“The Seventh” is episode seven of season two of Star Trek: Enterprise.
T’Pol is in her quarters when she receives a message from the Vulcan High Command. Menos has been located, less than three days from Enterprise‘s present location. Yes, they are certain.
In the morning, T’Pol heads to see Captain Archer. Admiral Forrest will be calling the captain in the afternoon; T’Pol was contacted by the Vulcan High Command last night. They have requested that Enterprise assist in a matter of security. The admiral will ask them to alter course to the Pernaia system. T’Pol will need to borrow a shuttlepod and a pilot for 3-5 days. The captain queries this but T’Pol continues. She will rendezvous with a Vulcan ship. The captain guesses that T’Pol is being sent to get someone and then hand them over to the Vulcans. She doesn’t answer when he asks why her.
The admiral does contact them and Travis is told he will pilot the shuttlepod. Trip asks if the planet is inhabited. A methane-based atmosphere, according to Hoshi. Trip assumes they’re going somewhere else in the system. What’s Enterprise supposed to do in the meantime? Is there anything specific needed? Cold weather gear, restraints and phase pistols.
T’Pol heads to see the captain in his quarters. She blocks his view of the water polo match until he turns it off. There’s a personal matter she’d like to discuss. Before she was with the Science Directorate, she was with the Ministry of Security, working recon and retrieval. She asks if Archer is familiar with a planet. Yes; close allies of the Vulcans. That wasn’t always the case. It was corrupt and, before the leaders forged an alliance, they asked for assistance. The Vulcans sent in surgically altered agents to infiltrate and undermine the factions. Afterwards, the agents were recalled. 19 didn’t return voluntarily. T’Pol was assigned to recover some; she only got five of the six. The ministry sent her because it’s considered a matter of honour. T’Pol would like the captain to come with her. She’d prefer him, because she needs to be with someone she can trust.
Trip would like to know more, but the captain doesn’t tell him. On the shuttlepod, T’Pol fills Archer in on Menos. He infiltrated a cell of smugglers and became very good at it. And very wealthy. Smuggling synthetic biotoxins, used to manufacture transgenic weapons. T’Pol spent three months trying to find him. She got close on Risa, but not after, nor has anyone else until now. The shuttlepod lands at an outpost and T’Pol detects Menos inside. They go looking for him and Travis winds up capturing him.
On Enterprise, Trip has lunch with Dr Phlox and Reed in the captain’s mess. He’s acting captain; this is the captain’s mess. He doesn’t see a problem. Phlox wants to inoculate the crew against a virus. The side-effects are not great; Trip doesn’t want to decide. Reed wants to do what he suggested, which will require taking the warp engines offline. Trip doesn’t want to decide on this either. Hoshi contacts them; they’ve been hailed by the Vulcan ship. The captain wants to speak to Captain Archer. Convincing him the captain is indisposed for four days likely wouldn’t work. The Vulcan captain has a message from the admiral. Trip is no longer enjoying being acting captain.
The others are told by the administrator of the outpost that their warrant is valid, but they can’t leave yet. They’re thermalising the landing deck; there’s half an inch of acid on it. They have nowhere to put the prisoner, either. Which means they have to handcuff Menos to a table for now. Menos keeps protesting his innocence and there is more to T’Pol’s story than she’s told. Or knows, for that matter, and she starts getting… emotional.