The Xindi

"The Xindi" is the premiere episode of the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifty-third episode overall. The episode officially introduced the season's story arc in which the crew of Enterprise scour the Delphic Expanse to prevent the Xindi from destroying Earth (although some exposition was provided in the second season finale, "The Expanse").

Plot

As Enterprise travels deeper into the Delphic Expanse, a secret council of aliens discuss what to do with the lone human spaceship. Meanwhile, Captain Archer directs Enterprise to a mining penal colony within the Expanse. He then strikes a deal with the mine's foreman: in exchange for a half-liter of liquid platinum, Archer and Commander Tucker will be allowed to meet a Primate worker named Kessick.

Archer requests the coordinates of Xindus, the Xindi homeworld, from him, but he refuses to help unless Archer helps him escape. Archer declines, but he soon learns that the foreman had ulterior motives, since he has ordered three warships to overpower Enterprise and enslave his crew. Kessick claims to know how to escape the mine, but asserts that he will only tell Archer if he assents to helping him. Archer reluctantly agrees, and Kessick leads him and Tucker through the mine's sewage removal system. However, the group is soon detected in a conduit, and the foreman floods the system with plasma in an effort to kill them. They narrowly escape being killed, but quickly fall into the hands of the mine's security forces.

Meanwhile Sub-Commander T'Pol persuades Lieutenant Reed to allow the newly assigned MACOs (Military Assault Command Operations) to attempt an extraction. Led by him, they perform remarkably well in combat, and manage to rescue Archer, Tucker, and Kessick. Enterprise then leaves orbit just as the warships arrive. Unfortunately, Kessick dies, but not before providing coordinates for the Xindi home-world. When the ship reaches this position, there is nothing but a 100 year-old field of debris.

Production

The episode followed up on the plot introduced in the final instalment of the second season,^[1] in which a probe from an unknown alien race attacks Earth.^[2] A number of new sets and costumes were required, with preparations beginning for some departments up to three weeks before filming began. One change which was made was a new outfit for T'Pol, with costume tests taking place a week before filming began. The shoot began on June 26, 2003, with the expectation that it would take nine days (as opposed to the usual seven) to complete.^[1]

Reception and home media release

"The Xindi" was adapted as a novel in conjunction with the preceding episode, "The Expanse," by J.M. Dillard. Entitled The Expanse, the book was published by Pocket Books in trade paperback format in October 2003. These two episodes stand as the final televised Star Trek episodes to be novelized to date. Dillard's novel is notable for covering issues left untouched by the televised episode, such as explaining the rationale behind T'Pol's change of uniform.

References

External links

• The Xindi at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Xindi" at TV.com
• The Xindi at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• The Xindi at StarTrek.com