The Jewels of Sound beckon to Luc LeBeque like blood in the seas beckons to sharks. It is a strong craving, stronger than any that he desired in his life. He takes a white crystalline rock from a sack and puts it in his mouth.

My last one, he thinks. I got to see Rich after I get off my shift.

For a brief moment, he wonders if he should have waited until just getting off his shift to consume the drug. But it is like a monkey on his back. He had to have it. And he had to have the Jewels now.

He looks at a clock. His shift starts in five minutes. He leaves his quarters, walking along the corridors of the Enterprise, reaching the turbolift.

"Bridge, please," he says.

The lift moves and the doors open. Soon he enters a elliptical chamber. Officers and crewmen sit at various consoles, watching the readouts. The viewscreen shows the emptiness of space.

He feels a little giddish. He had worked hard to finally get a bridge shift. It was hard enough trying to get an assignment on the Enterprise, rather than some frigate tasked with rescuing starships in peril or fighting smugglers and pirates. Not that those were bad or worthless assignments; there was just prestige in being a part of a five-year mission to explore the final frontier. And now he is in the second year of that mission, and just promoted to lieutenant junior grade.

He sees the officer in charge of the bridge, a dark-haired man with pale skin and pointed ears.

"Lieutenat LeBeque, here to relieve Ensign Chekhov and start my shift, sir," he says in his Cajun drawl, a bit nervously.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant," answers Commander Spock. "Ensign Chekhov is relieved."

"Aye, sir," replies a young man with light colored hair. He leaves the bridge, and LeBeque sits at his station.

Okay, LeBeque. You trained for this. Even though you're under the influence of the Jewels, you can do this!

He looks at the readouts on his console, seeing the statuses of various parts of the ship. The young lieutenant focuses intensely. The Jewels play a melody in his head. Time seems to blur.

"LeBeque!" barks Spock. "That starboard unit is running in the red! Dampen it!"

"Y-yes, sir," replies LeBeque, and he immediately presses some buttons.

"Bridge to engineering," says Spock. "Is everything okay down there?"

"There aren't any alarms going off, if that's what ya mean," says Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, his Scottish accented voice heard over the speaker on the bridge.

"Make sure to double check everything," replies Spock. He then turns towards Lieutenant LeBeque. "Your performance risked major damage to the ship, and may even have endangered the crew. You are dismissed."

LeBeque looks down, just coming out of his high. He can only feel shame as he leaves the bridge.

Oooooooo

LeBeque walks to the officers' quarters. He had an hour to ponder the recent events aboard the bridge. He presses a button next to one of the doors.

"It's me, Luc,' he says.

"Come on in," says a male voice.

Luc walks in. the room is the typical quarters for a junior officer, which is basically a small bedroom with a bed and a desk. Several objects sit on top of the desk. Sitting at the desk is a man with brown hair. He turns, revealing a face with a thin moustache. His uniform markings indicate that he is a Starfleet lieutenant.

"Luc," says the man. "I have 'bout fifteen minutes 'till I start my shift. Ya need more Jewels?"

"No, Rich," replies Luc. "Not anymore."

"Seems strange that ya would come all the way here just to tell me that."

"Rich, I was on the Jewels when I ran a starboard unit into the red. I nearly destroyed the ship."

"Ya were on the Jewels during bridge duty? Are ya bloody crazy?"

"I'm hooked. But it has to stop. I..I'm turning meself in."

Rich's eyes widen. He then relaxes and smiles. "Listen, mate. Nobody knows yer on the stuff. Ya gotta be more careful. Don't use it until after yer shift's over."

"I was so hooked that I used it right before my shift started. I need help. I have to turn meself in."

"Are ya crazy, Luc? Ya do that, and they throw yer arse in the brig for the rest of the five year mission, and then they'll throw ya into another brig for another five years. Is that what ya want, mate?"

"It's…it's right. No matter what the captain will do to me."

"And what about me, Luc?" asks Rich. If ya turn yerself in, they're gonna bloody wonder who yer bloody supplier is. And this is a ship, not a bloomin' starbase. There aren't too many blokes on board they would suspect."

"It's not about you, Rich. I almost killed everyone on board. Ya think I can live with that?"

Luc turns around and walks out. Rich takes a large jade stone that had been sitting on his desk. He walks out.

"Stop!" yells Rich, feeling desperate. "Ya can't do this to me!"

Desperation turns into action. Rich runs after Luc and smashes his head with the jade stone.

Rich looks down, seeing Luc lying still on the floor, bleeding from his head. He sees two other people in the corridor, looking in shook.

A phaser beam hits him and he goes down.

A security guard in a red uniform walks to the fallen lieutenants.

"Security to sick bay," he says in a gravelly voice. "We have a man down. He's hurt pretty bad. We need a site-to-site transport.

"Copy," says a female voice.

"This is the transporter room, we have a lock," hears the security guard. He looks down and sees Lieutenant LeBeque being beamed away.

An instant later, the injured lieutenant materializes on the emergency table. Dr. Leonard McCoy, chief medical officer of the Enterprise, takes one look.

"He's hurt very bad," says the doctor. "We gotta get to work."

He and two others, Dr. Jabilo M'benga and Nurse Christine Chapel, work to save the man's life administering shots and proving extra oxygen. Various instruments read out the young lieutenant's failing life signs.

But it is to no avail. Lieutenant Luc LeBeque dies.