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Security
chief aboard Cardassian space station Terok Nor who continued that function when Starfleet took
over the facility in 2369. Odo was a shape-shifter, one of the Founders of the Gamma Quadrant's Dominion. Odo was discovered as an infant in the
Denorios Belt, but those that rescued him had no idea where he came from, or what
species he belonged to. When discovered, Odo was a shapeless mass of organic broth.
He spent several years at the Bajoran Institute of Science being studied by Dr.
Mora Pol, who helped Odo assimilate himself into humanoid society. Being the only
one of his kind, he attempted to fit into society by being the life of the party.
He'd turn himself into any object requested by the partygoers, which only increased
his feelings of isolation and loneliness. Odo regarded Mora as a father figure,
yet felt smothered by his condiment and constant scrutiny. He left the institute
and rebelled against Mora's influence for years. Odo got his name from the Cardassian word odo'ital., something of a cruel joke,
since it translates into nothing. Odo came to Terok Nor in 2365, and became an unofficial arbitrator
for the Bajoran nationals on the station. Later that year, station administrator
Gul Dukat asked Odo to investigate a murder on the station. Kira Nerys was a suspect in that case. Dukat was so impressed with Odo's work that made Odo chief of
security for the station. In 2366, as part of his duties as Terok Nor's security chief, Odo was made an officer of
the Cardassian court. This would become advantageous
in 2370, following the arrest of Starfleet Officer Miles O'Brien by the Cardassian government. using his position as an officer
of the court, Odo was able to have himself assigned as O'Brien's nestor. Odo maintained a humanoid form while at work
on the station, but he had to return to his natural form, a viscous orange fluid,
every 16 hours. Refusing to carry a weapon, Odo had a great respect for the rights
of all life-forms, however simple or evolved. He didn't need to eat and only had
an approximation of a mouth and digestive system. Once, not long after he first
assumed humanoid form, he tried eating, but did not find it satisfying because
he had no taste buds. Odo had no sense of smell. He patterned his own hairstyle
after the scientist assigned to study him at the research center on planet Bajor.
He did not even know how to gamble, but did try to take on new challenges. Odo
sometimes joined Miles O'Brien when he ran his kayaking holographic simulation
program, and O'Brien used to give him old Earth detective novels to read.
Odo never took a mate, claiming that he would not to want to make the compromises
that a relationship would demand. Odo also had an uncompromising view of law enforcement,
believing that laws change, but justice is justice. Odo let his guard down slightly
with Ambassador Lwaxana Troi in 2369 when the two were trapped together in a turbolift
on the station. In their different ways, both Odo and Troi were loners, and their
enforced proximity caused them to share each other's vulnerabilities. Odo yearned
desperately to learn of his origins, and hoped for years meet another individual
of his species. When Crodin of the planet Rakhar gave him a shape-shifting necklace,
Odo began to suspect that he might find other shapeshifters in the Gamma Quadrant.
In early 2371, Odo found his people on a sunless planet in the Omarion Nebula
in the Gamma Quadrant. He learned that he was a member of a species of shapeshifters
who were the elusive Founders of the Dominion. To learn about the galaxy, the Founders had sent a hundred infant members of their
species far out into space, and placed a desire to return home into their genetic
makeup. Odo was one of these infants. Odo's encounter with his fellow shapeshifters
gave him a greater measure of self-confidence. He even stopped using his bucket
for regeneration periods, instead reverting to his gelatinous state in his quarters,
where he began to experiment with the sensations of turning into different shapes
and textures. Later that same year, Odo was afforded the unique opportunity to
participate in Jadzia Dax's zhian'tara. But because of his shape-shifter nature,
rather than just temporarily embodying the personality of Curzon Dax, Odo, in
fact, became joined with him. The arrangement was very satisfactory for both beings,
and for a time they refused to be separated. Even after Odo was persuaded to give
up the Curzon personality, he retained memories of being joined with Curzon. Odo
was a security officer for most of his humanoid existence, but he had never found
it necessary to fire a weapon or take a life, as he abhorred the humanoid practice
of violence. Nevertheless, in 2371, he became the first of his species to harm
another Founder when he accidentally killed the Founder posing as Ambassador Krajensky aboard the
U.S.S. Defiant.
