Stigma ( episode ) T ' Pol ' s position on " Enterprise " is jeopardized when the Vulcans discover that she has contracted a mind - affecting disease . Meanwhile , one of Phlox ' s wives comes aboard and expresses a romantic interest in Tucker , much to his discomfort . Summary . Teaser . In sickbay , T ' Pol has just undergone an examination and learns that a disease she has lived with is worsening . Doctor Phlox wants to use the upcoming medical conference hosted by the Interspecies Medical Exchange to talk to some Vulcan physicians . T ' Pol wishes to keep it secret , as it will result in her being recalled from " Enterprise " , but Phlox promises to be discrete . He also says there ' s no choice , as she may very well die . Act One . The " Enterprise " arrives at Dekendi III . One of Phlox ' s wives , Feezal , comes on board to install a neutron microscope , and begins flirting heavily with . Tucker is uneasy that a colleague ' s wife is making overt sexual innuendo toward him . At the conference , Phlox meets Doctors Oratt , Strom , and Yuris . He explains that a colleague on his home planet is hoping to get more information about Pa ' nar Syndrome , as it is similar to a disease at home . Oratt explains they are hesitant , as those who suffer from Pa ' nar Syndrome are stigmatized in Vulcan society . They leave to consider his request . Captain Archer and T ' Pol , at a meal , are interrupted by a communication that a Vulcan transport wishes to dock and speak to Phlox and T ' Pol . They soon make it clear they are skeptical of Phlox ' s interest in the disease , as they found out a Vulcan is serving on " Enterprise " . Through the thinly - veiled skepticism on the Vulcans ' end and the innocence on Phlox ' and T ' Pol ' s end , the Vulcans hand T ' Pol a PADD with the names of Vulcans who mind - meld . She only recognizes that they are Vulcan names and hands it back . When the Vulcans return to their ship , they use T ' Pol ' s DNA left on the device to confirm she has the disease . Act Two . Tucker and Feezal continue to work on the microscope in sickbay , this time with Phlox on the other side of the room . Tucker is visibly uncomfortable , but interested in the microscope ' s capabilities . Phlox is called to the ready room , where Archer reveals that the physicians informed him of T ' Pol ' s condition and threaten to reveal her status to the High Command and have her recalled . T ' Pol is forced to explain to Archer that she has contracted Pa ' nar Syndrome from her less - than - voluntary mind meld with Tolaris the previous year . Phlox believes he can manage her condition , but he needs more information . The physicians also rescinded Phlox ' s invitation to the conference . Captain Archer is disappointed that Phlox and T ' Pol hid information from him regarding her potentially deadly condition , but is more outraged that the Vulcans would destroy an officer ' s career due to a disease or how the officer expresses intimacy with others . The Vulcan physicians remain unaffected by Captain Archer ' s pleas for assistance and understanding , despite the fact that T ' Pol is not a part of the sub - population and only received the meld . However , Dr . Yuris , the youngest doctor in the Vulcan delegation , covertly contacts T ' Pol and asks her to meet him on the surface . She goes to tell Archer she ' s meeting him and heads to the surface alone . There , Yuris gives her the research that Phlox had requested , and adds that there is too much intolerance these days . T ' Pol asks why he is jeopardizing his career and he reveals that he himself is a mind - melder . Act Three . Yuris says he is not infected himself – he tells her only a very small minority of melders have the illness . T ' Pol tells Yuris that she became infected during a violation , and the physician suggests T ' Pol tell the others this , that they will sympathize with her if they believe she contracted the disease through no fault of her own . Back on the ship , Tucker continues trying to avoid Phlox ' s wife while she continues to pursue him . He eats with Sato for a while talking about the upcoming showing of a movie , whereas Sato would rather visit the planet . He sees Feezal getting food and wants Sato to stay for a few minutes . Feezal starts rubbing his leg discretely and flirting . Sato leaves , and Tucker then notes she ' s married . She isn ' t phased , so Tucker politely leaves . Tucker asks Reed for advice , but Reed just suggests Tucker try to avoid her . He warns Tucker that Phlox has a real temper when he ' s angry , as observed when he ' s feeding his animals , and strongly disagrees with Tucker ' s suggestion that Phlox be informed . Phlox reviews the research from Yuris , and tells T ' Pol it ' s not a cure , but it will help his own research . Since he is more motivated than the Vulcan Medical Council in this case , he has hopes that he can find a treatment . The captain enters sickbay and tells them both that the senior doctor in the Vulcan delegation is a ranking member of the Vulcan Medical Council , and he has decided to recall T ' Pol and take her back to Vulcan with them . The High Command will be informed of the situation when they reach home . Archer and Phlox urge T ' Pol to tell them she was forced into the mind meld . She says it doesn ' t matter how she got the illness ; if she uses the coercion as a defense , she would condone the prejudice and indict everyone in the minority . Archer goes back down to the planet and confronts Dr . Oratt . Archer says T ' Pol is entitled to a hearing under Vulcan protocols , and Oratt reluctantly agrees to hold one the next day . Act Four . In sickbay , Phlox is treating Travis Mayweather for a sports injury when Tucker comes in and asks to speak to him privately . Tucker explains that Mrs . Phlox has been expressing an attraction to him . Phlox is delighted , making Tucker is very confused . Tucker says he was brought up not to fool around with another man ' s wife , and Phlox says that it ' s Tucker ' s loss . Archer tells T ' Pol about the hearing . She is reluctant to participate , but Archer says this is her opportunity to defend the minority , and the unjust treatment they have been receiving from Vulcan authorities . She says she won ' t reveal the assault , and Archer assures he will respect her conditions . At the hearing , it ' s established that it ' s the method T ' Pol contacted the disease which is the reason she is being recalled . Archer makes it clear what the implication is : that any Vulcan , no matter the distinguished record , can have one mind - meld and lose it all . T ' Pol notes that it isn ' t a choice for the minority – they are born with the ability . Strom chimes in that she was foolish enough to be drawn in . Archer points out the hypocrisy : every Vulcan he ' s ever met told him Humans were narrow - minded and prejudiced , but now the Vulcans are showing even more prejudice . T ' Pol directly confronts them by saying she is being recalled because their culture decided to oppress a minority that doesn ' t conform to their idea of " acceptable behavior . " Strom doesn ' t see a need to continue the hearing , but then Yuris comes to her defense , and reveals he is a member of the minority . He declares there ' s nothing " abhorrent " about the way they live their lives . Shocked , but not swayed , the other two doctors get up to end the hearing . But then , Yuris reveals T ' Pol ' s secret : T ' Pol was assaulted . T ' Pol refuses to confirm this , and Archer stands by her . In sickbay , the Phloxes examine the new microscope and talk as Tucker stands by awkwardly , eventually leaving . The Phloxes laugh at the Human ' s inability to respond to her advances . In Archer ' s ready room , he tells T ' Pol that Yuris has been suspended and T ' Pol says that was to be expected . Archer says one good thing did come out of this – the delegation believed Yuris that T ' Pol was infected as the result of an assault . She will not be recalled . T ' Pol asks for Archer ' s permission to contact the High Command and speak on Yuris ' behalf . He agrees , and she says she hopes this incident will encourage others to speak out . Memorable quotes . " " You can bet they ' re not coming up for coffee and donuts . " " " " This is a bitch . " " " " Excuse me ? " " " " Oh , not you . Uh , heh , the – the microscope . " " " " The accusation against T ' Pol stands . It ' s not open for debate . " " " " Where I come from everything ' s open for debate . And if I read these protocols correctly , so is the accusation you made against my science officer . " " " " You ' re wasting your time . " " " " It ' s mine to waste . " " " " Is it definitive ? " " " " Unmistakably . She ' s suffering from the syndrome . " " " " I wanted to see both of you . It ' s been a while since I was embarrassed by a Vulcan dignitary . " " " " We don ' t condone the intimate acts that these people engage in . They defy everything our society stands for . " " " " Maybe I should tell the doc . " " " " Tell him what ? That his wife is trying to seduce you ? Not a good idea ! " " " " I wasn ' t exactly pulling your leg , was I , commander ? " " " " Well , I ' ve got to get back to my warp engine . The plasma ' s runnin ' a little hot . " " " " I know how it feels . " " " " Don ' t you find her attractive ? " " " " Uh , sure . I mean no , she ' s your wife ! " " " " What does that have to do with it ? " " " " . . . she ' s your wife ! " " Links and references . References . accent ; activation sequence ; aperture ring ; bigotry ; blackberry cobbler ; " Black Cat , The " ; Bogga ; ; coffee ; condenser lens ; Coridan ; Council of Physicians ; data chip ; Dekendi III ; Denobula ; Denobulan language ; doughnut ; endocrine system ; ethical misconduct ; exercise bike ; fargan ; Forlisa ; grammar ; Groznik ; gyrosphere ; imaging filament ; immune system ; Interspecies Medical Exchange ; ; Kessil ; Klaban ; ; melon ; midbrain ; monkey - in - the - middle ; morality ; neurolytic enzyme ; neutron ; neutron microscope ; nucleotide ; Pa ' nar Syndrome ; paranoia ; pathologist ; plomeek soup ; prejudice ; protein ; psychiatric analyst ; quantum filter ; quantum optics ; reflectometer ; rose ; subculture ; Teerza Prime ; thymic sclerosis ; Tolaris ; transitive verb ; " Vahklas " ; Vesna ; Vulcan s ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; Vulcan High Command ; Vulcan mind meld ; Vulcan database ; Vulcan Science Directorate ; Vulcan transport ; wish list Unreferenced material . lacrosse ; Sao Paulo