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{{work}}
{{Characters need descriptions}}
{{Unmarked Spoilers}}
Characters from ''[[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}]]'' include:
== Political Powers ==
=== Barrayar ===
Isolated from the rest of known space for centuries by an accident that stripped its colonists of both a lot of their needed tech, supplies, and personnel, not to mention contact with the rest of humanity, Barrayar survived by reverting to a feudal system (along with sheer bloody-mindedness and a habit of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|winning all their wars, often by being too crazy to give up]]), and is now struggling to adjust to a galaxy that views its social model as anything from quaintly anachronistic to dangerously primitive. Ruled by the ''Vor'' warrior caste, with [[The Emperor]] at their head. The homeworld of [[Badass|Miles]], who has to deal with Barrayar's nasty prejudice against [[Genius Cripple|mutants like him]], and the focus (and often the setting) of the Vorkosigan series.
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* [[The Clan]]: Every Vor house
* [[Deadly Decadent Court]]: Somewhat tamed by now. Miles' father Aral actually ''survived'' being Regent to Gregor until his majority, and since then [[The Wise Prince|Gregor]] has been applying his foster-father's lessons, toning down both the decadence and the deadliness.
** Admittedly, the Vorkosigan regency contained four assassination attempts, one civil war, one aborted colonial insurrection, and one foreign invasion attempt ''all in the first five years''. The next twelve years were incrementally more sedate than this. Incrementally.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Yes it was a brutal, chaotic society and has not quite grown out of that. However it does have a sense of honor, and does not permit slavery.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Against mutants, disabled people and all genetic strangeness. It was only recently that infanticide was banned, and it still goes on in quiet in parts of the back country. The prejudice is both understandable (mutations were historically a gigantic problem for the isolated Barrayan colonists) and spurs much of Miles Vorkosigan's actions (viewed as a "mutie" by Barrayan society, he struggles to prove himself in the face of unreasoning hatred). A more minor prejudice is between the speakers of various Earth-decended languages, but it can be dangerous as well; it's mentioned that riots along linguistic divisions are political points to take into consideration.
* [[Feudal Future]]
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=== Komarr ===
A dome-covered planet whose considerable merchant wealth came through their prime planetary position at the nexus of several strategically important wormhole jumps, Komarr once made the mistake of allowing the Cetagandan Empire passage through their wormholes (for a fee of course) on their way to conquer the backwater world of Barrayar. The Komarrans responsible may not have lived to regret their decision, but their descendants certainly did when Barrayar came back with a conquering fleet to prevent a repeat performance. Once home to a strong [[La Résistance]] against the Barrayarans, but this is losing popularity as Komarr and Barrayar become more integrated (including {{spoiler|a prominent Komarran heiress becoming the [[Happily Married]] Empress of Barrayar}}.
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=== Beta Colony ===
Home of Cordelia, mother of Miles, before she switched allegiance to Aral (and Barrayar). The most technologically and socially progressive society in known space, or a degenerate planet full of unspeakable perversions, madness, and mutations, depending on where you stand. Beta does produce a lot of [[Science Hero|Science Heroes]]...just don't run afoul of their [[Hollywood Psych|therapists]].
* [[Alternate Character Interpretation]]: [[Utopia]] or [[Dystopia]]? Depends on where you stand on their more [[Free-Love Future|interesting]] [[Critical Psychoanalysis Failure|social practices]]. Even the Betans themselves can't agree.
* [[Free-Love Future]]: Age of consent is '''''twelve''''', presumably because they '''really''' trust their educational system to make sure the kids fully understand what they're consenting to.
** A Betan who got caught up in one of Miles' early escapades speaks of Barrayaran investigators questioning not only him, but "my girlfriend" '''and''' "her wife."
* [[Political Correctness Gone Mad]]: Certainly in the view of a lot of terminally old-fashioned Barrayans. The rest of the galaxy seems to view the Betans as kind of out there but with enough strong points to overlook the sarongs and the scarily overpowered role of therapy.
=== Cetaganda ===
An empire of interconnected planets ruled by a caste dedicated to raising themselves to transhuman status by genetic manipulation, Cetaganda once invaded and unsuccessfully occupied Barrayar. [[Forever War|In many ways, it remains the main opponent of the Vorkosigan series as, unlike Barrayar, Cetaganda generally favours expansion]], {{spoiler|although by the end of the series it appears that Miles' sustained efforts have bought Barrayar some goodwill with its once and future enemy...not that it means much, but by ''Diplomatic Immunity'' he can actually ''talk'' the Cetagandans out of starting another war with Barrayar.}}
* [[Can't Argue with Elves]]: Well, sort of. Humans who are deliberately evolving into [[Space Elves]], and not humble about it either.
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: The Haut sound like the [[Dune|Bene Geserit]]
* [[Fantastic Caste System]]: The haut geneticist caste ruling over the ghem warrior caste with the workers below both.
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=== Jackson's Whole ===
Planet ruled by criminal houses where you can get ''anything'' for enough money. And that does mean anything.
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== Vorkosigan House ==
=== The Vorkosigans ===
Tropes that apply to the whole Vorkosigan clan:
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* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]
Only son and heir to the Vorkosigan countship, victim of a soltoxin attack while still in utero, the antitoxin to which left him with an abnormally stunted stature and frighteningly brittle bones, Miles grew up military-mad in a culture that despised him for a [[Fantastic Racism|mutie]]. When he fails his qualifying physical for the Barrayan military at seventeen, the death of his grandfather and a "breather" trip to Beta Colony with [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|his friend Elena Bothari]] and [[Heroic Sociopath|her father Sergeant Constantin Bothari]], followed by a chance meeting with a drunk-and-suicidal jump pilot, changes the course of his life, ending in him becoming the admiral of a mercenary fleet at seventeen and launching a career beyond his wildest adolescent imaginings.
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* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: though sometimes, especially early on in his career, Miles's tendency to go off half-cocked can lead to a [[Gambit Pileup]] all by himself.
"The Admiral's Captain": Former Betan Astronomical Survey Captain, retired [[Science Hero]], certified [[Badass]], wife of Aral and mother of Miles {{spoiler|and later Mark}}.
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* [[Mama Bear]]: After what she goes through in "Barrayar" to rescue Miles' uterine replicator, don't you ''dare'' doubt it.
* [[Memetic Badass]]: In-universe, at least among the High Vor. Her public image is much lower profile: historian Duv Galeni even refers to her as "the most invisible of political wives." Miles jokes when someone asks him to come shopping with them that "There's an offer seldom made of my mother's son."
** To underline this: Cordelia's husband Aral is the most legendary warrior alive in a warrior culture, who has proven on every level ranging from single combat with bare hands to spacefleets that he is the best warrior around. He's more famous even than his father Piotr, who was himself a galactically-famous military legend. Even those of Aral's peers who absolutely despise him will still unhesitatingly acknowledge that he is one of the greatest badasses alive. ''And they are still more frightened of his wife than they are of him''.
* [[The Messiah]]: Even moreso than her {{spoiler|eldest}} son.
* [[The Social Expert]]: Probably the best example in a whole family full of examples.
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* [[Tomboy]] A bit old for the designation, but very much so by Barayaran standards. Aral calls her "my dear Captain" for a reason. Miles observes that she wears a Barayaran matron's skirts like a child playing dressup.
* [[Warrior Therapist]]: Effectively appointed herself warrior therapist ''to an entire planet'' by vowing to make Barrayar a safe place for Miles, Gregor and Elena to grow up. Taught it to her son.
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: When Cordelia is surprised that she is welcomed having been on the other side during the war, she is told that a good soldier is appreciated on Barrayar. Barrayarans often take their militarism so seriously that they take it to it's logical extent and do nothing so absurdly civilian as to be unsporting about the matter when the shooting is over.
* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]
* [[Badass Grandpa]]: He's older by Barrayan standards when he marries for the second time, and thirty years later is still serving Barrayar. {{spoiler|After Miles' marriage, becomes this very literally.}}
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* [[Good Parents]]: With Cordelia
* [[Happily Married]]: To Cordelia
* [[Marty Tzu]]: Aral is ''never'' wrong on military matters. He's extremely intelligent and with good judgement in general, but is still as capable of the occasional error in personal or civilian (especially personal) affairs as any other human being. But when it comes to military tactics or strategy he has literally never made an incorrect decision in his entire life; even under circumstances where there's not remotely enough data to deduce a correct answer he'll find it anyway on sheer gut instinct. Pretty much every military historian in the Nexus agrees that Aral Vorkosigan is the military genius of the age -- which is impressive under any circustances and doubly so considering that Aral's competition for that title includes his own father, the man who quite literally saved his entire world by defeating a Cetagandan invasion with horse cavalry.
* [[Officer and a Gentleman]]
* [[Old Soldier]]
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* [[When She Smiles|When He Smiles]]: Another shared trait with his son; he's not unattractive, but Cordelia only starts to become attracted to him the first time he really smiles with pleasure.
Aral's father, the former Count Vorkosigan, a hard man and a veteran of the Cetagandan occupation of Barrayar.
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* [[You Should Have Died Instead]]: He ''almost'' says this to Aral in a moment of anger, but even the beginning of the sentiment is enough to freeze his relations with his only living son solid right away.
Miles's clone-brother and the results of a plot by a psychotic Komarran, Mark was conditioned to ''be'' Miles, right down to imitating his physical tics and having his height and skeleton surgically (and painfully) altered to replicate the effects of the soltoxin attack. {{spoiler|Then he meets his original, who manages to change his mind in more ways than one.}} Needless to say, Mark is a hugely screwed-up individual.
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=== Servants & Retainers ===
==== Konstantin Bothari ====
A former subordinate of Aral's who had an extremely troubled history and career, he becomes a Vorkosigan Armsman after his discharge from the Imperial Service. Bothari eventually comes into Cordelia's orbit and responded to her belief in him with fierce, unquestioning devotion to her. Despite his transition from a normal soldier to a Vorkosigan armsman, his status as the family's resident and willing shooter of dogs remains unchanged.
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* [[Shoot the Dog]]: In the service of Cordelia (and later Miles), Bothari often employs methods far more ruthless than either of them are comfortable with, but he gets results. He also views himself as Cordelia's dog {{spoiler|making his death a bizarre turnabout.}}
Imagine Jeeves{{who}} as a former SAS commando.
* [[Old Retainer]]: By the time of ''A Civil Campaign'', but he starts out as [[The New Guy]] in ''Mountains Of Mourning''.
Quiet, good with horses.
Tall, imposing, athletic and intelligent, Roic isn't former military like the other armsmen: he's a former police officer, taken into Count Aral's service after showing extreme heroism in a crisis. Rapidly becomes Miles right-hand man after Miles becomes Imperial Auditor since Miles finds his police experience useful. {{spoiler|Also, between the aforementioned heroism and him and Sergeant Taura derailing a plot to assassinate Ekaterin ''on the day of her wedding to Miles,'' a thing that would surely have broken Miles beyond the ability of even Betan therapy to fix, there's no doubting Roic's bravery ''or'' loyalty.}} ''Cryoburn'' mentions briefly that he's courting Armsman Commander Pym's daughter Aurie.
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* [[Tiny Guy, Huge Girl]]: His brief romance with Taura, one of the few people in the universe who could render him the 'tiny guy'.
Miles' cook. He hires her after he discovers that the boxed lunches his ImpSec gate guard is getting from his mother are a ''lot'' better than the premade meals Miles has been buying and heating up for himself.
* [[Supreme Chef]]: Miles is advised to double her salary, as soon as some of his Vor friends find out just how good a cook she is. His aunt Lady Alys Vorpatril, the paragon of style among Vorbarr Sultana's High Vor, has shown calculating looks regarding Ma Kosti's cooking, and Cordelia contemplated getting her son transferred to Sergyar so ''she'' could steal that culinary mastery for herself.
** By the time of ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', even Emperor Gregor is wistfully considering the idea of poaching her.
==
=== Ivan Vorpatril ===
Miles' second cousin and agemate, a handsome and clever but rather lazy young officer who is exceptionally popular with the ladies. Often answers to [[Stealth Pun|"Ivan, you idiot!"]], and is forever getting dragged into Miles' wild schemes, or so he claims.
* [[Bodyguard Crush]]: With Tej. He is not a professional bodyguard but ends up as one.
* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Actually described as having a "sharp but lazy intellect" in ''Brothers in Arms.'' ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' shows him as an efficient aide to the Chief of Operations of the entire Imperial Service.
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Is often called an idiot by his friends and relatives and tends to be the victim of humorously embarrassing circumstances.
* [[The Casanova]]: Shading into [[Chivalrous Pervert]]. He's offended when Byerly Vorrutyer makes a remark implying that Ivan would only help a woman in danger if she were good-looking. Byerly then admits that implication was unfair.
* [[The Charmer]]: Has shades of this.
* [[Citizenship Marriage]]: With Tej.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: But of course.
* [[Drives Like Crazy]]
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'''Ivan''': What did I say? }}
** When Miles gets the temporary Auditor appointment and asks for Ivan as his aide, Ivan says something about Miles wanting a "donkey to carry his luggage." Miles replies he needs a donkey he can "rely on absolutely." ''Then'' he mentions they're looking into what happened to Simon Illyan, and Ivan immediately stops complaining.
** In ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', Byerly Vorrutyer dragoons Ivan into a scheme to try and save the lives of two young women. When By tries to explain that Ivan was his first choice because he knew Ivan would love the chance to knight-errant for a beautiful young woman, Ivan's immediate response is to be insulted at the implication that he would be any less willing to help save the life of an ugly one.
** {{spoiler|Ivan's new bride}} is intrigued to realize that, before introducing her to Simon, Ivan is evidently concerned to explain Simon's not-quite-disability to her and ask her to make allowances:
{{quote|...he was anxious for his mother's lover's dignity, then? And not just for how it reflected on his mother, it seemed. He seemed anxious for Simon Illyan in his own right.}}
** He doesn't like to think about what Illyan's (probably short) life would have been like after {{spoiler|the removal of the memory chip if he ''hadn't'' taken up with Lady Alys}}. Ivan's evidently glad by now that things turned out as they did.
* [[The Loins Sleep Tonight]]: happens to him in ''Cetaganda'' as a result of a drink spiked with an "anti-aphrodisiac". He is in a threesome with two Cetagandan ghem-ladies when the effects take hold, but manages to avoid embarrassment thanks to some almost Miles-worthy bluffing about Barrayan sexual customs and a couple of handy bedroom tricks taught to him by an old flame. Amusingly, in spite of his fears, once word of his performance gets around Ivan finds himself deluged with invitations by ''very interested'' ghem-ladies.
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: It's a matter of self-preservation, when you're theoretically third in line for the Imperium.
* [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man]]: Despite his hedonism Ivan, is a reasonably decent person and in any case the typical male fare on Jackson's Whole leaves not much to choose from. It is Ivan's-and Barrayar's coincidently-[[Even Evil Has Standards| comparative]] goodness that is to a large degree what attracts Tej.
* [[Spoiled Sweet]]: Maybe more "Spoiled sweet and sour". He is an entitled courtier sure enough and he can even be aggravating at times. But he can also be quite nice and he is hard to really dislike.
* [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]]
* [[When He Smiles]]: As if he weren't already good-looking enough, {{spoiler|the woman he finally marries}} feels this applies, too.
Miles' aunt (really a first cousin by marriage, once removed), Ivan's long-suffering mother, and a grand dame of the High Vor. Possibly more deadly than the male. (Emperor Gregor calls her "General Alys" and defies anyone to upset her social plans, if they dare.) In ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' her title is now "Social Secretary to the Imperial Residence." "First assistant to Empress Laisa," too, and still "one of the most powerful women in the capital."
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents]]: {{spoiler|Once she hooks up with Illyan, Ivan certainly feels this way.}}
* [[Cool Old Lady]]: In "Civil Campaign", it's hinted that {{spoiler|she's working with ''ImpSec'' as By's handler, though with her being referred to as a "blind drop" she might not be aware of it; with her being just that astute, she might.}}
** "Old" is a matter of perception; at sixty, she's "past youth and into an indeterminate age one might dub ''dignified'', but certainly not old...." That's the opinion of someone with a Cetagandan ''haut'' grandmother; see "Grande Dame" on the Main page.
* [[My Beloved Smother]]: Ivan thinks so, but [[I Want Grandkids|she just wants grandkids,]] and backs off once {{spoiler|Simon Illyan is in the picture.}}
* [[Politically-Active Princess|Politically Active Vor Lady:]] Especially in ''A Civil Campaign''.
** Even before that. For all of Gregor's life it was known that the task of finding and vetting the Emperor's eventual spouse had been delegated to her by Cordelia (who, as the Emperor's foster-mother, would originally have that job). Which meant that every Vor family on the planet with any hope at all of seeing one of their young lady scions become the future Empress of Barrayar -- i.e., every Vor family on the planet, period -- had a reason to try currying favor with Lady Alys.
* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]
Miles' boss, the seemingly omniscient and implacable head of ImpSec. His mere name is enough to invoke dread in most people. Has a memory chip implanted in his head that lets him remember ''everything''.
* [[Bodyguard Crush]]: Indirectly. Bodyguarding the Emperor includes those attending his court, Alys is the emperors mistress of ceremonies and therefore is an accidental target for anyone wanting the emperor. Therefore Simon is her guard as well. In any case they end up falling in love.
* {{spoiler|[[Brought Down to Normal]]}}
* [[The Dreaded]]: Perhaps the most feared person in Barrayar.
* [[Expy]]: [[Word of God]] states that Illyan's name, appearance and profession are somewhat inspired by Ilya Kuryakin of ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]''.
* {{spoiler|[[Love Redeems]]: Or at least helps you live a normal life after decades of being a near-machine.}}
* [[Married to the Job]]: Simon is married to the service of Barrayar. And while he looks at Alys wistfully, he has no desire to [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|burden a woman]] with the [[Squick|stuff]] that would be contained in the head of a [[Nightmare Fuel|spymaster with an implanted database.]]
* [[Photographic Memory]]
* [[Neural Implanting]]: {{spoiler|At least until the chip is sabotaged.}}
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* [[The Spymaster]]
Emperor of Barrayar, Komarr, and Sergyar, a soft-spoken, highly intelligent man and just the sort of person you'd want running your feudal militarized space empire.
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* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]
* [[Tranquil Fury]]: The quieter he gets, the angrier he generally is.
{{quote|'''Byerly Vorrutyer''': I thought Gregor was fairly easy-going for an emperor.
'''Ivan''': No. He is not. He is merely rather quiet. It's not the same thing at all. You don't want to see what he's like pissed.
'''Byerly''': What does he look like, pissed?
'''Ivan''': Identical to what he looks like the rest of the time. That's the scary part.}}
* [[The Wise Prince]]: In private life, Gregor is a kind, complex man, but his public persona makes him come across as [[The Stoic]].
* [[Warrior Therapist]]: Learned it at Cordelia's knee. He's even better at it than Miles, eventually a match for Cordelia herself.
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* [[The White Prince]]: Appears as this toward the beginning of The Vor Game. Turns out to be smarter than he appears though.
Gregor's grandfather, Serg's father, a highly subtle and dangerous old bastard.
* [[The Chessmaster]]
* [[Lesser of Two Evils]]: See below. In this case even the "lesser" was pretty
* [[Needle in a Stack of Needles|Murder In A Stack Of Deaths]]: See below.
* {{spoiler|[[Offing the Offspring]]: Considering what a psycho his son Serg was, it's hard to blame him...until one considers he got thousands of Escobarans, Betans, and his own Barrayans killed to cover the act.}}
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* [[Thanatos Gambit]]: Sets Aral up for the Regency of Barrayar with one of these.
* [[The Extremist Was Right]]: Or else he was really lucky. In any case his plan ''did'' work as he wanted it to.
* [[The Unfettered]]: As Emperor, Ezar was deeply and sincerely devoted to the good of Barrayar above all other concerns... to a degree that any remotely sane being and most insane beings found absolutely horrifying. Despite being solidly on team protagonist he was the single most ruthless entity to exist in the entire chronicle, ''including'' all of the antagonists.
Aral's subordinate and later personal secretary; wounded during the Escobar War, he uses a swordstick to get around. Happily married to Drou, he is the proud if slightly apprehensive father of four daughters. Eventually rises to the rank of Commodore.
* [[Handicapped Badass]]
* [[Overprotective Dad]]: Morphs into one of these when {{spoiler|Kareen and Mark are outed as a couple.}} He gets over it; helps that one of his other daughters {{spoiler|hooks up with the [[
* [[Sword Cane]]: Cordelia gives him one in "Barrayar" to try and help alleviate his feelings of being "crippled" and "useless" (after a disruptor shot completely screws his nervous system and leaves him with trouble getting around and excruciating pain). It gets borrowed back and [[Off with His Head|re-purposed]] later.
Former bodyguard to Princess Kareen and then-heir to the throne Prince Gregor, Drou accompanied Cordelia on her [[Unusual Euphemism|shopping trip]] to the Capital. Now married to Clement Koudelka and the proud mother of four daughters.
* [[Action Girl]]: she was a planetary martial arts champion and Emperor Gregor's childhood bodyguard.
* [[Embarrassing First Name]]: She keeps Drou as a nickname after her marriage.<ref>Her several brothers used to tease her by rhyming the first syllable of "Ludmilla" with such words as "mud," "blood," "cud" (what a cow chews), "dud".... Naturally she's sick of it. (It '''should''' rhyme more with "good.")</ref> Even her husband calls her Drou. Hell, even the ''Emperor'' calls her Drou. Of course he does. He's known "Droushie" since he was five years old. Possibly younger.
* [[Happily Married]]: To Kou,
* [[Retired Badass]]
* [[Statuesque Stunner]]: Drou is slightly taller than the average Barrayan man, which makes her ''extremely'' tall for a woman.
(AKA "Team Koudelka" AKA "Koudelka's All-Blonde Commando Team")
Kou and Drou's four daughters, Delia {{spoiler|Galeni}}, Olivia,{{spoiler|Countess Vorrutyer}}, Martya {{spoiler|Borgos}} and Kareen {{spoiler|who becomes Lady Kareen Vorkosigan in all but name}}.
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* [[Amazon Brigade]]: The girls tend to go about in a herd by their own admission, and after watching Olivia clobber the thugs Ivan speculates that the mother-daughter wisdom passed down in the Koudelka clan extended to things a lot more dangerous than baking brownies. Junior officers at HQ refer to them as "Commodore Koudelka's all-blonde commando team," and are said to be unsuccessfully trying to surrender to them.
* [[Beware the Quiet Ones]]: Proved, to Ivan's horror, when super-quiet Olivia takes down a couple of armed thugs single-handed.
** Although it is lampshaded at one point that being the quietest and gentlest of the Koudelka sisters still leaves you a lot of room to be pretty aggressive.
* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: Kareen, named after Gregor's mother, the deceased Empress Kareen.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Martya
* [[Four-Temperament Ensemble]]: Kareen is sanguine, Martya is choleric, Delia is melancholic, and Olivia is phlegmatic.
* [[Gender Rarity Value]]: The Koudelkas
** As of the latest publication Commodore Koudelka has one son-in-law who is on the fast track to become the next Chief of Imperial Security and is already only one or two heartbeats away from that job (Chief of Komorran Affairs Duv Galeni), one who is one of the most brilliant scientists on Barrayar (Dr. Borgos), one who is a sitting member of the Council of Counts (Count Dono Vorrutyer), and one who is the second son of the most prominent family on the planet short of the Imperial Family itself (Lord Mark Vorkosigan) who is also, in his own right, one of the richest men on the planet. Short of somehow having managed to marry one of his girls to Gregor he really couldn't have topped this high score.
* [[Nice Girl]]: "Everyone liked Kareen, because Kareen liked everyone."
=== Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson {{spoiler|Vorkosigan}} ===
{{quote|"Drat."|'''Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson''', ''Komarr'', after more than a decade of being married to Etienne Vorsoisson}}
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* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Unpack, Miles." (referring to the way his brain runs five steps ahead of his mouth.)
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: She has her moments.
* [[Domestic Abuse]]: Tien certainly emotionally abused her {{spoiler|and stole money from her to pay back his bad investments that should have gone to the medical treatment of their young son}}, and Miles considers it verging on abuse that Tien talked Ekaterin into having her
* {{spoiler|[[Happily Married]]}}: Eventually. [[Earn Your Happy Ending|She has to wade through a lot of shit to get there.]]
* [[Hot Mom]]: If the reaction of just about every unattached heterosexual Barrayan and Komarran male around her is to be trusted. {{spoiler|Hell, one guy didn't even wait a full week after her husband's murder to propose marriage to her. And then there's Miles' disastrous attempt at stealth courtship via [[Subordinate Excuse]] ...}}
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* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]
=== Lord Auditor Professor Georg Vorthys ===
One of the eight permanent Imperial Auditors and Ekatarin's uncle, Georg Vorthys is a Professor Emeritus of Engineering Failure Analysis at Vorbarr Sultana University and is generally regarded as the Empire's authority on the subject. He is Emperor Gregor's go-to Auditor for technical/scientific issues.
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* [[Happily Married]]
Town Clown, impoverished, imprudent, and impervious to put-downs, but very witty. {{spoiler|Also an ImpSec informer, thought by some to be reporting to Lady Alys Vorpatril.}}
* [[Agent Provocateur]]: Manipulates his cousin Richars into prematurely sending goons to attack his other cousin Dono so as to sabotage his case against the other.
* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Or at least (possibly) bisexual.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: In ''Memory'' an exasperated Alys complains about a "certain nameless wit, or halfwit" suggesting she should start including boys in her bride search for Gregor. In ''A Civil Campaign'' we are introduced to Byerly.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]
* [[Expy]]: considering ''A Civil Campaign'' is partially ''[[An Ideal Husband]]'' [[In Space]], Byerly comes off very much as one to [[Oscar Wilde]] (or at least one of Wilde's stock characters)
* [[Hidden Depths]]: {{spoiler|Impsec, of course}}, but also his reason for it; a woman who's become something of a confidant speculates that he has an obsession {{spoiler|not so much with punishing the guilty as with clearing the innocent}}, resulting from the details of an ugly family quarrel.
** Ivan thinks that By {{spoiler|makes his living}} "through a weird sort of loyalty."
{{quote|And somewhere underneath the persiflage, camouflage, and just plain flage, he was high Vor of the highest...}}
* [[Impoverished Patrician]]
* [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]]: {{spoiler|While partially true, it is also his cover.}}
* [[Upper Class Wit]]
==
=== Commander {{spoiler|later Admiral}} Elli Quinn ===
Former Oseran mercenary; devastatingly beautiful because after her face got burned off by plasma fire in one of his first battles, Miles bought her a very nice new one. Since then she's used it, plus superlative competence and a hilariously twisted personality, to spectacular effect in the Dendarii. {{spoiler|Also sleeping with Miles, at least until the events of ''Memory''.}}
* [[Action Girl]]
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* [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]]: Has what Miles considers a vile sense of humour; at one point, while in Miles' company, she fends off a marauding suitor by informing him that Miles can do push-ups with his tongue.
Miles' childhood friend and crush, the daughter of Sergeant Bothari, an [[Action Girl]] constrained by Barrayan social norms...until she takes a role in Miles' new mercenary-ing endeavor and gets to spread her wings. {{spoiler|Marries Baz Jesek (despite an [[Anguished Declaration of Love]] from Miles...bad timing, son) after her father's death.}}
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* [[Missing Mom]]: Well, she ''was'' missing, right up until {{spoiler|she walked in and shot Elena's father, Sergeant Bothari, to death right in front of her. Mother and daughter do eventually manage to reconcile, despite the circumstances surrounding both Elena's conception and their deadly first meeting.}}
An honest, very competent Barrayan tech who deserted after a particularly harrowing combat experience gave him PTSD, Baz was scraping by in a Betan waste centre when Miles found him and took him under his wing for the mission that wound up launching Admiral Naismith and the Dendarii Mercenaries. Baz later rose high in the ranks of the Dendarii, {{spoiler|married Miles' childhood friend and crush Elena (after being Baba'd by Miles himself, no less), and later retired with Elena to start a family.}}
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* [[Mr. Fixit]]
A Betan hermaphrodite and highly competent mercenary who becomes captain of the Ariel as a result of Miles's conquest of the Oseran fleet.
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* [[Hermaphrodite]]
* [[It's Personal]]: Any kind of [[Playing with Syringes]] behaviour, especially by the profit-hungry Jacksonian major houses. Bel's a member of a genetically-engineered minority and knows where that road can lead.
* [[Pronoun Trouble]]: Bel (and other genetically-engineered Betan hermaphrodites) prefer the use of the pronoun "it"; during ''Diplomatic Immunity'' Bel explains that "it" doesn't have the same unfortunate connotations in Betan
=== Ky Tung ===
Formerly a captain in the Oseran mercenaries, Ky Tung hit it off much better with the young genius "Admiral Naismith" than with his pragmatic boss Oser, and took Miles under his wing.
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* [[Worthy Opponent]]: To Miles in "The Warrior's Apprentice", before they became allies.
=== Sergeant Taura ===
An eight-foot-tall genetically engineered super-soldier with fangs and claws, Taura was rescued from Jackson's Whole by Miles and joined up with the Dendarii, becoming a valued fleet member and also Miles' lover (well, one of them). Taura is both a highly competent soldier, and immensely strong and fast in addition to her sheer size. Unfortunately, this comes at a terrible price, as her extremely high metabolism and overall genetic design means that her natural lifespan was cut very short; by the time she and her batch mates from the super soldier group were in their mid-to-late teens, she was the only one who hadn't died of old age. Miles sets the Dendarii fleet medics to prolonging her life, and it works {{spoiler|until ''Cryoburn'', when Sergeant Taura passes away aged thirty.}}
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* [[Huge Girl Tiny Guy]]: A necessary consequence of being eight feet tall, particularly where Miles is concerned.
* [[Intimate Psychotherapy]]: How Miles keeps her from acting on her suicidal impulses in "Labyrinth".
* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: {{spoiler|She takes apparent comfort, during the events of "Winterfair Gifts", in the fact that Ekaterin obviously loves Miles deeply, and vice
* [[Pink Means Feminine]]: Taura's initial efforts to pretty up are informed by this, despite multiple people pointing out that hot though she is, pink frills don't do her any favours.
* [[Rescue Romance]]: five words: "He came back for me."
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* [[Your Days Are Numbered]]: A built-in component of her [[Super Soldier]] status. It bothers her lover and C.O. Miles more than it does her: she's too busy living her life as hard as she can to waste time feeling sorry for herself.
Pilot Officer Mayhew first appears near the end of the first Vokosigan Saga novel, ''Shards of Honor'' as a young, inexperienced cargo ship pilot, who Cordelia cons into giving her a lift, off the books, to Escobar when she has to escape from her home world of Beta Colony.
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When Miles first meets Arde, he is an alcoholic (and possibly other drug addicted) washed up pilot who has been rendered technologically obsolete. His neural implants, necessary to guide a ship through a wormhole jump, are for an obsolete system, and the ship he's holding is the last of its kind, the only one he can pilot. He has been medically rejected for getting new implants, so Miles decides to buy his ship, and hire Arde to pilot it.
In order to get Arde out of his legal troubles, Miles swears him as an
* [[The Alcoholic]]: When Miles first meets him, he's devolved to this.
* [[Becoming the Mask]]: Though a [[Fish Out of Water|Betan]], he learns to behave like a devoted Armsman when Miles is around. Including {{spoiler|'''ramming''' his precious ship into an enemy vessel}}, because "it didn't seem to me that a, a right and proper Armsman ought to be sitting on his ass" while his lord got killed. Sergeant Bothari actually smiled and said, "Welcome to my lord's service -- Armsman."
== Enemies ==
=== Crown Prince Serg Vorbarra ===
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Domestic Abuse]]: Hinted at in the behaviour of his widow Princess Kareen.
* [[Glory Hound]]: Unlike Miles, very much ''not'' a positive example.
* [[The Evil Prince]]: Despite having no brothers to worry about inheriting instead of him Serg still tried to assassinate his father -- his very elderly and already terminally ill father -- ''twice'', just because he was ''that'' impatient. He's also spoiled, petulant, sadistic, a serial rapist, a multiple murderer, and outright psychopathic. After finally facing the necessity his father Ezar went to starkly unbelievable lengths to make damn sure Serg predeceased him, and most of the protagonists couldn't actually say Ezar was wrong here even though they direly wanted to.
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Depraved Bisexual]]: {{spoiler|Unlike his ex-boyfriend (and ex-brother in law) Aral,}} Ges plays this deadly straight. He even starts referencing the Marquis de Sade.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|Breaking Bothari and then turning him loose on Cordelia while armed was the last, if not the worst, mistake Ges ever made.}}
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* [[Smug Snake]]: Is entirely too convinced he has [[Warrior Therapist|Cordelia Naismith]] at his mercy because she's tied down and naked.
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Blondes Are Evil]]
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{{quote|"The key of strategy, little Vor, is not to choose ''a'' path to victory, but to choose so that ''all'' paths lead to a victory."}}
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Body Horror]]: His House's stock in trade.
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* [[Torture Technician]]: Has a whole stable full of them, and indulges from time to time for his own amusement.
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Abusive Parents]]: To Mark, despite Mark being a clone. He didn't leave his biological son Duv Galeni many happy memories either, if their interactions are anything to go by.
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* [[Windmill Crusader]]: His sister died in the Solstice Massacre, an event widely attributed to Aral Vorkosigan's orders, and Ser Galen desperately wants to avenge both his personal loss and the Barrayan occupation of Komarr. Shame about his methods, and his grip on reality, {{spoiler|and the fact that his idea of "training" includes sodomizing Mark with a shock stick for the unforgivable crime of trying to sneak out for a date with a girl... Galen's own subordinates thought '''that''' was going too far, and begged him to stop.}}
==
=== Doctor Ethan Urquhart ===
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Fish Out of Water]]: When he first gets to Kline Station. Ethan's from an all-male [[Planet of Hats]] that has no contact with women at all.
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* [[Took a Level In Badass]]
'''A description of the character goes here.'''
* [[Babies Ever After]]: {{spoiler|What he was trying to do with Janine, and what eventually ended up happening in spite of her death.}}
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* [[Telepathy]]: An unusual case: his is chemically generated.
Son of Komarran terrorist Ser Galen, Duv joined the Barrayaran army after getting his PHD in Barrayaran history. An ambitious political climber, he hopes to rise in the ranks to better help his native Komarr. {{spoiler|In ''Memory'', he became engaged to Delia Koudalka; by ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' they have "a toddler and an infant."}}
* [[The Atoner]]
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* [[Stop Helping Me!]] Again to Miles {{spoiler|after Miles, having accidentally sabotaged his chances with Laisa Toscane by introducing her to Gregor, offers to assist Duv in his courtship of Delia Koudelka.}}
=== The Durona Group ===
A medical clinic and biological research and development firm run by a group of nearly 40 clones. Formally serfs to Jackson Whole's Baron Fell. Now set up at Escobar.
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* [[Truly Single Parent]] Lily Durona
Mark's Escobaran business partner and creator of the Butterbug
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* [[Stupid Crooks]]: Before meeting Mark, Enrique had sold several hundred percent of Butterbug stock to his investors. Notably, he didn't even seem aware that this might be illegal. "I was going to pay them back!"
Gifted Quaddie musician rescued from indentured servitude on Jackson's Whole by Miles and Bel. Has a second pair of arms instead of legs, which is a disability in gravity but gives her a huge advantage in free fall.
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* [[Transhuman Aliens|Transhuman Alien]]: Genetically engineered for free fall.
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