Honor Among Enemies consists of a prologue and 42 chapters.
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Prologue
The Manticoran merchant liner Bonaventure has just arrived in the Telmach System when first officer Christina Hurlman notices a ship coming at them from astern. Captain Harold Sukowski realizes that they have run into a pirate, and orders his crew to abandon ship. Commander Hurlman refuses to leave him behind, and so they remain on the bridge, drinking coffee.
Chapter One
Admiral Sir Thomas Caparelli, First Space Lord of the Royal Manticoran Navy, has a meeting with Klaus Hauptman, head of the powerful Hauptman Cartel and owner of the Bonaventure. He complains about the ever growing number of piracy incidents in the Silesian Confederacy, which has begun to seriously damage Manticore's economy, driving shipping prizes as well as insurance rates up. A solution has to be found soon, even though the Navy is stretched thin on light ships for convoy duty.
Admiral Hamish Alexander, Earl of White Haven is in the process of planning the greatest military operation of the war so far -- the liberation of Trevor's Star -- and gives a report to Admiral Caparelli. The First Space Lord promises to consider the idea, and then they turn their attention to Silesia. Even though the trade in the Confederacy is not absolutely vital to the Star Kingdom's survival, the displeased merchant cartels could cause major political problems through their connections in Parliament, which is the last thing the Navy needs at this point. The two eventually decide to re-assign a number of Q-ships to protect the Silesian trade.
Chapter Two
The Honorable Reginald Houseman, pretty much disgraced since making a personal enemy of Queen Elizabeth III through his treatment of Honor Harrington, meets Klaus Hauptman and Erika Dempsey, head of the Dempsey Cartel, at a party. They discuss the Navy's refusal to give them any more than the four armed merchant cruisers. Hauptman eventually suggests that they need a commander willing to take risks, and mentions Harrington. He believes that she will either deal with the piracy problem, or die trying, leading to a win-win situation for him. Houseman has his doubts, but promises to try and make it happen.
Chapter Three
Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harrington, Countess and Steadholder Harrington, is on the firing range at Harrington House on Grayson, training with her Colt M1911, an Old-Earth handgun presented to her by High Admiral Wesley Matthews. She and her chief armsman, Andrew LaFollet, jokingly discuss the fact that maybe she should be protecting him, when James MacGuiness informs them that Captain Michelle Henke has arrived in the system aboard HMS Agni -- along with Admiral White Haven.
The admiral relays the queen's personal request for Honor to return to active duty with the RMN, so that she can take overall command of the four Q-ships' mission in Silesia. They both are aware that this is hardly an assignment befitting her abilities, but it may be her only chance to return to active duty with the RMN for a long time, considering how much the opposition in Parliament dislikes her. After less than a year, she will have enough seniority for the Admiralty to pull her out for more important duties. Honor promises to consider the request.
Chapter Four
After arriving back in the Manticore System aboard the Grayson cruiser GNS Nathan, Honor thinks about the fact that as Steaholder Harrington, she is now a more senior noble than most members of the House of Lords, officially a foreign head-of-state even.
At dinner with Admiral Aristophones Georgides, commander of the space station Vulcan and a fellow treecat adoptee, Honor watches Nimitz interact with Georgides' treecat companion, Odysseus. She ponders the possible consequences of human society realizing just how intelligent these creatures really are, and is then surprised to be telepathically contacted by Odysseus through Nimitz. A moment later, Admiral Georgides thanks her for accepting her current assignment, and assures her that HMSS Vulcan will help her in whatever way it can.
Chapter Five
Honor and her entourage arrive aboard Her Majesty's Armed Merchant Cruiser Wayfarer, the soon-to-be flagship of Task Group 1037. She inspects Commander Frank Schubert's progress in preparing the ship for the Silesia mission, and thinks about the new features the Alliance has put into the vessel, including missile pod bays and new state-of-the-art light attack craft.
Chapter Six
Honor meets with the Fifth Space Lord, Admiral Sir Lucien Cortez, who informs her that the 12,000 service members needed to crew her task group's four ships will have to be drawn from various other units. They will thus not be the optimum crew one would want for Honor's mission, but at least he has gotten Captain Alice Truman to command HMAMC Parnassus and Commander Rafael Cardones to serve as Honor's executive officer. Honor is delighted by the last part, but also knows that they have a lot of hard work ahead of them.
Chapter Seven
While doing paperwork, Honor is informed that her new flight operations officer has reported for duty; it turns out he is none other than Lieutenant Prescott "Scotty" Tremaine, accompanied, as usual, by Senior Chief Horace Harkness. She is surprised to learn that they have both been reassigned to her from HMS Prince Adrian, and even more that Harkness has been married to Marine Sergeant Major Iris Babcock for eight months.
Some time later, Honor meets with the captains of the other ships in her task group, as well as their executive officers. They include another old acquaintance, Captain (JG) Samuel Webster, now in command of HMAMC Scheherazade. She informs them that another five hundred crewmen will soon arrive, and that she has received the official mission brief. Task Force 1037 is to head for the Breslau Sector of the Silesian Confederacy via the Gregor Terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction. The Andermani Empire and its military are not to be informed of the Q-ships' true nature. On the way, there will be a lot of training to do, which they begin to plan immediately.
Chapter Eight
Electronics Technician First-Class Aubrey Wanderman, who enlisted in the Navy against his father's wishes, is deeply disappointed when he is assigned to an armed merchant cruiser instead of a "real" warship. He is surprised when his classmate and friend Ginger Lewis informs him that the group of Q-ships they are to serve in is commanded by none other than Honor Harrington.
Soon after boarding, Wanderman gets into a quarrel with Power Technician Randy Steilman, a brute and known troublemaker. Senior Chief Sally MacBride, the Wayfarer's bosun, arrives in time to protect Wanderman and severely chastise Steilman and the other "problematic" crewmen present. She also warns them that nothing better happen to Wanderman; once she leaves, Steilman tells Wanderman that even bosuns "have accidents".
Chapter Nine
As Task Force 1037 gets in line for the wormhole transit to the Gregor System, Honor ponders the defensive abilities of Manticore's space forts, as well as the fact that her new chief engineer, Commmander Harold Tschu, is bonded to a female treecat named Samantha who is extremely attractive -- a fact not lost on Nimitz.
Wayfarer and her sister ships enter the wormhole, arrive in Gregor seconds later, and are cleared to proceed to Silesia.
Chapter Ten
During a battle simulation, Aubrey Wanderman comes up with a creative way of rerouting the data stream after the section normally designated to process it is "damaged". Captain Harrington is impressed with his initiative, and orders her staff to try and find a way to permanently implement the new software sollution. Wanderman is transfered to serve as gravitics chief for Lieutenant Carolyn Wolcott as an acting petty officer.
Meanwhile, the convoy arrives in the New Berlin System and approaches the planet Potsdam, capital world of the Andermani Empire. Honor is greeted by Großadmiral Chien-lu Anderman, Herzog von Rabenstrange, a senior officer of the Imperial Andermani Navy and first cousin of Emperor Gustav XI. He makes it clear that his government knows exactly what Task Force 1037's true purpose is, and that the Empire approves of the Star Kingdom's deployment of Q-ships in Silesia. He also invites Honor to dine with him aboard his flagship, which she accepts.
Chapter Eleven
The following evening, Honor is taken aboard the superdreadnought IANS Derfflinger, the first Andermani capital ship she has ever seen with her own eyes. She notices that the ship's marine completement consists of elite Totenkopf Hussars, assigned for Rabenstrange's protection on the personal order of the Emperor.
The Großadmiral himself greets her and her armsmen warmly, and gives her some detailed information the IAN has collected about the situation in the Confederacy. He also admits that part of his mission is to "dazzle" her with his detailed intelligence, thus making clear what a valuable ally the Empire might make. However, he also points out that the Andermani will stay quiet for the time being so as not to distract Manticore from its war with Haven, but that they will not give up their plans for the Silesia area in the long run. As a last courtesy, he provides Honor with a special authentication code which will identify her task force to any IAN warship or naval station and order them to assist her in her mission. Honor thanks the Herzog for this unexpected support, and then they turn their attention to supper.
Chapter Twelve
As the convoy makes its way to the Sachsen System, Honor and Commander Tschu realize that Nimitz and Samantha are in the early stages of courting, which could have interesting consequences for their human bonding partners.
Tschu and Commander Cardones talk to the captain about crew efficiency in the engineering department. The chief engineer explains that the physical distance between the two fusion reactors, the hyper generator, the impeller rooms, and Damage Control Central makes his work less efficient, even though he has already modified the ship's internal communications to be able to monitor everything from one location. Reluctantly, he explains that a major part of the problem is a number of "bad apples" among his crew, who sit around on the job and encourage others to do the same. Their petty officers are afraid to act because of potential "accidents".
As a solution, Tschu wants to promote two second-class technicians to the positions of the petty officers, but both have nowhere near the neccessary seniority, and Honor would have a hard time explaining such promotions to the Bureau of Personnel. She is astonished by Tschu's estimate that Ginger Lewis might even make a good officer in a couple of years. Honor agrees to the plan, and Tschu leaves -- taking Samantha and Nimitz with him, one 'cat on each shoulder.
Chapter Thirteen
On the outskirts of the Arendscheldt System, the Havenite light cruiser PNS Vaubon comes across the wreck of a civilian freighter, the Erewhon. Citizen Commander Warner Caslet orders an inspection of the ship, and finds that the male crew has been executed by pirates, as were the female crewmembers, but only after being raped and abused. The female captain was forced to witness all this and then left to die as the air was vented. Horrified, Caslet requests permission from his People's Commissioner, Denis Jourdain, to inform the Arendscheldt authorities of the hulk's position and go hunt down the pirates responsible for the massacre. The People's Commissioner reluctantly agrees.
Chapter Fourteen
Having arrived in orbit of the planet Sachsen, Honor and her senior staff discuss the new information they have received from the Andermani. Ships are disappearing in the Breslau and Posnan sectors, seemingly being picked out in an unusually organized fashion. In response to this, Honor changes her squadron's deployment plan so that one of her ships will pop up in the most endangered systems every week.
She also notes that the local resistance movements are likely being supported by the People's Republic of Haven, and that everyone should be prepared for a run-in with a Havenite warship.
Chapter Fifteen
Klaus Hauptman arrives at his family estate on Manticore, informing his personal chauffeur and security chief, Ludmilla Adams, that he will soon be going on a trip off-world. He then goes to talk to his sole daughter and heir, Stacey. He informs her of the loss of the Bonaventure, which deeply affects her as Captain Sukowski, the former captain of the Hauptman family yacht, is a close friend of hers. She angrily demands to know why the Navy wasn't there to protect him, and questions the decision to send Honor Harrington to Silesia. Her father, aware that his account of Harrington, whom Stacey has never met, was not exactly unbiased, tries to calm her down. He then informs her of his intention to travel to Silesia in person aboard one of their Atlas-class passenger liners, and is surprised by her announcement that if he goes, she will accompany him.
Chapter Sixteen
In the Walther System, Honor is reading in her day cabin when Commander Cardones informs her that a vessel is approaching the Wayfarer, expected to intercept in about nineteen minutes. She makes her way to the bridge, ordering her com officer to challenge the bogey, which results in a warning shot being fired in her ship's general direction. The Q-ship then unleashes a squadron of six light attack craft commanded by Commander Jacquelyn Harmon, and Honor orders the raider to stand down or be destroyed. The ship's captain surrenders almost instantly.
The raider captain is brought into Honor's cabin under guard, where she informs him that he and his crew have been captured in the act of piracy, giving her the right under interstellar law to execute every one of them. She advises him to be absolutely truthful during Major Susan Hibson's interrogation, then orders him removed from her sight. Once he is gone, Honor explains that she intends to hand over the pirate crew to the local Silesian authorities, but that the ship itself will be scuttled in space to make sure they do not get it back with the help of the corrupt authorities. She also mentions that she will tell all the pirates that if she catches them again, she will have all off them shot and spaced.
Chapter Seventeen
Some time later, Honor hosts a dinner for her officers in celebration of Wayfarer's first victory, and tells them about the local governor seeming rather unhappy with her decision to destroy the pirate ship. They all agree that it seems likely the crew will return to piracy, and that if they catch them again, Major Hibson will have them all shot. They then go on to discuss their next destination.
Meanwhile, Aubrey Wanderman is ambushed and easily overpowered in a hallway by Randy Steilman. Just when the power tech gets ready to beat him up, Sick Berth Attendant Yoshiro Tatsumi arrives and chases Steilman off by saying that Commander Tschu is on his way. Tatsumi then takes Wanderman to sickbay, explaining on the way that Steilman is very dangerous and that he himself, a former drug addict, is in no position to confront him or testify against him. Once they arrive in sickbay, the doctor asks what happened, and Wanderman simply states that he "fell".
Chapter Eightteen
In the Sharon's Star System, Commander Caslet is awakened by his executive officer, who informs him that the Vaubon is being approached by an unidentified vessel, likely a pirate raider. He quickly makes his way to the bridge, where Command MacMurtree informs him that the enemy is coming directly at them from astern, with forty-five minutes till intercept, and that it's exactly the pirate they were looking for.
The raider continues to close, and Vaubon, acting like an Andermani merchant lets it come. Eventually the pirates fires two missiles, and order the Havenite ship to continue on its original heading. Eventually, Commander Caslet orders his crew to drop the disguise, and the Vaubon comes back to full warship mode, firing a laser broadside that easily cripples the pirate vessel. Caslet then identifies himsel and orders the enemy to stand down or be destroyed. When they do not respond, he orders Captain Branscombe and his Marines to board the ship.
Chapter Nineteen
Upon his return from the taken vessel, Captain Branscombe informs Caslet that their attack has killed about half the pirate crew; what is left of the enemy's computers is being checked as they speak. He then introduces Caslet to two Manticoran prisoners he found aboard, who turn out to be none other than Captain Sukowski and Commander Hurlman of the Bonaventure. Hurlman, who shows clear signs of having been sexually abused, reacts violently to any attempt to touch her, and it takes Sukowski some time to calm her down enough to take her to sickbay.
Two hours later, Sukowski meets with Caslet and his officers, while Hurlman is being cared for by Vaubon''s doctor. The Manticoran recounts how the pirates abused him and his XO, and how they were only kept alive so they could collect the ransom the Hauptman Cartel would pay for them. He also informs them that the pirates are part of the force of privateers behind the Chalice Cluster Uprising, headed by the infamous Andre Warnecke. Caslet is astonished to hear this, as the brutal leader of that particular rebellion against the Silesian government was believed to have died; however, Sukowski assures him that Warnecke is alive and in control of a base on an unknown planet outside the borders of the Confederacy, plotting his counter attack.
Once the Manticoran captain has left, Caslet and Commissioner Jourdain agree to continue the hunt for the rest of the "privateers". The Commander orders his crew to prepare the demolition charges on the pirate ship, and be ready to get underway within two hours.