12. The First Job with the Smoaklins
With Grint gone and the smoaklins still suspiciously pretending they weren't just hiding a moment ago, Galek took a deep breath and turned toward the half-dismantled ship in the middle of the shop.
Brivnor's ship.
Galek rubbed his face. "Alright. If you guys are staying, you're working. First job: fixing this disaster."
Brivnor's vessel was an old, patchwork heap of metal that looked like it had been rebuilt at least four times. The outer hull had questionable weld marks, one wing was held together with tape, and the cockpit controls had definitely been rewired by someone with no technical knowledge.
The lead smoaklin whistled. "Whew. This thing still flies?"
Galek sighed. "Barely."
One of the smoaklins cackled. "This is gonna be fun."
Unexpectedly Efficient Chaos
The smoaklins got to work immediately. Too fast, in fact.
One of them was already yanking out control panels while another had started welding something shut without checking if it needed to be opened first.
"Hey! Stop touching things until I-"
A loud spark exploded from the ship's side panel.
Galek ducked as a blast of smoke shot out. One of the smoaklins crawled out of the panel, now covered in soot, looking unfazed. "Huh. Thought that wire did somethin' else."
Galek grabbed his wrench. "You are all gonna give me a heart attack."
The lead smoaklin patted his arm. "C'mon, boss, have a little faith."
Galek pointed at the one who had nearly electrocuted himself. "What about him?"
The smoaklin dusted himself off. "It's fine. I'm insulated."
"That is not how that works!"
The Disaster Almost Gets Worse
They made decent progress-for about an hour. Then the fuel leak happened.
One moment, everything seemed under control.
The next, one of the smoaklins accidentally disconnected the fuel pump, sending a thin, shimmering stream of highly flammable liquid trickling toward the shop's heating unit.
Galek froze. "Nobody. Move."
The smoaklins immediately scattered.
"I SAID DON'T MOVE!"
One of them-of course-tripped over a toolbox, knocking a small flame from a welding torch dangerously close to the leak.
Galek lunged, grabbing the torch just before the flames reached the fuel.
Silence.
The smoaklins stared at him.
"Okay," Galek exhaled slowly. "No one is allowed near anything flammable ever again."
Galek rubbed his face. "We are all going to die."
Somehow, This Is Working?
Despite everything-despite the near-death experiences, the questionable "shortcuts," and the general threat of combustion- they were making progress.
The wiring was actually functional.
The thrusters were properly calibrated-mostly.
Even the fuel system was patched up, assuming nobody looked at it the wrong way.
Galek sighed. "I hate this. But... it's working."
The lead smoaklin smirked. "Told ya."
The Moment of Truth
By the time Brivnor arrived, Galek felt like he had aged twenty years.
The four-eyed alien grunted approvingly as he inspected his ship.
"Looks good," he muttered.
Galek tried to look professional. "Yep. Solid work. Should run better than before."
Brivnor, while looking at the ship, tapped on his personal credit chip. "I just sent you an extra. I'll be back if it doesn't explode."
Galek nodded. "Please don't."
With a low hum, the ship's engines fired up, glowing a stable, healthy blue.
Galek exhaled in relief.
The ship lifted off without issue, disappearing into the icy skyline.
Silence.
The smoaklins grinned at him.
Galek folded his arms. "Okay. Fine. I guess you guys helped."
The lead smoaklin smirked. "A pleasure doin' business."
One of the others held out a hand. "Bonus?"
Galek glared. "You already got paid."
Galek looked up. "I refuse to call them that."
The lead smoaklin patted his shoulder. "It's alright, boss. You don't have to say it. But we all know we did a good job."
Galek groaned. "I hate this."
The smoaklins cheered.