A/N: Ok this is my first Foray into the exciting world of Scifi fanfiction and I'm looking forward to it, especially as I'm playing in the genre of Honor Harrington, one of my favourite Scifi stories. This story is set during 'The Short Victorious War' although there will be changes to the details of the plotline, I'm expecting the plotline to remain pretty much the same, just with a major OC, a few minor ones and a Ship thrown in for good measure.
Story:
Captain of the List, Lady Dame Honor Stephanie Harrington followed her long time friend Michelle 'Mike' Henke, now Commander Henke, through the corridors of Her Majesties Space Station Hancock.
They were heading to one of the Royal Manticoran Navy's recreational facilities that they provided for their personnel that were serving on Hancock; in short they were going to a bar, in which the two of them were meeting Mike's distant cousin Captain (JG) Paul Tankersley, who was in charge of the repair work being done to Honor's new Battlecruiser command HMS Nike (BC-413), and a friend of his, that neither of them had been told the name of.
Nimitz, currently located in his customary position on his person's shoulder, on the other hand thought the situation was actually quite funny, the chirpy treecat found his person's and Mike's predicament of not knowing who Paul's friend was, and them being subsequently annoyed that he wouldn't tell them, really quite funny, which of course only increased Honor's annoyance because she could feel said amusement through the bond that she and Nimitz shared.
Upon entering the establishment, Honor saw that it was packed with both Navy and Marine personnel, including Nike's Marine CO, Major Flanders, enjoying a pint of beer with some of Hancock Station's Marine compliment, she couldn't help but smile slightly to herself, not that anyone that didn't know her well would notice, Marines always stuck together, even when they were on different assignments.
She heard Mike say "There they are", and looking past her friend she noticed the, now, familiar form of Paul Tankersley sitting at a table near a corner of the room, talking to someone who had their back to the two oncoming women, although just because she couldn't see the person's face she was able to make a few observations about them.
Firstly, their shoulders were immense, and from that Honor would guess that it was a man that she was looking at, a very muscular man. He had long black hair that looked like it was the same colour as oil; it even had a similar sheen to the liquid that it resembled. But aside from his obvious physical characteristics, Honor also noted that whoever he was he, like her, was a starship Commanding Officer, as alongside Paul's black beret lay the dazzling white of a Ships Captain.
"Ah finally Mike, I know you like to arrive at things fashionably late, but this is a bit much even for you, what happened? Did you get lost?" Paul's teasing tones resonated out as Honor and Mike arrived at the table, causing the stain of a blush to creep up the pretty Commander's face at her cousin's tone.
Honor however kept her command mask firmly in place; at least until she had met this other person that was sitting with Paul, she regarded Paul as a friend now, not as close as Mike was, but certainly a friend, therefore he was allowed to see past her command persona, whomever was sitting with him hadn't earned that privilege yet.
The two men stood up as the two female officers approached, it was not a courtesy that many officers clung to, but Honor was impressed that these two men complied by it, as her father had always taught her, "Manners cost you nothing but they can gain you much more."
She was also shocked at the size of the other officer present as he turned to face herself and Mike, he was huge, he was a full half head taller than she was, so he towered over both Mike and Paul, both of whom had been ribbed on more than one occasion about how short they were.
She was also surprised to note that he had an almost spider-web like pattern of scars that crossed the right side of his face, scars were part of the norm for someone who had signed their lives away in the Queen's service, but the fact that the scars had not been removed meant that they ere either of a particularly nasty nature, or they were kept because of some form of significance they represented to the bearer.
Even though he was 'technically' out of uniform, seeing as his beret was sitting on the table next to his two-thirds full stein of beer, he still managed to snap of a parade ground class salute that impressed Honor, she felt a small smile grace her lips as she returned the salute, the she saw something that made her raise her eyebrows in surprise, and get a soft surprised "bleek" from Nimitz.
It was the ribbon board on his chest; it contained some of the highest medals awarded in the Star Kingdom of Manticore, like Honor's own ribbon board it contained the Manticore Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, an the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. But it differed in that she noted that he had also received the Saganami Cross, named for the founder of the 'modern' Manticoran Navy, Edward Saganami.
But it wasn't this that shocked her the most; it was the fact that his tunic bore the crimson, blue and white ribbon of the Parliamentary Medal of Valor, the Kingdom's highest award for courage and personal dedication to duty at great personal risk in continual service to the Kingdom, and as such he was entitled to a salute from anyone wearing a Manticoran uniform whether they be Navy, Army or Marines.
Honor raised her eyebrow at the unknown officer, indicating that she wanted an explanation as to why he had effectively wavered his right to take an initial salute from her, he also noted that the sleeves of his uniform bore the same four gold cuff rings as her own, but his collar had four gold pips, making him a Captain Junior Grade, as opposed to a Captain of the List.
Smiling the junior Captain said "Forgive me Captain Harrington, but since Her Majesty saw fit to award me the PMV, it has almost become a game to try to get a salute in before any superior officer I meet."
"You always were a smart arse Angus" came Mike's voice from Honor's left, glancing at her friend, who had also saluted even though the expression on her face indicated that she really wasn't prepared to be confronted by a recipient of the PMV, and seeing the smile on her face, she assumed that the three of them knew each other at the least, which left Honor at a disadvantage, that is until Paul spoke up.
"Lady Harrington allow me to introduce, His Grace Captain Angus Macleod, Duke of Blackguard, currently serving as Captain onboard HMS Shadow." After finishing his introduction he looked at Angus and had a rather smug look on his face, a look that only increased when Angus responded to the rather long winded introduction.
"And people say that I am long winded, why don't I just stay out of this conversation and let you speak for me Captain Tankersley?"
"I'd be happy to Captain Macleod"
Shaking his head Angus Macleod smiled ruefully at Honor and held out his hand, which Honor promptly took "Irritating little Captains aside Milady, it's a pleasure to meet you, as you may have guessed I already know these other two miscreants present", that caused the smug look on Paul's face to widen slightly, despite the little comment.
Honor's eyes, once again, widened in surprise from the next move made by Angus, after he had shaken Honor's hand he held out his hand to Nimitz and said "And a pleasure to meet you to Nimitz, like Lady Harrington, your fame precedes you."
Nimitz shook the offered hand with the dignity of a ruler greeting a supplicant, although the overall effect was ruined when he gave a delighted "Bleek" at being included, too many people, even Manticoran citizens, thought of treecats as just fluffy, semi-intelligent, six limbed pets, anyone who could look past that and greet him as a person was alright in his books, now all he had to do was scrounge some celery from Angus and things would be perfect.
It was when he was shaking Nimitz's hand that Honor noticed something else about Angus Macleod; his eyes were an odd colour, even in a period when people can get almost whatever physical modifications that they wish, for a price of course, gleaming Tawny-Gold eyes were not exactly the norm.
Only Honor's command experience saved her from experiencing a full blown blush, instead of the, faint colouring that she currently experienced, as he not only noticed the way she was, for all intents and purposes, staring at him, but also through her link with Nimitz she was able to see the way that he was eyeing her as well.
"Don't worry milady, you are not the first person to be taken back by the eyes, unfortunately it is a hereditary trait on the paternal side of my family, and if I'm completely truthful I rather enjoy their shock value."
Honor smiled back at this and replied "I can well understand that Your Grace, they do make a rather strong impression."
With that the four of them sat down, and Mike got the waiters attention and put in an order for two fresh steins of Old Tillman. The conversation then switched to that of people getting reacquainted after a long period of time, which Honor was grateful for as the other three officers sitting at the table included her in the conversation.
When they ordered some table snacks to go on the table, snacks which included pretzels, potato chips and a small salad bowl, Nimitz cemented his friendship with Angus, as the Captain quietly kept slipping him celery from the dish, and only looked innocently back when Honor caught him at it.
Honor couldn't help but smile at his antics, although she knew that this was not the completely 'real' Angus Macleod, she could tell through her link with Nimitz, who, after the attempted assassination of Protector Benjamin on Grayson, had been monitoring the thoughts, feelings and emotions of those around him, that Captain Macleod was not as he appeared on the surface.
She could feel two very distinct and almost exact polar opposites, effects about his emotions. Firstly that he had them bound by a will of iron, not letting them near the surface of his consciousness, and secondly that they were like a rolling ocean, powerful and strong, having the capacity for great kindness and joy, along with great wrath and rage, but also unfortunately, from what Honor could feel, great pain.
Pushing these observations to the side for a moment she turned to Angus and said "The one thing that I'm not completely clear on is how the three of you know each other?" her voice resonating slightly with a faint trace of humour.
Angus smiled and took a sip of his beer; letting the pleasant taste linger in his mouth he answered the question. "I've known Mike for quite a few years now, our families move in the same social circles so it was only natural for us to meet when we were much younger. I didn't meet Paul until after my father died; the Henke's were kind enough to invite me to a family Christmas get together, and when the Henke's invite family over, they invite all the family over."
Honor felt Angus' emotional pain when he mentioned the loss of his father, and realised that it must have affected him deeply when it happened, but couldn't stop a small smile gracing her features at the thought of Mike Henke, obviously as a little girl, causing terror and mayhem amongst the cream of Manticoran society. She could also feel Nimitz's shared amusement at the thought about her current XO; he didn't "bleek" his amusement this time as he was munching on a bit of smuggled celery, this time procured by Honor herself.
Their friendly and peaceful conversation was interrupted by the ringing chime of a com unit, on reflex all the officers seated at the table, and indeed tables that were nearby reached for their own communicators, only to find that the device itself belonged to Captain Paul Tankersley, who smiled apologetically at the people around him.
"Tankersley here…I see do you need me to come right away…very well I shall be there shortly" deactivating the com he turned to the others seated at the table and said "I'm sorry about that but one of the engineers I've got working over on Nike has encountered a problem that he needs my help with, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to dash off and make sure he hasn't blown up anything vitally important."
His last sentence was said with humour, but it was well documented that new ship classes were often subjected to damage, because the facilities and personnel that were tending to them were not completely aware of all the capabilities, systems and other technical workings of the vessels that were under their care.
Honor started to stand too, anything that concerned her ship, especially a ship that was as dear to the heats and minds of the Royal Manticoran Navy as HMS Nike, was something that greatly concerned her Captain.
"No Honor, you have been on your feet working yourself stupid since you took over as Nike's Captain, I'll go with Paul and make sure that the Yard Dogs don't blow up your shiny new ship, besides I want to talk to Paul as to why the family is only hearing about this woman Cindy now. So you sit here and keep Angus occupied, otherwise something will blow up."
Honor put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, that wasn't really helped by the indignant expression that had filtered onto Angus' face, she was really struggling as through Nimitz she could feel that there was a story behind what Mike had said, a story that was both humorous and embarrassing, at least where Angus was concerned.
As Paul and Mike headed off to the nearest passageway that would take them to where Nike was berthed, Angus smiled at Honor and said "They may be a pair of miscreants, but I'd trust them with my life, and more importantly my ship."
That simple statement indicated to Honor that the other Captain was a man after her own heart, putting the lives of his crew ahead of his own life; Honor had the feeling that they were going to become firm friends.
"So tell me a bit more about your ship Your Grace, I believe you said her name was the Shadow?"
Angus held up a hand with a small grimace, and Honor's first thought was that he was going to excuse himself, only having spoken to her because of her connection to Mike and Paul, and the familiar ache of dismissal because she wasn't a 'beauty' echoed in her thoughts, even though she long thought that she had gotten over it, and it was only Nimitz's admonishing 'bleek' and loving mental caress that alerted her to the fact that Angus had continued speaking, not noticing the brief pain filled grimace that flashed over her face.
"Lady Harrington I will gladly tell you about the Shadow on one condition, that we please move past ranks and titles while we are not on duty. Mike calls you by your name, as she does myself along with Paul, and I would like to think that in the, relatively, brief time that we have spent talking to each other we have become friends. As such I believe that friends should call each other by their names, and I personally find that my title gets in the way of that, rather like a bucket tied to a dogs tail, immensely noisy and completely impractical."
At that Honor let out a truly happy laugh, which she was immensely glad wasn't anything like the annoying 'schoolgirl giggle' she had inherited from someone in her family.
"I think I should like that Angus, as long as you extend me the same courtesy I think we shall get along fine, now go on please tell me a bit about your ship."
Angus grinned and said "Well Honor, when you put it that way I guess I have no choice, the Shadow is a Star-Knight Class Heavy Cruiser, with a few modifications that I'm not really allowed to talk about until Admiral Sarnow 'officially' approves of my appointment out here. But I can safely say both on, and off the record that I couldn't be prouder of the Shadow and her crew, although I think all Captain's think that."
Honor smiled and replied "What do you mean modifications? I have not been made aware of any specific modifications made to the Star-Knight class, and why would Admiral Sarnow need to confirm you and your ships posting out here? But I think I must agree with you on that point, I have met very few Captains that are not proud of their crews. I know, even from the short time that I have been in command of Nike, I have been very proud in which my crew had conducted themselves."
Angus's smile could only be classified as mischievous; funnily enough it reminded Honor of Nimitz when the cheeky little devil surprised someone with one of his devastating Frisbee attacks.
"I would have thought that Mike and Paul's hints throughout this afternoon would have given it away Honor" his grin causing Honor to raise her eyebrow and 'mock' glare at the other officer, letting him know that she wanted him to hurry up and get to the point.
Holding up both hands Angus said "Alright I'll stop teasing, I'm 'technically' not a front-line naval officer, well not yet I will be when Admiral Sarnow ratifies my appointment out here, you won't believe the look on Admiral Parks' face when he heard that I had to be appointed by Sarnow, his face looked like a tomato, not that I could tell him this, not matter how concerned for his blood pressure I might be. But I digress I am, currently, and have been for a great deal of my career with ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence."
Honor was surprised, although now that she went over what Paul and Mike had said to Angus, and what they had told her about him it was easy to see that they had been dropping subtle hints about his placement in the Service the whole afternoon. She was about to open her mouth to say something else when her own com went off.
Smiling apologetically at Angus she answered the communications device "Sorry to interrupt you break milady" came the voice of Senior Chief Steward's Mate James MacGuiness "but you asked me to remind you that you have a conference with Admiral Sarnow this evening."
Honor sighed, since becoming Sarnow's Flag Captain she had found herself at more conferences than she cared to count, whether they be with the Admiral himself, or with the other Captains of Battlecruiser Squadron 5.
"Sorry Angus but our conversation will have to be postponed, no one wants to keep an Admiral waiting, especially one with Admiral Sarnow's reputation."
Angus nodded his head and said "Completely understandable Honor, you don't need to apologise, when you get some free time, and after the Admiral has read me in, I would like to invite you over to Shadow to have a look at the modifications that we have garnished her with, I think some of them you might like."
Honor was both surprised and delighted, it was a rare honour, even among friendly Captains, for one to invite the other over to tour their ship, it was a sign of great respect, and was considered a grave insult to refuse.
"I would be delighted to, and allow me to extend to you the same courtesy to visit Nike" she paused for a moment, some of her old insecurities resurfacing, before continuing "actually, there is a formal dinner aboard Nike tomorrow evening its to 'officially' welcome her to Battlecruiser Squadron 5, and I would like to invite you to come as well, but be prepared it's a mess-dress dinner, it will also give you a chance to meet some of my friends and crew that you'll be working with out here on Hancock."
Standing as she did Angus replied "I would be honoured to accept, I just hope I packed my mess-dress uniform."
Shaking hands one final time Captain Dame Honor Harrington, Countess and Steadholder Harrington, walked out of the bar, after paying for her drinks, Nimitz perched on her shoulder, not thinking about her upcoming conference with Rear Admiral Sarnow, but looking forward to tomorrow's dinner, wondering what more surprises Captain Angus Macleod would bring.
A/N: Ok that's Chapter One, its more of an introduction to the story than a full size chapter, so expect them to get bigger as I go along, it might take me a while to post up Chapter Two as Uni is coming to an end, and I have exams (crap). Please no flames, but constructive criticism is welcomes, as well as people who just love the story *hint hint*
Cheers Read and Review TBK