Chapter 2: Len has a Plan
Sitting in the dark, Len sorted out the chaotic series of memories that did not belong to him but felt as if he experienced them himself. It was like reliving three completely different lives.
In one he was an ambitious woman, who left friends, family, and love behind for a new world. The other was a confident womanizer, who wanted to build a harem far away from the strict regulation of earth.
In another, he was a husband. A talented space engineer who was offered to relocate with his whole family. His wife and two daughters were here on the ship still sleeping in cryogenic stasis, not knowing the beloved dad and husband had been killed and devoured by a terrible monster.
He finally opened his eyes after sorting out these three different timelines of lives and memories. After all that, he was still Len, he did not share the emotions that would have been attached to these memories.
The ghoul felt a lot better after sorting and categorizing these memories. With the new knowledge, he also had a good idea of what he had to do from now on to secure his life from here on out.
Stepping back into the brightly lit hallway, he noticed some changes to himself. His claws seemed sharper and his skin was paler and less yellowish than before. He had experienced this before when he started eating the lab-grown meat, but this was too great of a change to go unnoticed.
It had to be the better food, he was sure of it.
As for his plan. Len picked up the authentification bracelets from the three crew members he ate. He knew all their passwords and private information, so it was not hard to use them. With these, he got easy access to places on the ship he could not enter before with the steward right his master bought for him.
Among them were the cryostasis facilities.
The three had talked about waking the captain. The reason was what happened to the storage area, where his master had been sleeping in his casket full of earth. The Ankara had been hit by an unforeseen asteroid.
This random space projectile had not just brought the ship off course, but also blew off the greater parts of the storage facilities. Most resources like the power tools, machines, and materials meant to build the colony were lost.
And his terrible master was most likely turned to powder and spread through the galaxy. Serves him right.
back to the topic, this missing weight further changed the course of the ship. Their whole route would need to be recalculated and calibrated or they would not make it to their destination.
Now, Len could not just wake the captain and his crew, and make them do that. Originally, he had only one option, let the ship take its course and see whatever happened in the next millennia.
However, his newly discovered ability gave him a better option, than waiting 2000 years for death. Len would eat the captain and gain his knowledge! Then he could simply correct the course himself.
It was his first time in cryogenics since he did not have access to this part before. it did not feel like it was his first time, since all hallways looked somewhat the same, with the automatic sliding doors. And of course, he had the memories of other people who had been here before.
The Captain and the crew had their own section, specifically secured behind a door, that could only be opened from the inside, the system, or by emergency staff. Inside was a long room, filled with cryo pods, where the humans slept peacefully.
it was easy to find the captain, as he wore a deep blue admirals vest. Len painstakingly activated the awakening process. He could have just punched through the pod's glass lid to kill the captain first and that might have been preferable since the captain was a military-grade enhanced human, but:
That would have also alarmed the ship's sensors, possibly triggering the awakening of the security forces. Instead, he used the knowledge h acquired like a nice boy and woke the captain up the way it was supposed to be.
The moment the lid opened and the captain, stepped out, still rubbing his eyes, a pair of sharp claws stabbed into his chest. The captain still reacted, just a little too late, and broke the ghoul's arm, after his heart had already been rent to shreds.
"How-?" he mumbled, spitting out a torrent of blood.
Now, Len had to hurry with devouring the captain, because the ship would soon go into emergency mode after detecting the captain's death and automatically wake up the vice-captain and the crew.
The ghoul cracked the captain's skill and started shoveling the man's brain into his mouth. of course, there was no scientific reason behind him starting with the brain, but more of a mystic one. Len just thought that if the memories came from somewhere, it would be the brain, right?
Again, he was overcome by the insatiable hunger, but this time he was prepared and resisted just gobbling up the rest of the captain. He closed his eyes focussed on his mind and really, the captain's memories started surfacing as if triggered by a cue.
It was a lot easier dealing and sorting the memories of a single person, compared to three at once. the captain has a picture book career. His wife died from sickness, leaving him with his two estranged sons. He took this journey as a way to- He didn't need all this.
Len used the captain's codes and bracelet to quickly disengage the security protocols. he went even further, put on the captain's bracelet, and registered himself as the new captain.
His heart was pumping, but he had done it! Now, there was nothing to worry about anymore. As captain, he had the highest authority possible on the ship. There was nothing stopping him from changing or correcting the course.
Still, he took his time to sit down and digest the knowledge he had gained thoroughly. Then he took his time to eat and digest the captain thoroughly. He couldn't really describe it, but he felt... better afterward.
Equipped with his new rank, Len entered the bridge. As captain, all doors opened for him the moment he came close. Using the knowledge he had consumed from the captain and others, he was able to operate the ship and have the board computer recalculate their course to Hurble-79.
-Route recalculated-
-Estimate time of travel: 2050 years-
The ship computer informed him after he had sat in the captain's chair and waited for 20 minutes.
"hey, just 100 more years. Ankara, can we do it with our current resources?" he didn't feel weird, speaking to the ship's computer like this. He simply followed the captain's habits.
-There is a 97% chance to reach the set destination-
"What about the other three percent?" the ghoul asked curiously.
-Further course correction might be needed in the future and could cost too much energy-
It was the captain's knowledge that told him this wasn't good. 97% seemed like a great chance to the ghoul, but when it came to space travel, that 3%, could as well be a 100% guarantee for complications.
"Ankara, is there a way to increase our chances?"
- Calculating- there was a loading symbol on the screen, so Len waited.
-Lowering the current energy consumption by 5% within the next 10 years ensure ample power reserves for possible future course corrections-
How was he supposed to lower the energy consumption? Wasn't the ship already in standby mode during most of the journey?
"Errm, Ankara. Can you give me a list of energy consumers on the ship?"
First, he had to know what consumed energy.
-Affirmative-
After a short while, a window appeared which reminded him of the old task manager old computers used to have in the past. It listed the current energy consumption, and how much each point consumed. The biggest being:
90% Cryogenic Facilities
5% Engine
3% Board System
1,5% Life support System
0,3% Lights
The last less than one percent was a culmination of different systems, who individually cost less than 0.1%.
The first he decided to turn off were the last two. The lights and life support system were activated because of the emergency staff's awakening. He didn't need light or air ventilation as a ghoul. The ship obediently went dark.
-Warning! Turning off Life Support System will lead to loss of air pressure-
"Why?" the ghoul asked confused.
It was unlikely he would die, even if the ship lost air pressure. Still, it was something he preferred to have.
- Damaged Storage Facilities are leaking atmosphere.-
Len understood what this meant. To safely turn off life support, he had to fix the leaks first. Once the ship was airtight, keeping the air pressure consistent shouldn't cost any additional power.
Even after he succeeded, there would still be more than 3% energy consumption he had to conserve. The ghoul's eyes hovered over the main energy consumer.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone