Enough Interventions

Gaius comes back with the back pack, and Roo-kai.

NO ONE'S allowed to eat any more of these eggs! says Terence.

Who else has been eating them? asks Gaius.

Ageless had one, says Denis.

It was expiring, says Ageless. 

It wasn't, says Terence. I was going to give it some water.

It's expired now, says Denis, but there are plenty more where it came from.

Thanks to me, says Captain Baudin. And I'd like that to go on the record.

It will be in my notes, when I make them, says Gaius.

So what happens next? asks Denis. 

We decide where to keep the cuttlefish eggs, until they hatch, says Gaius. 

The croissant bag is jam-packed, says Captain Baudin.

Lucky I took some out, says Terence.

Lucky someone ate one, says Ageless.

And someone ate two, says Roo-kai.

So you've taken some out, Terence? says Gaius. How many are in your egg box?

I'll count them, says Terence.

He looks in through the transparent door, and appears to be counting

Let me count them, says Gaius.

He also looks in through the transparent door.

These cuttlefish eggs are pulsating, says Gaius. 

That sounds bad, says Denis.

 It may be a sign that hatching is imminent, says Gaius. 

Yay! says Terence.

There are six, says Gaius. And the biggest one is turning dark purple in patches.

Six, says Terence. Correct. Which one is purple?

That one, says Gaius. I suggest we take it out of the egg box and place it in the water.

It might swim away, says Denis. Then what will have been the point of our actions?

We will have gained information, says Gaius.

But we won't have protected it from the toxic algae, says Denis.

The purple egg now looks more like a baby cuttlefish than an egg.

It does not look happy in the egg box.

I'm taking it out, says Terence.

He opens the door and picks it out with his fingers.

The baby cuttlefish gasps and wriggles. 

Terence drops it on a rock near the water.

It shivers, shimmers, rolls over and flops into the water.

It starts swimming away.

Want me to recapture it? asks Ageless.

I think we've done enough interventions, says Gaius.