Elysian Space Navy

The Elysian Space Navy is a doubly fictional space navy that exists momentarily in the events described in the eighth book of David Weber's Honor Harrington series, Echoes of Honor.

Background
After Honor Harrington and a few RMN personnel escape from and destroy SS Tepes (Committee of Public Safety member Cordelia Ransom's StateSec battlecruiser), they find themselves trapped on the prison planet of Hell, officially Hades. With limited supplies of food, their immediate concern was to find a way off planet. After tapping into the StateSec garrison's communication and databases, they learn of a more than usually isolated un-numbered camp right on the equator. Unlike most of the POW camps, this has a name, Camp Inferno, and Harrington correctly deduces that this is where the most 'dangerous' or uncooperative of Hell's prisoners are sent.

Commodore Jesus Ramirez from San Martin, senior officer of the Inferno camp, agrees to join forces with Harrington to gain control of Hell, and they continue to work together to capture the PRH ships needed to take themselves, and every POW on Hell back to Manticoran space. Because they were on a planet named "Hell," an ironic suggestion was made to name the fleet after the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology. The name raised some minor difficulties for Harrington after returning to Manticoran Alliance space due to her peculiar position as a Grayson Steadholder, none of whom are Constitutionaly permitted more than 50 armed retainers outside the Armed Services of Grayson.

Ship aquisition
The ships that composed the ESN were acquired in two groups. The first group of ships were originally part of a convoy of supply and prisoner transport vessels under the command of Major General Thornegrave. Having no reason to expect anything out of the ordinary, they approached Hades with their wedges down and their impellors cold. Although Harrington initially broadcasted her demand for surrender to Thornegrave alone, his refusal to respond led to the demand being transmitted to the entire convoy. One of the ships, the PNS Attila attempted defiance and was blown away by the oribital defenses. The explosion resulted in the near total destruction of the PNS Hachiman and PNS Seahorse. The rest of the convoy remained spaceworthy.

The second group of ships came from a joint State Security-Navy task force was composed of ten battlecruisers, six heavy cruisers, and two fast transport ships. Although they outnumbered Harrington by 3:1, she accurately predicted the squadron's approach vector, and was able to maneuver her ships so that their backs would be to the sun. Catching the enemy by surprise, she was able to easily defeat the taskforce, and although she destroyed half of their vessels, enough remained for her to transport the rest of Hell's prisoners back into Alliance territory.

Ships

 * ENS Farnese --a heavy cruiser, and the flag ship.
 * ENS Krashnark -- heavy cruiser. first ship to be acquired.
 * ENS Bacchante, a light cruiser, second ship to be acquired
 * ENS Huan-Ti's -- heavy cruiser
 * ENS Ares -- heavy cruiser
 * ENS Barbarosa -- battlecruiser
 * ENS Ishtar -- heavy cruiser
 * ENS MacArthur -- battlecruiser
 * ENS Pappenheim--heavy cruiser
 * ENS Wallenstein-- battlecruiser
 * ENS Sabine -- scout ship.
 * ENS Modred
 * ENS Tammerlane
 * a number of ex-PN Longstop-class transports

Members of note

 * Honor Harrington -- Admiral
 * Warner Caslet -- Exec. previously a Havenite Citizen-Captain.
 * Scotty Tremaine
 * Horace Harkness
 * Alistair McKeon

Afterward
After their return to Manticoran space, the Elysian Space Navy and many of its officers and crew were incorporated into the Grayson Space Navy and given a new name -- The Protector's Own. This was a political move, as Honor had inadvertently raised a military force which under Grayson law would constitute an act of treason (steadholders are permitted a strictly limited number of personal armsmen, primarily as bodyguards for the household). This was also done in order to keep the personnel together as a single group. Most of them had been prisoners since their home worlds were swallowed by Haven, with some others being Havenite political prisoners and purged naval personnel.

The Protectors Own became in effect Grayson's Foreign Legion, with service bringing citizenship. This was also part of Protector Benjamin's modernisation strategy, creating an influx of new citizens with a variety of backgrounds and social mores.