NORTHWORLD

Cardones, and the two of them trotted off towards the building slip at the far end
of Hephastus where Honor's new command, the star Knight-class heavy cruiser
HMS Fearless, was nearing completion. She watched them go, then turned back to
the old Fearless with another sigh. Taken all in all, it had ended well, she
thought a bit sadly. Too many good people had died to undo the mistakes and
greed and stupidity of others, but they'd done it. The Hauptman Cartel had
been cleared of knowing collusion in Basilisk, but the Queen's Bench had decided they
ought to have known what their employees were doing and slapped them rather
firmly on the wrist with several million dollars worth of fines. And the Court of
Admiralty had condemned Mondragon as a legitimate prize for smuggling—a
decision which had, just incidentally, made Captain Honor Harrington a
millionaire Most importantly of all, Haven's attempt to grab off Medusa and the
Junction terminus had galvanized the political situation. Fear that Haven might
try again had turned the Conservative rank and file against Janacek's long fight to
downgrade Basilisk Station, and the Liberals and Progressives had been driven into
full retreat. In fact, the Act of Annexation had been amended in ways that
neither Countess New Kiev nor Baron High Ridge had ever imagined in their
worst nightmares. And then there was Pavel Young. Honor allowed herself a rare,
gloating smile as she considered Young, and Nimitz echoed it with a purr. His
family and political connections had saved him from a court martial or even a
court of inquiry, but nothing could save him from the judgment of his peers. There
wasn't an officer in uniform who didn't realize exactly what he'd tried to do to
Honor, and surprisingly few of them, given his family's power, bothered to hide
their opinion of him. Bad enough that he'd used his rank to knife a junior in the
back, but it was also Lord Pavel Young who had completely ignored the situation
on Medusa itself, It was Lord Pavel Young who had never bothered to board sirius,
never even suspected she was armed, and personally certified the Q-ship's false