Stock up on the dilithium crystals

The war is on.

When last we left the “Enterprise” crew, it was hurtling into the Bermuda Triangle of deep space, a gnarly zone called the Delphic Expanse, and preparing to battle the Xindi, an alien race supposedly so fierce it makes the Klingons look like Care Bears.

With tonight’s season 3 premiere (8 p.m., UPN), the protracted confrontation begins. The stakes are high, with the fate of humanity (and perhaps this series) in the balance, and things are getting more interesting as the story line, expected to last all season, unfolds.

Still, it remains to be seen whether the fight will be compelling enough to entice many viewers beyond die-hard Trekkies.

As you may recall from last year’s finale, the Xindi learned that their world was going to be wiped out by humans in 400 years and, having a problem with that, used time travel and a new weapon to scorch the Earth with a giant laser, killing millions.

Now, with another, more catastrophic attack looming, Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) and the Enterprise crew head deeper into the Expanse to seek out the Xindi. After six weeks, a dubious lead to an alien world brings Archer and Chief Engineer Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) face-to-face with their first Xindi. When they get caught in a trap, the Enterprise’s newest crew members, an elite commando squad, rush to free them.

Later, sparks are on the verge of flying between T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) and Tucker.

Along with getting a glimpse of the Expanse’s physics, where gravity doesn’t always apply, we learn that there are actually five distinct species of Xindi, and apparently we meet them in a war room that resembles an intergalactic zoo. The crime bosses of “The Godfather” have nothing on these guys.

This figures to be a long, strange trip indeed.