Star Trek: USS Jupiter

Six-USS Earhart

Thirty-Eight hours Prior

"Kang, my ready room, now," Captain David Sherry stands and heads for the first door on his right.

Commander Kang Jun-Yeong follows his captain into the ready room. David takes a seat in the window, and Kang opts to stand. Confirming David's suspicion about something not being right. Almost always his first officer takes a seat by the window. "What's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

David sighs and tells his first officer that he knows what David means.

Kang growls as he begins pacing. Starfleet's failure to follow through—in Kang's eyes, is something he cannot forgive. Not without rising to the rank of captain. "I've been promised a promotion, when is it going to be confirmed?"

The captain of the Earhart tells Kang it will come. He is after all an exemplary officer. In all due time. He simply has to be patient.

"I'm beginning to think Starfleet won't hold up their end of the bargain," Kang states lowly, stopping at the window far from his captain.

David crosses his arms and stares at his first officer. This behaviour is not typical of Kang. It's spoiled ensign behaviour. Not the first officer of a starship. "It's not a bargain. They told you, you'd be a captain by the time you were thirty-five, your thirty-four now,"

A muscle ticks in Kang's jaw.

"I want you to send in a letter of recommendation, you owe me that much,"

"You've been my first officer for eighteen months, I don't owe you anything," David sneers. He doesn't like being challenged—not in that way. "I could have picked anyone—"

"But you chose me." Kang growls, he turns on his heel and storms out of his captain's ready room.

David stands to follow his first officer out. As he does he can't help but wonder if he made the right choice eighteen months ago. Kang was a game of chance. A mere gamble. Another officer had better grades but Kang had the experience. David took the chance and leaped feet tied together.

As David reaches his chair on the bridge Kang emerges from the turbolift. A phaser in hand.

"Commander, what are you doing?"

"What I have to." Kang states aiming for David.

David ducks.

Ensign Blake Albek, the new navigator isn't so lucky. She takes the hit. Chaos erupts on the bridge. Officers reach for their station's weapons. Kang fires upon each crew member who tries to defend their captain.

Tiring of this David lunges for Kang. In the grapple for the phaser, it goes off. The blast skims David's ribcage—just under his heart. The captain of the Earhart cries out in anguish. Kang grins. If David Sherry won't write a simple recommendation letter then he will take the ship. Plain and simple.

Basra Singh, David's chief of security dashes towards the captain and first officer. Basra body checks Kang. The first officer goes flying into the engineering console. Kang goes down. He groans as he tries to get up, with little success. His head reeling from the blow.

Through the fog of pain, David scrambles to his feet. He stumbles over to his comms officer. With a grunt, he coaxes the lifeless body out of the chair. He makes the call. He sends it to Yorktown, to the USS Enterprise, to the USS Jupiter, and to any ship in the area. Help. Send help.

Basra cries out. He falls to his knees. An expression of anguish on his face. Using his foot Kang pushes Basra to the ground. A man he used to consider a friend. Kang glares over at his captain, his phaser trained and set to kill.
_____

One Hour Prior

Kang screams at the Jupiter's landing party. The trained party points their phasers at the first officer. Kang ducks behind the navigation console.

Not expecting someone to be on the battered bridge, Myles screams back. And not the deep Ahh, he goes an octave higher. Myles stops when he sees the man is not going to kill him—or not attempting to.

Kang hesitantly pops his head up from behind the navigation console. A hand covering his wounded arm. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Myles fires back. He squares his shoulders, phaser directed at the man.

"I asked first,"

"Commander Myles Victorovich, USS Jupiter,"

"Commander Kang Jun-Yeong, USS Earhart,"

Myles nods and motions for the party to lower their weapons. "What happened here?"

The commander of the Jupiter glances around the bridge. Looking for signs of a fight. Anything to explain why the Earhart is in disarray. And missing her captain. A fact Myles will hate to tell his captain.

"An ensign went mad," Kang shakily stands, one arm resting on the navigation console. The other gripped his bleeding arm. "He started shooting, he nearly got the captain,"

"Marlin,"

"On it," Lieutenant Commander Lemuel Marlin motions for Lieutenant Harper to help him. Together they help Kang into the navigator's chair.

Marlin looks over Kang's arm. As the chief nurse, he's seen many phaser burns like this. They always look nasty on the outside, but then you get a look at the inside and it's much worse.

Marlin dismisses Harper when the younger man goes pale. The lieutenant rushes over to a console far from the nurse and the open wound. Harper begins diving into the Earhart records. Anything to explain how and why this happened.

"What else? Where is the captain?"

"The crew is held up in engineering, not everyone was able to make it. He's still out there, mad as a hatter," Kang winces as Marlin applies a slave. The chemical mixes with Kang's skin and works to relieve pain. Marlin runs a handheld dermal regenerator over the burn.

Harper asks which ensign went berserk.

Kang sighs. He takes his time thinking back to the name. Then it comes to him. The perfect alibi. "His name is Blake Albek,"

"Can you take us to engineering?"

"I can,"

Myles turns to Asa. "Asa you and Aslesha stay with Harper and find out what you can about this ensign, Phylo, Marlin and I will go with Kang."

Asa adjusts her grip on her assigned phaser. "Aye, sir."

Aslesha strides over to Harper. She takes the station beside him and immediately begins digging for information. Anything they can find could be useful.

"If you don't hear from us contact the Jupiter."

Asa nods. "Aye, sir."

Myles' small group makes their way to engineering. Kang leads the way, being the first officer he knows this ship like the back of his hand. This will be a piece of cake--especially with only one security officer. Kang all but smiles to himself.

As they walk the group keeps their phasers held at the ready. They can't be too careful. Harmoniously, they clear the hall to the turbolift. Kang briefs the group on where the main engineering doors are.

First, a long stretch of hallway, then a left, then a the end of the hall are the doors. Slowly they make their way to main engineering.

"Captain Sherry, call out," Phylo tries again. "Captain Sherry, call out,"

"Here, we're here," The familiar voice of David Sherry calls out. Myles greets the captain at the glass opening of the engineering doors. For a moment David has a look of relief but that quickly changes. Kang gives his captain a wicked grin.

The older man's eyes widen. "Look out!"

The captain's words are too late.

Kang attacks. He fires his phaser in quick succession. One by one they fall to the ground. Stunned indefinitely. First Myles, then Marlin and finally Phylo.

Phylo, the Jupiter's chief of Security takes two hits of the phaser before he too submits to the stun.