Miles Vorkosigan’s Collapse and Dismissal

This thread follows Miles from a seizure that exposes the cost of hiding his illness to the loss of the military identity he tried to preserve.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Rescue Mission Seizure

A Medical Secret Becomes Operational The attack Miles loses consciousness during a hostage rescue, and his combat suit turns its plasma arc on Lieutenant Vorberg. The seizure makes a private neurological problem an immediate danger to his squad and the person they are trying to save. The reckoning Quinn explains the injury after Miles wakes. His effort to resume command cannot undo what happened, and the incident establishes that his condition has consequences beyond his own body.

The Concealed Diagnosis

Concealment Under Pressure A private calculation Miles admits that the seizures began after his cryogenic revival but were never reported to his ImpSec physicians. He fears that disclosure will end his field career, so he has relied on a Dendarii surgeon and medication instead. A growing risk The new attack disproves his belief that the episodes have passed. By concealing the condition from Quinn and his superiors, he has made himself the last person to judge whether he is fit for duty.

The Falsified Report

A Lie Put on Record The edited account Back aboard the fleet, Miles considers describing the injury as a suit malfunction. He knows the full armor recordings will reveal what happened, yet he experiments with a version that removes his seizure from the report. The ethical breach He submits the false account rather than the complete record. The choice converts fear of losing his career into a documented betrayal of the people who relied on his command.

The Confrontation with Illyan

The Evidence Arrives Judgment Simon Illyan confronts Miles with the concealed medical records and falsified mission report. He offers a quiet medical discharge, but makes clear that the documented deception could support a far harsher outcome. The end of service Miles rejects the chance to defend himself publicly and resigns. His seizure during the meeting leaves him shaken, but the dismissal is rooted in his own choice to conceal and falsify.

The New Career Threshold

From Discharge to Office A different appointment After solving the sabotage, Miles is offered the vacant position of Chief of Imperial Security and declines it. He recognizes that the office would return him to a life of routine command and institutional confinement. A chosen responsibility The Auditors instead offer him a permanent place among them. His career continues, but no longer through the military role he tried to save by hiding his illness.

At the opening mission near Zoave Twilight

Immediately after the rescue and during the return to Barrayar

During the days after the Zoave Twilight operation

Several weeks after Miles returns to Vorbarr Sultana

Near the novel’s conclusion