Shran Joins The Crew
Jeffrey Combs has been a long standing Star Trek staple, he has appeared in a variety of roles across the franchise including Brunt and Weyoun in Deep Space Nine, and of course Shran of the Imperial Andorian Guard in Enterprise. Shran was a bit of a fan favourite character he was a refreshingly different character especially as he was often in situations also involving the much more stern Vulcans. As part of Manny Coto's vision for the fifth season of Enterprise, the intention was to introduce Shran into the main cast itself. The presumption was for Shran to be on the bridge of the Enterprise as an advisor. While we can't be sure exactly where he would have sat, or if the intention was for him to replace another character's bridge position, I think that this would have been part of a larger systematic change which we would have seen during season five. I personally think that in line with the next entry, there would have been a drastic change in Starfleet following the alliance as seen in United. This would have seen alien technology being given to Starfleet as it seems that humans are the binding neutral element for the prospective Federation rather than any technological experts. So if Andorian technology was installed on Enterprise then it makes sense that an Andorian would need to be placed to show the crew how to use it, and that Andorian would be Shran.