Tholian ship ( 22nd century ) The Tholian starship of the 22nd century was a relatively small starship employed by the Tholian Assembly . History . In 2152 , making an unusual move , the Tholian s traveled far beyond their territory , as they attempted to possess a 31st century time - travel pod discovered by the Earth starship . Four Tholian starships intercepted and disabled the Vulcan cruiser " Tal ' Kir " while it waited to rendezvous with " Enterprise " . They also attacked and defeated a fleet of Suliban vessels that were in pursuit of the arriving Earth ship . They then successfully removed the pod from " Enterprise " s possession , only to have the pod return to its proper timeline moments later . ( ) In the mirror universe , numerous Tholian starships were encountered by the in 2155 . A single vessel of this class was no match for an starship , though several of these vessels were capable of destroying such a craft , particularly when employing a Tholian web . These vessels later discovered " Enterprise " s illegal presence in the Vintaak system , attempting to steal the . Several of these ships encased " Enterprise " with a web , then proceeded to destroy it with weapons fire . These vessels later attempted to block the " Defiant " to prevent its theft , only to be destroyed . ( ) Technical data . Tholian vessels were of a characteristic cuneiform shape , and their small size made this type of vessel highly agile . Each side of its exterior had a glowing , patterned screen panel . This class was outfitted with formidable weapon ry , including a type of energy - dampening weapon which they used against to render it almost completely powerless . The interiors of these vessels were kept at temperatures exceeding 200 °C . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the final draft script of , this type of ship was described as " a sleek , wedge - shaped alien starship . " The task of modifying the 23rd century for the predominantly 22nd century settings of was made the responsibility of Concept Artist John Eaves , who regarded the opportunity as " a great assignment to retro - out the Tholian ship . " ( " " , issue 26 , p . 10 ) Due to the original configuration having been extremely memorable , designing an earlier version of it for " Enterprise " was always going to be difficult . Eaves had to create something new while also incorporating the design language that TOS Art Director Matt Jefferies had established for the Tholian ship . For Eaves , the solution was to retain parts of the original design , while making the styling of the new version appear slightly older . ( " " , issue 26 , p . 12 ) John Eaves wanted to keep the front view of the modified Tholian ship style identical to its predecessor but chose to make some changes to the exterior elsewhere , as he felt the profile view of the original craft was somewhat harsh and stark . " " I thought it would be good to elongate the ship so that it appeared sleeker , " " he stated , " " but also make it look like it could be a forebear of the original design . " " A new element he decided to add was the screen panels on the sides of the exterior . ( " " , issue 26 , p . 12 ) For help with modifying the Tholian ship , John Eaves consulted Scenic Art Supervisor Michael Okuda . " " I talked to Mike a lot about ship ideas , " " Eaves recalled . " " He was the go - to guy if I had questions . He was always there to make sure I was keeping the design in the vein of the original . I liked to try and push it right to the edge until he ' d say , ' OK , that ' s kind of borderline , but I think it will still be approved . " " ( " " , issue 26 , p . 12 ) Although John Eaves usually liked to devise at least four or five alternative designs before submitting them to the producers for approval , the 22nd century style of Tholian ship turned out to be a rare exception . In fact , Eaves immediately hit upon a suitable design direction and ended up offering only two layouts . These were demonstrated in a collection of concept illustrations , dated . Eaves was particularly pleased with one of these configurations , which made use of negative space at the rear . The other version , however , was the preferred choice of the producers . " " But it wasn ' t a hardship or a problem , " " Eaves related . " " I was happy with either one of these designs . " " ( " " , issue 26 , pp . 12 - 13 & 10 - 11 ) Although Mike Sussman was instrumental in reintroducing Tholian spacecrafts on " Star Trek : Enterprise " , he was not directly involved in updating the look of the vessels . " " I had no idea what the art department was going to come up with in terms of [ . . . ] [ the Tholian ] ship , " " he reflected . " " I was just super - thrilled to see what they had designed . " " ( " " , issue 26 , p . 16 ) Despite obviously being related to the original design of Tholian ships , the " Star Trek : Enterprise " version was represented with modern visual effects . It was built and animated as a CGI model at Eden FX . ( " " , issue 26 , p . 13 ) John Eaves was unsure of the size of the 22nd century form of Tholian ship , an aspect which viewers were also puzzled about . Eaves remembered , " " I was basing my design on the size of the original [ . . . ] I didn ' t know if the Tholian ship was piloted by one guy , or two guys , or even a whole crew . " " ( " " , issue 26 , p . 13 ) The revised final draft script for " In a Mirror , Darkly " does , though , refer to a Tholian starship as " small . " Apocrypha . In " Star Trek Online " , the 22nd - century Tholian ships ( or ones with a similar appearance ) are known as Tholian Widow fighters , and are deployed from larger carrier - type Tholian ships as combat craft .