The Vorkosigan Companion

by Lillian Stewart Carl

  Kara:

  A quaddie who works as an infirmary aide on the Cay Habitat, she updates Claire on the status of the revolt. (FF)

  Karal, Ma:

  No first name given. Serg Karal's wife, she has three boys, and rules her home with a firm but not unyielding hand. (MM)

  Karal, Serg:

  The Speaker of Silvy Vale for the past sixteen years, he is roughly sixty years old, balding, leathery, and worn, and missing his left hand. He is disappointed that Harra went to see the count over her baby's death, not wanting to cause problems over what he tries to pass off as an accident. He was a corporal in the Barrayaran military for twenty years, where he lost his hand. He doesn't provide a lot of help until the attacks on Miles's tent and his horse, which is an insult to the entire village, not to mention an assault against the Voice of Count Vorkosigan. (MM)

  Karal, Zed:

  One of Serg Karal's children, he is twelve years old, the middle child of three boys. At the village celebration, he claims that Miles is there to kill Lem Csurik, but Miles explains the true reason he has come to Silvy Vale: to administer justice. Zed and his brothers are in the tent when Dono Csurik tries to burn it, but they all escape unharmed. Almost a decade later, Miles encounters Zed again, now a man with a full, neatly trimmed black beard, when he returns to visit Raina's grave. His older brother married a girl from Seligrad, and his parents spend the winters there, helping with their grandchildren. (M, MM)

  Kat:

  No surname given. One of the Dendarii mercenaries who clears booby traps on a captured Pelian warship, she disarms one with three seconds to spare. (WA)

  Kaymer Orbital Shipyards:

  A construction and repair shipyard located in Earth orbit. Miles brings his combat drop shuttles there for repairs after the prisoner breakout on Dagoola IV. He has to settle for placing his payment in escrow until the repairs are made, since the company's representative doesn't quite trust mercenaries. (BA)

  Kee:

  No first name given. A trooper in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, he is killed in action during the Marilac mission. (MD)

  Keroslav District:

  A district on Barrayar known for its baked goods. After the Singing Open the Great Gates ceremony, Miles makes idle conversation about the district's various baking styles with Voreedi while waiting for his Cetagandan contact to get in touch with him. (C)

  Kesterton:

  No first name given. A trooper in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, he participates in Mark's clone facility raid at Jackson's Whole. (MD)

  Kestrel:

  The Barrayaran courier ship that delivers Miles's orders to go to Graf Station, and also takes Ekaterin and him to his destination. (DI)

  Kety, Islum:

  The haut-governor of Sigma Ceta, one of the Cetagandan satrapy worlds. A cousin of the Emperor, he is in his mid-forties, tall, lean, and hawkish, with an artificial touch of gray at his temples. He is behind the conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor, using the power of possessing the Star Crèche and his plan to put a false copy of the Great Key in Miles's possession to provoke a war with Barrayar. He sets up Lord Yenaro to kill Miles and Ivan. His haut-consort is Nadina, whom he kidnaps when she comes to his ship to take back his copy of the Star Crèche. In her place, he sends his mistress, Vio d'Chilian, to capture Ivan. After he is arrested and his plan foiled, he will be forced to retire or commit suicide. (C)

  Kevi:

  No surname given. An assistant to Emperor Gregor, he is unobtrusive, middle-aged, and intelligent-looking. He shows Ivan and Mark to Gregor's private office in Vorhartung Castle. (MD)

  Killer:

  One of the separate personalities Mark creates to survive Baron Ryoval's torture. Also known as Other by Mark's various personalities, Killer comes out to murder Baron Ryoval. (MD)

  Kim:

  No first name given. One of the Oseran mercenaries killed in the battle for the ore refinery orbiting Tau Verde IV. (WA)

  Kimura:

  No first name given. A sergeant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet's Yellow Squad, he participates in Miles's attempted rescue of Mark and Green Squad on Jackson's Whole. (MD)

  Kitten tree:

  A bioengineered tree that sprouts the front half of kittens instead of fruit, on display at the Cetaganda bioestheties exhibit. When Ivan tries to free one of them, he accidentally kills it, as it wasn't designed to survive away from the plant. Vorreedi quietly disposes of the remains. (C)

  Kline Station:

  A very large space station near a star that has no planets, founded three centuries before Ethan Urquhart first visits it, and built onto ever since. One of the projects the quaddie race was originally created to build, it is within a sub-light boost of six jump points, including to Athos. An independent station, it has a complete internal ecosystem, supplying its own food, heat, light, etc. The station also has environmental police, called biocontrol wardens, who make sure uncleared animals, produce, molds, fungi, and other potentially hazardous material are not brought onto the station. They have pine green uniforms with sky blue accents. Security personnel wear black and orange. Docks and Locks, or maintenance, wears red uniforms. Ethan Urquhart is sent there to acquire new ovarian tissue cultures for his planet, and runs into the various parties chasing after Terrence Cee. (EA, FF)

  Klyeuvi, Amor:

  Also known as Kly the Mail, he was a major in the Barrayaran military during the reign of Yuri Vorbarra, and fought against the Cetagandan invasion. He wears a worn Imperial Postal Service jacket and clothes made up of other uniform pieces: black fatigue shirt, ancient dress green trousers, and well-oiled officer's knee boots. He is unshaven, his lips are stained black from chewing gum-leaf, and he's missing several teeth, with the others a uniform yellow brown. A friend of Piotr's, he helps Cordelia, Gregor, and Bothari escape from Vordarian's security men. He has ridden the mail circuit for eighteen years, and was an Imperial Ranger for twenty years before that. He has a niece and was married but no children. After his death, he is buried in the cemetery at Vorkosigan Surleau. (B, MD)

  Knolly:

  No first name given. An admiral in the Barrayaran Imperial Fleet, he suffers from colitis. Referred to as "Jolly Nolly" by Admiral Kanzian, during Vordarian's coup, he is located at Jumppoint Station One, and hasn't answered any messages from either side. Aral and Kanzian plan a private meeting with him to bring him over to their side. (B)

  Komarr:

  A planet controlled by Barrayar for forty years, it is near a wormhole nexus with routes to Barrayar, Sergyar, Escobar, Pol, the Cetagandan Empire, and several minor routes. An 0.9 standard gravity planet, with an abundant native supply of gaseous nitrogen and water ice, it has an atmosphere with a high CO2 content, but an inadequate greenhouse effect to retain heat. The population lives in domed cities that receive solar heat from a set of mirrors called a hexagonal soletta array. Breath masks are required to go out on the planet's surface. When Cetaganda invaded Barrayar eighty years before Cordelia met Aral, Komarr let them through the wormhole route. Later, Aral was in charge of the campaign to seize the planet, but he was unjustly given the title "The Butcher of Komarr" when his political officer ordered two hundred people from the planet killed against his orders.

  Miles's first official assignment as an Imperial Auditor is to assist in the investigation into an accident at the soletta array, damaged by a collision with an inner system ore freighter, threatening to stop the centuries-long terraforming project. Miles thwarts a plot by renegade Komarran engineers to cut Barrayar off from the galaxy by permanently closing the wormhole. He also meets his future wife, Ekaterin, there. Emperor Gregor's wife, Laisa Toscane, is also a Komarran, and their marriage strengthens the relationship between the two planets. (CC, K, M, SH)

  Komarr Revolt:

  A military action that Aral Vorkosigan dealt with while serving as the Regent of Barrayar. (WA)

  Komarran fleet shares:

  A risky form of investment, where a person or company buys shares in a
Komarran trading fleet, which goes on an extended trip through the galaxy, with any profits to be distributed upon its arrival back home. Etienne Vorsoisson borrows money and invests his family's entire fortune in a trip that goes wrong, losing three-quarters of the investment. (K)

  Kosti:

  No first name given. A corporal in the Barrayaran military, he is the gate guard at the empty Vorkosigan House when Miles arrives home. About twenty-one years old, he is a tall, blond-haired young man with sharp features. Against regulations, he has adopted a cat that was rescued from the security system. He has a younger brother, Martin, whom Miles hires as a driver until before he goes into the Military Academy. He also receives lunch every day from his mother, whom Miles hires as House Vorkosigan's cook once he sees it. (M)

  Kosti, Ma:

  No first name given. Her son guards Vorkosigan House as part of Imperial Security security protocol. After seeing the gourmet spread Corporal Kosti receives every day, Miles hires her to cook at Vorkosigan House. Her culinary reputation spreads so fast that everyone wants to hire her away, including Cordelia, who would like to bring her to Sergyar when Aral and she go back. Ma Kosti joins Mark's company when she comes up with many delicious recipes using bug butter, and is upset when Miles doesn't allow her to serve all of the creations at his dinner party. She also assists with creating and distributing the maple ambrosia at the Emperor's wedding reception, and prepares the food for Miles's wedding reception. (CC, M, WG)

  Kosti, Martin:

  Corporal Kosti's younger brother. A tall, blond young man who looks like his older sibling, but with softer features. He is two months away from the mandatory age of eighteen to apply for Imperial service, so Miles hires him in the interim as his driver and batman. Initially, Martin isn't a very good driver, but improves with experience, and grows on Miles as well. He accompanies Miles to Silvy Vale, and teaches city dances to the kids there. (M)

  Kostolitz:

  No first name given. A fellow officer's school candidate in the Barrayaran military, he is paired with Miles during the initial physical training, when Miles breaks his legs on the obstacle course. Later, Miles has his revenge during officer school, when he keeps cool during a hazardous exercise and saves both of them from getting "killed." (WA)

  Koudelka, Clement:

  An ensign in the Barrayaran military, he is one of Aral's loyal men during the mutiny on Sergyar. He is tall with a regular, pleasant face. After he is hit with a nerve disruptor while fighting the mutineers, the nerves in his right leg and left arm are replaced by artificial ones, which render him unable to serve in the infantry. After accepting the position of Regent, Aral promotes him to lieutenant, and makes him his personal secretary.

  He carries a spring-loaded swordstick, a weapon of the aristocracy, by Aral's special order. He considers suicide at least once, due to the isolation and prejudice he receives from other Barrayarans. After having sex with Ludmilla Droushnakovi on the night of Aral's assassination attempt, he feels guilty about taking advantage of her, which she proves him wrong about later. His father was a grocer, which enables him to help smuggle Cordelia, Bothari, and Droushnakovi into Vorbarr Sultana to rescue Miles. He is ordered to escort Alys Vorpatril out of the city after they save her from Vordarian's security men.

  After the coup is put down, he marries Droushnakovi, and they have four daughters together. He is a commodore by the time Miles becomes an Imperial Auditor, and is very upset at the turn of events between Mark and Kareen, which he finds out in public at the dinner party. With Cordelia's assistance, he agrees to the option arrangement for Mark and Kareen to have a relationship that works for everyone, and even apologizes to Mark for his earlier churlish behavior. He also has to get used to the idea of his daughter Olivia and Count Dono Vorrutyer getting married as well. (B, CC, SH, WA)

  Koudelka, Delia:

  The first and tallest of Commodore Clement and Ludmilla Koudelka's daughters, she is blond, beautiful, smart, and athletic. Miles escorts her to the Imperial State dinner, as she is quite graceful, and loves to dance. Ivan asks her to marry him, but finds out she has chosen Duv Galeni, and will be marrying him instead. She attends Miles's dinner party with Duv during their engagement, and also attends Miles's wedding. (CC, M, MD, WG)

  Koudelka house:

  The Koudelkas live in a large, three-story home on the end of a block row right in the middle of Vorbarr Sultana, with windows overlooking a park, only six blocks away from Vorkosigan House. Clement and Ludmilla purchased it twenty-five years ago, when he had been Aral's aide while he was Regent. (CC)

  Koudelka, Kareen:

  The fourth daughter of Clement and Ludmilla Koudelka, she is a vivacious eighteen-year-old with short, loose, ash-blond curls, electric blue eyes, and a passionate drive. She plans to study at Beta Colony, courtesy of Cordelia Vorkosigan. Mark meets her at the Emperor's Birthday Celebration, then promises her a dance at Winterfair, if he returns alive from his mission to rescue Miles.

  After her first year at Beta Colony, she is in an exclusive relationship with Mark, although she cannot bring herself to tell her parents. She wants to go back to school on Beta, but her family is not wealthy, and asks her to consider attending college in Vorbarr Sultana. To earn money, she accepts shares in Mark's butter bug company, first to keep tabs on Doctor Borgos, then becoming the head of marketing. Her parents disapprove of Mark as a suitor, and Kareen is upset at the limited choices she has as a woman on Barrayar. She prefers life on Beta Colony, but does not want to give up her family either. With Cordelia's help, she works out a mutual option between Mark and herself, and brokers an understanding that her parents can accept. Along with her sister Martya, Kareen helps save Doctor Borgos from the Escobaran parole officers. (CC, MD)

  Koudelka, Ludmilla Droushnakovi:

  When first assigned to Cordelia, she is the servant of the Inner Chamber in the Imperial Residence, and Princess Kareen's personal bodyguard. She is alert, tall, and heavily muscled, with gold-blond hair and blue eyes. At the time of Vordarian's Pretendership, both of her parents are still alive, and she has three older brothers, all in the military along with her father, and a younger sister. She is instrumental in getting Cordelia and Bothari inside the Imperial Residence using hidden tunnels under the compound that Captain Negri showed to her. After Koudelka deflowered her on the night of Aral's assassination attempt, she works through the guilt of not being officially on duty at the time, and eventually makes up with and marries him. She and Kou have four daughters, Delia, Kareen, Olivia, and Martya, planning to marry them off to the surfeit of Barrayaran Vor males that are being born at the same time. She is one of the first ladies on Barrayar to use a uterine replicator for her two youngest daughters. She feels the same as her husband does about Mark and Kareen, but comes to an understanding on the relationship after Cordelia talks to both of them at Kareen's request. She takes over Alys Vorpatril's duties while Alys is on Komarr playing Baba for Gregor's upcoming wedding to Laisa. She and her husband attend Miles's wedding. (B, CC, M, WG)

  Koudelka, Martya:

  Another of the Koudelkas' four daughters. Ivan escorts her to the Imperial State dinner. Younger, shorter, and tawnier than her sister Delia, Martya is also more acerbic and direct. After Delia turns down Ivan's marriage proposal, he panics and asks Martya to marry him, but her reply is a succinct, "anyone but you." One of the guests at Miles's dinner party, afterward she is assigned to keep an eye on Kareen, and becomes her sister's go-between with Pym, and also good friends with Ekaterin. When Kareen is banned from working in Vorkosigan House, Martya gets in on the butter bug scheme, where she also meets Doctor Borgos, whom she finds quite interesting. She was to be Ekaterin's Second during the wedding ceremony, but stepped aside to give Taura the honor as a reward for stopping the assassination plot. She also kisses Roic on the cheek for saving them all from the terror Miles would have become if Ekaterin had died. (CC, M, WG)

  Koudelka, Olivia:

  One of the four tall, blond Koudelka sisters, sh
e has an independent streak, and accompanies Martya to help cheer up Tatya Vorbretten during the Cetagandan bloodline scandal. Later she falls in love and gets engaged to Lord Dono Vorrutyer. She always wanted to be a countess, and will have her chance when Dono wins his petition to inherit his brother's District. She attends Miles's wedding. (CC, M)

  Kshatryan Foreign Legion:

  A remote mercenary group Ivan considers joining to avoid Miles's wrath after learning that Alexi Vormoncrief has proposed to Ekaterin. (CC)

  Kshatryan Imperial Mercenaries:

  A group of about a dozen men recruited by Captain Thorne, Baz Jesek, and Arde Mayhew on Tau Verde IV for the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. After botching a bodyguarding job, they are desperate to get off the planet. (WA)

  Kurin's Hand:

  Cavilo's flagship of the Randall's Rangers fleet. (VG)

  Kush:

  No first name given. A soldier in the Barrayaran military, he is the leader of a patrol on the General Vorkraft that will be part of the attempt to stop the mutineers. (SH)

  Kyril Island:

  An arctic, egg-shaped island seventy kilometers wide, one hundred sixty kilometers long, and five hundred kilometers from the nearest landmass. At Aral's confirmation ceremony as Regent, Evon Vorhalas mentions the possibility of getting assigned there as punishment. Lazkowski Base, used by the Barrayarans for winter military training, is located there, and is where Miles is sent for a six-month tour of duty as the Chief Meteorological Officer. Alexi Vormoncrief is posted there as punishment for interfering in Miles's and Ekaterin's relationship. (B, CC, VG)