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Name:	On Basilisk Station
Author:	David Weber
Publisher:	Baen Books
Publication Date:	1993
ISBN:	067157793X
Series:	Main Series
Next:	The Honor of the Queen

On Basilisk Station is the first book of David Weber's series of novels and short stories chronicling the adventures of Honor Harrington. It was first published in 1993.

Timeframe: 1900 PD – 1901 PD

Cover Summary Edit

Having made an Admiral look foolish, after succeeding in making a way out idea work once, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and there set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating performance during Fleet exercises and for their posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up to Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser, with an armament that doesn't work, to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

David Mattingly was unhappy with honor's face on this cover and did this revision:

Plot Edit

Commander Honor Harrington, freshly graduated from the Royal Manticoran Navy's Advanced Tactical Course, assumes command of the light cruiser HMS Fearless as it is completing an extensive weapons refit.

A successful young officer with a promising career in the service of her Queen, Honor's delight at her new command soon turns to dismay as she realizes Fearless has been nearly stripped of her normal weapons and turned into a tactical testbed for the new grav lance technology. After initial success in the opening rounds of fleet war games, Fearless suffers defeat after defeat as opposing officers correctly determine the safest way to deal with the light cruiser's refitted weapons is to deny her the chance to use them.

Banished to Basilisk Station by officers eager to sweep their so-called "secret weapon" under the carpet, Honor is even more dismayed to learn the commanding officer of the other RMN ship assigned to the system picket is an old Academy nemesis: Captain Lord Pavel Young has learned of Honor's assignment, and has set her up for failure to discharge her duty. Taking his heavy cruiser Warlock off to Manticore for a "desperately needed" refit, Young leaves Honor and Fearless as the sole RMN unit responsible for the Basilisk System's security. When the widely contradictory picket requirements cause Fearless to stumble in its duty, it will be Honor, not Young, who takes the bullet for the failure.

Grimly buckling down, Honor kicks and drags her crew after her as they address themselves to the tasks set for them. With hard work and clever use of resources, Honor soon has revitalized the RMN's presence at Basilisk and amazed the other Manticoran personnel assigned to the system. Having grown used to the backwater dumping ground circumstances of Basilisk, the Junction and planetary mission staff are delighted to realize they now have a competent and dedicated officer to partner with. Even though shorthanded and lacking full resources to properly address all the requirements of their duty at Basilisk, Fearless and her crew rise to the circumstances.

By her staunt enforcement of the anti-smuggling laws, Honor makes an enemy of Klaus Hauptman, head of the powerful Hauptman Cartel. However, when Hauptman threatens Honor and her family, her first officer, Alistair McKeon, comes to her defense, pointing out the Cartel's indirect involvement in illegal activities on Medusa, and threatening to drag Hauptman before a court for collusion in treason. The business magnate leaves in shame, while Honor and her XO finally begin to connect.

Soon, the People's Republic of Haven, which has been slowly strangling on its own economic policies for over half a century, has set its eyes on the Star Kingdom. The plan Haven has evolved begins with a swift strike to take Basilisk; whipping the low-tech native aliens into a killing frenzy that would sweep across the planet Medusa in a haze of blood is to provide the interstellar pretext Haven desires to swoop in and take control of the system before Manticore can respond. This would provide the means to invade of Manticore through the two wormhole termini Haven would then possess: Trevor's Star and Basilisk.

But through the proper attention to duty, Honor and the Manticoran planetary personnel stumble over pieces of the plan. Assembling the fragments of information into a coherent whole, Honor deduces Haven's intentions and is left with no choice but to act firmly or stand aside while Haven moves into launch position for an invasion. Honor leads Fearless and her crew into a desperate engagement against the Havenite Q-ship PMSS Sirius. Overmatched in everything but courage, Fearless is pounded into scrap during the chase, and suffers terrible casualties among her officers and crew.

Despite this, Fearless succeeds in its desperate mission; they manage to lure the Q-ship within range of their secret weapon and destroy it. Manticore reinforces the system in time to greet the "visiting" Havenite task force, which leaves after a suitable interval to inform Haven of the failure. After extensive repairs just to get the mauled light cruiser underway, Honor Harrington returns to the Star Kingdom to a hero's welcome. Promoted to Captain, she is given command of HMS Fearless (CA-286), a newly constructed Star Knight-class heavy cruiser hastily redesignated to replace the aging, gutted, and scheduled to be scrapped CL-56 which had given so much on Basilisk Station.

Finally, Andrew Yerensky of the Weapons Development Board approaches Honor, asking her to give them her combat evaluation of the grav lance in person. Honor eagerly agrees, obviously looking forward to giving the Board hell about the whole concept.

Background Edit

A 20th anniversary special edition of On Basilisk Stationwill be released on April 2, 2013.

ReferencesEdit

CharactersEdit

StarshipsEdit

StationsEdit

PlanetsEdit

NationsEdit

OtherEdit

Biology

People's Republic of Haven

Star Kingdom of Manticore

Royal Manticoran Navy

Technology

Wormholes

Other

External links Edit

On Basilisk Station on Wikipedia
On Basilisk Station from the Baen Books Honorverse CD
On Basilisk Station at Baen Ebooks
Baen Reading Guides 2011, including a Teacher's Guide to On Basilisk Station

Main Honor Harrington series
HH1	On Basilisk Station	HH8	Echoes of Honor
HH2	The Honor of the Queen	HH9	Ashes of Victory
HH3	The Short Victorious War	HH10	War of Honor
HH4	Field of Dishonor	HH11	At All Costs
HH5	Flag in Exile	HH12	Mission of Honor
HH6	Honor Among Enemies	HH13	A Rising Thunder
HH7	In Enemy Hands	HH14	Shadow of Freedom
Spin off Series
Crown of Slaves		Saganami Island
CS1	Crown of Slaves	SI1	The Shadow of Saganami
CS2	Torch of Freedom	SI2	Storm from the Shadows
Star Kingdom
SK1	A Beautiful Friendship	SK3	Treecat Wars
SK2	Fire Season
Anthologies
HHA1	More Than Honor	HHA4	The Service of the Sword
HHA2	Worlds of Honor	HHA5	In Fire Forged
HHA3	Changer of Worlds	HHA6	Beginnings

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