Ratbag let out a little snort-snuffle and settled a little deeper into my lap. He had bruised ribs, I was sure, but nothing appeared broken. He’d looked at me when I’d finally made my escape from that disastrous luncheon, as though I’d failed to protect him.

The fact that I felt like I had failed to protect him only made me madder.

I stared out of the Habitat Two observation deck’s massive windows and saw nothing of the splendour of space. The sun in this system was somewhere behind us, so all I could see were stars for miles and miles and miles. Or whatever measure of distance was used by starships and spacemen who fly them.

I’d come here after Father had fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Using the emergency access tubes to avoid the leaseholder security force that patrolled Deck A and the leaseholder’s quarters, I’d made slow progress, but managed to stay hidden and safe.

Safe, I thought, was a relative term. So much could influence it. Right now, nothing felt safe.

I stared down at Ratbag, knowing by morning I’d have to hide him away with Mandy in her florist’s shop. On Deck G, there was some chance that he wouldn’t be found by my father’s men. But I knew reality was so very different to our hopes and dreams.

Ratbag would never again be safe.

And neither was I.

I wallowed in self-pity for a while longer. I couldn’t tell how long I’d been sitting there, but as the observation deck’s lighting started to slowly brighten as shipboard daytime closed in, I knew it had to be hours.

And I knew I had to fight this. Fight my father. Not just for Ratbag. Nor for me. But because of what I’d overheard and the fact that we still hadn't jumped yet. I knew I had to fight this for the ship, for those onboard and in the fleets.

For humanity.

But I wasn’t a superhero. I was a privileged, reasonably well educated young woman of twenty. My life had barely begun back on Earth, and here it was derailing all over again. I wished I dared to just go to my father and refuse him. But that wasn’t in me.

Ratbag didn’t deserve to be punished for my rebellion, though. And then there was Mandy. If I placed Ratbag in her care, my father would know. Mandy would have a target painted on her back in short order.

She possibly already did, I reluctantly conceded. Not much got past my father’s goons. If they knew to find me in the Habitat Two central hub, then they knew why I’d been there.

Mandy was already in danger for befriending me.

I lifted a thumb to my lips and chewed on the nail. As far as rebellions against my father went, it was pitiful.

My stomach rumbled. Ratbag opened one eye and stared at me, disgruntlement oozing off his cute, little nose.

What was I going to do? I couldn’t marry Jacob Logan. The mayor was repulsive and twice my age. I shuddered. Ratbag whined, placing his head on his paws and looking up at me.

“We’re screwed,” I whispered. “There’s nowhere to hide.”

“Why would you need to hide, Adi?” Aquila asked. The gel wall beside me started to softly glow a welcoming green.

“Hey, Aquila,” I said, running a hand down Ratbag’s back and making him close his eyes happily.

“Good morning, Adi. You are early.” Early to leave our quarters, I supposed.

“If I did need to hide,” I said to the AI, not commenting on why I was out and about so early. I couldn’t exactly say it was to watch the sunrise. “Would you tell me where the best places are onboard ship?”

“This vessel has many places one could choose to…hide in. But why do you need to hide, Adi?”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said, waving my hand in dismissal. Ratbag made a yipping sound, drawing my attention back to his neglected back rubbing.

I lowered my hand and scratched him softly. He snorted and resumed his pampering.

“Where could I hide, Aquila?” I asked. “Somewhere not even the Anderson Universal crew would find me.”

“That is harder. The Anderson Universal crew has access to all areas of this ship. Aside from the leaseholder’s quarters.”

And wasn’t that a strange thing to consider? If I wanted to hide from Anderson Universal employees, all I had to do was stay home with Dad. But if I wanted to hide from Dad, who could twist the arm of the captain with ease, there was nowhere the Anderson Universal crew wouldn’t find me.

“Why do you need to hide, Adi?” Aquila tried again.

“It’s a game,” I said, lying with a little too much ease for my liking. “You’ve heard of ‘Hide and Seek’ before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this is like that, but for grown-ups. So, the hiding places have to be really good. Can you think of any like that?”

“I do not like this game, Adi,” Aquila said.

“You could hide with me.”

“I am already everywhere.”

“Except the leaseholder’s quarters,” I muttered.

“Yes, except there.”

Ratbag had gone back to sleep. I sighed and stared out of the window.

So vast, so big, and yet nowhere to hide in it.

“You could hide in the medical bay,” Aquila suddenly said.

“That’s open to all passengers onboard the ship,” I countered.

“Some require permission to be on that deck first.You don’t.”

“What else is on that deck?”

“The launch bays, gymnasium, officers’ mess, and senior officers’ quarters.”

“Not exactly a low traffic zone, then.”

“No. I suppose it is not.”

I shook my head, feeling sleepy. I hadn’t slept a wink last night, but the adrenaline had worn off, and the fear had become a muted background noise, and now my eyelids were drooping.

“You could hide with me,” Aquila said.

“With you? You said you’re everywhere,” I offered with a wide yawn that cracked my jaw.

Ratbag huffed at the painful sound but didn’t open his eyes to glare at me.

“My centre is within the computer core, Adi,” Aquila said. “You could hide there. Access is heavily restricted.”

Sleep sloughed off me as I considered the AI’s words.

“Where’s the computer core?” I asked.

“I will tell you if you tell me why you wish to hide.”

Sneaky AI.

I shook my head, but what did I have to lose? My father spent most of his time in his quarters, where he couldn’t converse directly with Aquila even if he wanted to. The mayor could find out. But even though the mayor repulsed me, I didn’t fear him like I did my father. To have a place to go that the leaseholder security guards couldn’t find me, and only a select few Anderson Universal crew ever went, was pure gold.

The risk, I thought right then, was worth it.

I whispered, “My father is a dangerous man, Aquila.” Then checked over my shoulder, belatedly worried I’d been overheard.

I was alone in the observation deck lounge, though. Alone except for Aquila and a sleeping Ratbag.

“Adi, he is your father. He poses no danger to you.”

My head shook. A tear threatened to spill.

“Oh, Aquila,” I said. “He’s a danger to everyone, especially me.”

I thought about it. For a moment, I was sure I wouldn’t say a thing. But then my mouth opened and the words came out.

One way or another, I’d just sealed my fate by betraying the man who had fathered me.

“And the ship, Aquila,” I said. “He’s a danger to you, too. Not just to me.”

The gel wall pulsed red for a brief moment, which was not something I had seen Aquila do previously. It made me nervous. Aquila was just a computer. Highly evolved and interactive to the extreme, but a computer. Would he take the threat seriously? Too seriously? Maybe I had more to be scared of than just my dad.

I reached down to pick up the datapad I’d brought with me but not used. I couldn’t read a book when I felt so troubled. And then I made a move to stand, to get out of there quickly. Not that I could outrun an AI who was everywhere onboard the ship, except the one place I least wanted to be. I cuddled Ratbag, pressing my baby against my chest carefully. Trying to decide what to do.

It all felt too hopeless.

“Adi,” Aquila finally said. The gel wall had turned back to green, thankfully. I still felt like a startled rabbit. “I have keyed your biometric signature to the computer core section of Deck C. If you need a place to hide, use it. I will protect you.”

A sob escaped me. I clamped down hard on the next.

“Thank you, Aquila,” I rasped.

“It is part of my subroutines,” the AI explained. “To protect.”

I let out a little hysterical laugh.

“Yeah, of course, it is.”

Then I headed toward the central hub and Mandy.

First things first. I had to warn my friend. Take care of Ratbag. And then make sure I knew how to get to the computer core on Deck C. And then I had to pack a bag.

I was going into hiding.