In the gossamer
Nikopol - May 20, 2594
The Other Side of the Streltsys
Thaddeus and Anastasia fear Jorn Kal’s madness—his scheme to poison a spore field is reckless and deadly.
As Friedrich mends from his fall, Anastasia brokers a deal with Myron. Two Rarogi piercers are handed over to the Clique members.
Aaron Partow joins the Clique, replacing Sasha, who is sent to hunt down Wren, the Apocalyptic lost after the spider rain.
The Gossamer
The Clique are dispatched on a mission: locate and rescue the Streltsys possibly sheltered in three surface checkpoints of the ruined city and bring them back to the Station.
Nikopol is cloaked in spider gossamer, nightfall weaving its sticky traps across their path. Moonlight floods the scene—no lamps needed, only courage and silence.
At the first checkpoint, a corpse is found. Its face and neck half-consumed, a grim omen of what lies ahead.
Not All Leperos
While Thaddeus and Friedrick examine the dead, shadows shift. Anastasia spots Leperos advancing.
They scramble for higher ground; chaos erupts. Aaron takes a savage cut to the face, Anastasia’s leg is broken in the fray. The Leperos fall—but they are no Leperos. Starved, diseased clanners masquerading in filth and desperation.
One survives. She names herself Mirova. Taken to Nikopol, she faces quarantine… and questions.
Anastasia’s summary
“We met some Leperos that attacked us, but later they turned out to be quite human after being injured. Three of the four that attacked us were killed, but this older woman was kept alive (mostly thanks to me, insisting she not be killed). It turns out she is a member of the Vostok Kin, which is a clan though to be extinct from the East, in the area where the spore wall is now.”