"Excellent. I'll feel right at home being bossed around by my daughter."
Squid removed his thumb from his mouth. "I want to be on your plate, too!" he cried, looking up imploringly at his big sister.
"Don't worry, you're in my platoon, too," said Shimlara. She hoisted Squid up onto her hip.
"What about me?" asked Mully. "Am I in Shimlara's platoon, too?"
"Actually, seeing as you're the only person with actual army experience, you have your own platoon," said Nicola. She hoped that Georgio wouldn't be upset about his wife being a platoon captain, when he was a lowly soldier, but she needn't have worried.
"Mully's platoon will put the others to shame!" he said with satisfaction.
"Thank a lot, Dad," said Shimlara. "Great team spirit."
"What? Oh! Sorry, darling, I mean, oh dear, I do put my heel in my mouth sometimes."
"Foot in your mouth," corrected Greta under her breath.
"What's she mumbling about?" said Georgio irritably.
"The United Aunts are all in Mully's platoon." Nicola squinted at the piece of paper she'd been scribbling on last night.
"Right," said Mully. "And what's our objective?"
"Your objective is to infiltrate the enemy lines and to sabotage their tanks," said Nicola, wondering if this was actually possible for a group of elderly aunts. "If that's okay?"
"No problem," said Mully, as if Nicola had just asked her to pass the milk.
"What's our objective?" Georgio asked Shimlara respectfully.
"Intelligence," said Shimlara. "We have to read the enemy's minds and report anything useful to Nicola. We'll be scanning thousands of soldiers' minds all at the same time."
Princess Petronella sauntered over to Nicola.
"I hear that you're assigning people to platoons," she said. "I assume I'll be commander in chief of a battalion, perhaps?"
It hadn't actually occurred to Nicola to give the princess a specific role.
"Ah, we thought of you as more of a . . . figurehead," she said.
"Figurehead," frowned the princess. "That must be an Earthling word. I expect it means Queen of Everything?"
"Sort of," said Nicola. No need to mention that figureheads didn't actually have any authority.
"Excellent," said the princess. "I'll go and check on everybody's progress."
"Thanks," said Nicola. She turned back to her list and checked off the roles for everyone else.
Sean--Captain of the Theatrical Platoon
Katie--Captain of the Music Platoon
Tyler--Captain of the Sculptors Platoon
Henry Sweet--Captain of the Painters Platoon
Greta--Captain of the Writers and Poets Platoon
Nicola--GENERAL