The Vorkosigan Companion - Lillian Stewart Carl [166]
Minister of the West:
A title of one of the members of the Council of Ministers on Barrayar. (SH)
Ministry of Political Education:
The official name of the Barrayaran secret police. Aral killed the Political Officer, from the Ministry's military branch, aboard his ship during the Komarr campaign when the man countermanded a direct order and instigated the Solstice Massacre, impugning Aral's honor. The Ministry is dismantled and its headquarters destroyed during Ezar's governmental purge following the war with Escobar. (SH)
Mirror dance:
A Barrayaran dance in which one partner must copy the moves of the other partner as accurately as possible, even down to facial expressions. Either partner can lead, as Cordelia finds out when she tries dancing it with Aral. (B, MD, SH)
Missile:
Not used as a major element in space battles due to the effectiveness of defensive force screens. The one exception is when a sacrifice ship lays down a "sun wall" of nuclear-tipped missilettes deployed as a single unit, creating a planar wave that clears the detonation space of everything, often including the ship that created the wall. (VG)
Moglia:
No first name given. The chief of security at Ryoval Biological Laboratories. Miles interrogates him using fast-penta just before being captured by Ryoval security. Moglia tries to recapture Miles and the rest of his team, holding Miles hostage, but Taura violently convinces him to let them go. (L)
Mok:
No surname given. One of two guards Ser Galen used to discipline Mark during his training to impersonate Miles. (MD)
Molino:
No first name given. Middle-aged and dyspeptic-looking, he is the senior cargomaster of the Komarran trade fleet being held at Graf Station. Responsible for the safe passage of the fleet on its route, the incidents at the Union of Free Habitats are giving him quite a headache. When Lieutenant Solian disappears, he tries to get Admiral Vorpatril to order the fleet to disembark for their next destination, but is overruled. He complains about the station personnel trying to fine the Komarran fleet for the Barrayarans' actions, which Miles dismisses. (DI)
Monorail:
A form of land transportation using a series of linked cars mounted either above or below a central rail system. Some long-distance public transportation on Barrayar and Komarr is done by monorail. (B, K)
Moon Garden Hall:
A domed area on Eta Ceta IV, like a smaller version of the Cetagandan Celestial Garden, but not as lush and ornate. It is roughly three hundred meters in diameter, covering steeply sloping ground, with natural paths leading through the hall. The 149th Annual Bioestheties Exhibition, Class A is held there, dedicated by the ghem-ladies to the memory of the Dowager Empress. Miles sets up a meeting in the hall with Rian Degtiar's servant, but cannot keep it due to meeting Lord Yenaro at his exhibit of perfumed cloth, and thwarting his inadvertent assassination attempt on Miles and Ivan. (C)
Morita Station:
A project that Leo Graf and Bruce Van Atta had both worked on twelve years before their reunion at the Cay Project Habitat. Leo had kicked Bruce into administration to get him out from underfoot during it. (FF)
Mosquitoes:
After a global war, many Earth animals were genetically altered. These new mosquitoes are about five inches long, with powerful venom that would only take a few stings to kill a human. Chalmys traps Carlos Diaz in the forest using a force screen, and questions him about the commissioned feelie-dream while the mosquitoes attack him. (DD)
Mount Sencele:
The mountain where Barrayaran Imperial officer candidates undergo a 100-kilometer endurance march as part of their elimination testing. (WA)
Mourning