 The " photonic ghost " reappears , and T 'Pol manages to visually scan it , revealing that it is Erickson 's long @-@ lost son . Archer now realizes that his old family friends have misled him , and are simply using the ship to somehow rescue Quinn from the node . Erickson freely admits the deception , and asks Archer to trust and help him . Despite the deception , he agrees , aggressively ordering a reluctant T 'Pol and a dissenting Tucker to comply . Finally , Tucker and Erickson manage to recover Quinn , but he suffers severe cellular degeneration in the process and dies soon after . Erickson , aware of the consequences he may now face , is happy to finally bring him home and put him to rest . 
