Honor Among Enemies

your generator and put as much space between you and this volume of n-space as you can before you go back into hyper.'

'You coward!' Klaus Hauptman hissed. He was out of control, and he knew it, and it shamed him, but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't fear for himself; it was fear for his daughter which drove him. 'You're not even going to try to defend this ship! You're just going to run away and hope no one spots us! You're abandoning us to save your own gutless...'

'Daddy, shut up!' Hauptman whirled from the com, for the icy voice wasn't Honor Harrington's. It was Stacey's, and her eyes flamed with a fury he'd never seen in them before.

'But she's...'

'She's about to die for you, Daddy,' Stacey Hauptman said in a voice of iron. 'Surely that should be enough even for you!'

Hauptman staggered, wounded as no one had ever wounded him, and his soul shriveled at the look in his daughter's eyes.

'But...' He swallowed. 'But it's you I'm worried ab...' he began again, but Stacey only reached past him and slammed her hand down on the com disconnect. And then she turned her back and walked out of his stateroom without another word.

'He's off the link, Milady,' Fuchien said quietly. 'I'm sorry. You don't need that kind...'

'Don't worry about it.' Honor shook her head, then glanced at Rafe Cardones. 'Start the transfers. I want all our wounded and every nonessential member of this crew aboard that ship in thirty minutes. Be sure Dr. Holmes and all our POWs go with them.'

'Yes, Ma'am.' Cardones nodded sharply, and she turned back to Fuchien.

'We'll do our best to draw them after us. How good are your sensors?'

'We've got the same electronic suite the Homer-class battlecruisers started the war with, and we've received most of the Phase One and Two upgrades, including the decoys and EW drones, everything but the stealth systems and FTL com. Those were too highly classified.'

'That good?' Honor was impressed, and she rubbed the tip of her nose again. 'That's better than I'd hoped for. You should have a significant advantage over the Peeps, then.'

'I know,' Fuchien said. 'They must've been lying doggo under tight EmCon when we blundered right into them. If they weren't, Hawkwing should've seen them even if we...'

'What did you say?' Fuchien frowned in surprise, for Honor's face had suddenly gone paper-white. 'Did you say Hawkwing?' she demanded harshly.

'Yes, Milady. Hawkwing, Commander Usher. Did... did you know the Commander?'

'No.' Honor closed her eyes, and her nostrils flared. Then she shook her head. 'No,' she repeated in a low voice, 'but I knew Hawkwing. She was my first hyper-capable command.'

'I'm sorry, Milady,' Fuchien said softly. 'I don't know what to...' It was her turn to shake her head. 'I know it's not much, Milady, but she and Commander Usher are the only reason we even had a chance to run. My tac officer... doesn't think there were any survivors.'

'I see.' Honor had commanded five starships. Now the second had been scrapped, the first had been destroyed, and the last was about to die with her. She allowed herself one more moment to grieve for the ship which had once meant all the universe to her, then opened her eyes once more, and her soprano voice was calm and even. 'All right, Captain. I'll be transferring at least one of my surgeons, as many SBAs as I can spare, and all our wounded to you. Do you have the facilities to handle them?'

'We'll damned well make the facilities, Milady.'

'Thank you. Now, about the LACs. They're a new model, and the six of them can probably stand up to a heavy cruiser for you if they have to. They don't have hyper generators or Warshawski sails, however. They can't enter a grav wave, and you'll have to take their crews off and destroy them when you begin translating.'

'Then you should take them with you,' Fuchien said.

'If we're going to run for n-space anyway and they're powerful enough to be that much use...'

'They aren't powerful enough to make the difference against a battlecruiser,' Honor said, the words a tacit admission of the truth both women knew. 'They'd be destroyed either way, and at least this way you'll have some cover if another Peep stumbles over you.' And I can at least get their people out alive.

'I...' Fuchien began, then stopped herself. 'You're right, of course,' she said quietly.

'I'm glad you agree.' Honor allowed herself a brief smile. 'I think that's about everything, then, and I have things to attend to here. I'll make only one final request of you, if I may.'

'Anything, Milady.'

'Please stand by to receive a data transfer for the Admiralty. I'd like the First Lord to know what we accomplished before...' She shrugged.

'Of course, Milady. I'll deliver it in person. You have my word.'

'Thank you.' Honor’s plot showed the LACs launching from her undamaged starboard side and the first pinnaces and cutters moving towards Artemis. The liner's shuttles were launching as well, to aid in the transfer, and she nodded.

'In that case, Captain Fuchien, let's be about it,' she said quietly, and cut the link.

The frantic flow of personnel from Wayfarer to Artemis went with breakneck speed, for time was critically short. Despite the pressure, Rafael Cardones and Scotty Tremaine managed to impose a draconian order on the transfers, and the list of evacuees Cardones had drawn up at Honor’s order was inflexible.

All three of John Kanehama's assistants went, for Artemis' stealthy escape maneuvers would require as much astrogation assistance as she could get. Fred Cousins and his entire department went, for there would be no one for Wayfarer to communicate with once she separated from Artemis. Harold Sukowski and Chris Hurlman went, as did every one of Vaubon’s surrendered officers. Hydroponics specialists, extra sick berth attendants, and Marines who would not be needed for boarding parties went. Logistics officers and storekeepers, signal yeomen and quartermasters, personnel officers and cooks, every human being not essential to fight the ship or repair her damages went, and if they were relieved to be spared, every one of them was also consumed with guilt for leaving their shipmates behind. But not all of those on the list went. Master-at-Arms Thomas was dead, as was his senior assistant, and none of Wayfarer's surviving police force thought to check the brig. Randy Steilman, Jackson Coulter, Elizabeth Showforth, Ed Illyushin, and Al Stennis had been given skinsuits when the ship went to battle stations. But they were still confined in their cells, which were located at the core of the ship and safer than almost any other place aboard her, anyway, and brig skinnies didn't have coms... which meant no one heard their screams for release.

Scotty Tremaine was supposed to go, along with Horace Harkness. There would be no need for a Flight Ops department with all but two of their pinnaces and all their LACs away. But neither Tremaine nor Harkness had any intention of leaving their ship, and Tremaine sent two of his regular pinnace pilots and their flight engineer in their place.

Ginger Lewis was supposed to go, too. She was still on the restricted-duty list, but she knew Harold Tschu would need every available hand to try to clear the jammed cargo doors. And so she ignored the order to board a pinnace, passing her place to a twenty-two-year-old computer tech on his first deployment, and made her way with white-faced calm to Damage Control Central.

Yoshiro Tatsumi was another who turned down the chance of escape. He'd been detailed to accompany Dr. Holmes, but he quietly swapped places with another SBA. Dr. Ryder had stood by him when he needed her; now she would need him.

Other men and women made the same decisions, turning their backs on the way home. In some cases it was courage, in others defiance, but for all of them, it was also loyalty. Loyalty to their ship, to their fellow crewmen, to individual officers and duty, and, above all, to their captain. Honor Harrington needed them, and they refused to leave her.