The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

THE fisherman – Jed – was looking at the three celebrities on his boat with a pained expression on his face. He was new to the fishing industry. He actually just started half a year ago. Before this, he was working at one of the bigger cities here in the capital star.

As a young kid, he had always dreamed of owning his own boat and making a living with fishing. That's why after he saved enough money, he quit his job, bought a boat, and then moved here. He just didn't expect that being a fisherman would be a lot tougher than he imagined.

Money had been tight lately. So, when a program team approached him saying that they would pay him as long as he lent them his boat, he didn't really have the leisure of saying 'no'.

And so, here he was, watching two celebrities grappling with his fishing equipment as if it's their mortal enemy. He had already explained to them how the equipment worked and yet his explanation seemed to not be helpful at all.

The girl, Miria, still couldn't properly operate the fishing equipment. Because of that, she hadn't yet thrown a net on the sea. The boy, Lauren, was better in that regard. The problem was, even if he managed to operate the fishing equipment, he still couldn't capture a single fish!

Jed was already contemplating on whether he should give a hand to the two. But then he remembered that the program team asked him to not help and just provide guidance.

He glanced at the pretty black-haired kid. Well, at least this one knew how to fish. Astrid operated the fishing equipment like professional and now he had already caught about a kilogram. Which was good considering that they only just started.

"Do you two need help?" Astrid asked Miria and Lauren.

"I really wanted to say 'yes', but if you helped us, you're fishing speed might slow down. Then, it would take longer for us to reach the quota," Lauren said with an expression as if he would cry at any minute because of frustration.

Miria also shook her head. Even if she wanted to ask for help, she shouldn't bother Astrid. Right now, the other was the only one who managed to catch a fish. If he stopped just to help them, then that would only be to their disadvantage.

She glanced at the fisherman. "Excuse me, Mr. Jed. Can- can you please explain to me one more time how to operate this equipment?"

Jed, with a sigh, nodded his head and walked to the other.

Astrid smiled a bit seeing that. Then, he turned to Lauren who had this cute pout on his face. "Lauren, just think of it as if you're playing a game."

The fishing equipment actually looked like some kind of canon with a sonar attached to it. Operating it was easy. One could see on the small screen attached to it if there was a fish in the surrounding area. If you see a cluster that meant that there's a school of fish there.

You could simply aim the equipment in that direction and press a button. After you did that, a net would be released from under the boat which was connected to the equipment. Then you should pull the lever on the side of the equipment and the net with the captured fish would be automatically pulled inside the bottom of the boat.

There was a gauge on the deck that monitored how many kilograms of fish had been captured. So far, there was only about a kilogram. A far cry from their quota of 10 kilograms. And all of it were captured by Astrid.

If this continued, it might take quite a while before they reached their quota. So, it's better if all of them contributed.

"A game?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah, like some kind of FPS."

Lauren seemed to understand what he meant because his expression suddenly brightened. It's like the look of someone who just had a sudden epiphany. "I think I got it."

Lauren then concentrated on operating the fishing equipment in front of him. It's the first time Astrid saw the other with such a look of concentration. If he had his Terminal, he would have already took a photo of the other and sent it to Reas.

It didn't take long for them to hear a doorbell-like sound from the gauge on the deck. It's a sign that the load of fishes caught increased. Lauren turned to Astrid with a bright expression like a child.

"I did it, Aster!"

Astrid chuckled. "I know you would."

Miria looked at Lauren with envy. When would she be able to catch even one fish?

Astrid, who happened to turn to Miria, noticed the other's expression. So, he quickly encouraged the other. He bent his elbow upwards with his fist clenched and said, "Fighting!"

It was weird gesture in Miria's eyes. But somehow, she understood what Astrid was trying to convey. It gave her strength and a strange desire to do better. So, she turned to the fishing equipment and followed Mr. Jed's instructions up to the last detail.

To those watching the live broadcast, Astrid's little 'fighting' gesture was equally as weird to them. But just like Miria, even though it's the first time they saw it, they strangely understood what it meant. So, they took a screenshot of it and made it into a moving emoji.

And so, unbeknown to Astrid, his gesture of cheering up Miria would start a trend in the Empire.

-----

It took about four hours before the three managed to gather 10 kilograms of fish. The morning market in the dock was already over. But their next task was actually to sell the fish they caught. So, once again, the three entered into some kind of dilemma. But the program team must have already expected that. And yet they still gave them this kind of task.

Lauren looked at the camera and said, "You guys also think that the program team hates us, right?