by Erin Downing
“Why not, Chamberlin?” she snapped back. “The whole point of us forming this band is to spread the rebel message. Why not help in more obvious ways, too?”
“Because you could get hurt, that’s why!” Chamberlin said, his voice trembling. “Oh my, oh my, oh my … this is an absolute disaster. First a band, now rebel activities. What’s next? Shooting at Geela’s ship with a bow and arrow?”
“That’s more Juno’s style,” Athena said. “I recognize that hand-to-hand combat is silly in a situation like this. Geela has many protectors and is not likely to be vulnerable to a physical attack.”
“I wasn’t being serious!” Chamberlin gasped. He stormed into the hangout area, where the other girls were waiting for Athena to help them write a new song. After the day’s excitement, everyone was in the mood to create. They all felt inspired to write their next song as they prepared for their first rebel mission. “All of you!” Chamberlin barked, shaking his finger at the five girls. “You are being careless and reckless. This is not part of our agreement! When I agreed to help the five of you disguise yourselves as—”
Chamberlin paused as Rand came strolling through, carrying a pizza in one hand and a video game console in the other. The five girls and Chamberlin stared at their roadie, waiting for him to move on through. They had to be careful not to talk about rebel activity, their true identities, or their home planets whenever Rand was around. As far as he was concerned, he was simply working for a brand-new band.
“Uh, hiya?” Rand said through a mouthful of pizza. “My shift is done for tonight, right?”
“Absolutely, Rand,” Chamberlin said firmly. “You are dismissed.”
Rand could clearly sense that he had walked into the middle of something. He looked at the girls sheepishly, then held out his pizza and said, “Does anyone want a bite?” They all shook their heads no. “All righty then. I’m gonna crash.”
Whistling, he strolled out of the room and let the girls and Chamberlin get on with their discussion.
“As I was saying—” Chamberlin began again.
But Juno cut him off. “Yeah, yeah, you don’t support us working with Captain Hansome. That’s totally expected.”
“Yet you’re doing it anyway?” Chamberlin said, aghast.
“Obviously,” Luna shrugged. “For one thing, he’s super cute and dresses well.”
“And for another, he’s helping us actually do something to fight back against Geela,” Rhea explained. “Performing our music is great, but it feels good to have something concrete to do that will threaten her power more quickly.”
“And he asked nicely,” Hera said, nodding.
Chamberlin sat on the edge of the sofa, resting his face in his hands. “He asked nicely?” he muttered. “So you’re going to join a rebel army because someone asked nicely?” Chamberlin’s shoulders dropped. “Honestly, how do I get into these things? What have I done to deserve this job? Did anyone in any of the royal courts honestly believe I could succeed in this mission?”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Chamberlin,” Juno said, patting him on the back. “No one is going to stop any of us once we’ve decided to do something.”
“We’re princesses,” Luna said. “We get what we want and need. Eventually, we’ll get rid of Geela—it’s just a matter of time.”
“Where there’s a will,” Hera chirped. “There’s a way!”
* * *
The next afternoon, before setting out on their first mission for the Resistance, SPACEPOP decided to test out some of its new material in a park on Heralda. “My people seem really down,” Hera had said the night before. “I’d love to play for everyone, to help bring a little light to the darkness on our planet.”
So the next morning, the girls enlisted Rand to set up their equipment near a children’s play area in a busy central park. Heralda had been filled with parks and gardens—and now those that hadn’t yet been destroyed by Geela were filled with people out enjoying what remained of their planet’s natural beauty—but Hera had been specific about where she wanted to play.
“I want to go to Trueberry Meadow. It was my favorite park to play in when I was a little kid,” she explained. “When I was small, my parents thought it would benefit me to mingle with the people of our planet. They used to have nannies take me to the park to run and frolic with some of the other children of Heralda.”
“That’s so different from my upbringing,” Athena said distantly.
“Same,” Luna said. “I was carefully shielded from the outside world. For my own protection, of course.”
“It was really nice to get to play with other kids for a while,” Hera said. Then she frowned. “But when I turned eight, I was expected to begin my formal princess training. So there was no longer time for me to go to the park with all the other children. Of course, I was still encouraged to play outside with my nannies and tutors and the servants around the castle, but I so missed being around kids my own age. I’ve always cherished the fond memories I have from the days I spent at that park. I had photographs of the park hanging over my bed back home. They brought me much joy when I woke each morning,” she said wistfully. “So now, I’d love to share our message of joy, peace, and love at Trueberry Meadow—as a way of giving back.”
“Well, let’s get out there and spread some cheer,” Juno said, grabbing her drumsticks. “Because we have a mission to accomplish, and I have no intention of failing.”
A short while later, Rand had the band’s equipment set up on a huge rock in the center of Trueberry Meadow. They had to play acoustic, since there was nowhere to plug in amps or other sound equipment. Luckily, their location on top of the rounded rock helped the sound carry to the farthest edges of the park, and by the time they were on their second song, a sizable crowd had gathered.
“Look,” Rhea said, nudging Athena between songs. “Isn’t it that guy Bradbury?”
Sure enough, SPACEPOP’s biggest fan was right up at the front of the crowd. He was bopping his head along with the music and capturing each of their songs on a tiny camera built into his glasses.
“I hope he likes the new song,” Athena said, nodding curtly at Bradbury. “We can’t afford to lose this guy’s support.”
Bradbury grinned and waved. Rhea waved back, then muttered to Athena, “Judging from the way he stares at Juno, I think we’ve found a forever-fan. I don’t think we need to worry.”
When the girls had reached the end of their usual set, Juno tapped out the beat of their newest song—“Have a Good Time”—and Luna launched into the lyrics with backup from the other girls and their pets.
Turn up the music.… Turn down the drama.
Turn up the music.… Turn down the drama.
Yeah yeah yeah yea-aah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah eh ehh.
Yeah yeah yeah yea-aah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah eh ehh.
Yeah, we gonna have a good time. Yeah, we gonna have a good time.
Yeah, we gonna have a good time. Yeah, we gonna have a good time.
Our mission …
Gotta spread our message of friendship …
Through music, fashion, and freedom …
Yeah—don’t forget the fun!
Remember … together there is no issue …
SPACEPOP is gonna be with you! SO …
Don’t forget the fun!
Yeah yeah yeah yea-aah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah eh ehh.
Yeah yeah yeah yea-aah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah eh ehh.
Yeah, we gonna have a good time. Yeah, we gonna have a good time.
Yeah, we gonna have a good time. Yeah, we gonna have a good time.
Say-ay-ay-ay …
When they finished, the crowd went wild. People rushed forward to ask them for autographs, and dozens of new fans dropped tips into Rhea’s guitar case. Luna soaked up all the attention, while Hera tried to keep a low profile—if any one of them were going to be recognized on Heralda, it was Hera. Though she wanted to talk with the people of her planet more than anything, to comfort them an
d assure them that life would eventually go back to normal, she knew she had to protect her cover. So she just watched as Luna and Athena greeted their newest fans. Juno went over to greet Bradbury. “Hey, Bradbury,” she said. “Thanks for coming.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” Bradbury gushed. “It was almost impossible to get here in time—the empress is trying to sort out all the galaxy’s travel problems, you know—but the price of the private flight was worth it for this. I’m your biggest fan.”
“Have you met our manager, Chamberlin?” Rhea asked, pushing Chamberlin forward to say hello.
“Oh, wow,” Bradbury said breathlessly. “It’s so good to meet you, Mr. Chamberlin, sir.” He reached out to shake his hand.
Chamberlin bowed slightly and said, “Just Chamberlin, please. I’m not that old.”
While Juno and Chamberlin answered a few questions for Bradbury’s online fan vlog, Rhea dug through her case to see what they had earned at their first paying gig. Many people had given them money, a few had donated space bus tokens, one person had put a sock in the case, and there were two torn Geela posters. Rhea grinned when she saw the destroyed posters—their message was getting through to people! “Hey, Rand,” she yelled, pulling out the last thing in her case. She tossed him a wrapped mooncheese sandwich. “Looks like you got a tip, buddy!”
“Yum! I love mooncheese sandwiches!” Rand cheered. “Thanks, Rhea.”
Rhea shrugged. “Anytime.”
As soon as the crowds in the park had dispersed, the SPACEPOP rebels slipped into the bus to change for their first mission for the Resistance. Hansome had sent the girls a package with their final instructions (a few less-than-helpful directions recorded on a self-destructing pod) and five black rebel outfits. In theory, the suits were supposed to make the girls less conspicuous—but outfitted in their matching black suits, the girls looked ultra-suspicious. “Really?” Juno said, surveying the other four girls in their coordinated rebel suits. “He thinks this is sneaky?”
“We look like cat burglars,” Rhea said.
“Oh, I would never steal a cat!” Hera said, shaking her head seriously.
“That’s not—” Rhea began. She sighed. “Nevermind.”
“We’ve either got to wear these outfits, our SPACEPOP show costumes, or our princess clothes,” Athena pointed out. “We don’t have much of a choice.”
“All right, then,” Luna said, zipping her suit up under her chin. “Let’s grab Chamberlin and go.”
“I’m sorry … what?” Chamberlin said, poking his head into the girls’ bedroom.
“Are you ready for our first rebel mission, Chamberlin?” Athena asked.
“Princess Athena,” Chamberlin said in a low voice, “I was just consulting the Book of Grock about this mission…”
Juno raised her eyebrows at him.
Chamberlin opened a large, gilded book and began to read, “Grock said unto Beebopalula, if you go unto the Ice Desert, the royal butler shall stay behind and wait in a comfy chair and sip hot tea and then take a nap.”
“Nice try, Chamberlin,” Athena said. “But you promised our parents you’d watch out for us—remember? You took an oath.”
“Your word,” Rhea told him. “Not ours.”
Chamberlin groaned. “Fine. But you must remember what Captain Hansome said: nothing dangerous. I need you all alive and unbroken for when the time comes to rule your planets again.”
“We’ll do what we must during this mission,” Athena said firmly. “Because if we don’t help overthrow Geela, we won’t have any planets left to rule—ever.”
CHAPTER 10
As soon as the sun had set on the peaceful planet of Heralda, the girls and Chamberlin set off on their first mission for the Resistance. They made their way across a rocky field, then stopped.
Chamberlin huffed, “We can’t possibly be walking to the Ice Desert?”
“Perhaps we should have taken the space bus,” Rhea said, snapping her fingers. “No one would have guessed it was us. Oh, wait—our logo is painted across the side. That just might have been a giveaway.”
“But the Ice Desert is … far!” Chamberlin whined.
Juno grinned. “Don’t worry. I have a different idea.” She whistled, then called out, “Skitter!”
Juno’s little pet came scuttling out of the shadows. The furry little ball of muscle looked up at Juno expectantly. “Skitter!” she cooed. “Who’s a big girl?”
Skitter grunted—blurp!—and began to grow.
Blurp! Blurp! Blurp!
With each loud blurp! the little creature grew bigger and bigger. Soon, she was five times her usual size.
She continued to grow until she was towering over them all. “Mount up!” Athena ordered. “This little beast will bounce us over.”
The now enormous Skitter bent down and the girls climbed onto her back. “Whee!” Hera cried. “Giddy-up!”
Chamberlin looked skyward. “Why must everything be so complicated?!” He groaned, then reluctantly let Juno and Rhea help pull him up onto the mount. “Where are the seat belts?” he asked, digging around in Skitter’s fur. “I refuse to let this thing blast off without a safety net of some kind!”
“You’ll be fine. I’ve done this a hundred times.” Juno tapped Skitter’s head, then hollered, “Bounce away, Skitter!”
Fewer than twenty minutes later, the princesses and Chamberlin set down at the edge of the Ice Desert. Across a wide, icy plain, there was a large warehouse of some kind. It was all lit up, a beacon in the middle of the barren landscape. The girls hopped off their transport, and Skitter set about letting out some of his excess air.
Pffffft! Pffffft! Moments later, Juno’s little pet was back to her normal size.
Juno gestured to the warehouse across the icy plain. On the edge of the stark white building, a giant red GEELA logo shone brightly. “So … our mission is to find Geela’s secret warehouse and figure out what kind of weapon she’s building?”
Rhea nodded. “Someone might want to let Geela know that putting her logo on the edge of a supposedly ‘secret’ warehouse isn’t the best way to keep it a secret.”
“The first part of the mission was easy,” Athena said. “But the next part—sneaking inside and getting a look at what she’s building—won’t be as simple.”
“Maybe someone should stay here and be the lookout?” Chamberlin suggested. “We could have some sort of sign, if I see any danger approaching!”
“Quit being such a worrywart, Chamberlin,” Hera said, giggling. “I’m sure Geela isn’t even on Heralda.”
But as the girls and Chamberlin hustled across the icy landscape and drew closer to the warehouse, Geela’s evil laugh echoed out around them.
“What is that?” Chamberlin asked, whimpering.
“I think it’s Geela’s laugh,” Athena cringed. “Creepy. She must be nearby. So we’ll need to be even more careful not to be seen.”
“Thank Grock for our all-black outfits,” Hera murmured. “If it weren’t for this clever disguise, I’m sure we’d have been spotted by now.”
The girls and Chamberlin peeked around the side of the warehouse. There was a team of guards stationed in front of the doors. They were both outfitted with stun guns and full armor. “Looks like we have no way in,” Chamberlin mused. “I guess we should turn back.”
“I have an idea,” Juno said. She whispered something into Skitter’s ear. The little pet nodded once, then began to snort again. She ballooned up to the size of a large dog, then bounded past the guards back out into the Ice Desert.
“What was that?” one of them shrieked.
“Looked like a flying ball of fur!” the other answered.
“What are we supposed to do?” the first asked.
“Uh…” muttered the second. “I guess we should probably investigate?”
The two guards raced away from their post, trailing Skitter across the icy wasteland.
“Go!” Athena said. Moments later, the six of
them were scrambling through the unguarded side door of the warehouse. They crouched low, trying not to be seen. The warehouse was one large room, with a maze of ducts and passageways crisscrossing overhead. There were machines everywhere, churning and buzzing and clacking as they created new weapons for Geela.
“Will Skitter be okay?” Hera asked, glancing nervously back at the door they had entered from. “I feel just awful leaving her out there with those two horrible guards.”
“She’ll be fine,” Juno promised. “I’m sure she’s having a blast playing tag with her two new friends.”
“Look!” Athena whispered, pointing up into the center of the room. Floating in the center of all the warehouse’s hustle and bustle was a small, egg-shaped pod. Inside the pod … was Empress Geela. She stood tall and imposing, drifting over everything inside her protective bubble. Her awful pet, Tibbitt, was perched on her arm.
The girls hid behind some ductwork, hidden just outside Geela’s line of sight. “Professor!” Geela cried out. Her voice echoed around the entire facility, amplified by some sort of sound system that ensured everyone would hear her while she inspected the goings-on from inside her floating chamber. “Show me my newest invention!”
Chamberlin scurried under a large pipe and covered his head with his hands. The five princesses, however, craned their necks for a better view. “This must be the weapon Captain Hansome wants us to report back on!” Luna said, stating the obvious.
On the ground, a large alien in a lab coat pulled an enormous tarp off a huge piece of machinery. Emblazoned on the side of the machinery was FOG-O-NATOR.
Empress Geela pushed a button inside her pod, and the floating chamber swooped in closer to the enormous machine. “With this weapon,” she declared, her voice echoing even louder in the huge warehouse. “I will be able to shroud the planets of the Pentangle in a permanent fog. The sun will no longer rise and shine. The planets will be cloaked in gloomy, glorious darkness—all day long!”
Hera gasped. “That’s terrible.”
“We need to report back to Captain Hansome immediately,” Luna whispered. “He and … the Resistance … have to destroy it before she has a chance to use it!”
