Once Skylar made it away from Qwortar, and quite sure no one was pursuing, it was time to take stock of their ship. Star Surfer X9 was still flyable, Skylar was sure of from the paperwork. What they hadn't gotten a chance to check before fleeing was supplies on board.
"Computer record."
"Recording."
"Log, day 1. Warp drive full, good thing it hadn't been drained or reallocated to a different ship yet. Food storage... Well, I'm surprised I have anything at all." Skylar grunted as they moved the first of two big barrels, spinning it so they could see the label. "Porridge." Rather than trying to move the second barrel, Skylar moved their eye stalk between the barrel and the wall. "And more porridge."
Skylar sighed and looked around the room again, but there was nothing else to find. "Computer, how long can I survive on porridge consuming the minimum calories daily?"
"Taking into account your current mass, and health scan you could survive six months on porridge and still be cognitively able to operate this ship."
"How much porridge do I have?"
"At the minimum caloric intake, you have enough for seven months."
"And the journey to Earth?"
"Eight months. Give or take a week."
Skylar hunched down into a little ball. This ship couldn't go any faster, Earth wasn't going to get any closer, and it was highly likely any planet, colony, or station along the way would already be aware the ship had been stolen.
(The fact it was decommissioned and about to be stripped for parts was besides the point.)
"Okay." Skylar rolled to the med bay. "How long could I last on the vitamin supplements alone?"
"Not recommended."
"I didn't ask if it was recommended. I asked how long I could survive on the vitamins alone."
"Calculating..."
Skylar watched the green screen light pulsate while the computer worked.
"On vitamins alone, you may survive two weeks with the current stock, though cognitive function will deteriorate rapidly."
"What if I ate the minimum amount porridge one day, then the minimum vitamin supplements the next two, then porridge, then vitamin supplements the next two, repeating the pattern until one or the other ran out, how long would I survive?” The screen pulsated again, while the computer worked.
“Eight and a half months without major long term cognitive decline. Though you will be in a weakened physical state.”
“That will have to do.” Skylar set the statement as their eating schedule and then sat back in the captain’s chair, buckling up.
“Plot course to Earth and engage warp drive.” With a loud hum and a low frequency boom Skylar’s ship was just a blur in the night sky.
Word count: 450
