Star Trek 101: The Xindi

And in today's Star Trek 101 case study, by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann, the Star Trek: Enterprise aliens the Xindi go under the microscope:

THE XINDI

An alliance of five species from the Delphic Expanse: the Primates (who look like your average human), the Arboreals (slothlike humans), the Aquatics (underwater mammals that resemble manatees), the Reptilians (lizardlike humans), and the Insectoids (antlike beings). Although they all originate from the same planet and have the same goals, they differ in not-so-sutble ways when they have to decide on a plan of action.

The Primates and Aboreals lean toward peace and diplomacy, the Reptilians and Insectoids believe in fighting for what they want, and the highly intelligent Aquatics tend to ponder issues for a long time.

Starfleet first became aware of the Xindi when the alliance attacked Earth on the advice of the Sphere Builders, a transdimensional race from another plane of existence. The Sphere Builders showed up in the Expanse after the Xindi civil war and warned the Xindi that humans would destroy their part of the galaxy. The Xindi believed them. It became Archer's job to convince the Xindi that the Sphere Builders were the real enemy -- and the ones who actually planned to take over the Delphic real estate.

Key Xindi Episodes:

"The Xindi"

"The Council"

"Countdown"

Star Trek 101 debuted in October 2016 -- and the latest regular StarTrek.com column serves two functions: succinctly introduce Star Trek newcomers to the basic foundations and elements of the franchise and refresh the memories of longtime Trek fans. We're pulling our entries from the book Star Trek 101: A Practical Guide to Who, What, Where, And Why, written by Terry J. Erdmann & Paula M. Block and published in 2008 by Pocket Books. An invaluable resource, it encompasses The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, as well as the first 10 Trek feature films.

Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann are coauthors of numerous books about the entertainment industry, including Star Trek 101; Star Trek Costumes: Fifty Years of Fashion from the Final Frontier; Star Trek: The Original Series 365; and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. They currently are writing the latest in their series of Ferengi novellas, which (so far) includes Lust’s Latinum Lost (and Found); and Rules of Accusation. Their most recent non-Star Trek book is Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History.