The Stormclaw Journal

[thisDerius]

11.8.823.A.S.

Another day, another flight, another fight.

That was the mantra I lived by back in the old Blackguard.

With some free time on my hands, I decided to do something different for a change—found myself an escort job for a convoy. IMG. They paid well, promised to stay in touch. Not bad. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that assassins were lurking somewhere, waiting for the right moment. But luck was on my side this time—nothing happened. No attacks, no sudden ambushes. Just smooth sailing.

Took the opportunity to kick back while they mined ore. Grabbed a pizza, cracked open a beer, and actually enjoyed myself for once. The crew was friendly, and for a moment, I almost forgot about the looming danger constantly breathing down my neck. Almost.

Once the job was done, I made my way to Singapore Shipyard in Tau-44. Damn, that place was freezing. Should’ve packed a better jacket..

---

After a few hours of much-needed rest, I set a course back to Coronado, right near that Nomad gate. Nothing out of the ordinary, so I pushed on to Rheinland. That’s where things got interesting.

Ran into a guy they call Endurance—caught him locked in a fight against three Hessians. He wasn’t alone, though. Amanda was there, along with some Rheinland lawfuls. The odds were still rough, so I jumped in to even them out. The Hessians put up a fight, but in the end, we took them down. Four and a half million credits straight into my account. Not a bad payday. Endurance mentioned they’d be in touch soon—curious to see what they’ve got for me.

With some credits in my pocket, I set my sights on Tohoku, still chasing answers about Joker. It didn’t take long before his assassins found me. They always do. Just to make things worse, a bruiser showed up, forcing me into a quick retreat. I had a gut feeling more would follow if I stuck around too long.

Managed to capture and interrogate one of his men before making my escape. Didn’t take much persuasion to get him talking. Turns out, Nikolai Arlov—one of the Blackguard’s best assassins—is working for Joker without question. Worse yet, Joker has gotten his hands on several "active" artifacts. No idea what they do, but I need to find out—fast.

The guy had served his purpose, so I ended the conversation with a bullet to the head.

---

Made my way back to Coronado, only to find more of Joker’s people waiting for me. Didn’t even have time to figure out if they were actually his men before all hell broke loose. Endurance, Raven, and a few other Auxesians arrived from Barrier Gate, but so did several Wild members and two Nomad-loving Outcasts.

The fight was pure chaos. We were outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and trying to hold our own against some of the deadliest pilots out there. I took a bad hit—lost control and crashed straight into the station.

And just like that, everything was gone. My cargo, four Wild prisoners, ten inactive artifacts—all lost.

So much for a good day.

Closing this log for now. Here’s to hoping tomorrow isn’t as much of a disaster. And I need to check my damn guns.