11. Smoaklin Infestation
(or, How I Accidentally Gained
Employees)
Galek woke up to the sound of something breaking.
For a brief, blissful moment, he thought maybe it was part of a dream.
Then he heard cackling.
His eyes shot open. "Oh no."
Sela rolled over in bed, not even opening her eyes. "Whatever's happening, you deal with it."
Galek groaned and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I have a really bad feeling about this."
With a growing sense of dread, he grabbed his jacket, threw on his boots, and headed for the shop.
The Shop Is Occupied
The moment he unlocked the door, Galek was greeted by a very specific, very annoying voice.
"Mornin', boss!"
Galek froze in the doorway.
There, standing on his workbench, was the smoaklin. The same one that had scammed Grint yesterday.
Except this time, he wasn't alone.
Three more smoaklins were lounging around the shop.
One was digging through the spare parts bin.
Another was somehow already fixing a busted power tool.
The third was reading a repair manual upside down.
Galek pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why. Are. You. Here."
The lead smoaklin grinned. "Oh, me an' the boys were just admirin' the real estate!"
Galek groaned. "You can't just move in."
One of the smoaklins snorted. "Uh, you could say we were technically paid to be here."
Galek blinked. "Paid?"
The lead smoaklin nodded. "Oh yeah. You know... I scammed your landlord-Grint, was it?- That was a hefty sum of credits. So we thought that we might stick around, more investments might come around." And then he winked at Galek maliciously.
Galek froze. "You smelled creids and now you are here..."
Galek rubbed his temples. "I swear, I'm gonna have an aneurysm."
One of the smoaklins waved a small bag of credits in the air. The first smoaklin smirked. "Yep! I've split the credits with my boys here. So they are... we are... officially on payroll! Pretty nice gig, honestly."
Galek exhaled sharply. "Alright. Fine. Whatever. You're here. What exactly are you doing?"
The lead smoaklin hopped off the workbench. "Oh, you know. Workin'. Keepin' the place runnin'."
Galek looked around. "You are not running my shop."
One of the other smoaklins held up a perfectly repaired engine part. "This says otherwise."
Galek blinked. "Wait... you actually fixed that?"
The smoaklin shrugged. "Yeah. We know engines. We're small, not useless."
Galek crossed his arms. "Okay. Prove it. Show me what else you fixed."
The Smoaklins Might Actually Be Useful
Over the next fifteen minutes, Galek watched as the smoaklins demonstrated their skills.
One had completely rewired a faulty circuit board.
Another had cleaned and calibrated an old plasma torch that hadn't worked in months.
The third was sorting tools in a way that actually made sense.
Galek narrowed his eyes. "You guys... actually know what you're doing?"
The lead smoaklin grinned. "Buddy, we used to work on scrap haulers. You have no idea how much corporate maintenance teams cut corners. We got tired of getting underpaid, so we went independent."
Galek rubbed his chin. "Wait. So you're actual mechanics?"
"More or less."
Galek exhaled. "Alright. Fine. If you're actually fixing things, I guess you can stay for now."
The smoaklins cheered.
Then the front door slid open.
"Where are my credits?!"
The smoaklins vanished instantly. One dove into the toolbox, another hid behind an engine, and the third dropped from the ceiling into a vent.
Galek rolled his eyes. "Oh, now you guys know how to disappear."
Grint scanned the room. "I swear I saw those little-wait, why is the shop so... clean?"
Galek crossed his arms. "Because I run a professional establishment."
Galek glared at the ceiling. "Not now."