“You are correct, Miss. A station this size usually requires several dozen maintenance personnel, but in my haste to be the first to make it here, I had to compromise. Ah, here we are.”

They reached a building complex on the other side of the empty promenade. It was a single metal block, about ten meters across, reaching twenty meters high, all the way to the platform above. The tall alien opened the door and showed them inside. A pile of junk littered the room, reaching up to their shoulders. Alzigo paid no attention and stepped on the bits of metal, cords, and other alien-looking junk. At the middle of the pile was a shallow crater, lined with what looked like aluminum foil. Alzigo stepped into the crater and sat down, lying against the elevated ground. “Please, join me.”

The four companions exchanged bewildered looks. Nori descended to the alien nest and tested the aluminum layer. She sat down and looked up at her friends with surprise. “It’s soft!”

“Of course it is,” Alzigo said, his jaws parting slightly. “As do most enlightened species, the Exhar enjoy life’s comforts.”

The others entered the crater and sat down, leaning against the sides. Lana bounced her hand on the silvery substance, finding it both supple and springy.

“So, now that we are all comfortable, I would like to once again welcome you to my space station,” Alzigo said. He seemed very relaxed sitting down. One of his jaws hung loosely open. “I wonder if you’d be willing to answer something that has me quite perplexed?”

Lana looked around at her companions. “Of course, we’ll tell you what we can.”

“That is good. I’ve been orbiting and observing your planet for the past 150 of your solar days, and during that time I detected no signs of communication of any kind. Your entire planet seems dark and unresponsive. I’ve broadcasted my welcome message since coming here, but so far you are the first Sollings to come and visit. Why is that?”

Lana frowned. “Sollings?”

“Your star system is listed as the Sol system, so that would make you Sollings, would it not?”

“Oh. No, we’re humans. Our planet is called Earth. Sol is the name of our system’s star.”

“Ah, I should make a note to update my message then, thank you for letting me know. So can you please enlighten me as to the reason why no one else has come or responded to my communications?”

“Well …” Lana looked questionably at Nori. The woman nodded, motioning her to proceed. “Everyone is mostly struggling to survive. Our technology has stopped working, so we can’t communicate with each other, much less with a space station. And even if we could, we don’t have the means to reach this high in the atmosphere.”

“What?” The alien sat up abruptly, startling them. Bulco eyed him cautiously, his Puncher at the ready.