Kirk dismissed the officer behind the controls as they walked into the Transporter Room. He was fighting to control his anger that whoever this was as they had clearly had ignored Spock's plight and, instead, gone to drink with the man who was behind it all..

For a moment after the transporter had stopped they all just stood looking at one another then the officer stepped down from the platform and walked up to Spock holding out a box, "I believe this may belong to you, Sir." His breath was almost pure alcohol fumes.

Spock put a hand on the box and looked in it then at the officer who he realized was just barely standing before him. Only as he looked at the officer did he see the man was clearly unwell and caught the faint aroma of something he had not smelled in years as the officer breathed heavily. It was only as he actually took hold of the box with both hands that he saw the officer's brown eyes seem to glaze over just before he fell to the floor where he started to convulse and vomit.

In that briefest of moments, that seemed to occur in such events with Humans, those moment of inaction while they mentally process the event, Spock realized that the officer had held onto the box till he realized that he had a firm hold of it and had given a slight nod before collapsing. The officer had been making sure that he had a firm hold on the box and realized what it was before yielding to the demands of his body.

While McCoy crouched beside the officer, Kirk rushed to Spock's side as he had seen a look on his friend's face he could not recall ever seeing before, an almost open display of emotions in conflict, "Spock?"

"It, it is the book, Jim." There was a deep reverence to the way he had said it as he fought back not only the multitude of questions in his head but also the emotions trying to disturb his reasoning.

Two medical personnel rushed in with a gurney and they quickly had the officer on the way back to Sickbay and the cleaners took care of the mess the officer had left yet Spock had not moved, just stood looking at the box in his hands and the book in it.

"Are you alright, Spock?"

"I find myself unsure, Jim. For hundreds of years only the masters have held this. Once a year Vulcans may see it and the others but only in their protective room. To see them at any other times requires the permission of the Elders." When Spock looked at him Kirk saw uncertainty about the usually calm and assured eyes, "I, I find I am at a loss to know what to think, Jim. I am used to the conflict between my Human and Vulcan halves but I feel a conflict within my Vulcan self. A part is supremely honored to be holding this, to know I can return it to my people and another part of me wants to know the full details of how he got it as well as his present condition and if he was, in any way, permanently damaged in getting this."

"You sure that that is just is the Vulcan?"

A raised eyebrow did not surprise Kirk, "Captain, at this moment I am strictly Vulcan. I am aware of my Human side but at this moment I am Vulcan and yet I am torn. As you know Vulcans have strong emotions and, at present, I am only just managing them."

In silence Kirk followed Spock to the Vulcan's quarters and entered after him. It slightly astonished him to watch the way his friend almost reverently placed the box on his desk then placed his hand on it before closing his eyes. Kirk recognized this as one thing common in most religions and stood quietly waiting.

When Spock next looked at him it was as the First Officer he knew, all traces of the internal and, yes he acknowledged to himself, emotional conflict he had seen about his friend were gone, deeply buried and controlled once again. "Would it be at all possible for you to request permission to go to Vulcan? I will contact my father and let him know we have the book."

Kirk smiled, he knew that Spock knew full well that his father would contact T-Pau and she would ensure that the Enterprise went to Vulcan. "I'm sure that can be arranged as we are just awaiting our next orders so we may as well transport that back to Vulcan. When I explain to Command what it is I am sure there will be no problems."

"Thank you. While you arrange that I will first notify my father of the book and then go see Officer Hanley to not only ascertain his condition but also to find out exactly how he was able to obtain it. He was highly inebriated so that might have some bearing on the matter."

"No," Kirk waited till Spock looked at him in as close to surprise as the Vulcan would allow himself to display, " we will go down now and find out how Officer Hanley is and then I will get permission to go to Vulcan and you contact your father. By now McCoy should have a better idea of what he has had to drink and be detoxifying him. I want to be there with you when McCoy says we can see him as he was clearly drunk while off this ship and his reason for that had better have to do with getting that."

McCoy stopped them from going into Sickbay and indicated his office and waited till they got in it before he turned and looked first at Kirk and then steadily at Spock before he looked at the patient in the other room, "Now I am not exactly sure what is going on in his body. Initially I thought that he was what used to be referred to as being in a drunken stupor but it appears Officer Colin Hanley has had some sort of very strong alcohol I have been so far unable to fully identify. As far as I can tell it has not caused any serious lasting damage but appears to have had an extremely strong anesthetic effect, his brain activity is what I would expect to fine in a patient undergoing major surgery. It also seems to have the same qualities as a very strong neuro paralyzer except instead of causing muscular tension this has caused all but the necessary muscles, like his heart and lungs, to totally relax and there are no reflex actions to even the strongest of stimuli I can use without risking breaking a bone. I can say, from what I know now, that both conditions do not appear to be permanent but it will take him a few days, or even weeks, before he will be fit for even minimal active duty if they last much longer. When I did further testing of the liquid he vomited, it seems to contain something that, in the old days on Earth, caused belladonna poisoning. But there was something much stronger than that for with that sort of poisoning the patient shows symptoms like dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions which I will not know about till he is conscious. We did see him profusely vomiting and he was also suffering severe diarrhea however he did not stagger, he showed no reaction to the lighting, and his speech was clear." McCoy closed his eyes and shook his head then looked back at Spock, "I'm sorry I cannot be more specific, Spock, but I really have no idea as to what has caused it nor how to treat it. From what I can tell it would have been something in his drinks, either the drink itself or something added to the drink that has had such an effect on him. Some extremely potent stuff, whatever it was, to still be able to keep him under this long. If you come back in a few hours he may be awake and only have a granddaddy of a hangover but I cannot say that for sure."

Spock kept looking right at McCoy and saw about the familiar face, those things the doctor would not say aloud but that they both knew. McCoy nodded his head in the direction of the Intensive Care Room and moved so Spock could see into the room. Although nothing was said Spock knew that McCoy had known of his need to at least see the condition Officer Hanley was in. Satisfied that, as he had suspected, McCoy not only had him fully monitored but also had two nurses in with him watching him and holding his hands, "Thank you, Doctor. I will be back in four standard hours before I go on shift. If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I wish to contact my father and tell him about the book and that we should be heading to Vulcan shortly to return the book to its rightful place."

Kirk had had no difficulty in getting permission from Starfleet Command to go to Vulcan and to spend no more than ten days there. Ten days would give the entire crew time to have a good break off the ship if they so desired. Momentary shame swept through Kirk as he realized how little he knew of the man, how little he really knew of most crew members apart from those he worked with most often. It was something that he had been told was best yet worst about the role of a Captain, the distance that had to be maintained between the captain and the crew for the mental health of both. He remembered that Christopher Pike had mentioned that there were a few of the regular crew that he should get to know and who were important to the well-being of the ship and invaluable when going to a new or unusual planet as they knew what to do. He had never bothered to follow up on that even though Pike had actually named Hanley as he had believed those six others he was close to and worked on a daily basis with were all he really not only needed to know but also had time for. He looked at his computer and heard what McCoy had said then said, "Computer, display all details related to Officer Colin Hanley aboard this ship."

Just for a moment Spock sat looking at the terminal on his desk. He recalled seeing the man pouring Officer Hanley a drink from a different bottle than the one he poured his own drink from. That aroma he had briefly been aware of on Officer Hanley's breath came back to him along with what McCoy had said. For just a moment he closed his eyes and nodded, it would be what one who disliked Vulcans would have. Calmly he completed the link to a private line on Vulcan. When his father answered Spock did not greet him in the usual Vulcan manner but held the box so that his father could see the book and saw the look on his father's face as he recognized the book. He was sure that the look on his father's face was close to what his own must have been.

"May, may I inquire as to how you not only found but also acquired this, my son?"

"I was given it by a fellow officer. I have yet to be informed as to just how he came by it but I shall notify you of that fact when we arrive. As we speak Captain Kirk is arranging for us to deliver it to Vulcan shortly."

"Have you known this other officer long? Is there any reason he would have known about it and its importance to Vulcan?"

"I have none of the information at the moment as to how he would have known about it and all I actually know firsthand about the officer is that he has been aboard the Enterprise since Captain Pike was in command but I have had little actual personal contact with him. I do recall Captain Pike saying he was a good officer and that I should get to know him and ensure he stays with the ship as he had more skills that most believe him to have. I am aware that part of his acquiring it required him to drink an amount of alcohol extremely hazardous to his well-being. I am possibly greatly mistaken but for a moment I believed he may have consumed some toitak but that has not been procurable even through illicit sources for many decades. I will give you full details when we arrive. I look forward to seeing you and Mother in nine standard days."

Spock knew he had, for only an instant, seen almost fear about his father's eyes when he mentioned toitak. He, too, would know that in Humans it severely suppressed the mental and physical abilities for at least twenty-one standard days to a state where only their heart and lungs were not affected if more than two point nine one millimeters were taken internally over a ten hour period of time and it caused brain death in Vulcanoids if more than zero point eight three milliliters were taken in the same time. Had any Vulcan sat with the man and imbibed which some would do to be sociable and in the hopes of verifying if he had the book, they would have died. Officer Hanley was suffering what humans were reported to endure, loss of muscular control apart from lungs and heart, along with a state of deep unconsciousness for an undeterminable length of time with an uncertain outcome. It had given him some relief and reassurance to know that of all doctors that could be with Officer Hanley that it was Doctor McCoy as he knew that if any doctor would fight to keep a patient alive it was McCoy. Even when faced with the facts that stubborn Human would not give up trying something, anything, to save a life. The fact that it would take all of his time and strength did not matter to that time was inconsequential to the fact he just might recover.

Spock felt a flicker of conflict as he was not sure if it were his Human or Vulcan side that was more concerned and for what reason. He was aware that his Human side was concerned strictly on an emotional level about wanting to be able to thank the man when he had recovered and that his Vulcan side was concerned as he want to know how the man had tracked the book, how he had known what to do. There was so much about Officer Hanley he did not know.

His father finally nodded, "I shall ask the Healers of the most beneficial treatment known for Humans suffering the effects of toitak and will send the information I receive to Doctor McCoy as, although I am certain that Doctor McCoy is an exceptional healer and best suited to tend to the officer, I do not believe he will have had experience in treating a patient suffering the effects of toitak. I will not tell them the exact reason for wanting the information. I will immediately inform the Elders of the book. I am sure they will want to assist in the treatment and care of the officer who risked so much to recover it and will be of assistance in ensuring he remains on the Enterprise as I believe we both are aware of what the Healers would want and do with toitak being used. Having experienced Doctor McCoy's form of medical practice I can attest that the officer would find no better care than on the ship under his care. Your mother and I will be pleased to have you visit."

When the transmission ended Spock sat before his computer for a moment calming the conflict within him and then nodded as he said, "Computer, display details of Officer Colin Hanley aboard this ship."