Counterpoint

*** (3 stars out of 5)

The paranoid goons of the Devore Imperium spend their time peering deeply into the crannies and crevices of Voyager.

"Gaharay" means strangers, and the Devore don't embrace them. Unless embracing them is part of their TSA-style gropes and pat-downs.

Devore are dead set against trespassing telepaths. Voyager's crew manifest mentions Tuvok, Vorik, Suder, and Jurot- from the Vulcan and Betazoid races. Telepaths. Harbouring telepaths breaks the Cardinal Protocol. Janeway claims they're all dead. But in fact, she's hiding them (and 12 other local fugitives called the Brenari) in the attic... that is to say, a risky transporter suspension.

Devore Inspector Kashyk (named either for the homeworld of the Wookiees or the delicious cashew nut) defects to Janeway... claiming to be helping them find a wormhole to escape through. They grill a fish man together (not literally) on the location of the slippery little "interspatial flexure". Kashyk tells a sob story of the little girl telepath he threw into the prison camps recently... and implying how she made him feel bad and change his ways.

Despite the smooching he does with the Captain, he is a douchebag. Fortunately, Janeway is no slouch in the bald-faced lying department.

"Counterpoint" is devoted to the proposition that deceit in the service of greater moral victory is acceptable and desirable. It could be easily argued that Captain Kirk understood this, and we recently saw that Captain Sisko takes it even further: his lies, bribes and conspiracy with killers are even now saving the Federation. I guess 'The First Duty' is just a Picard thing. For all the good it does him. Hooray for Lying!