“What I have here, Hamish,” he said, “is fourteen official protests from the Havenite ambassador, six from the Havenite consul in Basilisk, sixteen from various Manticoran and out-kingdom merchant cartels, and sworn statements from nine Havenite merchant captains alleging harassment and illegal searches of their vessels. There are also,” he added almost dispassionately, “five similar statements from non-Havenite skippers and three complaints that ‘unjustified threats of deadly force’ have been made by Navy personnel.”

Alexander’s eyebrows had climbed almost into his hairline as the catalog rolled out. Now he blinked. “It seems things have gotten exciting,” he murmured.

“Oh, yes, indeed they have.”

“Well, what are all these protests and statements about?”

“They concern one Commander Honor Harrington.”

“What?” Alexander chuckled. “You mean the one who potted Sebastian with a single broadside?”

“That’s the one,” Webster agreed with an unwilling grin of his own. Then he sobered. “At the moment, Commander Harrington is Acting Senior Officer on Basilisk Station.”

“She’s what? What in God’s name is an officer who can pull off something like that doing on Basilisk Station?!”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Webster protested. “It came down from on high, one might say, after Sonja’s brainchild proved something of a brat in the later Fleet problems.”

“Oh, so she decided to sweep her mistake under the carpet, whatever it cost the officer who actually made it work once for her?” Alexander’s disdain was clear, and Webster shrugged.

“I know you don’t like Sonja, Hamish. For that matter, I’m not too crazy about her myself, but I really don’t think it was her idea this time. I think it was Janacek. You know how that reactionary old—” Webster caught himself. “I mean, you know he watches after the family interests.”

“Um.” Alexander nodded, and Webster shrugged again.

“Anyway, he made his desires known, and I was too busy horse-trading with him on the new engineering wing for Saganami Island to say no.”

“All right, but what’s a commander doing as SO? That ought to be at least a captain.”

“Agreed.” Webster tipped his chair back. “What do you know about Pavel Young?”

“Who?” Alexander blinked at the apparent non sequitur. “You mean North Hollow’s son?”

“That’s the one.”

“Not much—and the little I do know, I don’t like. Why?”

“Because Captain Lord Pavel Young is supposed to be the senior officer in Basilisk. Unfortunately, his ship required ‘urgent refit,’ and he felt the repairs involved were too complicated to leave in the hands of his executive officer. So he brought her home himself—leaving Harrington and a single light cruiser on the station.”

Alexander stared at him in disbelief, and Webster flushed under his astonished gaze.

“Jim, I’ve known you for a lot of years,” Alexander said at length. “So suppose you tell me why you haven’t relieved him?”

“Because of politics,” Webster sighed. “You should know that. That’s one reason I want your impressions of how the Government is likely to react to all this. Christ, Hamish! I’ve got the damned Havenites screaming for blood, half a dozen cartels—headed by Hauptman’s—are madder than hell, Countess New Kiev is getting ready to fight the Naval Estimates tooth and nail, the goddamned ‘New Men’ are sitting right in her hip pocket, and you know what a big gun, politically speaking, North Hollow is! It’s been all I can do to keep Young shuffled off onto the sidelines. Do you really think the Duke is going to thank me if I piss off the Conservative Association at a time like this by relieving the spoiled-darling son of High Ridge’s second-in-command?”