The Vorkosigan Companion (59 page)

Vorrutyer, Dono:

Not to be confused with his later namesake Donna/Dono. Mad Emperor Yuri's Imperial architect, and uncle to Vice Admiral Ges Vorrutyer. He designed the Imperial Security headquarters, which resembles a giant, windowless concrete box with oversized stairs that exhaust anyone trying to climb them. But when Miles is forced to examine all of Imperial Security from top to bottom, he realizes Yuri's architect might have designed hideously ugly buildings, but he knew how to make safe ones. After Emperor Yuri's death, Dono retired to his son-in-law's estate and went mad himself. He designed and built a bizarre set of towers there, which his descendants now charge the public to see. (MD)

Vorrutyer, Ges:

A vice admiral in the Barrayaran Navy, he is co-commander of the Barrayaran armada sent to conquer Escobar, and is on the ship that captures Cordelia's shuttle. Roughly Aral's age, he is a bit taller and stocky, with dark, curly hair with only a little gray in it, and beautiful deep, velvet brown eyes with long, black lashes. He is slated to be Minister of War once Prince Serg Vorbarra takes the throne. He went to school with Aral, and was the elder brother to Aral's young first wife. Ges had a homosexual relationship with Aral, during the distraught period after Aral's wife's death, and he still harbors an obsession with his ex-lover. Vorrutyer is a sadist, a fan of the writings of the Marquis de Sade, and abuses the privileges of his rank. He enjoys torturing people, both men under his command and any prisoners who take his fancy. Bothari kills Vorrutyer to stop him from raping Cordelia. (SH)

Vorrutyer House:

A generation older than Vorkosigan House, it is much more   fortress-like, star-shaped with thick stone walls and no windows on the ground floor, only gunslits. The main gate to the ground is made of thick, iron-bound planks. The house hasn't been cleaned since Count Pierre's death, and when Lord Dono moves in, he is less than pleased with its current condition. (CC)

Vorrutyer, Pierre:

Also known as "Le Sanguinaire," he is a noted count in Barrayaran history. He was Emperor Dorca's trusted right arm/head thug in the civil war that broke the power of the independent counts just before the end of the Time of Isolation. The Cetagandans killed him after an infamous and costly siege. His oldest daughter married an earlier Count Vorkosigan (they became Piotr's parents), which is where Mark gets his middle name of Pierre. (CC)

Vorrutyer, Richars:

A cruel, petty man, he lodges a suit to inherit his deceased cousin Pierre's District and become a count, but is thwarted by Miles working with Lord Dono after Richars threatens to bring a murder charge against him. Richars is a notable sadist and a slickly believable sociopath. He attempted to rape his cousin Lady Donna when she was twelve, and when he failed, killed her puppy. He later thwarted two marriages for Pierre, and then possibly had Pierre's third fiancée killed to prevent his cousin from producing an heir. After ordering thugs to castrate Dono, Richars is found out when the plot fails. Denounced publicly at the Council by several former allies, he is arrested after the rest of the counts vote in Dono as count. (CC)

Vorsmythe:

No first name given. One of the former Imperial Auditors who used to hand in illegible reports that were never longer than two pages. (M)

Vorsmythe:

No first name given. A Barrayaran industrialist attending the Winterfair Ball that Mark wishes to talk to about investing his newly acquired wealth. (MD)

Vorsmythe:

No first name given. A countess on Barrayar, she assures Alys Vorpatril that both René Vorbretten and Dono Vorrutyer have her husband's vote. (CC)

Vorsmythe:

No first name given. A count on Barrayar and husband to Alys's friend, he helps Mark learn how the food-service distribution works locally, and becomes an investor in the butter bug business. Not to be confused with the industrialist or the Auditor. (CC)

Vorsmythe
Dolphin
-class 776 jump ship:

The jump ship that carried the Vorsoisson family to Komarr, it has quadruple-vortex outboard control nacelles, dual norm-space thrusters, and can carry one hundred passengers. Nikolai loved the ride, but caused some distress when he flushed his shoes down the toilet. He owns a model of the ship, and Miles and he discuss it during their first conversation on Komarr. (K)

Vorsmythe, Helga:

One of the formerly eligible Vor women that Ivan does not have the chance to marry. (M)

Vorsoisson, Etienne:

Ekaterin's husband, also known as Tien, is an administrator at the Serifosa division of the terraforming project on Komarr. He has brown eyes, is overly status-conscious, is quick to take offense at the most innocuous comments, and frequently puts his foot in his mouth.

A disaster both as a husband and as an employee, he's had thirteen jobs in ten years, and has moved his family all over the Barrayaran Imperium and finally to Komarr. Tien is from the South Continent of Barrayar, and served in the military for ten years prior to his civil career. Tien is ten years older than his wife, and is a distant, selfish, and emotionally abusive husband.

Both he and his son have a genetic disease—a Barrayaran mutation called Vorzohn's Dystrophy. He has the typical Barrayaran prejudices against mutation, and wants to keep his condition secret, worried news of the condition will cramp his chances for advancement. By doing so, he has put his son at risk by shutting them both off from any possibility of treatment. Tien keeps promising his wife he'll get treatment off-world, but puts it off as too expensive.

He is also up to his neck in illegal activity, knowing about the peculation scam at waste management, but not about the plot to destroy the wormhole to Barrayar. He has taken bribes from Soudha, losing the money in Komarran trade fleet speculations. When Ekaterin finds out about all of this, she leaves him.

To make amends, he finds Miles and tries to bluff him into thinking he has just found out the graft in his department. He takes Miles to the Waste Heat experimental site, where they are both captured by the Komarrans plotting against Barrayar. Because he didn't check his breath mask, which wasn't fully charged, before going outside the dome, he dies horrifically in the unbreathable atmosphere while he and Miles are chained to a fence, even though the plotters had summoned help for them before leaving. Because of his connection to the plot to destroy the wormhole to Barrayar, the true nature of his death remains classified. Only Ekaterin, Miles, Vorthys, the plotters, Gregor, Imperial Security, and eventually Nikolai know the truth. (K)

Vorsoisson, Nikolai:

The only son of Ekaterin and Etienne, he is nine years old, with brown eyes and hair that is darkening to his mother's shade of brown. Called Nikki for short, he is a growing boy, almost as big as Miles when they first meet, and would like to be a jump-ship pilot. He finds out about his Vorzohn's Dystrophy after his father dies, and receives treatment for it before leaving Komarr. He is a bit worried about what other kids will think of him, but Miles helps him deal with it.

Nikki does not seem to have been very close to his father, but he has begun to forge an excellent relationship with Miles. When rumors surface that Miles murdered his father, Ekaterin and Miles take Nikki to see Emperor Gregor, who gives Nikolai as much of the truth as he can, and puts to rest his fears that Miles murdered Etienne. When Vassily Vorsoisson and Hugo Vorvayne come to take custody of him because they are worried that Vorbarr Sultana will be embroiled in a war, Nikki calls Gregor. The Emperor's solution is to bring everyone in the house to Vorhartung Castle for a personal meeting, where he guarantees Nikolai's and his mother's safety to her irritating but worried relatives. Nikki is pleased that his mother has proposed to Miles, and wants Miles to make her happy. At the wedding reception, he and his friends latch on to Arde Mayhew to hear all about the pilot's adventures. (CC, DI, K, WG)

Vorsoisson, Vassily:

Ekaterin's cousin-in-law, he is a lieutenant in the Barrayaran military, with a job at Orbital Traffic Control at Fort Kithera River. As Etienne's cousin he is the Vorsoisson male next in line to inherit the official guardianship of Nikolai. He allows the transfer of guardianship to Ekaterin. But when Alexi Vormoncrief sends him news that Miles supposedly murdered Etienne, he comes to town with Hugo Vorvayne to take Ekaterin and Nikolai back home. Nikolai calls Gregor, who has them all brought before him, and puts an end to the idea. Vassily meets the family of his new in-laws, and reconciles the idea of having the Vorkosigans as relatives. (CC)

Vorsoisson, Violetta:

One of the formerly eligible Vor women that Ivan does not have the chance to marry. (M)

Vortaine:

The Barrayaran count that is Ivan's heir. If he dies, his daughter will receive his assets, but his hereditary titles would go to Count Vordrozda. (WA)

Vortaine:

No first name given. A count on Barrayar, he is involved in the water boundary rights case with Count Vorvolynkin. He will not vote for either René Vorbretten or Dono Vorrutyers. A later generation than the previous Vortaine. (CC)

Vortala:

No first name given. A colonel in Imperial Security, he takes over Simon Illyan's internal security jobs while Simon is hospitalized. (M)

Vortala:

No first name given. The Prime Minister of Barrayar during Ezar Vorbarra's reign and the beginning of Aral Vorkosigan's Regency. A lean man, wrinkled and shrunken with age, he has clipped white hair fringing a bald and liver-spotted head, and can be very obnoxious even without swearing. He uses a walking stick, mainly for show. He tries to form a progressive political party, but only with the higher Barrayaran classes. Prince Serg wants Aral and Vortala dead when he is in power. Vortala summons Aral to the meeting where Ezar names him Regent. When Vordarian tries to overthrow the government, he escapes house arrest to join Aral at Tanery Base. (B, SH)

Vortala the Younger:

No first name given. A colonel in the Barrayaran military, he is the head of the Imperial Security task force assigned to provide security for the Emperor's wedding. (CC)

Vortalon:

No first name given. A captain in the Barrayaran military during the Time of Isolation, his life is fictionalized and he becomes a holovid hero that Nikolai watches. The boy refers to him when discussing how the character settles a debt of honor against villains who attack his father. He thinks he might have to kill Miles if Miles had killed Etienne Vorsoisson. (CC)

Vortashpula, Irene:

One of the eligible young ladies at the Emperor's Birthday celebration that Alys Vorpatril tried to get Ivan to consider as a possible marriage candidate. (MD)

Vorthalia the Bold:

A childhood obsession of Miles's. He was a holovid character supposedly based on a historical character. When Miles looked him up in the Imperial Archives he learned the truth about his idol, who wasn't as heroic as the vids made him appear. (CC)

Vorthalia the Brave and the Thicket of Thorns:

A metaphorical example of a liege lord cutting through the red tape of government that Miles uses in his initial conversation with Arde Mayhew. (WA)

Vorthys, Georg:

A Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Vorbarr Sultana University, Imperial Auditor, and Ekaterin's uncle. One of Emperor Gregor's civilian Imperial Auditor appointees, he is stout, white-haired, and smiles often. He is the Barrayaran expert on engineering failure analysis, and has written the standard texts on the subject. He became interested in the connections between sociopolitical and engineering integrity late in life. Along with the other Auditors in attendance, he approves Miles for the eighth Imperial Auditor position. Three months later, he and Miles go to Komarr to investigate the Soletta Station accident, and they visit Ekaterin and her family while there. Vorthys has been married for forty years to Helen, also a professor. After thwarting, along with Miles, Helen, and Ekaterin, the rebellious Komarran engineers' plot, he and his wife take Ekaterin and Nikolai in until she can settle herself on Barrayar. (CC, K, WG)

Vorthys, Helen:

A Professora of History at Vorbarr Sultana University, and a notable expert on Barrayaran political infighting, she is Imperial Auditor Georg Vorthys's wife and Ekaterin's aunt. Ekaterin lived with the Vorthys couple while she was going to university in Vorbarr Sultana, and again after her return from Komarr. She and Ekaterin are kidnapped by Komarran revolutionaries determined to cut off Barrayar's wormhole access. Both women are instrumental in ending the plot safely. She is scheduled to have replacement heart surgery to correct her congestive heart failure, but even while ill she gently guides Ekaterin's love life. She suspects Miles is in love with Ekaterin, and sees that Ekaterin returns his regard long before she has any inkling of her own feelings. Helen approves of the match, and is one of the most favored guests at the wedding. (CC, WG)

Vortienne:

No first name given. A Barrayaran count, referred to in conversation between Aral and Cordelia as ready to retire in favor of his son. Has unusual, unnamed proclivities that he exercises with his guards. (MD)

Vortrifani:

No first name given. A Barrayaran count who would be backed by the "far right, blow-up-the-wormhole, isolationist loonies" if he attempted to claim the throne. When he plotted with extremists to drop a ship called the
Yarrow
onto the Imperial Residence, the plot was stopped by Imperial Security. Vortrifani distanced himself from the plan, but his power was severely weakened. Simon Illyan lauded Colonel Haroche's work on the case as superb. (M, VG)

Vortugalov:

No first name given. A Barrayaran count who would be backed by the Russian-speaking populace if he attempted to claim the throne. (VG)

Vorvane:

No first name given. A Barrayaran, she is the wife of the Minister of Heavy Industries. She and her three children are part of a group of 216 kidnapped people that the Dendarii Free Mercenaries are ordered to free by any means necessary. (BA)

Vorvayne brothers:

Ekaterin's four brothers. Hugo is the oldest; he supported her in many ways during her unhappy marriage to Etienne, but is stirred up by the gossip surrounding Miles and tries to keep his sister from marrying him. But once he realizes that the rumors are gross exaggerations and that Miles and Ekaterin truly love each other, he once again gives her his full support. Will, the youngest, takes pictures at the births of his sister's first children. The middle two brothers are not named. All four attend their sister's wedding. (CC, DI, K, WG)