Starship's Mage by Glynn Stewart

This is the first volume of a series but works on its own. It's also a compilation of independent episodes, which can be discerned by occasional repetition of information on "what has gone before."

An SF story where we can reach the stars with FTL -- which is magic. Not figuratively. One mage is desperately looking for a job as a Jump Mage because he has no family connections, and one ship, attacked by pirates, lost its mage in a heroic sacrifice to get them away, and is blacklisted from hiring a Jump Mage by his family.

It involves why the pirates were after the ship, various kinds of smuggling, an alcoholic beverage illegal on many worlds, working with runes, the mage having a power that most don't, bounties, and more.