_Project? What project?_ Carter asked himself. _What the blazes is this, anyway?_ The voices stopped, leaving Carter alone in the darkness. Conjectures ran through his mind, none of them adding up to anything but the obvious fact that the Survey Squad of the _Vanguard_ was up to something fishy. His head still throbbed, but not as badly as before. The itchy tickling still continued. It was--it was almost as if something were trying to enter his mind! He fought a desperate desire to break his bonds and rip open the front of his skull and scratch away the tickling before it drove him insane. _If I'm not insane already_, he thought grimly. A light flickered somewhere in the distance, and then the door of his cell opened. Someone came in. Carter blinked as light flooded in. It was a few moments before he could see. Gendron stood there. "I see you're awake, Lieutenant Carter." "Damned perceptive of you, Gendron. I'll bet you see I'm breathing, too." Gendron chuckled hollowly. "I've come to apologize for hitting you yesterday. It was a misunderstanding." "Oh? Like the phony SOS was a misunderstanding?" * * * * * Gendron seemed to scowl. He turned and gestured to someone beyond Carter's view, and two more men entered the cell. "Well? How does it look?" one of them asked. "Not so good," said Gendron. "I don't think he's under control yet. I don't know how he can resist so well." "You sure he's still under his own will? How can you tell?" "He's belligerent," said Gendron. "He's the same as he was last night." "The Khethlani never fails," said one of the two men. "How could it go wrong?" Carter frowned. Apparently they expected him to have been taken over by someone or something--and he hadn't been. "Sorry to disappoint you, Gendron. Your whatever-it-is just hasn't taken hold." "Very strange, Carter. We may have to kill you." "You know the Khethlani doesn't like to lose men," one of the others reminded Gendron. "We ought to do everything we can to bring him under control." Gendron nodded. "Untie his legs." One of the men bent and unwrapped the thongs. Immediately Carter's foot lashed out in a vicious kick that sent the other away yelling. Gendron slapped Carter twice. Then he said, "That proves it. He's definitely not under control. Let's take him to the Khethlani." They shoved him roughly out of the room and down a long, winding corridor toward a distant door. As they pushed him along, Carter felt the itching inside his skull grow to fierce proportions, until he could hardly bear it. The faces of his three captors became oddly peaceful, oddly emotionless, as they drew near the door. Gendron stepped forward and threw a switch. The door slid upward. Carter looked in--and saw the Khethlani.