA leak."
"Yeah, Toby was worried too. I went to New York to fill him in after I stopped here, talked to the president, and then went to Andi. He wanted to volunteer to take the hit for this. I had to point out to him that that wouldn't stop people from suspecting Molly had something to do with it, as she's his only contact point with NASA these days."
"No wonder NASA called you in," Sam observed.
"Annie Montrose had already contacted me as soon as they discovered Mark was alive."
"Smart woman," Will said.
"She is that. She really didn't need my help, though," CJ replied.
"She needed Danny."
"Yes. Then Molly filled her in on the family history before we met up, and she decided she needed me as much as she needed my connections."
Sam shook his head. "This is such a mess. There still would have been hearings even if Sanders had approved the images when requested, but they wouldn't have been as contentious."
"Do you really believe that?" Will asked.
"You know he's an idealist," CJ said. "Sam learned from the best."
"He would have loved this," Sam said with a sigh. "Not the fighting or Mark being left alive on Mars but…"
"But all the science that's being done, the extended mission, the colonizing of a deserted planet," CJ agreed. "He'd have been all over it, wanting to know every little detail. He'd probably have sent a dozen messages to Mark asking about every little thing, especially the potatoes. He'd have wanted to do his own press conferences or virtual classrooms."
"Bartlet was that into space?" Will inquired.
"Oh yes," CJ replied. "He was quite the space nerd."
"Galileo V," she and Sam proclaimed with a tinge of wonderment to their words.
Will stared at the two of them. "What was that?"
"It's a long story," Sam answered. "One we don't have time for right now; some other time maybe."
"Ok."
CJ chuckled. "By the way Sam, when we're done, remind me to fill you in on Mallory. I talked to her just the other day."
Sam ignored the statement and went on. "So you would like to know what the hearings are going to cover, right?"
"I have a feeling I know what some people will ask."
"But you want to know specifically what Sam and I will ask?" Will guessed.
"That would be nice. The astronauts want to know that someone is on their side. After the hearings are over I'll introduce you."
"I'd like that," Sam replied. "So obviously we're going to want a detailed rundown of what happened during the evacuation."
"Each astronaut is prepared to answer that," CJ said. "We also have a typed statement from Mark, and now that contact has been reestablished we might be able to get a recorded statement from him. If you'd like to send him specific questions to address, that can be arranged."
"If we're doing that, we really need to make the offer open to all members of the committee," Will pointed out. "No matter how much we want to leave some of them out."
"I hate being reasonable sometimes," CJ groaned. "But you're right. So let's start with your questions and then I will personally visit the rest of the committee members and get their input and have Annie send it to Mark."
"Someone should probably remind him this is not a good time to be glib, sarcastic, or profane," Sam commented.
"Which is sure to lead to glib, sarcastic, and profane responses," CJ observed. "I think we'll just send the questions to be on the safe side."
"You're going to need to prove they came from him and haven't been edited by Ms. Montrose or anyone in her department."
"We can do that. Is there a particular member of the committee that is going to be the most trouble for us?"
"Senator McCleeran from Missouri," Will answered immediately.
"So I'll have Mark send his responses directly to her. She can bring them to the sessions."
"Why don't you have him send them to all of us," Sam suggested, "along with anyone at NASA that needs them."
CJ nodded. "That's a good idea. This way the other astronauts and those who will be called to testify will know what he said. Though I'm pretty sure his crew can predict his answers."
"Speaking of the crew, who is most likely to be a hostile witness?" Will asked.
"None of them better, or Annie will have their heads," CJ quipped with a chuckle. "Seriously though, they are all professionals and they'll behave as such. I'd imagine Sanders will be a hostile witness. I haven't spoken to the man, however, so I don't know that for a fact. Of the astronauts, I know that every member of his crew is angry. Lewis will put on the best show in support of NASA. They'll all back up what is happening now, and they'll all push the blame on Sanders. They seem to like Dr. Astor, or at least respect her, and they all have a good relationship with Dr. Kapoor. As for other NASA personnel, Mitch Henderson is the one most likely to get heated if he feels attacked, or in defense of his astronauts, and the program itself. He might need someone sitting beside him to kick him under the table."
"Is there any way we can avoid having him testify," Sam said suddenly, the worry clear in his voice.
CJ laughed. "I wasn't serious. He'll get frustrated, and I'm sure they'll be able to tell in his tone, but he's smart enough to keep it under control. He won't say anything that would risk his job right now. I can't promise that when this is all over he won't write a tell-all book though."
Will raised an eyebrow. "Ah ha."
"Yes," CJ nodded.
'What?" Sam asked. "What am I miss… oh, well, that should have been obvious. He's aware someone will ask him about that, isn't he? That someone will ask if he had knowledge of the requests for imaging and how they came to light?"
"Yes. So, the committee will start by asking what happened that led to the evacuation, and how Mark was left on Mars. Then they'll move into the imaging requests and the administrator's denials," CJ said.
Will nodded. "Weber will want to know what NASA was doing in the year between. Lirette will then want a very detailed account of everything that has happened between the discovery of Mark being alive to now."
"They're looking for NASA to justify the money being spent, obviously," Sam put in.
"Please tell me at least one of them will actually say that, or some form of that," CJ pleaded. "I really want one of them to ask any of the astronauts or NASA employees something that hints they don't want to pay to rescue Mark."
"I don't know if any of them are dumb enough to say it outright. They'll hem and haw, and point out that all we need to do is leave one of the Ares IV crew behind," Will said. "I know, I know, before you say anything, they all have jobs onboard Hermes. It makes sense for them all to be there."
A/N: Yes, I picked on Missouri as the state with the senator that will be the biggest issue. I figured I'd pick on my home state. ;)
"Whoever is making the argument will just say that the Ares III crew managed the ship just fine on their return, however," CJ replied. She sighed and sat back in her chair. "They're not wrong. I'll have Venkat ready to explain why six members is ideal for the mission and why Mark shouldn't be counted as one of those six. I'm going to have to think about who the right person…"
"CJ," Sam called her name, "you kinda trailed off there. What are you thinking?"
She held up a hand as she raised her eyes to the ceiling and thought. The two men exchanged a glance.
"I need to talk to Melissa," she said, quickly pulling out her phone.
"Melissa?" Sam asked.
"Lewis, presumably," Will answered as CJ tapped away on her screen.
"She's the perfect one to make a statement, closing or opening. We just have to decide which, while pointing out the reasons why this mission is beneficial for both NASA and mankind. She's also the most level-headed outside of Alex Vogel, and the one most likely to be able to give a passionate appeal for why it was worth the cost of sending supplies to keep Mark alive. How about you two former speechwriters craft a statement for her," CJ suggested. "Maybe include something about how astronauts know they are signing up for dangerous missions. They know they risk death, but that sentencing a man to death by starvation because of a lack of foresight on the part of his superiors and an unpredictable previously unbelievable storm left him alone on a deserted planet."
"You're not so bad with words yourself," Will commented.
"After all this time, I'd hope so," she replied with a smile. "I need to go. The President would like an update from someone not officially with NASA and JPL. Send me the statement when you get it written and don't expect Melissa to read it word for word. She's bound to put her own spin on it."
"Yes ma'am," Sam said with a wink and a laugh.