MoM Application

[komarran]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Manda
AGE: 25
JOURNAL: topsecretgirly
IM / EMAIL: topsecretgirly@gmail.com
PLURK: topsecretgirly
RETURNING: Yes, I have one character (Agent Texas from Red vs. Blue)

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Duv Galeni (born David Galen)
CHARACTER AGE: 32
SERIES: The Vorkosigan Saga
CHRONOLOGY: Post-Brother in Arms
CLASS: Hero.
HOUSING: With his castmates in DC7 if possible!

BACKGROUND:
David/Duv's Wikia page. While David is an Imperial Subject of Barrayar, his home planet is a more recent addition to the Empire. For general information on it, here is Komarr's Wikia page. Komarr was taken over due to its access to vital wormhole jumps and the fact that they allowed the Cetagandan Empire to easily invade Barrayar shortly after Barrayar was rediscovered by the rest of the galaxy. Once Cetaganda had been beaten back, Barrayar came after Komarr with the fury of a thousand suns and integration of Komarr into the Empire has been a slow and cautious process.

The Barrayaran invasion of Komarr happened during David's youth. Komarr's legislation, comprised of 200 Counselors, surrendered to Barrayaran forces (headed by Admiral Aral Vorkosigan) on the promise that they would be granted a peaceful surrender. This promise went out the window when Aral's political officer went against his orders and had Barrayaran forces massacre all the Komarran Counselors. The event became known as the Solstice Massacre and would led to the failed Komarran Revolt and a political legacy that would shadow over Komarran and Barrayaran relations.

David's place in this hot mess is as the son of future Komarran terrorist Ser Galen and nephew of Komarran Counselor Rebecca Galen. Ser Galen, angered by the death of his sister, joined the Komarran resistance. David's childhood was spent helping his father in his revolutionary efforts as his youth allowed him access to areas others might be stopped and served as Ser Galen's apprentice. Before the age of fourteen, David had been forced to assist in murder and conspiracy during the two year Komarran Revolt. By the time it ended, David had lost all his close family and used this opportunity to go off world to Barrayar for a fresh start.

On Barrayar, David changed his name to Duv Galeni in an attempt to sound more Barrayaran and earned his PhD in history, focusing his dissertation on the period of change that followed Barrayar's re-entrance to the galactic community. He began a professorship that he quickly quit when Barrayar's Imperial Service opened to Komarran recruits in an attempt to help integrate the planet further in the Empire. As a Komarran within the very structure that allowed for some social mobility on Barrayar, Duv had to work harder than others to earn his position in Imperial Security. Once assigned to that branch, he requested to be sent to Earth embassy.

His posting on Earth would have Miles Vorkosigan, son of Aral/the man dubbed the Butcher of Komarr for his part in the Solstice Massacre, dropped in his lap. Miles arrived in hopes of "vanishing" due to the Cetaganda Empire having a bounty on the head of his mercenary alter ego that Duv only learned about two seconds after Miles arrived. Cue internal screaming at not only a lack of information, but how it would look if the Butcher's son were to die under his command.

Miles' appearance on Earth would bring about a Komarran terrorist conspiracy headed by, surprise, Duv's father who had faked his death during the Revolt. During his death act, he had put in motion a plan to groom a clone of Miles to take the man's place and assassinate not only the Emperor of Barrayar, but Aral Vorkosigan in a twisted plot for revenge. Duv gets dragged into this as his father attempts to have Duv help with his plot and when refused, Duv ends up kidnapped and held captive. After spending days being tormented and interrogated, Miles lands himself in the same position. It wouldn't be until right before execution was imminent that rescue would arrive.

While the rest of the Komarran terrorists have been found and arrested, Duv's father Ser Galen and Miles' clone managed to worm their way out. Duv and Miles are drawn out by the other pair with the kidnapping of Ivan Vorpatril, Miles' cousin and an officer assigned to the Earth embassy. In the clash of the two sides, Galen orders the clone to kill Miles and Duv. Unfortunately, Miles rolled a nat 20 in persuasion and the clone turns his weapon on Galen, finally breaking both him and Duv away from their "father." The clone absconds in the confusion and Duv and Miles split up to search for both the clone and Ivan.

Eventually Duv runs back into Miles, who has found both of their objectives, and the adventure ends with them dropping the clone off at a transit station. Duv returned to his work in the embassy for a time until he received a posting with ImpSec's counterintelligence on Komarr.

PERSONALITY:
As a reformed child terrorist, Duv has seen and participated in some shit. The fact that he did not break down in his youth after his father supposedly died and instead went to great lengths to distance himself from his family, shows a mixture of resentment, resilience, and pragmatism. He was so driven to to get away from his planet of origin (and everything associated with it) that his determination allowed him to get to the capital planet in the empire, Barrayar. He wasted no time when he landed and immediately dove into academia with such intensity that he earned his PhD in Barrayaran history and landed a professorship before the age of 26.

Duv’s drive and approach to his new life stem greatly from his origins on Komarr, a planet subjugated by Barrayar due to Komarr allowing invaders through their space unhindered. This meant that everything Duv did, particularly as a son of a Komarran terrorist (only truly know to Barrayar’s version of the Secret Service), was observed closely and required him to climb uphill at a 90 degree angle while being assaulted by sharks. Given the tumultuous nature of Komarr and Barrayar’s relationship, there’s little chance that even Duv’s academic career wasn’t full of tension and a slightly hostile environment as he selected recent Barrayaran history as his focus. Yet his resolve remained to wade through the minefield and would likely have stuck it out in academia had Barrayar not opened its military to Komarrans.

Which points to Duv’s strong desire to prove himself and his loyalty to his chosen nationality that is crucial to his identity. Beneath Duv’s studious and intelligent demeanor, is a forced tie with Barrayar. His loyalty and oaths aren’t as intense as a native Barrayaran, but his pragmatic nature has him firmly believing that Komarr’s future is with full integration with the Barrayaran Empire. He saw the failure of his father’s participation (and his own forced involvement) with rebellion and the death it brought to his family. While other Komarrans of his generation hold resentment and a grudge towards the Barrayaran government, Duv has accepted Komarr’s new place in the Nexus and has devoted his adult life to fighting against barriers, both overt and cultural, placed before Komarrans.

His study of history makes him overly aware of the cultural nature of what he is up against. He has a firm understanding of how Barrayaran life has changed since re-entering the galactic community and Barrayar’s relationship with Komarr has come to its present state. This perception was encouraged by his Barrayaran education and research, and his dedication to understanding history and the larger picture continues well after he’s left academics to pave the way for Komarrans in the Imperial Service. He’s fought tooth and nail to achieve his education, despite what his father has done, and to push his way into a military career into Imperial Security, an assignment he almost didn’t get due to the security clearances he would gain. Even years after he’d maintained a clean civilian and military record, he would remain doubted by his Barrayaran superiors. It was a dynamic he was always aware of and colored his behavior, causing him to continually be aware of his actions and how they could be perceived.

Romantically, Duv won't see marriage for almost a decade nor be involved in any long-term relationships. His approach seems to be "subtle" in that he can court someone for months without them even realizing he's actually interested. His adolescence didn't lead to much in the way of romantic learning or experimenting and his focus on academia in the prime of his adulthood means he is still floundering and far from smooth. Work comes first, though he views any relationship he could have as a potential partnership, not only for companionship, but to further their life goals.

In short, Duv is a pragmatic academic that chose the harsh life of military service out of some self-punishing desire to prove his loyalty to the Barrayaran Empire through their main avenue of social advancement. He maintains a careful appearance, a dry sense of humor, and a passion for history and preservation of it that only rivals his intense desire to prove himself to his new home. This isn’t to say he’s forsaken his countrymen, rather he sides with the group that feels it’s time to bury the hatchet and take a more practical route for their planet’s survival in their new role within an outside Empire.

POWER:

Psychometry. The ability to gain knowledge of an object's history through touch. Upon touching objects, Duv is able to gain impressions of past experiences and emotions associated with them. The impressions can vary in strength from flashes of an actual moment where the object was involved to vague feelings associated with its use.

Healing. He will be able to heal through physical contact, whether it be broken bones, internal bleeding, or organ damage to less severe cuts and bruises. The power will take time for him to cultivate in order to increase what he can heal and lessen the energy cost. As he will be sharing a telepathic link with his liege-lord Emperor Gregor (who serves as a gateway to other oath-sworn links), he will be able to learn how send his healing energy through this link with greater difficulty.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE: [ Someone's been raiding the local library. This fact is evident when the video feed turns on to reveal Duv sitting at a cluttered desk. Books are spread about and he's commandeered laptop for note taking. A laptop that is currently closed in front of him.

He spends a few seconds of airtime fumbling with the comm to make sure it's in the right position and actually recording - he's adaptable, but this tech is far from familiar. Once he's sure it's broadcasting, he rests his hands in front of him and clears his throat. ]

My name is Duv Galeni and I'm a new arrival. I'm gathering context for the current state of affairs in this world. If anyone has recommended reading, I'm making a list. [ One that is already getting quite long, but he likes to know what he's walking into. ]

Additionally, I've heard many of the imPorts here were involved in recent conflicts. I've read the news reports, but felt personal accounts would give me a broader scope to see present tensions.

Any information is appreciated, thank you. [ With that, he leans over the desk and ends his broadcast. ]

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE: TDM link

FINAL NOTES: Arriving in his ImpSec uniform (complete with Horus Eye insignia pin on his collar) and a stunner from his world (nonlethal weapon, capable of incapcitating individuals, has a battery pack with limited charge)