Arturis Arturis was a male member of a species known only by its Borg designation , Species 116 . Arturis was a highly - skilled linguist and cryptologist , having learned over 4 , 000 languages ; he was also able to decipher any spoken or written language almost instantly , like a living universal translator , an ability possessed by his species . In early 2374 , Arturis ' people were assimilated by the Borg after centuries of successful resistance . Arturis was one of only 20 , 000 people who escaped the Borg and was lucky to have his own ship . He blamed the crew of the starship , in particular Captain Kathryn Janeway , for his species ' defeat at the hand of the Borg after the " Voyager " crew had aided the Borg in their fight against Species 8472 . As such , he decided to exact revenge on them , believing that his species could have been saved if Species 8472 had been allowed to destroy the Collective , regarding the Borg as simply a " force of nature " that could only be avoided rather than fought or destroyed . After months of searching , he found and tracked " Voyager " . He traveled for several months , learning all he could about the ship and crew , and was even able to learn about the Starfleet message that had been sent to " Voyager " . Using the Starfleet message , he devised a trap using particle synthesis technology to recreate the appearance of a Starfleet vessel on his own ship . Then , after making contact with " Voyager " by helping Tom Paris and Neelix communicate with traders at a colony , he planted evidence in the Starfleet message he claimed to have decrypted which lured the crew to his ship , making them think that it was the , a ship sent by Starfleet to the Delta Quadrant that would bring them home using a quantum slipstream drive . Initially , his deception was successful , but his plans began to unravel when the crew spent some time analyzing " Dauntless " rather than simply seizing the opportunity without analyzing the ship in depth as he had hoped they would . The plan was further jeopardized when Seven of Nine decrypted another fragment from the actual Starfleet message – which explicitly stated that the best they could do was offer updated star charts of the region – and Janeway accompanied a team to try and apprehend Arturis . He escaped , however , capturing Janeway and Seven before he set his ship to return to his homeworld , now in Borg space , so that they would be assimilated as punishment . He was unsuccessful in this as well , as they were able to escape thanks to " Voyager " managing to simulate the slipstream drive and follow the " Dauntless " . Thus , his plan backfired on him ; his ship continued on towards Borg space , he being unable to change its course after destroying the navigational controls to prevent Janeway and Seven from doing so . On arrival in Borg space , it was captured by the Borg and Arturis was presumed to have been assimilated . ( ) Arturis and his slipstream drive were among the failed attempts to get back to the Alpha Quadrant Tom Paris mentioned to Harry Kim in 2377 . ( ) Background information . In pre - production notes , Arturis was referred to as " Yoda " . ( " " ) Ultimately , co - writer Brannon Braga was very happy with how the character turned out , referring to Arturis as " a great villain . " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 30 , No . 9 / 10 , p . 97 ) Fifty or more individuals were auditioned for the role of Arturis , before actor Ray Wise was selected for the part . The casting setup was such that very few , if any at all , older performers auditioned for the role , the character having slowly become much younger than originally conceived . " " Casting was the component that finalized the process , " " commented Jeri Taylor . " " We wanted someone who would convey a large presence , and that need sometimes strips away people at either end of the age scale , and brings it more toward the center . " " Having previously played Liko in , Ray Wise was not required to audition for the role of Arturis , as the producers trusted that he could be relied upon in the part . ( " " , p . 23 ) Despite Arturis being an ultimately malicious character , costume designer Robert Blackman did not want to indicate that too much . " " My job was to make him look interesting but affable , " " Blackman explained , " " so I just put him in a shirt and a pair of pants . " " ( " " , p . 70 ) The design of Arturis ' makeup was originally envisioned by Michael Westmore for another project . On , he recollected , " " I actually designed this makeup last year for a different show – not for " Star Trek " . But those producers didn ' t use it . " " ( " " , p . 68 ) Arturis ' makeup was meant to imply the presence of an extended skull , paralleling the character ' s intelligence . " " Instead of a large skull typical of the aliens people think landed at Roswell , " " explained Michael Westmore , " " I kept it with skull - like proportions . If you look at him straight on , he looks like a bald man . Only his profile looks alien . " " ( " " , p . 67 ) Notably , this deceptive aspect of his appearance echoes the misleading role the character plays in . Michael Westmore explained that the main prosthetic headpiece " " is thick foam rubber that ' s been vulcanized in an oven . If you push it in , it will bounce right out again . " " The headpiece , according to Westmore , was cast " from the same plaster head that we used to make the Vorgon s [ from ' s ] . " Westmore concluded , " " All we had to do was get a cast of Ray ' s face and make some sidepieces to work as blenders over the edges of the piece . " " ( " " , p . 67 ) In fact , the prosthetics that were crafted from the life cast of the actor ' s face were a thin forehead piece , cheek appliances and two neck pieces . ( " " , p . 66 ) As well as the prosthetics , Wise also wore contact lenses . ( " " , p . 67 )