Archived on the memory ship of Simon Illyan as he stood outside a private meeting between Ezar Vorbarra and Aral Vorkosigan:
ARAL: I won't do it, sir!
EZAR: Aral, you have no choice. What is the alternative—civil war as soon as I die?
ARAL: (Whispers something inaudible)
EZAR: There are things more important than honor, boy. No doubt you'll learn that one day.
ARAL: I won't actively work against your plans, sir, but you'll have to find someone else to be your puppet.
EZAR: (Laughter, which turns into coughing) My puppet? But you are sworn to serve me.
ARAL: To serve you and Barrayar, sir. Not to participate in a plan that could—no, iwill/i lead to the deaths of thousands of Barrayaran soldiers, just so that you can kill your son in the most politically convenient way!
Excerpt from the script of The Thin Blue Line, a film based on the Barrayaran invasion of Escobar:
Setting: Escobaran shuttle.
SOLDIER 1: We're doing it! We're driving those bastards off*!
SOLDIER 2: There's the Prince's flagship! Fire on it!
SOLDIER 1: (Disappointed) No, it's no good. The coward's retreating.
(Barrayaran ships are shown fleeing into the wormhole. See storyboards.)
VOICEOVER: And so, while Prince Serg and the Butcher of Komarr survived, the vicious Barrayaran invaders were driven off, at the cost of many brave lives.
* "Those bastards" may be changed to "them." What rating are we going for?
Imperial Order signed by Emperor Serg Vorbarra three days after his ascension:
By the order of His Imperial Majesty Serg Vorbarra, Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan is to be executed for the murder of Ges Vorrutyer.
Letter smuggled from Aral Vorkosigan to Cordelia Vorkosigan:
Dearest Cordelia,
I am no good at writing letters, I am terrified for you, and I don't have much time, so let me say this: when we married, dear Captain, I swore an oath to protect you. I failed such an oath once. I won't again.
I love you completely.
Aral
Imperial Order signed by Emperor Serg Vorbarra six days after his ascension:
By the order of His Imperial Majesty Serg Vorbarra, Aral Vorkosigan is to be arrested for planning and aiding in the escape of convicted murderer Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan. Anyone found helping either of the two will face charges of treason.
Excerpt from the fastpenta interrogation of an Mik Tver, a hillman from the Dendarii Mountains:
INTERROGATOR: Have you seen Aral Vorkosigan or his wife?
TVER: When I was going out to collect firewood, I saw a couple of people going through the woods—man, woman. On some good-looking horses. Beautiful, looked like maybe Arab cross—
INTERROGATOR: About the man and the woman…
TVER: Red hair—the woman I mean. It was almost dark, hard to see, couldn't tell for sure. The man was short, dark hair.
INTERROGATOR: Could you tell where they were going?
TVER: Couldn't say. There's a big entrance to the caves in the area—my likes to climb around in there. Liked, I mean. Do you know they're gonna do to my family?
INTERROGATOR: Stay on the subject. Is there anything else you know?
TVER: That's all I can think of…
Letter carried by Kly the Mail from Aral Vorkosigan to Piotr Vorkosigan five months after Emperor Serg's ascension:
Father,
We're in the caves. It's best that I not tell you where. I'm sure you understand. For now, Cordelia and I are both safe. We're looking for a place that she can stay—traveling has become too hard with her pregnancy.
On that note, I have my family worry about. I am not going to get involved in your pet civil war. I don't care what idiotic policies Serg has, I won't get dragged in.
Aral
Journal entry by Cordelia Vorkosigan, 7 months after Emperor Serg's ascension:
Little Piotr Miles had to say goodbye to his father today. He's far too young to understand about Aral leaving, of course. Even being an outlaw wasn't enough to keep Aral from being forced into damned Barrayaran politics. It was inevitable. He blames himself for not going along with the old Emperor's plan, and we've heard enough of the outside world that I can understand why. But who knows what would have happened then? He wouldn't be the same man he is today. Of course, if that meant he were here, I'm not sure that would be a bad thing.
Miles is fascinated by the goats here. I'm glad he can't crawl yet, or he'd be climbing all over them. I have gotten over the delightful quaintness of country living. Now I just want a heated shower. As wonderful as being outside, really truly outside is, I would gladly live under a dome if it meant having access to technology. Aral says that if—or when—open war breaks out we may be able to shelter in an ally's place or even Count Piotr's house by the lake.
God, how terrible of me. Thinking of war that way: something that we can benefit from. The blood of soldiers—practically boys—for my hot shower. No doubt Lady Bathory would approve. Lady Bathory would like Barrayar.
I'm rambling. It must be a coping mechanism to keep from thinking about Aral, just like writing this keeps me from going insane with hardly anyone to talk to. And now I have to hope that the people he's meeting with really are potential allies and not spies. I hate waiting.
Notes by Aral Vorkosigan from a meeting with several reasonably high-ranking lords and officials:
Vortala – On our side, already mostly convinced it's what Ezar would have wanted
Vorpatril – Wavering
Vorsmythe – On our side, if we can convince him it'll help modernization/industrialization
Vorhalas – On our side.
Vordrozda – Half-dead. His son will do anything that gets him ahead.
Coffee – Terrible.
Vordarian – Close "friends" with the Empress, so he's no friend to Serg. Not to be trusted, but may be useful.
Excerpt from The History of Barrayar:
The first year after Serg Vorbarra's ascension to the throne of Barrayar saw the first stirrings of civil war. The former Admiral Aral Vorkosigan, who was still an outlaw at this point, is believed to have first made contact with the people he would later lead against Serg's reign. Likewise, the first Counts who rebelled began to come out more strongly against Serg's policies.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why the opposition to Serg became so strong so quickly. Certainly much of the military was less than pleased with his conduct during the invasion of Escobar and generally credited Vorkosigan with keeping the failed invasion from becoming a slaughter; by the time he freed his wife from prison and escaped with her into the Dendarii Mountains, many of them were ready to follow him instead. The rumors of insanity and perversion about Serg horrified the upper class, who were in a position to hear them, and his more conservative policies, particularly after his father, displeased the common folk.
However, it was not until later that war truly broke out.