- "On the whole, Jole liked Fyodor Haines. The general had been assigned here only two years ago, and had so far proved the plodder type of officer, counting down the bare handful of years left to his twice-twenty— which meant, in the main, that everything got done on time and without unnecessary fuss."
- ―Jole's thoughts regarding General Haines[src]
General Fyodor Haines was the commander of the military base at Kareenburg onSergyar. He was near the end of his service, skillful at accomplishing the necessary tasks on time and without trouble; he also felt no pressing need to advance himself.
His wife and oldest children chose to remain on Barrayar when he was posted on Sergyar, but his youngest daughter Frederica (Freddy) stayed with him and attended the local school. The two of them had conflicts from time to time, but it was clear they cared about each other. He did, however, have unrealistic expectations about her preferences: when she took his plasma arc sidearm on a trip into the wilderness, he complained that she was supposed to prefer dolls rather than guns. He resolved the issue by having her train to get a permit to wield one.
Personality and Appearance[]
- "Having an infant aboard is no holiday, but any man who can learn to field-strip a weapon can learn to change a damn nappie. Just handle the kid gently but firmly, like an unexploded bomb. You wonder how some of those whiners would have dealt with the old horse cavalry days—manure by the metric ton, back then. I’ve no patience with a man who’s afraid to get his hands dirty. And at least babies more-or-less stay where you put them, at that age. Now, toddlers…suicidal maniacs, the lot of ’em, boy or girl. I’m so glad that stage is over."
- ―Fyodor on fatherhood[src]
In full dress greens, he looked "broad and wall-like"; Jole considered him to be a "pretty level-headed" person who knew how to be closed-mouthed. On Cordelia's urging, Jole found out that Fyodor was also an experienced father; on learning of Jole's intent to become a single father, he mostly supported the idea. He did moan about raising teenagers, and wished uterine replicators could hold offspring til the age of 20.
- "A hint of their more complex inner world was supplied only by the fact that Fyodor kept her hand locked through his arm whenever he had the excuse, as if to anchor her there, and that he could be spotted cordially massaging the back of her neck when he thought no one was looking."
- ―Jole's observation of Fyodor reuniting with his wife[src]
He also pined for his wife and by the end of the book, his wife had indeed come out to live with him on Sergyar. She was "dumpy and frumpy and quietly decisive," but Fyodor was noticeably more relaxed with her presence.
Appearances[]
- Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, chapters 2, 4, 5, 10, Epilogue
Mentions[]
- Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, chapters 8, 9, 11, 15, 17