Administrator V'Las was the head of the Vulcan High Command in the mid-22nd century. In that capacity, he entered into a conspiracy with Talok, a deep-cover Romulan operative, to facilitate the Vulcan invasion of Andoria and the subjugation of the Vulcan people by the Romulans.
In the script of "The Forge", V'Las was described as "a regal, imposing Vulcan, Administrator of the High Command, which makes him Vulcan's de facto world president."
Early career[]
Early in his career, V'Las demonstrated a particular talent for governing which, under the Vulcan meritocracy system, led to his ascension to the position of Administrator. (ENT: "Awakening")
According to Star Trek: Federation - The First 150 Years, the real V'Las was at some point replaced by a Romulan agent at the behest of the Tal Shiar prior to his election to Administrator. It is also noted that V'Las gave the Tal Shiar a Starfleet report regarding the incident in the Unroth system.
The Christopher L. Bennett novel Uncertain Logic presents a different backstory for V'Las. In this backstory, V'Las was the son of Romulan sleeper agents who infiltrated Vulcan society after a war between the Romulan Empire and the Vulcans. V'Las was raised to continue his parents' mission after their deaths.
Conspiracy[]
In 2152, Vulcan and Andoria signed a peace treaty, facilitated by the assistance of Starfleet captain Jonathan Archer. It was later revealed, that, in signing the treaty, V'Las was simply stalling for time, with which to prepare a full-scale attack on the Andorians. The plans for invasion were threatened by a dissident group of Vulcans known as "Syrrannites," who believed that the High Command was following a corrupted version of Surak's teachings, and that war was antithetical to the Vulcan way. Considering this mindset a dangerous one, V'Las initiated a conspiracy to eliminate the Syrranites. (ENT: "Cease Fire", "Kir'Shara")
In 2154, along with Stel, chief investigator of the Security Directorate, V'Las initiated a bombing of the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan, resulting in the deaths of forty-three people. Intending for planted evidence to be found implicating T'Pau, a well-known Syrranite, V'Las used the bombing as an excuse to hunt down the Syrranites in the Vulcan desert known as "the Forge." Although the plot was initially successful, and the Syrranites were implicated, a mind meld with a comatose victim of the bombing, performed by Vulcan ambassador to Earth Soval, revealed that Stel was, in actuality, the individual who planted the bomb. Due to the taboo held by most Vulcans regarding mind melds, V'Las relieved Soval of his position, and subsequently implicated Stel as a Syrranite in an attempt to preserve the conspiracy. (ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening")
As V'Las' campaign to eliminate the Syrranites progressed, he presented falsified evidence to the High Command indicating that the Andorians had been outfitting their ships with Xindi weaponry, in an attempt to justify the invasion. As this was happening, the crew of Enterprise NX-01, under the command of Commander Charles Tucker, were made aware of V'Las's planned attack on Andoria by Soval, and subsequently made contact with Commander Shran, an Andorian military officer with whom they had prior dealings. Joining the Andorian fleet in opposing the Vulcans, Tucker made contact with V'Las and attempted to convince him to halt the invasion, but V'Las was determined, and ordered his ships to commence an attack on Enterprise and the Andorians. As the battle raged, Jonathan Archer, Enterprise's captain, arrived with T'Pau in the High Command and presented the Kir'Shara, the original records of Surak's true teachings, undermining V'Las's authority and leading Minister Kuvak to relieve V'Las of his position. Ultimately, the battle was halted and V'Las was placed under investigation for his role in the embassy bombing. (ENT: "Awakening", "Kir'Shara")
Afterwards, V'Las confronted Talok, his Romulan contact, and accused him of failing in his mission to preserve Romulan influence on Vulcan. As his position on Vulcan had been compromised, Talok was forced to return to Romulus, although he refused to take V'Las with him, claiming V'Las' disappearance at the same time as V'Las was being investigated would cause too much suspicion. Before his departure, Talok reassured V'Las that recent events were only "a minor delay," and that the reunification of Vulcans and Romulans was "only a matter of time." (ENT: "Kir'Shara")
V'Las was played by Robert Foxworth.