Pulsar Race (Starship’s Mage #9.5) - Glynn Stewart Page 0,31

not wrong,” he admitted. “And you’re right; I have to be here while Lyle’s out of school. I was thinking of that as a problem, not offering it to people as a guaranteed vacation every working year. Need to factor that we’re only working ten months into the salaries…”

“Your partner and you could do that math easily enough,” Ivan suggested. “Plus, with Restoya’s engines and acceleration couches, you can cut as much as twenty-four hours off any given courier run.

“That’ll add up fast.”

“It will,” Charpentier admitted. “Twenty percent.”

“Forty,” Ivan countered. “My friend, you need someone with the shares, the patience, and the experience with you to yank you up short if you try and midlife-crisis at the crew again. I won’t put up with that bullshit, and you can’t afford to put yourself in a position where I follow Sonia.”

That was a low blow, but he wasn’t kidding. One screw-up of that scale could mean there’d be another. The best way to avoid that was for Ivan to be there to tell Charpentier when he was being an idiot.

His friend stood next to the kitchen counter, examining his coffee like it held the secrets of the universe.

“Done,” he agreed. “We’ll have time to do up the paperwork. Lyle’s out of school in three weeks, so that first holiday kicks off right now.”

“Good. We’ll recruit toward the end of his break,” Ivan said. “With me in place, I’m pretty sure we can fill our Mage slots easily enough. I’ll keep an eye out for promising candidates, assuming we can put them on salary to wait for us?”

“At Mage salaries?” Charpentier said with a face, but it turned to a grin as Ivan raised an eyebrow. “No, that makes sense. I’ll talk to the lawyer; we’ll have the paperwork for the partnership in place before I grab Lyle and we head to a beach somewhere.”

“Focus on him while you’re away,” Ivan said firmly. “Restoya isn’t going anywhere and I’ll keep an eye on everything else. We’ll keep in touch, but your kid…your kid’s important.”

“I agree,” his friend said. “Not the only place I fucked up, I know, but it’s the one place I can definitely fix it.”

Once Karl Charpentier had left, Ivan took a slow read-through of the quick and dirty memorandum of understanding they’d drafted and signed to cover both their asses.

It answered what one Ivan Halloway was going to be doing for ten months out of twelve for the foreseeable future. Forty percent of profits after costs would likely add up quickly once the ship was running—Charpentier’s wife had put their son in a top-tier educational academy and kept up a mansion without straining his funds, after all.

Ivan wasn’t entirely sure what had happened there and hadn’t asked. He’d never even met Penny, so he refused to judge. His impression, though, was that his friend hadn’t gone sideways until after the divorce.

Sighing, he shook his head and opened his messages to extract a contact code.

“This is the Royal Martian Navy Reserve, Xanth Station,” a chirpy young Lieutenant answered the video call immediately. “How may I assist you?”

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant,” Ivan told the young man. “I am Mage-Captain Ivan Halloway—retired, obviously. I need to speak to Sarah Tapiti.

“She’s left me several messages over the last couple of months, and she and I need to discuss my Reserve status…”

Thank you so much for reading Pulsar Race.

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Starship’s Mage by Glynn Stewart

Enjoyed Pulsar Race? You may enjoy the rest of the series, starting with the titular Starship’s Mage by Glynn Stewart.

A ship that cannot leave

A Mage that will not stay

A meeting of desperations

In a galaxy tied together by the magic of the elite Jump Mages, Damien Montgomery graduates into their numbers—only to discover that without connections, he can't find a ship and is stuck in the Sherwood system.

Pirates attacked David Rice’s jump freighter, leaving him with a dead Mage and a damaged ship—stuck in Sherwood, where a grieving father has blacklisted him from hiring a replacement Jump Mage.

When their desperate needs meet, Damien Montgomery is drawn into a conflict with the most powerful criminal organization in the galaxy—and to the attention of the Mage-King of Mars himself!

About the Author

Glynn Stewart is the author of Starship’s Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible–but only because of magic. His other works include science fiction series Duchy of Terra, Castle Federation and Vigilante, as well as the urban fantasy series ONSET and Changeling Blood.

Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant. With his personality and hope for a high-tech future intact, he lives in Kitchener, Ontario with his wife, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit.

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Other books by Glynn Stewart

For release announcements join the mailing list by visiting GlynnStewart.com

Starship’s Mage

Starship’s Mage

Hand of Mars

Voice of Mars

Alien Arcana

Judgment of Mars

UnArcana Stars

Sword of Mars

Mountain of Mars

The Service of Mars

A Darker Magic (upcoming)

Pulsar Race: A Starship’s Mage Universe Novella

Starship’s Mage: Red Falcon

Interstellar Mage

Mage-Provocateur

Agents of Mars

Duchy of Terra

The Terran Privateer

Duchess of Terra

Terra and Imperium

Darkness Beyond

Shield of Terra

Imperium Defiant

Relics of Eternity

Shadows of the Fall (upcoming)

Exile

Ashen Stars: an Exile Prequel Novella

Exile

Refuge

Crusade

Castle Federation

Space Carrier Avalon

Stellar Fox

Battle Group Avalon

Q-Ship Chameleon

Rimward Stars

Operation Medusa

A Question of Faith: a Castle Federation Novella

Peacekeepers of Sol

Raven’s Peace

The Peacekeeper Initiative

Raven’s Course (upcoming)

Scattered Stars: Conviction

Conviction

Deception

Equilibrium (upcoming)

Vigilante (With Terry Mixon)

Heart of Vengeance

Oath of Vengeance

Bound By Stars: A Vigilante Series (With Terry Mixon)

Bound By Law

Bound by Honor

Bound by Blood

ONSET

ONSET: To Serve and Protect

ONSET: My Enemy’s Enemy

ONSET: Blood of the Innocent

ONSET: Stay of Execution

Murder by Magic: an ONSET Universe Novella

Changeling Blood

Changeling’s Fealty

Hunter’s Oath

Noble’s Honor

Fae, Flames & Fedoras: a Changeling Blood Universe Novella

Fantasy Stand Alone Novels

Children of Prophecy

City in the Sky

Wardtown