Doctor Leonard McCoy was jolted out of his task of assessing his schedule on his computer by a whistle from the intercom on his desk, followed by the voice of Captain James Kirk: "Kirk to McCoy."

McCoy thumbed a switch and said "McCoy here. What's the problem, Jim?"

"Have Mister Scott and Tomar arrived in sickbay yet?" Kirk asked.

Montgomery Scott and Tomar? The last McCoy had seen of the Enterprise chief engineer and the Kelvan was some time ago in the rec room, when Scotty had offered Tomar something to wash his meal down with, part of the plan to regain control of the ship from the Kelvans by over-stimulating their senses and emotions. The plan had paid off, with the Kelvans realizing their newfound humanity made them more suited to life in the Federation than with their distant relatives in the Andromeda galaxy. But as for Scotty and Tomar, they seemed to have vanished. McCoy was about to inform Kirk of this, when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sickbay doors swishing open, and a voice with an unmistakable Scottish accent, albeit slightly more blurred than usual, announcing "Doctor...McCoy?"

"Scotty has just arrived, Jim," McCoy said into the intercom.

"Good," replied Kirk's voice. "I trust you can do what you can for my chief engineer in his present...condition, Bones...you know how his health means the ship's health. At least no one can say Scotty hasn't done his part for the crew."

McCoy could not be sure, but he thought he detected a certain kind of amusement in Kirk's voice. He got as far as "Now, Jim, just what is - " before, from the adjacent chamber, Mister Scott suddenly appeared in the doorway, nearly tripping over his own feet and grasping the wall for support, his face beaded with sweat and his eyes rolling.

"My chum and I...are in need of your assistance, Doctor," the Scotsman slurred, a second before another figure, that of Tomar, lurched into the doorway and thudded into Scott's shoulder, his face equally sickly.

"My god," McCoy exclaimed. "Just what have you two been imbibing, and in what quantities?"

Still stood in the doorway and struggling to remain upright, Scotty and Tomar exchanged looks that bespoke uncertainty and guilt, then Tomar looked at McCoy and mumbled "One was...green."

"The cap'n, in his wisdom, dropped by me quar...quar...quarters," Scotty slurred, swaying slightly with his eyes half-closed. "He thought it wise...Jimbo did...damn, he's a mighty fine fella...for me and me new friend here...to drop by and see ye..." Later on, McCoy realized that he should have expected it, but it was at that moment that Tomar pitched forward onto the deck and lost consciousness. It was also the moment that Scotty opened his mouth, and...something issued forth onto the floor which roused in McCoy both irritation and, oddly, the same kind of amusement he had read in Kirk's voice.

"I think it's safe to say," he remarked, "That I do not need to scan either of you gentlemen to know what the ailment is."

"One was green," Tomar groaned from the floor.