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Number 748 was his name.

He was born on the mining planet named Telmun. It was a third-rank planet that managed to attract a few businesses due to its incredible size and the vast amount of resources it contained. Because this was a planet where business was so prosperous, the gaps between the wealthy and the poor increased that much more.

There were a few incredibly wealthy families holding a tight rein over the production of resources through the entire planet. They were the ones to make the most out of everything. The planet did not belong to them but it might as well be considered as such.

Aside from them, there was a small amount of people from the middle-class. They were mostly businessman themselves who tended to the needs of the others. Those people did not lead impressive lives but they could hold on and survive. Their lives never changed but they did live.

And finally, there was the bottom rung with the riff-raff of the majority of the population. People who were hired as cheap labor, to the point where it was close to slavery. They had no money to escape and no choice. Stuck with nothing forever and forced to work their asses off for others until the day they died. Most of them did not get to grow old.

And, fitting for a mining planet, most of them worked in the mines. With nothing but pickaxes to cut costs, they were forced to dig the ground with all they had to reach an impossible quota in hope to get even one more loaf of hard bread.

These people were all suffering but no one ever did anything to change the situation. Because those who had such a power did not have any reasons to. On the contrary, they needed things to remain this way so that they kept their power.

Number 748 was one of those very poor people. He was an orphan like many others. A lot of those from the low class abandoned their newborns or sold them to the mines. Some parents hoped that by abandoning them, they might be picked up by aristocracy even though it never happened. Others were more pragmatic and they simply sold the kids for a quick check, enough for one more beer at the bar to drink their sorrows away.

Number 748 did not have any memories of his childhood. He remembered being in an orphanage managed by one of the mining companies. He was taught about mining since he could remember and as soon as he reached ten years old, he was sent to work there and dig. There were some tunnels particularly narrow that required children they said…

Anyways, he had been stuck there for six years now. Or was it seven? It didn't really matter and since it did not, he would rather consider it six years. That way, he could still hope for things to change… Because he still had time.

But life isn't that easy on Telmun. Especially for miners.

Today, he had been going down as usual. He tirelessly worked without stop for twelve hours, not even eating, so he could fill his quota. Which he managed to do. He was one of the rare kids able to do so. And what did he get out of all this work? Not that much.

He was given a bed and a closet in a dormitory. In exchange for that, he wasn't given any salary. He was given meal tickets for the cafeteria. One per day. And two more if he filled his quota. Which he had done for the past six years. He had a hard time at first but he managed. As he grew older, they had begun to require more from him but he always succeeded.

One might think that since he earned more than one meal ticket every day, he would be quite physically developed but it was far from it. He didn't have the slightest hint of fat. He was in a heavy state of malnutrition. Yet, he had muscles that could shame international athletes of his age.

The reason was that he saved all his tickets for the past six years. Well, as many as he could. And had them locked in his closet. There was nothing to fear about security here with all the cameras and such which was likely the only solace in this hell.

As to the reason why he kept them? Because they had a worth. They were worth money. Not much. Maybe one galactic coin per unit. But if he had a thousand? It was a thousand galactic coins! It was more than he ever had. It wasn't too hard since he never had anything though.

But with a thousand dollars, he would be able to leave this place. To where? He had many ideas. There were a lot of other third-rate planets he could travel to for this kind of money. Of course, it would be a one-way ticket that would leave him penniless after that. But if he could leave the hell that was this planet…It was worth it.

Today was the day, he told himself.

As he exited the mine, he saw the manager of his team with four armed guards. Those people had mechanic binoculars and laser machine guns at their waist. As he saw them, he wondered what kind of fool made a mistake.

Before he could move past them though, they stopped him. The manager sighed as he informed him: "748, a stack of meal tickets was found in your closet today after an anonymous tip, do they belong to you?"

Number 748 nodded. Of course, they belonged to him. He worked tirelessly for six years to have those. He was proud of the fact and thought the manager was here to congratulate him, buy them back and send him on his way out with well wishes of fortune.

He was wrong as the manager sighed once more before he made a sign to the guards. The guards moved their guns up, directing them at him. He was clueless and scared to the point he hurriedly put both of his hands up in the air.

The manager said: "We have confirmed the tickets to be fakes. As per the law, and since you have admitted to your crime, you are hereby under arrest. A trial will be held tomorrow"

He felt his world crumble as the words left the mouth of the manager.