Free FANTASTIC PLANET v2.0 by Stephan Wul Page B

to
deflate like balloons. Others saw their shells flying off in the distance and
bouncing off the waves.
    'Gases!'
said Sav. it must really stink outside!'
    Terr looked
at him:
    'What,
gases?'
    'Yes',
confirmed the naturalist. 'These eggs are loaded with gases caused by the acid
on the inside of the shell. They are nearer to natural hatching. Here!'
    He pointed
at the deck. A torn-off piece of greenish convolutions was beating in spasms as
it was being swept off.
    'That was a
heart', said Sav, 'already formed! Each prong has five of them.'
    'Five hearts?'
    'Yes, and
two livers, just like the Traags.'
    A gigantic
egg appeared like a thunderbolt. Hoisted by a wave as the ship was dipping its
head, it crashed on the gangway's cover, discharging a coating of bluish liquid
which blocked all visibility.
    The
quartermaster gave the order to dive to get rid of the refuse spattering the
windows.
    As it surfaced,
the ship rammed another sphere. Strips of membranes where floating like wet
linen on the gangway's cover. But the ship managed to sail into the open waters
and was heading for another shoal of eggs looming in the distance.
    The telebox
operator passed a note to the quartermaster who read it to the Aedile: Vessel 3
indicated some damage. Thrown off balance by the blows, two heavy induction
coils had broken their straps and damaged the installation as they fell.
    'Ask how
long it will take them to repair it', ordered Terr.
    The reply
came quickly:
    'Thirty
minutes!'
    Terr scanned
the horizon filled with round mounds. He raised an eyebrow towards the
quartermaster.
    'We'll reach
it in twenty minutes', the officer estimated.
    'Switch off
the engines!' ordered the Aedile. 'Give the same order to the other ships.'
    Some eggs
were exploding far away to the left. Ship 2 and 3 soon neared the Aedile's
vessel which was still drifting along. A giant egg was spinning in its wake.
Its polished shell soaked by spray reflected the tormented sky.
    As vessel 2
passed by, the egg toppled over in a swirl and headed straight for vessel 3.
The ship did not try to avoid it. A cracking sound was heard and the Oms saw
their first living prong!
    The
spectacle's enormity caused its phases to slow down. Like in a dream, a long
crack opened up along the outside of the shell. The ship disappeared under a
flow of hazardous secretions. Like a devil out of a box, a greenish being
appeared to stand up in the lower part of the egg as if in a gondola. The prong
looked as if it was standing on the sea, its newly born eyes half closed. Its
parched face was enormous and adorned with tufts of tentacles at the corner of
its mouth. The comical site of this bouncing baby sporting a moustache and
balancing on a wave gave way to its cry.
    The flabby
mouth opened like a funnel and bawled towards the clouds. The horrendous and
piercing sound cracked over the sea like a whip on a drum. The smooth water
became rippled in a circle one stadia wide and the
ocean appeared to have goose pimples.
    The prong
unfolded clumsily a fin, twirled around, lost its balance and fell
thunderously.
    When the
spray stopped raining down, the head could still be seen floating but the water
was already surging into the open mouth. The fin moved about as it fell in
semi-circle on vessel 3 which was already moving away. The ship appeared to
nose up, before looping on a wave and disappearing... forever.
    Looking pale
after an hour of fruitless underwater searching, the Aedile called off the rescue.
    'Farewell,
brave companions', he said. 'As for us, it's impossible! We won't get through.
Let's drift along the Siwo to spare our reactors. We'll lose two days. Is that
what you're thinking too?'
    'You're
right', said Sav. 'The first prong cost us a ship. And we'll come across
thousands of eggs. Let's sail at their speed and ensure we don't break any...
or we'd all die too!'
    Looking
drawn, he glanced at the sea. They were drifting amongst green domes which were
gently hitting the ships' hulls.

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