Thy'lek Shran

File:Shran2151.jpg
Caption:	Commander Shran in 2151
Gender:	Male
Species:	Andorian
Affiliation:	Andorian Imperial Guard
Actor:	Jeffrey Combs
File:Shran proving ground.jpg
Caption:	Shran in 2153

Shran was a Commander in the Andorian Imperial Guard in the 2150s. Despite his aggressive and xenophobic background, Shran became an unlikely ally of Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer and a proponent of strengthened ties between Andoria and Earth. Several members of his family joined the Imperial Guard. His older brother joined while Shran was still in school and was assigned to a forward survelliance unit. (ENT: Proving Ground)

In the middle of 2151, Shran led an Andorian commando team which raided the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem. The Andorians had for a long time accused the Vulcans of hiding a clandestine long-range sensor array in the monastery for illegal surveillance of Andorian territories. The Andorians had mounted two previous raids and found no conclusive evidence, but remained convinced that the sensor array was there. During this third raid, Captain Archer accidentally stumbled into the confrontation while on a courtesy visit to the Vulcan monks. Shran, believing the Humans to be collaborating with the Vulcans against them, imprisoned Archer, along with Tucker and T'Pol, who were accompanying him. T'Pol's presence with the Humans only amplified Shran's suspicions, and Shran interrogated Archer for information, but learned nothing of use.

His prisoners, however, managed to stage an escape with support from security officers from the Enterprise. In the ensuing firefight, however, Archer and Shran accidentally uncovered a gateway into an advanced subspace sensor array — the Andorians had been right all along. As a gesture of peace, Archer gave Shran detailed sensor readings and images of the facility and allowed him to leave freely. As he departed, Shran said he was in Archer's debt. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")

Later that year, Shran was assigned to an Andorian covert ops unit supporting an uprising on Coridan, a Vulcan-allied world. When a shuttlepod from Enterprise carrying Archer and T'Pol was shot down by the rebels, Shran contacted the security team sent to extract them and provided assistance. Shran, claiming that he has "lost sleep" over his debt to Archer, wanted to arrange the Captain's freedom as payment of that debt. His information proved crucial in releasing the Enterprise crewmen, and Shran also helped avoid a firefight with a commando squad from the Vulcan starship Ni'Var by shooting Traeg, a Coridan rebel who was about to fire on Vulcan captain Sopek. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")

In late 2152, Shran was commanding ground forces deployed to Weytahn, a planetoid strategically located between Andorian and Vulcan space (referred to by the Vulcans as Paan Mokar). Recognizing a dangerous stalemate with the Vulcan forces, Shran sought to negotiate a truce with Vulcan ambassador Soval, with the talks mediated by Captain Archer. Although the Vulcans' resisted the inclusion of Archer due to their innate disdain Humans, Shran took the unusual step of insisting on Archer's presence, stating that he trusted Archer to be objective based on their previous encounters. Despite some pitfalls in the process (Shran's lieutenant Tarah disobeyed his orders and opened fire on Archer's shuttlepod), the negotiations proved successful, and a final cease-fire was arranged. (ENT: "Cease Fire")

In December 2153, Shran was in command of an Andorian starship, the Kumari, deployed to the Delphic Expanse with orders to capture a prototype of a Xindi planet-killer weapon for use as a deterrent against a potential Vulcan invasion. Shran followed the Enterprise's warp trail, hoping to save time as the Human ship was also searching for the Xindi weapon following the Xindi's unprovoked attack on Earth. The Kumari provided tactical and engineering assistance to Enterprise, helping to repair major damage the latter ship had incurred in an encounter with several spatial anomalies. The Kumari and the Enterprise launched a joint assault on a Xindi weapons-testing area, and Shran captured the Xindi prototype. Shran, however, had not informed Archer ahead of time of his intentions to take the weapon to Andoria. Furious, Archer used the weapon's remote activation codes to force Shran to jettison the weapon before it was destroyed. Their plan foiled, the Kumari returned to Andoria. Prior to leaving the Expanse, however, Shran secretly relayed all technical and tactical sensor readings his ship had taken from the weapon to the Enterprise; this information would prove to be of enormous use in preventing a second Xindi attack on Earth. (ENT: "Proving Ground")

Just three months later, Shran once again provided crucial assistance to Archer, coming to the Human's aid when the latter was attempting to destroy the Xindi superweapon before it could attack Earth. The Kumari provided a diversionary attack against the Xindi-Reptilian ship that was escorting the weapon, allowing Archer's team to board it. Shran observed that this time, Archer owed him a favor. (ENT: "Zero Hour")

In the alternate timeline where the Xindi destroyed Earth, Shran had been promoted to general sometime prior to 2165. He assisted the Human colony on Ceti Alpha V, providing Enterprise with shields to replace its polarized hull plating with. (ENT: "Twilight")

Shran is played by longtime Trek veteran Jeffrey Combs, who already gained popularity with his role as Weyoun in DS9.

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