Odo and His Role in the Dominion War

[Nightcreature]

It's been awhile since I've posted but I've always thought that the Federation could have used Odo more to their advantage against the Founders to win the war quicker than they did and with fewer casualties.

Section 31 had a pretty good idea with infecting the Founders with the virus using an unknowing Odo but it came too late.

I also know that Odo had mixed feelings about the war. He disagreed with the Founders taking on the alpha quadrant but he still wanted to be with his people and had some loyalty to them. I still think they could have come up with an idea like have Odo impersonate the female changeling and command the Dominion ships to destroy Gul Dukat's ship or start destroying Cardassian ships en masse. At least use Odo more effectively than they did but perhaps he would have been totally against the idea. He was more on the Federation's side when it came to who was right or wrong so did they really try to convince him?

Furthermore, maybe I would have sent the Borg coordinates of the Dominion space and the Founders homeworld and tried to get both of them to fight each other. That would have been really interesting (there is a youtube video that actually addresses that hypothetical scenario).

What do you think?

 

[The Wormhole]

I also know that Odo had mixed feelings about the war. He disagreed with the Founders taking on the alpha quadrant but he still wanted to be with his people and had some loyalty to them. I still think they could have come up with an idea like have Odo impersonate the female changeling and command the Dominion ships to destroy Gul Dukat's ship or start destroying Cardassian ships en masse. At least use Odo more effectively than they did but perhaps he would have been totally against the idea. He was more on the Federation's side when it came to who was right or wrong so did they really try to convince him?

It's probably best they didn't do that. Such a move would be a massive red flag and the Dominion would quickly compensate with tighter security, closing this avenue for potentially taking advantage of like it did later when Odo posed as the Female Changeling to board and take over the warship later on.

Furthermore, maybe I would have sent the Borg coordinates of the Dominion space and the Founders homeworld and tried to get both of them to fight each other. That would have been really interesting (there is a youtube video that actually addresses that hypothetical scenario).

The Dominion would almost certainly lose to the Borg, and by allowing the Borg a foothold in the Gamma Quadrant, that would be putting countless billion innocent races at risk of being conquered and assimilated.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Odo always felt he belonged with his people but was against mass murder and dictatorship. So he was more emotionally conflicted than morally. And we know from Chimera, Kira is the only one who narrowed the emotional gap enough more the moral one to win out.

 

[USS Firefly]

The Dominion would almost certainly lose to the Borg,

I am not sure about that.
We don't know how big the Dominion are, and founders can't be assimilated

 

[The Wormhole]

founders can't be assimilated

We don't know that.

 

[Discofan]

I think the Dominion would have overcome the Borg. They could have morphed a Borg, linked with the collective and order them to self-destruct. The way the TNG crew wanted to do with Hugh, only better since the Dominion are not encumbered with scruples as the Federation is.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

We don't know that.

Can the Borg assimilate rocks (because the Founders could become rocks)?

 

[USS Firefly]

We don't know that.

I thought you needed blood to be assimilated?

 

[Timo]

To the contrary, the Borg started out by assimilating machines...

"Using Odo" risks having Odo turn against the UFP. He's pretty "anti-use" by heritage anyway: the almost genetic hatred of Solids is just inches below Odo's soft shell, and seems to be the thing we see manifesting as his "sense of justice". It's always Odo's justice, though, not anything found in a law book, regardless of who wrote the book; getting Odo to share a worldview with anybody is always a chore, and the Feds would almost certainly blow it if pressing their case.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Wormhole]

I thought you needed blood to be assimilated?

If that were true, they wouldn't be able to assimilate ships.

 

[Discofan]

Odo changed sides once (actually twice) during the Dominion war. So his role shouldn't be one of vital importance (just as the mutants).