Dolim


 * "Patience is for the dead."
 * - Commander Dolim, 2154

Commander Dolim was a Xindi-Reptilian military officer, and a high-ranking member of the Xindi Council. In that capacity, he provided a voice pushing for the swift and total destruction of the Human species, in response to intelligence indicating that Humans would be responsible for the destruction of the Xindi homeworld in the 26th century.

Personality
Dolim was cold and bloodthirsty, and ruthless in his efforts. While conferring with fellow Council members regarding the deployment of the weapon designed to annihilate Earth, he voiced his intention of hunting down every Human settlement and refugee caravan, in an effort to ensure that no Humans survived the attack.

A rumor existed about Dolim, indicating that his daughter gave birth to a son, who was born with a deformity in his right arm. Although non-life-threatening, the deformity was enough to preclude future military service, something which Dolim was unwilling to abide. In response, Dolim had his own grandson poisoned. 

Dolim's attitude towards the other Xindi species could often be one of arrogance and superiority. He often commented on "humanoid arrogance," and personally selected the Reptilian soldier from his own regiment who piloted the initial probe to attack Earth, claiming the soldier's name would go down in history as "a testament to the superiority of the cold-blooded." 

Dolim was also an extremely religious man. In 2154, when one of his lieutenants seemingly questioned the motives of one of the Guardians, transdimensional beings whom the Xindi regarded as gods, Dolim threatened to kill his lieutenant, stating, "if you ever question the Guardians again, your skin will adorn the bow of this ship."

The Human threat
When the Xindi Council learned from the Guardians of the threat from Earth, Dolim became an advocate of swift and brutal action against the Humans, as a preemptive strike. He also pushed for the development of a bioweapon, in addition to the large-scale weapon being developed by Xindi-Primate Degra, although the Council disapproved this plan. Despite this, Dolim authorized one of his officers, Damron, to secretly begin working on the bioweapon, using physiological data provided by Rajiin, an alien female whom Dolim had placed on the in 2153. 

In 2154, Dolim oversaw the violent interrogation of Jonathan Archer, Enterprise's captain, who had been captured at Azati Prime while attempting to destroy the Xindi weapon prior to its deployment. Dolim became frustrated, however, when Degra ordered the interrogation halted in order to confer with Archer as to Archer's assertion that the Xindi had been misled into attacking Earth. Dolim later ordered Enterprise attacked without authorization from the Council, an act which was halted by Degra's intervention. Later, when Archer came before the Council to present his case that the Guardians were, in fact, preparing for an invasion, Dolim feigned interest, in an attempt to buy time with which to appropriate the weapon and deploy it without approval. In the meantime, Dolim had learned that, in order to protect the secrecy of an alliance which Degra had formed with the Enterprise crew, Degra had ordered the destruction of a Reptilian warship. Confronting Degra as the Council was in recess, Dolim stabbed him to death, promising to do the same to Degra's wife and children, stating, "your traitorous bloodline will end at the tip of my blade."

Along with the Insectoids, Dolim took control of the weapon, using a subspace vortex to transport it to Earth. However, since the weapon had been designed with a failsafe which prevented its launch unless three launch codes were used, Dolim ordered Enterprise's communications officer, Hoshi Sato, abducted, for the purpose of forcing her to bypass the Aquatic encryption protocols. En route to Earth, Dolim had Sato injected with a series of parasites which invaded her neocortex, which reconfigured her synaptic pathways to make her compliant. Although the procedure initially appeared to be working, Dolim was surprised to find that Sato was much more resistant than he initially believed, and had actually added a layer of encryption, making it impossible for the Reptilians to access the weapon's arming matrix. Despite this, they were eventually able to force Sato to decrypt the third code, and proceeded to initiate the pre-arming protocols. 

While in the vortex, Dolim received a communication from the Insectoid vessel escorting the weapon, indicating that the Insectoids were beginning to doubt the Guardians' true intentions. Dolim responded to this by ordering the Insectoid ship destroyed, unwilling to risk any more interference in his mission to annihilate Earth. Upon emerging from the vortex, Dolim ordered the immediate destruction of the research post Yosemite 3. Immediately thereafter, Dolim's ship came under attack by an Andorian vessel commanded by Shran, who was attempting to assist the Humans in their efforts to stop the weapon. When Dolim realized, however, that the Andorians were attempting to provide cover for Captain Archer and a team from Enterprise to board the weapon, Dolim transported aboard and engaged in physical combat with Archer, attempting to prevent him from initiating a self-destruct. Dolim initially had the upper hand in the fight, possessing superior strength and stamina, but he was ultimately killed when Archer placed an explosive charge on his back and subsequently detonated it. 

Background information
When this Xindi-Reptilian character debuted in the third season opener "The Xindi", he was not yet named. The character (ultimately called Dolim) was portrayed by actor Scott MacDonald. He at first did not have much background to base his performance on. Having played various other Star Trek parts, MacDonald found that Dolim's aggressive temperament was one of the factors that set the character apart from those earlier roles. "This guy's just a villain, and there's a straight-forwardness about Dolim that I love," MacDonald explained. "I drive this guy forward vocally, physically and mentally like a battering ram and see what happens." (, pp. 48 & 47)

However, Scott MacDonald was also of the opinion that Dolim was ideologically restrained by being a considerably honor-bound, protective character. "I am not playing the bad guy to the hilt here," he admitted. "I think that Dolim, like all of the best villains, isn't really self-aware. Dolim truly believes that the humans will be the end of the Xindi, and he proceeds in a militaristic fashion in that way. I don't think it's like a venomous thing where he wants to kill everything in the galaxy. From the Xindi point of view, Dolim is the go-to guy who makes the tough decisions to preserve the life of the Xindi. That's how I see him. I think that's how you have to see him. He believes he's absolutely correct in what he's doing. The main thrust of it all is that I think Dolim thinks that the Reptilians are the superior species. That basic prejudice of, 'Yes, we all are Xindi, but the best Xindi is my Xindi.' That can be a fatal flaw, but it is so human." (, p. 48)

During the third season, some of the actors who played other Xindi Council members decided that Dolim was hermaphroditic. (, p. 52)

The recurring nature of the Dolim character allowed Scott MacDonald, who describes himself as a Trekkie, to thoroughly delve into the Reptilian's motivations and persona. This opportunity, as well as the role itself, appealed to MacDonald. The character's demise was therefore a disappointment to the performer, though he was ultimately accepting of the loss. "Based on the things I do in the [season's final] episodes, which are some really dastardly things, I was feeling that there was only one way this can end," he reflected. "As an actor, I was disappointed to see what happens to Dolim, sure, but as a Star Trek fan, you expect it. I don't want to go out, but if I do, I want it to be in a blaze of glory." (, p. 48)

Dolim