- This article is about the person. For other uses, see Raoul Courvosier (disambiguation).
MaleRaoul Courvosier was a Manticoran citizen and a flag officer of the Royal Manticoran Navy.
Physical appearance[]
A first generation prolong recipient, Courvosier bore a head full of grey hair and dark eyes. (HH1)
Biography[]
The beginning of Raoul Courvosier's career is unknown. He was considered a highly capable officer and commander, serving in active duty with the Fleet until at least 1873 PD, the year of his last combat action before the First Battle of Yeltsin's Star.
When Courvosier was a Lieutenant, he was an astrogator. During his Midshipman cruise, Hamish Alexander was taught astrogation by Courvosier, which developed into a friendship. He was known to have many discussions about tactics and deployments with Alexander.
By 1878 PD, Courvosier, then ranked as Captain had assumed a position as an instructor at Saganami Island Academy. As of 1900 PD, he had become the instructor of Fourth Form Tactics at Saganami. A childless bachelor, Courvosier devoted much of his later years to his students at the Academy. As such, he and Honor Harrington developed a close relationship during her time there.
It was Courvosier who first saw the natural command instinct in her, and helped tutor her through the Academy. They maintained a close relationship for the remainder of his life. Admiral Courvosier notified Harrington of her posting to command the first HMS Fearless' in 1900 PD. (HH1)
Lord Pavel Young, who had been humiliated after an unsuccessful attempt to rape Harrington at Saganami, was galled by her post-Academy career advancement. Since Young could not credit that she had won her promotions and other accolades on merit, he convinced himself that she was trading sexual favors to Courvosier. He wasted a substantial portion of his resources on hiring private investigators and other spies to prove it, and was even more galled when they could discover nothing at all. (HH3)
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In 1903 PD, Admiral Courvosier was assigned to a diplomatic mission to the planet Grayson in the Yeltsin's Star System with the goal of establishing an alliance with the planet. As part of his duties, upon invitation to the HMS Fearless' recommissioning ceremony at HMSS Vulcan by Captain Harrington, Courvosier informed Harrington that the Fearless, along with two destroyers and a convoy of freighters were to be deployed to Grayson as part of his diplomatic mission. Officially, Captain Harrington's squadron of warships were not a part of his diplomatic delegation, but were intended to be on station in case something occured. During the mission, Admiral Courvosier wore civilian clothes instead of his naval uniform. He admitted that he was more comfortable in his naval uniform.
At Grayson, Admiral Courvosier set about creating ties between Grayson and Manticore. He befriended High Admiral Bernard Yanakov, who was forty years younger and later expressed disappointment to Admiral Yanakov at the way the Grayson naval officers treated Captain Harrington.
Admiral Courvosier also came into conflict with Reginald Houseman (who was attached to the mission as an economic advisor) over Houseman's suggestion of economic cooperation between Grayson and Masada, rather than military support for Grayson. Houseman's insistance on expressing those ideas despite their untenable nature led to Courvosier humiliating him in front of Grayson's Chancellor Prestwick. Houseman's humiliation would later lead to a further confrontation with Honor Harrington.
Late in the mission, Admiral Courvosier was informed by Admiral Yanakov about a possible Masadan incursion into Grayson space. Admiral Courvosier ordered HMS Madrigal to assist Grayson and eventually boarded her as his flagship. As part of his relationship with Yanakov, he accepted the position of second in command of the Grayson-Manticoran Combined Fleet.
Admiral Courvosier was killed during the subsequent First Battle of Yeltsin's Star while on board the Madrigal, and his final orders were to relay to GNS Covington that the Masadan Fleet had at least one heavy cruiser, and modern weapons.
Following Courvosier's death, Ambassador Anthony Langtry notified Captain Honor Harrington of what had happened, and about Courvosier's friendship with Admiral Yanakov. (HH2)
Character and legacy[]
He did not like Country and Western music from Earth. (HH2)
After his death, Admiral Courvosier was revered by the Graysons, who named a class of battlecruisers and a street in Harrington Steading after him. (HH5)
Protector Benjamin IX's first-born son, Bernard, was given the second name Raoul. (HH9)
Honor Harrington also never forgot him, eventually naming her first-born son after him. (HH11)
Service Record[]
Promotions[]
- Prior to 1873 PD – Lieutenant
- 1878 PD – Captain
- Prior to 1903 PD – Admiral of the Green
Posts[]
- Astrogator
- Instructor at Royal Manticoran Naval Academy, Fourth Form Tactics
- Manticore's direct representative and chief of the diplomatic mission to Grayson in 1903 PD[1]
References[]
- ↑ see also: Manticoran Alliance