Nurse Chapel left sickbay with a cup of hot tea just as Commander Spock entered it. She was going to check on Yeoman Rand. Dr. McCoy closed the readouts on his computer and shifted his attention to the intruder.
"What can I do for you?" He absentmindedly re-organized the medical instruments lying on his desk.
Spock cut to the chase. "We need to talk about the Captains."
"Jim's got an evil twin parading around the Enterprise. What is there to talk about?"
Spock paused. "I have to relieve him of command. It is not logical for him to remain in charge when he has an evil duplicate running around. Should the duplicate find a way to use his authority to take command the results could be...catastrophic."
The doctor sighed and looked up from his busywork. "You can't relieve him of command.
"Surely even you can understand the logic of the situation, Doctor. The best way to guarantee the safety of the crew is to temporarily relieve Kirk of command."
"I'm telling you, Spock," McCoy finally set down his equipment, crossed his arms, and stared Spock down, "You can't do that. Your logic doesn't apply here."
"I must. I came to you for support in this matter, Doctor, but I will do it without your support."
"Listen, Spock. This has nothing to do with logic. Kirk cannot afford to be anything less than perfect in the eyes of his crew because if he is, the crew will lose faith in him. And if the crew loses faith in him?" He paused, waiting for the Vulcan to fill in the blanks.
"He will never command the Enterprise again," Spock finished, "It is not logical."
"Spock, ninety percent of this crew is not from a logical species. You can't apply logic to their reactions, only empathy. If you want Jim to keep his job, you will see to it that he maintains command. And you'll find that imposter in the meantime!"
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I will take that into consideration, Doctor."
McCoy nodded and turned back to his work. There were a few moments of silence where neither officer made any move, and then he spoke. "Well, don't you think you'd better go keep an eye on him?"
