“Stigma” is episode fourteen of season two of Star Trek: Enterprise.
T’Pol is in sickbay and Phlox is telling her the treatment is no longer effective. He wants to speak to the Vulcan physicians at the conference. T’Pol says it’s too great a risk. Phlox tells her she could die without further treatment.
Enterprise is at Dekendi III for a conference of the Interspecies Medical Exchange. Dr Phlox is getting a microscope and one of his wives, Feezal is bringing it; it’s four years since they’ve seen each other. She’s greeted by Phlox, Captain Archer and Trip; they’re having lunch and Feezal asks if Trip will be joining them. No; he’s getting the microscope to sickbay. Yes, he will see her after lunch. Feezal gives him a big smile.
Phlox meets with the Vulcan delegation on the planet; a colleague on Denobula is studying Pa’nar Syndrome which is similar to a non-fatal disease they’ve had no luck in treating. Phlox promised to ask if there’d been any progress made. The Vulcans say Pa’nar Syndrome is unique to a subculture whose behaviour is neither tolerated nor sanctioned. Phlox says their disease affects everyone. He’s asked if he has any data on the disease. No, because he’s on a Starfleet vessel. He could call home, but by the time the response came, the Vulcans would have left.
Trip is setting up the microscope with Feezal. He’s good at reading instructions. But not when they’re in Denobulan. Feezal is standing extremely close to Trip and some of her instructions are… suggestive. Trip is getting uncomfortable.
The captain is having breakfast with T’Pol, suggesting she may want to visit the Vulcans, when Hoshi contacts them. A Vulcan transport wants permission to dock.
The Vulcans say they have come to speak to T’Pol and Phlox, if that’s okay with the captain. The leader of the delegation, Dr Oratt, tells Phlox they are still hesitant to share the data. They wonder why he didn’t discuss a Vulcan disease with a Vulcan science officer. Phlox didn’t because she has no medical qualifications. Oratt wants T’Pol to describe the disease. She does and asks why they want her to. Phlox would also like to know why; the questions seem inappropriate. The Vulcans are concerned because Phlox didn’t tell them there was a Vulcan on his ship. They want to know if T’Pol is familiar with some known mind melders, handing her a PADD. She is not. A cure for Pa’nar Syndrome is not a priority as the behaviour of those who catch it is unacceptable. After the Vulcans return to the planet, they confirm that T’Pol is suffering from it.
Captain Archer summons T’Pol and Phlox to his ready room. It’s been a while since he was embarrassed by a Vulcan dignitary. And when was T’Pol going to tell him she’d contracted a serious illness? The Vulcans ran tests with a sample from the PADD. Phlox mentions doctor-patient confidentiality (something he’s seemed to ignore in the past). T’Pol says it isn’t contagious. She lied because the illness is a stigma on Vulcan. The High Command would recall her if they found out and she’d lose her commission.
T’Pol explains that the illness is spread by mind melding. The Vulcans they met in “Fusion” passed it to her. T’Pol does not belong to the minority, but any Vulcan can be a recipient. T’Pol says she didn’t submit voluntarily. Yes; the captain remembers she was attacked. But T’Pol has no intention of telling the High Command that.
T’Pol has a potentially fatal disease passed on by an undesirable minority of the population. The High Command has little interest in finding a cure. If anything about this situation seems familiar, there’s a reason for that. Meanwhile, Trip is being hit on by Phlox’s wife. Which makes him uncomfortable to say the least.