Prospecting the Ringed Giant

    Saturn hovered high in the sky, an unremarkable sphere. Cosmilda had spent the last several hours measuring the light intensity of the rings, and temperature changes of the ice. Those were her on-duty objectives, but she'd set up experiments to measure the gravimagical energy coming from the planet's core for herself.

    That was her real purpose for being here. Cosmilda was short of cash, so running mundane science experiments on various moons were her way of navigating the solar system within budget. Eventually she'd be able to afford a fast enough broom to be able to travel among the planets on her own, but until then it was taking measurements for various organizations. She didn't know enough about the gravimagical potential of each planet yet anyway, so there was no rush.

    Cosmilda was especially interested in Saturn, as dull as it was to observe, because only a high level of gravimagical energy could explain the structure and stability of the rings. Scientists had their own theories, but you know how scientists are. . .

    As her "workday" ended, the witch went to retrieve her cauldron while she let her official instruments run on idle. An eldritch boil began over the cosmic fire Cosmilda set, and as it bubbled, the witch waved her wand about, inspecting the planet's gravimagical potential. The faceplate made the process cumbersome, but until Cosmilda could tap the gravimagical wells, she needed to save her magic for the prospecting.

    Her results were consistent with previous measurements yet again, and she grew more confident that starting with Saturn would be her best option for a large initial gravimagical yield. The possible destabilization of the rings and moons would give the scientists plenty to occupy themselves.

    Cosmilda wanted that new broom, but patience would serve her. First, she needed to buy the gravimagical harvesting equipment, siphon the energy from the dull planet, and once she turned in her results from this experiment, that paycheck should be enough for a new broom. A gravimagical monopoly on this system was almost hers, as long as she could hold her patience a little bit longer.