I'm thinking perhaps they were given a specific bloodline to eradicate. Perhaps why Trip's sister was killed?
I don't get the mystery of the missing homeworld tho.
I don't get the mystery of the missing homeworld tho.
Star Trek General Discussion
- Thread starter SHIELD Agent 47
- Start date
IIRC, it was a test to see if the scientific principles would work on Earth before deploying the full size variant. However, it has been a while since I watched this season, so I might be mistaken.
Yeah, the Xindiball was a prototype.
It was colossally stupid to field-test the prototype in an unprovoked attack when the main weapon wasn't complete yet, but I think we've all seen enough military operations in the past few years to not find it at all unrealistic.
It was colossally stupid to field-test the prototype in an unprovoked attack when the main weapon wasn't complete yet, but I think we've all seen enough military operations in the past few years to not find it at all unrealistic.
I mean.... not operations from a species that is breaking into our dimension for their very survival.
I never got the impression that the Sphere Builders survival depended on breaking into our realm; it seemed like they were simply aggressive and wanted to expand.
You could argue the Xindi believed their survival depended on the success of the weapon, but even in their case they had been told humanity would wipe them out in several centuries, which left them more than enough time to test the weapon and build the final device without revealing their hand by attacking Earth like they did.
You could argue the Xindi believed their survival depended on the success of the weapon, but even in their case they had been told humanity would wipe them out in several centuries, which left them more than enough time to test the weapon and build the final device without revealing their hand by attacking Earth like they did.
Yeah, the Xindi had no idea of the Sphere Builders' true plans. As far as they knew this was a straightforward "kill them before they kill us" scenario.
The stupid part was giving away the element of surprise; if not for the Xindiball, Earth would've been caught completely unprepared.
The stupid part was giving away the element of surprise; if not for the Xindiball, Earth would've been caught completely unprepared.
Probably - I've mostly seen them in comments on topics in STO's reddit.
Speaking of, the way that STO used the Sphere Builders was a bit complicated, but gave them a bit more of a justification, and tied their origin into the Iconian War. Spoilers follow.
Things were not going well for the Grand Alliance(Federation/Klingons/Romulan Republic) but they had both discovered that the Iconians were vulnerable to time shenanigans, and that a colony of Krenim(which the Iconians had previously manipulated some Vaadwuar to try to eliminate) were still alive by slightly temporally displacing the planet they were on. So the Krenim are brought in, and they happen to still have the plans for the Annorax(the ship from Voyager's Year of Hell) so the Alliance starts building it while trying to simulate various changes to see what they could fire at to delay or prevent the war at all. The best case they land on is one that causes the USS Yamato to not find the Iconian artifact when it did, which seemed to be what got their attention initially, and among its side effects stopped the Hobus supernova(which STO revealed was caused by Iconian agents for certain reasons you find out later) so the Romulan Empire was still intact, though those who were behind the Romulan Republic were still breaking off. Given they had the most to lose, they asked the RR rep, and she gave the go-ahead, so they went and zapped the asteroid, escorted by your ship and Captain Nog and his ship.
This was not the best idea. When they went to Romulus, they found that the Borg had assimilared something that accellerated their expansion and development, and they had fully assimilated Romulus. SHortly after they find the Borg have incorporated cloakign devices. They're pounding the Annorax, Nog's ship, and your ship, and temporal shielding is about to go, which will cause your ships to re-merge with the new timeline, so in a last ditch effort to fix things, the Annorax blasts the Borg transwarp gateway in the system, moments before the temporal shielding fails.
It then loops back to the beginning of that episode, with everything seeming to be like it was, but we have temporarlly shielded logs of what just happened even though we don't remember it. And we find out one change- one of the Krenim scientists had had a wife of some minor Delta Quadrant race in the old timeline, but she doesn't exist in the new one. Neither does her race. They had tried to prepare a countermeasure to the Borg when the Borg showed up to assimilate them, but ti malfunctioned and trapped them all in subspace, changing their bodies so they could not survive normal space any longer.
They became the Sphere Builders. And because of temporal cold war shenanigans, they know exactly who was repsonsible, and they want back into the normal universe again - the purpose of the sphere things was to change local space so they'd be able to survive in it.
This was not the best idea. When they went to Romulus, they found that the Borg had assimilared something that accellerated their expansion and development, and they had fully assimilated Romulus. SHortly after they find the Borg have incorporated cloakign devices. They're pounding the Annorax, Nog's ship, and your ship, and temporal shielding is about to go, which will cause your ships to re-merge with the new timeline, so in a last ditch effort to fix things, the Annorax blasts the Borg transwarp gateway in the system, moments before the temporal shielding fails.
It then loops back to the beginning of that episode, with everything seeming to be like it was, but we have temporarlly shielded logs of what just happened even though we don't remember it. And we find out one change- one of the Krenim scientists had had a wife of some minor Delta Quadrant race in the old timeline, but she doesn't exist in the new one. Neither does her race. They had tried to prepare a countermeasure to the Borg when the Borg showed up to assimilate them, but ti malfunctioned and trapped them all in subspace, changing their bodies so they could not survive normal space any longer.
They became the Sphere Builders. And because of temporal cold war shenanigans, they know exactly who was repsonsible, and they want back into the normal universe again - the purpose of the sphere things was to change local space so they'd be able to survive in it.
Of course, STO is in its own timeline now due to Picard Season 3, but this episode is also the one that the devs had said that they'd consider the divergence point if they had to pick, due to reckless changes to the timeline, which then can reverberate up and down the timeline. But it does give them a motivation and origin as to why they're doing what they're doing and where.
My recollection of "In the Pale Moonlight" is that while Sisko was confident enough that the Romulan Senator would not realize the recording was a fake, Garak thought he would but that they wouldn't be able to tell after it was in a spaceship explosion. Okay. It has always bothered me that it was crucial to the plan that the Senator would not communicate with anyone about it before going home. That doesn't seem like a safe part of the plan.
Well, you have to remember that the senator wasn't supposed to be there at DS9. He was behind enemy lines essentially, so he wasn't going to send any messages until he got clear.
Also, I can imagine that Garak had probably considered that he might just do that. Heck. the Senator might have been dead before his ship left the station.
Out of fear of being taken hostage?
Something like this, you gotta tell someone immediately.
Well, you have to look at it like this, Garak placed the bomb on the ship, and arranged it so that the faked meeting on the real datarod wouldn't be destroyed by the explosion. There is a real possibility that the Senator was dead before his ship left DS9 and Garak just sent it on its way since we know he was on the Romulan ship. Garak wouldn't have thought twice about killing the senator on the station if it meant that the plan would work that much better. He might have also just disabled the long range communications as well, but he probably just killed the senator on DS9.
Renewed through at least season 4.
It's been a long while, getting to the end of season 3 of Enterprise. It was pretty epic getting to the climax though. I kinda stopped after the ep where Hoshi had secret admirer but binged through to the season finale once the ball got rolling.
Quick rundown of best eps.
3x8 Twilight, the memory worm things being of another dimension and killing them in any time also kills them in the past is pure sci-fi, awesome.
3x10 Similitude, geez that was also pure sci-fi. Poor Sim. He wasn't going to live very long either. I thought it was implied that T'Pol slept with him at the end tho.
3x12 Chosen Realm, not new but the ending with the religious guy looking at his planet was powerful.
3x13 Proving Ground, who sent the scans to the Enterprise when the weapon was destroyed? Was it the Andorian who was mutual admiration vibing with Malcolm Reed? It wasn't Shran. Did I miss a clue?
3x14 Stratagem, hahaha, classic TV cartoon villain ploy. Diabolical that Archer would do it though.
3x16 Doctor's Orders, loved it. I kicked myself for not realizing the twist at the end. If I was paying more attention, I would have seen it coming.
3x17 Hatchery, I rather liked that Archer wanted to save the kids. I was disappointed not to see him temporarily mutate into a mama monster insectoid though.
3x19 Damage, this was freaking horrible. I hope they find the ship they attacked and returned their warp drive or helped them home again in a future ep. Else this would really be horrible for the humans.
3x21 E Squared, gosh dang I hope there's confirmation that the alternate future past kids survived.
After that, everything blurred cuz they were all linked.
Don't the Sphere Builders have names? They look like Dominion shapeshifters. Their dimension phasing would have been utterly devastating and scary if they used it earlier. Loved the idea of five races of Xindi, cuz it makes perfect sense. They should use that in Scifi more often. Also, doesn't the planet killer Xindi Ball have an official name?
I'm sorry for Degra getting killed, what with all the mention of his kids. I remember seeing Daniel Dae Kim as a soldier (MACO?) in one of the eps. This is pre Buffy Angel? Friend said he loved the Andorians here and when they swooped in for the save, that was cool. Shran Jeffrey Combs had a recognizable voice, hehe. I rolled my eye at Hoshi whining again but props on her trying to jump off to kill herself when she was drugged to break the codes.
Didn't like the time travel ending but the whole season with the expanse, xindi and spheres was pretty cool actually. A whole arc in one season.
Quick rundown of best eps.
3x8 Twilight, the memory worm things being of another dimension and killing them in any time also kills them in the past is pure sci-fi, awesome.
3x10 Similitude, geez that was also pure sci-fi. Poor Sim. He wasn't going to live very long either. I thought it was implied that T'Pol slept with him at the end tho.
3x12 Chosen Realm, not new but the ending with the religious guy looking at his planet was powerful.
3x13 Proving Ground, who sent the scans to the Enterprise when the weapon was destroyed? Was it the Andorian who was mutual admiration vibing with Malcolm Reed? It wasn't Shran. Did I miss a clue?
3x14 Stratagem, hahaha, classic TV cartoon villain ploy. Diabolical that Archer would do it though.
3x16 Doctor's Orders, loved it. I kicked myself for not realizing the twist at the end. If I was paying more attention, I would have seen it coming.
3x17 Hatchery, I rather liked that Archer wanted to save the kids. I was disappointed not to see him temporarily mutate into a mama monster insectoid though.
3x19 Damage, this was freaking horrible. I hope they find the ship they attacked and returned their warp drive or helped them home again in a future ep. Else this would really be horrible for the humans.
3x21 E Squared, gosh dang I hope there's confirmation that the alternate future past kids survived.
After that, everything blurred cuz they were all linked.
Don't the Sphere Builders have names? They look like Dominion shapeshifters. Their dimension phasing would have been utterly devastating and scary if they used it earlier. Loved the idea of five races of Xindi, cuz it makes perfect sense. They should use that in Scifi more often. Also, doesn't the planet killer Xindi Ball have an official name?
I'm sorry for Degra getting killed, what with all the mention of his kids. I remember seeing Daniel Dae Kim as a soldier (MACO?) in one of the eps. This is pre Buffy Angel? Friend said he loved the Andorians here and when they swooped in for the save, that was cool. Shran Jeffrey Combs had a recognizable voice, hehe. I rolled my eye at Hoshi whining again but props on her trying to jump off to kill herself when she was drugged to break the codes.
Didn't like the time travel ending but the whole season with the expanse, xindi and spheres was pretty cool actually. A whole arc in one season.
Not that we ever discovered. I think they were left very vague and foreign-seeming on purpose to make them more menacing. I believe they were given a backstory in the Star Trek: Online game, although like many of ST:O's "expansions" of canon, personally I didn't really care for it and prefer their origin remaining mysterious.
Sad news. Thanks for your hard work sir!
Any fan of the excellent Wand Company replicas of the TOS Phaser & Commuicators should check out this new video with Adam Savage where their TOS Tricorder replica is revealed for the very first time. This project began many years ago, before COVID, with many suspecting it would never really come to fruition after a sold year or two with lack of updates.
But it seems as if they're finally nearing production on the final product. I have to say, it looks like a beautiful piece of design.
But it seems as if they're finally nearing production on the final product. I have to say, it looks like a beautiful piece of design.
Ok, I'm finally done with season 4 of Enterprise and it was pretty awesome, with the exception of one episode. Has this multiple two three arcs throughout the season been repeated? It's pretty cool, except for that one episode.
I guess the time travel arc is suppose to wrap up all of the Soliban and future stuff. I thought there would be another arc but that was done.
I loved the Soong and the Augments arc, even tho they killed the poor imperfect one. With those extremists, I can now see why the Eugenics War or whatever was to be feared. Those guys were too tough.
The religious Vulcan stuff was ok. Wasn't too into it. I thought they would follow up on the evil Vulcan or whoever at the very end but that was it?
Loved the Shran and the Andorians and the Aenar with the Romulon remote ship. Brian Thompson returns as a bad guy again but at least not a thug. Shran fighting Archer felt like some padding but whatever. Jeffrey Combs is still cool. (Hemmer was an Aenar! Did he ever say stuff like, I would like to be warmer or I hate the cold or something? Like Shran's girlfriend.)
I supposed the Klingon Augments turning human was an explanation for the normal looking Klingons in TOS? Isn't Enterprise, I dunno, a hundred or whatever years before TOS? Wouldn't the human Klingons have died already by then? But it was a great arc for Phlox. Also Reed Malcolm actually.
I rolled my eyes at the Orion ep.
The new intro in the Mirrorverse eps surprised me, haha. I was wondering what was happening. The Gorn seemed like a filler bit. I was actually ok with Hoshi here, except for her being a seductress. Thought there'd be more consequences tho.
Screw Terra Prime for killing the baby
that was horrible why couldn't we have had a happy ending for that? Yes, I recognized Robocop. The doctor at the front and the politican were familiar but I can't place where they are. Reed's spy contact whatever must have been the start of Section 31. They tried to give Travis an arc with the reporter but eh. They made Hoshi the temp captain?! Hoshi?!?! Whaaaaa?!?!
Can't believe I'm at the finale and they killed Trip?!? Why the hex?!? Love the framing stuff with Riker and the cloaking tech conspiracy from Next Gen. He was a chef, haha. Again, why kill Trip? Loved that Shran had a baby but that mission led to Trip's kinda pathetic death, c'mooooon. Would have been a great if bittersweet ending with the speech thing but, ugh, why kill Trip?!?
I guess the time travel arc is suppose to wrap up all of the Soliban and future stuff. I thought there would be another arc but that was done.
I loved the Soong and the Augments arc, even tho they killed the poor imperfect one. With those extremists, I can now see why the Eugenics War or whatever was to be feared. Those guys were too tough.
The religious Vulcan stuff was ok. Wasn't too into it. I thought they would follow up on the evil Vulcan or whoever at the very end but that was it?
Loved the Shran and the Andorians and the Aenar with the Romulon remote ship. Brian Thompson returns as a bad guy again but at least not a thug. Shran fighting Archer felt like some padding but whatever. Jeffrey Combs is still cool. (Hemmer was an Aenar! Did he ever say stuff like, I would like to be warmer or I hate the cold or something? Like Shran's girlfriend.)
I supposed the Klingon Augments turning human was an explanation for the normal looking Klingons in TOS? Isn't Enterprise, I dunno, a hundred or whatever years before TOS? Wouldn't the human Klingons have died already by then? But it was a great arc for Phlox. Also Reed Malcolm actually.
I rolled my eyes at the Orion ep.
The new intro in the Mirrorverse eps surprised me, haha. I was wondering what was happening. The Gorn seemed like a filler bit. I was actually ok with Hoshi here, except for her being a seductress. Thought there'd be more consequences tho.
Screw Terra Prime for killing the baby
that was horrible why couldn't we have had a happy ending for that? Yes, I recognized Robocop. The doctor at the front and the politican were familiar but I can't place where they are. Reed's spy contact whatever must have been the start of Section 31. They tried to give Travis an arc with the reporter but eh. They made Hoshi the temp captain?! Hoshi?!?! Whaaaaa?!?!Can't believe I'm at the finale and they killed Trip?!? Why the hex?!? Love the framing stuff with Riker and the cloaking tech conspiracy from Next Gen. He was a chef, haha. Again, why kill Trip? Loved that Shran had a baby but that mission led to Trip's kinda pathetic death, c'mooooon. Would have been a great if bittersweet ending with the speech thing but, ugh, why kill Trip?!?