Honorverse favorite one-liners

"I don't give a damn what Elizabeth wants!" Honor snapped. Hamish blinked, sitting back and looking at her in astonishment. "Not this time, Hamish!" she continued angrily. "I want to see my wife and daughter. The Queen of Manticore, the Protector of Grayson, and the Emperor of the Known Universe can all get in line and wait behind the two of them!"

cthia wrote:The problem with heartsting moments is that they require fodder. For me, that fodder can be something benign, can be the result of laughter or joy, as is what happened when I recall that entire exchange that occured when Honor dispatched people to visit ACS control in Basilisk Station when that jackass Young abandoned her to fail. Those following exchanges when ACS Control found out how much a 'cut above' Honor was compared to everyone that proceeded her, and later when Dame Estelle (shhh...looking around for rose) met Honor and the exhange that followed and the enduring relationship easily forged; those represent heartsting strummed tears of joy.

Not that there hadn't been "interesting" developments. Dame Estelle's sulfurous description of her interview with Countess New Kiev's courier had been one. Honor had never imagined the genteel, composed Resident Commissioner could be so elementally enraged. Dame Estelle had looked ready to bite pieces out of the furniture, but as Honor had listened to her account of the meeting, she'd understood perfectly.

Honor hadn't quite understood the gleam in the commissioner's eye once she stopped ranting and started speculating on the political situation back home. Of course, Honor didn't understand most of the machinations that went on inside the Parliament of Manticore. She vastly preferred the Navy, where the chain of command was at least generally clear, whatever infighting went on between factions and power groups. But Dame Estelle did seem to grasp the byzantine rules of the game, and she appeared convinced that something deep, complex, and probably drastic was going on beneath the surface . . . and that whatever it was boded ill for Countess New Kiev.

Honor could follow some of her reasoning, for as Dame Estelle had pointed out, New Kiev, as one of the leaders of the Opposition, held her present post only because the Ministry for Medusan Affairs was traditionally assigned to the Liberal Party as some sort of quid pro quo left over from the original, tortuous annexation fight in Parliament. But there were limits to how far from the Government line she could stray without losing her position, and it seemed she'd reached them, for her messenger had arrived in Dame Estelle's office with "suggestions," not directives.

The commissioner hadn't cared for those suggestions at all, and as far as Honor could decipher them, they seemed to have consisted entirely of variations on a single theme. Dame Estelle should remember the commercial importance to the Kingdom of its great trading houses. She should strive to adopt a "more conciliatory tone" when dealing with them and "mediate between the Navy's overly rigorous application" of the commerce regulations and the cartels' "legitimate concerns over sudden and abrupt changes in the regulatory climate." Above all, she should "remember the transitory nature of our custodial presence on Medusa" and avoid any actions which would anger the natives or those who would someday trade with them as equals. And, of course, she should "strive to abate" the possibly over-zealous manner in which the present senior officer on Basilisk Station seemed to be wielding her powers over the remainder of the star system.

It had, Honor reflected, sounded like the most mealy-mouthed, double-tongued case of interstellar arm-twisting she'd ever heard of, and its timing had been unfortunate. Dame Estelle had been back in her office for less than ten minutes after a visit to the Government House hospital, where the worst injured of her wounded NPA troopers had just died, when New Kiev's courier caught up with her, and she hadn't been in the mood for it.

She'd snapped the unlucky messenger's head off and sent him home with it under one arm and a detailed account of the nature and severity of recently discovered violations of Her Majesty's Medusan Protectorate's laws under the other. And, she'd told Honor with grim delight, she'd concluded her report with the observation that the discovery of those violations had been made possible solely by the "dedicated, professional, persistent, and outstandingly successful efforts, both in their own right and in association with the NPA" (that was a direct quote) of Commander Honor Harrington and the crew of HMS Fearless. Under the circumstances, Dame Estelle had added, she had no intention of striving to abate Commander Harrington's activities and every intention of aiding and abetting them in any way she could. And if Her Majesty's Government disapproved of her intentions, she would, of course, submit her resignation.

Hutch wrote:OK, here's the Hutch daily (it's getting harder and harder not to duplicate all the excellent stuff already posted, but I think I'm still clean).

This one from At All Costs:

"I don't give a damn what Elizabeth wants!" Honor snapped. Hamish blinked, sitting back and looking at her in astonishment. "Not this time, Hamish!" she continued angrily. "I want to see my wife and daughter. The Queen of Manticore, the Protector of Grayson, and the Emperor of the Known Universe can all get in line and wait behind the two of them!"

--Honor knows what is important-and the Queen will just have to wait awhile....

roseandheather wrote:
*summarily retreats to mysterious point of Eloise-, Tom-, Augustus-, Allen-, and Estelle-related omniscience*

“That’s going to touch off a firestorm in the Fleet,” MacArtney said after a moment. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying the Navy’s going to see it as a bunch of civilians stabbing the uniforms in the back to cover their own backsides.”
“Of course they are!” Agatá Wodoslawski snorted. “If they don’t see it that way, they’ll have to admit their precious Navy couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse!”

Kolokoltsov was no trained naval officer, but it had been obvious even to him that unless Harrington was lying—and she hadn’t been; that much should certainly have been clear to Filareta—Eleventh Fleet had stood the proverbial chance of a snowball in hell. She’d had him—had him dead to rights—and she’d given him the option of surrendering, but the maniac had chosen to fire instead!

cthia wrote:rose,
Your selections concerning Dame Estelle were indeed...nice. How can one go wrong with any scenes she's involved in. It's funny the relationship her and Honor shared. Whenever Honor was in her office I always imagined her lounging. That wasn't Honor, but my mind's eye, like the heart, wants what it wants.

I crave a scene with Honor, Michelle and Dame Estelle.

cthia wrote:I have a question. How was that post made out of COG if it isn't due out until April 8?

cthia wrote:Now you've gone and done it Miss Rose.
I'm craving a Basilisk Station fix.

At the moment, however, there is no effective Opposition. The only person who could put one together, really, is Cathy Montaigne, and given her own... irregular personal life-not to mention her basic personality-she'll be standing on top of the Parliament building toasting the brides and groom and leading choruses of obscene drinking songs in their honor.

roseandheather wrote:

cthia wrote:rose,
Your selections concerning Dame Estelle were indeed...nice. How can one go wrong with any scenes she's involved in. It's funny the relationship her and Honor shared. Whenever Honor was in her office I always imagined her lounging. That wasn't Honor, but my mind's eye, like the heart, wants what it wants.

I crave a scene with Honor, Michelle and Dame Estelle.

The only appropriate response here is, "You and me both."

cthia wrote:I have a question. How was that post made out of COG if it isn't due out until April 8?

The eARC (electronic advance reader copy) came out a couple of months ago. Those of us with little patience (like me!) snapped it up at once.

cthia wrote:Now you've gone and done it Miss Rose.
I'm craving a Basilisk Station fix.

Sorry!

(Not sorry.)

cthia wrote:Where can I purchase an eARC of COG? Baen? Here?