The Vorkosigan Companion - Lillian Stewart Carl [176]
RG 132:
An obsolete but operational jump-capable cargo ship that Arde Mayhew threatens to destroy at Beta Colony. Miles buys the ship and uses it to transfer weapons to Tau Verde IV. It is damaged beyond repair when Arde uses it to ram the Triumph into the ore refinery, bending the Necklin rods and peeling half the hull off. (WA)
RG Freighter:
On Komarr, Nikolai has a model of this antique cargo-hauling jump ship, which reminds Miles of the RG 132, which he owned briefly when he was seventeen years old. (K)
Rho Ceta:
One of the eight satrapy planets in the Cetagandan Empire, and Barrayar's nearest unallied neighbor. It would expand toward Komarr, except that Barrayar holds two-thirds of the jump points between the two planets. Its governor is Este Rond, and its unnamed Imperial consort has brown hair. (C)
Rigby:
No first name given. A Group-Patroller, or civilian peace officer, on Komarr, she accompanies Miles, Vorthys, Etienne, and Tuomonen to inform Doctor Radovas's wife of his death. (K)
Ritter:
No first name given. The surgeon who performs Cordelia's placental transfer, assisted by Doctor Vaagen and Doctor Henri. Tall, dark-haired, with olive skin and long, lean hands. (B)
Riva:
No first name given. A professor of five-space math at Solstice University, she is called in as a consultant by Imperial Auditor Vorthys to help figure out what the Waste Heat engineering group were building with all of the money siphoned off the project. She is about fifty years old, and is a thin, intense, olive-skinned woman with bright black eyes who paces endlessly while solving a problem. Miles interrogates her under fast-penta when he thinks she is withholding information. Her answers let them discover that the engineers have built a wormhole destroyer, and are planning to close the wormhole to Barrayar. She also figures out that there is a very good chance the device will backlash, and destroy whatever vessel or ship it is on, and it is that sort of backlash that caused the solar-array collision. (K)
Rivek:
No first name given. A commodore in the Barrayaran military stationed in Sector Four, he was concerned with the rescue of Lord Vorvane's wife and children, which Miles handled with the Dendarii a few years earlier. Simon brings it up during one of his flashback moments caused by his malfunctioning memory chip. (M)
River barge:
A large, flat-bottomed boat that carries cargo on a river. Used on Barrayar throughout the Time of Isolation, river barges established the location of Vorbarr Sultana, as the rapids there defined the limits of barge traffic. Afterward, a dam and lock system allows barge traffic to continue upriver from the city. (B, CC)
Road:
In most modern cities, a regular city grid of streets provides organized transportation and defines blocks of property. During Barrayar's Time of Isolation, transportation reverted to horses and mule-drawn carts and wagons. In the old part of some cities, networks of winding streets with very narrow lanes and alleys defy modern traffic, such as in Vorbarr Sultana's Caravanserai district. Country and backcountry roads range from paved highways to dirt paths. Modern cities use automated traffic grids. Barrayar, barely a century past the Time of Isolation, is still improving its infrastructure. It's not until the time of Gregor's wedding that the capital, Vorbarr Sultana, starts implementing automated traffic grids for groundcars and lightflyers. (All)
Rodeo:
A marginal world, home to GalacTech mining and drilling operations. Its surface consists primarily of harsh desert and mountains. GalacTech owns Rodeo on a ninety-nine-year lease with Orient IV, but large mineral deposits make the planet much more interesting to the Orient IV government. GalacTech had planned to dump the quaddies on planet if they were not profitable. (FF)
Roic:
No first name given. An armsman