You Can't Take The Sky From Me!

"In the endless darkness, I'll never give up. I'll keep on flying to you. I'll find you, no matter where you are."

The cargo ship drifted silently through the vast oceans of stars. Inside, the steady hum of the engines was covered by the popular ballad Libero's Stray Voyager. The melancholy tones of the band filled the dimly lit cargo hallway. 

Jared sat against one of the large crates, his back pressed into the cold metal wall. His shockwave gun leaned on his shoulder. He was there for a group mission to defend the cargo ship from potential robbery by space pirates. The stupid rules of the Galaxy federation law make him stuck with disarming weapons, even though they know that pirates always bring along dangerous killer weapons. Not sure if they are trying to secretly support the pirates, but Jared knows some of the lawmakers would want to make their secret dark business run smoothly.

It's been a month since Herman was taken away from him. The first thing he does is track Herman's location, which is detected through the chip planted in his ear. But the GPS led him to a place where Jared only found his chip on the ground. Removed. Possibly with a sharp tool, obviously not by the vets. Because vets never remove chips.

This is so worrying, especially because Jared didn't think that Logan would do such harm to his dog. She must've used something like a knife to remove the chip, right? If he found out that Logan apparently did something to hurt his dog, Jared swear he would make sure she suffers!

The driver, a happy old man with a young energy, glanced at Jared through the rearview mirror, trying to have conversation. He greets Jared, "Boy, why are you so serious? Have a little bright attitude! When I was your age, everybody loved me for that and that's why I always have jobs and opportunities with me."

The driver always tries to have a conversation with him. Of course, Jared is the only companion accessible to him right now, through the open window from the cargo cabin where Jared was stationed. 3 hours with only him as the only person around to talk to, Jared already knows how this driver's conversation style works: everybody should learn from him. That's why Jared didn't respond to him because he wanted to save himself from boring, self-absorbed conversation. 

But that driver wouldn't give up. He keeps trying to break the silence. "Hey kid, I've been young too, you know? I know what you've been through. Life can be hard sometimes, but if you keep doing your best, soon enough, luck'll come your way and save your life. Cuz that's how I successfully came out of the darkest phase in my life."

No response.

"My parents died, my wife left me, my sons became bounty hunters, and they never called me. I've been through worse than you! Even worse is when my brother owed me money but never returned it, I let it all go and chose to be the happy person I have always been!"

Jared responded to make him quiet, "No worries, I'm just losing my dog."

The driver laughed out loud, a deep, almost theatrical chuckle that echoed in the small space. "Just losing your dog?! Come on! It's not worth that much. It's just a dog! When I was about your age, I lost my mom to cancer! I got it real bad, but I still put on a wide smile and—"

Jared sighed and instantly regretted responding to him. The reason why he is stationed alone in the most important room is HIM. Everyone tries to avoid talking to him, but someone has to guard this cargo room, so Jared endures the discomfort.

He knew it was a bad idea to tell people about personal problems. No matter what he said, someone always had a story that outshone his own. They'd always find a way to one-up him. One day, they'd tell him about how much luckier he was, and the next, they'd start with a tale of even worse misfortune. People didn't ask out of genuine concern. They asked to show how much better they were, how much more they'd suffered, how much more they'd persevered.

It was a paradox. They are the strongest, but also the weakest; they are the toughest, but also the most fragile. Anything can be adjusted, depending on the topic. The only regret he has now is letting them one-up him. Jared swore that next time it would be complete silence.

The old man driver continued to ramble on about his own hardships, recounting how he lost a friend to a robbery, emphasizing how he'd survived that loss with strength and resolve. His voice was full of self-assurance, as if to say, Look at me, I've faced worse, learn from me! But Jared wasn't listening anymore. He turned his attention elsewhere, flicking his wrist to check the smartwatch on his arm.

His eyes scanned the screen, hoping for some kind of update from the missing pet searchers through the Petfinder app. But there was nothing new. 

Since he can't find Herman through GPS, he now depends on DNA tracking. Jared is usually so lazy to do missions, Logan needs to drag him to get him to work. Now he only sleeps 4 hours a day because he works hard, doing any mission that he can do to get money. Any money will do, any mission will do. He had been a bodyguard to an annoying princess who wanted to go to an amusement park, spied on someone, beating someone out of not paying a debt. He did it all to save money and only eat once a day. All just to pay for Herman's DNA extraction, so he can track Herman's DNA through a petfinder app. 

"I'm going to find you, buddy!" Jared whispers to himself. 

If Jared showed people what Herman looked like, nobody would want him. He was just a mutt, with no clear indication of what breed he was. A bit like a mini German Shepherd, but smaller, with tiny dots scattered across his coat, his shape resembling a mini gray wolf. He wasn't really a big dog, but also not a small dog. He barely reached Jared's thighs. Just a random dog Jared had rescued from a muddy puddle in a dog meat market.

However, his sharp nose will make anyone want him. Who wouldn't want a dog like that? A dog that could sniff out cash, no matter where it was hidden? Especially if they are a bounty hunter. Especially if Jared destroys their trooper pod, and he can't pay them back to replace what's lost.

A sudden tremor jolted the cargo ship; heavy metallic bumping sounds followed. Jared's instincts kicked in immediately—an attack. He didn't need to confirm it; he'd been through enough to recognize the telltale signs. Space pirates. It was always space pirates.

"Oh no, it's the pirates! " There's no way we can win this, we are all going to die!" the driver looked terrified.

Jared leaves his post in the storage and jumps through the door that connects to the driver's cabin. He pushed away the driver to the side and took over the wheel. 

"You can't do this! We are all doomed! " I'm going to escape before they get us!" the driver then hurriedly left the driver's cabin, worried if someone else would take the escape pod before him.

When Jared rests his hands on the driving steer, he shivers in excitement. He couldn't help but grin and immediately took over the control panel. He quickly adapted to this old vehicle and did not even be shy about accelerating the speed to its maximum limit. 

The tremors were felt when the pirate's laser breached the shield and hit the cargo ship. But it's only signaling Jared to hit on the gas and speed even faster. 

"Heee-haw!!" Jared screamed in excitement. Life is where speed is. He flies the cargo ship through the space debris, knowing the size of the pursuer won't last long there. 

"What's the old man doing?! " He is crazy to drive into the space debris!" a mercenary panicked. 

"Who cares! " Either way, we'll be at the fangs of death!" the other mercenary replied while still continuing shooting the pirate ships.

Jared gripped the controls tightly, his sharp eyes and quick reflexes controlled the ship smoothly, evading debris of a dead ship or rocks. As he goes deeper into the ship's grave, the frustrated pirate starts shooting the obstacles around the cargo ship he drove. The destroyed particle hits the glass, leaving stretch marks. The barrier is still cooling down, so Jared has to hold on a little while. He clenched his jaw, excitedly dodging and weaving, determined to show them who was the king of the sky.

However, the broken particles from the destroyed rocks eventually hit the pirates themselves, causing leaks in their ship. They have to stop because they need to seal the broken hole and have no choice but to let the cargo ship go. 

Jared drives the cargo ship out of the space debris like an eel running for his life. And after a while, he is soaring free without obstacles. The mercenaries celebrate this success, and rush to the driver's room, only to be surprised by Jared sitting in the driver's seat. 

"Oh it's you! I thought so. There's no way that a yapping old man can do it."

"Where is the old man gone?" asked the other mercenary.

"I don't know, check the escape pod if it's still there or not," Jared smiles proudly and focuses back on driving this cargo ship to the destination.

Before they could even finish celebrating their successful defense, the police sirene heard, signaling them to stop the vehicle. They know someone is going to get fined.

"Damn! Where are they when the pirates are poking our ass?" Jared slammed the dashboard.