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On Fri, 5/20/16, Bruce Johnson <xxxxxx@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU> wrote:

 Subject: Re: Incredibly efficient! was Re: [TML] L-Hyd not necessary for jumping & misc....
 To: "xxxxxx@simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com>
 Date: Friday, May 20, 2016, 8:24 AM

 On May 19, 2016, at 6:28 PM,
 xxxxxx@comcast.net wrote:

 In theory there are Imperial
 military rules and regulations, Imperial law, local system
 laws,

 and probably other legalities that
 have to be cleared before an Imperial Admiral can
 commandeer

 civilian ships. The antics of the
 Annic Nova, in my opinion, would not meet the criteria.

 You’re thinking that the 3I is directed by the Rule
 of Law. It is not. It’s directed by the Rule of Man. IN
 Admirals are *literally* extensions of the Emperor’s
 authority, which is absolute.  ( the Moot notwithstanding.
 They are a strictly  advisory body;
  with only a single valid means of overriding the Emperor
 against his/her will: Assassination.)

 If an IN Admiral desires she can commandeer any
 civilian ship she wants; she’s answerable, of course, up
 the chain of command, or if the owners are sufficiently
 connected, up the noble chain of fealty.

 An admiral who abuses their authority will rapidly find
 themselves making enemies that are of higher rank.

 But you’re right, in the main, so long as the IN is
 unaware of the AN’s true nature, they’re unlikely to be
 staging a massive search for it.

 Of course, this doesn’t mean that some sufficiently
 connected IN or ISS analyst couldn’t convince someone in
 power that *something* is going on, and be given a handful
 of J4 and J6 couriers and an Imperial Warrant to go looking
 for his White Whale of a
  ghost ship, especially if said analyst is connected to the
 halls of power somehow…a Duke’s nerdy, intelligent great
 nephew who pesters the Duke until he’s granted the request
 just to keep him out of everyone’s hair.

 Now you have a patron and a campaign to put your player
 characters in...

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Each system also has an imperial charter of membership granting rights & privileges that will also enter into the calculus as that charter is also an extension of imperial authority.
And then there's also the local nobility which on a lot of worlds could easily, after a long period of inherited tenure, have "gone 'native'".
An admiral that gets too heavy handed won't last long...

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