However, in epoc 5991, the Stardrifters returned to Balastrackonastreya to find the system empty. The Felisians were gone; both the moons were covered only in ruins. The Stardrifters had no idea what had happened. Had the Felisians moved elsewhere in the galaxy? Confused, the Stardrifters searched for signs of their civilization across the stars, but within two epocs, they gave up and decided to simply continue with their original mission. Again, they made their way into the lonely void of interstellar space and continued to add data to their Starmap. The year is now 6011, and still no trace of the Felisians has been discovered. The Stardrifters are loners; they rarely communicate with one another, but the current theory that has spread amongst them is that the Felisians have abandoned the galaxy entirely, though why they should have done this is a complete mystery. And why would they abandon the Stardrifters? This theory has led to a slight resentment of the Felisians by the remaining Stardrifters, who feel betrayed by the people they were doing a service for in the first place. If the theory is true, then there is no way for the Stardrifters to follow; the gaps between galaxies are enormous, and the Stardrifters cannot carry enough lithium to make the journey. Sadly, because many of the Stardrifters were very old in the first place, several have died despite the Felisians' long life-spans. Several others have disappeared entirely, presumably having fallen foul of the dangers of space. The Stardrifters are very safe vehicles, but they're still not infallible. Thus the number of Stardrifters has dwindled even further.