T’Pol's Tactics and Protocols

T'Pol, or at least a version of the character from a different quantum reality, made her triumphant return to Star Trek as part of the U.S.S. Anaximander's crew in ' "." The Vulcan’s appearance on William Boimler's ship conjured up countless memories from , where the T'Pol of the Prime Timeline aided Captain Jonathan Archer and the NX-01 Enterprise on Earth's first deep space exploratory mission.

Whether calling upon her keen intellect or her expertise in interstellar matters, T'Pol proved to be instrumental in the NX-01's triumphs. Let's honor T'Pol's enduring legacy by chronicling some of the key moments in which her insight helped save the day.

Surviving the Night in ""

When an uninhabited world’s winds rustled up a psychotropic compound and caused her away team to experience paranoid hallucinations, T’Pol was forced to face unfounded accusations and increasingly delusional behavior from her subordinates. The anxiety-inducing pollen did not affect Vulcans to the same extent as humans, though T’Pol still had to work to keep her logical demeanor as Charles “Trip” Tucker III aimed a phase pistol at her. T’Pol’s tactical thinking kicked in, and she devised the ingenious idea to speak to Captain Archer and Hoshi Sato in Vulcan in order to coordinate a resolution to the dangerous situation. The scheme succeeded, and T’Pol managed to inoculate herself and her fellow crewmen against the toxin that the pollen had begun producing in their bodies.

Advising the Captain in ""

Excitement over the opportunity to study a massive comet gripped the NX-01, though Captain Archer's enthusiasm was tempered by the presence of a Vulcan starship lurking nearby. Archer believed the Vulcans were spying on them, and a tense meal with the ship's captain only exacerbated the precarious predicament. An emergency arose when one of Enterprise's shuttlepods became trapped in a chasm on the comet, yet the Starfleet vessel's grappler failed to be sufficient for a recovery mission.

T'Pol suggested Archer ask the Vulcans to utilize their advanced tractor beam to save the shuttlepod and its crew, but Archer initially refused. T'Pol switched to a logical approach, explaining that not requesting assistance would only validate the Vulcan perception that humans were arrogant and prideful. With T'Pol's wisdom striking a little too close to home, Archer relented and allowed the Vulcans to retrieve the shuttlepod.

Preparing for Battle in ""

With Klingon marauders regularly putting pressure on an isolated colony that produced valuable deuterium, Captain Archer and his crew formulated a plan which would convince the Klingons that the colonists could fend them off. As other officers taught the civilians how to fire weapons and orchestrate a trap, T'Pol chose to employ her skill in the Vulcan martial art of Suus Mahna to familiarize the colonists with evasive techniques for hand-to-hand combat.

Given the Klingons' affinity for bladed weapons, such as the bat'leth and mek'leth, T'Pol's preparatory measures were vital in the ensuing battle. In fact, T'Pol did far more than teach a useful maneuver, as she also demonstrated her proficiency in Suus Mahna by besting a Klingon in a close quarters fight.

Overcoming Her Guilt in ""

Sometimes, our own thoughts can be our most intimidating opponents. T'Pol's hunt for a Vulcan fugitive named Menos conjured up repressed memories about her previous pursuit of him. Years earlier, T'Pol had caught up to the Menos' associate and fired on him when it appeared as if he was about to draw a weapon. The Vulcan died, but Menos' assertion that his friend had been innocent and T'Pol's uncertainty over the matter generated so much guilt that she had to seek help from the elders of P'Jem. Encountering Menos on her current assignment brought all of those emotions back to the surface, but with Captain Archer's assistance, T'Pol displayed an astounding mental fortitude which empowered her to push her doubts to the side, bring herself to fire upon him, and take him into custody.

Safeguarding the Ship in ""

T'Pol's mind presented her with an even greater challenge in "Singularity," as Enterprise's journey toward a trinary star system's black hole exposed the crew to an unusual form of radiation which propelled the ship's personnel into obsessing over trivial matters. T'Pol discovered the troubling trend and determined that her colleagues would perish if they did not exit the region as soon as possible. Only one risky route would get them out in time, but T'Pol needed someone to pilot Enterprise while she determined course corrections.

With everyone else aboard unconscious, T'Pol awakened Captain Archer to assist her and kept him focused long enough to pilot them to safety. Immune to the radiation herself, T'Pol threaded the needle by deftly balancing the scientific duty of calculating course changes with the interpersonal task of ensuring Archer was alert enough to guide the ship.

Taking a Stand in ""

Having developed Pa'nar Syndrome from via a nonconsensual mind meld, T'Pol felt hesitant about Dr. Phlox's wish to consult with Vulcan doctors to gain more information on the condition. At the time, the Vulcan High Command considered mind melds to be inappropriate behavior, a stigma which ostracized those who practiced them. However, rather than use the fact that she had been coerced into the mind meld as a path to avoiding the Vulcans' ire, T'Pol elected to confront their prejudice and take a stand against oppression.

T'Pol's selflessness inspired one of the Vulcan doctors to break his promise to her and inform the others that she had not engaged in the mind meld willingly. Although this disclosure ended the persecution of T'Pol, the revelation that the doctor she confided in was capable of initiating mind melds made him a target for the High Command. Even so, T'Pol vowed to help him defend himself.

Watching Out for a Friend in ""

After an run-in with an anomaly infected Captain Archer with parasites that prevented him from forming new long-term memories, the Xindi prevailed in their bid to destroy Earth. Remnants of humanity gathered in the Ceti Alpha system, where T'Pol selflessly volunteered to become Archer's caretaker and spent the next 12 years by his side. T'Pol's devotion to her friend's well-being gradually progressed into an emotional attachment.

As difficult as it was to experience those feelings when Archer could not reciprocate them, T'Pol remained resolute in her quest to watch over him. Fortunately, Dr. Phlox concocted a revolutionary treatment which reset reality to a time before the captain’s infection. While it was as if humanity’s extinction and the tribulations that followed had never occurred, the alternate future showcased T’Pol’s unwavering loyalty to those she cared about.

Facing the Facts in ""

Enterprise had a brush with another temporally-charged conundrum involving a subspace corridor, but a second Enterprise that had already traversed the passageway and been sent back in time arrived to dissuade them from entering it. Crewed by an elderly T'Pol and the NX-01's descendants, the alternate Enterprise had isolated itself for over a century, waiting to rendezvous with the original ship so they could make certain that Captain Archer would make a pivotal meeting with the Xindi scientist, Degra.

T'Pol's attention to detail permeated all realties, as her older self recognized a flaw in a plan to modify Enterprise's warp engines and supplied her younger counterpart with a means of traveling through the corridor without a time jump. Whether or not the other Enterprise still existed afterwards remained a mystery, but the elder T'Pol's quick thinking enabled Captain Archer to make the critical meeting.

Destroying the Spheres in ""

As Enterprise's mission to thwart the Sphere Builders' plot to transform the Delphic Expanse reached its tipping point, T'Pol commanded the ship on its voyage to disable the web of Spheres which plagued the region. Along with the rest of the crew, T'Pol battled the lethal side effects induced by the trans-dimensional space around the nearest Sphere, but her obligations also included directing her subordinates through the challenges of piloting the NX-01 toward the structure, battling Sphere Builders who had boarded the ship, and unleashing the deflector pulse that caused the entire Sphere network to collapse.

With T'Pol's composure leading the charge, Enterprise played its decisive part in ending the threat to Earth while Captain Archer led his own team to destroy the Xindi's planet-killing weapon.

Combing the Desert in ""

Hoping to find the Syrrannites who allegedly bombed Earth's embassy on Vulcan, Captain Archer enlisted T'Pol to usher him through a daunting Vulcan desert which the locals called the Forge. Complete with electrical sandstorms and geomagnetic instabilities that rendered technology inoperative, the Forge posed a formidable barrier between the captain and his goal of bringing the perpetrators to justice.

T'Pol's natural familiarity with her planet, along with her signature brand of intellect and resourcefulness, made her the perfect candidate to shepherd Archer on the hazardous course. T'Pol's knowhow kept them safe from a carnivorous sehlat, and even in the wake of a surprise encounter with another Vulcan traveler, Enterprise's science officer stayed vigilant by monitoring the captain's status and ensuring he did not succumb to heat or thirst. Although the Syrrannites were ultimately deemed innocent, T'Pol's reliable presence was essential to a mission which ended up opening the door to a new era for the Vulcan people.