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With Degra's help, Captain Archer
prepares to meet with the Xindi Council. As they go over their
plan, Degra offers a little background on the Sphere-Builders'
involvement with the Xindi. After the Xindi homeworld was
destroyed, the Sphere-Builders began appearing to the survivors,
guiding them to habitable planets and valuable resources.
Because of this, the Sphere-Builders are worshipped by the Xindi
and are referred to as "the Guardians." This belief, Degra
explains, is what Archer's up against.
Flanked by a flotilla of
Primate, Aquatic and Arboreal ships, Enterprise enters Xindi
space. Archer, Degra and a skittish Hoshi Sato head down to the
Council chamber, located in an ancient stronghold built by the
extinct Xindi-Avian race. Finally facing the Council, including
the hostile Reptilians and Insectoids, Archer explains that the
Sphere-Builders have manipulated the Xindi — they are really
just preparing the Delphic Expanse for colonization. Someday, he
says, Earth will lead a battle that will defeat the
Sphere-Builders. They know this, and that's why they tricked the
Xindi into attacking humanity. The Xindi-Primates, Arboreals and
Aquatics seem open to Archer's findings, but the Reptilians and
Insectoids refuse to believe him, claiming that Archer must have
fabricated the data. As the debate grows more heated, the
Council meeting dissolves into chaos.
Later, the Reptilian commander, Dolim, meets with one of the
Sphere-Builders. The Sphere-Builder insists the Reptilians and
Insectoids act together to secure the Weapon. This might mean
civil war for the Xindi, Dolim points out. But the
Sphere-Builder makes a guarantee that Reptilians will dominate
the other Xindi species ... if they successfully deploy the
Weapon and eradicate humankind.
 Back on Enterprise, Archer and Degra work on their strategy.
They need three of five votes to sway the Council, and Degra
believes the key is to get the indecisive Aquatics on their
side. The Aquatics respond to visuals more than words, so Degra
cooks up a plan. Using data from Enterprise's encounter with one
of the trans-dimensional beings, Degra constructs a biometric
hologram of the being. The hologram effectively demonstrates the
Sphere-Builders' previous presence on Enterprise. Intrigued, the
Council is finally open to hearing more.
Meanwhile, T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather and MACO Corporal Hawkins are
headed to a nearby Sphere in a shuttlepod. Hoping to gather more
information on the Sphere-Builders, they plan to extract the
Sphere's memory core. T'Pol discovers that part of the Sphere's
surface is actually a hologram — the shuttlepod passes right
through and T'Pol, Reed and Hawkins don their EV suits and head
for the memory core. T'Pol manages to extract the memory core,
but the Sphere has a spider-like defense mechanism that
activates, putting the team in danger. They manage to fend it
off, but Hawkins is killed during the fight.
On Enterprise, Degra approaches Archer with good news. Archer's
presentation convinced the Council and they have the three votes
they need! In fact, the Reptilians agreed to delay the
deployment of the Weapon. Archer and Degra are overjoyed at this
development, pleased that they've formed what seems to be a
lasting alliance. Later on, however, Dolim approaches Degra in a
room near the Council chamber. The Reptilian reveals that he
knows about Degra destroying his scout ship. Degra tries to tell
the commander that he had no choice, but Dolim won't listen — he
stabs Degra.
Archer is devastated to learn of Degra's murder and the
Reptilians' betrayal sparks further dissension among the Xindi
Council. The Reptilians and Insectoids withdraw from the Council
— they plan on stealing the Weapon and launching it after all.
The Weapon, however, can only be launched with three of the
necessary codes. The Reptilians and Insectoids only have two.
But Dolim appears to have at least one more trick up his sleeve.
As the Insectoid and Reptilian ships prepare to steal the
Weapon, they engage in battle with Enterprise and the other
Xindi ships. Then, to Archer's horror, Hoshi is beamed off the
bridge — the Reptilians have kidnapped her. And then the Weapon
and escorting ships disappear into a vortex ...
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