Vidiian The Vidiians were a species found in the Delta Quadrant . For two millennia , the entire race suffered from a disease called the Phage that ate skin and organ s , and damaged their DNA . The Vidiian government was called the Vidiian Sodality . Physiology . Continuous organ transplantation led to the Phage - infected Vidiians having a wide variety of alien organs and skin on their body , resulting in a hideous appearance . When uninfected with the Phage , the Vidiians had a standard humanoid appearance . The Vidiians ' facial appearance was similar to that of a Human with two eye s , a nose and a mouth , but they also possessed a swept back hair line and a slightly enlarged forehead with no eyebrows . There was also a slight ridge that ran from the hairline down the center of the forehead to the top of the nose . History . The Vidiians were a civilized culture , renowned specifically for their artistry until the Phage attacked approximately 2 , 000 years ago . Their civilization was ravaged and they turned all their attention to treating the disease . By the 24th century , they had been forced to use their technology to harvest other species ' organs to replace their own as they failed . Defeating the Phage became an obsession , and many of their politicians and scientists lost perspective , failing to consider other beings . As a result , forcibly removing organs from live subjects as necessary occurred , although some exceptions objected to these practices and were prepared to help others . A profession called a Honatta had even developed that was dedicated to harvesting organs and biomatter from others , typically from corpses , for those suffering from the Phage . ( ) The first Starfleet encounter with the Vidiians occurred in 2371 when the visited an asteroid used by the Vidiians as an organ storage facility . A Talaxian crewmember , Neelix , had his lung s removed and implanted into one of the two Vidiians on the asteroid . Consequently , Captain Janeway was faced with killing the Vidiian to recover the organs . Feeling that this would be morally wrong , and recognizing her lack of options this far from Federation space , she agreed to release them with a warning to their species not to interfere with " Voyager " again . As thanks for the captain ' s decision to spare them , the Vidiians agreed to use their advanced medical technology to transplant a lung from an Ocampa n crewmember , Kes , into Neelix . ( ) Later that year , B ' Elanna Torres was captured by Sulan , the chief surgeon of the Vidiians , and separated into her Human and Klingon halves . The Klingon half proved resistant to the Phage but was killed as the other captive Starfleet personnel escaped from the Avery III mines . ( ) Another encounter occurred due to a temporal incursion . In this encounter , a future version of Kes , driven mad by her enhanced powers , became convinced that " Voyager " had corrupted her with ideas of exploration , prompting her to develop her mental powers to such an extent that her people would be afraid of her , and became determined to change her history . Once in the past , she contacted a Vidiian ship , and agreed to give them " Voyager " if they would take her past self home . However , Janeway realized what was happening and confronted the future Kes , killing her as " Voyager " escaped the Vidiian ship . This encounter allowed Janeway to learn about the future , allowing her to create an alternate future where the younger Kes returned to Ocampa instead of time traveling . ( ) The species was encountered three times during 2372 . In the first instance , " Voyager " rescued Danara Pel , a dying Vidiian hematologist . Her condition was stabilized by The Doctor and she proved to be the first Vidiian " Voyager " met who explicitly disapproved of the practice of organ harvesting , even assuring Torres that she didn ' t " want " her to go through an operation that would help Pel if she didn ' t want to . Pel and The Doctor developed a relationship ( the first time The Doctor had ever developed romantic feelings ) , but she left " Voyager " to help her people , although they both treasured the time they spent together . ( ) The second encounter was less positive . After passing through a subspace anomaly , " Voyager " was mysteriously duplicated . One of the two duplicates was attacked by a Vidiian vessel and invaded by hundreds of Vidiians . With numerous crewmembers such as Tuvok now dead , the Captain Janeway of that ship destroyed " Voyager " rather than let it fall into enemy hands . As a result , almost the entire crew of that " Voyager " was killed , with the exception of Harry Kim and the newly - born Naomi Wildman , who were ordered to escape to the surviving duplicate " Voyager " ( their counterparts having died due to a hull breach and birth complications , respectively ) . ( ) Several months later , Captain Janeway and Chakotay were bitten by an insect while exploring a planet and were infected by a virus . The Doctor was unable to find a cure and only exposure to the planet ' s ecosystem held the symptoms at bay . With no other option , " Voyager " continued its journey , leaving the two officers behind . Some weeks later , " Voyager " encountered a Vidiian convoy . After initially avoiding contact , Tuvok decided to ask them about the virus . Shortly afterwards they were contacted by Danara Pel , who agreed to give them the anti - viral agent that the Vidiians had developed many years before . Upon meeting the convoy , the Vidiians attacked , but Danara Pel , shocked at her own species ' actions , offered to transport the anti - viral agent anyway , talking briefly with The Doctor one last time before they parted ways forever . " Voyager " then disabled the Vidiian ships and returned to pick up Janeway and Chakotay . ( ) In 2375 , the Think Tank stated they had cured the Phage . In doing so , the Think Tank also stated that " you wouldn ' t recognize them now , " insinuating that they had returned to their pre - Phage pursuits , ideals , and morals . ( ) Technology . Vidiians had a very sophisticated device that was a combination of a weapon , medical scanner , and surgical instrument . With this device , Vidiian organ harvesters would attack a victim who the device indicated had healthy and Vidiian - compatible organs or tissues , and transport such bio - material from the victim into the transporter device used . The organs were then transplanted into another Vidiian requiring organ transplants . They also had force field technologies , including the ability to cloak the force field as an object , like a rock face . They had an advanced medical technology , superior to even that of the Federation , but this was not enough to cure the Phage . Their anti - starship weaponry included hyper - thermic charge s . Vidiians lacked personnel transporter technology and relied on docking equipment to capture alien vessels . ( ) . Society and culture . By the 24th century , much of the Vidiian culture was shaped by their health needs . Congregating in groups was strictly regulated , as it was considered to be a threat to public health . Healthy Vidiians would shun sick ones , even if they had previously been friends . They seemed to be unfamiliar with the concept of dancing . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The Vidiians were originally supposed to be called the Vaphorans , but their name was changed because the original was considered too difficult to pronounce . , the episode that introduced the species , was shot using the original name , and the new name was looped in post - production . The makeup department designed the Vidiian makeup as if they were patchwork quilts , built out of harvested organs and body parts to replace those that were consumed by the Phage . To make the Vidiians walking mosaics of the creatures whose skin they grafted on , the department used the skin designs from previous aliens , patches of Talaxian spots here or an orange Kazon patch there so as to reinforce the image of the Vidiians as bioscavengers of the Delta Quadrant . ( " " , p . 167 ) Several Vidiian production items were later sold off in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction , among them a complete Vidiian headpiece ( sold for US $ 355 . 00 ) , Vidiian hand molds ( sold for US $ 86 . 85 ) and a collection of Vidiian rubber makeup applications ( sold for US $ 26 . 00 ) . The reference book " " ( p . 78 ) gives the name of the Vidiian homeworld as Vidiia Prime , the main planet in the Vidiia system and a world . On page 83 , it is said that first contact with the Vidiians occurred on stardate 48532 . Additionally , " " describes the Vidiians as a proud race known for their arts and culture . Apocrypha . The Pocket TNG novel " Q & A " makes mention of the Vidiians curing the Phage by the early 2380s . In the " " novel " Shadow of Heaven " , the cured Vidiians find themselves under sustained attack from species seeking revenge for their previous organ - harvesting activities . The " " short story " Places of Exile " describes an alternate timeline whereby the Phage is cured thanks to the combined efforts of The Doctor and Danara Pel . While it would take a long time for them to repair their civilization , the grateful Vidiians nevertheless offer the " Voyager " crew protection if they ever return to their part of space . In the " Star Trek Online " mission " Dust to Dust , " the real Harry Kim , having been revived by the Kobali , accuses them of working with the Vidiians as he had never met them before his untimely death .