A brutal attack on the ship and its aftermath define the aptly named "Damage," continuing a multi-episode arc that brings the Xindi-human conflict to a head, directed by James L. Conway and guest-starring Casey Biggs.

Conway is notable for having gotten this series off the ground in the first place, by directing "Broken Bow." Biggs made a name for himself in Trek lore as the Cardassian Damar, one of richer recurring characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In "Damage," he returns to Star Trek Row as an "Illyrian" captain.

The story, written by co-producer Phyllis Strong, opens in the midst of the space battle that started in "Azati Prime." The attacking Xindi vessels stop short of delivering a final fatal blow to Enterprise, but leave it virtually helpless with extensive damage and several crewmembers dead. An Illyrian vessel nearby has also been crippled from spatial anomalies, and the two crews attempt to strike up a collaboration. Meanwhile, dissension is festering among the ranks of the Xindi council over their plans against the human race. In another throughline, the ship's bleak situation forces T'Pol to reveal a personal secret.

As mentioned in the previous production report, there was an overlap for two days in the filming of "Azati Prime" and "Damage," since the action is continuous between the episodes. The sets remained in a severely battered state, and every single day of this shoot employed at least some degree of smoke and sparks work, and the lighting of all the ship scenes remained in "emergency" mode throughout. Most of the action — and the repair efforts afterwards — took place in the "Damaged Bridge," "Engineering-Damaged," "Armory-Moderate Damage" (as the call sheets and script referred to them), etc. Jolene Blalock found herself in an EV suit crawling through an Access Tube into a dark Cargo Bay where T'Pol contends with precarious stacks of containers. The scene required some stunt work, so she was doubled by Michelle Sebek.

Swing sets were constructed for the Illyrian ship, where an entire day was spent filming (that ship is also badly damaged, so the cast couldn't get away from the smoke & sparks for even a day). The Xindi Council Chamber and Degra's Ship stayed in place from previous episodes for more camera work there. There's also an interesting new Xindi setpiece: an Aquatic ship, where Archer finds himself in an Air Chamber, face-to-face with the water-dwellers through a Plexiglas barrier (the Aquatics, of course, will be computer-generated in post). Scott Bakula went through the ringer on this episode, as he had to go through various stages of being bloodied, bruised and swollen — and soaked.

Principal production concluded last Thursday, January 22, though a few scenes were carried over into B-unit photography on Friday, which also included pick-up shots for "Doctor's Orders" and "Hatchery" under the direction of visual effects producer Dan Curry. The second unit overlapped first day of production of the next episode, "The Forgotten" directed by LeVar Burton.

Besides Biggs, the guest stars include the recurring Xindi players: Randy Oglesby, Tucker Smallwood, Rick Worthy and Scott MacDonald. We will also meet another mysterious figure in the Xindi scenario, a character referred to as "Sphere-Builder," played by Josette DiCarlo, a Trek newcomer. Several of the recurring MACO stunt players continued on, including Dorenda Moore, Paul Sklar, Kevin Derr and Zane Cassidy, and other stuntpeople and extras were employed for the non-speaking Illyrian roles.

Besides the series pilot, Conway also directed "Judgment" and some very memorable episodes from the previous shows including "The Neutral Zone," "Duet" and "Death Wish." Strong, the writer, also has an extensive Trek resume, her last script being "Exile."

The 19th episode of the season with five remaining, "Damage" tentatively will air on April 21. The previous segment, "Azati Prime," running on March 3, will serve as something of a cliffhanger while the show goes into repeats for six weeks. NOTE: During this six-week rerun period, UPN will air Star Trek: Enterprise at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (8:00 Central).

Check Episode Detail for further information about "Damage."

Please note: All production, story and scheduling information is subject to change.