Star Trek: A Choice of Catastrophes

It is mid-2268, shortly after the events of the Original Series episode "Return to Tomorrow." The Enterprise, under the command of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, is returning from a mission to deliver medical supplies to Deep Space Station C-15. All is routine until the Enterprise comes within about a light-year of the planet Mu Arigulon; the ship runs aground on a spatial distortion not revealed in previous scans of the system and suffers a momentary power cut. Satisfied that everything is under control, Sulu orders the ship back up to a gentle warp four, continuing to Mu Arigulon: at this speed, the Enterprise should be able to detect any distortions before running aground on them. Before the ship can reach full speed, it hits another distortion, this one much worse. There are a few more physical injuries, but what's more worrying is an officer that's entered into a coma... for no apparent reason. His brain functions are failing fast, and McCoy manages to stabilize him, but he's unable to determine a physical cause for the problem. When Chapel pulls his medical records, she discovers that he's an esper: one of those rare humans with an abnormal level of telepathic/psychic ability. Then the security officers bring in four more comatose officers. Once again, McCoy cannot isolate a cause for their difficulties-and once again, all four of them are espers. Their brain signs are slowly fading, and if they continue to degrade at their current rate, in only days there will be nothing left of them....