[ Shit shit shit shit. Shit. Fuck. Terror sparks two conflicting impulses in him: to flip the table and run far, run fast, and to sit in a frozen rictus of terror. Option B wins out; his eyes go a little wide, and he sits, paralyzed, terrified, at the sound of that name.
How does that name hold so much power over him? He'd just heard it two or three times from a woman who might well have been lying. A woman who, in all likelihood, was a liar - the Countess Vorkosigan, no friend to him, probably misleading him in an attempt to suborn him. Right? And yet already, just having heard it two or three times, it's taken root in his imagination. Mark Pierre Vorkosigan. The formidable businessman. Who has a brother. Parents. A family. A life. Whom Miles is jealous of, in his own way...It has power enough already to freeze him to his chair.
A few full moments pass before finally, finally, an awkward laugh looses from his throat. ]
[ Well, the fact that Duv managed to render him speechless proves he isn't Miles. Among other things.
No stunner has been drawn, though he's not entirely convinced he's out of the danger zone yet. How skittish is Mark? And what does he remember? If only his damn age were easier to tell, he might be able to decipher where they stand better. Though at any point Duv remembers hasn't been a good one for him and "Mark."
He waits until the man has found his voice again before shaking his head. ]
Countess Vorkosigan told me you were here. I have a feeling you already knew of my presence. [ What with the surprise stunner fire mere hours of his arrival. ]
[ Why even try? Because he has to. Because he's afraid of what David Galen - David Galen, the son of Ser Galen - will do if it's truly confirmed...Whose side is he on? Ser Galen thought that he could bring David to the Komarrans. For his part, the clone wasn't so sure. Which would be more dangerous to him - a David loyal to Barrayar, or to Komarr? Maybe he's just waiting to make sure it's not really Miles before he breaks his neck...Revenge for shooting him, maybe.
[ Captain Galen? That's a name he's heard all too recently, though not in reference to him, thankfully. It's one he left behind him when he had the chance. All of that had been laid to rest on Komarr in the wake of the Solstice Massacre.
But if Mark wants to be difficult, he can handle it. He leans back in his chair, one hand resting on his coffee cup and the other on the table top.
Dryly, ] I prefer the name Duv Galeni now. I changed it a long time ago.
[ ...Shit. Another mistake. A worse mistake. Does he really go by that name? Ser Galen had never called him anything except for David - but maybe he'd wanted to assimilate, taking a Barrayaran name...It'd probably be smart for his career, at least.
The clone's shoulders slump in defeat. His voice becomes a mumble. ]
[ He takes a sip of his coffee and considers how much he wants to tell Mark. It's becoming more and more obvious that he's as clueless about Duv as Miles is.
But Mark is the one who finally put an end to that misery of a past. ]
After I left Komarr and went to Barrayar. When I thought my father had died and could no longer stop me.
[ What do you say to that? He honestly doesn't know. I saw my estranged father die. Apropos of nothing, and for no good reason, he offers a muttered - ]
Uh...sorry.
[ And he rubs his hands, awkwardly and nervously, on his knees. And then, even more awkwardly, even more nervously: ]
[ He shakes his head and raises a hand at the sympathy as if to stop it from even reaching him. ]
I'm not.
[ He had told Miles once that the day he thought his father had died was the day he felt like he had been set free. The second death of his father had brought a similar feeling back to him. But Mark...
Duv's gaze returns to the man sitting across from him. How under Galen's thumb is he? Duv can't even begin to chronicle the damage done to him by his own father, much less the damage his father has done to someone else.
He's not sure who he's trying to reassure when he says, ] You'll get away from him.
[ The clone lifts his eyes to David, studying his face a moment, trying to determine just what tone that is in his voice. Pity? Warmth? Neither of those, he thinks. Understanding? He doesn't actually know that much about David's history - just that he had been a loyal fighter for the cause, then had fled to the Barrayarans either for safety or from cowardice. It was never clear which. Had he...? Been through the same things?
He looks away, to the side. He doesn't bother to deny it this time. ]
[ Now that's a frightening thought. New time, new place, and there's one old face he hopes he never sees again. At least this time he isn't a child and is better prepared for that danger. He won't be forced down a path as easily as he had years ago.
Duv's own eyes are examining Mark. Does he want Galen to return, to give him some purpose to his time here? Duv can only hope not/
Carefully, ] If he does, he won't find any friends here.
I wish I knew. If he shows up... What? He'd stunned Galen - Galeni - in a paroxysm of terror when he'd taken him for his father. If Galen showed up in truth, would he do the same? Or would his courage have failed him by that point? He hopes, fervently, that he never finds out. He fears, terribly, that he will.
The clone gives an uncomfortable shrug. Looks away. ]
[ While Mark's eyes are wandering, Duv's stays right on him. He knows he hadn't been stunned for no reason, Galen had assumed he could pull Duv back into his plans up until he made contact.
But he knows all-too-well the hold Galen can have and Mark's in just as a precarious position as he was. There's only so much Duv can do and silence is the best gift he can offer. ]
No, not if you don't want them to know. [ A pause then, ] What are you planning on doing?
Peter. [ He says it more to test the name on his lips and nods. He can remember that. It's as much of a name as 'Mark' is.
And then his Komarran instincts kick in. He leans in slightly, both hands grasping his coffee now. ] I didn't realize there were powers that helped with business. You trade stocks?
[ He blinks, surprised to see the interest in Duv's face. And - Well. It's surprising to see an expression directed at him that isn't pity, disgust, horror, or simple dislike. Doubly surprising to see an expression that isn't any of those from a Barrayaran defector who knows all about him. ]
Yeah. I do. I have a power that lets me know whether a business is going to fail or succeed.
[ He gives a little shrug. It's just a little bit less tense than his prior shrugs. ]
The applications of that were pretty obvious. The challenge isn't making money - it's not making so much money that the SEC gets wise and starts trying to regulate me.
[ Duv may have spent his most recent years trying very, very hard to fit in with Barrayaran society, but some interests die hard.
He mutters with a little remorse, ] And in a nation that doesn't vote based on shareholder power.
[ The applications of that on Komarr would be far too powerful. Duv clears his throat before he continues. ] I trust that's been going well then. How long have you been at it?
[ A whole month of flying under the radar. He wonders if the Vorkosigans or Emperor have come across him at all? Besides the Countess during the trouble with their ages. He'll let that issue lie for now.
He's own expression grows amused as he imagines the chaos that would cause. ]
They haven't changed the voting system. There's been no need to take into account supernatural powers.
[ He has another sip of his coffee and considers his next question. Better to be direct about it than search for a mysterious assailant. ] You were the one that stunned me and stole my papers, correct?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 22:14 (UTC)How does that name hold so much power over him? He'd just heard it two or three times from a woman who might well have been lying. A woman who, in all likelihood, was a liar - the Countess Vorkosigan, no friend to him, probably misleading him in an attempt to suborn him. Right? And yet already, just having heard it two or three times, it's taken root in his imagination. Mark Pierre Vorkosigan. The formidable businessman. Who has a brother. Parents. A family. A life. Whom Miles is jealous of, in his own way...It has power enough already to freeze him to his chair.
A few full moments pass before finally, finally, an awkward laugh looses from his throat. ]
What am I supposed to be marking, exactly?
[ It comes out strangled, awkward. Stupid. ]
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 22:29 (UTC)No stunner has been drawn, though he's not entirely convinced he's out of the danger zone yet. How skittish is Mark? And what does he remember? If only his damn age were easier to tell, he might be able to decipher where they stand better. Though at any point Duv remembers hasn't been a good one for him and "Mark."
He waits until the man has found his voice again before shaking his head. ]
Countess Vorkosigan told me you were here. I have a feeling you already knew of my presence. [ What with the surprise stunner fire mere hours of his arrival. ]
She told me not to mention you to the others.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 22:33 (UTC)The grin that the clone gives feels awful. ]
Captain Galen, I'm really not sure what you mean.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 22:38 (UTC)But if Mark wants to be difficult, he can handle it. He leans back in his chair, one hand resting on his coffee cup and the other on the table top.
Dryly, ] I prefer the name Duv Galeni now. I changed it a long time ago.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:28 (UTC)The clone's shoulders slump in defeat. His voice becomes a mumble. ]
How long ago?
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:34 (UTC)But Mark is the one who finally put an end to that misery of a past. ]
After I left Komarr and went to Barrayar. When I thought my father had died and could no longer stop me.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:37 (UTC)Thought he'd died. You know your father isn't dead, then.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:45 (UTC)He is from where I stand, years later than it should have been. This time I saw it.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:48 (UTC)[ What do you say to that? He honestly doesn't know. I saw my estranged father die. Apropos of nothing, and for no good reason, he offers a muttered - ]
Uh...sorry.
[ And he rubs his hands, awkwardly and nervously, on his knees. And then, even more awkwardly, even more nervously: ]
He's still alive. For me.
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Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:52 (UTC)I'm not.
[ He had told Miles once that the day he thought his father had died was the day he felt like he had been set free. The second death of his father had brought a similar feeling back to him. But Mark...
Duv's gaze returns to the man sitting across from him. How under Galen's thumb is he? Duv can't even begin to chronicle the damage done to him by his own father, much less the damage his father has done to someone else.
He's not sure who he's trying to reassure when he says, ] You'll get away from him.
no subject
Date: 5 Apr 2016 23:59 (UTC)He looks away, to the side. He doesn't bother to deny it this time. ]
That's what Countess Vorkosigan said, too.
[ He gives an uncertain shrug. ]
But he might show up here. I keep waiting for it.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:07 (UTC)Duv's own eyes are examining Mark. Does he want Galen to return, to give him some purpose to his time here? Duv can only hope not/
Carefully, ] If he does, he won't find any friends here.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:13 (UTC)I wish I knew. If he shows up... What? He'd stunned Galen - Galeni - in a paroxysm of terror when he'd taken him for his father. If Galen showed up in truth, would he do the same? Or would his courage have failed him by that point? He hopes, fervently, that he never finds out. He fears, terribly, that he will.
The clone gives an uncomfortable shrug. Looks away. ]
So are you going to tell them?
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:36 (UTC)But he knows all-too-well the hold Galen can have and Mark's in just as a precarious position as he was. There's only so much Duv can do and silence is the best gift he can offer. ]
No, not if you don't want them to know. [ A pause then, ] What are you planning on doing?
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:42 (UTC)I don't give a damn about Galen's plans. I'm not doing anything to advance them.
[ Then, a bit less fiercely: ]
I just want to survive here.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:53 (UTC)He offers, ] This is a good place to start over.
[ Much like Barrayar had been for him, though Mark has the benefit of the real ImpSec not being here to breath down the clone's neck. ]
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 00:59 (UTC)[ He fiddles with his fork a moment. And he offers, awkwardly: ]
I go by Peter. Peter Kane. I work in business. Stocks, specifically. I'm making a lot of money - I got a power from the Porter that helps with that.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 01:05 (UTC)And then his Komarran instincts kick in. He leans in slightly, both hands grasping his coffee now. ] I didn't realize there were powers that helped with business. You trade stocks?
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 01:13 (UTC)Yeah. I do. I have a power that lets me know whether a business is going to fail or succeed.
[ He gives a little shrug. It's just a little bit less tense than his prior shrugs. ]
The applications of that were pretty obvious. The challenge isn't making money - it's not making so much money that the SEC gets wise and starts trying to regulate me.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 01:17 (UTC)He mutters with a little remorse, ] And in a nation that doesn't vote based on shareholder power.
[ The applications of that on Komarr would be far too powerful. Duv clears his throat before he continues. ] I trust that's been going well then. How long have you been at it?
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 01:22 (UTC)[ And then, reluctantly, his mouth curls up in a tiny half-smile. It goes away at once, but there it was - a genuine sign of amusement. ]
I hadn't thought of that. I could take over Komarr with this power, couldn't I?
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 02:01 (UTC)He's own expression grows amused as he imagines the chaos that would cause. ]
They haven't changed the voting system. There's been no need to take into account supernatural powers.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 02:12 (UTC)Fortunately, I have about as much of a desire to rule Komarr as I do to rule Barrayar.
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Date: 6 Apr 2016 03:08 (UTC)[ He has another sip of his coffee and considers his next question. Better to be direct about it than search for a mysterious assailant. ] You were the one that stunned me and stole my papers, correct?
no subject
Date: 6 Apr 2016 03:12 (UTC)Uh.
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