“Specialist Dex knocked a plant over, and some of it spilled on the wraith. It got angry and attacked him. Sir. There isn’t much to say that wasn’t already in my report.

"I see. And what about afterwards? Your behavior over the days following this incident were questionable at best," Major J. Surrey

" What happened after, that was all the wraith's fault. No one can be held accountable for what they did. We bear no culpability."

~ Second Lieutenant A. Herrel, excerpt miliary ethics review committee interview.

Second Lieutenant Herrel was slow to react to the sudden change in the wraith’s demeanor, by the time he had raised his P90 Specialist Dex was in his line of fire. His brain froze with uncertainty. In the next moment the specialist had been thrown across the room and the wraith had flung himself bodily towards the man. The chain brought him up short mid leap, sending him crashing to the floor. He bent backwards and leapt to his feet, attempting again to leap towards Dex’s limp body. Herrel thought he heard something crack as the wraith reached the end of the chain and was slammed down again.

As it struggled to its feet again, Lieutenant Teffler hurled himself at the wraith’s back. The wraith stumbled forward, one of its legs buckling and dropping to a knee under his weight. Teffler locked an arm around it in a submission hold that would close off its airway, but the wraith flung its head backwards into Teffler’s face, shrugging him casually away, causing Teffler to stumble backwards and trip to the floor.

“Don’t touch,” it snarled again, pushing itself resolutely to its feet and turning again towards Dex.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Cadman was faster on her feet than Herrel was. A stunner blast flashed across the room, catching the wraith across the chest and knocking him on his ass. Surprisingly, the alien was still conscious. It held out its hands, struggling for breath, trying to regain its composure.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“The Queen’s Nnvocation,” it growled. “Don’t come near me.”

It shifted to rise to its feet and Cadman shot it again. This time it stayed down.

“Lieutenant,” Cadman snapped, her stunner still trained on the wraith. “Restraints, now!”

Flushing he grabbed the leather belt and knelt next to the wraith. Lieutenant Armin joined him, helping him maneuver the belt under the wraith’s dead weight, holding each hand in place as he wrapped the leather cuff around its wrists, his fingers brushing against cool flesh, and buckled them tightly in place, cinching the bands to their tightest setting. Over his shoulder he could hear Colonel Sheppard radio for a containment team and a medical unit.

Stepping back from the wraith his eyes tracked the room as he resumed his position. Sheppard was kneeling next to Specialist Dex, checking for vitals. His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly and he stood turning to take in the mess of spilled soil, plant samples and unconscious wraith scattered across the floor.

“The hell was that?”

Herrel assumed the question was rhetorical and struggled to maintain his composure. Surely, he imagined the tingling in his fingertips where he had brushed against the wraith. He desperately wanted to scrub the offending digits against his clothes, but that would be unprofessional.

“Sir,” the First Lieutenant replied, snapping a salute. “the wraith was struck by a plant from the cart and reacted irrationally.”

She paused and took a deep breath, “Sir, permission to check the prisoner?”

“Carefully,” Sheppard advised. He walked over and helped Teffler to his feet. “Are you alright?”

Herrel fidgeted, his fingers did not sting. It was his overactive imagination, an expression of hypochondria in response to contact with the alien.

Teffler rubbed a hand across his bloody nose, “M fine sir.”

Cadman rested her fingers on the wraith’s neck where the carotid would be in a human.

“I’ve got a pulse sir, very rapid.”

Sheppard frowned, “Wraith usually have slower heart rates than we do.”

The containment team arrived then, hauling the unconscious wraith into a restraint stretcher. Medical was only moments behind them. One knelt next to Ronon while several medical technicians checked on Teffler and two others checked over the wraith.

Herrel surreptitiously rubbed his fingers on his uniform as he watched the hubbub.