Honor Among Enemies

Honor nodded once more. She understood Cortez's emotions now. The Fifth Space Lord was an experienced combat commander. He understood the implications of what he was telling her, and he felt personally responsible for them. He wasn't, but that didn't change the way he felt.

Her brain ticked with a curious detachment as she considered the news. No captain wanted to take an ill- prepared crew into combat, and, in a way, that was more true of a Q-ship’s CO than any other. Q-ships normally operated solitaire. There wouldn't be anyone else to bail them out if it hit the fan, and they would live or die by how well their own people did their jobs. Worse, the rush to deploy her squadron meant there would be next to no time for the drilling misfit crews required. She felt confident of her ability to convince even the worst troublemaker to do things her way, but she'd need time to do it, and people whose sole shortcoming was lack of experience would need even more careful handling. If she didn't have that time...

'I'm sorry, Milady,' Cortez said quietly. 'I assure you my staff and I will do the best we can, and, frankly, I delayed this meeting as long as I could in hopes that one of my people would come up with some brilliant solution. Unfortunately, no one did, and, under the circumstances, I felt it was my duty to explain the situation to you personally.'

'I understand, Sir.' Honor gazed down at Nimitz for a moment, stroking his spine, men looked back up at the admiral. 'All you can do is the best you can do, Sir Lucien, and every captain knows it's up to her to kick her crew into shape, if that's what it takes. We'll manage.'

She heard the false confidence in her own voice, but it was the only possible response, for it was a captain's responsibility to turn whatever manpower she was given into an effective fighting force. It was also a job she'd done before, but not, a small inner voice said coldly, under quite this severe a handicap.

'Well,' Cortez looked away for a moment, then met her eyes once more, 'I can offer you one thing, Milady. Short as we are on experienced personnel, I've managed to scrape together a core of solid officers and NCOs. Frankly, most of them are a bit junior for the posts we'll be assigning them to, but their records are excellent, and I believe you'll find several have served with you before.' He took a data chip from his desk drawer and leaned over the desk to hand it to her. 'I've listed them on the chip here, and if there are any other officers or ratings you'd care to specifically request, I'll do my utmost to get them. I'm afraid it'll be a case of whether or not they're available, but we'll certainly try. As far as the newbies are concerned, your squadron has first call. They may still be wet behind the ears, but at least we'll give you the ones with the highest efficiency ratings.'

'I appreciate that, Sir,' Honor said, and she did.

'I have managed one other thing I think you'll pleased to hear,' Cortez said after a moment. 'Well, two, actually. Alice Truman's just made list, and we've assigned her to command Parnassus as your second-in-command.'

Honor's eyes lit at that, but there was an edge of concern under her delight. Despite the anticipation she'd begun to feel over the past three days, she remembered how she'd first seen her command. An officer of Truman's caliber, especially one who'd just made the senior captain's list, which virtually assured her of future flag rank, might well regard assignment to a Q-ship as a slap in the face. Honor wouldn't blame her, but if she held Honor responsible for it...

'I think I should mention,' Cortez added, as if he could read her mind, 'that we explained the situation fully to her and she volunteered for the slot. She was slated to assume command of Lord Elton, but Elton's in for a five-month overhaul. When we asked her if she'd consider a transfer to Parnassus instead and explained she'd be serving with you, she accepted immediately.'

'Thank you for telling me that, Sir,' Honor said with a smile of mingled gratitude and pleasure. 'Captain Truman is one of the finest officers I've ever known.' And, she reflected, the fact that Alice had volunteered even knowing the immense task they faced warmed her heart.

'I thought you'd be pleased,' Cortez replied with a small smile of his own. 'And, in addition, I think I've found you an executive officer you'll like.'

He pressed a button on his com panel and leaned back in his chair again. A few moments later, the door opened once more and a tall, dark-haired commander walked through it. He was built on long and lean lines, with a hawk-like nose and a ready smile. The breast of his tunic bore the white-barred blue ribbon of the Order of Gallantry and the red-and-white ribbon of the Saganami Cross, and, like Honor herself, the blood-red stripe of the Monarch's Thanks marked his right sleeve. He looked decidedly on the young side, even for a prolong recipient, to have acquired two of the Star Kingdom’s four top medals for valor, and even as Honor rose in pure delight, her mind's eye could still see the awkward puppy of a junior-grade lieutenant she'd taken to Basilisk Station with her just eight years before.

'Rafe!' she cried, cradling Nimitz in the crook of her left arm to extend her right hand.

'I believe you two have met, Milady,' Cortez murmured with a small smile as Commander Cardones gripped her hand fiercely.

'I didn't get the chance to serve with you very long in Nike, Skipper,' he said. 'Maybe this time will work out better.'

'I'm sure it will, Rafe,' she said warmly, and turned to look at Cortez. 'Thank you, Sir. Thank you very much.'

'He was due for a stint as someone's exec, Milady,' the Fifth Space Lord said, waving off her thanks. 'Besides, you seem to be making something of a career out of completing his training. It would be a pity to break up the team when you clearly still have so far to go.'

Cardones grinned at the comment which, eight years before, would have reduced him instantly to red- faced, mumbling incoherence, and Honor smiled back at him. For all his youth, Rafael Cardones was one of the best tactical officers she'd ever seen, and he'd clearly gone right on maturing in the time she'd spent in Yeltsin.

Cortez watched her evident pleasure and Cardones' matching happiness, and respect for his new CO, and wondered if Lady Harrington realized how deliberately the younger officer had modeled himself on her. Cortez had gone to some lengths to find her the right executive officer, and a simple comparison of Cardones' record before and after first serving under her showed that his own teasing comment wasn't far off the mark. In fact, Cortez had run similar comparisons on several officers who'd served under her, and he'd been impressed by what he'd found. Some of the RMN’s most effective combat commanders had never been good teachers; Honor Harrington was. In addition to her sterling battle record, she'd shown an almost mystic ability to pass her own dedication and professionalism on to subordinates, and to the officer commanding the Bureau of Personnel, that was almost more precious than her own combat skills.

Now he cleared his throat, recapturing their attention, and nodded to Cardones.

'The Commander has a partial roster of Wayfarer's company, Milady. It's very rough so far, but at least it may serve as a beginning. He's already suggested a few other officers and petty officers to help flesh it out, and my staff is currently running a records search to see how many, if any, of them are available. I understand Admiral Georgides estimates another three weeks before you can power up and begin moving personnel aboard?'

'Approximately, Sir,' Honor replied. 'I think he's being pessimistic, but I doubt he'll be able to shave more than a few days off his estimate. Parnassus and Scheherazade will complete about the same time, but it looks like Gudrid will need at least another ten days.'

'All right.' Cortez pursed his lips, then nodded to himself. 'I'll have at least a captain and an exec for all four of them by Thursday. By the time you can actually start putting people aboard, we should have all your commissioned personnel either on hand or designated and en route. We'll try to have your warrant and petty officers all lined up by then, too, and General Vonderhoff assures me your Marine complements won't present any problem. As far as your enlisted personnel are concerned, however, it's going to be catch as catch can. I have no idea how quickly, or in what order, we'll be able to assemble them, though we'll do our best.'

'I'm sure you will, My Lord, and I appreciate it,' Honor said sincerely, well aware of how unusual it was for Cortez to personally discuss the manning problems of a single squadron with the officer designated to command it.

'It's the least we can do, Milady,' Cortez replied, then grimaced again. 'It's never a good thing when partisan politics interfere in military operations, Milady, especially when it costs us the services of an officer with