But big money always finds way to big policy. Looking for some protection of their machinations, time and again the oligarchs applied to members of the Empire Counsel of Lords. From Polaris Prime and “through the prism” of generous gifts, any situation looked differently than from the scene of events and orders flew to the Lords-Governors not to prevent respectable manufacturers-patriots in their sacred deed of “the restoration of Motherland in its prior borders”, as it was represented by the Empire propaganda machine!

Those Lords, who were at the head of the First and Second Waves of Intrusion, had long ago changed the bridges of warships with writing-tables in headquarters and ministries. Younger (or those who couldn’t take “warm places”) Lords, whose star had been lucky not to decline during the grand battles of the Third Wave of Intrusion, did not care a straw of the “staff rats” at times forgetting that their designations depended on just those staff officers. So proud of their service in battle admirals furrowed the space at the Edge and vegetated in Frontier garrisons, but on Polaris Prime just “parquet shufflers” and “pen-pushers” settled questions of the Empire importance. The oligarchs decided to derive benefit from the contradiction between the metropolitan and province Lords.

And then the situation became yet more complicated – died Emperor Nikon, who grew old doing the thankless job of the reconciliation between warlords and bureaucrats of the Empire. Right away after the official announcement about Emperor’s death, the head of the General Headquarters, Lord Diego Kortes declared that Emperor perished in the consequence of the intrigues and plot of some “enemies of the Empire”. Nobody named these enemies directly, but vague hints allowed suspecting of everybody and all. Lord Diego convoked Counsel of Lords for an extraordinary session giving reasons for the haste with “the Empire was threatened by the distemper”. The meeting, where neither Lords-Governors nor Lords from the front-line forces presented, turned out to be in full power of staff officers. Kortes was fully confident in the votes of metropolitan elite – many were his direct subordinates and almost each Lord at the meeting had money interest in the confirmation of Kortes as Emperor – the oligarchs were lavish with promises. Obviously, Lord Kortes was declared Emperor Diego almost unanimously and he held the post immediately. From this moment the Split started in the Empire.