T'Pol (Enterprise)

T'Pol

STARFLEET AFFILIATE PERSONNEL FILE: T'Pol

Species: Vulcan

Rank: Promoted to commander (Vulcan rank) in 2154

Assignment: First Officer, Earth starship Enterprise NX-01

Full Name: T'Pol

Year of Birth: 2088

Parentage: Mother, T'Les; father deceased

Marital status: Married Koss in 2154 after previously cancelling betrothal

Career Summary

2135 – While serving in Ministry of Security, completed training in reconnaisance and retrieval; immediately dispatched to apprehend several rogue Vulcan operatives, with mixed success; afterwards resigned and went on retreat at P'Jem

2136 (ca.) – Joined Science Directorate

2148 – Served as Deputy Science Officer on Vulcan vessel Seleya under Captain Voris

2149 – Transferred to Vulcan Consulate on Earth

2151 – Assigned as observer on Enterprise NX-01 initially during starship's first mission; opted to remain on board as science officer under command of Captain Jonathan Archer

2153 – Resigned her commission with the Vulcan High Command in order to accompany Enterprise on its mission to the Delphic Expanse

2154 – Upon return from Delphic Expanse, accepted a commission with Starfleet with a rank of Commander

Profile: Report of Starfleet Diplomatic Relations Office

The Vulcans insisted that T'Pol oversee Enterprise's voyages and refused to supply starcharts unless this demand was met. This is not a position for which T'Pol volunteered. Her skill as a science officer is unquestioned, but working alongside primitive and irrational humans is an ongoing lesson in Vulcan patience. T'Pol and Archer often disagree, but are gradually learning mutual respect.

Biographical Overview

During her first year aboard the human vessel, T'Pol defied her critics — humans and Vulcans alike — who thought she wouldn't last. She surprised the Enterprise crew on its maiden voyage when Captain Archer was injured and she took command of the ship by continuing the mission he set out to accomplish, rather than simply returning to Earth after the Klingon Klaang was captured by Suliban agents.

Her interactions with Enterprise crewmates were initially filled with disdain and mistrust, but after working together on various missions, these early rocky relations improved substantially — T'Pol has formed relationships with Dr. Phlox, the only other non-human onboard, and Captain Archer. Though she may not always agree with the captain's style of command, she cannot help but respect him. At the captain's suggestion, she has also attempted to fraternize more with the crew, and even attended one of the ship's regular movie nights. T'Pol was surprised to find herself enjoying the movie: "Frankenstein." She later noted that she sees it as parallel to the experience Vulcans had when they first landed on Earth.

Even other Vulcans are surprised that T'Pol can stomach working so closely with humans, since Vulcans find the smell of humans unpleasant — T'Pol is able to endure the experience with the aid of a nasal numbing agent. T'Pol has demonstrated a strong ability to adapt, which is rare in Vulcans — perhaps it is something she's learned from humans. For example, when Captain Archer decided to take an away team to a newly-discovered, uninhabited Minshara-class planet against T'Pol's precautionary warnings, she ended up being the only crew member on the planet not experiencing hallucinations caused by indigenous pollen in the air. In danger of being assaulted or killed by the affected crew members, she was able to role-play in order to coax a peaceful resolution, something most Vulcans would never do. Similarly, she also role-played when a mysterious group of large-eared aliens took over Enterprise, tricking them and gaining the upper hand.

Although Vulcan, T'Pol has shown that her allegiance is to the truth; she didn't turn a blind eye when the secret Vulcan surveillance station at P'Jem was revealed and, at Archer's behest, handed over her scanner to the Andorian commandos who seized the temple when their suspicions proved correct — the Vulcans had indeed been engaging in deception. The Andorians destroyed the temple shortly thereafter, and the Vulcan High Command decided to recall T'Pol. Before the scheduled rendezvous with a Vulcan ship, she and Archer were kidnapped by Coridan rebels, and during rescue attempts by an Andorian/Human team and a Vulcan team, Sopek, a member of the Vulcan team, was nearly killed by a rebel. T'Pol selflessly put herself in harm's way to save him, resulting in an injury that nearly took her life. This act Sopek to take up her cause with the Vulcan High Command, allowing her to remain on Enterprise.

Before T'Pol joined the Science Directorate, she was assigned to the Ministry of Security, and was trained in reconnaissance and retrieval. Circa 2135, T'Pol was sent to retrieve a group of rogue Vulcan operatives. She was successful in capturing nearly all of them, save for two. She later nearly caught these remaining operatives on Risa, but one escaped, and she shot the other one when she believed he was reaching for a weapon. After the incident, T'Pol resigned her position with the Ministry and sought guidance at P'Jem. It was there that she underwent the Fullara, an obscure Vulcan ritual in which her memories and the emotions surrounding the events on Risa were repressed. In 2152, the agent that escaped, Menos, was located, and T'Pol was sent to apprehend him. She asked Archer to come along with her on the mission. T'Pol was successful in capturing Menos, but he reminded her of her long-buried memories ... and she was to come to terms with the fact that she once killed a man. Luckily, Archer was there to help her overcome her feelings of self-doubt, and the incident solidified the trust between the duo.

As a child, T'Pol was betrothed to a Vulcan named Koss. Her wedding to him would have meant the end of her assignment on Enterprise — once again, she bucked tradition and decided not to go through with it. This no doubt put a strain on her family relations and helped to brand her amongst her people as unorthodox, to say the least. Although T'Pol's behavior might seem extremely conservative and cold to her fellow crewmembers, it is radical when compared to standard Vulcan behavior. It should also be noted that while T'Pol is unique among Vulcans, she still holds fast to most Vulcan ideology and is the first to be skeptical of any unsubstantiated opinion or theory, such as time travel, which Vulcan science has deemed impossible. When faced with seemingly impossible events that time travel could explain, she stubbornly holds out for proof before jumping to conclusions.

Another event that challenged her beliefs came in the form of Enterprise's encounter with the V'tosh ka'tur or "Vulcans without logic." These Vulcans tried to integrate emotions into their everyday existence. Among these Vulcans was Tolaris, who was attracted to T'Pol and attempted to sway her to his group's way of thinking by means of the Vulcan mind-meld, an ancient and almost forgotten telepathic practice that Tolaris hoped would free T'Pol's emotions. As a result of the mind-meld, combined with avoiding her regular meditation, T'Pol began to have dreams and flashbacks to earlier times, remembering a time during her assignment at the Vulcan Consulate when she wandered out alone at night and visited a nightclub. Ultimately, the experience was overwhelming and disturbing to T'Pol, yet Tolaris continued the invasive meld, leaving T'Pol in a weaker state.

The encounter with Tolaris ended up having long-lasting ramifications — T'Pol was infected with Pa'nar Syndrome, an incurable Vulcan disease. Unfortunately, the syndrome carries a stigma on Vulcan — it can only be transmitted by the small number of Vulcans who are born with the ability to mind-meld. Because this telepathic minority's behavior is considered "unnatural" to other Vulcans, those who carry the disease face discrimination, and the disease is not a high priority when it comes to medical research. T'Pol experienced this sort of bigotry firsthand when several Vulcan doctors learned of her condition. When they learned that she was into the mind-meld by Tolaris, T'Pol was not recalled to Vulcan. Still, she was appalled at the intolerance faced by those who suffer from Pa'nar Syndrome, and planned to let the High Command know of her displeasure.

Though T'Pol may sometimes seem detached from others, she does have great admiration for certain individuals, particularly legendary Vulcan Ambassador V'Lar and her great-grandmother, T'Mir. T'Pol had a chance to meet V'Lar many years ago on Vulcan, during her early schooling. The Ambassador inspired her eventual career path, and T'Pol had another chance to meet her when V'Lar was involved with a complicated mission to Mazar. As for T'Mir, T'Pol once told Archer and Trip that her ancestor was part of a group of Vulcans that crash-landed in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania in October 1957. According to T'Pol's story, these Vulcans actually posed as humans in the small mining town, thus initiating first contact long before the documented events of 2063. T'Mir even contributed to the college fund of a young human by "inventing" Velcro. Though T'Pol later led Trip and Archer to believe that her story was merely a tall tale, there is still some doubt as to how much of it was truthful. When T'Pol was stationed in Sausalito (prior to her assignment on Enterprise), she took a five-day leave to visit Carbon Creek.

T'Pol's presence on Enterprise has taken even greater significance as Archer and the crew prepare to journey to the Delphic Expanse. When Enterprise was given this assignment, the Vulcan High Command disapproved, and demanded that T'Pol return to Vulcan. She refused, resigning her commission and preparing to join Archer on this dangerous mission. As T'Pol continues to spend time on Enterprise, in close contact with humans, it is significant not only for the historic nature of the service, but also as a hint of what the future holds: Collaboration and shared service between races is not only a feasible notion, but can yield results and accomplishments greater than if humans and Vulcans work alone.

Mirror Universe

A two-part episode in the fourth season, "In a Mirror, Darkly", introduced a Mirror Universe version of T'Pol. This version is more cynical and openly emotional than her "real universe" counterpart, and is also openly sexually manipulative, particularly of Commander Tucker.

In the Mirror Universe, T'Pol underwent pon farr at some point in the recent past, and Trip mated with her in order to get her through it. Physically, she differs from her real universe counterpart in that she has long hair (in reality, Blalock went without her wig and showed her normal hair) and, like other female officers in the Terran Empire, she wears a two-piece uniform with a bare midriff (although after transferring to the captured USS Defiant (NCC-1764), she adopts a TOS-style miniskirt uniform temporarily until she is able to obtain a more standard Empire uniform).

Mirror-T'Pol's mind meld abilities appear to be somewhat more advanced than those of her counterpart, as she is capable of placing a form of post-hypnotic suggestion into the minds of those with whom she melds; since the real universe T'Pol had only recently learned how to meld, it is unlikely she had yet achieved this level of melding proficiency. She also appears to be more emotional than her counterpart, showing open sarcasm and contempt for Archer, and is seen to either grin or snarl (depending on one's point of view) during a brief bout of hand-to-hand combat with Hoshi Sato.

Eventually, Mirror-T'Pol is forcibly transferred from the Defiant to the ISS Avenger when Jonathan Archer attempts to rid his ship of all alien crew members. T'Pol becomes convinced that Archer will never allow Vulcans to be equals, and tries to stop him from taking over the Empire. Mirror-T'Pol was inspired by reading the historical logs of our universe's Defiant, which revealed a universe where Humans, Vulcans, and other aliens lived as equals in a benevolent Federation. After recruiting the ISS Avenger's alien crew members to the rebellion, T'Pol is caught and interrogated by Archer. Her ultimate fate is not revealed; although both Archer and Hoshi Sato express a desire to have her executed following her interrogation, the Defiant immediately enters battle and this does not occur on screen.

During the episode's stated date of January 2155, T'Pol foreshadows future events, such as the fall of the Terran Empire after several centuries (which would be chronicled in the Mirror Universe episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.)