They use a distance called the parsec (a contraction of parallax and second), based on a universal measure called the stellar parallax and equivalent to 3.26 light-years.
There are just more tick marks to cover per unit distance Also, a nice side effect of the term real estate is that it aligns naturally with the fact that it comes in units of distance squared.
You scoff, remembering that a parsec is a unit of distance, not time, when suddenly your ship powers down and a boarding party is beating down the outside hatch.
Fathom is a unit of distance about six feet that originated from the old English fathom, which could mean to embrace or outstretched arms, hence six feet.