Filo digested this information. The color coming from him was almost pure white. He seemed to be vibrating at a tremendously high frequency. "I await your orders," the whisper came again. "Shall I bring him aboard the ship?" "I am considering the matter." "He is very impatient. Please instruct me immediately." "I must confer with my fellows," Filo answered. "I will have an answer for you in minutes." "Yes, Great Filo," the voice whispered. Filo was silent behind the control panel. Craig had the impression that some wordless conference was taking place with other Sorodromes located elsewhere. He stared at Mary in growing horror. "That whisper was coming from Captain Martin," the girl whispered. "He is the only person from the _Andromeda_ who is with Mr. Nuoy. And that means--" "It means that Captain Martin and the crew are not in charge of this ship." "And that means--" "That something latched on to the crew of the _Andromeda_ on this planet they call Star Goal. It means that the ship's landing here was a ruse to get into Pluto Station, maybe from here on into the whole Solar System!" His voice grew grim. "It means that the fate the military was always afraid of has finally come in upon us, and has gotten under our guard. It means we have welcomed a race of monsters into Pluto Station. It means that Adam--How did Adam know that something was wrong?" "Who is Adam?" Filo spoke. "Just a man," Craig faltered. "Ah--" Filo was apparently going to ask more questions but he was interrupted by the arrival of three other Sorodromes. Balls of glowing crystals, they came floating down the corridor from the interior of the ship. Energy seemed to flow from them. Craig felt his skin begin to itch and burn. The three conferred with Filo in a weird, wordless flow of communication between them. From the way their colors changed Craig had the impression that they were laughing at some secret joke of their own. "Yes?" Captain Martin's voice whispered. "Bring this human to us," Filo answered. "We will accommodate him in his desire to return to Star Goal. We will also assist him to set up traffic between our planet and his system." Again the colors changed as laughter seemed to ripple through them. "What if others want to come too?" "Bring them to the number of twenty. Do they seem suspicious?" "Not so far as I can tell. Nuoy is burning with impatience to be away. He insists we start loading the ship immediately." "Then we must cooperate with him," Filo answered. Again the surge of color that was laughter surged through the Sorodromes. "Summon the crew to load and operate the ship. We will be ready when you arrive." Filo extruded a tentacle, touched a control on the panel in front of him. A section of metal wall that had been folded back slid across the alcove, hiding it from sight. "My three comrades will direct you," Filo's voice spoke from the empty air. * * * * *