“Welcome aboard, Mage Montgomery,” the spacer waiting just inside the starship told him. “Captain Michaels is waiting in his office. If you’ll follow me, please?”
Damien nodded as he carefully maneuvered himself through the zero-gravity boarding area. Behind him, a short metal boarding tube linked the central hub of the massive rotating rings of Sherwood Prime to the keel of the container ship Gentle Rains of Summer . He checked the personal computer wrapped around his left arm as discreetly as he could, making sure he was on time for his job interview with the Captain.
“Our outer ribs are on a low rotation right now as some of our thrusters are under repair,” the crewman warned Damien as he moved towards one of the doors on the outer walls of the main keel. “We’re only under about a tenth-gee, so watch your step.”
“That will be fine,” Damien told the man. He watched the spacer move from handhold to handhold up the ladder to the outer keel, and carefully followed suit. If necessary, he was able to control his own motion even in zero-gravity, but Mages learned quickly that blatant, unnecessary use of magic didn’t make friends.
Damien was shorter and lighter than the spacer, though, so he was slower and more careful with the handholds until they reached far enough out on the rotating outer keel for the pseudo-gravity to kick in. He settled onto his feet with a carefully concealed sigh of relief, straightening out his clothes and unconsciously checking on the gold medallion settled into the hollow of his throat.
The medallion announced to all who saw it that Damien Montgomery had the Gift and was recognized by the Royal Orders and Guilds of the Protectorate of Humanity as a Mage. A member of one of those Orders would also recognize the symbols on it marking him as having completed a degree in Practical Thaumaturgy as well as being a fully qualified Jump Mage.
The last was why he was aboard the Gentle Rains of Summer . The container ship consisted of a central steady state keel with the boarding pod at one end and the engines at the other, around which four ‘outer ribs’ rotated to give the living and working spaces with a semblance of gravity. She was a wondrous technological creation capable of accelerating at several gravities while carrying up to twelve million tons of fuel and cargo, but it was the silver runes inscribed throughout the interior of her hull that made her a starship. With those runes a Mage like Damien could jump her up to a light year in an instant.
“This is the C aptain’s office,” the spacer announced. He knocked on the hatch sharply, and then stuck his head in. “The young Mage is here to see you, sir.”
“Come in, come in,” the man behind the desk said loudly as the spacer gestured Damien into the room. “Montgomery, right?”
“That’s right sir,” Damien answered. “I’m here about the junior Ship’s Mage position?”
Most starships that could afford it would have two Jump Mages aboard. A Mage was only able to jump so often without using up so much energy as to fatally burn out their brains, so having two aboard would double how fast the ship would move.
“Yes, yes of course,” the captain replied, gesturing for Damien to sit. “I’m Andrew Michaels, Captain of the Gentle Rains of Summer . I’m afraid I owe you an apology.”
Damien took the offered seat, glancing around the captain’s cabin. It had the lived-in look of somewhere the occupant spent much of their time. The bookshelves, filing cabinet, and desk were all worn green ceramics, and the floating projected terminal on the desk was a model older than Damien himself.
The only ‘decoration’ in the room was a bronze plaque engraved with the silver runes that channeled mana to created magical effects once charged by a Mage.
“An apology?” Damien asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid we couldn’t contact you earlier this morning,” Michaels told him, to which Damien nodded slowly.
Damien nodded as he carefully maneuvered himself through the zero-gravity boarding area. Behind him, a short metal boarding tube linked the central hub of the massive rotating rings of Sherwood Prime to the keel of the container ship Gentle Rains of Summer . He checked the personal computer wrapped around his left arm as discreetly as he could, making sure he was on time for his job interview with the Captain.
“Our outer ribs are on a low rotation right now as some of our thrusters are under repair,” the crewman warned Damien as he moved towards one of the doors on the outer walls of the main keel. “We’re only under about a tenth-gee, so watch your step.”
“That will be fine,” Damien told the man. He watched the spacer move from handhold to handhold up the ladder to the outer keel, and carefully followed suit. If necessary, he was able to control his own motion even in zero-gravity, but Mages learned quickly that blatant, unnecessary use of magic didn’t make friends.
Damien was shorter and lighter than the spacer, though, so he was slower and more careful with the handholds until they reached far enough out on the rotating outer keel for the pseudo-gravity to kick in. He settled onto his feet with a carefully concealed sigh of relief, straightening out his clothes and unconsciously checking on the gold medallion settled into the hollow of his throat.
The medallion announced to all who saw it that Damien Montgomery had the Gift and was recognized by the Royal Orders and Guilds of the Protectorate of Humanity as a Mage. A member of one of those Orders would also recognize the symbols on it marking him as having completed a degree in Practical Thaumaturgy as well as being a fully qualified Jump Mage.
The last was why he was aboard the Gentle Rains of Summer . The container ship consisted of a central steady state keel with the boarding pod at one end and the engines at the other, around which four ‘outer ribs’ rotated to give the living and working spaces with a semblance of gravity. She was a wondrous technological creation capable of accelerating at several gravities while carrying up to twelve million tons of fuel and cargo, but it was the silver runes inscribed throughout the interior of her hull that made her a starship. With those runes a Mage like Damien could jump her up to a light year in an instant.
“This is the C aptain’s office,” the spacer announced. He knocked on the hatch sharply, and then stuck his head in. “The young Mage is here to see you, sir.”
“Come in, come in,” the man behind the desk said loudly as the spacer gestured Damien into the room. “Montgomery, right?”
“That’s right sir,” Damien answered. “I’m here about the junior Ship’s Mage position?”
Most starships that could afford it would have two Jump Mages aboard. A Mage was only able to jump so often without using up so much energy as to fatally burn out their brains, so having two aboard would double how fast the ship would move.
“Yes, yes of course,” the captain replied, gesturing for Damien to sit. “I’m Andrew Michaels, Captain of the Gentle Rains of Summer . I’m afraid I owe you an apology.”
Damien took the offered seat, glancing around the captain’s cabin. It had the lived-in look of somewhere the occupant spent much of their time. The bookshelves, filing cabinet, and desk were all worn green ceramics, and the floating projected terminal on the desk was a model older than Damien himself.
The only ‘decoration’ in the room was a bronze plaque engraved with the silver runes that channeled mana to created magical effects once charged by a Mage.
“An apology?” Damien asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid we couldn’t contact you earlier this morning,” Michaels told him, to which Damien nodded slowly.
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