Talaxian Talaxians were a warp - capable , technologically - advanced species native to the planet Talax in the Delta Quadrant . History . The Talaxian race was an ancient one and they may have been warp - capable as far back as the 1450s , when their race was contacted by the Vaadwaur . A legacy of this contact survived in the Talaxian language as the word " " vaadwaur " " , which meant " foolish , " later interpreted by historians as being a reference to the fact that it was foolish to trust the Vaadwaur . The ancient Talaxians referred to themselves as Talax ' ilzay . ( ) The Talaxian race was embroiled in a war with the Haakonian Order in the 2340s and 2350s . The war ended in 2356 with the deployment of the metreon cascade on the Talaxian moon of Rinax , killing all of its 300 , 000 inhabitants and causing the Talaxian government to surrender unconditionally . Many Talaxians left their homeworld as the Haakonians " didn ' t treat [ them ] very well " . While some such as Neelix became lone freelancers , others departed in larger numbers in entire groups of vessels , traveling for years and covering many light year s in their search for a new home . ( ) The Borg referred to Talaxians as Species 218 . A small freighter was encountered by the Borg in the Dalmine sector . The crew of 39 was easily assimilated . ( ) A small fleet from the Talaxian colony on Prema II aided Tom Paris in retaking from the Kazon - Nistrim in 2373 . They lured the captured ship into a nebula where Paris , with his shuttle , disabled critical systems , forcing the Kazon to abandon the ship . ( ) That same year , a group of at least five hundred Talaxians , who emigrated at some point after the Haakonians had occupied Talax , began their construction of a small colony in an asteroid tens of thousands of lightyears away from Talax . Five years later , " Voyager " encountered the Talaxian asteroid colony and found them to be wary of visitors as the colony was harassed by miner s who tried to drive them out . Neelix , the morale officer of " Voyager " , assisted his fellow Talaxians by putting a plan in motion to place shield generator s at key points around the asteroid . This successfully repelled the miners from evicting the Talaxians from the asteroid . Neelix later returned to the colony and assumed a post as Federation ambassador to the Delta Quadrant . ( ) Physiology . Physically the Talaxians were humanoid , with large areas of yellow to reddish - brown spotting on their heads , arms , and bodies . They had pale skin , with a protruding " Y " - shaped bone ridge across the top of their chest area with a plume of ginger hair on the top of their heads . ( ) Males also had ginger whisker s growing on either side of their face ; these developed during puberty , much like facial hair in Human s . Tugging on a Talaxian ' s whiskers might be considered pleasuring act . ( ) Talaxians were generally stocky with a dense musculature . The Borg believed that this fact made Talaxians excellent drones . ( ) Talaxians had spotted feet with long toes ; the little toe was enlarged and rivaled the innermost toe in size . ( ) Talaxian blood is red . ( ) Talaxian vocal cords were incapable of producing basic diatonic tones , which meant they had difficulty singing . However Neelix sang on occasion , with varying degrees of success . ( ) The respiratory system of a Talaxian was directly linked , at various points , to their spinal cord s , making them too complicated for Starfleet technology to replicate as of 2371 . ( ) Unlike Humans , who had one spine , Talaxians had two spinal column s . ( ) It was hinted at that Talaxians had a higher tolerance for spicy foods than other races , or at least than Vulcan s and Ocampan s . In 2371 , Neelix prepared a modified plomeek soup , a mere sip of which Tuvok found to be unpalatably " piquant . " Neelix , on the other hand , was able to drink the soup as a beverage . ( ) In 2372 , Tuvix reduced the spiciness of one of Neelix ' s usual recipes , which Kes found rather pleasing . On the other hand , this may be a reflection of Neelix ' s individual tastes , and not of Talaxians as a whole . ( ) Society and culture . Talaxians tended to be a whimsical race with a well developed sense of humor . They were usually very friendly , helpful and were willing to offer their services to anyone who required them . Talaxians also tended to be a spiritual people , known for their enjoyment of stories and the company of others . Talaxian burial ceremonies were elaborate , involving a full week of mourning . Their mythology had a belief in an afterlife known as the Great Forest , in which a great tree stands at the center . It was said that upon death , a Talaxian went to the afterlife and met the souls of his deceased family upon arrival . Many Talaxians kept models of the Guiding Tree and other religious or ceremonial objects . ( ) The Talaxians had an old expression : " " When the road before you splits in two , take the third path . " " The meaning of this expression was to offer an individual a third option when the two they were offered are equally unappealing . ( ) The Talaxians celebrated a religious holiday called Prixin , which was a celebration of family life . ( ) Talaxian culture regarded family as highly important , with holidays such as Prixin used to celebrate family and family bonds . The Talaxian afterlife , the Great Forest , also heavily involved family , as it was said that a deceased Talaxian would meet all his deceased family and ancestors at the Guiding Tree of the Great Forest and they would watch over and protect him / her as they slept . Talaxians had a great enjoyment of food and meals . It was customary for a Talaxian to tell the story of how a meal was prepared to those eating it . ( ) Talaxians did not usually take baths in water , as their sector did not have a lot of it . Water was a sought - after commodity in the Delta Quadrant in 2371 . ( ) Talaxian proper names usually had the letter " x " in them . Exceptions included the Godo Mountain Range and the Pyrithian Gorge . ( ) The Talaxian government ' s punishment for refusing military service , during wartime , was death . ( ) Appendices . Appearances . Excluding appearances by Ethan Phillips as Neelix , Talaxians have appeared in the following " Star Trek " episodes : Background information . The Talaxians were created by makeup designer Michael Westmore . Neelix was the last character to be designed for , saved for last because the studio believed that Neelix would be one of the most merchandizable characters in the series due to his looks . The producers wanted an alien who was very likeable , very toy - like , ultimately almost huggable . As Westmore recalled , " " At the time Neelix was designed , " The Lion King " was playing in theaters and as I watched the animated feature , I became enthralled with the look of the animals , especially the colorings . I thought the description of Neelix that we ' d gotten from the producers could be enhanced with the look of a friendly cartoon animal . So we took that aspect of the animals and adapted them to the look of the Talaxians . " " Westmore purposely designed Neelix to appear rough and rowdy . " " I gave him a tough rowdiness by designing a wig made out of goat hair and spiky meerkat eyebrows . Then I gave him a cutesy , non - Trekkie look by rounding out his face so he would be completely non - threatening . In direct contrast to the pointed Klingon , meat - eating , flesh - tearing fangs , I rounded off Neelix ' s teeth and flattened out the chewing surfaces so he ' d look like a leaf - eater . Pointy teeth are scary , rounded teeth are friendly ; at least that ' s how humans perceive animals . We added the spots to give him an alien look while the wig and muttonchops come from the warthog character . " " ( " " , p . 158 - 159 ) Of Neelix ' s introduction in , author David A . McIntee wrote , " " Neelix was essentially planned as an attempt to repeat the tongue - in - cheek success of Quark , but sadly the former trader - turned - chef doesn ' t have that effect . " " He listed the character as one of the low points of the episode . ( " " , pp . 3 , 12 ) Numerous costumes and prop items as worn by Talaxian characters in " Star Trek : Voyager " were later sold off in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction , among them the female Talaxian bathing suit as seen in , a Talaxian computer panel set dressing from , a Talaxian fur fly prop from , and a fully painted unused Talaxian foam makeup appliance . Apocrypha . Numerous Talaxians appear in the non - canon video game " Star Trek Online " . The Talaxians of the mirror universe are featured in the Decipher role - playing game " Through a Glass , Darkly " . The Haakonian Order attempts to decimate them in the parallel universe , but in a reversal of the primary universe history , the Talaxians are able to completely overcome the Haakonians by stealing metreon cascade technology after Haakon first uses it against them . Although the Talaxian population is decimated and scattered , as they are in the primary history , they use the cascade to vicious effect against the Haakonians , causing that civilization to completely fall .