Riker Unmasks Devinoni; Devinoni Pivots to Goss
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Devinoni joins Riker at his table, initiating a tense exchange under the guise of casual conversation.
Riker challenges Devinoni's negotiation tactics, framing their conflict as inevitable.
Devinoni tests Riker's willingness to take risks, probing his commitment to the negotiation.
Devinoni shifts the conversation to Troi, attempting to undermine Riker's confidence and provoke jealousy.
Riker exposes Devinoni's lack of deeper values, turning the tables with a devastating insight about his character.
Riker exits with a toast, leaving Devinoni to contemplate his words, marking a shift in their power dynamic.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not present; text implies she would evaluate pre-probe agreements skeptically and prioritize Barzan's long-term interests.
Referenced as the leader Devinoni offers to strike a pre-probe agreement with; not present, but functionally a target of Devinoni's fast-moving tactical proposal.
- • Protect Barzan's sovereignty and long-term prospects.
- • Secure reliable, non-exploitative arrangements for her people.
- • Premature deals without full information are risky for Barzan.
- • Guardianship and neutral oversight may better preserve her people's autonomy.
Not an emotional agent here; functioning as an instrumentalized rumor used to trigger Ferengi appetite and greed.
Invoked rhetorically by Devinoni as a bargaining chip — presented as abundant, sexualized population to entice Goss and convert social promise into commercial leverage.
- • Serve as persuasive bait to secure Ferengi cooperation or indulgence.
- • Shift the negotiation dynamic from subtle emotional manipulation to overt transactional incentives.
- • Sexualized representations can be leveraged to secure political/commercial favors.
- • Mythic abundance is useful rhetoric for converting interest into action.
Feigning warmth and assurance while masking annoyance at being exposed; quickly pragmatic and predatory once subtlety fails.
Approaches with a drink and a smooth, insinuating manner; attempts to seduce Riker into accepting a pre-probe deal and claims a special bond with Deanna. After Riker rebuffs him, he quickly switches targets and offers tantalizing Chrysalian prospects to DaiMon Goss.
- • Secure a pre-probe agreement that advantages his interests and patrons.
- • Neutralize Riker's pushback by reframing the emotional claim over Deanna.
- • When rebuffed, find alternative leverage (commercial/sexual) to stay influential in negotiations.
- • Charm and personal connection are effective currencies in negotiation.
- • Personal relationships can be instrumentalized to influence decisions.
- • If one form of leverage (subtle influence) fails, cruder incentives (commodification, commerce) will succeed.
Initially disappointed and put-off; quickly greedy and intrigued when presented with a potentially profitable or pleasurable alternative.
Sitting nearby, attempting to pick up crew women and reacting with disappointment when rebuffed; his interest spikes when Devinoni markets Chrysalia's abundance, prompting him to engage and listen closely.
- • Maximize personal pleasure and profitable opportunity from social exchanges.
- • Find an edge (sexual, commercial, or political) to increase his bargaining power in wormhole talks.
- • Where there is abundance (especially sexual), personal advantage and profit follow.
- • Transactional exchange is the default social contract—use wealth or goods to secure favors.
Confident and resolute with a light, self-assured amusement; emotionally steady enough to call out manipulation and reclaim personal/professional boundaries.
Seated and taking notes, Riker listens to Devinoni's approaches, then deliberately confronts him with direct moral clarity, toasts 'To the last mile' and leaves Ten-Forward, visibly relieved and composed.
- • Expose Devinoni's emotional manipulation and remove Deanna as a bargaining chip.
- • Protect the integrity of Starfleet negotiation norms and prevent premature deals.
- • Assert personal boundaries and diminish Devinoni's social leverage.
- • Devinoni uses charm as a tactical tool, not from genuine moral conviction.
- • Deanna's relationship and agency should not be negotiated or traded.
- • Starfleet (and he as an officer) must resist transactional shortcuts in diplomacy.
Absent yet consequential — positioned as someone whose autonomy and emotional life are being contested, implying potential discomfort or intrusion if present.
Not physically present in the scene but invoked repeatedly as the emotional center of the exchange; Riker defends her autonomy while Devinoni claims a possessive connection.
- • Maintain personal and professional autonomy (inferred from Riker's defense).
- • Avoid being instrumentalized in diplomatic bargaining.
- • Personal relationships should not be used as negotiation levers (inferred from Riker's stance).
- • Her role as counselor and partner should be respected rather than commodified.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Barzan probe is invoked verbally ('your probe's expedition') as the factual counterweight to Devinoni's offer of a pre-probe agreement. It functions narratively as the pending evidence that delegitimizes premature deals and as leverage for Riker to question opportunistic bargaining.
Riker is making notes on a small pad at the start of the scene — a tactile marker of his professional attention and casual control. He taps, closes or snaps the pad shut as he rises to confront Devinoni, using the gesture to punctuate leaving and to signal the end of the exchange.
A drink functions as a social prop: Devinoni arrives holding it to ease into conversation; Riker's standing toast uses the ritual of drink to punctuate his refusal. The beverage underscores the lounge's convivial veneer even as the exchange turns confrontational.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Devinoni's manipulative tactics in negotiations parallel his later manipulation of Goss."
"Devinoni's manipulative tactics in negotiations parallel his later manipulation of Goss."
"Riker's critique of Devinoni's values resonates later when Devinoni expresses remorse."
"Riker's critique of Devinoni's values resonates later when Devinoni expresses remorse."
"Riker's critique of Devinoni's values resonates later when Devinoni expresses remorse."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"RIKER: "Bought out the Ferengi yet, Ral?""
"DEVINONI: "She could have been yours, Will. But you didn't do enough to keep her, and now, I'm here and I'm going to take her too.""
"RIKER: "If you bring happiness into Deanna's life, nothing would please me more. You're not really a bad sort, Ral, you just don't have any values... beyond the value of today's bid, that is. She's just the one to give some meaning to your sorry existence... if you're smart enough to take it. I doubt that you are.""