Characters for the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. Beware of copious spoilers!
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[[foldercontrol]]


[[folder:Political Powers]]

!!Barrayar

Isolated from the rest of known space for centuries by an accident that cut off contact with the rest of humanity, Barrayar survived by reverting to a feudal system based on a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior caste]]. Unfortunately, their welcome back to the greater galaxy came in the form of an invasion by the Cetagandan empire, which they ultimately defeated through sheer bloody-mindedness (and perhaps being simply too crazy to give up). Barrayar 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 TheEmperor at their head. The homeworld of [[BadAss Miles]], who has to deal with Barrayar's nasty prejudice against [[GeniusCripple mutants like him]], and the focus (and often the setting) of the Vorkosigan series.

* BattleButler: Armsmen. Each count is allowed twenty bodyguards, and only twenty bodyguards. Any more counts as a private army and is grounds for execution. Consequently, they tend to pick the cream of the crop.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeBureaucratized: Inverted, to extremes. The Cetagandan war militarizes (they were already warlike; they were simply not soldier-like) Barrayar until it is something like a PoliceState. It takes several generations before Barrayar gets its bearings and becomes a livable, if edgy civilization.
* TheClan: Every Vor house
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: They were already not civilized when the Cetagandans arrived. They just channeled their barbarity into LaResistance.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Somewhat tamed by now. Miles' father Aral actually ''survived'' being Regent to Gregor until his majority, and since then [[TheWisePrince Gregor]] has been applying his foster-father's lessons, toning down both the decadence and the deadliness.
** More deadly then decadent. When an assassin appears during a session of the Counts, the first instinct is to charge him not run away.
* FamilyHonor
* FantasticRacism: Against mutants, disabled people and all genetic strangeness. It was only recently that infanticide was banned, and it still goes on in secret in parts of the back country. The prejudice is both understandable (mutations were historically a gigantic problem for the isolated Barrayaran colonists) and spurs much of Miles Vorkosigan's actions (viewed as a "mutie" by Barrayaran society, he struggles to prove himself in the face of unreasoning hatred). A more minor prejudice is between the speakers of various Earth-descended languages, but it can be dangerous as well; it's mentioned that riots along linguistic divisions are political points to take into consideration.
** At times this feels like an InformedFlaw toward the latter volumes. In ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', for instance, Rish doesn't face much prejudice, certainly less then she would have faced in twenty-first century Earth. By that time however prejudice against "muties" was becoming less fashionable among the elites.
*** Byerly suggests that Rish is so far on the other side of the UncannyValley that she's beyond what Barrayarans think of a "mutie".
* FeudalFuture
* HonorBeforeReason
* IGaveMyWord: An important part of the Vor code. ''Very'' important. Their whole system of government is based on verbal compacts.
* ImperialRussia RecycledInSpace
* TheKingdom: Calls itself TheEmpire, but Barrayar is really a medium-sized power compared to others in the galaxy, and is more like TheKingdom.
* NobleBigot: Add HonorBeforeReason to FantasticRacism and this is roughly what you get. They are getting a bit better about it, though.
* ProudWarriorRace
* LaResistance: During the Cetagandan occupation.
* RisingEmpire: Just recently conquered Komarr and founded a colony at Sergyar. Does not seem to have any more interest in expansionism at the moment.
* RockBeatsLaser: When invaded by Cetaganda they were at a serious technological disadvantage and rove them off using guerilla tactics.
* {{Ruritania}}: In space.
* [[ScrewYouElves Screw You Cetaganda]]: And sometimes [[ForeverWar kill you]].
* SecretPolice: [=ImpSec=]
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Until recently, mostly during the latter part of Gregor's reign.

!!Komarr

A planet where everyone lives in domed cities, due to the planet's atmosphere not being breathable, 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 LaResistance against the Barrayarans, but this is losing popularity as Komarr and Barrayar become more integrated.

* LesCollaborateurs: Komarrans in Barrayaran service. More sympathetic than most, particularly [[BadassBureaucrat Duv Galeni]]. Also, the Komarrans to the Cetagandans during the Barrayaran Occupation, at least in Barrayar's view.
* NeutralNoLonger: The original Komarran shareholders voted to let the Cetagandans through in the awareness they were likely not going to give Barrayar a fruit basket. They still viewed themselves as neutral. A generation or two later, the Barrayarans dropped in, with armed ships, to let them know ''they'' felt differently, and still haven't left.
* ProudMerchantRace
* PuppetState
* TheRemnant: [[spoiler: Ser Galen, Duv Galeni's father]] certainly was.
* YouWillBeAssimilated: Present Barrayaran policy is to do this to Komarr. Since they've chosen to play the long game, this takes the form of things like Barrayarans paying for an expansion of Komarr's artificial solar array (to help with their terraforming), and also [[spoiler: quite a few prominent Barrayarans and Komarrans getting married across planet lines.]]

!!Sergyar
Third planet in the Barrayaran Empire. The planet (and nearby wormholes) were discovered shortly before Shards of Honor. Population still rather low, often referred to as Chaos Colony. [[spoiler: Gregor appoints Aral and Cordelia Viceroy and Vicereine. ]]

* SettlingTheFrontier

!!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 [[ScienceHero Science Heroes]]...just don't run afoul of their [[HollywoodPsych therapists]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: {{Utopia}} or {{Dystopia}}? Depends on where you stand on their more [[FreeLoveFuture interesting]] [[CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure social practices]]. Even the Betans themselves can't agree.
* ArmsDealer
* FreeLoveFuture
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: Certainly in the view of a lot of terminally old-fashioned Barrayarans. 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.
* ProudScholarRace: Of the Scientist variety.

!!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. [[ForeverWar 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.]]

* BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage: A haut who doesn't make "the cut" is given to a distinguished ghem as a bride.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Haut sound like the [[{{Dune}} Bene Geserit]]
* EvilutionaryBiologist
* FantasticCasteSystem: The haut geneticist caste ruling over the ghem warrior caste with the workers below both.
* InhumanlyBeautifulRace
* MadArtist
* [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Scary Dogmatic Humans]]
** Perhaps more [[StarfishAliens Starfishy]] then Scary Dogmatic. Still...
* SecretWar: With Barrayar. [[ForeverWar Constantly]].
* ShoutOut: Cetagandan Haut Ladies all look like extras from a LeijiMatsumoto anime.
* SpaceElves: Sort of. Humans who are deliberately evolving themselves into Space Elves
* TranshumanAliens: Perhaps not quite, but if the Haut breeding program continues on schedule... Soon. Arguably the haut are already there.
* YouHaveFailedMe: The fate of member's of the Ghem warrior caste who do disappointing things like not outwitting Miles.

!!Jackson's Whole

Planet ruled by criminal houses where you can get ''anything'' for enough money. And that does mean anything.

* ArmsDealer: Inevitably. A little seedier then Beta to say the least.
* TheClan: Each criminal house.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive
* {{Dystopia}} for anyone not connected to a House -- and even for some who are.
* ExpendableClone: One of the chief industries of the planet is making clone slaves-including clones intended to receive the transplanted brains of wealthy people. [[EvenEvilHasStandards No other planet]] allows such things so if you want this ''service'' you must go here.
* IGaveMyWord: The [[EvenEvilHasStandards only]] thing considered sacred here is "the deal".
* TheMafia
* TakeThat: Against the Heinleinian notion of a libertarian utopia, showing just how dystopic such a society would likely be in reality.
* WretchedHive

!!Athos

A planet settled by a very gynophobic group of men after the invention of the uterine replicator makes a society without women possible, Athos holds itself separate from the galactic nexus to prevent "contamination" from baleful (i.e. female) outside influences.

* CultColony: An ultra-radical Christian splinter group, to be exact.
* HomosexualReproduction: Not easy, but they make it work. Sort of.
* NoWomansLand

!!The Union of Free Habitats (Quaddiespace)

Home to the setting's largest society of TranshumanAliens, Quaddiespace is situated in a major wormhole nexus with no inhabitable planets. The quaddies (humans genetically engineered for free fall with a second pair of arms in place of legs) happen to like it that way, since it gives them an advantage over any "downsiders" who come to visit. Graf Station was created out of the remains of the spaceship they stole in their escape from slavery to the evil corporation that created them. Since they were bred to be laborers, their society is based on the work gang.

* AsteroidMiners
* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: One of the things they are most proud of is their null-grav ballet.
* TheMigration
* SpaceCossacks
* SpacePeople
* TranshumanAliens: The biggest and most instantly-recognisable faction thereof in the setting.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vorkosigan House]]

!!The Vorkosigans

Tropes that apply to the whole Vorkosigan clan:

* BadassFamily: When you're Vor, it's almost a given, but when even your supposedly-cuddly, pacifist Betan mother has a reputation for bringing home the heads of your enemies ''in a shopping bag''...
* DeadpanSnarker: ''All'' of them.
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]

'''Miles Naismith Vorkosigan'''

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 [[FantasticRacism mutie]]. When he fails his qualifying physical for the Barrayaran military at seventeen, the death of his grandfather and a "breather" trip to Beta Colony with [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend his friend Elena Bothari]] and 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.

Not that Miles [[GuileHero doesn't pay for his victories]] [[EarnYourHappyEnding in blood, sweat, and tears...]]

* AlmightyJanitor: Despite commanding his own mercenary fleet as Admiral Naismith, Miles never manages to rise past the rank of Lieutenant [[spoiler: until after he gets himself fired from [=ImpSec=]]] in the Barrayaran service.
* {{Badass}}: All four foot eleven of him.
* BadassBookworm
* BatmanGambit: His frequent modus operandi. [[InTheBlood He gets it from both his parents.]]
* BavarianFireDrill: Another tool in his tactical repertoire.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Miles is a deeply caring soul and almost compulsively determined to do right by everyone he can, from helping a miserable drunken jump pilot keep his beloved ship from being repossessed to [[spoiler: helping ''ten thousand'' [=POWs=] escape a Cetagandan prison camp when he was only supposed to engineer the breakout of one of them]] ("Daring Rescues our specialty!" Granted, if he'd stuck to his original objectives, the mission would have been pointless as the one [=POW=] he'd gone in to get was not in a fit state to be helpful). Cross him, or worse yet mess with his loved ones, and you ''will'' be very, ''very'' sorry.
* BigDamnHeroes: Miles loves doing this, even when it puts his life on the line. [[spoiler: It gets him KilledOffForReal for the better part of ''Mirror Dance''.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He may be crazy (Even his ''own mother'' thinks so), but he's very, very good at what he does.
* BusmansHoliday: Miles can't go anywhere but that something gigantic and political comes down on his head.
* ChickMagnet: Despite the loss of his first love Elena, Miles doesn't seem to have any trouble attracting strong, capable, badass women (and hermaphrodites; even if Bel Thorne's interest was unrequited, they still worked well together), and has remarkably successful relationships with them, to the point where [[spoiler: he still trusted Rowan Durona enough to consider her performing an illicit medical procedure on his brain in ''Memory'', and after ''A Civil Campaign'', Elli sent him a kinky (if snarky) wedding gift and Taura stood as Second to his wife Ekaterin during the marriage ceremony.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Miles' snark is weapons-grade.
* {{Determinator}}: He takes this to frightening levels. A minor but telling example: [[ItMakesSenseInContext when Ekaterin is hanging over the railing about to go into the Serifosa ornamental pond]], Miles grabs onto her wrists despite having no support and being considerably smaller than her, realizes this, and gets pulled into the pond with her anyway because he refuses to let go. This late leads both Miles and Ekaterin to an epiphany: Miles to the fact that [[spoiler: he couldn't have saved Sergeant Beatrice, frequent star of his nightmares and self-recriminations, from being sucked out of the shuttle during the Dagoola IV rescue because even if he had been just a little faster, he had no purchase and she outweighed him almost two to one]], and Ekaterin to the realization that [[spoiler: if Miles had managed to grab Beatrice, he would have died with her]] simply because in spite of the above, ''he would not have let go''. Admiral Naismith has to win. Miles Vorkosigan cannot lose.
* DisabledSnarker
* FragileSpeedster: The speed is mostly spiritual, but for the better part of his life a simple fall could shatter his bones like glass.
* GeniusCripple
* GuileHero: He has to be, because of his frail physique. Even after his bones are replaced with more durable synthetics, he's still five foot zilch.
* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried: to Ekaterin Vorsoisson, after a few false starts.]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity: to a lesser extent than Aral, and only among certain circles. Of course, Miles uses this to his advantage too. Once a disgruntled political opponent implied that Mile's connections allowed him to get away with murder. Mile's response? "So if you truly believe that, ''why are you standing in my way?''"
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]
* InsistentTerminology: Miles would like you to know that his physical issues are ''teratogenic'' in nature, and the Vor in general are a military caste, not an [[BlueBlood aristocracy]]. Also, [[spoiler: Mark is his brother, not his clone.]] Later in his life, Miles is much more flexible on the first issue, taking the more relaxed view that if Barrayar sees him as a mutant, his success might make things easier for ''actual'' mutants after him. It may help that he marries Ekaterin around this time, but the attitude shift had at least mostly happened before he met her.
* TheJudge: in "The Mountains of Mourning".
* KnightErrant: Sees himself as one, according to his mother's amateur psychoanalysis. she even asserts his knight errant impulse is so strong a sane government wouldn't allow Miles to possess a pocket knife, let alone a private army.
* ManipulativeBastard: Ivan several times notes that whenever they have a conversation it ends with Miles getting his way.
* TheMessiah: At times, particularly during "Borders of Infinity" when he started out pretending to be a real one and grew into the role. The madman who came up with the idea even points out that Miles thinks he's faking, but he's not.
* MilitaryMaverick: Despite working within Barrayaran Imperial Security for all intents and purposes, Miles got his rank and position by going totally AWOL, scamming ''an entire mercenary fleet'' into following him, and single-handedly ending a major interplanetary war. He also has a habit of driving superiors batty; it isn't until many years later that he realizes Simon Illyan's parting wish for Miles have "subordinates just like himself" was not a compliment but a very emphatic curse.
* TheNapoleon: A very sympathetic example, but he's still pretty insecure about his height.
* {{Nepotism}}: He's sensitive about it and does everything he can to earn rank and respect on his own merits...but isn't above throwing his weight around as a Vor scion if it helps cut through [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obnoxious Barrayaran red tape]] or, more frequently, help somebody else out.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight
* SecretIdentityIdentity: The conflict between Admiral Miles Naismith and Lord Miles Vorkosigan fuels a lot of the character development in the later books, and is one of the central themes of [[WhamEpisode Memory]].
* ShellShockedSenior: Miles does not escape his military career scot-free, if his constant nightmares are any indication
* TooCleverByHalf
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: As of ''Cryoburn,'' Miles' full title stands as [[spoiler: Lord Auditor Captain Count Miles Naismith Vorkosigan,]] a mouthful if there ever was one. No telling yet if he will continue to add to that.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: To Elena.
* WarriorTherapist: Learnt it from his mother.
* [[WellDoneSonGuy Well Done Grandson Guy]]: To Piotr, at first. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets over it.]] Is a tiny bit this towards Aral, but unlike most examples of this trope, Aral is ''never'' stingy with his love and affection for Miles, nor does he make a secret of it. Miles still feels driven to make his own life "...a golden sacrifice, fit to lay at my father's feet."
* XanatosSpeedChess: though sometimes, especially early on in his career, Miles's tendency to go off half-cocked can lead to a GambitPileup all by himself.

'''Cordelia Naismith (Countess Vorkosigan)'''

"The Admiral's Captain": Former Betan Astronomical Survey Captain, retired ScienceHero, certified {{Badass}}, wife of Aral and mother of Miles [[spoiler: and later Mark]].

* {{Badass}}: After days of struggling through hostile terrain with a brain-damaged subordinate to care for and very few supplies, she ''still'' manages to thwart a mutiny against [[FriendlyEnemy Aral]] and escape. And that's before her [[CrowningMomentofAwesome shopping trip...]]
* BoldExplorer: When first seen in Cordelia's Honor.
* CloudCuckooLander: A lot of Barrayarans seem to perceive her as such for her attitudes to sex and gender...not that they'd ever say that to the face of the woman who [[spoiler: reportedly took down Ges Vorrutyer and Vidal Vordarian.]] The feeling's a bit mutual, and she's spent thirty years gently and quietly starting to turn the tables.
* CoolOldLady: By ''A Civil Campaign'', she's well into her sixties, and Kareen admits she'd be more comfortable talking to Cordelia about her sex life than to her own mother. Oh, and her part in the War of Vordarian's Pretendership has elevated her to MemeticBadass status. Though, since Betans live longer than most people, she's more like a Cool Middle-Aged Lady by the standards of her own planet.
* FishOutOfWater: Initially, Cordelia on Barrayar. After thirty plus years, it's slowly starting to swing the other way.
* FridgeHorror: used in-story when Cordelia finally realizes the horror her soft-heartedness must have unintentionally inflicted on the unfortunate Lt. Dubauer.
* GoingNative: Averted; she remains stubbornly unassimilated. When [[MamaBear Miles is in danger]] though, she can bring home the vilain's head in a basket, thus proving that in this way she has lived up to [[ProudWarriorRace Barrayaran standards]] UpToEleven.
* GoodParents: With Aral. They compliment each other as she is the nurturer while Aral is the teacher and role-model.
* HappilyMarried: to Aral, of course.
* MamaBear:
** After what she goes through in ''Barrayar'' to rescue Miles' uterine replicator, don't you ''dare'' doubt it.
** In ''Mirror Dance'', she hints that if domestic circumstances hadn't intervened, she would have ''personally invaded Jackson's Whole'' to rescue Miles.
* MemeticBadass: In-universe, becomes this among the High Vor after the events of ''Barrayar'', although even before the 'shopping trip' various Vor wags were remarking that she supposedly ate battle cruisers for breakfast. Her public image is much lower profile: historian Duv Galeni later refers to her as "the most invisible of political wives" -- Miles responds that she's invisible like oxygen: you don't notice it's there, until it's not.
** Miles later jokes when someone asks him to come shopping with them that "There's an offer seldom made of my mother's son."
** When Count Vorhalas, Aral Vorkosigan's implacable political adversary, threatens to continue to press charges that Miles raised a private army (traditional penalty: death by starvation), Miles simply points out that if Vorhalas presses the issue, he'll have to face Cordelia over it. Count Vorhalas quickly backs down. [[spoiler: It's not just fear, though Miles can't know that. Count Vorhalas was a friend before politics drove them apart.]]
** When Mark was being trained to replace Miles, Cordelia's low international profile led him to contemptuously dismiss her as a non-factor in Barrayaran politics; on his entry into Barrayaran society, he notes that her influence is evident in Gregor's governance, and when she goes into {{Determinator}} mode, the only people who seem willing to challenge her are Simon Illyan and Emperor Gregor himself -- and when Simon refuses to get out of her way, she simply plows him under...
* TheMessiah: Even moreso than her [[spoiler: eldest]] son.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Inverted. It ''is'' what it looks like, but everyone on her side assumes it's brainwashing.
* TheSocialExpert: Probably the best example in a whole family full of examples.
** Interestingly though, in ''Cordelia's Honor'' she implied that she thought herself socially inept because at one time she had been exploited by a selfish lover.
* [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath Talking The Heroic Sociopath Into Slitting The Complete Monster's Throat]]
* {{Tomboy}} A bit old for the designation, but very much so by Barrayaran standards. Aral calls her "my dear Captain" for a reason. Miles observes that she wears a Barrayaran matron's skirts like a child playing dressup.
* WarriorTherapist: 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.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: A non-dichotomous example: after Cordelia takes out Vidal Vordarian, she earns the respect of the High Vor, but it enrages her for a time that Princess Kareen (Gregor's mother, who died defying Vordarian in the end after a powerless life spent trying, as Cordelia puts it, to just survive people like Serg and Ezar and Vordarian himself while protecting her son) is ignored and overlooked for her quiet courage while Cordelia's messy beheading is lauded.

'''Count Aral Vorkosigan'''

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking
* BadassGrandpa: He's older by Barrayaran standards when he marries for the second time, and thirty years later is still serving Barrayar. [[spoiler: After Miles' marriage, becomes this very literally.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Aral is reasonable, kind, intelligent, level-headed, and a good father and husband. He also strangled a subordinate to death with his bare hands for murdering civilians and slaughtered two people in duels. [[spoiler: When your son's assassin-clone's SuperpoweredEvilSide remarks on feeling a certain kinship with you...]]
* BiTheWay: Aral has had at least one male lover in the past. To the confusion of the Barrayarans, Cordelia really doesn't care. She even openly muses at one point that Aral tends to lean more towards men than women, then clarifies that Aral mostly loves soldiers, so finding a tomboyish woman in uniform must have fulfilled all of his fantasies.
* BlueBlood
* [[TheButcher The Butcher Of Komarr]]: One of his officers ordered the massacre of a group of unarmed Komarrans during the course of a planetary conquest that Aral had worked hard to make as bloodless as possible; Aral killed the man personally in a fit of rage, then got stuck with the blame for his actions.
* ChildSoldier: His military career began at eleven when Mad Emperor Yuri's death squad killed the rest of his family
* {{Cincinnatus}}: Despite his wife's efforts, Barrayar and the High Vor just won't let him have a peaceful retirement.
* DepravedBisexual: Subverted. Aral is perceived as this by some of his enemies, but is in fact a thoroughly honourable man and a devoted husband and father.
* {{Determinator}}: Miles gets it from ''both'' his parents: just witness the hell Aral puts himself through during his first appearance, trekking across hostile Sergyar with a couple of Betan [=POW=]s, one of whom was the victim of a nerve disruptor attack to the head and is thus a drooling vegetable.
* FeudalOverlord: Of the Dendarii mountains.
* TheGoodChancellor
* GoodParents: With Cordelia
* HappilyMarried: To Cordelia
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity though it's largely his own fault, due to his tumultuous youth. When Cordelia's mother calls him a killer, her only defense is to point out that he'd only murdered three of them, the rest were all legitimate military casualties.
** The actual incident that got him his bad publicity was not his fault. The rest of the reaction of Cordelia's mother was simply ValuesDissonance. All three of those killings would have been legitimate in Barrayar.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After Ezar's plot.
* OfficerAndAGentleman
* OldSoldier
* PapaWolf: Not as obivious as [[MamaBear Cordelia]] but it's there.
** He is also something of a [[AFatherToHisMen Papa Wolf To His Men]]. Of all the things that angered him at General Metzov -- including bullying Miles -- what angered him most was almost using trainees as a death squad.
* ThePatriarch
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud]] [[IncrediblyLamePun Vorrior Guy]]
* ShroudedInMyth even during his lifetime, When asked "what's he like?" Miles is forced to admit that his father is beyond comparison [[spoiler: and the emperor himself insisted in serving as a pallbearer at his funeral.]]
* SoProudOfYou: Unlike his own father, doesn't withhold or hide his love from his son.
* TranquilFury: At one point Cordelia thinks that she doesn't have to worry about others overhearing ''his'' part of their argument: when he gets angry, he starts whispering.
* [[WhenSheSmiles 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.

'''Count Piotr Vorkosigan'''

Aral's father, the former Count Vorkosigan, a hard man and a veteran of the Cetagandan occupation of Barrayar.

* BadassGrandpa: Say what you will about his personality, Piotr's fighting credentials are well-established. Even more impressive when one considers that within Piotr's command career, the nature of war changed from regressive semi-medieval cavalry maneuvers all the way to the space age. And he came out on top in ''both''. Against ''[[TheEmpire Cetaganda]]'', no less -- already a ruthless multiple-star-system empire -- for the latter. And that was just the warmup for leading the civil war that deposed Mad Emperor Yuri and set Ezar on the throne.
* CavalryOfficer: However he was canny enough to know the limitations in a hi-tech world. He still absolutely loves horses.
* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice Count]]: He mellows out to his grandson eventually, mostly due to a truckload of effort on Miles' part.
* FairForItsDay : Most of the {{jerkass}} aspects of his personality are due to the ValuesDissonance between him and the "new generation", but in fact considering his background he's pretty progressive ; he himself recognize the need for Barrayar to go forward, and Miles, after having seen a glimpse of what was the planet's past in one of his mission, realize and make a lecture about how he wasn't "one of the last ancient" but "one of the first modern".
* {{Jerkass}}: He's nice enough to his daughter-in-law, right up until it turns out she still wants to preserve her son in the aftermath of the soltoxin attack; then Piotr proceeds to treat Cordelia like garbage, belittle her, and use every advantage accorded him by blood and Barrayaran law to "dump" the still-in-utero Miles. When Aral blocks him, he picks a fight with his son and the resulting estrangement lasts for five years.
* LaResistance: He was once a great commander of this.
* ThePatriarch
* RetiredBadass
* [[ThatThingIsNotMyChild That Thing Is Not My Grandchild]]: At first. He gets all the way over it. Miles remembers his grandfather 'standing behind him' in countless stressful social situations, pushing rather than protecting, and he deeply appreciates it. Interestingly it is 'Granda' he remembers, however fragmentally, in his cryo-amnesia.
* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: He ''almost'' says this to Aral in a moment of anger, but even the beginning of the sentiment ("if your brother had lived...") is enough to freeze his relations with his only living son solid right away.

'''Mark Pierre Vorkosigan'''

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.

* AbusiveParents: ''Ser Galen.''
* BerserkButton: The Jacksonian clone-body industry. [[ItsPersonal It's Extremely Personal]] for Mark.
* BigEater: Thanks to modern medical technology, comfort-eating is one of the less harmful ways for him to cope with his extensive psychological issues. That, and the massive weight gain also helps him look less like his brother.
* CloningBlues: And how. Much of his development in later books is finding non-self-destructive ways to assert his non-Milesness.
* ColdBloodedTorture: What Ser Galen [[spoiler: and later Baron Ryoval]] put him through. [[spoiler: Ryoval, being the expert, was expecting that Mark would develop a split personality to help himself survive the torture; what he wasn't expecting was how quickly and efficiently Mark managed to do it, and also the presence of [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Killer]], which proved to be his undoing.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: By ''A Civil Campaign'', he's almost as acerbic as his clone-brother (and new favourite target).
* {{Determinator}}: Despite ''days'' of torture, he manages to turn the tables and kill [[spoiler: Baron Ryoval]] - despite being naked and handcuffed at the time.
* DefusingTheTykeBomb: Miles starts it in ''Brothers In Arms'' not long after discovering Mark's existence, then the whole Vorkosigan family gets in on the act. [[spoiler: Later on, Kareen and even Ekaterin lend their support to the effort. There are signs that the whole Koudelka clan may be warming up to him: for Mark, who never had a family, the prospect of having two is an enchanting one.]]
* TheHedonist: One of the legacies of his... unique history. The reasons are ''extremely'' complicated.
* NonIdleRich: What he winds up doing later, [[spoiler: with an eye to using his spoils to outmaneuver the Jacksonian clone-body industry and render it obsolete.]]
* RapeAsBackstory: Mark's early life was truly appalling. [[spoiler: And then Ryoval gets his hands on him.]]
* SelfMadeMan: Mark takes the same approach to earning money that Miles does to advancing Barrayaran security.
* SiblingRivalry: Big time, due to his very odd upbringing. He gets better later, but teasing Miles remains one of his favorite pastimes,
* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler: Developed not one but four to deal with Ryoval's torture: Grunt represents Mark's sexuality, Gorge his appetite, Howl his masochism, and Killer, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well...you get the idea]]. He's dubbed them the Black Gang (after coal-handlers and, by extension, other people who do the unpleasant out-of-sight jobs, rather than black = evil/bad) and by ''A Civil Campaign'' has them (mostly) under control.]]
* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: Averted by Cordelia, who accepts a bewildered, wary Mark as her son as per her Betan upbringing, by Miles who thinks of him as a brother and [[InsistentTerminology refers to him as such]], and by Aral.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Except for the wife part, Mark tends to feel this way about himself and Kareen, repeatedly comparing himself to a squat toad. Kareen feels otherwise, but most of her relatives (and puzzled bystanders) tend to side with Mark's assessment. Part of this may be in contrast to Miles, who, while just as short, has been noted to have a face that's both handsome and intensely, conspicuously animated [[spoiler:when he's not having a seizure.]]

!!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.

* TheAtoner: His last word [[spoiler:, after being shot by one of his victims,]] is "free".
* AxCrazy: ''Barrayarans'' consider him AxCrazy.
* BattleButler: To the Vorkosigans, and particularly the young Miles, [[spoiler: right up until his death.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: His mother was a Barrayaran prostitute who used to sell him to her customers.]] And that was before Ges Vorrutyer got his hands on him.
* JustFollowingOrders: Played with. He is so messed up that actually refusing to rape Cordelia is the bravest thing he ever does. Usually he becomes whatever his boss wants him to be; Vorrutyer wanted him to be a monster, Aral a good soldier, and Cordelia wanted him as TheChampion Later Cordelia muses that the reason he clings to the Vorkosigans is that he knows he can't trust his violent tendencies and so the best he thinks he can do is stick to the orders of a boss he trusts.
* SociopathicHero: Despite being a damaged killer with a violent, traumatic history, Bothari does his best to redeem himself through his loyalty to Cordelia and his Herculean efforts to be a good Da to his little daughter [[spoiler: by the female prisoner of war he raped while in a drug-and-Ges-induced fugue during the Escobar War]], Elena.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal: By his daughter Elena's biological mother.]]
* OverprotectiveDad: And when his daughter finds out his past behavior, she's totally disgusted with him.
* RulesLawyer: Lord Aral Vorkosigan told him to honor his wife's commands as if they were his own. Aral probably meant that as Lord Vorkosigan. Bothari interpreted that as being from Lord Regent Vorkosigan, giving Cordelia the authority of the Emperor as far as Bothari is concerned. The order is never rescinded.
* ShootTheDog: 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.]]
* [[spoiler: SonOfAWhore: And it screwed him up hugely.]]

'''Armsman Pym'''

Imagine Jeeves as a former SAS commando. Notable for his ability to keep a straight face in the midst of of Mile's antics and for his hilariously dry and deadpan recountings of them afterwards. Pym's utility, competence, and discretion are legendary among those smart enough to pay attention to such things.

* BeleagueredAssistant: At first, later he offloads the job onto Roic.
* DeadpanSnarker: Though Pym is rarely snarky as such, his deadpan exterior hides an acute eye for detail and a very droll sense of humor, making him a master of the hilarious understatement.
* OldRetainer: By the time of ''A Civil Campaign'', but he starts out as TheNewGuy in ''Mountains Of Mourning''.

'''Armsman Jankowski'''

Quiet, good with horses.

'''Armsman Roic'''

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.]]

* BeleagueredAssistant: He is generally the armsman of choice to accompany the little git... er... Lord Vorkosigan on his off planet missions.
* TheBigGuy: Steps up to the plate as this in the later novels.
* MrFanservice: In-universe. When the Vorkosigan household's duties require a particularly decorative armsman, he's the one who inevitably gets dragooned into the job. When he responded to an emergency call mostly undressed -- it'd been his scheduled sleep time -- Martya and Kareen Koudelka are both briefly DistractedByTheSexy.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: His brief romance with Taura, one of the few people in the universe who could render him the 'tiny guy'.

'''Ma Kosti'''

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.

* SupremeChef: 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. Cordelia contemplates getting her son transferred to Sergyar so ''she'' could steal that culinary mastery for herself. And in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', even ''Emperor Gregor'' hints that he might draft her services, though in Cordelia and Gregor's case it's implied they're teasing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other Barrayarans]]

'''Ivan Xav 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 [[StealthPun "Ivan, you idiot!"]], and is forever getting dragged into Miles' wild schemes, or so he claims.

* BadassBureaucrat: One of the best human paper shredders in the Emperor's Service.
* BirthdayHater: not surprising, when you see how they celebrate it.
* BrilliantButLazy: Actually described as having a "sharp but lazy intellect" in ''Brothers in Arms.''
* ButtMonkey: Is often called an idiot by his friends and relatives and tends to be the victim of humorously embarrassing circumstances.
* ChivalrousPervert
* TheGoodCaptain
* TheCharmer: Has shades of this.
* DeadpanSnarker: But of course.
* DrivesLikeCrazy
-->'''Gregor:''' So, Lord Mark, what do you think of Vorbarr Sultana so far?
-->'''Mark:''' It went by pretty fast.
-->'''Gregor:''' Dear God, don't tell me you let ''Ivan'' drive.
* {{Foil}}: To his cousin Miles. Ivan is tall, healthy, handsome, and has girls falling all over him without his even trying. He's also preternaturally lazy and uninterested in any kind of responsibility (including marriage, until later on when the shortage of Vor women his age becomes pressing).
* HandsomeLech
* HeroOfAnotherStory: While not involved in Miles' exploits Ivan has had a fairly successful military career, usually getting promotions ahead of Miles (whose achievements are all highly classified and can't be publicly acknowledged without blowing his cover; he's also lost years of seniority in active service due to infirmary/hospital time, wounded [[spoiler:(and occasionally killed)]] in the line of duty). In ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' we find out that Ivan is in fact a brilliant staff officer, largely because he insists on organizing everything to the point where it maximizes his comfort and minimize his effort.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yes, he can be thoughtless, inappropriate, and about as sensitive as a brick, but he ''does'' care for his family (including his height-challenged terror of a cousin) and will go to the wall to help them. Snarking all the way, of course.[[spoiler: and when Miles is missing, presumed dead, Ivan gets so totally wrecked Lord Mark has to carry him home.]]
-->'''Miles''': Ivan, one of these days somebody is going to pull out a weapon and plug you, and you're going to die in bewilderment, crying, 'What did I say? What did I say?'"
-->'''Ivan''': What did I say?
* LadykillerInLove: In Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: 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 Barrayaran 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.
* MaternityCrisis: He was born in the poorest and dingiest part of a besieged city, tended by a half-sane(at best)soldier instead of a doctor, and with a rebel vor desperately looking for him and his mother to take them as hostages. One might say it was somewhat difficult circumstances.
* MommasBoy
* NiceGuy: And Miles takes advantage of this more then a bit.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: That time on Cetaganda when he thought he was freeing a kitten from a carnivorouss plant, not realizing it was part of the plant.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: It's a matter of self-preservation, when you're theoretically third in line for the Imperium.
* OnlyChildSyndrome
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Subverted. He actually does have a [[BadassBureaucrat day job]]. He just acts like this to avoid getting caught up in intrigue, and likes court life as a recreation.
* SpareToTheThrone: ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' reveals that he was this before Gregor had heirs, as the Vorkosigan clan would have backed him if anything happened to Gregor.
* TallDarkAndHandsome

'''Lady Alys Vorpatril'''

Imperial Social Secretary, 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 plans, if they dare.)

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: [[spoiler: Once she hooks up with Illyan, Ivan certainly feels this way.]]
* TheCaretaker: To Simon in ''Memory''.
* CoolOldLady: In ''A Civil Campaign'', it's hinted that [[spoiler: she's working with ''[=ImpSec=]'' as By's handler.]] She's also implied to be the ringleader of all of the Cool Old Ladies among the high Vor
* MyBelovedSmother: Ivan thinks so, but [[IWantGrandkids she just wants grandkids,]] and backs off once [[spoiler: Simon Illyan is in the picture and she no longer feels compelled to live through Ivan.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Illyan is injured in ''Memory'', it's a mark of her irritation at not being told about it that she complains that none of "you three louts" told her about it. A bemused Miles is shocked when he realises that the three louts are himself, Ivan and [[spoiler: Emperor Gregor]].
* [[PoliticallyActivePrincess Politically Active Vor Lady:]] Especially in A Civil Campaign.
* SilkHidingSteel

'''Count Falco Vorpatril'''

Kinsman and Liege of Ivan who in a CrowningMomentOfFunny judges and refuses Ivan's petition to be released from a CitizenshipMarriage after having asserted that the ceremonies were proper if hurried and that neither party is guilty of concealed mutation, adultery, neglect, abuse, denial of contact with kinfolk, denial of children, and certainly not [[UnusualEuphemism denial of marital rights]].

* GoodOldWays: Most definitely. And to him they are the [[HonorBeforeReason good]] old ways. In a succession suit he changed his vote in favor of a would-be count who had had a sex change to make him a viable candidate-simply because his opponent had used dishonorable means in his campaign.
* TheJudge
* {{Nepotism}}: Averted. Possibly even inverted. It is speculated that Ivan might have gotten a more sympathetic hearing from someone unfamiliar with his [[ChivalrousPervert weaknesses]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Galactics might not think so, but he judges Barrayaran law fairly from the local point of view and has no favoritism for kinfolk.
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Vor Who Actually Do Something]]: Judging local disputes.
* [[IGaveMyWord You Gave Your Word.]]



'''Simon Illyan'''

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''.

* [[spoiler: BroughtDownToNormal]]
* TheDreaded
* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod states that Illyan's name, appearance and profession are somewhat inspired by Ilya Kuriakin of ''TheManFromUNCLE''.
* [[spoiler: LoveRedeems: Or at least helps you live a normal life after decades of being a near-machine.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Although he seems quiet and respectable, various characters have noted that to be in charge of "weasels" like Miles he'd have to be a bit sneaky himself. [[spoiler: And so it proves in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', where his boredom with his retirement leads him to arrange a scam of a bet with Ivan's new in-laws.]]
* NeuralImplanting: [[spoiler: At least until the chip is sabotaged.]]
** This adds to [[TheDreaded his]] [[ShroudedInMyth image]]. In Jackson's Whole, among the nightmare stories told about him, it is thought he is actually a {{Cyborg}}.
* TheNondescript: A useful thing for a junior [=ImpSec=] officer, which is how he began his career.
* [[NoteToSelf Note To Emperor Ezar]]
* PhotographicMemory
* TheSpymaster

'''Emperor Gregor Vorbarra'''

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.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Gregor does his homework. God help you if you don't.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: "Did you think you were dealing with an ''amateur''?"
* CatchPhrase: "Let's see what happens."
* CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of the series, goes from being used by various Barrayaran counts and politicians to out-playing them all and securing his own happiness, without losing his essential humanity or compromising his honour.
* TheChessmaster: Eventually becomes this.
* TheGoodKing
* GuileHero: Particularly in ''The Vor Game.''
* HappilyAdopted: By the Vorkosigans, after being orphaned during Vordarian's Pretendership.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: To a nice, smart, wealthy, sane Komarran BBW. By the latest book, they've sprogged a brood of brainy kids.]]
* HeroicBSOD: During the events of ''The Vor Game'', [[spoiler: he finds out his father, the supposed war hero Prince Serg, was actually a brutal, judgmentally impaired sadist whose death was possibly the best thing to happen to the Barrayaran Empire in a long time. Gregor becomes temporarily suicidal, then goes AWOL as a KingIncognito, and only starts to snap out of it when he gets tangled up in a deadly plot involving dueling mercenary fleets and a potential Cetagandan invasion.]]
* InTheBlood: Given his ancestral history, he's terrified of this happening to himself or his offspring, and vetoes a lot of potential Vor brides on the basis that inbreeding would bring out the crazy. As Miles puts it, "Gregor has a well-founded paranoia about, well, paranoia."
* LaserGuidedKarma: Gregor just loves dispensing this. He even hired Miles to focus the beam.
* [[PenPushingPresident Pen Pushing Emperor]] : As Ivan notes, many have coveted the emperor's throne, none have coveted his ''desk''.
* TheQuietOne: According to Miles, "He'd be shy if he could, but he's not allowed."
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* RoyalWe: Or, rather, Imperial. Gregor uses it very, very rarely, when he wants it extremely clear that he's speaking officially.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething
* ShelteredAristocrat: Appears as this toward the beginning of The Vor Game. Turns out to be smarter then he appears though.
* TranquilFury: The quieter he gets, the angrier he generally is.
* WarriorPrince: Well, sort of. At least he does warlike things once in awhile.
* WarriorTherapist: Learned it at Cordelia's knee. He's even better at it than Miles, eventually a match for Cordelia herself.
* [[WhenSheSmiles When He Smiles]]: Tej notes that he has one of those "face-transforming smiles" in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.''
* TheWisePrince: In private life, Gregor is a kind, complex man, but his public persona makes him come across as TheStoic.

'''Emperor Ezar Vorbarra'''

Gregor's grandfather, Serg's father, a highly subtle and dangerous old bastard.

* TheChessmaster
* TheExtremistWasRight: Or else he was really lucky. In any case his plan ''did'' work as he wanted it to.
* KarmaHoudini: but only to outside observers. "The emperor spares himself nothing."
* LesserOfTwoEvils: See below. In this case even the "lesser" was pretty extravagently evil.
* [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles Murder In A Stack Of Deaths]]: See below.
* [[spoiler: OffingTheOffspring: 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 Barrayaran killed to cover the act. But he was convinced it wasn't enough to kill Serg, he had to eliminate his entire political party.]]
* [[PapaWolf Papa Wolf In-law]]: When Prince Serg was becoming dangerous he [[PetTheDog protected Serg's wife from him]]
* ShootTheDog: This and a KickTheDog, all rolled up in one: see above.
* ThanatosGambit: Sets Aral up for the Regency of Barrayar with one of these.

'''Clement "Kou" Koudelka'''

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.

* HandicappedBadass though this is downplayed in later volumes, apparently due to improving medical technology.
* OverprotectiveDad: 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 {{Transsexual}} Count Dono Vorrutyer]] during the same time period.
* SwordCane: 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 [[OffWithHisHead re-purposed]] later.

'''Ludmilla "Drou" Droushnakovi'''

Former bodyguard to Princess Kareen and then-heir to the throne Prince Gregor, Drou accompanied Cordelia on her [[UnusualEuphemism shopping trip]] to the Capital. Now married to Clement Koudelka and the proud mother of four daughters.

* ActionGirl: she was a planetary martial arts champion and Emperor Gregor's childhood bodyguard.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: She keeps Drou as a nickname after her marriage. Even her husband calls her Drou. Hell, even the ''Emperor'' calls her Drou. Of course he does. He's known "Droushie" since he was four years old. Possibly younger.
* HappilyMarried: To Kou, [[spoiler: though that doesn't mean she doesn't want her daughters to have happier, saner courtships than she did.]]
* RetiredBadass

'''The Koudelka Girls''' (AKA "Team Koudelka" AKA "Commodore Koudelka's All-Blonde Commando Team")

Kou and Drou's four daughters, Delia [[spoiler:Galeni]], [[spoiler:Countess]] Olivia [[spoiler:Vorrutyer]], Martya [[spoiler:Borgos]] and Kareen [[spoiler:who becomes Lady Kareen Vorkosigan in all but name]].

* ActionGirl: ''All'' of them.
** Delia is an essential part of Miles' notorious "Assault on Cockroach Central" (specifically the part that involves protecting the falsely accused Duv Galeni from catching a bad case of involuntary suicide).
** Martya and Kareen engineer a food fight that would put Blake Edwards to shame to protect Enrique Borgos (and their shares in Mark's company) from Escobaran law enforcement.
** Olivia personally beats down a couple of armed thugs [[spoiler: hired by Richars Vorrutyer to reverse his cousin Dono's Betan sex-change surgery with a vibra-knife.]] Barehanded. Dressed in a ''ball gown''.
* AmazonBrigade: 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."
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Proved, to Ivan's horror, when super-quiet Olivia takes down a couple of armed thugs single-handed.
* DeadGuyJunior: Kareen, named after Gregor's mother, the deceased Princess Kareen.
** Olivia is named for Miles' long-deceased grandmother, Princess Olivia Vorbarra-Vorkosigan.
* DeadpanSnarker: Martya
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Kareen is sanguine, Martya is choleric, Delia is melancholic, and Olivia is phlegmatic.
* GenderRarityValue: The Koudelkas went for girls after noticing that everyone else was going for boys, making their daughters about the hottest commodities on the Vorbarra Sultana dating scene.
* [[LadyofWar Lady of]] [[IncrediblyLamePun vor]]
* NiceGirl: "Everyone liked Kareen, because Kareen liked everyone."
* SarcasticDevotee: Martya to Enrique. She snarks that he needs a keeper then promptly snares the job (and the good doctor) for herself. Even Kareen admits that level-headed Martya can "make the brains run on time." And he writes poetry!


'''Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson [[spoiler: Vorkosigan]]'''

->"Drat."
--> -- '''Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson''', ''Komarr'', after more than a decade of being married to Etienne Vorsoisson

->"Miles, if you die out here, I will not be grieved, I will be pissed!"
--> -- '''Ekaterin''', ''Diplomatic Immunity'', [[spoiler: after less than two years of being married to Miles Vorkosigan.]]

Unhappily married to a mid-level bureaucrat on Komarr, Ekaterin is a woman of remarkable personal strength who has been socialized by a restrictive upbringing and a true {{Jerkass}} of a husband into a shadow of herself...until she gets caught up in a dangerous case that may have interstellar consequences.

* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** This over-socialized stay-at-home mom [[spoiler: used a Komarran super-weapon as an anti-grav basketball while laughing in the face of certain death.]]
** In "Winterfair Gifts", [[spoiler: someone tries to kill her with a toxin-laced wedding gift, a pearl necklace, and frame an old flame of Miles' for the deed. Once the toxin is detected and [=ImpSec=] cleans it out completely and marks the culprit for death, she wears the necklace to her wedding. A watching armsman decides at that point that she's going to make an excellent match for his CrazyAwesome boss. When one of the guests compliments her on it, and comments that the giver must have spent a lot of money on it:]]
---> '''Ekaterin:''' Yes, I expect it will cost him everything he has.
* CatchPhrase: "Unpack, Miles." (referring to the way his brain runs five steps ahead of his mouth.)
* DeadpanSnarker: She has her moments.
* DomesticAbuse: 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 son Nikolai by body-birth when the much safer, painless uterine replicator was already widely available. (At the time Ekaterine saw it as a romantic adventure.) At one point, Ekaterin brings up in Tien's [[spoiler: post-mortem]] defense that he had never hit her, and Miles prays to whatever god might be listening that ''his'' best beloved would have higher praise for him [[spoiler: after his own death]] than "he never hit me".
* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried]]: Eventually. [[EarnYourHappyEnding She has to wade through a lot of shit to get there.]]
* HotMom: If the reaction of just about every unattached heterosexual Barrayaran 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 SubordinateExcuse ...]]
* IGaveMyWord: Takes this as seriously as Miles does, which leads to her putting up with mountains of garbage from her husband Tien.
* LetsGetDangerous
* ObliviousToLove: She is blissfully unaware that Miles has a crush on her. Justified because she has been emotionally traumatized by marriage to Tien and is in no hurry to be tied down by anyone else. [[spoiler:She even writes off Miles' confession at the end of ''Komarr'' as a joke by the next novel.]]
* ParentheticalSwearing: Coming from her, a single ''"Twit"'' has the force of a ClusterFBomb from less repressed characters.
* ProperLady: Nearly a textbook example. No wonder KnightErrant Miles fell for her almost immediately.
* SilkHidingSteel


'''Lord Auditor Professor Georg Vorthys'''

One of the eight permanent Imperial Auditors and Ekatarin's great uncle by marriage, 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.

* CoolOldGuy
* GeniusSweetTooth
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Well, as much as an engineer can be, it seems; he tends to prefer having his custom-tailored suits made with "nice big pockets". His wife the Professora is a better example on the Distaff side.
* HappilyMarried

'''Professora Helena Vorthys'''

Georg's wife, Ekatarin's great aunt and a professor of History at Vorbarr Sultana University. A highly accomplished academic in her own right, Miles and Gregor alike have been known to employ her and her graduate students to research historical precedents. Implied to be one of Lady Alys' secret coterie of highly influential women.

* CoolOldLady
* [[GentlemanAndAScholar Lady and a Scholar]]:
* HappilyMarried

'''Byerly Vorrutyer'''

Town Clown, impoverished, imprudent, and impervious to put-downs, but very witty...if you care for a certain nasty type of humor. [[spoiler: also an [=ImpSec=] informer, thought by some to be reporting to Lady Alys Vorpatril.]]

* AgentProvocateur: Manipulates his cousin Richers into prematurely sending goons to attack his other cousin Dono so as to sabotage his case against the other.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Actually discussed in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.'' The conclusion reached was that Ivan wanted to know as little about By's sex life as possible, no matter who it was with.
* ContinuityNod: 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.
* DeadpanSnarker: even manages to out-snark Miles.
* {{Expy}}: considering ''A Civil Campaign'' is partially ''AnIdealHusband'' InSpace, Byerly comes off very much as one to OscarWilde (or at least one of Wilde's stock characters)
* GuileHero: For a given value of "hero". Guile AntiHero, perhaps?
* HiddenDepths: By's backstory, when it finally comes out in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', makes him a much more sympathetic character.
* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: By covers an op by [[XanatosGambit hireing a contract killer, and then recruits Ivan to make sure the killer doesn't find his prey.]] [[UpToEleven Without telling Ivan why he was recruited.]]
* ItsPersonal: implied to be the underlying reason why he exceeded his brief in helping Dono against Richars
* ImpoverishedPatrician
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A self-admitted weasel who plays for high stakes...but who actually cares, deep down, about protecting the weak and punishing the guilty.
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: [[spoiler: While partially true, it is also his cover.]]
* UpperClassWit: [[spoiler: Also part of his cover.]]


'''Count René Vorbretten'''

Academy classmate of Miles and Ivan, and one of Miles' stoutest allies on the Council of Counts. An upright, forthright, and diligent young aristocrat who was forced to give up a promising military career after his father's untimely death, only to discover that he's one eighth Cetagandan Ghem. On the wrong side, unfortunately.

* CaligulasHorse: Once again, the Lord Midnight precedent. His grandfather's illegitimacy does not automatically disqualify René from succession (Namely due to the fact that his father and René both were confirmed as heir/Count, and so legally were the Count).
* HappilyMarried: to Tatya, a classmate of Olivia Koudelka. Which pulls in the rest of Team Koudelka, and by extension, Miles, though Miles likely would have come to René's aid regardless.
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]: Though it's always offscreen, no one ever seems to mention René without complimenting his diligence, competence, or decency.
* InstantExpert: has an affinity for music due to his Cetagandan heritage.
* NothingPersonal: Even the distant cousin who's gunning for René's seat doesn't have anything against him personally, but turnover in the Council of Counts is so rare he's forced to challenge him out of party loyalty.

'''Lord/[[spoiler:Count]] Dono Vorrutyer'''

Byerly's cousin, and another old friend of Ivan... who was once ''Lady Donna'' Vorutyer, and more than just a friend. But when Donna's older brother dies under suspicious circumstances and she's faced with the prospect of her vile cousin Richars taking his place, she decides that extreme measures are called for. Now the new Lord Dono must engage both Richars and traditional Barrayaran society in a no-holds barred political battle in the Council of Counts, where mutual interests inevitably lead him to ally with Miles and René.

* AintNoRule: That a Count's sister can't get a sex change to contest the succession
* CaligulasHorse: There's that Lord Midnight precedent again
* TheCasanova: As Donna or Dono, doesn't matter.
* TheCharmer
* GenderBender
** FirstLawOfGenderBending: Averted
** SecondLawOfGenderBending: Also averted, surprisingly enough. Dono isn't interested in embracing masculinity so much as he's exploring the new possibilities it presents
** ThirdLawOfGenderBending: Enforced. Playing the role is important to the outcome.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: To Olivia Koudelka!]]
* ItsPersonal: Richars tried to rape Donna at age 13, then drowned her puppy after she fought him off.
* LadykillerInLove: After transitioning and while campaigning for the Countship, he befriends, and then quickly falls in love with, [[spoiler: Olivia Koudelka, whom he later marries.]]
* ReallyGetsAround: Before his sex change, that is. Afterwards, in at least one case he privately visits the wife of a former lover, satisfying her that the change is permanent and prompting her to influence her husband in Dono's favour.
* UpperClassWit: Has too much fun messing with staidly hetero ex-lover Ivan, and that's just for starters.


'''Count Vormuir'''

A conservative back-bencher who has hit on his own, wildly progressive scheme to improve his prospects in the never-ending demographic struggle between districts. [[spoiler: He's manufacturing liege-people, using uterine replicators, confiscated eggs, and his own sperm. All girls, to take advantage of GenderRarityValue and Barrayar's antiquated chattel and inheritance laws.]]

* AintNoRule: Half of the basis of his plan
* BabiesEverAfter: His end goal, though not in any sense normally considered socially acceptable
* DistractedByTheSexy: leading to:
* ForWantOfANail: He's one nail, if not the nail, that undoes Richars Vorrutyer when the heroes arrange to have him occupied elsewhere during a crucial vote in the Council of Counts.
* GenderRarityValue another aspect of his plan. Given Barayar's skewed demographics, any girl is practically guaranteed a husband if she wants one, making each a two for one deal.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: he's so focused on the Barrayaran tradition of paternal rights that he failed to consider Barrayar's equally strong notion of paternal ''responsibility'' that Miles and Gregor - at Ekaterin's suggestion - exploit to put the kibosh on his scheme.
* HumiliationConga: Not that he didn't deserve it
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: He's a pigheaded putz who is either blind or indifferent to the thorny emotional problems raised by the virtual-rape-by-proxy aspects of his scheme. But he does sincerely care for his children, if only because unhappy badly-adjusted liege people would derail his plan...and because he knows the Emperor could terminate his parental rights if he abused or neglected them.
* LaserGuidedKarma: "Dowries! ''Dowries!''"
* LysistrataGambit: Countess Vormuir uses this to punish him for his extramarital activities, at least until Lord Dono convinces her to participate in their ForWantOfANail scheme.
* RefugeInAudacity: Gotta admit, his little plan is pretty [[IncrediblyLamePun Ballsy.]] Even more radical than Dono's, in its own way.



[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Dendarii Mercenaries]]

'''Commander [[spoiler: later Admiral]] Elli Quinn'''

Devastatingly beautiful former Oseran mercenary; after her face got burned off by plasma fire in one of his first battles, Miles bought her a very nice new one, and since then she's used it, plus her superlative competence and hilariously twisted personality, to spectacular effect in the Dendarii. [[spoiler: Also sleeping with Miles, at least until the events of ''Memory''.]]

* ActionGirl
* CharacterTic: She bites her nails when she's under serious stress.
* TheFaceless: For a period of time. Miles gets her a new one.
* LadyOfWar: Certainly by the time she [[spoiler: takes over Miles' job as Admiral of the Dendarii, plus his working relationship with Barrayaran Imperial Security.]]
* OddFriendship: With Athosian NonActionGuy Ethan, eventually.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: her new face, as she realized the second time a soldier made a pass at her instead of following orders, forcing her to learn some new leadership techniques,
* TallDarkAndSnarky: 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.

'''Captain Elena Bothari-Jesek'''

Miles' childhood friend and crush, the daughter of Sergeant Bothari, an ActionGirl constrained by Barrayaran 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 AnguishedDeclarationOfLove from Miles...bad timing, son) after her father's death.]]

* ActionGirl
* [[spoiler: ChildByRape: She is one, which is part of why she and Miles can't find any info on her mother before they decamp to Beta Colony.]]
* HappilyMarried
* MissingMom: Well, she ''was'' missing, right up until [[spoiler: she walked in and shot Elena's father to death right in front of her. Mother and daughter do eventually manage to some degree of reconciliation, despite the circumstances surrounding both Elena's conception and their deadly first meeting. Just how much is never made explicit.]]

'''Commodore Baz Jesek'''

An honest, very competent Barrayaran 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.]]

* DangerousDeserter: Averted. It's his [[NoWomansLand Barrayaran-bred]] ActionGirl wife you want to watch out for.
* HappilyMarried
* MrFixit

'''Captain Bel Thorne'''

A Betan hermaphrodite and highly competent mercenary who becomes captain of the Ariel as a result of Miles's conquest of the Oseran fleet.

* {{Badass}}
* BerserkButton: During "Labyrinth", develops one re: the powerful Jacksonian Houses that deal in the flesh trade (particularly Houses Bharaputra and Ryoval). [[spoiler: This later leads Bel to betray Miles by helping Mark launch a rescue operation on some clones from House Bharaputra that ends up deep-sixing Bel's career with the Dendarii. It doesn't express regret for the outcome, only for having let Miles down.]]
* BiTheWay: in the most literal way possible
* ChivalrousPervert
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Seems to have caught it off Miles by "Labyrinth", [[spoiler: and in ''Mirror Dance'' it costs Bel its job.]]
* [[DidNotGetTheGirl Did Not Get The Cute Quaddie]]: [[spoiler: Or so it appears by the end of "Labyrinth", anyway, but by ''Diplomatic Immunity''...]]
* [[HappilyMarried Happily Partnered]]: [[spoiler: With Nicol, as of ''Diplomatic Immunity''. They're even planning a family together.]]
* {{Hermaphrodite}}
* ItsPersonal: Any kind of PlayingWithSyringes 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.
* KnightErrant: Bel accepts a fee of only one Betan dollar, just to make if official, to rescue Nicole. but when Bel looks her up years later it claims to have kept that very dollar as its lady's favor. Miles is suspicious (knowing Bel's talent for scam) but admits that it's a wonderfully romantic gesture regardless.
* PronounTrouble: 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 useage as it does on certain other planets.
* PurelyAestheticGender: Bel tends to vary its gender presentation along the sliding scale of masculinity/femininity depending upon what it wants from the situation at hand, or sometimes, just to mess with people.

'''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.

* AccidentalTruth: Practically the first thing he says to Miles is "Who do you think you are, Lord Vorkosigan?" referring to Aral's reputation as a strategic genius. Miles nearly chokes on his drink.
* AscendedFanboy: Of Aral Vorkosigan's mad tactical skills.
* CoolOldGuy
* HonourBeforeReason: While more practical than Miles about it, Ky is a warrior and tactician first, a mercenary second; ProudWarriorRaceGuy Miles appreciated this quality, Oser didn't. Guess who got to benefit from Ky's brains and experience, not to mention his loyalty?
* OldMaster: Takes on Miles as a tactical and military apprentice.
* PassingTheTorch: To Elli, after he decides to [[spoiler: retire to Earth and get married.]]
* WorthyOpponent: To Miles in ''The Warrior's Apprentice'', before they became allies.
** He was also a junior officer at Komarr. In other words he survived ''both'' Vorkosigans.
* TheUnreveal: Ky's final words to Miles imply that he's aware of Miles' true identity.


'''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.]]

Under the muscle, confidence, and competence is a woman described by Miles as something of a fairy princess at heart. If kept away from pink things, frills, and bows, Taura is strikingly attractive. By the end of "Winterfair Gifts", she partners up with kindred spirit Armsman Roic.

* ActionGirl
* {{Beastess}}
* BewareTheNiceOnes: In spite of the teeth, she's quite sweet. Unless someone threatens a loved one, in which case the "fairy princess" turns into a monster:
---> '''Taura:''' The little man is ''mine''. Hurt him one little bit, and I'll tear your head off and drink your blood.
* BigEater: Her metabolism is stuck in permanent overdrive due to House Bharaputra's genetic tinkering.
* FriendsWithBenefits: With Miles, though she's clearly more than a little sad to see him taken off the market in "Winterfair Gifts".
* GameFace: She can make grown men wet themselves with hers.
* HugeGirlTinyGuy: A necessary consequence of being eight feet tall, particularly where Miles is concerned.
* IntimatePsychotherapy: How Miles keeps her from acting on her suicidal impulses in "Labyrinth".
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: She takes apparent comfort, during the events of "Winterfair Gifts", in the fact that Ekaterin obviously loves Miles deeply, and vice ve rsa.]]
* PinkMeansFeminine: 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.
* RescueRomance: five words: "He came back for me."
* SheCleansUpNicely: With a bit of help from Lady Alys. Armsman Roic concurs.
* SuperSoldier: A genetically engineered soldier built by a committee with no actual ''soldiers'' on it. It would be hilarious, except...[[TearJerker see below.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: With Ellie Quinn. Ironically, beautiful Ellie is the tomboy. Taura's the girly one.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: A built-in component of her SuperSoldier 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.

'''Arde Mayhew'''

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.

Eighteen years later a young Miles Vorkosigan, on Beta Colony to visit his grandmother, overhears some people talking about a down on his luck jump pilot who has taken his obsolete ship hostage, and is threatening to blow it up to save it from the wreckers, and then he recognizes the pilot's name, and decides to help him out.

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 armsman, which lets him cover Arde under his own Class III diplomatic immunity (or at least keep the lawyers arguing about it long enough for them to get out of the system.)

* TheAlcoholic: When Miles first meets him, he's devolved to this.
* BecomingTheMask: Though a [[FishOutOfWater Betan]], he learns to behave like a devoted Armsman when Miles is around.

[[/folder]]


[[folder:Enemies]]

'''Prince Serg Vorbarra'''

Son of Ezar Vorbarra, father of Gregor, husband of Kareen, and demonstrably about the worst thing to hit the imperial Vorbarra line since they took Mad Yuri apart. A cruel, spoiled sadist who fell in readily with the monstrous Ges Vorrutyer and eventually, in Kareen's bitter words, "surpassed the master". [[spoiler: His father Ezar set up the entire Escobar fiasco to annihilate Serg's warmongering faction while giving his son a chance to die a warrior's death.]] RoyallyScrewedUp doesn't even start to cover it.

* DomesticAbuse: Hinted at in the behaviour of his widow Princess Kareen.
* GloryHound: Unlike Miles, very much ''not'' a positive example.

'''Ges Vorrutyer'''

Serg's crony and teacher in cruelty, Aral's former brother-in-law, a vile man whose extremely foul proclivities proved to be his downfall. [[spoiler: Killed by Bothari, though ultimately Cordelia Naismith had to take the credit.]]

* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler: Unlike his ex-boyfriend (and ex-brother in law) Aral,]] Ges plays this deadly straight. He even starts referencing the Marquis de Sade.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Breaking Bothari and then turning him loose on Cordelia while armed was the last, if not the worst, mistake Ges ever made.]]
* IfICantHaveYou: Towards Aral.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Towards Cordelia
* SmugSnake: Is entirely too convinced he has [[WarriorTherapist Cordelia Naismith]] at his mercy because she's tied down and naked.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: After their marriage, Cordelia finds unsettling evidence of a kinder, gentler Ges in Aral's childhood bedroom,

'''Cavilo''' [[spoiler:/ Livia Nu]]

Mercenary in command of Randall's Rangers, Cavilo is probably the series' smartest antagonist, Miles' match in brainpower with absolutely zero morals. [[spoiler: An apparent KarmaHoudini, she may have escaped real justice after the Hegen Hub war, but with the Cetagandans on her tail, it's anyone's guess for how long...]]

* BlondesAreEvil
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: One of her defining traits. [[spoiler: Though to be fair, Stanis Metzov really had it coming.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: "Stanis, darling..."]]
* NotSoDifferent: From Miles, a fact that a number of his friends and allies are quick to hang a lampshade or five on. The only real difference is that Miles does what he does for other people, whereas Cavilo is really only out for herself.
-->'''Gregor''': "You're both twisty. And, ah, short."
* TheVamp: And she's terribly effective at it, [[spoiler: though not enough fool Gregor.]]
* XanatosGambit
--> "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."
* [[GambitPileup Xanatos Pileup]] Unfortunately (for her) it backfires.
-->'''Miles''': "You should have stuck with your first plan. Or your second. Or even your third."

'''Baron Ryoval'''

Head of the Jacksonian House Ryoval, aficionado in producing horribly genetically modified slaves to satisfy the perverted desires of his wealthy customers; practically makes his fellow Jacksonian barons look human. [[spoiler: Killed by Mark Vorkosigan mid-torture, and had his House broken up among his rivals.]]

* BodyHorror: His House's stock in trade.
* CirclingMonologue
* ColdBloodedTorture
* GrandTheftMe: Despite going well on a century, Ryoval looks like a young man...because, in the words of Mark, he's wearing the corpse of a clone.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Torturing Mark until he got Dissociative Identity Disorder amused Ryoval...and ultimately let [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Killer]] off the leash.]]
* MindRape: His favourite kind, after having gotten bored with the more traditional sort.
* NiceJobBreakingItHerod: While he got pretty close to killing his entire family, he didn't quite succeed, and the survivors are his enemies, particularly his brother Baron Fell.
* TortureTechnician: Has a whole stable full of them, and indulges from time to time for his own amusement.

'''Ser Galen'''

Seriously disturbed and extraordinarily cruel Komarran terrorist who [[spoiler: helped create Mark and raised him to be a duplicate Miles as part of a byzantine plot against Aral.]] Not a good father; his son Duv was voluntarily estranged from him [[spoiler: and Mark, also after a fashion his son, shot him point-blank.]]

* AbusiveParents: To Mark, despite Mark's being a clone. He didn't leave his biological son Duv Galeni many happy memories either, if their interactions are anything to go by.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: After abusing and torturing Mark to train him into the perfect TykeBomb, Mark turns on him and shoots him dead.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While his hatred of Barrayar in general and Aral Vorkosigan in particular is understandable, if somewhat misguided, his pursuit of his aims is totally despicable.
* {{Revenge}}: His motivation.
* WindmillCrusader: 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 Barrayaran occupation of Komarr. Shame about his methods, and his grip on reality, [[spoiler: and the fact that his idea of "training" includes sexually assaulting Mark with a shock stick for the unforgivable crime of trying to sneak out for a date with a girl...]]

'''Lord Richars Vorrutyer'''

Dono and Byerly's cousin, and a real nasty piece of work. Suspected of murdering the previous Count Vorrutyer, and perhaps his fiancee before that. Appears to have inherited all of the Vorrutyer's families' demons that somehow bypassed Byerly and Dono, only he's been sneaky enough not to get caught.

* RapeAsBackstory: He's the rapist
* SmugSnake

'''General Stanis Metzov'''

Barrayaran general assigned as commander of the most miserable base on the planet as punishment for suspected atrocities during the Komarr Revolt. Latter gets it into his head to bully Miles. Then orders techs to risk unnecessary danger cleaning up [[FateWorseThanDeath gene-mutating poison]]. When they refuse, he tries to order them to strip naked in polar winter under the eyes of a firing squad. Under the eyes of the son of the [[TooDumbToLive most powerful man in Barrayar.]] When he [[SarcasmMode "somehow"]] finds himself in exile, he takes service under Cavilo. Only to try to murder Admiral Naismith and get captured in the process.

* BullyingADragon: He didn't know that Miles was personally a MagnificentBastard but he should have known that he was the son of [[TheGoodChancellor the prime minister]] a foster brother of TheEmperor and a family friend of [[TheSpymaster Simon Illyan]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: When told he was cashiered "for brutality" a rival of Admiral Naismith remarks on how difficult an achievement that was for a Barrayaran officer.
* GeneralRipper
* IrrationalHatred: Of Miles
* MoralEventHorizon: What shocked Aral most was trying to use partially trained [[ChildSoldiers young recruits]] as a death squad.
* TheNeidermeyer
* [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned to Kyril Island]]: Except it is decided that Kyril Island is to good for him.
* StupidEvil

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Others]]

'''Doctor Ethan Urquhart'''

* FishOutOfWater: When he first gets to Kline Station. Ethan's from an all-male PlanetOfHats that has no contact with women at all.
* NiceGuy: First to his irresponsible nitwit of a foster brother/boyfriend Janos, then [[spoiler: to troubled Cetagandan gene-spliced super-agent Terrence Cee, with much more success to the latter than the former.]]
* NonActionGuy: At first.
* OddFriendship: Between super-responsible, straight-laced StraightGay NonActionGuy Ethan and snarky badass ActionGirl Elli Quinn. One's a strictly religious downsider, the other a spacer mercenary: together [[TheyFightCrime they take on agents of the Cetagandan Empire!]]
* StraightGay
* TookALevelInBadass

'''Terrence Cee'''

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler: What he was trying to do with Janine, and what eventually ended up happening in spite of her death.]]
* BiTheWay
* DefusingTheTykeBomb: The Cetagandans engineered him to be the perfect superagent, but with a little basic human kindness Doctor Urquhart almost manages to reduce him to tears.
* {{Telepathy}}: An unusual case: his is chemically generated.

'''Duv Galeni'''

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: Later married to Delia Koudelka.]]

* TheAtoner
* BadAssBookworm
* BadAssBureaucrat
* BaitAndSwitchTyrant: Milies initially thinks he's a deliberately obstructive superior plotting against him, but that turns out to not be the case and he and Miles end up (somewhat uneasy) friends.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Duv is highly educated, well-read, does everything by the book...and after a really bad week, took down a couple of Cetagandan ghem commandos ''with his bare hands''.
* DeadpanSnarker: As one of Miles' former commanding officers it comes naturally.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Subverted; he loses Laisa Toscane [[spoiler: to the Emperor, but by the end of the same book he's pretty solid with Delia Koudelka.]]
* {{Foil}} To Miles
* StopHelpingMe! Again to Miles [[spoiler: after Miles, having accidentally sabotages 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.

* IntimateHealing: Rowan Durona practices this with Miles.
* ThemeNaming: All of the women are named after flowers, all of the men are named after birds.
* TrulySingleParent Lily Durona

'''Enrique Borgos.'''

Mark's Escobaran business partner and creator of the Butterbug

* TheAbsentMindedProfessor: So VERY
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Obsessed with his Butterbugs, thinks customizing his butterbugs (which look like a giant cross between a cockroach and a termite) with his host's livery is a way to get on his good side, and writes poetry!
* CloudCuckooLander
* LovableNerd: Well... Martya seems to like him.
* ManChild: He doesn't need an assistant he needs a keeper.
* StupidCrooks: 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. Or even impossible. "I was going to pay them back!"

'''Nicol'''

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.

* DistressedDamsel: The closest thing to a traditional one in the whole series
* RescueRomance: with Bel.
* [[TranshumanAliens Transhuman Alien]]: Genetically engineered for free fall.


'''The ghem Estif Arqua Family (House Cordonah)'''

House Cordonah is run by a Jacksoninan pirate and a ghem/haut Cetagandan woman. They have 11 children, six of which were extensively genetically modified by the Baronne. Using her own gene pool, the Baronne created "Jewel" kids followed by "normal" kids in alternating sequence. The Jewels are just as much siblings as the other kids, but aren't known as such publicly.

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: the ghem Estif ladies are white, Shiv is black, the even kids are black (described as "cinnamon" rather than using the StarbucksSkinScale), and the Jewels have skin shades resembling their namesake gemstones (ruby, emerald, pearl, topaz, lapis lazuli, and onyx.)
* AmoralAttorney and HelloAttorney: Pidge
* BadassNormal: Udine regards Shiv as her equal in intellect and ambition.
* BadassFamily
* BattleCouple: Shiv and Udine.
* BestServedCold: Moira and the brooch at the end. It's worth it to her to blow up a very, very expensive item just to punish the haut for throwing her out.
* TheClan
* CoolOldLady: Moira, who is 130 years old and still is breaking into a hidden bunker.
* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: In fact it ''is'' business. The Jewels use their dance as an opportunity to spy on guests.
* DudeWheresMyReward: Amazingly, Pidge has the nerve to demand a 10% finder's fee of the treasure, because it wouldn't have been found without them. Even more amazingly, they do end up with 5% of it, which is their ten percent less expenses.
** Not only that, they do this while being personally tried by TheEmperor for among other things, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking destroying ImpSec headquarters, risking the pollution of Vorrbarra Sultana by the use of untested biological solvents, risking the lives of unwitting Barrayaran subjects and being just plain obnoxious]]. Whatever you can say about them it is an awesome momment of RefugeInAudacity.
*** Not to mention, the reason they knew where it was is that grandma had been married to a Ghem lord during the Occupation and had helped sort out the plunder. In other words they were claiming a finder's fee for a treasure whose location they knew because one of them had helped steal it!
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: They all seem surprised that at least some powerful Barrayarans actually manage to do their jobs without bribery and actually value their given word. Or that Ivan married Tej for no other reason then to get her out of trouble. In Ivan's case they can't quite understand that he isn't playing for the Imperial throne when he is close enough in ancestry to make a play for it. That is kind of "evil cannot comprehend sloth."
** In general they are so obsessed with scheming that they can't comprehend anyone who isn't.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes
* EveryoneIsRelated: The general public think the Jewels are the Baronne's specially created dance troupe. In reality, they're as much family as the "normal" kids.
* FakingTheDead
* FamilyBusiness
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether
* HostageSituation
* InstantExpert: Udine is the daughter of a haut lady and a ghem general. The kids are all half-Cetagandan, and canon precedence is that carefully cultivated Ceta genes can grant people the kind of dexterity, intellect, and learning speed that makes this trope possible.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Half of the kids (the Jewels) are visibly genetically modified, the other half were more normalized. They call themselves the "odd sibs" and "even sibs."
* MeltingPotNomenclature: Shiv got ahold of an old Earth baby name book and gave a lot of his children 3-5 names at a time, themed based on Earth locations.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Erik]]
* NobleFugitive: In fact this is {{Lampshaded}} when the book comments that Tej's marriage to Ivan works perfectly in Barrayar because every [[BlueBlood blue blooded]] vor will be enchanted by a tale of rescueing a [[NotSoDifferent lost princess from a fallen dynasty.]]
* NotSoDifferent: Sometimes when they are talking shop with Vor about the details of various intrigues, you get this impression.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: To Ivan. Well, when you roll into town, and take over your wife's life to the point where she doesn't even talk to her husband any more...Oh yeah, and they're trying to steal a ton of Cetagandan treasure from under the [=ImpSec=] offices.
* OnlyOneName: it appears that this is probably the case with the Jewels.
* OverlyLongName: the even-sib kids. Not surprisingly, they all go by nicknames.
* PirateBooty: the hidden treasures in the Cetagandan bunker hidden under the [=ImpSec=] building.
* RoaringRampageOfRescue and RoaringRampageOfRevenge: presumably what the Arquas got up to by the time of the epilogue of ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.''
* ThemeNaming: The Jewels.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: While nowhere near as stunted as Miles, Shiv is on the short side of average height while Udine is OneHeadTaller and ''much'' stronger than her willowy frame would indicate thanks to her Haut bloodlines.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Space pirate Shiv and half-haut half-ghem Udine.

'''Akuti Tejaswini Jyoti ghem Estif Arqua Vorpatril (Tej)'''

A Baronette from House Cordonah on Jackson's Whole and the second youngest of a very large family. Enters into a citizenship marriage with Ivan in order to avoid arrest and capture. Turns out to actually like being Lady Vorpatril, despite getting the "fall in love" and "get married" parts out of order.

* BigBreastsBigDeal
* BlessedWithSuck: Tej's highly tuned Cetagandan senses come with downsides. She has a low tolerance for sonic or visual dissonance and is subject to horrendous wormhole jump sickness.
* BondingOverMissingParents: Tej thinks this applies to her and Ivan. It doesn't.
* BuxomIsBetter
* CitizenshipMarriage
* DaddysGirl: Tej, very much so. Rish not so much. She's mama's girl through and through
* GivenNameReveal: And it's a mouthful.
* HappilyMarried: Surprisingly, given their elopement.
* InSeriesNickname
* InsistentTerminology: always refers to her husband as "Ivan Xav" in every conversation and even inside her own head once she finds out that he's the only "Ivan Xav" among the many "Ivan Vorpatril"s in the Barrayaran peerage. Ivan Xav is ''her'' Ivan.
* InterruptedSuicide: Ivan's proposal stops her and Rish from throwing themselves off a building to avoid arrest and capture.
* InstantExpert:
** The whole ghem Estif Arqua brood are half-Cetagandan, and there's canon precedence for the carefully toggled Cetagandan genes conveying InstantExpert status in a number of areas (see: René Vorbretton and music). Despite being the "control child", Tej is no exception:
** Having never really driven before landing on Barrayar, Ivan signs Tej up for driving lessons. Within a few hours she gets her learner's permit, has one moment of hitting a pillar on her first day, and then manages to get her license to drive in a ''week.'' In Vorbarr Sultana traffic.
** Picks up Barrayaran languages (all FOUR of them) with stunning speed, to the point where she can identify a Barrayaran Russian speaker and converse with him fluently. She points out to Ivan that to her, languages are fun, things like studying economics are work.
* MafiaPrincess: of the {{Yakuza}} princess subtype. Played with. Her family doesn't understand her lack of enthusiasm for the freebooting Jacksonian lifestyle.
* MeaningfulName: "Princess Radiant Light." Ivan thinks her father must have thought the world of her.
* NaiveNewcomer
* {{Omniglot}}
* OverlyLongName: A background character tries to read it off, hesitates, and then settles for "Lady Vorpatril."
* SpyCouple: With Ivan, though there are some [[ConflictingLoyalty mix-ups]] because of the in-law troubles.
* SternChase
* WhiteSheep: She's the least genetically modified child of the entire family (at dad's request), "the control child" and the least understood by her family because she isn't obsessed with power and control. When her family needs her to help rob a vault, her primary job is [[TheDriver driving the car.]]


'''Lapis Lazuli (Rish)'''

The next to the youngest Jewel in the Baronne's troupe of dancers and spies. A genetically engineered daughter of the Baronne, she has skin designed to look like her namesake, along with wicked dance skills, pointy ears, super strength and super senses.

* BetaCouple: With Byerly. She admires that he's as covertly sneaky as she is.
* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: And frequently camouflage for investigating a situation.
* DaddysGirl: Inverted, Rish is mama's girl through and through and is deeply grateful to her mother for giving her a striking appearance and enhanced senses and abilities
* DaytimeDramaQueen: While in hiding on Komarr she became addicted to several daytime holo-dramas.
* DeadpanSnarker
* DefrostingIceQueen: She's warm around her family, but Ivan finds her chilly and intimidating. Byerly probably has a hand in mellowing her out a bit.
-->'''Ivan''': "You're my sister in law? that... explains a lot, actually."
* [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Blue Skinned Space Babe]] shot through with metallic gold, as well.
* IAmWhatIAm: She's proud to be blue and has no interest in hiding that from the norms, and screw you if you find her freaky.
* InSeriesNickname
* InterruptedSuicide
* [[KnightTemplarBigBrother Knight Templar Big Sister]]: In fact the Barrayarans at first think she is a genetically engineered slave-bodyguard. She is genetically engineered but her loyalty is perfectly natural sibling loyalty rather then from genetic mind control.
* OnlyOneName: possibly, but she doesn't seem to have the mouthful that Tej has.
* StageName: She claims Lapis Lazuli is her stage name, "Rish" is a family nickname like Tej, Pidge, and Star. The only other Jewel we meet (Onyx) also has a family nickname, "Jet" If any of the jewels have any other names it's not mentioned.
* SarcasticDevotee: was originally designed to be a loyal retainer ("jeeves"), but her mother discontinued loyalty treatments on the Jewels after awhile. She's loyal on her own recognizance (and good old-fashioned filial piety).
* ShoutOut: She looks a lot like a short [[{{Film/Avatar}} Na'vi]].
* SternChase
* SuperSenses
* SuperStrength

'''Ghem Colonel Benin'''

Cetagandan Security agent in ''Cetaganda'' who ferrets out a GovernmentConspiracy in the Centagandan court with Miles' help. Later meets Miles again in ''A Civil Campaign.''

* AlwaysGetsHisMan: It doesn't matter to him that the victim was just a Ba servant. What matters was that someone was murdered.
* {{Ambadassador}}: In ''A Civil Campaign'' we meet him as a Ghem-general and ambassador to Barrayar with the ultimate Cetagandan reward; [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage a haut wife]]. He hints to Miles that Cetaganda knows who Admiral Naismath is.
* ColonelBadass
* EnemyMine: He is an agent of Barrayar's traditional rival in interstellar politics. And if Miles ever did a deep-cover job on Cetaganda, presumably he would be a WorthyOpponent. But when we see him, he is an ally of Miles.
* SecretPolice
* TribalFacePaint: Painted in Imperial rather then clan fashion to show where his loyalties were.

'''Leo Graf'''

Engineer who arranges the escape of the quadies in ''Falling Free'' two hundred years before Miles and has Graf Station named after him.

* [[AuthorAvatar Author's Father]]: Stated by [[WordOfGod the author]] in fact.
* DefectorFromDecadence
* FounderOfTheKingdom
* GoingNative
* TheMessiah


[[/folder]]