- "The Marilacans aren't paying sufficient attention to their own wormhole nexus maps," Vorob'yev went on. "They imagine they are at a natural border. But if Marilac were directly held by Cetaganda, the next jump would bring them to Zoave Twilight, with all its cross-routes, and a whole new region for Cetagandan expansion. Marilac is in exactly the same relationship to the Zoave Twilight crossings as Vervain is to the Hegen Hub, and we all know what happened there."
- ―Vorob'yev discusses Marilac's astrography[src]
The planet Marilac (MAA-rih-laak) had two wormhole exits that led from it; one connected to Xi Ceta, one of the eight satrapy planets in the Cetagandan Empire and the other connected to Zoave Twilight, which was a major Nexus crossroads. Astrographically, its placement in the wormhole Nexus was extremely similar to Vervain's.[1][2] The Garson Transfer Station and Vassily Station were in or near Marilacan space.[3]
Climate[]
The planet is never seen directly in the Saga. However, some deductions are possible:
- A place called Port Lisma was on the planet; this suggests that there was a significant amount of liquid water on the planet's surface.[3]
- Fire gems could be found on Marilac; people dug up a mountain to get at them under broiling sun, and some were practically naked as they did so. This strongly suggests a breathable atmosphere, some kind of plate tectonics, and places where the temperatures could be hot, but not dreadfully so.[3]
History[]
In the early years of The Vorkosigan Saga, the Marilacans tried to prevent the Cetagandans from invading them by declaring themselves to be allies with Cetaganda and by accepting considerable amounts of aid from them.[1]
The strategy failed when the Cetagandan Empire invaded anyway. Over a period of roughly five years, the Marilacans were given considerable aid in their resistance by the Barrayaran Imperium acting covertly through the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. They regained their freedom towards the beginning of the events of Mirror Dance.[4]
The people of Marilac made a holovid, The Greatest Escape, to commemorate the escape of 10000 of their people from a Dagoola prison camp[5]; according to Commodore Tung of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, this was the third largest prisoner escape in history.[6]
Some groups who battled particularly hard against the Cetagandan invaders include[3]:
- Winoweh's 2nd Battalion
- 14th Commandos, who fought to guard the fortress at Fallow Core
- 3rd Armored All-Terrain Rangers
- 4th Armored All-Terrain Rangers
- Civilian defenders of Garson Transfer Station
People from Marilac[]
- Bernaux, the ambassador to Eta Ceta[7]
- Sergeant Beatrice[3]
- Sergeant Oliver[3]
- Lieutenant Suegar[3]
- Lieutenant Tris[3]
- Colonel Guy Tremont[3]
- General Xian[3]
- Baneri[3]
- Liant - a prisoner at Dagoola[3]
- Pel - a prisoner at Dagoola[3]
- Pitt - a prisoner at Dagoola[3]