Ryan Voss had always been very lucky.
Or at least, that's what he used to think. He wasn't very rich, and neither was he a genius- but somehow, luck always had his back.
That's probably why, out of billions of Earthlings, he had been selected for the Galactic Exchange Program. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to him to travel into the space, to represent his entire planet and maybe, just maybe use it to achieve something in life.
But that's the funny thing about luck, though.
It always runs out.
And right now staring at the cold walls of the cosmic jail, which was somewhere at the middle of nowhere, he couldn't help but think his own luck had finally reached zero.
He wasn't even sure what was worse - the fact he was in jail, or that it wasn't even on his own planet.
.
"Haah.... guess that makes me the first earthling to get arrested off-world" he said looking at the ceiling.
The human guard outside didn't even glance at his way- he probably didn't even understand english.
Yes, that's right. Even though the guard outside was a human, he wasn't an earthling. He was from a different planet, which one you ask? Even Ryan had no clue about that.
Four years ago, when Ryan was just 14, Earth had just satisfied the Minimum Technological Advancements (MTA) conditions of the Human Galactic Federation. Therefore, Earth was allowed into the Galactic Federation. When Ryan had first heard of humans that existed out of earth, his eyes couldn't help but shine out of excitement. Afterall. which man would not want to go into space in his own spaceship and travel the vast expanses of space.
But, Ryan like many others soon came to realize that cosmic adventures were still a dream. Though Earth had indeed completed the MTA conditions, it was still a backward planet will almost no resources.
Though the federation indeed provided them with some help, they were not give too much. The federation cited that if everything were to be handed to earthlings on a silver platter then, they would lose their innovation and mind for future advancements down the line.
What made things even worse, important materials and resources required for building various technologies were actually not available at earth at all. Therefore, even though four years had already passed since Earth had first joined the Human federation, nothing really had changed for them.
As Ryan once again thought about how he had been arrested, he couldn't help but give out a tired sigh. It had been about 3 days since he was arrested and the food here was perhaps, even shittier than that of the prisons of earth.
The worst part? All of this wasn't even his fault.
He hadn't blown up some reactor or started some other dramatic shit. No- all he'd done was to go to the market. It was a crowded market at the orbit moon of the planet where the exchange event was to happen.
A guy there- four arms, too many teeth- definitely not a human, had been selling these ai companions that were on a wrist band. "Perfect for lonely travelers." the guy had said. Now thinking back, that guy's toothy grin should have been his first red flag.
The ai companion could talk, learn your schedule, and apparently tell jokes. He'd figured, why not? It could be his very own girl Friday. Everyone out here had one anyway. Besides, it was getting boring out here in space.
It had taken him nearly all of the token credits the Federation had given Earth exchange students just to afford it. Apparently, the conversion rate between Earth dollars and Federation credits was quite bad.
The little AI called itself Nia, spoke with a friendly voice, and even tried to imitate his Earth accent.
Then suddenly, the security drones arrived.
Turns out, his "AI friend" wasn't just a toy. It was made using the genetic signature of a real human being — an actual person.
Which, according to the Federation's laws, was apparently "a severe violation of Human Rights, unlawful technological misconduct, and ethical corruption of identity constructs."
He'd barely had time to ask what any of that meant before they slapped the cuffs on him and dragged him off.
So yeah. It was definitely not his fault.
By his count, it had been about four days since he got locked up here.
Longer, technically — since one local day on this planet was about 1.3 Earth days.
Most of his meals came from a tray slot in the wall, and his only company was the occasional guard who looked like a human but sounded like he was just talking gibberish. Without his translator ear piece, which had been taken from him along with the rest of his stuff, the guard's every word was just noise.
Four days of nothing, then suddenly — footsteps.
Not the heavy stomp of guards, these were light and steady steps
He looked up.
A woman walked down the corridor, flanked by two soldiers in gray armor. Not an inmate — she was too clean and her uniform was way too sharp for that. Her hair, an impossible silver-blue, shimmered with each step. Even from behind the energy barrier of his cell, she looked like she didn't belong in a place full of criminals.
For a second, he just stared.
"...Well, damn," he muttered, voice low but hopeful. "A beauty in a place like this? Don't tell me—"
He smirked, straightening a little. "—my time to become the protagonist finally here? There's even a beauty here to rescue me."
The words came out clear and confident.
Unfortunately, everyone else in the corridor had translator chips engraved in their brains
So while he thought he was whispering nonsense to himself, every guard, every prisoner, and definitely the woman heard him perfectly.
The guards froze mid-step. One even snorted. The woman stopped in front of his cell, her expression unreadable, until her lips curved just slightly, a hint of amusement breaking her otherwise cold face.
He blinked. "...Wait, can you understand—?"
She tilted her head, her eyes sharp. Then she said something in a smooth, accented tone he couldn't comprehend — but judging by the guard's barely contained laughter, it wasn't exactly a compliment.
His grin faltered. "Ah. So that's a no on the rescue part, huh."