Contents
Chapter 26: Nekolva
Overview
Bero follows Ema’s lead to Molovni’s safe house and learns the KJA bombing has succeeded. Espenian operatives storm the apartment, subdue and capture Molovni, and seize evidence of Ygutanian involvement. Galo reveals Ema died in the collapse and pressures Bero to leave Kekon under ROE protection, signaling deeper foreign entanglement.
Summary
Bero arrives at the Dockside rowhouse Ema gave him and is shocked to find Vastik eya Molovni inside. Molovni refuses to take Bero along, explaining the escape route: a boat to a Ygutanian ship beyond Gosha Island that will only accept pre-cleared passengers. A radio bulletin confirms a catastrophic explosion at the KJA headquarters during a board meeting.
As Molovni packs to flee and boasts of nekolva’s long groundwork with the Clanless Future Movement, Bero slips and implies Espenian surveillance. Suspicious, Molovni presses him, but before Bero can answer, Espenian special operatives smash into the apartment.
Molovni fights with gunfire and jade, briefly breaking free with Deflection and attempting to Light through a shattered window. The operatives tase, overpower, hood, drug, and carry him off. They systematically strip the apartment for evidence, speaking in Espenian and gathering documents, electronics, and personal effects.
Handlers Galo and Berglund arrive. Galo castigates Bero for withholding information but credits him for leading them to Molovni, claiming this capture could expose Ygutan’s military program. Galo also reveals Ema died in the KJA collapse; the ROE Navy is moving to intercept the Ygutanian exfiltration ship. Bero realizes Ema gave him the address to betray Molovni and that the Espenians prioritized the capture over stopping the bombing.
Galo offers to extract Bero from Kekon, warning that chaos will follow and that clans, Ygutanians, or clanless could target him. Fearing he might be eliminated as a loose end yet seeing no options, Bero numbly agrees and follows Galo out, as sirens wail across a shaken Janloon.
Who Appears
- Bero (Catfish)Seeks Ema’s promised escape, inadvertently leads Espenians to Molovni, learns Ema died, and reluctantly agrees to ROE exfiltration.
- Vastik eya MolovniYgutanian nekolva handler; reveals escape plan and role in the uprising; captured by Espenian special operatives.
- GaloEspenian-Kekonese handler; oversees raid, claims strategic victory, informs Bero of Ema’s death, and pushes for Bero’s extraction.
- BerglundEspenian operative; helps manage the raid and evidence collection, coordinates with team on-site.
- Espenian special operativesMasked assault team that storms the flat, subdues Molovni, and seizes documents and equipment.