Voq Voq was a 23rd century Klingon warrior who fought in the in the 2250s . History . Torchbearer . Voq was born with albinism , which caused him to be outcast from his house and from Klingon society . He came to refer to himself as " son of none " . As an adult , he became part of the movement of T ' Kuvma , a messianic , traditionalist political leader who regarded the expanding United Federation of Planets as a threat to Klingon identity and independence . Voq became one of T ' Kuvma ' s most devoted followers . ( ) In 2256 aboard the " Sarcophagus " , Voq volunteered to take on the role of Torchbearer after the death of Rejac . T ' Kuvma initially rejected him , citing that the position of Torchbearer belonged to one of noble birth . Voq argued that his faith made him worthy – that he had been reborn through the flames of Kahless – which he demonstrated by burning his fist in a lit brazier . Accepting Voq to be a mirror of himself , T ' Kuvma gave his own " bat ' leth " to Voq and charged him with the Torchbearer ' s sacred duty of lighting the Beacon of Kahless . ( ) When the Klingon High Council answered the summons of the Beacon , Voq was the first to respond to their communications . He was treated with contempt by the leaders of the Great House s , particularly . Nevertheless , Voq ardently proselytized T ' Kuvma ' s vision of a purified Klingon Empire united against the Federation . Following their victory over Starfleet in the Battle of the Binary Stars , Voq urged the High Council again to follow T ' Kuvma , whom his compatriot L ' Rell proclaimed as T ' Kuvma " the Unforgettable " . Voq attacked Commander Michael Burnham after she and Captain Philippa Georgiou boarded the " Sarcophagus " in an attempt to capture T ' Kuvma . However , Burnham defeated him and ultimately fatally shot T ' Kuvma . Voq held his dying lord and vowed that all Klingons would rally behind T ' Kuvma ' s memory . ( ) Marooned . While T ' Kuvma had achieved his goal of unifying the Klingon Empire against the Federation , his followers were largely sidelined . After the battle , the " Sarcophagus " , commanded by Voq and L ' Rell , was stranded for months with no functioning drive and dwindling supplies of food . Voq directed that the ship be repaired by cannibalizing the wrecks of Starfleet vessels destroyed in the Battle of the Binary Stars . However , to repair the ship ' s warp drive , he would have to use the wreck of the , something he utterly refused to do owing to the role of its captain and first officer in T ' Kuvma ' s death . ( ) After several months , of the House of Kor arrived in the system with fresh supplies . Voq greeted him warmly , and was convinced to use the " Shenzhou ' s " warp drive to help repair the " Sarcophagus " . He crossed to the ship with L ' Rell to retrieve the components , who had come feel attracted to him owing to his loyalty and determination . Upon their return to the " Sarcophagus " , however , Voq discovered that the crew had submitted to Kol as their leader after he provided them with food . L ' Rell appeared to switch sides to Kol , and convinced him to maroon Voq on the wreck of the " Shenzhou " to die rather than kill him on the spot . ( ) Left on the wreck of the to suffocate , Voq discovered Michael Burnham ' s personnel record and realized that she was T ' Kuvma ' s killer . L ' Rell secretly beamed over and informed Voq that she was still on his side . She told him that she had a raider ship for him to use to reach the matriarch s of her sect , the House of Mo ' Kai , where she told him he would learn powers he could not yet imagine to help him win the war . ( ) Transformation . L ' Rell had warned Voq that Mo ' Kai ' s help would cost him everything . Obsessed with defending T ' Kuvma ' s legacy and finding his killer , Michael Burnham , Voq underwent the " choH ' a ' " , an extreme , agonizing surgery so that he would appear to be Human . He assumed the identity of the captured Starfleet officer Lieutenant Ash Tyler , and by the time the process was complete , Tyler ' s personality had completely subsumed Voq ' s . Now believing himself to be , the completely transformed Voq was deposited aboard a Klingon prison ship , with L ' Rell nearby to act as his jailer , with the intent that " Ash Tyler " would escape and return to Starfleet as a sleeper agent . ( ) Voq ' s personality would be briefly restored by L ' Rell in 2257 when she spoke a Klingon devotional prayer to " Ash Tyler " . In danger from having two sets of memories in his system , L ' Rell attempted to heal him by exorcising the remaining memories of Voq . Afterward , L ' Rell , realizing that Voq was truly gone , performed the Klingon death ritual for her old friend . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Voq . Son of none . " " " " You cannot assume the birthright of a noble house . You are unworthy . " " " " I am worthy . not by blood . . . but by faith " " " " Open your hearts to the one who delivered this great day . Follow the light . Follow T ' Kuvma . " " " " Your life will remembered forever by all Klingons . Your death will be a cause to unite us all . " " " " We needed to infiltrate your ship , learn your secrets . You were willing to betray your captain to protect your people ; I sacrificed my body and mind to protect mine . I have the human ' s face , but inside , I remain Klingon . " " " " Klingon ? " " " " I remain Voq , son of none , the Torchbearer . " " Appendices . Background information . Voq was portrayed by actor Shazad Latif . Prior to the revelation that actually was a disguised Voq , Voq was credited in episodes as being played by " Javid Iqbal " . Latif chose the name of Javid Iqbal to appear in the credits in memory of his deceased father . Originally , CBS announced in December 2016 that T ' Kuvma ' s protégé , then named " Kol " , was to be played by Shazad Latif . In the final version of the series , Latif went on to portray Ash Tyler and T ' Kuvma ' s protégé was renamed " Voq " , while the name was given to a leader of a rival Great House . Ultimately , however , it turned out that the character of was actually a construct for Voq to infiltrate Human society .