Miles's appointment as acting Imperial Auditor

Miles's appointment as acting Imperial Auditor gives him a formal route into the investigation of Simon Illyan's breakdown after ImpSec's command structure obstructs his efforts to see Illyan and examine the case. The appointment converts personal concern and suspicion into an official mandate: Miles can requisition the evidence ImpSec controls, while Gregor can receive an independent account of events from someone willing to challenge the institution's handling of them.

The route around ImpSec's hierarchy

Miles's request grows out of repeated efforts to reach Illyan. General Haroche has blocked him twice and threatened to have him stunned if he persists. Miles argues that he has a right to see Illyan not only as a former subordinate but as his father's son, invoking a Vor obligation that, in his view, passes around ImpSec's military hierarchy. He cannot yet say what he suspects, but refuses to wait passively while Illyan's condition remains unexplained.

His concern is informed by his own experience of cryo-amnesia. Miles understands the prospect of losing oneself internally as a source of profound isolation, and remembers that Mark, rather than the people around him, forced a way through to him. This recollection makes Illyan's treatment more than an administrative matter. Miles allows that Haroche may be mishandling the case through inexperience and nerves, but also says deliberate sabotage must be considered. He distinguishes suspicion from proof: the possibility demands investigation, not a premature verdict.

From access to oversight

Gregor first agrees that Miles may be allowed to see Illyan, but Miles says access alone is insufficient. He wants to examine every item of raw case data, medical and otherwise, and insists on oversight with real authority. He expects Haroche to resist and does not want to depend on Gregor repeatedly backing him up. Instead, Miles asks Gregor to assign an Imperial Auditor, explaining that an Auditor can legally requisition whatever is needed and that ImpSec must comply.

Miles cannot specify in advance what the investigation will find. He describes the case as having a wrong shape, while acknowledging that its apparent irregularities may prove trivial or consequential. That uncertainty is central to his demand: the purpose of the inquiry is to discover what the evidence means, not to confirm a settled theory. He initially asks for Lord Vorhovis, but Gregor sees a better solution in appointing Miles himself.

Gregor's appointment and its limits

Gregor describes an Auditor as more than his Voice: the office makes its holder his eyes and ears, able to go where the Emperor cannot and report an independent view. He regards Miles as unusually capable of providing such independence. The appointment is therefore both an investigative authorization and a personal act of trust, offered because Gregor is dissatisfied with the direction events have taken but cannot simply go to ImpSec himself.

The charge is specifically to evaluate Illyan's breakdown. Gregor sets the ordinary limits associated with a Ninth Auditor's powers: Miles's actions must bear at least some relation to the assigned matter; he cannot order executions; and any arrests should rest on evidence sufficient to sustain prosecution. Gregor also calls for traditional decorum and due care. The broad authority is not a license to act without restraint but a power bounded by purpose and responsibility.

Miles accepts the charge. The exchange captures the difference between his former position inside a chain of command and his new legal standing over the institution under examination. He jokes that the last thirteen years of working within the hierarchy felt like trying to dance beneath an elephant; now, for once, he can act above the machinery that might otherwise trample his efforts. Gregor understands the appeal, but cautions him not to be carried away. The tone is playful, while the appointment itself is consequential.

The office put to work

Gregor sends for the Auditor's symbolic chain of office and the electronic seal that carries actual authority. Before it arrives, Miles notes the tradition that an Auditor's first visit is unannounced. The contrast between the visible insignia and the less visible electronic seal reflects the office's combination of ceremony and practical power: its authority must be recognized, but it also permits access to records and resources that ordinary hierarchy could withhold.

As the inquiry develops, the appointment enables Miles to oversee the gathering of evidence without personally performing every task. General Haroche proposes alerting Galactic Affairs to investigate where the biological material may have originated, including possible sources in Jackson's Whole and Escobar. He also proposes reviewing Illyan's movements during a period reaching back sixteen weeks. Miles approves the investigative work, recognizing that ImpSec can conduct such legwork more effectively than he can alone, while retaining responsibility for checking the reports.

The case also brings Haroche's access to Miles's medical records into view. Haroche says he requisitioned the reports on Miles's seizure disorder and considered the proposed treatment promising. Later, Miles discloses that Haroche offered him a return to the Dendarii on terms better than those under which he had served Simon Illyan, including a captaincy. These encounters show the investigation crossing both institutional and personal lines: Miles's medical privacy and former military identity become relevant to Haroche's dealings with him, while the Auditor's office gives Miles grounds to scrutinize those dealings rather than accept them as private conversation.

Significance and outcome

The appointment tests the relationship between imperial authority and the agencies that serve it. Gregor uses his power not to dictate a conclusion, but to authorize an independent examination; Miles, in turn, accepts an office whose privileges come with limits. His authority is especially pointed because he is investigating an institution in which he once served and whose chief, Illyan, matters to him personally.

The inquiry ultimately reaches the point at which Miles orders General Allegre, pending Gregor's approval, to act as chief of ImpSec and arrest Haroche on a charge of treason. Haroche denies treason. This arrest is an outcome of the investigation, not proof that Miles's initial suspicions alone established guilt. The appointment's decisive contribution is procedural: it gives Miles the standing to demand evidence, pursue an irregular case, and act against a superior when the investigation supports action, while preserving the distinction between suspicion, evidence, and judgment.