On Basilisk Station

1993

Basilisk Station is the Royal Manticoran Navy's 'Punishment Posting'. Where those who have proven incompetent elsewhere are sent to vegetate. So it was a surprise when Honor Harrington, the Royal Manticoran Navy's brightest young Captain, finds herself posted there. Her sin had been to show up an Admiral's failings - A Bad Thing in any Navy!

On the way to their new posting, she has to fight the disgust of her crew but worse is to follow when they reach their destination for the senior commander on station is one Pavel Young, who many years previously had tried to rape Cadet Harrington, but had been caught out by her high gravity musculature. Now, in a petty attempt to destroy her career, he fakes up a reason to return to Manticore, leaving her the sole Naval presence in the system.

All Honor has to do is to patrol a whole star system in a ship that does not have it's full complement of small craft, or weaponry and is woefully unprepared in terms of moral.

The efforts of attempting to come up to her expectations gives the crew a purpose and makes them a proper crew once more. An attitude that is helped no end by the amount of smuggled goods that the customs patrols are finding for the Manticoran Navy believes in Prize Money on all impounded goods and vessels!

However, darker deeds are under way on the planet and in the space surrounding Basilisk. The natives are proving restless and it had become clear that their drug of choice was being manufactured off-planet. When a drugs lab is traced and raided, back tracking the power source leads to a very embarrassing result for the resident high-commissioner!

The truth is revealed when that Peep merchantman orbiting the planet is shown in her true colours. But what can Honor do about it? She's only the one ship and that freighter is massively bigger than she is!

---