Honor among enemies
(Book)

Honor, the finest and most daring admiral in the Royal Manticoran Navy, had been forcibly retired for political reasons. Now, though, with space pirates dogging and destroying merchant freighters, the Navy calls her back into action. Along with her telepathic tree-cat, Nimitz, Honor boards the Wayfarer, a starship crammed with weapons, young, untried officers and a most motley crew. Honor must not only battle pirates but also keep the bullies on the crew from gnawing away at the morale, and the lives, of her newbie officers. -- from Amazon/Publisher's Weekly