Official Details For 'The Shipment' Released

See Also: 'The Shipment' Episode Guide

The Enterprise crew embark on a hunt to find the Xindi's "weapon of mass destruction" in an upcoming season three episode.

StarTrek.com recently released the below official plot synopsis for "The Shipment", currently scheduled to air on October 22:

Archer, Reed and Major Hayes infiltrate a Xindi-Sloth industrial colony to learn more about the weapon of mass destruction that will be used against Earth.

"The Shipment" was penned by co-executive producer Chris Black ("First Flight") and new consulting producer Brent V. Friedman. "The Shipment" is his second Enterprise outing after "Raijin". Regular Enterprise director David Straiton ("A Night In Sickbay" helmed the episode.

The episode features the following guest actors:

• Steven Culp as Major Hayes
• Randy Oglesby as Degra
• John Cothran Jr. as Gralik
• John Eddins as Xindi Reptilian
• Jack Alsted as Sloth #2
• Sam Witwer as Sloth #3

Steven Culp reprises the role of MACO commander Major Hayes from "The Xindi", while Randy Oglesby makes his third appearance as Xindi Humanoid Degra after "The Xindi" and "Raijin".

John Cothran Jr., who plays the lead Xindi-Sloth, Gralik, has appeared on Trek twice before, playing Captain Nu'Daq in TNG's "The Chase" and Telok in DS9's "Crossover". The actor also featured in the Star Trek: Borg computer game. His other credits include guest roles in The West Wing, NYPD Blue and 24.

John Eddins had a recurring role as Agent Richards on 24 last season, while Jack Alsted's only credit listed on the IMDB is a part in a BMW short film. Sam Witwer has guest starred in Angel, Dark Angel and ER.

Production on "The Shipment" wrapped Tuesday after a seven-day shoot. Most of the filming took place on sets representing a Xindi-Sloth settlement, including Gralik's house, a forest and a cave. These scenes required several extras dressed up as Xindi Humanoids, Reptilians and Sloths. The B-story revolving around Trip's efforts to dismantle and examine a Xindi rifle was shot on standing NX-01 sets.

Previous spoilers for the episode indicate that Gralik tells Archer the Xindi-Sloth do not know they are producing materials for a weapon, and the Sloth are being manipulated by the other Xindi sub-species. "The Shipment" will reportedly shed some light on the history of the Xindi and the relationships between the various sub-spcies.

The original production report can be found here at StarTrek.com.

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