Mirror Dance

Betan hermaphrodite captain of the Ariel; assists Mark believing him to be Naismith; sharp, enthusiastic, and possessed of a probing curiosity that unsettles Mark.

Senior Dendarii officer who takes command after Miles's death; drives the plan to use Mark as a Miles-double, coaches him via ear-bug, imposes communications blackout.

Captain of the Peregrine; Barrayaran-born; old friend of Miles; acts as spokesperson when the Ariel's disappearance is revealed and offers sharp emotional checks on Miles.

Medical director at the Beauchene Life Center on Escobar; delivers clinical assessments of Red Squad casualties including the irreversibly destroyed Aziz.

Twenty-one-year-old Dendarii trooper accepted for officer training; personality permanently destroyed by a bad cryo-prep, reduced to near-infant neural state.

Handles fleet communications and shuttle logistics; relays status of Red Squad survivors to Quinn.

Elena's husband; commands Dendarii repair and refit in Miles's absence; raises pragmatic questions about Mark's political status.

Mark's original Komarran handler; administered systematic abuse disguised as training discipline; revealed through fast-penta interrogation of a subordinate.

Clone-brother of Miles; throughout this chunk undergoes street violence, eavesdrops on his adoptive parents, is brought to Vorkosigan Surleau, learns of the cryo-chamber crisis, witnesses the Count's cardiac collapse, performs the taxation ceremony as proxy, dances with Kareen, and breaks down in Miles's room.

Genetically engineered super-soldier; joins the expedition; her personal history with Ryoval and Canaba provides crucial background on Ryoval's vendetta against Miles.

Jacksonian baron released in prisoner exchange; counts coup on Mark and delivers a cold threat before departing with the escaped clone ringleader.

Head of House Fell; escaped with Lilly Durona from Ryoval's house; employs the Durona Group under their founding Deal; nominally controls them but may not know they have Miles.

Killed during the raid; last person known to have had the cryo-chamber; hid it in under six minutes and died laughing, leaving a mystery.

Led the rescue patrol that retrieved Norwood's body and Tonkin but not the cryo-chamber; implicitly suggests using Mark as Miles-double.

Wounded Dendarii soldier; briefly revived to relay Norwood's last actions before losing consciousness again.

Led the successful kidnapping of Baron Bharaputra; wearily sarcastic in the debrief.

Bike-trooper whose helmet is lost in an attack; medical readouts go flatline, fate initially unknown.

Platinum-blonde body-sculpted clone rescued from Bharaputra's creche; Mark reveals the truth of her situation to her and later nearly assaults her.

ImpSec chief who grants Mark access to raw intelligence files while subtly obstructing him; grows desperate as the search stalls.

Miles's cousin who escorts Mark through Vorbarr Sultana; sardonic and resentful but pragmatically accepts Mark as a buffer against inheriting the Vorkosigan countship.

Emperor of Barrayar; formally accepts Mark's taxation proxy presentation, privately asks after Mark's wellbeing, and gently urges him to draw on the Vorkosigan political credit.

Young Barrayaran woman who dances the mirror dance with Mark at the Imperial banquet, eliciting his genuine laughter and then discussing uterine replicators.

Miles's primary physician at the Durona facility; caring and attentive; responsible for his physical recovery while managing institutional pressure to accelerate his progress.

Jacksonian Great House lord; captures Mark believing him to be Admiral Naismith; conducts elaborate psychological and physical torture, studying Mark's dissociative responses.

Renegade Durona clone who sold herself to House Bharaputra; creates the cross-connection between the Durona Group and House Bharaputra; planning a clone-brain transplant.

Clone-girl living in Vasa Luigi's household, destined for brain transplant; Miles manipulates her into complicity during Rowan's absence.

Ryoval's torture technician who reports to the Baron that Mark appears to be enjoying the process and that his brain scans show an abnormal dissociation pattern.

ImpSec officer who leads the consulate squad to Ryoval's installation; skeptical of Admiral Naismith's mercenary status.

Barrayaran industrialist; engages Mark in a lengthy conversation about high-growth economic sectors at the Winterfair Ball.