Medusa (Honorverse)
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Medusa in David Weber's Honor Harrington novels is the habitable planet orbiting the star Basilisk. It is the setting for some of the action in the novel On Basilisk Station. Discovered when one of the terminals of the Manticore Junction is found, the system is annexed by the Star Kingdom of Manticore, but the planet is a protectorate because of the non-human sentient species, the Medusans, or "Stilties," as they are informally called. The protectorate is administered by a Resident Commissioner and policed by the Native Protection Agency. Dame Estelle Matsuko is the Resident Commissioner for this .85g planet.
Medusa has long been a bone of contention in Manticoran politics. The Liberal party decried the annexation as imperialist, and expressed great concern that the native population would be exploited by Manticore. The Conservative Association opposed the annexation as a step onto the path of "foreign adventurism". The Progressive party was opposed because their fears that the annexation would antagonize the People's Republic of Haven.
The original Act of Annexation, in an attempt to address these issues, severely limited the scope of powers given to the Medusan territorial government. The biggest limitation was the renunciation of sovereignty over Medusa itself; the protectorate, strictly speaking, was established over the Medusans themselves. As such, the Resident Commissioner's office and the NPA had the authority to take measures to prevent the exploitation of the native population, but did not have the authority to restrict access to the planet itself. From a legal standpoint, it could even be argued that Manticore's territorial claim over the planet was meaningless, since it had no sovereignty. Before the events of On Basilisk Station, this was the legal opinion of the People's Republic of Haven. Another limitation of the Act of Annexation was the restriction on Manticore's military presence in the region. No permanent military installations were allowed, and mobile units were to be kept to the minimum required to maintain order. This restriction caused the Royal Manticoran Navy to conclude that if they were forbidden from keeping a force on station strong enough to repel an attack, there was no point in investing any more ships in the area than were necessary. The Admiralty responsible for formulating the doctrine for the Basilisk picket saw the ships placed there as advance scouts, the destruction of which would call for a response from the Manticoran Home Fleet.
It is the center of a plot by the Havenites to end Manticore's administration over the system by engineering a native revolt. This plot failed due to the actions of the light cruiser HMS Fearless and her commander, Commander Honor Harrington. Following this, it is annexed completely by the Star Kingdom, and Haven is severely penalized for their actions.
The Navy's presence on Medusa and the Basilisk system is beefed up after this incident, but the system becomes a battlefield during the later stages of the Haven-Manticore war, when a Havenite task force led by Admiral Javier Giscard staged a raid that succeeded in devastating Medusa's space industry (Echoes of Honor).
The Royal Navy's later Medusa-class of superdreadnoughts is named after the planet.
