House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion (34 page)

MacGuinness, James

Senior Master Chief Petty Officer, Royal Manticoran Navy (retired)

Steward First Class James MacGuinness was assigned to Commander Harrington onboard HMS Fearless in 1900 PD, and has accompanied her from command to command throughout her career. In 1906, when Harrington moved to
Grayson
on half-pay, the servants at Harrington House accepted him as majordomo.

He remained Commander Harrington’s steward when she was returned to active service in the RMN in 1910 PD. When Harrington was lost on HMS Prince Adrian and declared dead, she left him forty million dollars in her will with the proviso that he retire from the RMN and look after her treecat Samantha and the treekittens. Since Harrington’s return from Hades, he has continued to serve as her steward, despite being the only steward in the RMN who isn’t actually in the service of the RMN.

Matsuko, Lady Dame Estelle, Baroness Medusa

Imperial Governor, Talbott Quadrant

Estelle Matsuko was appointed the Resident Commissioner for Planetary Affairs of Medusa in 1897 PD, where she and the Native Protection Agency fought to preserve the rights and culture of the Medusan natives with limited assistance. Her work with Honor Harrington during the Havenite-inspired Mekoha Uprising and her ongoing efforts in its aftermath helped to resolve many of the issues which had previously endangered the native population.

For her tireless service in the Basilisk System, Matsuko was named a peer of the realm and awarded the newly created Barony of Medusa. In 1920, the Grantville Government chose her as Home Secretary. Following the discovery of the Lynx Terminus and the Talbott Cluster’s request for annexation, she was named Provisional Crown Governor of the Talbott Cluster and then Imperial Governor of the Talbott Quadrant when it joined the Star Empire.

Maurier, Lady Francine, Countess Mourncreek

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Francine Maurier served as the First Lord of the Admiralty during the last ten years of the Cromarty Government. After Duke Cromarty’s death, she was replaced at the Admiralty by Admiral Janacek under the High Ridge Government. In 1920 PD in the new Grantville Government, she was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and elevated to Countess Mourncreek by the Queen.

Maxwell, Richard

Richard Maxwell, a former Royal Marine who was awarded the Manticore Cross, became one of the SKM’s leading criminal defense lawyers following his retirement from military service. In 1914 PD, Willard Neufsteiler recommended him to Honor Harrington for her in-house counsel, a position which he accepted and has held continuously ever since.

McKeon, Alistair

Rear Admiral of the Red, Royal Manticoran Navy

Alistair McKeon served as Honor Harrington’s executive officer on the original HMS Fearless at the time of the Basilisk Incident. Following the First Battle of Basilisk, he was promoted from lieutenant commander to commander as CO of HMS Troubadour and again served with Harrington during the First Battle of Yeltsin, in which Troubadour was destroyed. In 1903 PD, shortly before the outbreak of war with the PRH he was promoted to captain (jg) and assigned to command HMS Prince Adrian. By 1911 he was a captain (sg) and Harrington designated him as her tactical deputy in CruRon 18.

McKeon was among those captured during the surrender of HMS Prince Adrian and was held as a prisoner of war with Honor Harrington on the planet Hades. After the prisoner revolt led by Harrington, he served as president of the court that tried the surviving StateSec personnel. He commanded two separate ships in the Elysian Space Navy during the return to Manticore.

Promoted to Rear Admiral of the Red in 1915, he commanded a LAC-carrier division in Eighth Fleet before he was reassigned to command one of the task groups in Harrington’s Task Force 34 on Sidemore Station. Since 1920, he has served as one of the senior commanders of Eighth Fleet and as the commanding officer of BatRon 61, once again under Harrington’s command.

Montaigne, Catherine, former Countess Tor

Catherine Montaigne, a close childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth III, was a peer and a member of the Liberal Party and one of only three nobles ever excluded from the House of Lords. A long-time anti-slavery activist and a leader of the Anti-Slavery League, she moved to Old Earth following her exclusion from the Lords for her very vocal support of then Commander Honor Harrington’s Casimir Raid. On Old Earth, she established direct contact with the Audubon Ballroom, considered a terrorist organization.

She reappeared in Manticore some years later with Anton Zilwicki, his genetic daughter Helen, and his adopted children Berry and Lars, all of whom had been rescued by the Audubon Ballroom from agents of Manpower Incorporated. At that time she provided Crown prosecutors documented evidence of the involvement of over a dozen prominent Manticorans in the genetic slave trade, which led to a series of spectacular trials. After the realization that her continual exclusion from the House of Lords had rendered her position as Countess of Tor as much a liability as an asset, she renounced her title and ran successfully for a seat in the House of Commons for the Borough of High Threadneedle. After the fall of the High Ridge Government, she became the leader of the Liberal Party.

Montoya, Fritz

Surgeon Captain, Royal Manticoran Navy

Fritz Montoya served on HMS Fearless (CL-56) as a surgeon lieutenant under Honor Harrington in 1900 PD. Promoted to surgeon commander by 1903, Dr. Montoya was the chief medical officer on HMS Fearless (CA-286). In 1904, he was the chief medical officer on HMS Nike. In 1910, he became the chief medical officer on GSN Jason Alvarez and Harrington considered him an adjunct to her squadron staff. In 1911, he accompanied Harrington to HMS Prince Adrian and was taken prisoner with her by the People’s Navy.

Promoted to surgeon captain in 1913 after his return from Hades, he was selected as the senior medical officer for Task Force 34 by Harrington in 1920. Following TF 34’s return from Silesia, he was promoted to surgeon commodore and selected to head the Combat Surgery Faculty at Bassingford Medical Center.

Neufsteiler, Willard

CFO,
Grayson
Sky Domes, Ltd.

Willard Neufsteiler was originally Honor Harrington’s financial manager. By 1912 PD, he moved to
Grayson
and took over as
Grayson
Sky Domes’ full-time chief financial officer.

Oversteegen, Michael

Rear Admiral of the Red, Royal Manticoran Navy

Michael Oversteegan, fourth in the line of succession for the Barony of Greater Windcombe, is son to Baron High Ridge’s second cousin. In 1918 PD, as a captain (jg), he commanded the heavy cruiser HMS Gauntlet at the Battle of Tiberian, for which he was promoted to captain (sg) and received the Manticoran Cross. After repairs, his ship was deployed to Erewhon to “show the flag.” In early 1920 PD, he and his crew took part in the liberation of the planet Verdant Vista (aka Congo) and assisted in establishing the Kingdom of Torch. In 1921, he received command of HMS Nike (BC-562) and participated in the Battle of Solon.

Ramirez, Jesus

President, Republic of San Martin

Jesus Ramirez, as the senior surviving officer of the San Martin Navy, inflicted three times his own losses on the People’s Navy during his ultimately unsuccessful defense of his home system when People’s Republic attacked Trevor’s Star in 1883 PD. He was believed to have been killed in the battle until Harrington’s escape from Hades brought him home, along with over a quarter-million other prisoners.

On his return to San Martin he was drafted without consultation into running for president. All but one opponent withdrew from the race and he received eighty-six percent of the vote.

Ramirez, Tomas Santiago

Major General, Royal Manticoran Marine Corps

Tomas Santiago Ramirez, a native of San Martin, is the son of President Jesus and Rosario Ramirez. He, his mother, and siblings escaped on the last transport before San Martin was conquered by the PRH. As a result, he grew up with a deep and abiding hatred of Haven. Ramirez has led an exemplary career, including positions as assault commander for the Blackbird Raid in 1903 PD and later as executive officer of the Allied occupation forces on his homeworld of San Martin, following its liberation from the People’s Republic.

After his father’s return from Hades, Ramirez resigned his Marine commission to become the commander of his homeworld’s reconstituted army. Following Jesus Ramirez’s election as president and San Martin’s admission to the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the integration of its armed forces into the Star Kingdom’s, Tomas Ramirez returned to the Royal Manticoran Marine Corps with the rank of major general. In 1920, Major General Ramirez was assigned as chief of staff to the Commandant of the Corps.

Reynaud, Michel

Admiral, Astro Control Service

Commanding Officer, RMAIA

Michel Reynaud, as a captain in the Royal Manticoran Astro-Control Service was CO, Basilisk Traffic Control, in 1900 PD at the time of the Basilisk Incident. In 1903, he was promoted to rear admiral, and in 1910 he was promoted to vice admiral, continuing to command Basilisk ACS. Promoted to admiral in 1915, he became the first commanding officer of the Royal Manticoran Astrophysical Investigation Agency in 1916, where he continues to serve after the successful navigation of the Lynx Terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction.

Sarnow, Mark

Admiral of the Red, Royal Manticoran Navy

Mark Sarnow commanded Battlecruiser Squadron Five in 1903 PD. During the First Battle of Hancock Station, Rear Admiral of the Red Sarnow was severely wounded. He was the only flag officer in the task force to survive the battle, but he lost both legs at the knee and suffered internal injuries. After an extensive medical rehabilitation period on Manticore, during which he served as an instructor at Saganami Island, Sarnow returned to fleet duty as the commanding officer of Grendelsbane Station. In 1911, he was promoted to vice admiral and became the CO of the RMN’s Naval War College, where he was responsible for major revisions in RMN convoy and commerce protection doctrine following HMAMC Wayfarer’s Silesian deployment. In 1913, Sarnow was relieved at the War College and selected to command the diversionary attacks designed to clear the way for Hamish Alexander’s Operation Buttercup, in which role he performed brilliantly. In 1915, he was placed on half-pay by the Janacek Admiralty but was one of the first flag officers recalled by the Alexander Admiralty. He is currently CO of 9th Fleet and governor of the Silesian Sector in the Queen’s name.

Summervale, Lord Allen, Duke Cromarty (deceased)

Prime Minister, Star Kingdom of Manticore

Allen Summervale was the longtime leader of the Centrist Party. The Duke of Cromarty served as King Roger III’s Prime Minister and continued in that role for Queen Elizabeth III. Over the course of his fifty-eight T-years as Prime Minister, he worked with both Roger III and Elizabeth III to prepare for what he realized would be a long, difficult war against the People’s Republic of Haven. Gifted at balancing the interests of opposing political factions and possessed of great personal charisma, he managed to guide the government through the successive crises of the most dangerous periods of the First Havenite War.

He and several other influential political figures were killed on 19 February 1915 in the destruction of HMS Queen Adrienne in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth III. Because much of his governing coalition was based on personal loyalty, it fell apart and was replaced by the High Ridge Government.

Summervale, Denver (deceased)

Denver Summervale, a distant cousin of the Duke of Cromarty, was a former Marine captain who was cashiered from the Corps for killing a brother officer in a duel. In 1905 PD, he was hired by Lord Pavel Young to induce first Paul Tankersley and then Honor Harrington into challenging him to a duel. Tankersley died, but Summervale was killed during his subsequent duel with Harrington.

Tankersley, Paul (deceased)

Captain (SG), Royal Manticoran Navy

Paul Tankersley began the war as a junior grade captain and the executive officer of the repair base at Hancock Station, where he and then-Captain Honor Harrington became lovers. After the Battle of Hancock Station, he was promoted to captain of the list and returned to Manticore, where he was assigned as a deputy constructor on HMSS Hephaestus. He was killed in a duel by Denver Summervale, a hired duelist in the employ of Pavel Young.

Terekhov, Sir Aivars Aleksovitch

Commodore, Royal Manticoran Navy

Aivars Terekhov began his career in the RMN, but after eleven T-years moved to the Foreign Office where he served for twenty-eight T-years. He returned to active duty at the start of the war and, as captain of HMS Defiant, was taken prisoner in the Hyacinth System after a convoy under his light cruiser division’s escort was ambushed. After the truce, he returned to Manticore as part of a prisoner exchange and spent an extended period at Bassingford Medical Center rehabilitating and regenerating.

In 1920 PD, he was assigned to command HMS Hexapuma and directed to join the Manticoran squadron in the Talbott Cluster. He and his crew intercepted and captured several pirates and, in the course of suppressing terrorist activities in the Split and Montana Systems, uncovered an interstellar conspiracy to sabotage the Constitutional Convention. Terekhov assembled an ad hoc squadron and led an unauthorized incursion into the Monica System, which was clearly implicated in the conspiracy, to disrupt the delivery of modern warships to the Monican Navy. Although his squadron sustained serious losses, he destroyed three operational Monican battlecruisers and all those still being refitted for Monican service at Eroica Station. For his actions he was awarded the Parliamentary Medal of Valor, promoted to commodore, and given command of CruRon 94, attached to Tenth Fleet in the Talbott Quadrant.