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?"