The Expanse (Star Trek episode)

"The Expanse"
Star Trek: Enterprise episode
A crewman in Engineering during the Enterprise's battle with the Klingons.
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 26
Directed by	Allan Kroeker
Written by	Rick Berman Brannon Braga
Featured music	Dennis McCarthy
Production code	226
Original air date	May 21, 2003 (2003-05-21)
Guest appearance(s)
John Fleck - Silik Vaughn Armstrong - Admiral Forrest Gary Graham - Ambassador Soval Daniel Riordan - Duras James Horan - Humanoid Figure Bruce Wright - Doctor Fer'at Dan Desmond - Klingon Chancellor Josh Cruze - Captain Ramirez David Figlioli - Klingon Crewman L. Sidney - Klingon Crewman #2 Gary Bullock - Klingon Council Member
Episode chronology
← Previous "Bounty" Next → "The Xindi"
List of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes

"The Expanse" is the fifty-second episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-sixth episode of the second season. This episode was the second season finale and marked a change of direction for the series by launching the season-long Xindi story arc, a season-spanning story arc that would encompass all of Season Three and the first three episodes of Season Four.

In April 2153, Enterprise is recalled to Earth by Admiral Forrest, after an unknown alien probe attacks Earth, cutting a destructive swath through Florida and killing millions. On the way back, however, Captain Archer is kidnapped by the Suliban. He is angry with the Suliban leader, Silik, thinking the Cabal are responsible for the Earth attack, but Silik professes ignorance. The Cabal's sponsor, a vague and shadowy holographic human, gives Archer information about Temporal Cold War and the Xindi, the race that attacked Earth.

Enterprise is again ambushed and heavily damaged, just outside the Earth's solar system, by a Klingon Bird of Prey commanded by Captain Duras at the behest of the Klingon High Council. Fortunately, three other Starfleet vessels soon arrive, forcing it to retreat. The crew then learn that more than 7 million people have been killed, one of them being Commander Tucker's younger sister, Elizabeth. Archer relates his encounters to Starfleet and the Vulcan High Command, and it is clear that the Xindi of the present are pre-empting the destruction of their home-world in the future. Ambassador Soval is dubious of Archer's temporal war argument, and tries to dissuade him from venturing into this dangerous section of space.