Earthling Ambassador (Space Brigade 1)

She pulled the silver case Mully had given her from underneath the seat. She never expected that she would have to use it.

"Untie the princess," she told Greta. "She can help us."

"Do you really think it's wise to be untying our prisoner?" asked Greta, but she was already starting to untie the ropes around the princess's hands.

"I'm going to give you each a freeze-grenade," said Nicola. "We'll have to surround the Arth-Creatures to make sure we get every single one of them."

"Quick!"Tyler took another look out the spaceship window. "They're getting closer."

Nicola twisted the first dial to 55.

But what were the other two numbers? Her mind was like a blank sheet of paper.

"Hurry!' cried Shimlara.

"55-77-99," snapped Greta.

Nicola stared at her.

"Mully told me to remember those numbers just in case you needed them," said Greta. "She said that they were important, but she didn't tell me what they were for."

"Thank you," said Nicola.

"Lucky some of us have got good memories," huffed Greta.

Nicola twisted the dials and opened the case, handing a freeze-grenade to each person in the spaceship, including the princess.

"Just throw them as close as you can to the creatures. When they hit the ground and explode, they give off a cloud of gas that will freez

e anything within a five-meter radius."

"I know how to use a freeze-grenade," said the princess haughtily. "Although I don't see why I should help save the lives of my kidnappers."

Nicola looked at Shimlara's injured arm. "Can you throw with your left hand? Maybe you should stay here in the spaceship."

Shimlara grabbed a grenade with her left hand. "I can do it."

"NICOLAAAAAAAAAA!" It was Sean yelling.

"We're coming. Just stand still!" Nicola poked her head out of the spaceship.

"Okay." She looked back at the other members of the Space Brigade. "We've got to spread out and surround them. Don't throw your grenade until you're in a position where you can get as many Arth-Creatures as possible. If we don't get all of them and we haven't got any grenades left then we're--"

"Lunch," finished the princess, smiling grimly. "They'll be having us for lunch."

CHAPTER 28

The members of the Space Brigade--minus Sean--stood crowded together in the small spaceship cabin, clutching their freeze-grenades and looking expectantly at Nicola.

"Let's go, everybody!" she ordered, trying to sound confident instead of terrified.

Her eyes watered as she stepped onto the steps of the aircraft and the horrible stench filled her nostrils. She realized that they'd actually landed on the outer edge of what appeared to be a gigantic, scooped-out crater. It was like an Olympic stadium, except the steep sides were lined with boulders instead of seats, and the middle was a vast prairie of black, bubbling mud.

Right in the middle of the crater was a heart-stopping sight. At least twenty Arth-Creatures were purposefully plodding through the mud from all directions, forming a big, uneven circle around Sean. He had turned his baseball cap around backward and was bending at the knees, his arms crossed in kung fu attack position. Only Sean would think he could single-handedly take on a pack of dangerous alien creatures, after three beginner kung fu lessons.

Nicola clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from screaming for her mom and dad.This wasn't a bad dream. It was real. Her brother could be torn to bloody shreds and eaten in front of her. She needed to think. If the Space Brigade was going to make it out of this alive, they needed to be smarter than the Arth-Creatures.

With quivering legs she walked clumsily down the spaceship stairway, tightly holding her freeze-grenade.