‘I want to do it but I don’t want to do it,’ said Katie. ‘Our first mission was the best time I’ve had in my whole life, but it was also the worst time. Does that make sense?’

‘Yes,’ said Nicola.

‘No,’ said Tyler.

‘Anyway,’ continued Katie. ‘We don’t have a choice – we’ve got to do it. They need us! All the poor people on their “small but exquisite” planet are depending on us!’

Nicola felt guilty. All she’d thought about was how fun or scary the mission would be. She nodded seriously and frowned as if she’d been worried to death about the people of Shobble. ‘Yes, I know,’ she said. ‘It’s a big responsibility.’

‘So what did you mean before when you said that it was pretty obvious?’ asked Tyler.

‘I realised I should just put it to the vote,’ said Nicola. ‘It has to be unanimous. Everyone in the Space Brigade has to want to go.’

‘Well, Sean will want to go,’ said Tyler confidently.

‘That’s true,’ agreed Nicola. Her older brother had found it difficult to cope with normal life on Earth after their last mission. He was itching for another adventure. ‘He’ll probably complain that it doesn’t sound dangerous enough.’

‘What about Greta?’ asked Katie.

‘Oh, is she still in the Brigade?’ asked Tyler. ‘I mean, she sort of tricked us into letting her join in the first place.’

‘She did help with some things,’ admitted Nicola. Greta had once been Nicola’s Worst Enemy and she still wasn’t her favourite person, but it didn’t seem fair to leave her out after all they’d been through together.

‘She wasn’t that bad,’ said Katie. ‘She doesn’t mean to be so bossy and competitive. I kind of liked her at the end.’

‘Ye-es.’ Nicola and Tyler gave each other doubtful looks. Sometimes Katie took being nice just a little too far.

‘And then there’s Shimlara,’ said Katie.

Shimlara was their friend from the planet of Globagaskar. Her dad was Georgio Gorgioskio, the President of the Save the Little Earthlings Committee. It was thanks to Georgio that Nicola had discovered Princess Petronella’s plan to destroy Earth. Shimlara had become a member of the Space Brigade when she offered to help the Brigade kidnap the Princess. Apart from the fact that she was six foot tall (the people of Globagaskar were nearly twice as tall as Earthlings) and knew how to read minds (a handy Globagaskarian skill!), she was pretty much like an ordinary Earthling girl.

‘She’ll want to go.’ Nicola, Tyler and Katie agreed.

‘It looks like we already know what the vote will be,’ said Tyler.

Nicola picked up the letter again. ‘I still need to call the Commander. How much do you think it would cost to phone another planet?’