Oh, I like how you've worked the bits of actual canon dialogue in! That's really clever, I don't think I've ever seen that done before! (but then, I don't get out much ;-)

I also like the idea of Vaysh's familiarity with... pharmaceuticals... having a personal basis - that's very plausible.

"This wasn't about me. Never again would it be;"

I think you've identified a very salient point here; Vaysh has to come to terms with the fact that he's "second best". I've often wondered if he ever looked at Tigron Pell and thought "...that should have been me". Of course, given that being Tigron is a bit of a double-edged sword, perhaps he may think he had a narrow escape...