Soval Soval was the Vulcan ambassador to Earth from the 2120s to the 2150s . Early career . In the 2050s , Soval was a member of an occupation force sent to take Paan Mokar from the Andorian s . He served as a low ranking intelligence officer in the southeast quadrant . The last time Soval fired a weapon prior to an incident on Weytahn in 2152 was sometime in the early 2100s . ( ) Young Jonathan Archer knew that Soval had a ship in the 2120s , while asking his father , Henry Archer , if his ship would be bigger than " Ambassador Pointy ' s ship " . ( ) By 2152 , Soval had an impressive list of accomplishments in his service record . ( ) Diplomacy . Prior to being assigned to Earth , Soval was part of negotiations regarding the last accord between the Vulcans and the Andorian s prior to 2152 . During the work on the project , Shran gained a respect for him . ( ) Soval lived on Earth since before 2124 , which was for more than thirty year s as of 2154 . ( ) Soval was one of the greatest proponents of cautioning Earth ' s advancement into the galaxy . Jonathan Archer blamed Soval for holding back the warp five engine ' s development so much that his father , Henry Archer , died before his design became a reality . Soval considered Captain Gardner to be the most suitable choice to captain . However , the job eventually went to Captain Archer , whom Soval found " impulsive . " ( ) After Klingon courier Klaang crash - landed on Earth in 2151 , Soval – along with two senior aides of his , T ' Pol and Tos – recommended that " Enterprise " s launch be postponed , due to possible diplomatic repercussions involving Klaang . At Starfleet Medical , Soval also recommended taking the Klingon off life support and returning his corpse to Qo ' noS ; Admiral Maxwell Forrest ignored this recommendation , and decided this was a perfect opportunity to launch " Enterprise " . Soval offered the ship ' s crew use of the Vulcan database , under the condition that " Enterprise " take T ' Pol along as a science officer . ( ) When the Vulcans monitored " Enterprise " docking with a " v ' tosh ka ' tur " vessel , the " Vahklas " , Soval was asked to pass on a message from a Vulcan High Command minister to Admiral Forrest , who passed it on to Captain Archer . The message was that Kov ' s father was dying and wished to contact him . ( ) Six months later , Soval informed Admiral Forrest that – due to Captain Archer having interfered at P ' Jem , which had led to it subsequently being destroyed by the Andorians – Earth and ' s joint fleet operations would be suspended . Soval was also recalled to Vulcan for consultation . ( ) In 2152 , after " Enterprise " was incorrectly deemed responsible for destroying the Paraagan colony , Soval recommended that Earth cease its deep - space exploration efforts for the next decade or two . However , Starfleet Command ignored this recommendation , as well , when it was discovered that a third party had sabotaged and framed " Enterprise " for the colony ' s destruction . ( ) Later that year , when fighting once again broke out on the disputed planet Paan Mokar between Vulcan and Andorian forces , Shran asked the Vulcans to send " Archer " to help in the peace talks , as he was someone they trusted . The Vulcan High Command had Soval ( as ambassador to Earth ) contact Starfleet and Captain Archer . Soval and Sub - Commander Muroc met with " Enterprise " to relay the message . Soval was not particularly pleased to have Archer there , and was suspicious of why an Andorian would ask for him . But after some negotiating with Archer , he agreed to go down to the planet with him to meet with Shran ( citing " " the ball is in our court now , " " a Human phrase ) . While attempting to land on Paan Mokar in a shuttle , the vehicle was shot down by renegade members of the Andorian forces , not working under Shran ' s orders . Although Soval suggested meeting up with the Vulcan forces , Archer insisted on heading towards Shran . Soon , they came under fire , and Soval was shot in the shoulder by an Andorian . T ' Pol helped put his arm in a , and they sought cover . When Archer went to come up on the attackers from behind , he handed a phase - pistol to Soval and told him to give him cover . Soval , not having fired a weapon since the 2100s , was wary about it , but did so . Shortly after one of the Andorians firing on them was taken out , Soval and T ' Pol were captured by the Andorian forces and taken to Shran , who had found Archer fighting with one of the renegade Andorians . Once the renegade Andorian , Tarah , was arrested , real peace talks began between Shran , Soval , T ' Pol , Muroc and Archer , on " Enterprise " . Although they agreed that they didn ' t agree on much , they did settle that the talks would continue on Andoria . To celebrate , Shran insisted that they drink to it with Andorian ale . Although reluctant , Soval did not wish to offend Shran , and partook in the gesture . As T ' Pol escorted the ambassador to the Vulcan ship , he pointed out to Captain Archer , regarding the situation , " " Your presence here has not been . . . overly meddlesome . " " ( ) In 2153 , Soval expressed skepticism regarding information Archer had gained from the Suliban about the Xindi and recommended against " Enterprise " undertaking a mission into the Delphic Expanse . He also tried to stop Sub - Commander T ' Pol from joining the ship on its mission , once it became apparent that Captain Archer would not listen to him . ( ) Upon " Enterprise " returning to Earth in 2154 , Soval was on a board that investigated Captain Archer ' s mission in the Delphic Expanse . Soval reprimanded him for several concerns regarding the Vulcan ship " Seleya " , which " Enterprise " had encountered in the Expanse . One of Soval ' s many complaints was the fact that despite spending several hours in the ship ' s auxiliary control room , Archer never attempted to access the internal sensor s or download the computer database , so that the panel could truly know what had happened aboard the ship . However , Soval thanked Archer for saving their region of the galaxy from the Sphere - Builder s , as information T ' Pol reported showed their space would have eventually consumed many more worlds , including Vulcan . While thanking Archer , Soval shakes his hand , both of which are out of character for a Vulcan . ( ) Later that year , Soval and Admiral Forrest were on Vulcan , discussing future relations between their two peoples . Soval was nearly killed when the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan was bomb ed ; only Admiral Forrest taking action quickly saved Soval ' s life , at the cost of the admiral ' s own . Suspicious of the High Command claiming Syrrannite involvement in the bombing , Soval encouraged Captain Archer to pursue their own investigation and gave the captain his full support . Soval actively assisted Captain Archer and T ' Pol in their mission to the Forge by providing them with information on the blind spots in the Vulcan Security Network so they transport in unnoticed . Soval later disclosed his ability as a mind - melder when he melded with a coma tose embassy guard , Corporal Askwith , in order to find out the identity of the bomber , later revealed to be Stel – the chief investigator of the Vulcan Security Directorate . ( ) . The meld , considered deviant in Vulcan society , prompted the High Command to strip Soval of his position as ambassador to Earth . ( ) After being dismissed from that role , he actively assisted Commander Tucker , who was commanding " Enterprise " in Captain Archer ' s absence , to uncover events that were unfolding . ( ) During these events , Soval essentially took over T ' Pol ' s role as science officer , even working at her station on the bridge . Soval then informed Commander Tucker of a plot , orchestrated by High Command Administrator V ' Las , to use the Syrrannite crisis as a cover for a planned invasion of Andoria , despite a peace treaty signed two years previously . Since such an action could have led to interstellar conflict , Soval decided to warn the Andorians of the impending invasion . A skeptical Commander Shran , unable to believe that the distinguished ambassador would so easily betray his own government , kidnapped Soval from " Enterprise " and subjected him to mental torture that lowered his emotional threshold in order to confirm his story . Soval ' s insistence and a few warning shots from " Enterprise " persuaded Shran to return Soval and advise the Andorian Imperial Guard of Vulcan movements based on Soval ' s data . ( ) With the element of surprise gone , the Vulcan invasion force met stiff resistance from the Andorians and " Enterprise " , giving enough time for the Kir ' Shara to reach the Vulcan capital from Vulcan ' s Forge . Upon the activation of the Kir ' Shara ' s writings , Administrator V ' Las was relieved of his post and the invasion stopped by Minister Kuvak . Soval later informed Captain Archer of the dissolution of the High Command and the less stringent policy to be adopted towards Earth . ( ) Following T ' Pau ' s ascension to administrator , Soval was reinstated as the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth . He was one of several Vulcan ambassadors who represented their people at an historic conference to discuss the formation of a " Coalition of Planets " . He was the first ambassador to give a standing ovation to a speech delivered by Captain Archer and Nathan Samuels . ( ) Despite his attempts to constrain Starfleet ' s warp development , Soval later admitted that he had gained a respect for Earth and its people during his years on the planet . When Tucker sarcastically remarked that he ' d done a very good job at hiding it , Soval took that as a compliment . ( ) Alternate timelines . In 2165 of an alternate timeline in which Earth was destroyed , Soval tried to persuade T ' Pol to return to Vulcan with him . She refused , staying loyal to her crewmates . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Listen to me , you ' re making a mistake ! " " " " When your logic doesn ' t work , you raise your voice ? You ' ve been on Earth too long . " " " " They ' ve been in space for six months and they ' ve already destabilized an entire sector . " " " " What " is " their fixation with our ears ? " " " " I believe they ' re envious . " " " " Join me in a drink to celebrate our mutual dissatisfaction . " " " " Vulcans don ' t drink . . . but this occasion merits an exception . " " " " Captain , your presence here has not been . . . overly meddlesome . " " " " Our Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible . " " " " Ambassador . . . I want to apologize for what I said to you the other day . I was out of line . " " " " Yes , you were . " " " " I ' m glad we can finally agree on something . " " " " Captain . . . your actions , while being morally questionable , were necessary . I opposed your appointment as captain of " Enterprise " , but it ' s obvious now that I was wrong . T ' Pol has told me that the Expanse would have someday encompassed hundreds of systems , including Vulcan . You ' ve done a great service for both our worlds . Thank you . " " " " We don ' t know what to do about Humans . Of all the species we ' ve made contact with , yours is the only one we can ' t define . You have the arrogance of Andorian s , the stubborn pride of Tellarite s . One moment you ' re as driven by your emotions as Klingon s , and the next you confound us by suddenly embracing logic ! " " " " I ' m sure those qualities are found in every species . " " " " Not in such confusing abundance . " " " " Ambassador . . . are Vulcans afraid of Humans ? " " " " Why ? " " " " Because , there " is " one species you remind us of . " " " " Vulcans . " " " " There are those on the High Command who wonder what Humans would achieve in the century to come , and they don ' t like the answer . " " " " We ' re not the Klingons . We only want to be your partners , to do what the nations of Earth have learned to do : to work together in common cause . " " " " Your accomplishments have been noteworthy . " " " " They don ' t justify deception . . . " " " " Deception has " never " been a stranger to this room . " " " " There ' s a great deal that needs to be said , Excellency , but no one ' s willing to listen . " " " " Mind if I ask you something ? Why are you doing this ? I never got the impression that you cared that much about Humans . Seems like . . . you were always finding something new to complain about . " " " " I lived on Earth for more than 30 years , Commander . In that time I developed an affinity for your world and its people . " " " " You did a pretty good job of hiding it . " " " " Thank you . " " " " How many warning shots do Vulcans usually fire ? " " " " None . " " " " I ' LL TEAR THE ANTENNAE FROM YOUR SKULL ! ! " " " " Open a channel . " " " " To who ? " " " " The nebula . " " " " Where is your fleet ? ! " " " " Do you know the story of Nirak ? " " " " What ? " " " " He was a soldier who lived a long time ago . He was standing watch over the gates of the city of Gol and he saw a cloud on the horizon moving toward him . He thought it was a sandstorm , so he told no one . It was an army . They destroyed the city , but they let Nirak live . His name now means " fool " in our language , just as yours will in Andorian ! " " " " How do you feel , Captain ? " " " " Like a giant weight ' s been lifted . " " Appendices . Background information . Soval was portrayed by actor Gary Graham , who had previously played in episode . While Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were developing pilot episode , they had no idea that Soval would become a long - term recurring character . ( " Broken Bow " audio commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD / Blu - ray ) Consequently , in a character breakdown sheet that Paramount sent to various talent agents upon casting " Broken Bow " , Ambassador Soval was said to be a non - recurring role . The character was , in the same document , further detailed thus ; " " Vulcan male . Late 60s . A wise and arrogant diplomat who has very little patience with Captain Archer . " " Along with Shran , and Porthos , Soval is one of only four characters , outside of the main cast , to appear in all four seasons of " Star Trek : Enterprise " . The wig worn by Gary Graham throughout his appearances was subsequently sold off on the " It ' s A Wrap ! " sale and auction on eBay . In , it was announced Graham would reprise the role of Soval in the fan - made production " Star Trek : Axanar " . Soval ' s likeness was used as a digital model for concept artwork , when Sanja Hays was designing Vulcan clothes for .