The Star Trek Deep Space Nine stories are probably the best in the entire Star Trek franchise; Discover is more focused on Burnham, Enterprise should have featured Earth's steady rise to the top, Voyager involved a load of resets which prevented any real growth for the characters. But Deep Space Nine was well-written and was a joy to watch. Odo was always a joy as well and he had a lot of growth in the series. I just thought I'd write his POV of the mess he'd gotten himself into when he had three innocent men executed, an event that shaped him for the better.
Enjoy.
Innocent until proven guilty.
He had heard how humanoids felt ill and nauseous when they received bad news, and while Odo had considered himself fortunate that he didn't have the capacity in the past, he felt terrible now. Sitting in his office, alone despite the fact there were cells of Bajoran prisoners crammed inside like packaged food goods, screaming, begging to be let out, Odo couldn't hear them.
He was paralysed by shock. It was bad enough the newest bombing was identical to the one which had nearly killed Dukat, but now, in front of him was a padd containing the initial report of the explosive that had all the hallmarks of the bomb which had been planted by the Resistance three days ago, the bomb which had nearly killed Dukat. When the bomb detonated, Odo had demanded a thorough forensics report in order to make plans of finally getting through to the Resistance their activities were doing more harm than good.
When he received the report, Odo had remembered what Dr Mora had once said about feeling ill when he had made a monumental mistake which was bound to have severe consequences, and he also remembered how he had inwardly felt relieved he didn't have that capability.
Now, however, Odo wondered if a part of him had shape changed a near-solid mass within him and arranged for his liquid to slosh inside. How else could he explain the feelings he had running through his mind.
Three days ago, a bomb planted by the Bajoran Resistance had nearly killed Gul Dukat; that was nothing new. The Bajoran Resistance were determined to get the Cardassians away from the planet, and while Odo had always seen himself as the outsider who was neither Cardassian nor Bajoran nor anything in-between, he had always considered himself above it all despite his desire to keep Justice in the Occupation despite knowing full well there was no such thing as Justice in the Occupation.
As that member of the Bajoran Resistance, Kira Nerys, had complimented when Dukat had brought him in to investigate the murder of one of the collaborators on Terok Nor, he had found satisfaction as an investigator.
He had found he enjoyed keeping justice and order on the station, and he had always considered himself the outsider who, because of the fact he was neither Cardassian nor Bajoran, was impartial and would always try to mediate a suitable arrangement between both parties and would always ensure a fair hearing.
But no longer.
Three days ago, a bomb had exploded on the promenade which had nearly killed Dukat. Swiftly he had charged three Bajoran men - Ishan Chaye, a Bajoran electronics engineer with no criminal record; Jillur Gueta, an artist who had previously been arrested three times for disturbing the peace; Timor Landi, a bookkeeper, all of whom were residents of Rakantha Province; all three of them had worked briefly for Quark, giving them access to the chemicals in the cleaning solution which was used in explosive making, and he had listened to the reports of the soldiers who'd arrested them and he had paid more attention to the reports of how the three men had rushed over to Dukat to strangle him. With that, he had arrested and charged them and scheduled their executions.
Odo had listened to their pleas. One of them had even said to check the ballistics of the bomb, not to just believe everything the Cardassians said, the statement of Quark although the Ferengi bartender would say anything to save his own neck. Odo had refused to listen, he had just been busy, concerned and obsessed with maintaining order and keeping justice on the station.
He had even told the three men none of the executions, the harsh treatments and penalties meted out on the Bajorans by the Cardassians would have happened if the Bajorans just submitted. He had thrown logic into it, the very twisted logic of how the Cardassians had maintained their control over the planet for half a century, and would likely continue holding on to Bajor until they bled the planet dry of resources for another fifty while the Bajorans fought, suffered and died on a dying world.
Odo had always considered himself to be an outsider, so what had made him say those words when he had seen the actions of the Cardassians over the years? At the time he had just put it out of his mind and get on with things before this new bombing. The bombing was identical to the one which had nearly killed Dukat. It was exactly the same; the ballistics, the pattern of the bombing… it was identical.
But how could this be?
And then Odo realised the horrible, logical truth.
Those three men… were they innocent?
At first, he had not believed it, he was unable to even contemplate the idea he had been wrong, but doubts mounted up and up until he could no longer deny the truth of the matter. They were innocent.
Swiftly he went over in his mind what he had done during the investigation, glancing at the padd containing its thorough report. He had asked the forensics team to make it a good one so then he could find ways of snuffing out the Resistance, a little bit more. They had eagerly risen to the occasion. But now all Odo wanted to know was what he had missed, and so for the next few days, the shapeshifter concentrated on investigating the two bombings. He had quickly worked out he had made the mistake of just speaking to the Cardassian soldiers on duty at the time when the first bomb had gone off. It took him some time, but he was able to learn from Bajoran witnesses in return for something in return and he had also checked the security recordings.
The soldiers had either lied or they had not bothered to see what the three Bajorans had been doing; that was typical, really given how many Cardassians saw the Bajorans as animals, barely civilised fools compared to their own rich cultured civilisation. Many Cardassians - troops, aides, civilians, officers - would lie and think the fewer Bajorans, the better.
But Ishan, Jillur, and Timor had not tried to strangle him at all; they'd been trying to help a Bajoran woman Dukat's wandering eyes had taken a liking to. The soldiers had lied. And then there was the chemical. He had refused to even bother to check the station's records except make a preliminary check. He would have learnt the three men hadn't had access to any of the chemicals barring one. None of them had the knowledge needed to set up the bombs and detonate them safely.
When Odo finally returned to his office, he sat in his chair and considered his mistakes. He had made a terrible, terrible mistake which could have been avoided, but how?
The truth of the matter was he had been more concerned with keeping things orderly, and he had allowed the lines between injustice and true justice to blur. And three men had paid the price, and he hadn't even realised it until now.
Odo rubbed his forehead, already beginning to feel his concentration over his form beginning to slip, but he didn't grab his bucket in order to begin his regeneration. He was too deep in thought, and he needed and wanted to put everything into perspective before he regenerated.
He had let the Occupation consume him; he had allowed his position as security chief to let Cardassian rules and prejudices cloud his judgement and his impartiality, whereas when he had not been affiliated with Dukat on this damned space station/penal colony, where he had been exposed to the injustices of the Occupation.
And he had seen them every day. The Cardassians believed they owned this planet and they believed every single Bajoran slave was nothing more than a toy, and for decades they had been systematically wiping out everyone who opposed them or murdered them to create examples while they tore Bajor apart.
How had he lost his perspective? Since when had he begun telling Bajoran prisoners to accept what was going on when he had seen what the Cardassians were doing? Why was he even tolerating it when he found it distasteful himself?
Odo's mind went back to the time when Dukat had first recruited him after Vaatrik was murdered; the Cardassian assigned to Bajor as prefect had admitted his superiors would have made him round up a number of Bajorans and execute them in answer to the crime.
He remembered how diligently he had questioned witnesses, searched for the truth. Kira was right, he had been good at it and Odo had been delighted to find something he could do which was intellectually stimulating. Even better, as he had begun the investigation he had felt something he had never felt before. It was as if he were a real flower blooming after being nothing but a seed for so long, and he had felt an innate desire for justice to be served, and for someone who did not know anything about his own kind, the discovery had delighted Odo completely.
But something had changed. Somehow, somewhere along the lines, Odo had
He had made a terrible mistake, allowing the Occupation to consume him, to make him think like Cardassians. It was so clear to him now that Odo was left shaken. He would need to regenerate, to think. In the years to come, Odo would change his approach to investigation. Instead of just checking the facts with a brief glance, Odo would meticulously check and he would ask questions. He would not only speak to the biased sources, but he would check those from everyone.
But he would never get over the guilt, and he refused to tell anyone. He could have told Kira Nerys when the Federation took over the station and discovered the wormhole, but he couldn't. She believed, like so many others, he had been impartial, and he did not want her to know he had been no different from her Cardassian oppressors.