The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

THE twins were now in a public space craft travelling back to Emperor Star.  They could stay at FS01 since Director Trevane said that a room at the hotel the crew was staying was relegated to Astrid.  But they still needed to get some clothes among other things.  The director and Mr. Rogers probably also took that into consideration, that's why they didn't mention that they could just directly stay at the hotel after that audition.

"Are you going to tell Mom and Dad about your first acting gig?" Reas thought of asking.

"Of course.  I'll call them and tell them everything about it later."

Astrid had no plans of hiding it.  She had already told them about his goal of becoming a star.  So, something like getting his very first role was worthy of sharing.

"By the way, I'm sorry if I just went ahead and asked the director if you could come with me.  I didn't even ask your opinion about it."

Reas playfully knocked on his brother's head.  "Silly.  Even if you didn't ask that director, I would have done it myself.  Do you think I'd let you be alone there?  Besides, I don't have anything else to do anyway."

Astrid only grinned back.  Of course, he had expected that.  That's why he didn't hesitate to ask the director's permission if Reas could be at the set during his filming.       

"It seems that we have to reschedule going to the military academy," he said.

Because of the sudden appearance of Mr. Rogers and him offering the role of Aether the sleeping god to Astrid, their plan of going to the Imperial Military Academy had to be postponed.  And since they had to be in FS01 in the following 4-5 days, they wouldn't temporarily be able to go there.

"It's fine.  It's not as if the academy would vanish if we don't go there immediately," Reas said, shrugging.  He turned to his brother who was sitting beside him.  "Congratulations, by the way.  You did great in your first audition."

Astrid smiled when he heard that.  "Thanks.  So, what do you think of my acting?"

Reas raised one of his brows at him.  "Are you actually fishing for compliment right now?"

Astrid chuckled.  Because based on what he said, it meant that he's acting was pretty good. 

He hugged Reas' arm and raised his head.  He blinked his phoenix eyes at him.  "Compliments from my little brother are always welcome though."

Reas didn't take back his arm and only rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, yeah, you're the best."

20 minutes later, the twins were riding in a flying taxi, on their way to a restaurant to eat lunch. 

Astrid actually wanted to go around FS01, to see the different sets on the planet.  But he was not sure if people could just roam around the planet like some tourist.  So, he planned to just ask the director after his filming was over if he could.  If he needed a pass or something, the director might help him get that.  Especially if he performed well.  After all, directors all like good actors and actresses.

He was about to ask his brother where should they eat lunch when a notification from his Terminal sounded.  It was the sound of his Terminal receiving a message.  He opened it.  He frowned a bit.  Because he didn't recognize the contact number.  But he still read it.

[Good day, Astrid.  This is Cassius Grimaldi.  I'm sorry for suddenly sending this message.  Are you and your brother free tonight?  My family and I would love to have dinner with you two as thanks for saving our Nikki.  If you're not, then we can just re-schedule it for another time.]

Okay.  Astrid was first confused on how Cassius Grimaldi managed to send a message to him since he didn't remember giving the other his contact information.  But then he quickly realized that Cassius was technically from one of the most prominent noble families of the Empire.  Finding his contact information would be as easy as pie.

He suddenly felt worried.  If they did some background check on him and his brother, wouldn't they eventually make their way to their parents?  But then he calmed down again. 

The one who most likely made the fake identities of their parents was their Uncle Leigh.  If there's one thing their uncle was, it's that he's very thorough.  Astrid was sure that no one would be able to see any loophole in their parents' fake identities. 

Besides, he had a feeling that Cassius was not the type of person who would invade other people's privacy just because he wanted to know more about other people.

Reas quickly noticed the small abnormality in his brother's expression.  "What's wrong?"

"Cassius Grimaldi just sent me a message," Astrid said, showing to Reas the message on his Terminal.

Reas read it and just like Astrid, frowned after he finished reading it.  "Just tell him you're busy." 

Which was not exactly a lie since tomorrow his brother would start filming. 

Just like Astrid, Reas also thought of all the problems he did.  The possibility that the Grimaldis might discover their parents' identities.  But he also calmed down as quickly.  Because he also thought of Uncle Leigh. 

"If we refused now, I have a feeling he will just ask again and again until we agreed."     

The scowl on Reas' face became even deeper.  "Are you saying we should just go?"

"Not tonight, no.  Since we have to leave early tomorrow for FS01.  But the next time he asked, we should just agree.  Because the more we refuse, the more suspicious we would look to them.  They might dig in deeper to our identities if that were to happen.  It's better to just go once and get it over it."

Reas still didn't want to.  But he knew that that was already the best course of action.  "Fine, let's do that."

So, Astrid then replied to Cassius Grimaldi's message.

          [My apologies, Lord Cassius.  But my brother and I will be busy for the upcoming week.  If it's alright to you and your family, could we postpone the dinner until next week?]