Wraith The wraiths were a telepathic , shapeshifting species , indigenous to the planet Dakala . They were regularly hunted by the Eska . Young wraiths were more likely to become anxious than older members of the species . The shapeshifting powers of a wraith were very formidable . For example , if they became a rock , sensor s were unable to tell the difference between them and a real rock . Wraiths were able to transform into anything seen by a person whose thoughts they sensed , such as a tree , an animal , water , or even an imagined humanoid . Biologically , if s were separated from a wraith ' s body , they were then perpetually in a state of chromosomal flux , as if the cells were constantly attempting to mutate into something but couldn ' t decide what . ( ) History . Once , a group of wraiths were pursued by a team of nine hunters – Eska visitors to Dakala – into a blind canyon . Though at least one of the hunters fully expected the wraiths would be easily killed and had no way to escape , the wraiths had read the minds of the hunters , knew their plan , and were well prepared when they arrived . The incident was a decisive victory for the wraiths , with only three Eska ultimately surviving . The wraiths killed more Eska than vice versa until the Eska discovered that cornering them and thereby causing the wraiths to panic caused them to emit a chemical signature which could be tracked . In essence , the wraiths consequently lost the advantage which their own transformative abilities had given them . A few years later , Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of , while visiting Dakala in 2151 , initially didn ' t detect any evidence of the humanoid forms which the wraiths could assume . After the newcomers came upon a group of three Eska hunters , however , one of the wraiths appeared to Archer as a mysterious Human woman he felt sure he recognized and was involuntarily drawn to ; she had read his mind and taken the form of the " glimmering girl " in Yeats ' " The Song of the Wandering Aengus " , just as he had imagined her when he was a child . She explained that her people were telepathic shapeshifters , being hunted by the Eska . Dr . Phlox made a compound that masked the chemical signature of the wraiths , which concealed them from the hunters ' sensors and ensured the wraiths would be safe . The compound was administered to all the wraith by the same one which had been in communication with Archer . While one of the wraiths was being hunted by the three Eska , numerous members of the heretofore hunted species surrounded the Eska and scared them away with loud growling noises . Thereafter , Archer ' s mysterious friend thanked him , said goodbye , and let him see her true form . ( ) Background information . In the final draft script for , the female guise of the wraith which Archer encounters is initially described as " " A Human woman lit in the starlight . She ' s beautiful and ethereal – as if she ' s a part of the jungle itself . She ' s wearing a slight , diaphanous dress . " " A subsequent description of her voiced by Archer was scripted to include a mention of her having " long dark hair , " though her hair color was changed to blonde in the episode . There were repeated mentions , in the script , of her being " lit by starlight . " The unnamed wraith woman was played by Stephanie Niznik . In the script of " Rogue Planet " , a wraith in its natural configuration , initially viewed through a pair of Eska imaging goggles , was described thus ; " " A strange amorphous signature . It doesn ' t have a definite shape , and it vanishes into the jungle as quickly as it appeared . ( NOTE : This signature should glow with a unique effect , different from the spectral image of the drayjin , indicating it is something called a ' wraith ' . ) " " Cellular residue from a wraith was scripted as " strange alien cells that seem to be constantly mutating . " In the final scene of the episode , the script described the wraith as " something utterly alien " and " a glistening , inhuman creature . " The transformed wraith was a CGI model built by John Teska at Foundation Imaging . ( )