The role of Andorians in the eventual formation of an interstellar league of planets comes into play during the final episode of a trilogy about Vulcan reformation, and Jeffrey Combs has dutifully returned to don the blue antennae as "Shran."

The climax of the Vulcan arc is called "Kir'Shara," referring to an ancient artifact presumably containing the original writings of Surak, the father of Vulcan logic. A religious faction called Syrrannites (introduced in "The Forge" and "Awakening") claims to follow the true path of Surak, and the Kir'Shara not only could prove it, but could enormously impact Vulcan society. Archer has found the artifact deep in the Syrrannite's desert sanctuary, and he sets out with T'Pol and faction leader T'Pau to bring it to the Vulcan capital. However, their lives are in danger because the High Command has a stake in eliminating the Syrrannites and their influence. Meanwhile, Enterprise — with Ambassador Soval aboard — gets embroiled in the military positioning of Vulcan and Andorian forces, a march toward war which could be affected by Archer's quest.

Combs makes his sixth appearance on Star Trek: Enterprise as Shran, the Andorian always keeping tally of favors between him and Archer (Combs also played a Ferengi in "Acquisition"). He was last seen briefly in "Zero Hour." In this episode most of his scenes were performed with Gary Graham as "Soval." Graham's role in the Vulcan trilogy has grown increasingly challenging, and in "Kir'Shara" reached a level of intensity he probably never expected to play when he signed on in "Broken Bow" as the stoic and obstinate Vulcan official.

Most of the rest of the guest cast are holdovers from the previous segments, or reprising their roles from this Friday's "Home." Robert Foxworth continues as "Administrator V'Las"; John Rubinstein as High Command member "Kuvak"; and Kara Zediker as "T'Pau." Michael Reilly Burke takes his third turn as "Koss" (he was in "Home" and "The Forge") and Jack Donner returns as a "Vulcan Priest." Todd Stashwick, a Trek newcomer, plays "Talok," a lirpa-wielding Vulcan commando.

Principal photography took seven days, as usual, from Monday, October 4, through last Tuesday. Most of the scenes with Archer, T'Pol and T'Pau took place out in the desert, but location shooting was neither practical nor desirable in this instance (there were two days of location work on "The Forge"). So all those "exterior" shots were done on soundstage sets. Those sets included a "Vulcan Ravine," "Vulcan Steep Ravine," "Vulcan Cliff," "Outskirts of Forge," "Mountain Channel," "Mountain Slope (Bottom)," and then simply "Desert."

As mentioned, the lirpa — the traditional Vulcan weapon introduced in "Amok Time" — plays a role in the story, in particular the desert scenes where our three protagonists tussle with Vulcan commandos (high-tech weapons are useless in the Forge due to geomagnetic instabilities). So the Props department constructed a couple of them, adapting the original design slightly to make them more lightweight but still intimidating — aside from the crescent-shaped blade at one end of the staff, the cudgel at the other end is solid metal and shaped to a point. Another very important prop was the Kir'Shara itself, an obelisk-shaped stone.

The Andorian Bridge set was brought out of storage, but only one wall was required, as the script only called for viewscreen shots on Shran from his bridge. An Andorian Brig was constructed anew, where most of the Shran/Soval conflict played out. The Vulcan High Command Conference Chamber stayed up from the previous episode. Use of standing NX-01 sets included one full day on the Bridge, plus miscellaneous scenes in the Ready Room, Sickbay, Conference Room and Crew Quarters.

Besides the credited guest cast, other important players on the set included three stuntmen as non-speaking Vulcan Commandos — Jeff Smolek, Joey Anaya and Tim Storms. Jeff Wolfe stunt doubled for Stashwick as "Talok." Stuntwomen Boni Yanagisawa and Diane Inosanto doubled for T'Pol and T'Pau, respectively, and stunt coordinator Vince Deadrick Jr. did the Archer moves. Paul Elliot and Alan Apone were on set as "puppeteers" for the remote-controlled Andorian antennae.

"Kir'Shara" was written by producer Mike Sussman and directed by David Livingston. This is Sussman's third script of the season, after "Home" and "The Augments." This is the second episode of the season for Livingston, who directed next week's "Borderland." Livingston last teamed up with Combs in "Proving Ground."

The conclusion of the Vulcan Reformation trilogy is set to air Friday, December 3, on UPN. An unspecified repeat is currently scheduled for the following week, Dec. 10.

Refer to Episode Detail for updated information.