‘I think we’ll all need sunglasses.’ Nicola shielded her eyes as Tyler pressed the button to release the hatch and the light from the rainbows became even brighter. There was a blast of ice-cold air. ‘And really warm clothes,’ she added.

Everyone rifled through their backpacks for sunglasses and their warmest jackets.

One by one they all climbed down the spaceship ladder. Nicola had nervous butterflies. This was it. The mission was beginning. Her cheeks stung in the cold, and as her feet hit the ground, they disappeared into a soft, fluffy substance that came up to her ankles.

‘Snow!’ said Shimlara. ‘I think I remember learning that Shobble has the softest, driest snow in the galaxy.’

Nicola reached down and picked up a handful of the white powder. Shimlara was right. It was as soft as feathers and the tiny crystals fell gently through her hand like sand. She turned her attention upwards to the rainbows soaring back and forth across the sky like the arches of a glorious cathedral. If only she’d brought along a camera. She would have to write up a ‘Mission Checklist’ for next time.

‘Should I pack up the spaceship, Nic?’ asked Tyler behind her.

‘Oh, yes, good idea.’

Tyler pressed a button on the spaceship key. He stepped back and the spaceship began to whirl in slow circles that got faster and faster. Seconds later, the spaceship had disappeared and all that was left was the silver briefcase. Tyler picked it up by the handle.

‘Okay, time for some action!’ Sean jumped around on his toes and practised a few of his karate moves, one of which narrowly missed Greta’s head.

‘The Commander said he’d send somebody to the SpacePort to pick us up,’ said Nicola. ‘That’s where we are, isn’t it? The SpacePort?’

She looked around a bit anxiously. It didn’t seem like a normal airport on Earth with the roar of planes taking off and landing, and thousands of travellers hurrying back and forth carrying baggage. Shobble seemed eerily silent.

Shimlara pointed at a sign. WELCOME TO SHOBBLE SPACEPORT. Never a moment’s trouble on our pretty Planet of Shobble.

‘Oh good,’ said Nicola. ‘Well, I guess we just wait.’

Her ears were cold so she opened her bag to pull out a hat.

‘What’s that?’ asked Greta, pointing at a small jar in her bag.

‘When I was packing I was looking around the kitchen for something useful to take and I saw this jar of chilli powder on my dad’s spice rack,’ Nicola explained. ‘I thought it might make a good weapon. I could throw it in someone’s eyes.’ Nicola was rather proud of her resourcefulness.