Xindi weapon The Xindi weapons were large mobile particle beam weapon s designed to cause destruction to planet s . There were three weapons built while the design was refined . The weapons were constructed by the five Xindi species in cooperation , at the instigation of the Sphere - Builder s , who had informed the Xindi that Human s would be responsible for the destruction of the future Xindi homeworld in the 26th century . The final weapon ' s primary goal was the destruction of Earth . Building the weapons . The weapons were designed primarily by Degra , a Xindi - Primate scientist and member of the Xindi Council , and constructed by the Aquatics . Most of the weapons ' components were built by the Xindi , but at least one component came from the year 2573 , supplied to the Xindi by the Sphere - Builders . ( ) Another key component of the weapons was the mineral kemocite , which was provided by a refining facility where Gralik Durr worked . ( ) Research on the weapon was very dangerous . In September 2153 , there was an accident in Degra ' s laboratory . Nearly all of his laboratory was destroyed , and three of his researchers were killed . The loss of the data caused the weapon ' s development to be set back by months , which induced the Council to consider developing a bio - weapon . ( ) Probe . The first prototype of the weapon was a small , one - man probe launched against Earth in 2153 . It was constructed with the assistance of the Sphere - Builders , who provided at least one component from the future . The pilot was a Xindi - Reptilian personally selected by Commander Dolim , a Reptilian representative on the Xindi Council . Arriving at Earth through a subspace vortex , the probe fired a particle beam which cut a destructive swath from Florida to Venezuela , killing seven million people . The probe subsequently self - destructed , the debris landing in Central Asia . The wreckage and body of the pilot were recovered by a Vulcan transport and brought to Starfleet Command for analysis . Acting on intelligence provided by the Suliban Cabal ' s mysterious benefactor , Jonathan Archer – captain of – quantum dated the fragment of the probe provided to the Xindi by the Sphere - Builders , proving that it came from 420 years in the future . ( ) Test weapon . The second weapon prototype was unmanned and test - fired in a " proving ground " in the Calindra system inside the Delphic Expanse , under the supervision of Degra himself in December 2153 . When not being used , this prototype was typically carried and could be transported by the Xindi cargo vessel . During the test it was intended to destroy a small moon of a gas giant within the system . The test did not go as planned , as the weapon ' s materials had been sabotage d by Gralik on behalf of Jonathan Archer and instead part of the moon broke up . The weapon was subsequently stolen by the Andorian warship " Kumari " . The Andorian s had hoped to take it home to use as a deterrent against the Vulcans . It was destroyed when T ' Pol entered the activation codes and issued an overload command . The " Kumari " jettisoned the prototype before it exploded , but the shock wave caused significant damage to their power and engine systems . ( ) V ' Las later used recorded footage of this test to justify preparations for a preemptive strike on Andoria to the rest of the Vulcan High Command , conveniently failing to mention that the Andorians had been prevented from studying it . ( ) Primary weapon . The final version of the weapon was substantially larger than its two predecessors and was designed to be manned by a skeleton crew . The interior of the weapon was mainly hollow . The exact core , however , contained the control area , where the weapon could be activated , fired or repaired . The only known way to deactivate the weapon was to invert a series of conduits in the proper sequence to cut power . Explosives could then destroy the core of the weapon . ( ) The eventual weapon was constructed in secret on Azati Prime , though when " Enterprise " discovered it there , it was moved to the Xindi Council planet . ( ) When it became apparent that Captain Archer was becoming successful in convincing the Council to delay the attack on Earth , Commander Dolim ' s forces , working in concert with the Insectoids , hijacked the weapon . They also kidnapped " Enterprise " linguist Hoshi Sato and brainwashed her into decrypting the third activation code . ( ) " Enterprise " , along with forces of the Primates , Arboreals , and Aquatics , attempted to stop the weapon from entering the vortex to Earth , but were repelled by a Reptilian and Insectoid fleet . The Reptilians and Insectoids were assisted by the creation of numerous anomalies by the Sphere - Builders , and one ship of each race escaped into the vortex with the weapon . The Insectoid ship was very shortly destroyed by the Reptilian one , however , when its commander questioned Dolim . ( ) The weapon emerged in Earth orbit ten hours later , but very close behind it was the vessel of the late Degra , manned by " Enterprise " personnel including Jonathan Archer , Malcolm Reed , and Hoshi Sato , as well as a MACO squad . The " Kumari " ran interference for Degra ' s lightly - armed vessel , enabling the " Enterprise " team to board the weapon and destroy it by overloading its reactor . Captain Archer was initially thought killed in the attempt . ( ) " In an alternate timeline where Archer was infected by interspatial parasite s , " Enterprise " arrived at Azati Prime after the weapon had already been launched . The Xindi destroyed Earth with it before proceeding to wipe out most of the rest of Humanity . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . Script depictions . In an ultimately excised line of dialogue from the final draft script of " The Xindi " , Degra stated , " " The new weapon is far more complex " " than the probe which attacked Earth . In the script for , the final Xindi weapon was initially referred to as " massive " and the script went on to say , " " The weapon is far larger and more menacing than the device seen in ' The Expanse ' . . . it ’ s covered with ablative armor and is bristling with weapon platforms . " " In other scripts written for ( such as the final draft scripts for both and ) , this weapon was commonly referred to as the " Primary Weapon " . In the final draft script of , the second prototype was referred to as " the Xindi test weapon " and was described thus ; " " It ' s a more elaborate version of the probe that attacked Earth . " " Similarly , the effect of this prototype was intended to be , as pointed out in the script , " far more terrifying and spectacular than the original Xindi probe ' s attack on Earth . " Exterior . Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry was involved in designing the exterior appearance of the Xindi weapon . He later recalled , " " The super weapon was really fun and one of the inspirations for that was . . . the Chinese carve these beautiful ivory balls that are layer upon layer upon layer , and can rotate in and out of themselves . So , we decided to give the super weapon a kinetic structure , so that it was constantly moving , so it looked always imminently threatening . " " Senior illustrator John Eaves created the final sketches of the weapon ' s exterior . ( " Visual Effects Magic " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) A physical studio model of the Xindi weapon ' s exterior was never built . ( audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) From the concept sketches , CGI artists at Eden FX built the computer models of the weapon . Pierre Drolet , Eden ' s lead 3D modeler , was instrumental in providing the CG version . As a time - saving measure , he built the digital model by first concentrating on only one quarter of the entire Xindi weapon , then multiplying that portion to become the whole exterior . " " You don ' t really see it , when it ' s all together like that , " " he noted . " " It saved a lot of time , actually . " " ( " Visual Effects Magic " , ENT Season 4 DVD special features ) Another CG depiction of the Xindi weapon can be found in the ENT Season 3 DVD , as part of a computer - animated sequence that introduces the main menu for each disc . Co - Executive Producer Chris Black and Executive Story Editor André Bormanis agreed that the exterior of the Xindi weapon , which Bormanis somewhat confusingly referred to as " a sphere , " is " very cool . " ( audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) Core . Much of the Xindi weapon ' s interior was recycled portions of other sets which had been built for " Star Trek " . ( audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) This included the weapon ' s core . For instance , the three rotating rings around the rotating sphere in the core of the Xindi weapon was a reuse of the gyrosphere from the episodes and . Even the purple color of the rings remained the same . However , " Star Trek " paint supervisor Chuck Clark used an unusual paint on both the frame and the inner ball ; the paint seemed to change color depending on the perspective from which it was viewed . The sphere itself was a reuse of the Romulan mine from . The spinning gizmo was oddly not motorized to rotate but was instead firmly spun by hand , before each shot , by Special Effects Technician Wil Thoms . ( text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) Production Designer Herman Zimmerman remarked , " " The weapon core [ sphere ] is really a mechanical device – quite elaborate and quite effectively used on film . I will wager many people will look at it and say , ' Oh that must be a CGI effect ' – when in reality it wasn ' t . " " Zimmerman also considered the entirely mechanical sphere to have been " an amazing reuse of a Romulan mine from ' Minefield ' . " ( ) Interior environment . The set for the Xindi weapon ' s interior was built on Paramount Stage 9 . ( text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ; ) Herman Zimmerman noted that the set " took up the whole of Stage 9 . " He further commented , " " We built from scratch the last two episodes – really huge sets , both of which had to be destroyed because we don ' t have any place to keep them and we probably will never see them again . " " ( ) The set for the weapon ' s interior was constructed on platforms about eight feet above the floor of the stage . Although this allowed for the filming of live - action footage involving the weapon ' s catwalks , the platforming tended to slightly slow filming , as equipment such as cameras and lights had to be hauled up and down to be used on the set . ( text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) Herman Zimmerman pointed out that , though the catwalks were brand new , " the arches behind them " were reused ship hulls , originally built as parts of the starship " Enterprise " s exterior in and turned vertical for their Xindi modification . ( ) The weapon interior was additionally represented with some wide shots being completely computer - generated . The digital model of the interior was additionally used to extend the actual set . In the case of one such shot being required , a green - screen was used on the stage floor , to later be replaced by the visual effects crew in post - production . ( text commentary , ENT Season 3 DVD ) Following a rare set visit to the weapon interior set during production , Chris Black found the set memorable and was of the opinion that it was notable for the increased degree to which it allowed for visual effects . " " I remember [ . . . ] that they , you know , they had built the railings and the platform and then it was just all , you know , green screen all round it , " " he recollected . ( audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) To depict the destruction of the Xindi weapon from inside the craft , explosive charges were wired by special effects artist Dennis Drozdowski and spark cones , which directed showers of sparks , were rigged by electronics foreman John Peyser . ( ) Footage of the weapon ' s destruction was not only included in but was also reused as archive footage in . Apocrypha . The cover for the novelization of and ( entitled " The Expanse " ) features an artist ' s rendering , illustrated by Doug Drexler , of the Xindi probe firing at the Earth . Though the probe itself looks much like it does in the episode " The Expanse " , the beam it emits , in the picture , is colored blue . " The Expanse " also states that , prior to the initial weapon ' s use against Earth , hundreds of simulations plotting the firing of the weapon were run . Commonly referring to this craft as " the destroyer / probe , " the book indicates that the interior of this initial weapon consisted of two compartments , with an engine area and a command section . The latter portion of the craft had a deck for the pilot to sit or stand on , controls for navigational , tactical and communication functions , as well as a small monitor on which the craft ' s exterior could be viewed . To fire the weapon , the targeted area had to be programmed into the craft ' s sites . This was followed by the concentric spheres on the outside of the weapon automatically rotating into place , lining up the craft ' s emitters . The powering up of the weapon caused the deck beneath the pilot ' s feet to hum . The craft was also designed to relay information about the attack back to the Xindi and was programmed to self - destruct . The probe had multiple explosives that caused the weapon to auto - destruct , including one that was located in its engine and triggered separately from the rest . The novel " Last Full Measure " states that fuel residue and a distinct energy pattern were discovered in the wreckage of the Xindi probe . In the same book , ion trails resembling the residue lead an away team to their first sighting of Xindi - Reptilians , as a pair of them appear in a video replay on the planet Kaletoo , where their vessel had been . The footage shows the Reptilians meeting with a courier named La ' an Trahve , whose clothing is later found to have traces of the same energy signature as was found in the probe ' s remains . Part of the video game " " involves " Enterprise " s search for the Xindi weapon . In the game ' s final level , a temporal anomaly makes the weapon , a Xindi fleet , and " Enterprise " appear in the 24th century , where it is destroyed thanks to both the " Enterprise " NX - 01 , and the . In the video game " Star Trek Online " , the Xindi - Reptilian Contortrix Escort starship is able to deploy a miniature version of the Xindi weapon for use in combat .