The Warrior's Apprentice recap

Miles Vorkosigan fails Barrayar's officer-candidacy physical, then travels to Beta Colony and turns a desperate ship purchase into a covert arms run. His invented Dendarii Mercenaries capture Oseran ships and a refinery, survive Pelian attacks, and break the Tau Verde IV blockade by undermining Oser's payroll. Bothari is fatally shot when Elena Visconti confronts him over alleged crimes during the Escobaran war, leaving Elena Bothari's possible maternity unresolved. Elena rejects Miles's proposal and chooses Baz Jesek; Miles recognizes their betrothal and leaves them in command of the Dendarii. He returns to Barrayar to face a usurpation charge, exposes Vordrozda's conspiracy, and is acquitted. Gregor Vorbarra secretly converts the Dendarii into crown troops under Imperial Security. After burying Bothari, Miles enters the Imperial Service Academy and proves his command experience during a hazardous orbital drill.

Previously: Miles Vorkosigan is the physically fragile heir of a powerful Barrayaran family. His father, Aral Vorkosigan, serves as Prime Minister after having been Lord Regent, while his Betan-born mother, Cordelia Naismith, brings an outsider's perspective to Barrayaran society. The family is committed to the young emperor Gregor Vorbarra, whose security and independence remain politically important. Miles's grandfather, Count Vorkosigan, is an aging former soldier whose early doubts about his damaged grandson's inheritance have become part of the family's history. Bothari serves the Vorkosigans and is father to Elena Bothari, whose future is shaped by Barrayaran restrictions on women. Miles has grown up among soldiers and public obligations while living with the lasting effects of prenatal poisoning. Aral's political opponent Vorhalas remains part of the Council landscape, and Illyan serves within Imperial Security. These inherited loyalties place Miles inside the wider responsibilities and rivalries surrounding the Vorkosigan name.

Miles's attempt to enter Imperial service ends when he jumps from an obstacle-course wall and breaks both legs, failing the physical examination. His grandfather soon dies, making Aral the new Count Vorkosigan. Miles and Elena investigate her unknown mother and discover that Elena was released as an infant from a secret military uterine-replicator project after Escobar, but the records do not identify her mother or support Bothari's account of a fatal flyer accident. Political concerns also surround the family: Cordelia warns that Vordrozda is cultivating influence over Gregor Vorbarra. Aral sends Miles to Beta Colony, accompanied by Elena and Bothari, after their search on Escobar produces nothing. On Beta Colony, Miles intervenes when unemployed jump pilot Arde Mayhew barricades himself in an obsolete freighter. Miles buys the ship with a debt secured against damaged inherited land and accepts Mayhew's oath as an armsman, gaining a pilot and command responsibility while taking on a substantial financial obligation.

Seeking money to repay his ship debt, Miles finds a lucrative cargo bound for the Tau Verde IV war zone and realizes it conceals weapons. He recruits fugitive Barrayaran deserter and engineer Baz Jesek, then presents himself to Felician operative Carl Daum as the mercenary commander Mr. Naismith. The supposedly established Dendarii Mercenaries begin as an invention covering a single blockade run. Miles commits nearly all available money, brings Elena and Bothari, and evades an embassy attempt to seize Baz. An Oseran boarding party searches the freighter without finding the weapons, but Captain Auson's effort to take Elena sparks a fight. Miles's small group captures the boarders and then their cruiser. Bothari's brutal removal of a prisoner's pilot implant secures access codes but contributes to the prisoner's death, which Miles accepts as his command responsibility. Unable to confine the larger captured crew, Miles stages an inspection, exposes their poor discipline, and claims their contracts have transferred to the Dendarii. He assigns ranks, training, and duties under Elena, Bothari, and Baz, turning the fiction into a precarious working organization.

Miles detects a Pelian trap at a refinery and has his improvised force counter-ambush the station. When an Oseran warship arrives, Arde Mayhew rams it with the freighter, helping secure the refinery but bending the freighter's jump-drive rods beyond practical repair. Miles now controls ships, prisoners, and personnel without a working jump ship or reliable payroll. A Pelian attack kills Carl Daum, while Captain Tung and several prisoners escape. General Halify then hires the Dendarii to break the Oseran blockade. Miles accepts despite lacking the force for a direct victory. The Dendarii repel another Pelian attack and capture a weapon whose effect can bypass ordinary shielding. Tung later returns with most of his people after Oser fails to honor his contract, and roughly one hundred additional recruits reach the refinery. Among them is Escobaran technician Elena Visconti. Miles privately considers her a possible match for Elena Bothari's unknown mother. Visconti confronts Bothari and accuses him of wartime torture. She shoots him, and he dies from the wounds; Miles stops Elena Bothari from retaliating and reports the shooting as an accident. The possible maternal connection and Visconti's accusation remain unconfirmed.

Bothari dies, and Miles's grief and untreated ulcer leave him unable to lead. Elena rejects his marriage proposal, refusing to let his Barrayaran future define her, and confirms her commitment to Baz. Returning to command, Miles decides to attack the financial bond between Oser and the Pelians instead of the fleet itself. The Dendarii intercept payroll deliveries and corrupt an electronic transfer. Miles suffers a severe internal hemorrhage during the decisive assault, but Elena takes command and completes the operation while Baz's team credits Oser's account far beyond the intended amount. Oser refuses repayment, independent captains depart, and he ultimately surrenders his remaining fleet into the Dendarii. Ivan Vorpatril arrives with news that an Imperial courier sent for Miles has vanished and that Barrayar is charging Miles over his private army. Miles infers that the courier crew was murdered and suspects Vordrozda and an Imperial procurement admiral. He formally recognizes Elena and Baz's betrothal, appoints them to lead the Dendarii, and sends the fleet away from Tau Verde IV. Carrying Bothari's coffin, he leaves with Ivan for Beta Colony and then Barrayar to face the charge.

On Beta Colony, Miles arranges reconstructive care for a badly injured Dendarii mercenary, settles his debts, and learns that the accusation has become intent to usurp Gregor Vorbarra rather than the easier-to-prove private-army violation. He and Ivan reach the Council of Counts while Vordrozda is using Miles's absence as evidence of guilt. Miles accuses the Imperial procurement admiral of sabotaging the missing courier. Abandoned by Vordrozda, the admiral implicates him; Vordrozda draws a needler before Gregor and is arrested. Miles gives Gregor, Aral, Ivan, and selected counts an honest account of the Dendarii campaign. Gregor accepts that Miles did not seek the throne. Vorhalas agrees not to pursue the remaining private-army issue, and the Council unanimously acquits Miles. Gregor quietly assigns the Dendarii to Imperial Security as covert crown troops, preserving the force and its concealed allegiance. Miles buries Bothari at Vorkosigan Surleau and enters the Imperial Service Academy. During an orbital emergency drill, he recognizes that the available masks are unsafe, improvises an oxygen supply, and closes a damaged coolant line. The shuttle returns safely, and Kostolitz begins to revise his hostile judgment of Miles.

Miles reaches the Council of Counts in time to answer the claim that his mercenary force was intended to overthrow Gregor Vorbarra. The Imperial procurement admiral implicates Vordrozda, who is arrested after drawing a weapon in Gregor's presence. Gregor accepts Miles's account, the Council acquits him, and Vorhalas agrees not to revive the separate private-army charge. Gregor preserves the Dendarii by making them covert crown troops assigned to Imperial Security, with their Barrayaran allegiance concealed. Baz Jesek remains their operational commander, with Elena Bothari as executive officer and trainee; their betrothal has Miles's formal recognition. Arde Mayhew searches for components that might restore the disabled RG-132, while Elena Visconti wants no renewed contact with Elena Bothari and the question of their relationship remains open. Illyan awaits trial despite Aral's belief in his loyalty. Miles brings Bothari home for burial at Vorkosigan Surleau, then begins Imperial Service Academy training. In the final drill, he saves his shuttle crew and begins to overcome Kostolitz's hostility.