The Vorkosigan Companion (36 page)

Borgos, Enrique:

A biochemist and genetic entomologist from Escobar whom Mark brings to Vorkosigan House, he is the creator of the butter bugs. After bailing him out of a legal situation on Escobar involving creditors that had taken his breeding stock and equipment, Mark partners with him to develop the insects and their products for use on Barrayar. Enrique admires smart women, feeling they are wasted on Barrayar, and becomes enamored of Ekaterin, Cordelia, and then Martya.

A bit hopeless in social situations, he accidentally reveals that Mark and Kareen had visited the Orb of Unearthly Delights on Beta Colony, to the consternation of Commodore Koudelka. He also tries to ingratiate himself with Miles by genetically engineering the seal of House Vorkosigan on the backs of a group of butter bugs, but inadvertently releases them throughout the house. Eventually bail officers from Escobar show up to arrest him, resulting in the bug butter battle. Miles makes sure that the doctor is not deported. At Miles's wedding, he is taken aside and quietly frisked to be sure that he doesn't have any surprise insect gifts. (CC, WG)

Bothari, Konstantin:

A sergeant in the Barrayaran military, he is a two-meter-tall, broad-shouldered man with a face like an axe blade. His mother, Marusia, was a midwife, abortionist, and prostitute, and she used to sell him to her clients as well. He ran away at age twelve and then ran with gangs till he was sixteen, when he lied about his age so he could join the service.

A paranoid schizophrenic, Bothari is loyal to Aral Vorkosigan and respects him, although he doesn't necessarily like him. He is manipulated and tortured by Admiral Ges Vorrutyer, but kills the admiral when he orders Bothari to rape Cordelia. He cares for Elena Visconti when she is a prisoner of war, and takes responsibility for their daughter, Elena, who was a product of that time. After his discharge from the military, Aral makes him an armsman for House Vorkosigan, and he eventually remembers what had happened during his time serving Admiral Vorrutyer, getting through the healing process with Cordelia's help. During Vordarian's attempted coup, he is first assigned to protect Cordelia and Gregor during their time in the Dendarii Mountains, and later accompanies her into Vorbarr Sultana to rescue Miles, beheading Vidal Vordarian with Koudelka's swordstick at Cordelia's order.

When Miles is still an infant, he saves him from being killed by Piotr Vorkosigan. After Miles washes out of the Imperial Academy, the now gray-haired Bothari is assigned to be Miles's bodyguard. He accompanies Miles and Elena on their trip to Beta Colony, and on the smuggling run to Tau Verde IV. He shows Miles how brutal a military interrogation can be when he tears out a jump pilot's implant, inadvertently killing the man. He is killed by Elena Visconti in front of their daughter. His remains are buried on Barrayar, at the foot of the plot where Cordelia will be buried. (B, SH, WA)

Bothari-Jesek, Cordelia:

The first child of Elena Bothari-Jesek and Baz Jesek, named after Cordelia Vorkosigan. Elena and Baz bring her with them while visiting Barrayar for Miles's wedding. (WG)

Bothari-Jesek, Elena:

The rape child of Sergeant Bothari and Elena Visconti, she was one of the uterine replicator children taken to Barrayar by Aral and Cordelia, and grows up alongside Miles Vorkosigan. She is six feet tall, slim, vibrant, and beautiful, with an elegant, aquiline profile, long, dark, straight hair, which she cuts short later on, and dark eyes. Raised by Bothari, she did not know the truth about her parents' relationship.

During Miles's trip to Beta Colony and Tau Verde IV, she comes into her own as a mercenary commander, winning a pitched battle to capture the last needed payroll to end the Pelian blockade of the planet. She also learns about Bothari and Elena Visconti when Elena kills her father in front of her. She falls in love with Baz Jesek, turning Miles down when he confesses his love for her. After Miles grants them permission to wed, he appoints Elena executive officer of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet.

She saves Miles's life twice during the Hegen Hub conflict, once after Admiral Oser orders him spaced, and again when Stanis Metzov first tries to kill him. She captures Cavilo and her squad after they are separated from Gregor on the
Ariel
. During the prisoner rescue at Dagoola IV, she infiltrates the Cetagandan forces, posing as part of the prisoner observation teams. After the Marilac mission, Miles sends her to Tau Ceti's Barrayaran Embassy to find out what happened to the overdue payment. She brings Commodore Destang back along with the Dendarii's money.

Elena becomes the commanding officer of the
Peregrine
, and after Miles is killed, she takes charge of getting Mark to Barrayar. At first she despises Mark, blaming him for getting Miles killed, but after coming to understand and accept him, she becomes sworn to him as an armswoman to rescue Miles. On Barrayar, Elena burns a death-offering for her father, and when the Dendarii escort the Duronas to Escobar, she visits with her mother as well.

Along with Baz, she resigns from the Dendarii to start a family and pursue a more peaceful career. She asks to be released from her oath as liege-sworn vassal to Miles, which he grants. She returns to Barrayar to attend Miles's wedding and have his parents meet her first child, a daughter she named Cordelia. (B, BA, BI, M, MD, SH, VG, WA, WG)

Boy:

No name given. About ten years old, he brings Kly's horse back to where Cordelia, Gregor, and Bothari are hiding in the Dendarii Mountains during Vordarian's coup attempt. Kly tells Cordelia that Vordarian's men used fast-penta on the boy for interrogation, but all he knew was that the mailman needed his horse. (B)

Brain transplant:

A risky, illegal operation performed by House Bharaputra on Jackson's Whole, in which an elderly person's brain is transplanted into a new, cloned body, enabling them to double or triple their life span. (L, MD)

Breath mask:

A portable breathing unit enabling a person to survive in an atmosphere that lacks oxygen, it contains enough air to last fourteen to sixteen hours. Everyone who travels to Komarr is required to view breath-mask video training. Etienne Vorsoisson dies when he fails to check his mask before taking Miles to the experiment station outside the Serifosa Dome on Komarr. (K)

Brillberries:

A seedy, red berry that grows on Barrayar, occasionally on vines that overhang ravines. Harra had gone to pick brillberries the day her baby was killed. (MM)

Brother's War:

A historical event mentioned by Doctor Yei when comparing the different emphases in the quaddies' education to Leo Graf. (FF)

Brownell:

No first name given. A female security officer on Beta Colony who tries to arrest Arde Mayhew before Miles's intervention. (WA)

Brun:

No first name given. A captain in the Barrayaran military, he is the Fleet Security Commander on the
Prince Xav
. A lean, tense man, he was in charge of the patrol that shot up the police precinct on Graf Station. He is prejudiced against Komarrans, and thinks Lieutenant Solian deserted his post. (DI)

Bubble-car:

A public transportation system on Komarr. Bubble-cars are like individual monorail cars that travel along a tube-track to their destination. Recently the system has been suffering more traffic jams on certain routes, leading to disagreement in the government over various solutions. Miles and Ekaterin take one of the cars on their shopping trip to the Shuttleport Locks district in the Serifosa Dome. (K)

Buffa:

No first name given. One of Aral Vorkosigan's faithful lieutenants in the Barrayaran military, he oversees the interrogation of Dubauer before Aral stops it. (SH)

Bug butter:

The digested and processed substance regurgitated by the butter bugs after they have eaten raw vegetable matter. It is white and curd-like, bland without adding additional flavors or spices, but rich in nutrients and vitamins, and able to be stored at room temperature. Ma Kosti and Kareen Koudelka use it as ingredients in several dishes at Miles's dinner party without his knowledge, creating ice cream and a garlic spread. Their first hit creation is maple ambrosia, created by blending the butter with maple mead from the Dendarii Mountains, which they serve at the Emperor's wedding reception. (CC)

Burton, Kara:

A Betan doctor, she is the co-author of the article "On an Improvement in Permeability of Exchange Membranes in the Uterine Replicator," in the issue of
The Betan Journal of Reproductive Medicine
read by Ethan Urquhart. (EA)

Butter bug:

A hideous-looking, bioengineered insect with six legs, a dull-brown carapace, vestigal wings, and a large, pale white abdomen. They have a hive mentality, with a queen that is attended by sterile workers. They eat vegetation, digesting it in their abdomens using special microbes, then regurgitate an edible substance called bug butter. They are reengineered to be more attractive and appealing by Ekaterin Vorsoisson, Mark Vorkosigan, Enrique Borgos, and Kareen Koudelka. (CC)

Butter bug queen:

The reproductive center of a butter bug hive, the queen is much larger than the workers, and can grow larger than a man's hand. Sterile until given the proper hormones, but until she has started reproducing, a queen is fast and agile, as proven by the one that escapes the laboratory in Vorkosigan House, which is eventually caught by Armsman Jankowski's daughter. (CC)

C6-WG:

The shuttle that was supposed to take Miles to Aslund, but instead puts him in a space pod and ejects him near the
Ariel
. (VG)

Calhoun, Tav:

The man bidding against Arde Mayhew for the
RG 132
, he is a heavy man in a green sarong. Although he wins the auction for the freighter, he accepts Miles's offer of a promissory note against some of his land holdings on Barrayar, not knowing the acreage is radioactive. When Miles returns to pay off the note, Calhoun becomes violent, having learned of the worthless land and having been shadowed by Barrayaran security agents. He tries to have Miles arrested, but is subdued by Elli Quinn. Miles ties him up and locks him in a storage closet, with the complete payment in his pocket. (WA)

Canaba, Hugh:

A doctor and geneticist, he has tan skin, brown eyes, racially indeterminate features, and short, wavy hair graying at the temples. He is to be picked up by Miles and the Dendarii at Jackson's Whole and taken to Barrayar. An arrogant genius, he also has several genetic samples that must be retrieved before he will leave, forcing Miles to infiltrate House Ryoval's laboratories and rescue Taura in the process.

After his rescue, Hugh has a new identity as Vaughn Weddell, and a new life on his adopted planet, where he works in a laboratory at the Imperial Science Institute. He helps diagnose how Simon's memory chip was contaminated, reconstructing the prokaryote organism and also creating the chelation solution to detect its vector encapsulation, enabling the capture of Lucas Haroche. (L, M)

Cappell:

No first name given. The resident mathematician at the Serifosa Dome Waste Heat Management department on Komarr, he is one of Radovas's coworkers that Miles interviews during his investigation. Involved in the jump-point plot, he is in unrequited love with Marie Trogir. When the engineers vote on whether to try to use their hostages to bargain for escape at the jump station or surrender, he votes to keep going, not wanting Marie to have died for nothing. (K)

Captain:

No name given. Simon Illyan's secretary at Imperial Security headquarters during the investigation into his breakdown, he has been there for two years. (M)

Caravanserai:

A very poor and dangerous area of the Vorbarr Sultana on Barrayar, where Bothari lived as a child. When Cordelia arrives on the planet, it is considered a red-light entertainment area. No electricity grid, no comms, no better than slums. Bothari and Koudelka go there one evening to find female companionship, and end up getting into a brawl which leaves Koudelka severely injured. Later, Cordelia, Droushnakova, Bothari, and Koudelka hide out in the area while preparing to infiltrate the Imperial Residence to find Miles. They also locate Padma and Alys Vorpatril here, and attempt to rescue them as well, but Padma is killed during the improvised operation.

Almost three decades later, when Mark Vorkosigan first visits Barrayar, the area is going through gentrification, and has been greatly improved, although it is still rough in spots. Mark has to fend off local bullies that assault him, almost killing one. A plaque has been placed to mark the exact spot where Padma was killed. (B, MD)

Cavilo:

No first name given. The commander of Randall's Rangers after she had the former leader killed, she is short, attractive, and intense-looking, with close-cropped white-blond hair, elfin-like features, and blue eyes. A sociopath, her only true interest in is herself, and she is adept at using intrigue and seduction to get what she wants.

She first encounters Miles as the arms buyer Livia Nu while he is in his Victor Rotha disguise, and tries to seduce him. She has Sydney Liga, Miles's first contact, killed, and the crime pinned on Rotha. She is working with Stanis Metzov when Miles is   recaptured trying to get to Vervain, which has hired the Rangers to protect the planet, unaware that she plans to let the Cetagandans through the wormhole, leaving her to loot Vervain in the confusion afterward.

When Gregor falls into her hands, she tries to seduce and marry him, but is foiled and captured. During the battle with the Cetagandan invasion fleet, she escapes and is raped by Metzov, whom she later kills while he tries to strangle Miles. Holding Miles to his promise of safe passage out of the sector, she accepts a medal of valor on behalf of her ruined mercenary company, and flees the area. (VG)

Cay, Daryl:

A doctor and the former head of the Cay Project at Rodeo, he was several years past retirement age, but was still working when he passed away. (FF)

Cay Project Habitat:

A modular orbital habitat above Rodeo with approximately 1,500 personnel, 494 rotating personnel, and 1,000 permanent inhabitants. Owned by GalacTech, it can be completely self-sustaining, with hydroponic gardens and full living facilities. When Leo Graf is sent there to train quaddies in industrial welding, he ends up leading a revolution, and the quaddies disassemble the entire station and jump it through a wormhole to freedom. (FF)