The Betazoid sense walks a delicate balance in these episodes. With Deanna, it has to do with emotional signals and body sense; with others, it's almost like mind reading. Tam Elbrun, the young empath aboard the enterprise, is a super reader of life forms, almost to the point of insanity. He has a checkered history which leads people to fear him, but he is a master at first contact. He has hooked up with "Tin Man," the name given to an entity that looks like a large pine cone. It used to be ship with a crew but circumstances have ended that. The thing has immense power and thinks on its own, but like so many one-of- a-kind creatures, it is filled with dread and loneliness. Tam-Elbrun, being empathic, feels the creature's pain. There is an issue in that the Romulans, who attacked Tin Man are set on revenge because the thing destroyed one of their war birds. Data is taken in on this whole thing because he does not send out any human baggage. This is a really thoughtful episode and well worth the viewing.