The Vorkosigan Companion (42 page)

Gravitic explosive:

A powerful munition capable of blowing people to bits. Used by Komarran revolutionaries in their terrorist war against Barrayar. (BA)

Gravitic imploder lance:

A short range ship-to-ship weapon system that causes distortion and rending damage to a targeted area. Its operating technology is not specified. When used in the Hegen Hub conflict, the Barrayaran version had triple the range of the Cetagandan one. It is also mentioned in the scientists' conversation as they try to figure out what the Komarran engineers were up to at the experiment station near Serifosa on Komarr. (K, VG)

Gray, Travis:

A technician in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet assigned to the
Peregrine
, he has been with the mercenaries for six years. He is an expert in communications equipment, and collects classic pre-jump music of Earth origin. Miles mentally reviews his personnel file upon seeing him at a jump-point station near Escobar. (MD)

Great Key of the Star Crèche:

The small rod Miles takes from the Ba Lura when it comes into their ship after landing on the transfer station above Eta Ceta IV. It has decorative glitter on one end that masks dense circuitry, and the other end is covered with a locked cap bearing the Cetagandan Imperial seal, a clawed, screaming bird. Rian has a necklace that is supposed to open the Great Key, enabling it to be used to access the Star Crèche and its data. The key is the only storage device that has the organized information on the hundreds of thousands of haut genome lines in the Star Crèche. Governor Ilsun Kety makes several copies of the Great Key in a plot to win power. When it appears that Miles, Nadina, and Pel Navarr are about to be killed by Kety, Miles and Pel download the Great Key's data into the Cetagandan communication network. (C)

Greatest Escape, The
:

A holovid the Marilacans are producing on the prisoner breakout on Dagoola IV. They try to get "Admiral Naismith" to participate as a consultant, but he regretfully refused. (K)

Greenlaw:

No first name given. An older, white-haired quaddie dressed in a velvet-and-silver slashed doublet with matching puffy shorts. She is a Senior Sealer, a minister of downsider affairs that answers to the Board of Directors of the Union of Free Habitats. She has been serving in her position for over forty years and has been all over quaddie space and the two bordering systems. Initially assigned to broker a suitable deal with the Barrayarans regarding the trade fleet and the imprisoned troopers, she doesn't provide a lot of help, and eventually Miles wins the freedom of his men and ships in exchange for the quarantined, contaminated
Idris
. (DI)

Grishnov:

No first name given. A minister and the head of Political Education on Barrayar. He hopes to rule through Prince Serg once the heir is named Emperor, but is killed during Ezar Vorbarra's governmental purge after the Escobar war. (SH)

Groat:

Another name for the hulled and crushed buckwheat that is grown and eaten on Barrayar, often served boiled with syrup at breakfast. Groats are also used in Barrayaran wedding ceremonies, with the Seconds closing a circle of the grain poured on the ground after the bride and groom step inside. After the vows are completed, the groom's Second opens the circle, collecting a kiss on the cheek from the bride as the married couple exits. (All except FF)

Groundcar:

The standard ground transportation vehicle used throughout the galaxy, they range in size from small cars to cargo trucks. A groundcar uses antigravity technology for lift, and is propelled and controlled by fans. Though they are normally close to the ground, a cargo truck on Earth was raised high enough to try to squash Miles during an assassination attempt. (All)

Grunt:

One of the sub-personalities Mark creates to survive Baron Ryoval's torture, he comes out when Mark is being sexually abused. (CC, MD)

Gulik, Ti:

A jump pilot, he is one of Silver's lovers, and also brings her contraband video fiction. Approximately twenty-five years old, he has brown curly hair, and a mostly easygoing temperament. After unknowingly transporting Claire, Tony, and Andy down to Rodeo, he is fired by Bruce Van Atta, and then is cajoled by Leo Graf and Silver into helping the quaddies escape by piloting the jump ship through the wormhole. He also pilots the shuttle down to Rodeo to collect Tony and Mrs. Minchenko. (FF)

Gum-leaf:

A mild stimulant plant that grows on Barrayar. Its leaves are chewed like tobacco and have a pleasantly bitter, astringent taste. Cordelia tries some during Gregor's escape in the Dendarii Mountains. Mara Mattulich also chews gum-leaf. (B, MM)

Gupta, Russo:

A bioengineered amphibious human, he is tall, with pale, unhealthy-looking skin, dark hair shaved close to his skull, leaving patchy fuzz, a large nose, small ears, long, narrow webbed hands and feet, and gill slits under his ribs that need to be regularly sprayed with water when he is on land. Goes by the nickname Guppy. He was created on Jackson's Whole by House Dyan as one of a set of beings that were to be the stage crew for an underwater ballet troupe. House Ryoval acquired him and the others in a hostile takeover and abandoned him.

He joined with the smuggler band of Firka, Gras-Grace, and Hewlitt, and was the only survivor of Ker Dubauer's attempt to kill them all after they transported his haut-fetus cargo. He tracked Dubauer to Graf Station and tried to kill it with a rivet gun in front of Miles and Bel Thorne. He joined the passenger roster of the
Rudra
after it was delayed at the station, intending to leave as soon as he had killed Dubauer, or follow the Ba if it got away. He sleep-gassed Bel and Garnet Five, but left them where they were. Caught by quaddies after an all-points bulletin was put out for him, he is interrogated by Miles, who gets the whole story, and pieces together the rest of the ba's plot regarding the haut-fetuses. (DI)

Gustioz, Oscar:

A thin man, somewhere between young and middle-aged, he is a parole officer from Escobar who has come to Barrayar to arrest Doctor Borgos on charges of fraud, grand theft, and skipping bail. He also wanted to arrest Mark, but was thwarted by his Class III Diplomatic Immunity. While he is trying to take Borgos into custody, Kareen and Martya Koudelka pelt him first with butter bugs, then with tubs of bug butter, coating him in the stuff. When Miles arrives, he reviews Gustioz's documentation, and refuses to provide the last form he needs to extradite Borgos back to Escobar. (CC)

Haas:

No surname given. He is referred to as Brother Haas. A farmer on Athos, he is a large man, with red skin from his work and muscular, callused hands. Ethan Urquhart delivers the bad news that his male fetus, which was developing in a uterine replicator, is nonviable due to the deteriorating ovarian cultures. He was hoping for a child from the CJB line to increase the likelihood of a doctor for his commune in Crystal Springs. Ethan persuades him to go with the JJY genetic line instead. (EA)

Half-armor:

A less protective, unsealed suit of armor made for surface encounters on planets with a breathable atmosphere. One of its most useful features is a command headset with built-in telemetry and a projector to put vital information in the wearer's field of vision, controlled by facial movements and voice command. Half-armor can be combined with anti-nerve disruptor and stunner mesh, as well as a personal plasma mirror system. Mark takes Miles's personal set during the clone rescue, leaving Miles with no armor when he lands on Jackson's Whole to save his brother. (MD)

Halify:

No first name given. A general in the Felician military, he offers Miles a new mercenary contract to break the Pelian blockade. (WA)

Handbook:

A portable, electronic document reader commonly used for day-to-day reading and sharing of information. Books are contained on data cubes or data chips. Actual paper books are a luxury item. (All)

Hargraves-Dyne Consortium Station:

A space station orbiting Jackson's Whole. Barrayar keeps a consulate there, which Miles calls for help when he escapes Baron Ryoval's guards at his isolated torture facility. (MD)

Haroche, Lucas:

A general in the Barrayaran military, he is the Head of Domestic Affairs in Imperial Security, responsible for uncovering and tracking treason plots and anti-government groups on Barrayar. A graying man in his fifties, with a deep, rich voice and a Western provincial accent, he has served the Empire for thirty years. He sabotages Simon's eidetic memory chip, and tries to frame Miles, then Duv Galeni for the crime because he wants Simon's job, believing he would be a good Chief of Imperial Security. He is devastated to face Gregor after his exposure and arrest, and be branded a traitor. (M)

Hart:

No first name given. A lieutenant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet and the
Ariel
's second-in-command, he orders the fast cruiser to dock at Fell Station when driven out of orbit by House Bharaputran security ships. (MD)

Hassadar:

The capital city for the Vorkosigan's District on Barrayar, the city has no strategic military value, and therefore isn't in danger during Vordarian's coup. Piotr transferred the annual tax funds payable to the Imperium by comm link from there to Vorbarr Sultana. Miles sends Harra and Lem Csurik there to be educated and work so they can return to their village and improve it. (B, MM)

Hassadar Fair:

An annual celebration in the city. Serg Karal saw Miles there with his grandfather several years before Miles traveled to Silvy Vale. (MM)

Hathaway:

No first name given. A friend of Grandmother Naismith, he is in charge of a recycling center. Grandmother sends Miles to him to see if he can help with a squatter, Baz Jesek, who has taken up residence on the property. (WA)

Haut:

The highest Cetagandan social class, haut are below the Emperor, but above the ghem. They control genetic engineering and reproduction for their class. Haut-ladies are sequestered and rarely seen, going out in public in float chairs with protective force screens that allow them to see out, but no one to see them. The force screen can be changed to different colors depending on mood. Haut don't marry, but enter into reproductive contracts with each other. A haut-lady can also be assigned as a wife to a ghem-lord by the Emperor as a high social and political honor. (C)

Hegen Alliance:

The alliance of planets that defeated Cetaganda at the battle of Vervain, including Aslund, Barrayar, Pol, and Vervain, negotiated by Gregor Vorbarra and Aral Vorkosigan. (C, VG)

Hegen Hub:

A double star system with no habitable planets and a few space stations and power satellites. More of a route than a place, the Hegen Hub is a vital commerce route to the planets of Aslund, Pol, and Vervain, linking the three planets to Jackson's Whole and the rest of the known universe. It is also of great strategic interest to Barrayar and Cetaganda. When the Cetagandans move against Vervain as a stepping-stone to the Hub, Asland, Barrayar, and Pol come to the planet's defense, defeating the invasion force and setting up the Hegen Alliance. (VG)

Helda:

First name not given, only the first letter F on her uniform nametag. Thin and dour, she is the biocontrol warden in Assimilation Station B, and the real culprit behind the loss of Athos's ovarian material shipment. She hates the planet because her son emigrated there to get away from her, and her bitterness drove her to switch the shipment with nonviable tissue samples. She placed them in a long-term storage area, where Ethan finds them by accident while saying good-bye to Teki, and takes them and Terrance Cee with him back to Athos. (EA)

Helski:

No first name given. A Barrayaran commodore killed in the Escobar war. (SH)

Henbloat:

A plant on Barrayar, which Miles sees in a new light in Ekaterin's virtual garden program, composed entirely of native flora. (K)

Henri:

A research scientist with the Imperial Military Hospital, he is the doctor in charge of the uterine replicator children. At first opposed to the project, he becomes an ardent fan of the technology, and explores using the technology for burn patients. After a visit to check on Elena, Bothari's daughter, he meets Piotr Vorkosigan at Vorkosigan Surleau. He is beaten to death by Vordarian's security forces for not revealing where Miles's replicator is located during the coup. (B)

Hereld, Sandy:

A lieutenant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, she is the communications officer on the
Triumph
, and likes to wear unusual hairstyles. She is the first person Mark bluffs past acting as Miles on his way to commandeering the
Ariel
. (MD)

Hessman:

No first name given. An admiral in the Barrayaran Imperial Navy with a questionable budget that attracts Aral's and Koudelka's attention. He sends Ivan to go look for Miles, but intends for him to be killed on the trip. He turns on his co-conspirator, Count Vordrozha, when Miles accuses him of sabotage and murder in the Council of Counts. (WA)

Hewlett:

A short, mahogany-skinned jump-ship pilot killed by Ker Dubauer after his and the rest of the smuggler crew transported his haut-fetus cargo. Russo Gupta had his identification papers while he was on Graf Station. (DI)

Hexapedal grazers:

A six-legged herd animal on Sergyar. Low-slung and thick-limbed, they exist in several different varieties, are coffee-and-cream-colored, and communicate in hisses and whistles. During their journey to the supply cache, Aral and Cordelia manage to kill and eat one. The meat is edible, but gamy and tough, with a bitter undertaste. (SH)

House Bharaputra:

One of the largest criminal factions on Jackson's Whole, its main enterprise is illegal genetics. Its baron, who was captured by the Dendarii during their retreat after the failed clone rescue, is freed, and later his men capture Miles and hold him prisoner before selling him to Baron Ryoval. Mark also leads a rescue operation to free clones raised in one of the House's laboratories, but is surrounded, and has to be rescued by Miles and the Dendarii, leading to Miles's death during the extraction. (L, MD)