The common room - or, at least, what appeared to be one - was fairly spacious. As was most of the Kiroscha Raider. The bridge, the hallways, and even the cabins offered significantly more room than one would expect from a gunship meant to only house five people permanently. However, that didn't change the fact that it was a ship meant for five people, plus maybe two or three temporarily. And now, they were seventeen.

In other words, the common room was PACKED, except for a small space in the middle, currently occupied by Silgvani.

"Everyone" Silgvani addressed her people, as well as Nadine, whom she assumed to be somewhere in the crowd. "I know that our situation takes a heavy toll on you. So does it on me. But for all those who are waiting for us, and those who gave their lives so we could now stand here, we have to make it home. It won't be long until we reach Hohmiy, please hang on at least until then! This ship is faster than the Star Treader, so our current estimate is that we will reach the entrance point and make our final jump in around seventy invas. However, as you probably noticed, we are slightly stretching the capabilities of this ship's accommodations. Therefore, I want you to form groups that will make rotating sleeping cycles. Since we brought our supplies over, there shouldn't be any troubles regarding oxygen and water. We may have to skip one or two meals though, so keep that in mind in your planning. Gehnnat, do you think the ship will give you any troubles?"

"No, your Highness" the pilot answered. "Everything is very similar to our ships. To be honest, I am shocked as to how similar everything is. It is basically a slightly modified Vanaery ship, except that I can't read the language on the monitors. But since, again, everything is so similar, I can guess what they tell me."

"I see. Any idea where the similarities come from?"

"Hm, maybe they salvaged some of our ships they seized, reverse-engineered it, and then thought it was better than what they had? Anyway, I'm not complaining. Though I advise against trying to land it, we should request a pickup once we reach Hohmiy."

"Very well. Then remember to message them as early as possible to avoid any misunderstandings. Since Iyariy is no longer with us, I will take on the role of captain for the rest of the journey. We-"

A strange grumbling noise interrupted her. Confused, the princess looked around to see where it came from. A few Vanaery stepped aside, revealing Nadine. Had she been the source of that noise?

The small alien was no longer wrapped in the royal cape and also had gotten rid of the blood-soaked clothes. Instead wore a blanket from the medical bay. A hole had been cut into the middle through which she was sticking her head - an "improvised poncho" as she had called it. As all eyes focused on her, her face seemed to take on a more reddish color than before.

"Um, I-I'm s-sorry..." she stammered sheepishly, apparently embarrassed.

"....well, anyway, that is all. Dismissed!"

Shortly after the crew started to spread throughout the ship, the princess could see the doctor rushing to Nadine's side.

"What was that noise? How did you make it? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes," the alien girl tried to calm her down. "That just happens sometimes when I'm hungry."

"Speaking of," Silgvani stepped into their conversation, "we've been postponing that for long enough now. Kahbbut!"

The cook, hearing his name, separated from his group and came towards them.

"Yes, Your Highness?" he said with a bow.

"If you haven't met her yet, this is Nadine" the princess introduced her. "She is the alien that saved us from the Kiroscha. Unfortunately, we know next to nothing about her species, so I want you to find out what she can eat. Nadine, this is Kahbbut, one of the best chefs on Hohmiy. He has been involved in many diplomatic visits and prides himself on being able to prepare meals for every species in the alliance. If someone can make you a meal, it's him."

The two gave each other a wary look. Especially Kahbbut looked unsure of what to say, but in the end, he simply bowed and led Nadine to the kitchen. The doctor was about to follow, but Silgvani held her back.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Also, doctor, I want you to make a list of every nutrient that is in the food items available on Hohmiy. Nadine seems somewhat educated in that field, maybe she will be able to help herself with that list.

"I shall have it done, Your Highness."

After everything was set in motion, Silgvani withdrew to the captain's cabin. It might have not been the best first action after just declaring herself the new captain, but she was exhausted and wasn't like she was needed while they were simply flying straight ahead. Plus, she planned on sharing the bed with Nadine since, well, someone had to. She knew for a fact none of her subjects would dare to share the bed of their princess, meaning this was the best way to avoid a massive waste of the scarce lodging space. And since Nadine was busy eating right now, it was best if she took her turn to sleep first. That way, she would also be properly rested once matters that required her attention came up.

Thanks to her exhaustion it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. She didn't know how much time had passed when a knock on her door woke her up.

"Your Highness?", she heard the voice of Doctor Githaiy. "It's me, I'm done with the list."

The princess stood up, still a little groggy, and opened the door. The doctor came in and handed her a datapad.

"This is everything I could find in the medical database."

"I see. Hmm..." she said, scrolling through the list. Lacking expertise, most of the words seemed like little more than gibberish to her save for a few well-known ones. The main problem was the things she didn't find.

"Is something missing, Your Highness?" the doctor inquired, having read her expression correctly.

"Yes, Nadine told me a few of the nutrients her species needs. I don't remember the exact name, but I'm certain it's not on the list."

"That is not good. However, these are just the things native to our homeworld. Maybe some of our regular imports have them. Once we are back, I might be able to make a more extensive list. Did they get translated?"

"I didn't know the words, but they did sound like our language, yes."

"Okay, so we have a word for them. That's at least a start. When did she tell you, if I may ask?"

"The topic came up after we discovered the water problem," the princess explained as put the datapad away.

"Water problem?"

"Oh, right, she said pure water is bad for her."

The doctor cocked her head.

"Bad? But... it's water. And she has more water in her cells than any species I have ever seen, how could... unless... could it be? With that much water, it might be possible that her cells transport nutrients via osmosis, that would be an explanation..."

"Doctor."

"Ah, I'm sorry" the doctor snapped out of her mumbling. "I'll look into that. If my assumption is correct, mixing the water to the saturation with anything not harmful to her point should make it drinkable for her. That won't fix the nutrient issue, but it would at least solve the issue of water intake."

So basically, making the water unpurified again would- wait! Suddenly, a thought started to form in Silgvani's mind.

"Say, doctor, as every child knows, tap water is just for cleaning and washing yourself, but not for drinking. That is because tap water is only cleaned, but not thoroughly purified, right?"

"Um...yes?" Githaiy answered with a look as if Silgvani had just asked if fire was hot.

"Why exactly is that?" If it was just because of this "saturation", then maybe that would already solve the issue.

"Err, because that would be a waste of resources to purify water that will only be used for washing?"

"I know that", the princess sighed. "I meant what would happen if I drank tap water?"

"Oh. Well, first of all, tap water is saturated and therefore can't perform osmosis, so it won't detox you. Secondly, if you drink too much, you'll end up with calcium poisoning."

"Yes!" the princess exclaimed as she recognized the word, startling the doctor. "Calcium! That is one of the things she said she needs!"

"...are you SURE she said calcium?"

"Yes, now that I hear it again I am sure. Why is it not on the nutrient list if we have that?"

Githaiy stared at her in disbelief.

"Because I did not consider toxic chemicals to be "nutrients"."

"Well, Nadine apparently does."

"But... that... I mean, sure, life that develops on other planets will be fundamentally different, but this is... I need to do some tests as soon as we return, we might be-"

Her mumbling got once again interrupted, this time by Kahbbut.

"Um..." the cook tentatively began as he poked his head in through the open door. "Ah, you are awake. May I have a moment, Your Highness?"

"Of course, I wanted to talk to you anyway. Did you find something she can eat?"

"Well yes and no. I found something, but not among our supplies. It's something that the Kiroscha left behind and that I assume to be some kind of meat."

"A carnivore?" Githaiy wondered. "With those teeth and no claws?"

"Yes, and one that eats an insane amount! How is that even possible with her size?!"

"Because weight is a bigger factor than size in that regard" the doctor explained. "That shouldn't be news to you, just think of the Krsnelv. Also, she likely hasn't eaten for a bit over a day."

"Yes, Lady Githaiy, I am aware of that. But she would need to weigh at least 400 vays for this amount to make any sense! Also, for some reason, she mixed the excess blood from the meat in her drinking water! Carnivore or not, that is just messed up!"

"Oh, then my assumption seems to be indeed correct, that is good. Oh, and by the way, it's actually 500 vays. Or probably more, we don't know exactly because the scales gave in."

"Y... you are joking, right?"

Before the doctor got the chance to alleviate Kahbbut of his disbelief, another crewmember appeared in the doorway.

"Excuse me, am I interrupting something?"

"No," the princess said stepping forward. "What is it?"

"Well, the alien, it-"

"She."

"Apologies, she clogged the toilet."