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Apologies. For what?

Hm. I can only speculate. [The voice was disarming, far more than it should be. He knows, absolutely that this isn't who it sounds like, but it's harder to convince simple instinctual reactions anything to do with logic.

Still... private affairs and interpersonal dynamics were another thing entirely... And one he was never particularly good at to begin with.] Either way, I expect it will be quite a bit more regulated now.

Yeah, it will be.

[ And...it's strange. Aral Vorkosigan's manner is...It's not that he's easy to talk to or anything like that. He's gruff. But he's also to the point. Talking to him feels like talking business. It's disarming. So with blunt honesty, the clone says: ]

His habit of just treating the company funds like he would treat his own funds makes the books really messy. Clear revenue flows, clear expenditure flows. That lets you see where costs can be eliminated and a better profit turned. [ And, with less concern than he should probably show, he adds: ] Besides, it's sort of embezzlement.

[There's a faint dismissive sound at embezzlement.] I can't imagine any shareholders pressing charges there.

Ah, as for the cost report- I wasn't aware they made a profit at all.

[ Dismissively: ] They barely do.

But they will.

You sound confident. Your plan?

[ He grunts. ]

To do the job they hired me for. And do it well. That's it. It's not going to take any dramatic overhauls to change their profit structure. It's just going to take a number of small changes.

[ A little sardonically: ]

Not every problem needs to be solved by Miles Vorkosigan-level brilliance. Sometimes it can be solved by competence.

[ And then he remembers who he's talking to and snaps his mouth shut. ]

[Amazingly enough....................... dry humor meets the comment instead of that deadly whisper. The tone is exceptionally fond, but the talk is definitely shit.]

Ah. I see you've been working with him directly.

Uh -

[ He swallows nervously, trying to figure out what that tone is. He...never really heard that tone while being forced to listen to Vorkosigan's public speeches. It's...friendly? Good-humored? Maybe? But he just insulted Vorkosigan's beloved son... ]

Yeah. I mean - Yeah. I could be wrong, I don't know him that well, but he does seem to think that...he can provide the inspiration and everyone else will just take care of the shitwork.

[There's a pause here. The young man (with Miles' voice) seemed to have found a line drawn, a boundary, and shoved at it.

It was intensely familiar. His tone is far drier this time.]

Hm. Mr. Kane, have you ever had a commanding officer?

What?

[ Terror lances through him. All of it, held at bay while they settled into a relatively harmonious conversation, flooding back hard and bitter and cold. Shit - why would he ask that? What does he know? What has he figured out?

He forces himself to speak. ]

Uh, no...No. I'm, uh, not military.

[There is a pause here, a brief wonder, taken, considered and decided he didn't have enough specific background on it to put a thumb on... and just continues, mildly.]

I ask because it's a common complaint in the lower ranks or from those who watch from the outside. There's more work to it, and some dash of art, than it appears.

Oh -

[ Right. Right. That's it. He just thinks like a military man. Sure. So the question is pretty natural, pretty understandable...Sure. He swallows. ]

Uh. Yeah. I expect that, uh, business isn't that different from the military in that regard. The people who tell you what to do always make things a bit harder.

Ah. Good luck with that.

Good luck? With - um - business?

That, certainly.

Though, in finding one devoid of people telling you what to do as well.

Oh - oh.

[ Right. ]

Well, uh...You found that, didn't you?

[There's a pause here.]

How so?

Well, uh - um. [ Was that...a bad thing to say? What was that pause? Why did he pause? ] You're an admiral, aren't you?

[There's another pause... longer before there's a bark of an actual laugh.]

Good god, boy. Do you think because your orders are coming from someone further away they're less someone telling you what to do? I'll admit, they get a bit more flexible the more wormhole jumps you are between them and you.

[ Did he just - call him - boy? That - what? Why? That's not how you...address professional associates. Right? It - Is it meant as an insult? No, he doesn't think so - Vorkosigan's voice is gruff, but not angry or sarcastic or demeaning. And he laughed. Laughed for real. Is he...confused, maybe? Has he forgotten that he's not talking to his son? No, his accent is all wrong...

Hurghhh. ]

But - it's just the Emperor telling you what to do, isn't it?

It's the most important voice, certainly. But there's Ministries with agendas, restrictions on supplies and manpower. Policial parties, who will have pressure and stakes in the outcome. Individual Counts pushing for family achievements... it's a layer of strategy on top of the battles assigned.

[The voice remains curt and gruff, but the cadence is measured and patient, rightfully as one explaining to an outworlder, and simplified as such. There's a bite of exasperation but it's aimed for the necessity than the listener.

There was an age when he didn't give two damns about the political side of strategy. Those were long gone, the scars and old rivalries permanent from them.]

[ A slight hesitation. ]

You, uh...I'm sure you have ways of getting around the restrictions on supplies, at least. Right?

These days, at least.

Not before?

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