-Leonard McCoy-

"Dr. McCoy, you examined Mr. Spock in the Enterprise's sickbay just prior to his escape to Vulcan, didn't you?" Mr. Wyatt asked.

"Yes, I did."

"And what were your medical findings that day?"

"Well, he was suffering from, uh... an acute metabolic crisis with a high fever and experiencing delirium. He needed immediate treatment."

"What was the actual diagnosis? Was it a known illness?"

"Well, that information is confidential. Mr. Spock's medical records are private. I can't divulge his medical diagnosis without his permission."

"Dr. McCoy, this is a trial. Commander Spock's career is on the line and we're trying to ascertain whether or not he is responsible for high crimes against the Starfleet. Surely you understand that the circumstances deem it necessary to divulge this vital information?"

"No, I don't. This trial is a farce if you ask me. Lieutenant Uhura isn't pressing charges against her HUSBAND, so why are we even here?" McCoy complained.

"We're here to learn the truth, Doctor. Isn't that what every trial is for?"

"I highly doubt this truth you're looking for will serve any good purpose. I'll confirm that Spock was ill and the symptoms, but I cannot disclose the details of my patients' diagnosis without an order from the Federation Council and Starfleet Command. And even then I wouldn't tell you. If Doctors were to go around telling tales out of school about all their patients, where would civilization be? A man has a right to some dignity and privacy! There are some things a man can share with his doctor that he can't tell anyone else. That falls under doctor-patient privilege. Surely Starfleet hasn't sunk so low as to disregard basic Federation rights?" McCoy ranted.

Mr. Wyatt was thrown off course by McCoy's passionate speech. "Very well then Doctor... Let us move on. Are you familiar with Vulcan physiology?"

"Yes, I have some small knowledge, but I'm by no means an expert."

"And why is that Doctor? You have a very impressive record. You are the chief medical officer of the Enterprise. You're one of the most decorated and well-traveled doctors in the fleet. You have a Vulcan patient in permanent residence aboard your ship. In fact, you've treated two Vulcan patients, as records indicate, you've performed surgery on the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek. Isn't that so?"

"Well, Vulcans are private people. They don't share their medical records without good cause and there is still a lot we humans don't know or understand about their complex physiology."

"Do you think it normal for an entire race of people to hide their biological history? What are they trying so hard to hide?

"I don't know if they are trying to hide anything. What makes you think you have the right to know their biological history?"

"They are founding members of the Federation. Surely they would want to share such knowledge with their friends in a beneficial exchange of ideas?"

"I can't speak for the entire Vulcan race. However the Vulcans I know are honorable people who respect other's privacy and sovereignty, and I think it no hardship to return the favor. If you're so interested in knowing Vulcan biology, couldn't you, you know, just ask them?"

"Your honor, I object." Miss Shaw stood up to address the judges.

"These questions are incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. Could you please direct my esteemed colleague to ask questions that pertain to the case at hand? I don't see what Vulcan biology has to do what this trial?"

"Your honors, Vulcan biology has everything to do with this case. Mr. Spock's illness is being blamed for his actions. I'd like to know what kind of illness causes a man to kidnap and assault a crew mate!"

"Mr. Wyatt, please! Objection is sustained." Commodore Stone decided.

"Very well. Tell me, Doctor, are you familiar with the Vulcan practice known as the mind meld?"

"Yes, I know of it. I studied Spock when he practiced it on an escaped prisoner who was suffering from psychosis. Spock was able to communicate with him and find out he was actually Dr. Van Gelder when our conventional medicine couldn't yield results. We were able to learn the patient's identity and the reason for his manic condition."

"Did you witness any other times where Mr. Spock used this mind meld technique?"

"Yes, on a few missions. I recall he used it on a Horta on the mining colony Janus VI."

"Any other occasions?"

"I also witnessed him meld with Lt. Uhura on several occasions when she was recovering from a traumatic brain injury that was the result of an assault by an artificial life-form called NOMAD."

"Ah-ha, so he used this "melding" technique on his own wife?" Wyatt asked smugly.

"She wasn't his wife back then, but yes," McCoy answered calmly.

"Why would this "mind-meld" be sanctioned as a medical procedure?"

"As I stated, it was as a last resort for extreme circumstances. The lieutenant had lost all her memories and Mr. Spock thought the technique could be useful in helping her regain them."

"Why would he believe that, Doctor? Is that usual for mind melds?"

"Why don't you ask him?" McCoy grouched.

"Oh, I intend to Doctor. But right now I'm asking for your medical opinion. Why would the Vulcan technique help with a case of memory loss or psychosis?"

"I can't disclose the details of my patient's private medical diagnosis. I can say that Lt. Uhura was injured by an alien life-form and Mr. Spock believed he could help where conventional medicine could not, just like in the Van Gelder case."

"And was he successful?"

"Well, they're married now, aren't they?" McCoy laughed to himself, "But yes, Lt. Uhura regained her memory much faster than we had predicted possible with conventional treatment."

"And you supervised these "melds" doctor?"

"Yes, I insisted on it. I wanted to document the procedure in case it worked and we could glean meaningful data. I felt that it should be done in a professionally controlled environment for that reason." McCoy said.

"What did you observe during these "melds" if you don't mind my asking and if it won't violate your patient's privacy?"

"Well I'm not a Vulcan and I don't know how such things work but I observed that Spock must touch the person he is treating. He touches their face here," McCoy touched his own face with his fingertips, "to establish a link. In the case of Lt. Uhura, he probed her mind for memories buried deep in her subconscious."

"Dr. in your professional opinion, could Mr. Spock use this technique to mentally or telepathically restrain a person or render them unconscious?"

"I'm not qualified to say. I don't know how the technique works or why it works, just that it does work."

"And yet you allowed him to perform this undocumented medical procedure, this... "mind meld" on a vulnerable patient in your care without knowing what it does or if it would be successful?"

"He had the consent of the patients." McCoy insisted.

"Doctor McCoy, you testified yourself that the patients were unable to communicate, thus the necessity of Mr. Spock's meld. So just how did they provide consent?" Wyatt asked skeptically.

"Now look, not every medical procedure requires an express written or verbal consent. Van Gelder was an emergency case, lives were at stake. We needed to know the information trapped in his mind. And the Horta was an alien life-form so different from us we didn't even register it as being sentient. In the end, the Horta had no trouble communicating with Spock, and if she had disagreed, she had the power to burn him to a crisp."

"And Lt. Uhura?" Wyatt asked.

"Lieutenant Uhura is a Starfleet officer." McCoy dismissed.

"So?" Wyatt asked.

"So in Starfleet, you give up your right to make certain decisions. If your captain orders you to your death, you follow orders. If you're ordered to shoot you shoot."

"Are you saying that someone ordered Lt. Uhura to submit to a mind-meld?"

"No. I'm saying in such situations we have to consider what is best for the patient, the crew, or the mission. Spock and I both felt it was safe and practical to try probing her memories if there was the slightest chance she could be cured, and Captain Kirk agreed. He made the final decision but Uhura consented."

"A patient who by your own words had a traumatic brain injury consented Doctor? Do you honestly believe the patient had the capacity to give consent?"

"Yes. The injury didn't take away her ability to reason, just her memories. Besides, Uhura and Spock had a long-standing relationship. He'd melded with her before. She trusted him to help her."

"Doctor please testify only what you know to be facts or witnessed firsthand."

"That's a fact. When Lieutenant Uhura saw Spock after her injury, he was one of the few people she didn't fear or mistrust. She didn't have to let him touch her, but she did."

"So he had full access to her mind?"

McCoy frowned. "I suppose so."

"Thank you. I have no further questions," said Mr. Wyatt and he took his seat, leaving the floor to Miss Shaw.

"Dr. McCoy, you just said that Mr. Spock melded with Uhura before her injury. How do you know that, were you there?"

"He told me."

"And you believed him?"

"Of course, Vulcans don't lie."

"Dr. McCoy please just state facts."

"That is a fact I know to be true! Vulcans do not lie. Besides, why would Spock lie about something like that? This was Uhura's life at stake!"

"And that meant something special, that it was Lieutenant Uhura's life at stake?"

"Of course it meant something special. She's something special to all of us, especially to Spock."

"Alright, Doctor. So you believe Mr. Spock when he said that he and Lieutenant Uhura had melded previously. But you hadn't observed those other mind-melds?"

"No."

"Do you know the circumstances of the previous mind-melds?"

"No."

"Why not? You insisted on observing Spock when he performed the meld on Van Gelder before and when healing Lieutenant Uhura. Why not any other times?"

"Those other times were none of my business. What Spock and Uhura get up to in private is their own affair."

"Mmm-hmm. Very well. Doctor, would you say that a mind meld is an invasive procedure?"

"Yes, I would."

"Would you characterize it as an "intimate" act?" Shaw asked.

"Intimate? Well, I suppose you could call it that. I mean for someone to probe your mind, see your thoughts, your secrets, know your memories, that's pretty personal. It's downright disturbing," McCoy shivered at the memory of his own meld.

"Doctor McCoy, have you ever had your mind-melded with Mr. Spock?"

"Well..." McCoy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Not exactly, not with this Spock, no."

"What do you mean 'not with this Spock'?"

"Well. I think the answer is classified information." McCoy told her.

"I see. Is it more of your patient-doctor privilege?" Miss Shaw smiled at the doctor.

"No. Starfleet classified. Need to know, and you don't need to know." McCoy told her bluntly.

"Alright doctor, without revealing Starfleet classified information, can you explain what a meld is like."

"No, I can't explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it. But it is quite intense, incredible..."

Shaw quickly asked, "Pleasurable?"

"Wait what!? I don't know about that. I suppose it could be if the practitioner wanted it to be."

"How about... SEXUAL?" Miss Shaw asked eagerly.

"Objection! Irrelevant!" Mr. Wyatt demanded.

"Sustained! Counselor, you are on thin ice." Commodore Stone stated.

"One more thing, doctor. Why do you suppose, in your medical opinion, that anyone would consent to a mind-meld, something in your own words that is invasive and disturbing, outside of a medical emergency?"

"I have no medical opinion on that. You'd have to ask a Vulcan, after all melding is part of their culture."

"So as far as you know, if Spock performed a mind meld on Uhura in private he was not violating any medical, ethical, or Starfleet rules, he was just practicing an intimate part of his culture?"

"Yes," McCoy smiled and agreed. "Why would anyone think otherwise?"

"Why indeed? Thank you, Doctor."