The Auditor

The Auditor spent twenty years as a Combine procurement officer, pricing every engagement by ammunition spent, ships lost, and whether the gain was worth the bill. He developed opinions. When the Combine gave him the Ledger, the opinions came aboard with him.

He will not fire a round unless the return beats the cost of the round. He runs the sum in the moment. A long pause on his bridge means the sum is still open. When the order comes, the sum has closed, and the shot has usually already earned itself. The crew learned to read the pauses. The math has not been wrong yet.

He is bald, humorless, and middle-aged in the way that suggests he was never young. The bridge is kept like a filing cabinet.