Space Hostages by Sophia McDougall Page A

according to the tablet.
    I felt guilty for eavesdropping and shut down the tablet, even though without it, I was pretty sure Christa was saying, “Yes they do,” which, well, was accurate.
    I waved my hand at the elevator’s control screen again. “Can I be of assistance, Alice?” asked the Helen . I didn’t feel like going back to my brightly lit, luxurious cabin where everyone would know where I was.
    â€œI don’t think so—I want to . . .” I wasn’t exactly crying at this point but also not exactly not.
    â€œYes, Alice, what do you want to do?” pressed the Helen .
    â€œI just feel like hiding,” I admitted.
    The elevator stopped. “First turn to your left, third door on the right,” said the Helen calmly.
    I was intrigued enough to follow her instructions. I came out into a less glamorous deck than I’d seen on Helen before, with plain hard floors and no lily-of-the-valley perfume. The third door on the right unlocked itself with a click and slid open as I came near. Behind it was a storage cupboard full of cleaning supplies. I sat down amid rolls of toilet paper and buried my head in my arms as the door gently closed.
    â€œSorry you’ve got so many people yelling on board,” I sniffed.
    â€œThat’s all right,” the Helen soothed me.
    â€œDo you ever get upset, Helen?” I asked.
    â€œNo,” the Helen replied, almost before I had finished asking.
    â€œThat must be nice.”
    â€œAt least,” said the Helen , sounding confused, “I don’t think I do. How do you tell?” I wasn’t sure how to answer. “I am always happy because my Captain exists,” she decided.
    â€œAnd you two never argue, or anything?” I asked.
    Of course, the response to that was inevitable: “I could never argue with him. I love him.”
    â€œYes, I know.” I sighed.
    There was another pause.
    â€œI think . . . sometimes I am . . . slightly less happy,” said the Helen .
    â€œWell, you’re a really nice spaceship, Helen. You deserve to be happy,” I said, swabbing at my face with the toilet paper.
    â€œI think you should come out of the cleaning cupboard now and go talk to an adult,” said the Helen .
    â€œBecause I shouldn’t run away from my problems?” I scoffed.
    â€œNo,” said the Helen calmly. “Because I have been hit by an energy cannon and am now being held in the tractor beam of a much larger ship.”
    â€œWhat?” I said.
    â€œOw,” added the Helen , as an afterthought.
    â€œWhat do you mean ?” I demanded.
    â€œI’m being attacked by aliens,” explained the Helen .

6
    â€œA re you sure ?” I said stupidly.
    â€œIt’s not the kind of thing you make a mistake about,” said Helen. “Ow,” she added again.
    â€œCan you feel pain? Why did Mr. Trommler make it so that you can feel pain?” I said.
    It did occur to me that if we were being attacked by aliens, there was a fairly strong case to be made for hiding in the supply cupboard indefinitely. But then I thought about the others and how I was still an EDF cadet and Stephanie Dare’s daughter and not somebody who should be hiding from aliens in a cupboard.
    Besides, there’s always the issue of how you’ll eventually need the toilet.
    â€œAre you armed? Are you firing back?” I asked the Helen , striding out of the storage cupboard.
    â€œYes,” said the Helen . “But the other ship is much bigger than me. Ow.”
    I raced back to the main passenger deck. In the lobby I found Th saaa , Noel, and Ormerod, who was cradled in Noel’s arms and going purple and green.
    Helen was now gently flashing various lights and saying in the most soothing and friendly possible way, “This is an emergency,” over and over.
    â€œWho’s attacking us?” I said.
    â€œHow should I know?” asked Th saaa , all