Summary for Star Trek: Voyager episode
Counterpoint

Season 5, Episode 10
Stardate:

Guest Stars:
Mark Harelik as "Kashyk"
Randy Oglesby as "Kir"
J. Patrick McCormack as "Prax"
Alexander Enberg as "Vorik"
Jake Sakson as "Adar"

Co-Stars:
Randy Lowell as "Torat"
Jake Sakson as "Adar"
Majel Barrett as "Computer Voice"

Written by:
Michael Taylor

Events:
The episode starts with a shot of Voyager being pursued by a huge dark starship. It quickly becomes obvious a second ship has successfully intercepted their course and Voyager slows to a stop.

Chakotay tells us these are Devore ships. Harry reports the pattern buffers are stable and Seven reports the cargo bay is clear.

Chakotay reports the Devore are powering weapons and Tom wonders out loud why they bother since they know Voyager won't resist.

Kathryn tells him "Protocol".

One of the Devore ships hails Voyager and we learn these ships are an "inspection team". Voyager is given very strict instructions about standing away from their consoles and placing all side arms and scanning equipment aside. Kathryn claims they "know the drill".

Kathryn tells the crew to cooperate fully and Devore soldiers beam to decks 15, 11, 4, and 1.

Music is heard playing over the comm system and Kathryn is called to her ready room by a confident male voice.

The scene cuts to her ready room where the Devore commander is sitting in Kathryn's chair. He's taken the liberty of playing music to relax the crew during the inspection and he's also replicated some black coffee.

He dismisses his lieutenant, Prax (the man who gave Voyager its instructions), and then advises Kathryn to make herself feel at home.

The show cuts to opening credits and commercials.

When we return we have another external shot of Voyager closely flanked by two large Devore starships. In the halls, the crew line the walls at attention while Devorian troops march by. The troops check panels and Jeffries tubes, an extensive search.

The Devorian troops in Sick Bay are particularly loutish. Dropping a specimen test tube and manhandling equipment.

Prax asks B'Elanna in Engineering why she's routing power through the transporter. She explains it's a routine diagnostic due to a problem they've been experiencing. He gruffly tells her to focus her attention on a certain transporter component and abruptly leaves.

In the mess hall Neelix and several other people are being scanned. In the cargo bay Prax has discovered contaminated anti-matter that could interfere with his readings. He says so to Seven, then noticing her bio-technology, scans her and asks about her interlink node. She explains it and he asks her if she is a telepath. She answers "no".

Back in the ready room Inspector Kashyk asks about Kathryn's antique microscope. She tells him it is 600 years old, a gift from her grandfather. He notes a bust of a Hellenic Greek soldier, claiming he has more in common with the soldier than exploration.

They discuss the dichotomy of human achievement in the arts and in destructive capability. He compares this to the counterpoint in the music he selected (Mahler, Symphony Number 1).

Kathryn asks him if all his inspections are as personal as reviewing the musical tastes of the captains. Inspector Kashyk confesses he's just trying to get to know her and be her friend. He points out she could use one, being all alone in the Delta Quadrant and passing through Devore space.

Then he tells her he has checked her crew manifest and found four telepaths listed that she hadn't mentioned. He names Tuvok, Vorik, Suder, and Geralt (a Betazoid).

He asks what became of them and she tells him they are dead. Suder died fighting the Kazon and Tuvok, Vorik and Geralt died in a shuttle accident two months ago.

He tells her this is fortunate for her because if he found her with telepaths on board he'd have to seize the whole crew and the ship for illegally transporting telepaths.

Kathryn states they were valued members of her crew and not criminals. Inspector Kashyk asks Kathryn if she trusts him. Not for a minute says she. Exactly says he, trust must be earned. But he points out telepaths don't need trust. They can just read thoughts to know whether the words are true or not.

Prax reports no telepaths were found, but also notes that Voyager deviated from its designated path twice and must be impounded. Kathryn claims both times were to avoid ion storms and Inspector Kashyk is willing to overlook the infractions.

We watch as the two Devore ships leave Voyager alone and Tom reports they are out of range. Efforts immediately begin to bring something out of the transporter pattern buffers and with a little innovation they manage to produce Tuvok, Vorik, Geralt (the female whose back is closest to us wearing a Blue Star Fleet uniform), and 11 refugees (four men, four women, three children called the Brinari).

The scene cuts to commercials.

When the show returns we learn these inspections have been going on for weeks and that Voyager will soon be able to transfer the refugees onto a vessel bound for a wormhole.

However, the vessel has changed the rendezvous plans again and we also learn that the telepaths shouldn't continue using the transporter buffers because some of them are suffering from symptoms of buffer degradation. Tuvok is one of those who has the symptoms.

Chakotay interrupts the conversation to announce the receipt of another message. They are to rendezvous in a Mutara-class nebula (based on the Mutara Nebula from Star Trek II: "The Wrath of Khan"). The distance is 2.36 light years away and Chakotay calls that "out of the way" and tells us this is a two-day trip (which it is, when limited to Warp 6).

Tuvok expects they'd be boarded at least once more before they get there. Kathryn orders Tuvok and Seven to plan a route that will avoid the Devore as much as possible.

Meanwhile, in the mess hall, Neelix is entertaining the refugee children with a Flotter story (The Ogre of Fire's Castle).

One of the cute little tykes continues to interrupt Neelix with details of the story until Neelix explains it's rude. Kathryn enters and Neelix excuses himself to talk with her.

She asks him how he's doing and he explains that as telepaths they can pick up the concern in the adults around them. He reassures her that rescuing them from a freighter spared them a life in a detention centre.

Kathryn picks up a tomato and asks Neelix if the kitchen is still open. He reassures her that for her it is always open. Her meal is interrupted when Tuvok reports a Devore vessel on an interception course. Chakotay raises shields and calls red alert and then notifies the Captain. She orders all the refugees to the transporters and Neelix gathers the kids.

When Kathryn arrives on the bridge she discovers the ship is a scout class and hasn't raised shields or powered weapons. This is a new approach for the Devore and when Kathryn accepts a signal from the Devore ship she learns it is Inspector Kashyk, alone, wishing to talk to her.

She invites him to her ready room.

Inspector Kashyk is escorted to Kathryn's ready room. He's not in uniform but is wearing a casual outfit. She informs him that she submitted to inspections because he'd outgunned her but since he didn't outgun her now she wasn't prepared to submit now.

Inspector Kashyk claims he wants to defect. Kathryn asks him why she should grant him asylum and he explains that within the nebula are a squadron of Kashyk's ships waiting to catch ships smuggling telepaths. He explains that he knows Voyager is smuggling 12 telepaths rescued from a freighter three weeks earlier and that they're seeking a wormhole where the telepaths can escape. He claims he's known this for some time but didn't reveal it because he sympathized with their cause and wants to join them.

The scene cuts to commercials.

When the show returns we are in Astrometrics where we get a very fine demonstration as the screen scans the nebula and locates a Devore warship hiding within the nebula. Kashyk provides them with information on detecting their refractive coating (a partial shield), their weaponry and shielding, and routes and schedules so they can avoid another inspection.

Kashyk explains that the freighter they were to meet has been seized and is being used to cover up a sting operation where refugees are lured in to the nebula, then seized. Voyager was to be next.

Kathryn explains she'll pass the information on to the refugees. Till she's decided his fate Kashyk will retain a guard assigned to him.

In the guest room where the Brinari stay Kathryn, Tuvok and Chakotay talk with their leader, Adar. He claims there have been some Devore sympathizers and that Kashyk might be telling the truth. Chakotay suggests he might be sincere and Tuvok points out he might be trying to use Voyager to find the wormhole. Chakotay asks where he should be locked up and Kathryn decides against that but demands 24-hour surveillance on his activities.

Adar suggests they contact a scientist named Torat who is said to know something of the wormhole. He suggests Torat might trade the information for some fluidic fuel that is hard to come by. Tuvok suggests they replicate some and the leader has some knowledge of the structure of the fluid.

Kathryn decides they'll try to find Torat.

In the briefing room Kashyk and the two guards await Kathryn's arrival. Kathryn asks him why he wants to defect now and Kashyk explains he's wanted to defect for years but a Brinari freighter would kill him on sight and Voyager offered the perfect opportunity. He'd read about their database and knew about Star Fleet's philosophy and expected humane treatment.

Kathryn explains she doesn't grant asylum to everyone who comes along but agrees to give him safe passage to the wormhole in exchange for his assistance in getting there. He agrees. She reminds him he'll be under guard and he claims guards make him feel safe. She points out that these guards answer to her and that this is her ship and he claims no one would dispute that fact.

Kathryn leaves, apparently rattled that she has been unable to rattle Kashyk.

An external shows a fast shuttle being pursued by Voyager. Apparently the fast shuttle contains Torat, who doesn't want to talk to these people. He's late for an important conference.

Harry taps into Torat's computer to open a channel (Torat turned off his comm system). We meet a rather interesting looking fellow almost amphibious in appearance. Torat refuses to consider stopping to talk to them and seems quite reasonable in his desire to avoid Voyager.

Kashyk steps forward and suggests they disable the ship but Kathryn orders Torat beamed over to Voyager. He seems unhappy when he appears on Voyager's bridge.

In the ready room Kathryn offers Torat 20 centilitres of mercurium iso-chromate, a silverish liquid in an ornate container. This is a sample for him to test and she offers him a year's supply if he'll help her and the refugees find the wormhole.

He tells her a bribe won't help because he doesn't know anything about refugees or a wormhole.

Kashyk and Kathryn play 'Bad Cop/Good Cop' on Torat and manage to get his assistance when Kathryn mentions they're looking for an "interspatial flexure". Apparently a "wormhole" is a loose phrase referring to a number of different phenomena and only the specific mention of an "interspatial flexure" allows him to admit to having knowledge of one.

Kashyk wants to know where it is and Torat explains that this end of the wormhole is not fixed. It changes location and is only open for a couple of minutes.

Since this doesn't sound very helpful Kathryn lifts the sample of fuel from the table, but Torat offers them the information on the last four sightings and suggests they might extrapolate the location of the next appearance.

This convinces Kathryn to offer the sample after all.

There is a charming school girl look from Kathryn to Kashyk.

The scene changes to the mess hall, where Kathryn and Kashyk are working on the extrapolation. They've tried several different methods of analysis and none have worked.

Finally, since the music is playing in the background, Kathryn suggests "counterpoint". The thought of the counterpoint in the music suggests to her a counterpoint to the frequency of wormhole appearances in sub-space. They conduct an analysis and while this is going on they chit-chat about coffee and a display of aurora borealis going on outside the ship.

Kashyk claims he spent hours as a boy watching them. Then he asks if Kathryn expects to be welcome when she returns to Earth. He points out he's read the Prime Directive and that rescuing the refugees was an act of disobedience. Kathryn admits she trusts her instincts and lets the rest get sorted out at a board of inquiry. She also admits she was on a first name basis with the admirals.

Kashyk explains his reason for taking this action. A few months earlier he had found a family of telepaths hidden away in an extraction chamber. She lifted out a small girl who was barely able to breath in the chamber and the little girl thanked him. He sent her and the rest of the telepaths to relocation centre knowing full well what would happen to them. He looked upon Voyager as his deliverance.

The computer interrupts their discussion by announcing the completion of the analysis. The computer has determined the next location and when it will open (over 8 light years and about 3 days away). The problem is there is a Devore detection station between them and the wormhole.

But Kathryn is tired of the work and leaves that problem to the morning. With the computer screen off the room grows dark except for the aurora, which Kashyk continues to enjoy. He claims he's never seen it so beautiful before and suggests it might be the company he's keeping. Kathryn suggests it might be the polarization axis of the windows and Kashyk admits that must be it, to Kathryn's delight.

As Kathryn escorts Kashyk to his quarters they discuss the detection station. It emits a wave every 40 seconds with a range of ten light years. It's designed to detect warp fields and impulse signatures. They come up with an idea of keeping those power systems off when the wave is emitted and they should be able to slide past the station undetected.

When they arrive at his quarters there is an awkward moment as Kashyk invites the captain inside. He planned to replicate something to toast their success but learns Kathryn had his replicator taken offline to prevent him replicating a weapon. With this awkwardness past they bid each other a good night and go their separate ways.

The scene cuts to commercials.

When we return we are on the bridge. Tuvok announces a detection pulse will striker Voyager in fifteen seconds. Kashyk claims the ship is beneath the detection threshold. The pulse rolls by, shaking the ship somewhat. Tom claims in ten minutes they'll be out of range.

But B'Elanna calls with a problem in Engineering. The pulse set up a variance in the anti-matter flow and this will register on the next pulse. She has to shut down the engines. But due to a problem with the injectors she fails to correct the problem in time and they are detected. Kathryn orders the ship to power up and head for the wormhole as a signal is sent from the array to Devore warships.

In the briefing room they've narrowed the search for the wormhole to a 200,000 km radius and it is to occur in the next six hours. Meanwhile Tom has detected Devore warships on an interception course estimated to rendezvous with Voyager in six hours. Tuvok announces they've recalibrated the shields to offer some support against the Devore weapons and Kashyk expresses surprise at the idea of Voyager going up against the Devore.

Kathryn orders Chakotay to the bridge while she'll command from engineering.

On the way down she is accompanied by Kashyk. She is talking about weapons against the Devore, but Kashyk explains he has something else in mind and they find a room to discuss it. Kashyk announces he is going back to the war ships to control them so they don't interfere in Voyager's efforts.

Kathryn tries to talk him out of it but he points out he can take command of any inspection team to make sure the telepaths are not caught.

Kathryn finally agrees, though she tells him she had hoped he would stay aboard once through the wormhole.

As they walk the halls they are followed by Tuvok who explains they will be just outside the area of the wormhole when the Devore ships arrive. Kathryn tells Kashyk they must get the inspection teams off the ship before the wormhole appears and Kashyk assures them this will be the shortest inspection on record. Tuvok announces he'll return to the bridge.

At the shuttle launch area Kathryn tells Kashyk that Voyager will wait on this side of the wormhole for as long as it can in the hopes that Kashyk can join them through the wormhole. Kashyk admits he might not make it and Kathryn tells him to try.

They look into each other's eyes and Kashyk kisses Kathryn, who then kisses Kashyk. She then watches him board his shuttle and leave the ship.

The scene cuts to commercials.

When we return we find Voyager once again cornered between two Devore ships. Chakotay asks whether shields should be raised but Kathryn responds with a smile and a willingness to follow Devorian protocol.

She checks with Harry in the transporter room, who announces the patterns are stable.

Kathryn opens up a channel to the Devorian ship, and Prax once again follows the protocol regarding the instructions to a ship about to be inspected.

While being instructed Kathryn looks over at Tuvok who is manning his station. Troops appear on decks 15, 12, 8, 4, and 1. The music starts up and Kashyk calls Kathryn to her ready room.

Kashyk and Kathryn make innocent small talk in front of Prax but when he's dismissed Kashyk learns that the wormhole has been found 20,000 km off the port bow and the refugees are in teleportation suspension.

Kashyk is truly pleased and calls Prax back in to celebrate. He orders Prax down to cargo bay 1 to retrieve the refugees.

Kathryn is amazed that Kashyk could turn in such a "masterful performance". Kashyk thanks her for her selfless assistance. Kathryn reminds him of the touching story of the little girl and Kashyk admits the story was real but that he hadn't told her that after he wrestled with his conscience he realized he'd done the right thing by protecting his people from a very real threat.

He orders her to the bridge where everyone on the bridge has been replaced with Devore soldiers.

Kashyk takes the command chair and offers Kathryn the second in command chair.

He orders two photons, one to open the wormhole and one to destabilize it. They locate a disturbance off the port bow and fire the first photon and nothing happens. Just at that moment Prax is beaming in the refugees. He discovers they are not refugees, but containers of vegetables. Meanwhile Kashyk has learned that Kathryn set up a decoy with anti-matter residue to look like a small wormhole.

Prax reports two missing shuttles and no telepaths on board. Kashyk realizes Kathryn has used the Devore reactive shielding on the shuttles to avoid detection. At once he recalibrates the sensors.

They detect two shuttles 20,000,000 km away and the refugees are aboard. The refugees fire the torpedo at the wormhole and it opens long enough for them to escape.

Prax sums up the situation by pointing out they have Kathryn and the crew and can impound Voyager. But Kashyk points out their failure to grab the refugees will not help either of their careers and so the incident never happened. He orders Prax to drop the matter and leave the ship with the rest of the Devore soldiers.

He congratulates Kathryn on playing the game well, and she points out she had to take a few precautions. She also points out that her offer to take him along was genuine had he lived up to his end of the bargain. He admits it was a tempting offer, and turns command over to her.

The episode ends.

Personal Reflections

This was quite a good episode, aside from a couple of minor glitches.

Kashyk's act was very convincing, which made his betrayal so surprising. And of course there I was saying "finally, Kathryn has been duped".

Then they pulled a rabbit out of their hat. Kathryn had already anticipated this problem and taken steps to avoid it.

What a surprise !!

Some bright points in the show:

- the music was a nice touch. It played through most of the episode and added a good deal to the magic of the episode.

- Torat's nose. He could puff it up like a bullfrog's throat and this was a nice nuance for an alien species.

- Kathryn as a sex-kitten. This was a complete surprise and contributed to her naive appearance.

- Kashyk. I definitely want to see him again. He seems to me to be the Delta Quadrant's Dukat.

- another Flotter and Treevis story. It's nice to see continuity like that.

-transporter suspension. Not seen since (or before) TNG's "Relics" where transporter suspension saved Scotty from the 23rd century. Really nice to see someone recalling this little trick and using it ingeniously.

Thank you for your attention.



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