"Really?" said Nicola.
"Us?" said Tyler.
"Are you sure?" said Katie.
"Like, we're famous?" said Greta.
"That's so cool," said Sean.
"I mean, I knew word was getting around the galaxy," said Shimlara excitedly. "But I didn't think--"
"Could we get back to the subject at hand?" said XYZ40 firmly.
The Space Brigade snapped back to attention.
"As a royal visitor, Princess Petronella won't be under much scrutiny," said XYZ40. "So we should be able to parachute you out of the royal spaceship quite easily. You'll be met by one of our secret agents on Volcomania. His code name is JJ-11. He'll identify himself with the phrase, 'Lovely day for a stroll.' You must respond, 'I do enjoy a piece of rhubarb pie.' He'll arrange a transport and secret undercover identities for you."
"Okay," said Nicola. "And what happens after that?"
"I assume with your experience, you'll have no problem scuba diving through the Underground Sea to Whimsy and then tracking down the prisoners? Of course, Whimsy is a war zone so you'll have to be careful, but you've probably been through many a war zone in your time, right?"
XYZ40 looked at Nicola.
"No problem at all," croaked Nicola. Shouldn't war zones be avoided?
The king and queen were fidgeting in their thrones.
"You don't need us for all the details, do you?" said the king.
The queen stood up. "I'm afraid I really need to go for my facial," she said. "I owe it to my subjects to keep my skin flawless." She gave Princess Petronella a kiss on the cheek. "Darling, have a wonderful time in Volcomania!"
"Mom!" said Princess Petronella. "I'm doing this to try and help stop the war. It won't be fun. I can't stand Mrs. Mania's son!"
"Oh, now, you make sure you play nicely with the little fellow," said the king, ruffling Princess Petronella's hair.
"Dad!" The Princess readjusted her tiara. "I'm not going on a playdate. I'm going on a diplomatic mission."
"Of course you are, sweetie," said the king. He stood up and yawned. "I'm off for my nap." Then he and the queen swept out of the room. A moment later, the queen popped her head back through the door and trilled, "I nearly forgot! Good luck, Space Brigade! I do hope none of you die!"
She vanished.
Princess Petronella's face was bright red. "They are just . . . impossible!"
XYZ40 spent the next few hours giving the Space Brigade detailed instructions about meeting places, geography, history, secret agents, and code words, by the end of which Nicola felt like she'd spent two weeks stuck in a classroom.
Finally she consulted her clipboard. "I think that's everything. I'll just give you your kits."
She handed each member of the Space Brigade a satchel.
"It contains your parachute, lava goggles, extra tubes of lava screen, two-way radios, binoculars--that sort of thing," said XYZ40.
"Where's my satchel?" said the princess.
"But your highness, you won't be parachuting," said XYZ40. "You'll be--"
"Playing nicely with the toad," finished the princess sulkily.
"Your highness, let me assure you that your role is absolutely crucial," said XYZ40. "For one thing, we wouldn't be able to smuggle in the Space Brigade if we didn't have the excuse of the royal visit, and for another, you may actually have some luck convincing the toad, I mean, Mrs. Mania's son, to influence his mother."