Sub-Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock in Star Trek: Enterprise) (2024)

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Background

Powers & Abilities

Superbly logical and brilliant T’Pol is a most valuable Science Officer. Her training includes some armed and unarmed combat, surveillance, regulation, diplomacy, first aid, piloting and practically all the sciences.

She is also very knowledgeable about Vulcan culture, history, practices and religion and various alien cultures in general.

Like all Vulcan women, she has great hearing and sense of smell, and she also periodically suffers from the Pon Farr. She also has great strength of will and perfect memory and is capable of relatively easily surviving in very harsh, warm and bright climates (like Vulcan).

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Vulcan physiology

Vulcan physiology differs from that of humans in a number of important ways often with them being both stronger and more resilient.

Vulcans can survive without water several days and caffeine has no effect whatsoever on their physiology. Their brains have extra resilient neurophysiology, which is why they are very resistant towards brain-altering radiations and toxins, as well as non-corporeal possessing beings.

Likewise, they are immune towards certain gene-altering viruses. Vulcans also have better hearing than humans, and Vulcan women furthermore have a greater sense of smell. Still, they are all also apparently completely immune towards pheromone effects.

The Vulcan psyche is capable of developing the delicate mental ability of the so-called Mind Meld, which allows for two psyches to mentally connect to each others by touch. T’Pol was injured mentally during a forceful Mind Meld, which left her with a mental affiliation called the Pa’nar Syndrome that would eventually lead to death if untreated.

Since the Mind Meld is a taboo-laden ability the cure to Pa’Nar is little researched on Vulcan.

Later, as T’Pol spent time with the Syrannite cult on Vulcan, T’Pau cured T’Pol’s Pa’Nar by using a proper Mind Meld thus balancing the brain again. All of this had also taught T’Pol herself how to initiate a Mind Meld, which she later did to Ensign Hoshi Sato in 2154 under the guidance of Captain Archer, who possessed the wisdom of one the ancient Syrannite leaders.

Art by Gazomg.

While T’Pol can probably now do the Mind Meld whenever she wants to her bad experiences with it likely makes her very reluctant to employ this ability.

However, the mineral Trellium slowly induces a strong rage-like effect in Vulcans, while humans are completely unaffected. Even very minute amounts will induce emotions in Vulcans, and prolonged exposure will eventually become a physical addiction to the mineral.

Vulcans age much slower than humans and in the case of T’Pol, for example, who is 66 years old, she looks under 30 and in superb shape by human standards. Many Vulcans become more than 200 years old, which also makes their appearances possible at different ages in different Star Trek settings and ages.

History

T’Pol was born to T’Les and an unnamed father on Vulcan in 2088. She served a long and relatively distinguished career under the Vulcan High Command. She started out with the Ministry of Security, having completed training in reconnaissance and retrieval, and managed to apprehend several rogue Vulcan operatives during this time.

Due to an emotional trauma, however, she resigned and went to retreat at the P’Jem monastery in 2135.

In 2136, she joined the Vulcan Science Directorate where her skills came to good use. In 2148 she became the Deputy Science Officer onboard a Vulcan vessel, the Seleya (under Captain Voris), and soon thereafter, in 2149, transferred to the Vulcan Consulate on Earth, where she experienced humans, human culture and life on Earth for the first time.

In 2151 Earth, cooperating with the Vulcan High Command, launched its first interstellar mission. The ship, the Enterprise NX-01, was outfitted with the most recent locally developed Warp technologies. T’Pol was assigned as both the onboard Vulcan observer and the ship’s Science Officer as Sub-Commander.

Finding the position gratifying she opted to remain onboard even after her completed assignment under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer.

T’Pol then participated in numerous adventures with the almost exclusively human crew (the only other alien onboard being the Denobulan Dr. Phlox). Some results were undesirable to the Vulcan High Command and T’Pol often took the blame for this.

Earth was later attacked by an alien probe, soon identified as Xindi, resulting in the death of millions. he Enterprise was sent to stop the threat by any means necessary.

However, the Vulcan High Command did not agree with this aggressive plan of action. T’Pol resigned her Vulcan commission to accompany the Enterprise on its urgent mission to the Delphic Expanse in 2153.

T’Pol was accidentally exposed to the mineral Trellium which made her emotional. Finding it both pleasant and unpleasant she, against her better judgement, voluntarily exposed herself to further small doses until she became physically addicted. While Dr. Phlox managed to cure her of the addiction her emotions were there to stay for the rest of her life.

Despite having developed a complicated romantic relationship with the human Charles ‘Trip’ Tucker III she married the Vulcan Koss in 2154, an arranged marriage, after previously having cancelled their betrothal. This, however, was only to help her mother out of political difficulties on Vulcan, and later Koss and T’Pol divorced by mutual agreement.

The Enterprise and its crew and both Xindi and Andorian allies heroically managed to destroy the Xindi superweapon being built to destroy the Earth, as well as the interdimensional aliens being behind the threat in the first place.

In 2154, upon return from the Delphic Expanse to the Earth, T’Pol accepted a commission with the Earth Starfleet with a promotion, now being regarded as something of a Vulcan hero, to the Vulcan rank of Commander.

Later on, right before the United Federation of Planets was formed in 2161, Trip was apparently killed. Trip and T’Pol had never managed to resume their romantic relationship. However, Trip had only officially died, which is a story for another time (for the full story read: Star Trek Enterprise: The Good that Men Do, by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin!).

T’Pol would eventually go on to become a full Captain, having many adventures of exploration of her own, only some of which have been documented!

Description

T’Pol is a very attractive Vulcan female with an hourglass figure. She has dark straight hair, straight black eyebrows, pouty lips and brown eyes and usually wears a tight-fitting uniform, a common practice by Star Trek ladies.

Personality

T’Pol was originally very emotionally withdrawn and by human standards held an icy demeanor. However, by Vulcan standards she is actually pretty emotional with her emotions bubbling not far beneath the surface. This is well exemplified by her stubbornness and arrogance.

At the same time she well exemplifies the notion of Vulcan cynicism and repressed feelings. She keeps her own feelings in balanced control and in a calm state through meditative practices every evening.

She is also a master of Vulcan neuropressure for calming, which she regularly practiced with Trip Tucker before they got romantically involved.

Living so close with all the emotional humans does take its toll on her. If confronted with too many emotions she becomes disharmonious sometimes taking medication provided by Dr. Phlox to relax.

She is also completely sincere and like all Vulcans deeply embraces everything in logical terms. This makes her very good at rationalizing things to justify various actions. She never acts illogically or rashly and has an answer to anything and anyone always going by the book or through the chain of command if possible.

This may infuriate some of her colleagues, but when faced with the contrasting options of following orders or doing the ethically and morally right thing, she will always follow the right thing regardless of the costs to her own career. This is naturally applauded by humans but disliked by fellow Vulcans.

T’Pol also believes in her own strength and believes herself to be above humans (although she would never say so to their faces). At the same time she is fascinated by humans all of whom she considers to be emotional and undisciplined hotheads.

She also has an adventurous side which she doesn’t admit to herself. She “gladly” joins away missions, rationalizing it as if she is needed, and is no stranger to danger. She even had a Sehlat beast as a pet when a child.

Always very professional she is at relatively good terms with most crewmembers – who consider her trustworthy and effective – and in particular with the other alien Dr. Phlox with whom she shares the outsider’s viewpoint. When affected by the mineral Trellium she developed a lot of new emotions which she found very difficult to keep in check.

She entered a complex romantic relationship with the human Trip Tucker, and came to care very deeply for Captain Archer (and even sulked and cried once when he was believed dead). In one potential future he had children with Tucker while in another she married Archer.

She is a recreational reader and easily retreats into this if having emotional problems. Her integrity is great and she is unusually open-minded regarding the flaws of a Vulcan. She is also a strong believer in the importance of traditions as they are the foundation of the worlds now.

Over the years she had something akin to several spiritual resolve breakdowns, and later in her life came to deeply embrace the new emotions she experienced as fulfilling and rewarding. She later embraced the Vulcan belief of the Kir’shara and through this found greater spiritual contentment.

Quotes

[About Frankenstein] “From my perspective, this was the story of an individual persecuted by humans because he was different. In many ways, the film seemed quite prophetic. The reaction of the villagers, for example; it was similar to the reception Vulcans received after landing on Earth.”

“The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible.”

“Has it occurred to you what’s going to happen if Captain Archer fails? If Earth is destroyed? Then you’ve already come to the conclusion that without Humanity, there’s no one to combat these Sphere Builders. Their Expanse will continue to grow, encompassing one system after another, including Vulcan. Your world is no longer the only one in jeopardy.”

“I should’ve known this was a mistake. Exploring Human sexuality with you. You’re obviously unable to have a physical relationship without developing an emotional attachment.”

[To the Vulcan Soval] “You spoke of the destruction of the monastery. What about the Vulcan listening post that Captain Archer found there? I would hope that our people have learned from those events, that using a sacred sanctuary to spy on others was a dishonorable practice, to say the least. I don’t wish to contradict Captain Archer; but learning from one’s mistakes is hardly exclusive to Humans.”

“It’s difficult enough having to smell all this. Eating it is out of the question.”

“Science Officer’s log, August 14^th, 2152 – Enterprise remains on course for the trinary system. I’ve transmitted a distress call, but the nearest Vulcan ship is more than nine days away. By the time they arrive, they may only find debris, if that. Even if Enterprise makes it past the black hole without being destroyed, it seems likely the crew won’t survive.”

(About the Kir’shara) “I’m learning, it seems, for the first time, what it truly means to be Vulcan.”

Related articles on Writeups.org

By Dr. Peter S. Piispanen.

Source of Character: Star Trek Enterprise; character played by Jolene King Blalock.

Helper(s): startrek.com.

Writeup completed on the 14^th of May, 2015.