Booklog 43/2022: Lois McMaster Bujold: Komarr - Vorkosigan #11

[jacey]

Komarr was conquered by Barrayar before Miles was born. It's of strategic importance since it guards the only wormhole which leads to Barrayar. The planet itself is inhospitable to humankind and the population lives beneath a series of domes. When part of the solar array that provides power for the planet's terraforming project is destroyed, Miles, newly appointed Imperial Auditor, and Auditor Vorthys, engineering specialist, are sent to assess the situation. They stay at the home of Vorthys' neice, Ekaterin Vorsoisson, her nine year old son, Nikki, and her husband, Tien, a mid-level beaurocrat who works for the terraforming project. Ekaterin's marriage is crumbling and it turns out that her husband, up to his ears in debt, has been taking bribes from a bunch of Komarran patriots who've been engineering a wormhole collapser, intending to isolate Barrayar forever. Tien tries to inform against the terrorists, but his plan goes awry and he dies when he is tied up outside with his breath mask running out of oxygen. The conspirators kidnap Ekaterin and Vothys' wife while trying to use their weapon (which would be likely to blow them up).. Ekaterin manages to destroy it. Miles has been gently falling in love with Ekaterin thoughout the book, but decides to bide his time (which leads directly to the next book, A Civil Campaign). I've been re-listening to the Vorkosigan books via Audible (not necessarily in the correct order) and thoroughly enjoying them.