Ardra ( impostor ) Ardra was a female con artist of the 24th century who made a living impersonating people in order to gain wealth and favors . Prior to 2367 , she gained access to a ship and crew which had cloak ing , transporter technology and energy beams which could create planetary tremors . She also had an implant put in her which allowed her to control her technology with eye movements . She successfully maintained 23 alias es in the same sector as Ventax II , as well as more in other sectors . She knew of other evil spirits as well . In 2367 , she learned of the Ventaxian myth of Ardra and the lore surrounding her return . She studied the myth and history , including the Contract of Ardra , and revealed herself to the Ventaxians , fooling them into believing that she was their deity . Acost Jared , the Ventaxian leader , immediately surrendered to her . She demanded a census and a measure of their productivity . Her knowledge was sufficient to deceive the Ventaxians and evade any accusations . At the same time , Captain Jean - Luc Picard on the arrived on the planet to respond to a Federation station distress call . Seeing her , he decided to help Acost Jared to disprove her assertions . Seeing Picard ' s defiant and disbelieving nature , the imposter immediately took interest in him , and attempted to seduce him , unsuccessfully . The impostor also claimed she owned the " Enterprise " and her crew , due to the terms of the Contract , and had her ship ' s cloak extended over the " Enterprise " so Picard could not return to it . When Picard requested an arbitration of this situation , she agreed on condition that , if Picard lost , he would give himself to her willingly . She then participated in questioning Jared and Picard with Data acting as an arbitrator . " Ardra " continued to use her " powers " to prove to the court that she was indeed " real " , while Picard focused on disproving her existence and role in events . He pointed out that all of the changes on Ventax were gradual , natural changes , with no indication that Ardra had so much as picked up a single piece of rubbish while Ventax was rebuilding its civilization . The impostor , in turn , simply had to establish that Jared believed she was Ardra and that her appearance long ago effected the change . Data confirmed that Ventaxian law validated her argument . Unbeknownst to her , Geordi La Forge and Doctor Howard Clark , the station ' s director , were pinpointing her ship in orbit . Commander William T . Riker led an away team to arrest the ship and crew , and used the technology to prove to Jared that " Ardra " wasn ' t who she appeared . As a result of Picard ' s testimony , the impostor was taken under arrest by the Ventaxians . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The impostor Ardra was played by Marta Dubois . During the first six different script versions , Ardra was originally a man . ( ) Apocrypha . In the spin - off novel " : The Hall of Heroes " , as the crew of the " Enterprise " - E try to deal with the threat of a group of Klingon criminals descended from Kruge , they recognize some of the tricks used by their enemies as the same tricks used by Ardra and her affiliates . With this revelation , Picard contacts the still - imprisoned Ardra for insight into their actions , prompting Ardra to assist the " Enterprise " in neutralizing the current con artists , feeling that their actions cheapened what her organization was meant to stand for . Once Kruge and his allies are defeated , Ardra and the rest of her crew are released on a probationary period to deal with similar threats in the Federation , Ardra musing that she will enjoy the challenge .