T'Pol
T'Pol is a female extraterrestrial television character who features in Star Trek.
Contents |
Biography
T'Pol was a female Vulcan born the daughter of T'Les and her husband in 2088. (ENT: Zero Hour)
During her childhood, her parents arranged a marriage between her and another Vulcan by the name of Koss with this being typical in her society. (ENT: Breaking The Ice)
During her early career, she came to serve as an agent in the Ministry of Security. Through this work, she often contacted Klingons within the Klingon Empire. (ENT: Judgment) One of T'Pol's first assignments for the Ministry was to retrieve seven rogue agents who refused to return to Vulcan. Managing to capture five of the seven she was assigned to locate, T'Pol tracked agents Jossen and Menos to Risa in 2135. Whilst there, she came to kill Jossen but was unable to capture Menos. T'Pol thereafter underwent the Fullara ceremony at the sanctuary of P'Jem, which erased her memory of having killed Jossen, along with any associated emotions. (ENT: The Seventh)
Afterwards, she came to serve in the Vulcan High Command's Science Council aboard the starship Seleya. Whilst there, she acted as the ship's deputy science officer, working under Captain Voris and alongside Chief Engineer Commander Solin. (ENT: Impulse)
It was noted that she spent two years on Earth where she was stationed at the Vulcan compound. (ENT: Fusion) One night in 2150, T'Pol left the Vulcan Compound and went south to stroll the streets of San Francisco. Overhearing "unusual, chaotic" jazz music piqued her curiosity, so she entered the Fusion restaurant, where the music was being performed, and listened to the saxophonist there. The experience elicited an emotional response that she subsequently never forgot. (ENT: Fusion) She would later take a five-day leave to visit Carbon Creek and see it for herself. At some point she also visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Yellowstone National Park out of geologic interest. (ENT: Carbon Creek)
In 2151, she accompanied Ambassador Soval when an incident led to first contact between humanity and the Klingons. This incident involved a courier from the Klingon Empire named Klaang who crash landed on Earth only to be injured by a human farmer. The Vulcans intervened in the diplomatic incident and suggested that mankind postpone the launch of their first warp capable exploration vessel. Ultimately, the Earth Starfleet refused and instead suggested that they take the courier back to his homeworld of Qo'noS. The Vulcans then suggested that T'Pol serve as a guide and science officer of the human ship where she was appointed under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer. During the flight, they were attacked by Suliban who abducted Klaang with T'Pol believing their mission was a failure as a result but Captain Archer looked to recover the courier. They went to Rigel IX when T'Pol revealed that it was previous destination of Klaang with Captain Archer somewhat annoyed with the Vulcan for not revealing this information prior to this point. Whilst investigating the planet, they were captured by Suliban led by Sarin where she revealed that the attackers were part of a secretive group called the Cabal. Cabal agents then looked to eliminate the Starfleet crew who managed to return to their shuttle and returned to their ship. However, Archer was wounded by weapon fire forcing T'Pol to take command of the ship where initially the crew believed she would order a return to Earth. However, she anticipated the captain's orders and instead decided to pursue the Suliban trail that ultimately led to a gas giant. Captain Archer by this point had recovered and they learnt that the Suliban Cabal operated a base within the gas giant where they launched a mission to recover Klaang. The Starfleet crew ultimately succeeded in their ask where they took the courier to Qo'noS where the information about the Cabal's attacks was located within his blood. With their assignment complete, Starfleet decided for the Enterprise to continue their mission of exploration. At first, T'Pol was prepared to return to Vulcan but was asked by Captain Archer to request the Vulcan High Command an extension to her assignment as science officer for the Enterprise. (Episode: Broken Bow)
She and her team were exposed to a powerful hallucinogenic toxin from the local plant life and consequently began to experience severe paranoia. Taking refuge from a powerful storm, she maintained much of her composure as her Human companions became lost in delusion. In communication with Archer aboard Enterprise, T'Pol used playacting to get numerous members of her team – namely, Commander Tucker, Ensign Travis Mayweather, and Crewman Cutler – through the night, though she was forced to use a Vulcan nerve pinch on Ensign Mayweather. (Episode: Strange New World)
During a meeting with Captain Archer, she was informed that the Vulcan High Command had ended joint operations with Starfleet over the P'Jem incident. They had also recalled Subcommander T'Pol and had dispatched a Vulcan ship to recover her from the Enterprise. T'Pol knew that the Vulcan high Command had intended to punish her for her role in the P'Jem matter with her return to Vulcan would see her being disgraced as a result. The Subcommander, however, felt that she had no choice but to accept her fate and prepared to end her duties on-board the human vessel. Captain Archer decided to take T'Pol with him during his exploration of Coridan but their shuttle was shut down by a rebel faction who took the pair hostage. These terrorists had taken the pair hostage with the intention of ransoming them for weapons from their starship though in reality they intended to eliminate the pair at the end. (ENT: Shadow of P'Jem)
T'Pol was again forced to utilize playacting in a crisis when she pretended to be a slave of Captain Archer, in order to gain the sympathies of Ferengi pirates in late 2151. With Archer and Tucker, T'Pol was able to trick the Ferengi into leaving Enterprise, but not before they returned materials stolen from the ship. (Episode: Acquisition) As Enterprise continued to explore space, the Vulcan High Command assigned at least one vessel to monitor the ship's activities. One of those vessels, the starship Ti'Mur under the command of Captain Vanik, began secretly transmitting personal messages to T'Pol, regarding her betrothal to Koss and obligation to return to Vulcan. During a 'comet walk' on the surface of Archer's Comet, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Ensign Mayweather were trapped in an ice collapse. After persuading Archer, T'Pol contacted the Ti'Mur and enlisted the aid of Captain Vanik, to whom she declared her intention to stay aboard Enterprise. (Episode: Breaking the Ice)
Whilst going through the Vulcan database, Captain Archer's interest was drawn to a Vulcan colony on their flight path called P'Jem. He inquired from T'Pol about its nature where she revealed that it was a monastery where monks practiced the Kolinahr ritual. T'Pol attempted to dissuade the captain from exploring it but he was determined in encountering a Vulcan monastery with the Sub-Commander providing a list of protocols when meeting the monks. (Episode: The Andorian Incident)
The ship then encountered another Vulcan vessel named the Vahklas that was an older civilian ship. Its captain was invited on-board the human ship with T'Pol quickly determining that Tivan's crew were v'tosh ka'tur (Vulcans Without Logic). They revealed that they had left Vulcan 8 years ago on a long journey to experiment with re-integrating emotions into themselves with this being a practice forbidden by the elders on their homeworld. The Vahklas required some repairs with Captain Archer agreeing to help them whilst the Enterprise looked to conduct some scans of neighbouring the Arachnid Nebula. Tivan offered the use of their ships more advanced sensors with Archer requesting T'Pol to conduct the assignment from the Vahklas where she was to be assisted by Tolaris. For several days, she spent some time with Tolaris who in the midst of their assignment attempted to convince her that Surak had intended for their kind to experience emotions. This led to a private moment where he convinced her to take part in a mind meld that was a technique abandoned by their people centuries ago. This allowed him to experience a moment from her past where she snuck out from the Vulcan embassy on Earth to a human club. He attempted to forcibly make her experience emotions against her will with T'Pol breaking the connection and noting Tolaris's anger believed him to be dangerous. She immediately told him to leave her quarters where he expressed disappointment in T'Pol as he left and she then contacted sickbay as she was in incredible pain. Doctor Phlox determined that the effects of the mind meld had left some neurological damage on T'Pol with her revealing the events of the incident to Captain Archer. Archer confronted Tolaris and seeing how he struggled to contain his anger decided to end any help with the Vahklas whose crew returned to their ship. (Episode: Fusion)
Overview
Personality and attributes
As a Vulcan, she held no desire for exploration and looked to avoid getting into matters that did not involve her. (Episode: Fight or Flight) She believed in upholding the traditions of her culture and society as she said that she had a duty to continue it regardless of her personal wishes. (Episode: Breaking The Ice)
Initially, she believed that humanity were a primitive race that lacked the traits of patience or logic. (Episode: Broken Bow) She was not the first Vulcan to be stationed on a human vessel but she was the first that had stayed for a long period of time. Other Vulcans could not stand being among humans for a month where she not only remained on Enterprise for six months but even had an affinity for its crew. (Episode: Shadow of P'Jem)
Being a Vulcan, she was a vegetarian and refused to eat meat. (Episode: Broken Bow)
As was traditional on Vulcan, she was betrothed to a Vulcan named Koss when the pair were children. He was an architect and she was expected to depart service on a ship in order to live as Koss's wife on Vulcan. (Episode: Breaking The Ice)
She was sceptical of the use of time travel as she consulted the information from the Vulcan Science Directorate which found no proof of its existence. (ENT: Cold Front)
It was shown that T'Pol also practiced regimented meditation, a routine from which she rarely deviated. (Episode: Fusion)
T'Pol was the daughter of T'Les who was an instructor at the Vulcan Science Academy. (Episode: Zero Hour) She and T'Pol's father had met only once prior to their bonding and marriage. However, even though they were strangers at the time of their marriage but they came to grow to love and care for each other deeply. (Episode: Home)
Powers and abilities
As a female Vulcan, she had a heightened sense of smell which meant that it was sensitive to odours from animals. Despite this, she claimed that she had been trained to ignore such offensive odours. (ENT: Broken Bow) She had stated that she had become accustomed to the smell and had also used a nasal numbing agent to better cope. (ENT: The Andorian Incident)
She was noted familiar with the abandoned mind meld technique which had not been used by Vulcan society for centuries. (ENT: Fusion)
Notes
- T'Pol was portrayed by actor Jolene Blalock and featured in the setting of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Alternate Versions
- In the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", the Mirror Universe version of T'Pol was encountered in the alternate reality where she was a Vulcan slave of the Terran Empire.
In other media
Novels
Appearances
- Star Trek: Enterprise:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
