The Vorkosigan Companion

by Lillian Stewart Carl

  Minchenko, Ivy:

  Doctor Minchenko's wife. A frail, silver-haired woman who was a musician on Earth, she loathes Rodeo, in the words of her husband. She plays harpsichord and violin, and begins teaching Silver the latter instrument while waiting for the rescue team to bring Tony back to the shuttle. (FF)

  Minchenko Station:

  One of the few orbital arcologies in the Union of Free Habitats that maintains gravity and deals with galactics. (DI)

  Minchenko, Warren:

  The medical/fertility doctor for the Cay Project. Nearing mandatory retirement age, he is old and shrunken, with a leathery face and white hair, but is still vigorous and commanding, and is a reassuring authority figure for the quaddies. He thought he should have been put in charge of the Cay Habitat after Doctor Cay's death. Refusing to evacuate with the rest of the Habitat personnel, he accompanies the fleeing quaddies through the wormhole to freedom. (FF)

  Minister of the West:

  A title of one of the members of the Council of Ministers on Barrayar. (SH)

  Ministry of Political Education:

  The official name of the Barrayaran secret police. Aral killed the Political Officer, from the Ministry's military branch, aboard his ship during the Komarr campaign when the man countermanded a direct order and instigated the Solstice Massacre, impugning Aral's honor. The Ministry is dismantled and its headquarters destroyed during Ezar's governmental purge following the war with Escobar. (SH)

  Mirror dance:

  A Barrayaran dance in which one partner must copy the moves of the other partner as accurately as possible, even down to facial expressions. Either partner can lead, as Cordelia finds out when she tries dancing it with Aral. (B, MD, SH)

  Missile:

  Not used as a major element in space battles due to the effectiveness of defensive force screens. The one exception is when a sacrifice ship lays down a "sun wall" of nuclear-tipped missilettes deployed as a single unit, creating a planar wave that clears the detonation space of everything, often including the ship that created the wall. (VG)

  Moglia:

  No first name given. The chief of security at Ryoval Biological Laboratories. Miles interrogates him using fast-penta just before being captured by Ryoval security. Moglia tries to recapture Miles and the rest of his team, holding Miles hostage, but Taura violently convinces him to let them go. (L)

  Mok:

  No surname given. One of two guards Ser Galen used to discipline Mark during his training to impersonate Miles. (MD)

  Molino:

  No first name given. Middle-aged and dyspeptic-looking, he is the senior cargomaster of the Komarran trade fleet being held at Graf Station. Responsible for the safe passage of the fleet on its route, the incidents at the Union of Free Habitats are giving him quite a headache. When Lieutenant Solian disappears, he tries to get Admiral Vorpatril to order the fleet to disembark for their next destination, but is overruled. He complains about the station personnel trying to fine the Komarran fleet for the Barrayarans' actions, which Miles dismisses. (DI)

  Monorail:

  A form of land transportation using a series of linked cars mounted either above or below a central rail system. Some long-distance public transportation on Barrayar and Komarr is done by monorail. (B, K)

  Moon Garden Hall:

  A domed area on Eta Ceta IV, like a smaller version of the Cetagandan Celestial Garden, but not as lush and ornate. It is roughly three hundred meters in diameter, covering steeply sloping ground, with natural paths leading through the hall. The 149th Annual Bioestheties Exhibition, Class A is held there, dedicated by the ghem-ladies to the memory of the Dowager Empress. Miles sets up a meeting in the hall with Rian Degtiar's servant, but cannot keep it due to meeting Lord Yenaro at his exhibit of perfumed cloth, and thwarting his inadvertent assassination attempt on Miles and Ivan. (C)

  Morita Station:

  A project that Leo Graf and Bruce Van Atta had both worked on twelve years before their reunion at the Cay Project Habitat. Leo had kicked Bruce into administration to get him out from underfoot during it. (FF)

  Mosquitoes:

  After a global war, many Earth animals were genetically altered. These new mosquitoes are about five inches long, with powerful venom that would only take a few stings to kill a human. Chalmys traps Carlos Diaz in the forest using a force screen, and questions him about the commissioned feelie-dream while the mosquitoes attack him. (DD)

  Mount Sencele:

  The mountain where Barrayaran Imperial officer candidates undergo a 100-kilometer endurance march as part of their elimination testing. (WA)

  Mourning uniform:

  A dress uniform worn by members of the Barrayaran military or Vor Houses when attending an appropriate function. It is like the standard dress uniform, but with the logos and rank insignia stitched in black silk on black cloth. Miles wears his at several functions on Eta Ceta IV. (C)

  Mu Ceta:

  One of the eight satrapy planets in the Cetagandan Empire. Its forces were defeated when they tried to take Vervain to control the wormhole that connects the Empire to the Hegen Hub. The governor of Mu Ceta is from the Degtiar constellation. He is the present Emperor's half uncle, and much older, although he has been governor for just two years. (C)

  Munos:

  No first name given. A big man, he is a sergeant in Escobaran law enforcement who assists Gustioz in arresting Doctor Borgos. He is also involved in the bug butter fight. (CC)

  Murka:

  No first name given. A tall ensign in the Dendarii Free Mercenary fleet, he accompanies Miles to Ryoval's laboratory on Jackson's Whole to try to find Taura. He and the other two Dendarii men are caught while infiltrating the laboratory, but he bluffs his way out, leaving Miles alone inside. Promoted to lieutenant, he is also part of the prisoner rescue on Dagoola IV, and is standing next to Miles when killed by a Cetagandan sniper. Miles pulls his head off while trying to retrieve his command headset, an act that gives him nightmares later. (BI, L)

  Mynova:

  No first name given. A female trainee on the Ariel, she asks about the pay schedule for the Dendarii mercenaries, inadvertently giving Miles yet another headache to deal with for his "fake" mercenary company. (WA)

  • • N • •

  Nadina:

  No first name given. The haut-lady consort to Ilsum Kety, she is an older, silver-haired woman. She knows about the plan to send copies of the Star Crèche to the eight governors, but not about Kety's plot to take over the Empire, and is held prisoner when she goes to retrieve Kety's copy of the genebank. Her long hair is cut by Miles as a necessary sacrifice during her rescue. (C)

  Naismith, Cordelia:

  See Vorkosigan, (Naismith) Cordelia

  Naismith, Elizabeth:

  Cordelia's mother, she is a Betan bioengineer, and 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. When Miles and Elena visit her on Beta Colony, she is nearly ninety years old, but still as spry and smart as ever. She asks Miles to help her friend Mr. Hathaway with Baz Jesek, helps Miles manipulate Bothari into letting Elena go on the trip to Tau Verde IV, and also takes in Elli Quinn during her reconstructive facial surgery. When Kareen Koudelka goes to school at Beta Colony, she calls Elizabeth "Gran Tante," and both she and Mark grow close to her during their stay. When Commodore Koudelka finds out what Mark and Kareen have been up to there, he angrily refers to her as a "damn Betan pimp." (CC, EA, WA)

  Naru:

  No first name given. A Cetagandan ghem-general, he is third-in-command in Imperial Security on Eta Ceta IV. He is working with Ilsum Kety to overthrow the Emperor, and comes to Kety's flagship to assist with reproducing copies of the Great Key. After the plot fails, he will be executed for his attempted treason against the Empire. (C)

  Natochini:

  No first name given. A commander in the Barrayaran military, he is the executi
ve officer of the Prince Serg, and escorts Clive Chodak and Ky Tung on a tour of the ship. (VG)

  Navarr, Pel:

  The haut-consort of Eta Ceta IV, she is dressed in white, with blond, elaborately braided hair. She takes Miles in her float chair to the Star Crèche, to meet with Rian and the six other haut-consorts to the satrapy governors. She helps Miles to recover the Great Key and rescue the haut-consort Nadina. Miles uses her float chair to broadcast the data in the Great Key and to protect the Key inside until they can be saved by Ivan and ghem- colonel Benin. She attends Gregor's wedding. She helps save Miles's life after he is infected with the bioengineered parasites on Graf Station. (C, CC, DI)

  Necklin field generator rod:

  The system that generates the warp field used for wormhole jumps. The two rods are placed opposite each other on the sides of the ship. The rods generate the field that twists the spacecraft through the wormhole, also known as five-space. At the end of each rod is a vortex mirror that helps stabilize and guide the field. The rods and their associated vortex mirrors are inside protective hull structures, often as separate cylinders that are an integrated part of the ship's fuselage. (All)

  Needle gun:

  A weapon that fires dozens of tiny metal needles that expand on impact and tear through a target's body like razors, causing immense, usually fatal damage. There is also a larger, needle grenade version, capable of injuring multiple targets, or causing extensive damage to one person, as happened to Miles when he was shot in the chest with one. The range is undefined, and it is not stated how effective body armor is against one, as Miles wasn't wearing any when he was killed. (All)

  Needle ray pistol:

  A small, concealable energy pistol. Carlos Diaz pulls one on Chalmys DuBauer when he is trapped outside the energy screen, but he can't use it, owing to some kind of magnetic resonance from the force screen that would overload the pistol's power pack and make it explode. (DD)

  Negri:

  No first name given. A hard-faced, hard-bodied, bullet-headed man. Although he holds the rank of captain in Barrayaran Imperial Security, he is actually the head of Emperor Ezar Vorbarra's personal security. While he wields tremendous power, he is completely loyal to the Emperor, and is known as his familiar. He plotted with Ezar and Aral to let Prince Serg get killed in the battle with Escobar, preventing Barrayar from being ruled by an insane deviant. He dies while saving young Prince Gregor from Count Vordarian's coup attempt, bringing him to Vorkosigan House before succumbing to his wounds. He is succeeded by Simon Illyan. (B, SH)

  Nelson:

  A security guard at Shuttleport Three on Rodeo. (FF)

  Nerve disruptor:

  An energy-based beam weapon that destroys nerve cells, it fires a central beam with a surrounding nimbus. A hit to the head usually results in death. A partial hit may just destroy part of the brain, leaving the victim alive but with major cognitive damage. A direct hit to the body may destroy sensory and control nerves, which may be replaced by artificial systems. A partial hit to the body may cause permanent loss of sensation and/or control to the affected area. In a near-miss, the nimbus may just give a tingling or fried feeling to the affected area, leaving a twitchiness that a victim may recover from. Ensign Dubauer suffers a hit to the head from a nerve disruptor that leaves him a conscious vegetable, unable to communicate or perform anything but basic tasks, like walking or eating. While taking the General Vorkraft back from mutineers, Cordelia is hit by the nimbus of a disruptor shot that leaves a patch of muscle on her leg permanently numb. Clement Koudelka is hit by a disruptor as well, necessitating the replacement of some of his nerves with artificial networks. A nerve disruptor's range is undefined, but is at least line of sight. Effective defenses include space armor, a half-armor suit with a built-in nerve disruptor/stunner shield net, or another body, as Cordelia uses when she takes the engineering section of the General Vorkraft from the mutineers. (All)

  Nest of Doom:

  A video fiction involving space marines and aliens that Siggy mentions as a possible plan to hijack the shuttle. Silver negates the idea. (FF)

  Neuve:

  No first name given. A sergeant in the Barrayaran military, he is part of the maintenance detail at Lazkowski Base. Miles is to report to him to oversee basic labor detail as part of his punishment for damaging a remote weather station to save his life. (VG)

  Nevatta, Grace:

  One of Gras-Grace's fake identities, listing her as a citizen of Jackson's Whole. (DI)

  Nevic:

  An ally of Ilsum Kety, he is a Cetagandan ghem-lord who pressed a theft charge on Lord Yenaro. (C)

  Newt:

  A genetically engineered animal that keeps the oxygen-giving algae in check on Kline Station. Also a primary food source on the station, everyone there is very sick of eating it. It has been made into every recipe imaginable, including newt nuggets. Quinn and Ethan Urquhart swap one hundred kilograms of newts with Okita's body to smuggle it into the waste disposal area of the station. (EA)

  Nicol:

  No surname given. A quaddie, she has ivory skin, blue eyes, and short, clipped ebony hair. She plays a double-sided hammered dulcimer at the party on House Fell's space station. Tricked into an onerous contract, she wants to hire the Dendarii to smuggle her out of Jackson's Whole. Smitten, Bel Thorne takes the job for one Betan dollar, and they get her out alive. When Miles travels to Graf Station, he finds her living with Bel Thorne, and working as a musician with the Minchenko Memorial Troupe. She is a friend of Garnet Five. (DI, L)

  Niels:

  No first name given. A Barrayaran soldier who fought in the Escobar war, he thinks Aral Vorkosigan is the most cold-blooded bastard he ever met. Carl and Evon Vorhalas refer to him while discussing Aral at the Regent's confirmation ceremony. (B)

  Nilesa:

  No first name given. A yeoman in the Barrayaran military, he is the camp cook on the survey planet later known as Sergyar. Not held in high esteem by the other men. Cordelia compliments him on his cooking, which improves his demeanor considerably. He repays her kindness by helping her during the mutiny aboard the General Vorkraft. (SH)

  Nim:

  No first name given. A sergeant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, Miles assigns him as back-up during the chase and escape with Mark, Ivan, and Duv Galeni at the Thames Tidal Barrier. (BA)

  Ninjas of the Twin Stars:

  Title of a video fiction enjoyed by some of the quaddies and Ti. (FF)

  Norris:

  No first name given. He is the operations manager for GalacTech in Rodeo's local space, but is attending a materials development conference on Earth during the quaddie revolt, which leaves Administrator Chalopin officially in charge. (FF)

  Norwood:

  No first name given. A medic in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, he prepped Trooper Philippi's body for cryo-stasis, and refuses to remove it from the chamber when Miles is killed. He helps Elli Quinn prep Miles's body, then ships the entire cryo-chamber to the Durona Clinic. Unfortunately, he is killed shortly thereafter, before he can report exactly what he had done to his superior officer. (MD)

  Nout:

  No first name given. One of the Ariel's crewmen. Miles puts him in charge of securing the worthless Felician millifenigs. On Jackson's Whole, he has been promoted to corporal, and lets Nicol in to see Miles and Bel Thorne. He also participates in the prisoner rescue on Dagoola IV. (BI, L, WA)

  Nuovo Brasilian Military cloning fiasco:

  Referred to by Bruce Van Atta in reference to the quaddie program on Cay Habitat. Although not clearly defined, the incident led to a general hysteria and mistrust of many planets regarding genetic manipulation on sentient creatures. (FF)

  • • O • •

  Oil cakes:

  A Barrayaran breakfast dish. (MM)

  Okita:

  No first name given. One of Millisor's men, he is average-looking, but with dense muscles. He is to kill Ethan after the interrogation by Colonel Millisor and make it look like an
accident. Quinn kills him while saving Ethan, ironically in the same fashion that Okita intended to kill Ethan, by pitching him over a catwalk to the floor. (EA)

  Ola Three:

  One of the Cetagandan satrapy planets, it is near a wormhole to Vega Station. (MD)

  Oliver:

  No first name given. A burly sergeant in the 14th Commandos, he was captured at Fallow Core, and has spent his time caring for the catatonic General Guy Tremont. He tells Miles that Fallow Core wasn't taken on October 6th, it was betrayed on October 5th. He helps Miles organize the prisoners, and agrees to serve in the new Marilac Army. (BI)

  Olney:

  No first name given. A corporal of the motor pool at Lazkowski Base, he is tall with black hair and a Greek accent. One of two men who played a dangerous prank on Miles. As punishment he was assigned to clean the recovered scat-cat, then assist Miles and Pattas in cleaning out various drains around the base. (VG)

  Olshansky:

  No first name given. A colonel in the Barrayaran military, he is the first Head of Domestic Affairs for the planet Sergyar. (M)

  120-Day War:

  The term used by Escobarans referring to the brief war between Barrayar and their planet. (SH)

  Orb of Unearthly Delights, The:

  A pleasure dome on Beta Colony. Its services are not quite as wide-ranging as Jackson's Whole, but varied enough to entertain a broad spectrum of guests. Commodore Koudelka is very upset when Doctor Borgos mentions that Mark and Kareen visited the Orb. Miles and Ekaterin also visit the Orb during their stay at Beta Colony during their honeymoon. (CC, DI)

  Orbital solar mirrors:

  A large array of enormous solar mirrors above Komarr to reflect extra sunshine onto the planet's surface. The increase in solar flux to Komarr's surface is increased by an undefined percentage, adequate to help warm the planet and foster plant growth over a period of centuries. The orbital location of the array is not specified (though it sets after sunset) but seems not to be in Komarran orbit nor as far away as the L5 stable orbit point. The station-keeping method is not specified. (K)