[Day 1, Evening]

“Hm?”

A shuffle could be heard among the bookshelves of the library.

Luda pulled her face away from the book she was reading, her eyes in the direction of the sound.

“I wonder what that was.”

It had already been more than two hours since she sat down with a pile of reference material, skimming the text for the principles by which quantum entanglement sets worked.

The Cuvie Institute had all the material she needed, but the lecturers were too busy with their own classes to help lead her along the topic.

Luda opened her inventory and took out a short aluminum pipe, then stood up from her seat.

It wasn’t appropriate to point a blaster in a place like this, but a pipe should pass, right?

She had pulled the piece of metal from an abandoned rover back when she was looking for materials to repair her tech and ship on the starting planet. Only after she left for outer space did she find out that that planet was Saturn, in the Solar System.

KC was curious about the Earth… Nevermind, it’s not my concern.

The Cuvie Institute itself was on Rhea, one of the moons orbiting Saturn of which certain areas were terraformed for living.

Shaking off the numb feeling from sitting down for so long, the girl examined her Hazard Shield levels, confirming that it was functioning at full capacity.

“You can never be too safe.”

Holding the aluminum pipe in one hand, she approached a poorly-lit part of the library, where the shuffling continued.

The noise was quiet and low, as if coming from a small creature.

Suddenly, the area lit up, illuminated by the warm light of the low-hanging lightbulb.

It was movement sensitive, activating itself when Luda neared this section of the bookshelves.

!!

A squeak could be heard, and Luda turned to look at the source of the sound.

Holding a book, pulled out from the lowest level of a bookshelf, was a lifeform that resembled a mole rat.

Its eyes were wide, caught off guard by Luda coming out from the corner so suddenly.

“You surprised me, Human.”

With a high-pitched voice, the mole rat sighed and spoke with a chuckle.

“The institute’s security is good enough to ward off pests, so you can put the pipe down.”

Luda realized that the metal pipe was still in her hand, so she put it away and apologized.

“You were so quiet, so I thought someone was trying to do something illegal in this place.” She said.

The mole rat examined the book, shook its head and put it back into the bookshelf.

“You must be new here, then.” It turned back to her.

Introducing himself,

“My name is Mill, graduate student in the electronics department of the Cuvie Institute. I’m a regular visitor to the library, though the motion-sensing lights could never pick my movements up.”

Climbing up to the fourth level of the same bookshelf,

“Your being here helped me out a bit. Some nut misplaced the book I wanted to read, so I had to spend time looking for it in the dark until you came along.”

He finally found the paperback he was looking for, with the help of the light.

“You’re a graduate?” Luda asked.

“Yes, I am. Degree in Nanoelectronics.” Mill replied, grinning. “An outstanding achievement for a Nultar, if I say so myself. Family is super proud of what I do.”

“I’d like your help with something, if it’s fine with you.” Luda continued.

“I have a bit of time,” Mill agreed. “What is it?”

---

“Applied quantum electronics, huh?” Mill pondered, looking at the books Luda had earlier piled on the table.

“I’m looking to get into the energy transport industry, so I was studying to prepare for it.” She explained.

“Entanglement, I presume?”

“…Yes, how did you know?”

“It’s a rising industry in the Turi-Nur System, where I’m from. They’re looking for people to look after the power plants right now.”

Luda jumped at Mill’s words, sensing an opportunity.

“Do you know anyone I can contact for a position?”

She leaned closer to him.

“Also, how deep of an educational background do I need for the job?”

“You have hungry eyes, Human, they creep me out a little.” The Nultar waved her off.

“Look for companies doing projects on Thugrarvis or Mimak, they’re the ones needing people the most now.”

“I see.” Luda nodded, taking notes in a window she brought up.

“As for the theory parts…” Mill selected a few references from the pile and opened each of them to a particular page.

“I took a course in quantum sets as an undergraduate. For that level of work, I think you’ll be fine studying the topics here and here. Also, these constants and formulas are important; make them stick in your mind.”

Luda noted the pages on each one and wrote them down in the notes function she had open.

“Regarding these concepts however, I’m struggling to understand them right now.” She interjected. “If it’s alright with you…”

“You want me to help you study?” Mill tilted his head.

Luda nodded.

“…Alright, then. I was getting burned out from my own reading anyway.” Mill quietly agreed. “But you’ll have to pay for dinner, okay?”

“Deal.”

“Great. It’s been a while since I touched this material, so do bear with me.”

The two of them spent the next hour or so poring over the textbooks laid out in front of them, doing their best to memorize its contents. Mill moved around the table and pointed at the diagrams, guiding Luda along the material.

They didn’t cover much, seeing as it was a one-off lesson, but the groundwork was covered enough for Luda to continue studying on her own.

---

In the café next to the library, the two of them ate dinner together. Luda chose a pepperoni subway sandwich while Mill munched on a bar of oatmeal.

“Must be nice not having to eat a lot to fill yourself.” Luda commented.

“It is.” Mill agreed, “Helps me save on money here on campus.”

Taking a sip of water from his cup, he turned to look at her.

“You have such a brilliant mind, Miss Luda. Why would you settle for the plant technician position when a higher paying job would suit you so much more?”

Luda only shrugged to his words.

“You need a formal qualification for that, right, Mr Mill?”

The Nultar nodded.

“I don’t really have the time to get one.” She smiled.

They were only given three days to play Hyperspace Frontier, after all.

“I see, that is unfortunate.” Mill sighed. “You’d be a wonderful junior to have.”

“So that’s what you were aiming for!”

“Hey, it gets lonely studying by yourself away from home, you know?”

The two people laughed as they continued to bicker in the café.

---

After they were done with dinner, Luda told the graduate student that she was going to leave for Turi-Nur now. With the studying done, there was no more reason to stay.

“Alright, it’s been nice meeting you, Miss Luda.” Mill said his goodbyes.

“You too, Mr Mill.” Luda returned the gesture.

The two of them parted ways outside the library.

One moved forward with his studies, while the other left to seek her living among the skies.