transportation of several units, and Donghr had returned the favor by helping him restore the Broz's personal mansion and his far-flung security circle, their relationship had become quite mutually beneficial.

The Minister only nodded, went to the table, sat down beside it and sipped from the glass of whisky that was immediately handed to him. His gaze relaxed a little:

— Buddy, times have gone fucked…..

Bluh, who was already a little tipsy, just relaxed more in his chair and played with his whiskey glass:

— No, it's not. You know… When I heard something like this before, my first thought was that the Maquis had blown something up or killed someone somewhere, but now….

— And now the Inquisition and the CCC are fighting like wolves… Have you been informed about the incident in the Corsa sector?

— No. What else is there?

— Metropolitan Samokh paid a visit. In person. With a storm of unspoken resources. And what do you think?

— Oh… Did he execute someone?

— Not someone, but the head of the CID for this sector. For heresy. Burned alive in the reception hall.

Bluh gulped down the glass, which he was still rubbing from side to side. The liquid poured in like fire and immediately vaporized his inner anxiety:

— And here I was thinking it was SCK that had no edges….

— They both have no edges. I've just been informed that the SCIU have taken one of the priests in the center on suspicion of treason. It's unclear what they'll charge him with next, but they won't give him back so easily. They've charged him. If there's no evidence, they'll create it themselves. They've never had a problem with that…

— And what of this Metropolitan? Heading for Anahr now?

— Everyone thought that's where he was going. To blame him, to intimidate him. Maybe make them punitive penance trips to church once a week for a year. As they like it there… Of course, the chances of that were not great, but still the Metropolitan went there….

— What did they do to her older brother that they needed her so badly? — Bluh poured them another round.

Donghr looked inside the glass: this liquid must have cleared his mind. Just a few minutes ago, he hadn't known what to do or how to react to everything, but now he was completely calm.

But he didn't have any more thoughts:

— I don't know, my friend… Maybe it's not about her, but about the fact that no plague can be punished in the entire Donetsk-Makeyevka group except for the JCC. There are almost no my soldiers there, and what kind of a fool would touch them now, when the Maquis are attacking so much… Well, if there is no one except for SCK, then we have to use the most important thing there.

Maybe it's all just a coincidence…

— I'd agree… But it's too hard a coincidence. They've certainly thought about the consequences. What's in it for them if they succeed? I'm guessing they've got a lot more going on than just taking down SCK…

The Minister shook his head only slightly affirmatively. And, really, in the event of a complete victory over the SCK, what would be left for the Sacred Sejm but to take power into its own hands. All the power in the Empire. After all, it was founded for the benefit of the Black Stone and its forces… But who knows now what this boulder gives to all the plagues?

— Have you ever thought about it? — Bluh asked. — What does the Black Stone give us now? 150 years ago, it opened a portal to us and shut down all human electronics. Before that, according to the records, we lived like we did for several thousand years. No portals or anything… Let's say he waited until humans were fighting each other to open the way for us… But what's he doing for us now? Like when we didn't even get to Earth yet?

— You know, I have very little information… All these chronicles are kept by priests. There may be some data in the central archives. But that central archive is only 100 years old. What it can store there… I do not know… As for me, all this is nonsense, and these priests are only noodling on our ears with their stone. I personally haven't seen any miracles from it… About the portal… You know, it was so long ago that you can't even tell if it really happened… The story itself is vague. So he opened the portal, we all came here, and who was left behind? No one? Or did only a few of us move here for fun? It's such a lot of questions, and none of them has a normal answer… Only the priests keep repeating the same thing about sanctity and customs. Even the Inquisition has come to what… It is, you know, more serious than any portals, when at one moment brothers with sacred dignity come and melt your fire hotter… As for me, I'd rather let the SCK tighten the screws than these. At least you can negotiate with them. But the churchmen are sick in the head… You should stay away from them, but you can't. They'll get in everywhere and smell their heresy… No, the SCK, of course, are not cowardly either. They can fabricate cases in a heartbeat. But at least they know their limits. And the Inquisition are fanatics with a bad temper. They'll burn anyone… That's what we saw….

— Dhoni, the CCC gives people power… They invented these chiwis quietly at first. And once they were made, no one dared to stop them. And now they've given them the power to govern…

— Admit it, you wouldn't be saying that if that grouping wasn't in your column.

— Maybe. Maybe… But that doesn't change the fact that there's already an entire faction in the hands of a man. The Mountain. Have you heard anything about him?

— Only that he's an SCC