Rayna Stoyanova Nanko
Rayna Stoyanova Nanko | |
|---|---|
 Nanko in 1936 | |
| Born | October 4, 1909 |
| Died | April 28, 1980 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | Syaran |
| Other names | Rabbit |
| Occupation | Spy |
| Years active | 1934-1939 |
| Known for | Double Agent for the Common Axis |
Rayna Stoyanova Nanko (born 4 October 1909 - died 28 April 1980) was a Syaran spy who defected to the Common Axis during the Siduri War, becoming a double agent for the Cacertian Empire for the duration of the war.
An ethnic Galanian, Nanko was born in Durova in 1909. She expressed an interest in language and linguistics from an early age, graduating from the University of Myzova in 1933 with a degree in Erani-Eracuran studies. Because of her knowledge of the Cacertian language, she was recruited by the Syaran Republic Intelligence Service (Sjaranska republička razuznavačka služba, SRRS) the same year. Following the outbreak of the Siduri War in April 1934 she was dispatched to the Cacertian Empire to reside in the port of Fumicino to spy and report back on the status of the Cacertian Royal Navy. Posing as a Górskan immigrant, Nanko arrived in Cacerta on 27 August and settled into apartment complexes near the main naval yards in Fumicino. Under the call sign "Rabbit", she would communicate with Syaran intelligence through high powered transmitter she had carried disassembled in her bags
Nanko's directive to report back on the status of the Cacertian fleet movements was sidelined by a chance encounter with Viridia Garritano, a Cacertian dock worker who worked near Nanko's apartment. The two quickly became romantically involved, which caused Nanko to second guess her intentions in Cacerta. By March 1935 Nanko had failed to report on fleet movements, leading the SRRS to conclude she had been compromised. Sometime in June Nanko elected to defect; she had exhausted the monetary supply she had been given and was unable to bring herself to leave Garritano. On 17 April she arrived at the Fumicino Port Authority to reveal she was a spy and offered to act as a double agent for the Empire. They agreed, and over the next several months Nanko supplied the SRRS with false information about Cacertian fleet movements. As a result the Navy of the Syaran Republic was unable to successfully intercept the Cacertian Andria Fleet during the Yalunji Campaign, which eventually ended in Syaran defeat following Operation Uplift.
By November 1935 the SRRS deduced that Nanko had either been killed and replaced or had betrayed the Republic; subsequent code changes rendered Nanko's services temporarily obsolete, though she was quickly reassigned as a cryptologist and translator. She remained in service with the Empire until the end of the war, after which she was granted Cacertian citizenship. She married Garritano in 1939 and settled in Cacerta. The couple adopted three children had become orphans during the war while Nanko later took up positions in the Cacertian diplomatic services. Her role as a double agent wasn't revealed until 1965 and caused a minor diplomatic incident. Some members of the Syaran Senate called for Nanko to be extradited back to Syara to stand trial for treason. When the Cacertian government refused some Syaran officials attempted to have the trial in absentia, but President Marija Kostova shut down the effort citing a lack of "national purpose".
Nanko never returned to Syara and died on 28 April 1980 at the age of 70. Several books have been written regarding Nanko and her exploits.