Elsa Harnett

# 1553

Name	Elsa Harnett
Rank	Rear Admiral
Faction	Black Lance
Race	Human
About	Rear Admiral Elsa Harnett was a Judge of the Admiralty Court during the Confederation/Border Worlds conflict, but also secretly a member of the Black Lance. As such, she was a key part of Admiral Geoffery Tolwyn's plans. During the Kilrathi War, the Admiralty Court had been in charge of civilian shipping. In the post war transition however, the Court gained the power to suspend important constitutional safeguards contained in the Articles Of Confederation, such as the right of an accused criminal to due process rather than summary execution. Admiral Harnett's court could also be counted on sentance anyone that the Black Lance wished to get rid of. When Captain William Eisen first began to investigate suspicious message traffic that indicated Confederation forces could be involved in the attacks on the frontier, Harnett and Admiral Petranova tried to recruit him into the Black Lance. When this failed, Harnett signed orders that relieved Eisen of command of the Lexington, and had him confined to quarters pending trial on violations of the security acts and Admiralty Court directives. This set the stage for Captain Hugh Paulson, another Black Lance member, to take command of the Lexington, and for Eisen's subsequent defection to the Border Worlds with the information he had gathered. When the lid was finally blown off the Black Lance's activities, Harnett committed suicide rather than face investigation.