Auditor-Major Petrescu

Petrescu and her partner uncovered a fraud hidden inside a Combine supply contract. They traced missing material through shell firms until the people profiting from it realized how close the investigation had come. Her partner was killed before they could finish, and the partner’s identification tag now hangs beside her own.

Petrescu finished anyway. Her report named every officer the evidence could reach, and the board buried it within a week. She accepted command of Burn Rate because a desk had limits, and because the remaining trail led through places where auditors were not welcome.

Her crew know to preserve records as carefully as they preserve themselves. Petrescu will question a frightened clerk without raising her voice, then pursue the person who gave the orders across a sector. She does not confuse vengeance with proof. She intends to have both.