Silik Silik was a senior official in the Suliban Cabal during the 2150s . In that capacity , he led the Cabal in fighting on the 22nd century front of the Temporal Cold War . Temporal Cold War . Silik took his orders from a mysterious humanoid figure who communicated from the 28th century . In exchange for doing his bidding , this individual provided the Cabal with the technical expertise necessary to genetically enhance themselves . These enhancements included shapeshifting , enhanced senses , and the ability to survive in extreme environments . These enhancements gave Silik a distinct advantage over those he opposed . Encounters with " Enterprise " . In 2151 , Silik sent two of his soldiers to retrieve Klaang , a Klingon courier who carried proof of the Cabal ' s plot to destabilize the Klingon Empire . Later , as Captain Archer of was attempting to rescue Klaang from a Suliban helix , Silik engaged in a fight with Archer , nearly killing him . ( ) As punishment for his failure to start a civil war in the Klingon Empire , the Cabal ' s benefactor had Silik ' s enhanced vision removed , but promised to restore it if he succeeded in his next mission . Silik infiltrated " Enterprise " and attempted to steal a Temporal Observatory belonging to , a temporal agent from the 31st century , and deliver it to his master . Silik confronted Captain Archer and attempted to convince him that Daniels was , in actuality , attempting to alter history , and that Silik was attempting to stop Daniels . Silik later shot Daniels with a particle weapon , apparently killing him . He then took the observatory and attempted to flee the ship , but Archer destroyed the observatory rather than let it fall into the wrong hands . Silik then escaped by jumping out of one of " Enterprise " s launch bay s and free - falling into a waiting cell ship . ( ) The next year , the Cabal attempted to frame " Enterprise " for the destruction of the Paraagan II mining colony . The " Enterprise " crew , however , was able to obtain proof of the plot by stealing three data disk s from a cloak ed Suliban stealth cruiser . On orders from his superior , Silik then led a fleet of cell ships after " Enterprise " to capture Captain Archer , threatening to destroy the ship if Archer did not turn himself over . Having no choice , Archer agreed , but was then transported to the 31st century by Daniels , who was attempting to protect Archer . Daniels ' action had disastrous consequences , however , in that removing Archer from the timeline changed history in such a way as to destroy Daniels ' s own civilization . This also had the effect of removing the Cabal ' s benefactor from the timeline , a fact that Silik discovered when he unsuccessfully attempted to contact him . Silik eventually took a device from Lieutenant Malcolm Reed that he ' d removed from Daniels ' quarters and claimed could allow Silik to reestablish contact with his benefactor . However , this was a trick and when Silik used the device on a temporal chamber , it enabled Archer to return to his own time period . Archer captured Silik and used him as a hostage to force the Suliban to stop their attack on " Enterprise " . Archer took an unconscious Silik back to " Enterprise " with him on a cell ship and told his crew that by the time Silik woke up , they would be long gone . ( ) In 2153 , after Earth suffered a devastating attack which resulted in the deaths of seven million people , Silik abducted Archer from " Enterprise " under orders from his master and delivered him to a temporal chamber . There , the Cabal ' s benefactor provided Archer with intelligence that the Xindi were behind the attack , and that they were working for another faction in the Temporal Cold War . This gave Starfleet the information it needed to mount a mission to stop the Xindi from destroying Earth . ( ) One year later , Silik was assigned to stow away on " Enterprise " , when his master learned that Daniels would be sending it back in time to 1944 to stop the Na ' kuhl , another Cold War faction , from constructing a temporal conduit . Wanting the ability to physically travel through time rather than just communicate through it , the Cabal ' s benefactor ordered Silik to steal the conduit ' s specifications and deliver it back to him . Silik was discovered , however , and eventually teamed up with Captain Archer in order to stop the Na ' kuhl . They were eventually successful in destroying the conduit before the Na ' kuhl had a chance to use it , but Silik was shot to death in the process . As he lay dying , Silik admitted that he would have preferred to die fighting Archer but considered the captain a worthy opponent nonetheless . ( ) Background information . Silik was played by veteran " Star Trek " actor John Fleck . The decision to feature Silik as a recurring character on was made even before casting for the part began . A character breakdown sheet which Paramount sent to various talent agents , upon seeking an actor to portray Silik , made clear that he was to be a recurring character and described him as " " Late 30s to early 40s . Alien . Physically agile . One of the leaders of the Suliban , a deadly species obsessed with genetic enhancement . Our villain . " " Silik was later made older , with the script of describing him as " in his fifties . " Despite having played numerous parts in " Star Trek " before , John Fleck had to audition for the role of Silik . " " They brought me in to audition because I guess they knew it was possibly going to be a bigger role and they wanted just to make me work a little for it , " " he stated , with a grin . ( ) Right from the start , Fleck was interested in the part . " " I really wanted the role , " " he admitted , " " because I knew it could turn into so much more . " " ( ) To prepare , Fleck was given only his sides , rather than the whole script of " Broken Bow " . ( ) " " I remember reading the last line on the script and saying ' goin ' [ with New York accent ] instead of ' going ' . And I stopped dead and said , ' No , Silik wouldn ' t say it like that . Keep the camera rolling and I ' ll do it again . ' It got a laugh out of them , and because they see so many people , it ' s good that they remember you for some reason or another . " " That Fleck had experience working under prosthetic makeup probably worked in his favor too , the actor subsequently commenting , " " I ' m sure that didn ' t hurt my chances . " " Although the audition was intensive , Fleck wasn ' t required to screentest with Archer actor Scott Bakula to check if their on - screen chemistry was right . ( ) John Fleck didn ' t know , when he did the audition , that Silik would become a recurring character . At one point thereafter , he stated , " " I had no idea that it would be a recurring role . " " ( ) However , Fleck also clarified that Silik was someone who was " likely to be an ongoing character . " ( ) Initially adopting the role of Silik wasn ' t comfortable for John Fleck , so he had a few early reservations . " " When we first started out , " " he recalled , " " wearing those contact [ lense ] s and the costume was very uncomfortable – all I did was complain . " " The makeup was not particularly flattering , either . " " Somebody saw a picture of me in this greenish light and said I looked like I was covered in bleu cheese , " " Fleck stated . ( ) John Fleck was given some advice on how Silik was to be depicted , though the actor also came up with some thoughts of his own about the alien . " " I remember them saying there should be a reptilian quality to Silik [ . . . ] I saw him as someone who will do anything to become the superior race in a way , " " he explained , " " someone who will sell their soul to the devil to get power . " " More specifically , Fleck believed Silik ' s devotion to his future - residing benefactor was " like selling his soul to the devil . " ( ) Silik ' s name was not established until his second appearance , . The script of that episode made clear that he used " his Suliban abilities " to alter his face into that of a Borothan pilgrim . Also , in unused dialogue from the same script , the disguised Silik conversationally asked to see the engineering room of " Enterprise " , which lead to him and the other pilgrims visiting Engineering . In the final version of the episode , it is unclear who suggests this idea . John Fleck considered it " tough " to figure out whether , in " Cold Front " , Silik is being honest with Archer about the future or if he is merely manipulating the captain for his own goals . Although " Cold Front " Director Robert Duncan McNeill repeatedly advised Fleck in one particular scene to play Silik not as an evil character but as if he is being truthful to Archer , McNeill was also uncertain himself about Silik ' s honesty or lack thereof , rhetorically asking Fleck during production , " " Is this the truth ? Who knows ? " " Moreover , the portrayal of Silik in " Cold Front " had to be significantly altered . " " I did hear afterwards , from someone , that the powers - that - be higher up felt that it was too nice , and they needed more of an evil edge in there , " " Fleck acknowledged . " " We tried to compensate for that in a couple of places to make me a little more threatening , to get me back in that position . " " ( ) Liking Silik ' s ambiguity , John Fleck was subsequently eager to see the character return . " " We ' re still trying to find this character , " " the actor mused . " " And if he is a chameleon - type character , a shape shifter , I would think he would be able to change his moods and to become different personas , not always the same arch - villain . His personality is chameleon - like , too . I hope it does get to recur and evolve [ . . . ] I ' m just waiting to hear when , [ how ] and if they need me [ . . . ] I ' m just assuming , based on [ the ' Cold Front ' ] script , that there is a possibility that this character will come back . " " ( ) After appearing in " Cold Front " , John Fleck still found discomfort with Silik ' s Suliban makeup design . In fact , he stated , " " I ' m hoping some day they ' ll let me be a human , so I ' ll not have to wear that make - up for a day . " " ( ) Following his work on ENT Season 1 finale , John Fleck was completely uncertain about what would happen to Silik but remained enthusiastic about reprising the role . " " Now that I can see all the possibilities and all the perks , I ' m happy to put on the contacts ! " " he exclaimed . " " I ' m hoping to keep Silik going as long as possible . " " ( ) After appearing in ENT Season 2 finale , John Fleck continued to relish his recurring appearances as Silik . " " I ' m just very thankful every time they hire me and I love being in the season finales , " " he remarked . " " If that ' s all I ever do on " Enterprise " , then that ' s great . It ' s that old expression – ' keep ' em wanting more . " " However , he still regarded the make - up as a burden . " " 4am make - up calls are not always that fun , " " he yawned . On the other hand , he believed that , since he had to wear a tight red jumpsuit for the role , it was fortunate he was slightly skinnier than when he first played Silik . ( ) If Silik was to appear after " The Expanse " , John Fleck hoped the character would be presented as extremely versatile . " " I do hope the writers and producers realise the full potential of Silik . He ' s a shape - shifter , so why can ' t I shift into < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > Seven of Nine actress ] Jeri Ryan one episode , or even into Scott Bakula ? That way , Scott could do scenes with himself ! " " Fleck joked . " " Seriously , we ' ve already seen Silik disguise himself as a pilgrim , so I ' d like to see more of that as he messes about with people ' s minds . There ' s so many possibilities , but maybe the budget restraints stop too much shape - shifting . " " ( ) Silik ' s Human disguise in was actually John Fleck without the prosthetics usually associated with the part . This marked the first ( and only ) time in " Star Trek " that John Fleck has appeared without prosthetics , as all of his previous roles were aliens as well . John Fleck was thrilled that , at least with fans of the show , Silik became a well - known " Star Trek " character but thought doing signings for kids who came to see him with memorabilia featuring Silik was " such a weird experience . " Generally regarding the fame Silik brought him , though , he concluded , " " There has to be some recompense for wearing all that make - up . " " ( ) John Fleck ' s Borothan costume from the first season episode " Cold Front " was later sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay .