Detrimental… well crap.

  “No skills” Charles said to himself for what felt like the thousandth time.

  After exiting the awakening center on shaky legs he slowly walked home, the small apartment he lived in with his mom wouldn't last long, the debt she had held ensured that.

  As it had turned out, exiting a rift with half your limbs gone and without your spouse who had the spatial bag was ruinously expensive, and those debts had followed Lilly all the way to the grave, leaving Charles with precious little to his name. A mostly bare apartment and a collection of old books on healing was all Charles retained of his parents worldly possessions. Returning to the apartment, there were several “Past Due” slips shoved under the door, rent was late and he would likely be out on the street by the end of the week. Throwing himself on the sofa, he curled into a ball and tried to force sleep to come.

  —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Far far away, in a kitchen, a woman with long red feathers for hair was chopping carrots for a stew, singing softly to herself in a language none uses any more as she worked. With a small start she froze, staring off into the middle distance. She tapped her chin while thinking before speaking ”Someone needs a nudge…” Her eyes flicked as she sent off rapid fire [AI] messages.

  —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Three days after Charles had been awakened, he had visited half a dozen guilds, a professional delving company , and the local academy. “I expected the academy to be a bust, but all the guilds too?” Charles murmured to himself as he walked across town, looking for delving employment was not going well.

  While a detrimental was not a non starter for most organizations, that coupled with the lack of gear, experience, and backing made it so none was looking to take a risk on him. With Herron's landing being a tier 7 world, that meant he would need training off world, or in an expensive rift that was held back from tiring up. Charles however was dead set on delving as a life path. "Maybe I can get a job with one of the rift farming operations? Even if I'm not a delver for them, it would pay enough that I could hop planets to the new expansion, they have a fresh tier 4 world, just plucked from chaotic space.”

  Reaching the office of the local rift farming company, “Green way” Charles headed in, noting a sign that said help wanted on the front.

  “Welcome to Green way, how may I help you?” an older man behind the reception desk asked.

  “I saw the ‘help wanted’ sign out front, and I'm looking for a job. Fresh awakened, no experience but ill work hard!” Charles said, trying to keep some cheer in his voice.

  “Ah, the refitting depot is looking for someone to clean and repair the bots as they come out. If you are interested, I can call for the department chief to do your interview?” the man asked.

  “Yes please sir.” Charles responded, actual hope welling up in him, this was the farthest he had gotten in his job hunt today.

  About twelve minutes later a middle aged man with a potbelly and grease stained overalls trundled out of a nearby elevator. My name is Jack.” the man said, “head of the refitting department, let me show you around, give you a sense of what you will be needing to do if you sign on with us.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  As it turned out, washing off the harvester and getting them clean for the actual mechanics and rune smiths was all the job entailed. “Its not much, but getting the mud off saves us grease monkeys time, and as you can see, the rift entrance is a revolving door.” Jack explained as a set of harvesters rolled out of the rift.

  Nearby a set of delvers was prepping to go in and clear the rift, sleek black and green uniforms the group was standing at attention as a strawberry blond woman was giving them some form of talk, Charles couldn't make out the details from the catwalk he was on above. His eyes were drawn to the startling beauty of the strawberry blond woman addressing the delvers.

  “Don't let Nico catch you ogling, she is a tough and mean piece of work for a tier 5.” Jack said, drawing Charles’ attention back to him.

  “All our delve teams are real pros, but they all keep to themselves, not the most friendly with people outside their little club.” Jack continued. “So, are you still interested now that you know that the job is just washing muck off harvesters?’

  “Yes sir.” Charles nodded as he spoke. "I need the job, so I'll take it.”

  “Good lad.” Jack clapped him on the shoulder.

  —-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  2 weeks and a lot of mud later Charles was relaxing after work in his new, admittedly far smaller, apartment.

  “If I budget 10,000 credits for a weapon and 7,000 for gear, 12,000 for the 3 off world teleports….. Oh the delve slot!” Charles busily scanned the empire net on his pad to check on the rifts on the new tier 4 world seeing that the world was still being subjugated, meaning he would not need to pay for a delve slot to start with.

  “Ok, that's…. Two years… I can do two years of work for this, the world won't be open by then, but I'll be able to get a cheap delve slot for sure, so short term goals!”

  High in the sky a duo of observers looked down at the apartment.

  “Well he has spunk at least, aunt Hellen never misses her mark eh?” First one asked the other.

  “Of course she doesn't, can you imagine the experience she has had with young talent, I swear she can smell it from clear across the empire, Herron's landing is practically her backyard.” the second observer retorted.

  “Seeing as she recommended the kid, I say we skip the normal vetting process and just sponsor him here and now.” the first man stated, checking over the contents of a small bag.

  “You are as subtle as a brick….. But fine, it can't hurt. Just, let me do it alone, this needs a… well not you, Bowyer you are just not an adept hand at people.”

  “Arya! You wound me so!” Bowyer said with mock offence.

  *Ding Dong* *Ding Dong* *Ding Dong* *Ding Dong*

  The doorbell in Charles’s small apartment rang rapid fire as if someone was pressing the button as fast as their finger could manage. Getting up and walking to the door Charles opened it but before he could ask what's going on the wolf eared lady on the other side launched in to a speech.

  “Hi, I’m working for a mysterious benefactor who wants to see you succeed and asked me and my brother to sponsor you for the path and you are going to accept right, that's great, we are sure you will do great byyyyyyyyy.

  Speaking all in one breath the woman gave him no chance to ask what was going on. As soon as she finished speaking she shoved a bag in his hands and vanished.

  “I'm what now?” Charles asked the now empty doorway.

  —---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  “Oh yeah, your the one who is good with people, yeah.” Bowyer asked as he and his sister flew off.

  “Shove it Bow.”

  —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------