The Vorkosigan Companion - Lillian Stewart Carl [108]
Miles the fake key to jump-start the conflict. However, since Miles hadn't reported the incident, and with the ba dead, the person behind the plot, whom Miles christens Lord X, hasn't been able to put it into action yet, except behind the scenes. He goes back to the party to find Ivan there, upset at being seduced by two beautiful ghem-ladies, only to find he couldn't rise to the occasion because he had been slipped an anti-aphrodisiac, confirming Miles's suspicion that Lord Yenaro is involved in the plot. The next day, he is interrogated by Dag Benin, a Cetagandan security colonel, about his unauthorized viewing of the ba's body. That afternoon they attend a poetry reading in the Empress's honor, and at the following reception Rian meets with Miles again, telling him she suspects that one of the governors, Slyke Giaja, is the traitor plotting to create a Barrayar-Cetaganda war. Miles makes plans to board Giaja's ship and search for the real Great Key, and plans to meet Rian's handmaiden at a genetic-engineering exhibition to plan the infiltration. However, Lord Vorreedi, the head of ImpSec security on Cetaganda, accompanies them, so Miles has to ditch him first. They stumble across Lord Yenaro, who almost unknowingly attempts to assassinate them with asterzine, an explosive, malleable chemical that reacts violently with the proper catalyst. Caught, Yenaro tells them that Governor Ilsum Kety is behind the whole scheme. While elated at the news, Miles can't make his meeting with Rian's representative, as Vorreedi sticks with him until they leave. The next day, Vorreedi interrogates Miles first, then Colonel Benin questions Miles and Ivan about what happened since they first landed on Cetaganda. Miles tells a heavily edited version of events, leaving out the Great Key and his meetings with Rian. Invited to a garden party by another haut-lady, both Miles and Ivan attend, and Miles is taken to confer with the Star Crèche—all the haut-consorts of the governors plus Rian—to plan their next move. Off a casual suggestion from Ivan, Miles suggests recalling the copies of the gene pools from each governor's ship, with Rian claiming they are defective. While the haut-ladies put this plan into action, Miles and Ivan attend yet another ceremony, where Ivan is captured by one of Kety's people. The float-bubble with the lady and Ivan inside is captured, and Miles uses it to infiltrate Kety's ship and find the missing consort, whose float-chair was stolen, and the Great Key. Caught by Kety's security, Miles has the contents of the Key downloaded to a transfer station, where it would be picked up by thousands of people; then Pel locks the key inside the float bubble, effectively putting it out of Kety's grasp. As the governor tries to open the field, Colonel Benin, Ivan, and reinforcements arrive to save them and arrest Kety for treason. Miles has a private audience with the Cetagandan Emperor, Rian, and two of the other haut-consorts, to wrap up the matter, and the Emperor awards Miles the Order of Merit, the highest honor on Cetaganda, and has him walk to the cremation of the Empress's body at the Emperor's left hand. Miles is left with clashing thoughts; he did perform his duty to Barrayar, preventing a terrible war, and also assisted Cetaganda, but the award he received would be viewed with suspicion at home, particularly since the events surrounding it could never be brought to light. He ponders his motivations for putting himself into that much danger on the trip back to Barrayar—was it to be a hero, to prove himself to his superiors, or something else entirely?
Ethan of Athos (1986)
Doctor Ethan Urquhart, Chief of Reproductive Medicine, lives and works on the planet Athos, an out-of-the-way world where women are prohibited from living. They reproduce male children by uterine replicator, and face a drastic problem: their stock of ovarian cultures, brought to Athos by its founders more than two centuries earlier, has reached the end of its life span, and the planet needs new material to continue. When a replacement order from Jackson's