The Xindi

"The Xindi" is the 53rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the first episode of the third season. It first aired on September 10, 2003, on UPN. The episode was written by executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and directed by Allan Kroeker.

Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. Beginning with this episode, season three of Enterprise features an ongoing storyline following an attack on Earth by previously unknown aliens called the Xindi at the end of season two. In this episode, the crew of the Enterprise attempt to track down the location of the Xindi homeworld by asking a lone Xindi enslaved in a mining colony. After being tricked by the mining foreman, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Connor Trinneer) escape with the Xindi, with assistance from Lieutenant Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) and the ship's new Military Assault Command Operations (MACO) team.

"The Xindi" saw the first appearance of several new sets, as well as a new costume for Sub-Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock). The episode saw a large number of guest stars, including several who would recur several more times during the third season such as Major Hayes played by Steven Culp, Tucker Smallwood as the Xindi-Primate Councilor and Randy Oglesby as Degra. The episode received ratings of 2.6/5 percent according to Nielsen Media Research, and was watched by 4.1 million viewers. "The Xindi" received a mixed reception from critics, who praised the increase of action promised for the season by this episode but criticised elements such as the writing and the MACOs.