In the captain's dining room, T'Pol mentions that the crew efficiency is down and wonders if the crew is "suffering from a lack of sexual activity". Archer agrees that maybe the crew needs a break but chooses not to dignify the sex part and T'Pol decides to send them all to Risa.
Trip goes onto the bridge wearing a Hawaiian shirt that everyone else thinks is too showy, and then Admiral Forrest hails. He tells the crew to pick up a Vulcan ambassador, V'Lar, from Mazar and transport her to a Vulcan ship called Sh'Raan. Hoshi has given up her quarters for V'Lar, and then the Mazarite High Council explains that she's been expelled for "abuse of her position" and "criminal misconduct". However, despite these apparent charges and being a Vulcan - a species that normally never expresses emotions - V'Lar shakes everyone's hands, then at dinner, she tries to make a joke. She also apparently alludes to her guilt in the charges, surprising the crew even more as Vulcans don't generally commit crimes. As T'Pol walks V'Lar to her quarters, the latter claims she can "sense" anger from T'Pol, but when T'Pol reveals that she isn't angry, V'Lar amends it to disappointment.
Some time later, Archer tells T'Pol that he's concerned as she seems to be disturbed by the situation with V'Lar. T'Pol admits that she is disturbed— V'Lar is returning to Vulcan, when she likely would have stayed to defend herself if she were innocent, and T'Pol always admired V'Lar. Archer tries to reassure T'Pol by saying that he knows what it feels like to lose a "hero", but T'Pol objects to the use of the term "hero" in regards to Vulcans.
Archer is called to the bridge, where a Mazarite ship hails the Enteprise, claiming that the High Council sent them to take V'Lar back for further questioning. Archer says he will verify it with Starfleet and ends the transmission, but the High Council jam the Enterprise's long-range communications. Then, they attack. Archer tries to defend himself and his crew, but the spatial torpedoes are ineffective. They fire back with their phase cannons instead and warp away.
Archer suspects T'Pol of knowing more than she lets on, then later, he makes the same accusation to V'Lar. She denies it, but when T'Pol confronts her, claims that sharing more could have negative diplomatic consequences. Archer decides to head back to Mazar. He also contacts Admiral Forrest, who promises to notify Soval. T'Pol, meanwhile, enters the mess hall to find Hoshi and V'Lar drinking together. Hoshi leaves, and T'Pol tells V'Lar that Archer resents the Vulcans for holding back the humans, claiming that they need to earn humanity's trust, but then apologises for being rude. V'Lar, however, doesn't see T'Pol as rude but rather straightforward, and confides in T'Pol.
T'Pol defends V'Lar and asks Archer for help, explaining that the charges were made up as a diversion so that V'Lar could be sent back to Vulcan. T'Pol also believes that V'Lar would be killed if she were sent to Mazar, but Archer doesn't want to buy her story without proof. T'Pol insists, so Archer relents.
The Enterprise speeds off, with the Mazarites in pursuit, which disturbs V'Lar. She asks to talk to Archer in private, where she tells him that the pursuers are members of a criminal organisation that are willing to kill anybody. She also explains that she was undercover as part of a plan to catch the criminals, and confirms what T'Pol said about the allegations being fake. She wants to surrender herself, but Archer refuses to allow it. T'Pol calls Archer to the bridge, where the Mazarites demand V'Lar be returned. Archer refuses, pointing out that he was ordered to bring her to Vulcan. The chase continues, with Enterprise reaching warp 5 for the first time.
With the Sh'Raan nearby, the Mazarites hail the Enterprise, and Archer sends V'Lar to sickbay. He tries to stall the Mazarites, but then they send a boarding party. Archer tells the boarding party that V'Lar is being treated for serious injuries in sickbay, so they demand to be taken there. In sickbay, Phlox says that V'Lar is in the imaging chamber and would die if removed, they fire at the chamber. Then, the Vulcans arrive and disable the Mazarite ships, then hail Enterprise, demanding the Mazarites surrender. When they do, V'Lar appears, good as new, revealing that she was just tricking them.
Thus, the Mazarites leave, and V'Lar leaves too, but not before telling T'Pol and Archer that their friendship bodes well for the future of their species.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Affably Evil: The Mazarite captain leading the chase against Enterprise is fairly polite and has no personal quarrel with Archer.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: T'Pol comes pretty damn close to begging Archer to protect V'Lar from the Mazarites.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: Subverted—V'Lar is one of the friendliest ambassadors of the franchise. Especially by Vulcan standards. T'Pol sets a somewhat rigid set of rules for the crew so as not to offend her, but they are found to be not needed as for a Vulcan she is quite personable.
- Batman Gambit: V'Lar's expulsion from Mazar is ultimately revealed to be one. With the investigation entering its final stages and the conspiracy closing in, V'Lar's life was in danger. Her 'expulsion' and the 'allegations' were thus a means of extracting V'Lar from Mazar and getting her to safety back on Vulcan. The hope was that with V'Lar 'discredited' and 'disgraced', the conspiracy would no longer regard her as a credible witness or a threat. Unfortunately, as V'Lar and Archer ruefully observe, it didn't work; V'Lar misjudged just how deep the corruption ran and they decided to come after her anyway.
- Big "NO!": Phlox, when the Mazarites shoot up the imaging chamber with V'Lar (supposedly) inside. Helps convince them that they actually killed her.
- Bilingual Dialogue: When V'Lar is welcomed aboard Enterprise.Archer: And this is my Science Officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol.
T'Pol: T'nar pahk sarat y'rani.
V'Lar: T'nar jaral. But please, I've been anticipating the opportunity to practice my English. - Bizarre Alien Biology: Apparently, Nuvian masseuses have twelve fingers. On each hand.
- Blatant Lies: The Mazarite captain tells Archer that they need to take V'Lar back to Mazar for additional questioning. Archer calls his bluff, and the shooting starts.
- Broken Pedestal: T'Pol is disappointed when V'Lar (who she's always, for lack of a better term, idolised) tells her that "there is no defense" against the crimes she's accused of, making her look guilty.
- Chase Fight: The Mazarites firing on Enterprise while all ships are at warp.
- Continuity Snarl: In "Amok Time," Spock said that pon faar was so private, Vulcans did not discuss it with outsiders. Here, T'Pol tells Archer and Trip that Vulcans only mate every seven years.
- Explosive Overclocking: Enterprise maxing out at warp 5. At least one fire starts in Engineering because of the overtaxed injectors.Trip: Tucker to The Bridge! The port injectors just blew! We gotta slow down, Cap'n!
- For Your Own Good: Deconstructed by T'Pol who explains to V'lar that this belief would only reinforce humanity's resentment towards Vulcans. She argues that if Vulcans are to continue their relationship with Humans, they must earn their trust. This is enough to convince V'Lar to reveal to T'Pol and later Archer her actual mission.
- Gunship Rescue: The Vulcans show up to protect Enterprise from the Mazarites.
- Hilarious Outtakes:Archer: I think it's natural for the crew to get a little slop-sloppy. (goofy voice) And since we were talking about sex, I—(starts babbling while making a goofy face)
- Interspecies Friendship: Discussed when V'Lar points out that the friendship between Archer (a human) and T'Pol (a Vulcan) bodes well for the futures of both species.
- I Warned You: When Trip walks onto The Bridge wearing an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt:T'Pol: If you're wearing that to impress the women on Risa, you may as well stay on board.
Trip: Rule Number 1: You gotta be seen to get noticed, and I plan on gettin' noticed.
Archer: (chuckling) Don't say she didn't warn you. - My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Even though Vulcans usually don't make jokes or like decorations, V'Lar wants more decorations in her quarters and attempts to make a joke at the table.
- Older Than They Look: This episode establishes that T'Pol is much older than what she appears to be, and that V'Lar is also much older than she appears, having worked as a diplomat for over a century.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: T'Pol is disappointed that V'Lar, who she's always admired, apparently committed crimes, until it turns out that the charges are fake, in order to distract from V'Lar's assignment to bring down The Mafia on Mazar.
- Writers Cannot Do Math: Here's one for anybody who can actually do a Train Problem. Forrest tells Archer that the nearest Vulcan ship is a week away from Mazar before then saying that Enterprise will pick up V'Lar and then rendezvous with the Sh'Raan in three days. In order for this to work, the Sh'Raan would travel 3/7 of the distance to Mazar, which would require Enterprise to traverse the remaining 4/7. This means that Enterprise would be going a third faster than the Sh'Raan. That's where the math fails the known facts about the two ships — Enterprise maxes out at warp 5 (and only for a few minutes) while Vulcan ships can easily pass warp 6. It might've worked better if the rendezvous were set for a 5-day trip for Enterprise.
- You Need to Get Laid: T'Pol starts the episode by saying that the crew is "suffering from a lack of sexual activity," so she suggests that they go to Risa for shore leave. Archer and Trip nearly choke on their dinner when she says the Trope.
