The Sabotage Investigation

Miles’s concern for Illyan becomes an independent inquiry that uncovers a concealed biological attack inside the organization he once served.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

An Unusual Call

The Wrong Mission A false present Illyan calls Miles with what sounds like a current plan to free a prisoner from Dagoola IV. The operation actually belongs to an earlier period, showing that the chief is not merely forgetting details but confusing entire eras. A warning ignored Miles alerts Haroche, then receives no timely response. The call convinces him that Illyan’s condition is more serious than the cautious official summaries suggest.

A Crisis in the Briefing Room

The Chief Breaks Down Public evidence Illyan’s speech loses coherence during a senior staff briefing. He believes the organization faces an old invasion crisis, resists medical intervention, and has to be restrained after fighting his colleagues. Institutional consequence Haroche assumes the chief’s duties, but his response is slow and security-focused. The breakdown turns a private medical emergency into a question about who now controls ImpSec and how reliably its leadership can act.

Miles Becomes Auditor

Authority Outside the Chain An independent mandate Gregor appoints Miles acting Imperial Auditor after Haroche blocks him from seeing Illyan and obtaining information. The appointment gives him legal authority to examine the case rather than relying on old rank or personal appeals. A broader investigation Miles requests access to Illyan, the medical staff, and the underlying records. What began as a demand for humane treatment now has the reach of an official audit.

The Evidence-Room Anomaly

A False Trail Appears The altered record In the evidence-room log, Miles finds a record claiming he visited on the day he returned from his mission. He knows he did not enter the room, and discovers that the building’s exit record was changed to support the invented visit. A wider compromise The missing video cartridge makes the discrepancy more than a clerical error. Miles seals the room, orders an independent inventory, and alerts Haroche that ImpSec’s internal security system has been manipulated.

The Filter-Room Arrest

The Physical Trace Reconstructing delivery With Weddell’s detection solution, Miles demonstrates that the prokaryote’s delivery particles can be trapped in ventilation filters. He moves from the evidence room to the locations Illyan commonly visited. The culprit exposed Haroche leaves the search and is caught trying to exchange the filter in his former office. The glowing residue connects the attack to the place where he released it and ends Miles’s search for the saboteur.

Several weeks after Illyan’s first subtle memory errors

The following day at ImpSec headquarters

A few days after Illyan is confined in the clinic

During Miles’s fourth day of inspecting ImpSec departments

On the evening Miles tests the ImpSec air filters