This is a wondrous piece of writing. You take canon events but enrich them to no end - added a derth of emotion and thought behind it all. I never ever considered how much of an impact Spock's telepathy and mind melds would have had on McCoy outside of TWoK and TSFS where Spock places his katra in McCoy's mind. I guess having only really seen TOS in my younger days, I'm not as familar but even if I were I imagine the complexity of emotion that you develop from these instances as well as framing them as part of a larger story is wherein lies your undoubted skill and labour. It makes for a fascinating read to see McCoy view mindmelds - whihc probably seem more hocus pocus that than the bleeping flashing medical instruments he uses. Moreover, his troubled thoughts and analysis about the link that exists between Spock and Kirk. He is almost appalled at it, very confused and troubled by it, heck maybe even a little jealous at being left out. But it is so intriguing seeing him analyise their friendship and consider their motivations and thinking processes and wondering whether they are impaired or hampered. Terrific.

Then we see Scotty work his magic in engineering but rather than just a click and a whizz and all is sorted you build the scene and add some drama to it, especially as we discover just how badly effected Spock is as he tries to handle the emotions of those around him. His stubborness to seek help and to try and handle things on his own strikes me as crazy and as sure to land them all in deeper trouble at some point.

Mind, after the startling news Uhura brings, they can hardly be in any more trouble. The Legorians blame them for the attacks. Someone is setting them up good and centre. Meanwhile, Starfleet is now going on the hunt for the ship and the crew as outlaws will have to find a way to prove their innocence and discover what lies at the bottom of it all. An enthralling mystery and it still seems like Radak is up to his neck in it.