The Vorkosigan Companion (54 page)

Venne:

Commander of the Tactics Room on Vorrutyer's ship. He sends hourly updates of the Escobar battle to Aral, and tells him of the messages coming in about the fleet being defeated. (SH)

Vervain:

A wealthy and technologically advanced planet near a wormhole to the Cetagandan Empire. Mu Ceta's forces were badly beaten when they tried to take Vervain and the wormhole by a combination of subterfuge and force, thanks to the intervention of Miles and Aral Vorkosigan. The planet has two jump exits, one to the Hegen Hub, the other into the sectors controlled by the Cetagandans. In the subterfuge part of the plot, Cavilo plans to turn on her Vervani employers and raid their planet, then fence the loot at Jackson's Whole. She is also employed by the Cetagandans, and was planning to run a double double cross by letting them into Vervain space to take over, with Vervain becoming another satrapy of the Cetagandan Empire. (C, VG)

Vibra-knife:

A personal melee weapon, it is a blade with its own power source that makes it vibrate at very high speed, greatly increasing its damage potential. (All)

Vifian:

No first name given. A tech in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, she is from Kline Station. Injured in the Marilacan mission, she was treated at Beauchene Life Center, and has amnesia as a result of the cryo-stasis and treatment. (MD)

Villanova, Elizabeth:

A plump, pleasant downsider matron who oversees the quaddie children's crèches on the Habitat. Known as Mama Nilla by the staff and children. Elects to remain with the quaddies instead of evacuating off the station. (FF)

Virga, Valeria:

Author of Rainbow Illustrated Romances, including
Love in the Gazebo
,
Sir Randan's Folly
, and
Sir Randan and the Bartered Bride
, all of which are among the contraband video fiction Ti Gulik brings to Silver. (FF)

Visconti, Elena:

Elena Bothari's mother, she is a beautiful, dark-haired woman. She served in the Escobar War, was taken prisoner by the   Barrayarans, and was raped by Sergeant Bothari under the orders of Admiral Ges Vorrutyer. After peace was declared, the resulting fetus was transferred into a uterine replicator, and was born as a daughter, Elena Bothari, who was raised by her father on Barrayar. Visconti was given a memory wipe to save her from the nightmares that could result from her experiences as a prisoner of war, but gradually recovers some of those memories. A banking security technician, she is trapped on Tau Verde IV when a new war breaks out there, and is recruited for the Dendarii by Arde Mayhew. When she realizes who Sergeant Bothari is, she kills him in front of Elena. Initially not wanting anything to do with her daughter, she grants Miles a lock of her hair as a death-offering for Bothari before he leaves for Barrayar, and eventually manages to reach a rapport with her daughter. (MD, SH, WA)

Vogti:

No first name given. One of Aral's armsmen. His wife and elderly mother were taken hostage by Vordarian's men. (B)

Vone:

A slang term for a videophone, it enables users to see and hear each other. (DD)

Voraronberg:

No first name given. A minor Barrayaran lord, he is the Imperial Residence's food and beverage manager. (MD)

Vorbarr Sultana:

The capital of Barrayar, and the planet's largest city. It is home to the Imperial Residence, Vorhartung Castle, the Council of Counts, several excellent universities and colleges, the headquarters of Imperial Security, and the Imperial Military Hospital. The Vorkosigans have a home there, which Miles lives in after he resigns from Imperial Security. (All except FF)

Vorbarr Sultana Hall:

One of the cultural highlights of the capital city on Barrayar. Tickets for performances are often sold out as far as two years in advance. Martya Koudelka gets four tickets to the Imperial Orchestra that plays there, and persuades the Vorbrettens to accompany Olivia Koudelka and herself to the performance. (CC, M)

Vorbarra, Dorca:

The father of Yuri and Xav Vorbarra by different mothers and kinsman of Ezar, he is known as Dorca the Just. He ended the period of internal strife on Barrayar during the Time of Isolation, uniting the counts under one imperial banner. When the Time of Isolation ended, he was the Barrayaran Emperor as the Barrayaran/Cetagandan war broke out. He promoted twenty-two-year-old Piotr Vorkosigan to the rank of general for his guerrilla campaign in the Dendarii Mountains. Aral thinks his father was spared during Yuri Vorbarra's Massacre because Piotr wasn't blood-related to Dorca. His house colors are red and blue. (All except FF)

Vorbarra, Ezar:

A relative of Emperor Yuri Vorbarra, Ezar served alongside Piotr Vorkosigan during the Cetagandan War. Between them, Ezar and Piotr ran the Cetagandans off Barrayar, though the resistance cost five million Barrayaran lives. When it became clear that Yuri was mad and unfit to be Emperor, Ezar and Piotr rebelled and put Ezar on the throne. Ezar married the sister of Mad Emperor Yuri, just before he was killed. He is the Emperor of Barrayar at the start of the war between Barrayar and Escobar
.
His son, Serg, is as unfit as old Yuri was to take the throne, so Ezar ruthlessly arranges for his only child's assassination during the course of the Escobaran War. He appoints Aral Vorkosigan Regent until Serg's son, Gregor, comes of age to take the throne. Aral says that Ezar was the man who stabilized the old way and new way on Barrayar. When Cordelia meets Ezar on his deathbed he is very white, with white hair, and hazel eyes—which he passed on to his son and grandson. He dies shortly after Aral is approved as Regent by the Council of Counts. (B, SH)

Vorbarra, Gregor:

The grandson of Emperor Ezar Vorbarra, and the son of the deceased Crown Prince Serg Vorbarra and Princess Kareen, the current Emperor of Barrayar is tall, dark-haired, and pensive, with piercing hazel eyes. He ascends to the throne at the age of five, upon the death of his grandfather and mother, and is raised by Aral and Cordelia Vorkosigan. Cordelia oversees Gregor's education until he is twelve, when he is sent for the appropriate Imperial military school training.

Thanks to the Vorkosigans' careful oversight, he is a very effective ruler when he takes the reins of the Imperium at twenty-one, except for falling for an internal plot to discredit Aral through Miles's accidental creation of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. Once Miles is cleared of the charges, he suggests that Gregor use the mercenary unit as the Emperor's Own, which Gregor takes him up on. He also goes through a difficult period when he discovers that the reputation of his father—the "gallant" Prince Serg—is a myth, and that his progenitor was a monster.

Depressed and despondent while attending trade negotiations on Komarr, Gregor attempts to commit suicide when drunk by falling off a high balcony, but ends up climbing down the vines on the side of the building and running away. He found passage on a ship off-planet, and eventually ended up in a Jackson Consortium prison cell with Miles, whom he grew up with back home. When both men are captured by Cavilo, she tries to seduce Gregor into marrying her for her protection. Gregor plays along with her long enough to escape, then leads the Barrayaran reinforcements back through the wormhole to relieve the Dendarii.

Through the course of the series from this point onward, Gregor grows steadily more able and mature, and his judgment becomes increasingly acute. When it becomes clear that Mark Vorkosigan will be accepted as the son of Aral and Cordelia, Gregor insists on meeting Mark to take the clone's measure. Satisfied that Mark is a true Vorkosigan, Gregor gives him a comm card that enables Mark to contact the Emperor whenever he wishes. Over Simon's disapproval, Gregor gives Mark the final permission to try to locate Miles on Jackson's Whole.

He appoints Miles as acting Imperial Auditor when Simon Illyan develops serious mental problems as a result of the failure of his memory chip, turning Miles loose to find out what happened, and who is responsible. He personally interviews General Lucas Haroche after his arrest, and solicits a full confession. Impressed with Miles's work on the case, he calls the other four active Imperial Auditors together to review it, and they all vote to offer Miles the permanent position of Imperial Auditor, with Gregor also promoting Miles retroactively to the rank of captain per his request.

After Miles returns from his mission to Komarr, Gregor surprises everyone by falling in love with a Komarran, Doctor Laisa Toscane, and asking her to marry him. While going through the amazing preparations for his wedding, Gregor makes time for a meeting with Nikolai Vorsoisson, the son of Etienne, in which he tells the boy as much of the truth of his father's death as can be allowed without compromising security. Later, he also puts Vassily Vorsoisson and Hugo Vorvayne straight as to Nikolai's safety, and assures them of the ludicrousness of Vormoncrief's plot against Miles. Gregor is safely and happily married to Laisa Toscane, and Gregor's heirs, Miles among them, breathe a sigh of relief and wish him many happy years, and even more healthy offspring. He interrupts Miles's own honeymoon to send his Imperial Auditor to sort out the problem of the Komarran trade fleet at Graf Station in Sector V. (All except EA, FF, SH)

Vorbarra, Kareen:

The wife of Prince Serg, after his death she becomes Princess Dowager, and mother of the new Emperor, Gregor. She is a thin, strained-looking woman of thirty with beautiful, dark hair. The strain is a result of her marriage—Crown Prince Serg was a monster—and the dynastic politics of the Imperium that threaten her life and that of her child every day. Kareen kisses Cordelia's hand when they first meet, thinking that she killed Ges Vorrutyer. She assigns Droushnakova as Cordelia's bodyguard when Cordelia admits to missing the bright women friends that were so dear to her back on Beta Colony. During Vordarian's failed attempt to take the Barrayaran throne, he claims Kareen as his wife to try to solidify his claim to power. After Cordelia proves to Kareen that Vordarian lied to her about Gregor's death during the coup, Kareen attempts to kill Vordarian. She is shot and killed by one of the Residence guards. (B)

Vorbarra, Laisa Toscane:

A woman Duv Galeni is seeing until Emperor Gregor becomes entranced by her and they become engaged to be married. She is short, a bit plump but attractively so, with brilliant blue-green eyes, glowing milky skin, a lovely face, and short, light brown hair with silvery blond highlights. She is a daughter of the Toscane family on Komarr, which cooperated with the Barrayaran conquest, and now holds a lot of influence on the planet. She is a trade lobbyist at Vorbarr Sultana, and has a doctorate in business theory. In an effort to court her, Gregor gives her a horse ride at their first private luncheon. She is appalled by some of the more traditional terms of the wedding contract, but Lady Alys helps reinterpret some old, embarrassing customs to put her more at ease. She marries Gregor, and becomes the Empress of Barrayar. Her family owns a fifty percent share of the Komarran trade fleet impounded at Graf Station in the Union of Free Habitats. (CC, DI, M, WG)

Vorbarra, Serg:

The son of Emperor Ezar, he is the crown prince of Barrayar, and the next in line to the throne. He is co-commander of the Barrayaran armada during its attempt to invade Escobar. He is about thirty years old, with a square face, black hair, hooded hazel eyes, and thin lips. A vain, pompous, deviant man, he is goaded into personally leading the attack on the Escobar fleet, and is killed in the ensuing battle. His death is part of a plan hatched by Emperor Ezar, Captain Negri, and Aral to save Barrayar from Serg's insanity, since he is manifestly unfit to rule. After his death he is hailed as a hero on Barrayar. The planet of Sergyar is named after him. (SH)

Vorbarra, Xav:

Aral's grandfather, he was the ambassador to Beta Colony when he was a youth, where he met Aral's Betan grandmother. While the assassins sent by Yuri Vorbarra (his half brother) missed him during the Massacre, his wife was killed, leading Xav to side with Ezar in the civil war that resulted in Ezar becoming Emperor. (SH)

Vorbarra, Yuri:

An Emperor of Barrayar who went mad in his later years, despite, or perhaps because of, his heroic earlier role resisting the Cetagandan invaders. He is related to Prince Xav Vorbarra (half brother). He was deposed by an army headed by Piotr Vorkosigan and Ezar Vorbarra. During Yuri's ritual death of a thousand cuts, Aral Vorkosigan, though only thirteen years old at the time, was offered the first cut. (SH)

Vorbarra-Vorkosigan, Olivia:

Daughter of Xav Vorbarra, and the mother of Aral Vorkosigan, she was killed by one of Emperor Yuri's assassins, who shot a sonic grenade into her stomach in front of Aral when he was eleven years old. (SH)

Vorbataille:

No first name given. A count's heir in the southern districts of Barrayar, he is entangled in criminal activity involving Jackson's Whole, including using his private yacht to insert a hijacking team onto the
Princess Olivia
. He is betrayed when Luca Tarpan sets him up to take the fall for the assassination of Ekaterin. (WG)

Vorberg:

No first name given. A lieutenant in Barrayaran Imperial Security, he is a courier officer who was captured and held for ransom. Illyan sends the Dendarii Free Mercenaries to rescue him. During his rescue, Miles accidentally cut his legs off with a plasma arc while suffering a seizure. Vorberg's legs are fortunately salvageable, though he lost a bit of height in the accident. He later meets Miles back on Barrayar, but doesn't know Miles was the one who maimed him. Understandably, he speaks disparagingly of the Dendarii Mercenaries. While convalescing he is given a job as night guard commander for the security at the clinic where Simon has been placed. When Miles doesn't respond to Simon's repeated requests to see him, Vorberg finds Miles to chastise him, inadvertently letting him know something is wrong, and putting the whole chain of events that leads to Miles's appointment as Imperial Auditor into play. (M)

Vorbohn:

No first name given. A lord on Barrayar, he is the head of the Vorbarr Sultana Municipal Guard. He helped Officer Gustioz with obtaining permissions to arrest Doctor Borgos. He is also waiting to arrest Lord Richars when the Council of Counts finishes voting on Lord Dono's claim to his brother's District. (CC)