- "Arde Mayhew may still be in the Brotherhood, but he's two years in arrears on his dues, his license is on shaky ground already, and frankly, I think this episode is going to cook it. The whole point of this bananarama in the first place is that once the last of the RG ships goes for scrap," the pilot officer nodded toward the bulky civilian, "he isn't going to be a pilot anymore. He's been medically rejected for a new implant—it wouldn't do him any good even if he had the money. And I know damn well he doesn't. He tried to borrow rent money from me last week. At least, he said it was for rent. More likely for that swill he drinks."
- ―Arde's lifestyle[src]
Arde Mayhew (AHR-dee MAY-hee_oo) was a jump pilot trained in interstellar spaceflight but not cleared for passengers.
He carried Cordelia Naismith to Escobar.
Years later on Beta Colony, his ship obsolete and about to be scrapped, he held the scrappers at bay in a standoff. He was rescued by Cordelia's son Miles Vorkosigan and ended up becoming one of the founding members of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet.
After his RG 132 took damage to its Necklin rods during the Tau Verde Ring War, he was no longer able to perform wormhole jumps. Instead, he remained with the Dendarii doing shuttle piloting.
Incidents from his youth[]
- He apparently smuggled cordolite on at least one occasion before he carried Cordelia Naismith to Escobar.
- He had an accident with cargo on an RG 88 in which dal bags got wet, swelled up, and split a bulkhead.
Appearances[]
- Shards of Honor chapter 13
- The Warrior's Apprentice
- The Vor Game chapters 10,11,13
- "Winterfair Gifts"
Behind the scenes[]
- While text does not make clear that Pilot Officer Mayhew from Shards of Honor is the same person as the Arde Mayhew from the later books, Lois Bujold has stated they are. See dendarii.com's faq.
- The incident with dal bags swelling and splitting a bulkhead is similar to an event in the Horatio Hornblower stories in which rice bags did similar damage to a ship, resulting in its sinking.