Subspace vortex A subspace vortex ( also called an energy portal ) was an extremely fast method of propulsion utilized by the Xindi . Capable of transporting a vessel at a rate of about six light year s per two minutes , the vortices were opened through the generation of a phase deflector pulse , using on - board generator s , and were sustainable for hours at a time . ( ) Even if a whole fleet of Xindi ships used a subspace vortex , tracking the vessels inside the vortex could be extremely difficult for Xindi who were outside the vortex , though it was possible for an Andorian battle cruiser to carry out the task . ( ) History . A subspace vortex was used to transport the Xindi probe to Earth in 2153 . ( ) Later that year , a pair of Xindi - Reptilian warship s , after attacking the starship , sped away using a subspace vortex . After observing the vortex , Captain Archer ordered T ' Pol to find out what she could about it , as he didn ' t want the Xindi suddenly appearing without him being forewarned . ( ) Unknowingly observed by " Enterprise " , Degra ' s ship used a subspace vortex to speed away from a Xindi - Arboreal colony , shortly after visiting that planet . ( ) " In 2154 of an alternate timeline , a subspace vortex was used to transport the Xindi primary weapon , accompanied by two Xindi - Reptilian warships , to Earth , moments before the weapon destroyed that planet . " ( ) When " Enterprise " found Degra ' s ship in the Calindra system on December 12 2153 , T ' Pol speculated , in reply to Archer asking why the ship hadn ' t been detected before , that one of the subspace vortices may have been used by the newly arrived vessel . Three days later , " Enterprise " detected another subspace vortex being used by a different Xindi craft , while it was approximately six hours away from " Enterprise " . By that time , " Enterprise " chief engineer Charles Tucker III had collected more data on the vortices , determining how they were opened and how fast they transported vessels . After viewing the data Tucker had collected , Archer fooled Xindi - Primate s Degra and Thalen into believing " Enterprise " had been outfitted to access a subspace vortex with its main navigational deflector . The two Primates were also duped into thinking the vortex was beginning to collapse , apparently causing the ship to receive severe damage , until the craft purportedly re - entered normal space near Azati Prime . ( ) A subspace vortex was used by a specific Xindi - Insectoid starship . However , as that ship was coming out of the vortex , one of its nacelle s fractured , so the crew made an emergency crash landing on a nearby planet . While " Enterprise " was subsequently investigating the crashed vessel in January 2154 , a subspace vortex opened off " Enterprise " s port and a Xindi - Insectoid scout ship emerged from it , prior to attacking " Enterprise " , which was temporarily under the command of Lieutenant Malcolm Reed . The bridge officer s aboard " Enterprise " began to suspect the scout ship was attempting to open a vortex again when it started to charge its main deflector , so " Enterprise " destroyed the Insectoid craft before it could escape . ( ) When Commander Dolim began insisting that the Xindi weapon be escorted to Earth by four Xindi ships , Degra notified him that a massive subspace vortex would be required to accommodate them and that , due to its enormity , such a vortex would be extremely unstable . Degra imagined the instability of the vortex could result in one or more of the vessels becoming lost , a possibility Dolim ordered Degra to ensure against . ( ) Shortly after the Xindi primary weapon was launched in 2154 , a subspace vortex was used to transport it and several accompanying Xindi - Reptilian and Insectoid vessels out of a battle , as they proceeded toward Earth . ( ) Xindi who opposed them , including Xindi - Arboreal and Primate representatives from the Xindi Council , struggled to track the fleet while it traveled through the vortex ; it was only after the vortex was closed that the fleet was able to be located by the other Xindi . Thanks to some assistance from the Xindi - Aquatic s , " Enterprise " made preparations to enter a subspace vortex on February 13th , 2154 . The ship and seventeen Xindi vessels with it thereafter opened and journeyed through numerous vortices , with a pair of Xindi - Arboreal starship s going first and " Enterprise " traveling inside a Xindi - Aquatic cruiser . This fleet exited the vortices in close proximity to Dolim ' s ship , immediately prior to battle resuming . Later , another vortex was opened by Dolim ' s ship , which that vessel entered together with the Xindi weapon and a single Insectoid ship , though the latter craft was destroyed by Dolim ' s vessel , mid - journey . While " Enterprise " remained in the Delphic Expanse in an attempt to disable the Sphere network , Captain Archer boarded Degra ' s ship in pursuit , accompanied by Lieutenant Reed , a team of MACO s and Communications Officer Hoshi Sato . ( ) Using a subspace vortex , Degra ' s ship , which was significantly faster than the two craft it was following , was eventually able to close the gap and detect the pair of Xindi craft while all three vessels were in the vortex . Unbeknownst to those aboard Degra ' s ship , the Andorian battle cruiser " Kumari " managed to track that craft through the vortex . The weapon and Dolim ' s ship exited the vortex , closely followed by Degra ' s craft , but not in time for Degra ' s ship to stop Dolim from destroying the Yosemite 3 research station . After a battle that resulted in the destruction of the Xindi weapon and Dolim ' s vessel , a vortex was used by Degra ' s ship to rendezvous with " Enterprise " . Another vortex was subsequently used by the latter craft and another Xindi - Aquatic cruiser which , while traveling through the vortex , carried " Enterprise " in its hold . The vortex brought the two ships to Earth . ( )