"Good to see you back on your feet" Admiral Solomon greeted Captain Narson, who walked alongside Commander Cari, slightly supported by him.

"More or less" Captain Narson gave a short laugh before his laughter was drowned into short successive coughs.

"While you were getting our Captain more or less ready for action again, I was making myself no less helpful. I found something like footprints back there. If we follow them, we will surely come across a settlement or something similar. And I think this time my advice should be heeded" Admiral Solomon said with emphasis in his voice.

"Oh, really? Why all that optimism all of a sudden Admiral?!" said Moonwood. "After all, we might as well be walking into a trap if we follow the traces."

"Where has your optimism gone? These traces could perhaps belong to the 'unknown species calling for help' or is that no longer of interest to you Moonwood, Mh? Or you, Commander?" Solomon said again in his usual threatening tone of voice.

"Of course not. It's just that I might be a little more suspicious of the whole thing than I was before, considering how many times we could have died in the last few hours. I'd rather see us back on board our ship than wandering around in this desert any longer" Moonwood replied, aghast at having to listen to such accusations from Admiral Solomon of all people.

"Very well, then I'm sure you have some idea how we can find our way back to our ship without a navigation system, because if I remember correctly, the thing was broken just a few hours ago or is it now magically fixed?" said Solomon.

"Don't be ridiculous, Admiral" Commander Cari intervened.

"Of course our navigator is not "magically fixed" and as much as I would like to agree with you Moonwood, without navigation we cannot get back to our ship without getting even further lost. I don't like to admit it, but I think we should follow Admiral Solomon's suggestion this time. Traces indicate life. Life points to supplies and a shelter to rest in, and that's what we need most right now."

"So let us follow the traces then" decided Captain Narson, who was already tired of the discussion.

...

After a good half hour, something finally came into sight.

In the distance, the crew spotted several roundish buildings standing close together.

"There, look! That looks like a settlement" Captain Narson called out to his crew.

"It seems you have a good intention, Admiral" Narson added appreciatively and quickened his steps.

The others followed.

"Glad you recognised that, Captain" Admiral Solomon thought to himself. "It would only be nicer if the others realised it too and if you would all abide by my words in the future as well."

...

The settlement was dead silent when they entered it.

No light was burning in the houses and no sound could be heard, neither from machines nor from any living being. It seemed as if it had died out.

"Kind of creepy here" Commander Cari broke the oppressive silence.

"The buildings look abandoned" Captain Narson stated the obvious.

"Yes, but we should still have a look around. Maybe there's someone else here" suggested Lieutenant Rathaline.

So they spread out and searched the buildings.

...

A little later, the crew gathered in the centre of the settlement.

"Found anything or anyone?" asked Captain Narson.

The crew shook their heads in unison and resignation.

"But I assume the town was bustling a short while ago. There are still fresh food supplies in all the buildings and all the equipment is still intact as far as I can tell from the outside. So either the people have recently left the settlement for some reason or ..." said Commander Cari.

"Or?" asked Admiral Solomon.

"Or they have only temporarily left their settlement and will be back soon," concluded Lieutenat Rathaline.

"Which means we can't be sure they'll be peaceful towards us if we stay here."

"Why not?" Admiral Solomon laughed out.

Lieutenant Rathaline looked at him questioningly.

"Admiral, how would you react if you came home after a long day's work and five beings completely alien to you were sitting in your living room, having eaten in your kitchen and sleeping in your bed?" she asked him the rhetorical question.

"I would tell them to get the hell out of my house. If necessary I would even oblige" Solomon replied.

"Actually, I wasn't expecting an answer, but thank you for illustrating that again" Rathaline said with an affirmative hand gesture.

"Anyway. I think we should take the risk and at least stay here until we are all back to full strength and have made a plan to get back to our ship. As your Captain, I take full responsibility, of course, so maybe we can negotiate with the species that lives here if they come back while we're still here. So let's go into one of the larger buildings and get some sleep, then we can make a plan with a clearer head. But hands off the supplies here in the settlement. We don't want to create a point of conflict that is to be avoided."

So the last word was spoken and the decision made and Narson's crew entered one of the larger buildings.

It was spacious and obviously designed for multiple people, as there were several pieces of furniture and items of the same kind spread throughout the rooms.

So everyone found a quiet corner and lay down to rest there in some kind of bed.

It felt good to lie on a smooth and surprisingly soft surface. Even though no one knew what they were actually lying on, they didn't care.

They were all just too exhausted and too tired to think about anything else.

Whether it was the material they were lying on, the hunger that was making itself noticeable in their empty stomachs or the worry that at any moment the settlers could return and they would be without food and a place to rest again.

Eventually each one of them closed their eyes almost synchronously and immediately fell into the sleep they had hoped for so long.