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Star Trek - Deep Space Nine

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Why Deep Space Nine's Quark Is The Greatest Star Trek Character

When it first began airing in 1993, " Star Trek: Deep Space Nine " was instantly considered a notable oddball in the broader "Star Trek" canon. For one, it was the first Trek project that was made completely outside of the auspices of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Also, being set on a space station, there was going to be considerably less trekking on "Deep Space Nine" than had been previously seen in the franchise. Additionally, the show was to follow the politics and social intricacies of worlds that did not belong to Trek's famed United Federation of Planets. That meant the franchise's notable and vaunted post-war, post-religion, post-capitalist utopia was going to be challenged by those who believed in war (the Cardassians), in theocracy (the Bajorans), and in capitalism (the Ferengi). "Deep Space Nine" stood as a deliberate challenge to the Treks that preceded it. Can Roddenberry's ideals stand when those who abide by them are outnumbered?

The lessons from "Deep Space Nine" were more forthrightly multicultural than the relatively mannered " Star Trek: The Next Generation ." While NextGen was populated by diplomats and open-minded explorers of cultural differences, it was rare that any of them were pushed too far outside of their comfort zones; how strange, Counselor Troi might find, that a new species enjoys chocolate so much. On "Deep Space Nine," the Starfleet characters had to face the notion that people bearing opposite values to their own were going to remain deeply and strictly adherent to them. A soft version of easily-acquired arbitrage would have to be abandoned for the notion of having to live with someone you fundamentally disagree with ... and do not necessarily hate. 

No character on DS9 was more deeply principled than Quark ( Armin Shimerman ), the Ferengi bar owner on the station's high-traffic Promenade. 

For the uninitiated, the Ferengi are a species that has devoted every aspect of their society to commerce. Money is deeply involved in every aspect of their lives. When friends come to visit a Ferengi, they have to drop money into coin boxes in every room in the house. When a Ferengi dies, their ashes are sold inside miniature collectible discs. Even their central religion is based on profit, as a Ferengi will not be able to buy their way into the afterlife unless they have acquired enough wealth in this one. Their most widely read holy book is simply a list of 285 Rules of Acquisition. Needless to say, devotion to wealth also carries with it a tendency toward both labyrinthine accounting and a propensity toward confidence schemes. Cutting corners, buying cheap materials, and underpaying employees is a great virtue in Ferengi society. The most grievous sin is charity. 

Additionally, Ferengi society is staggeringly sexist. Only men are allowed to earn wealth, whereas women are not allowed to speak to any men other than their immediate family. They are also not allowed to wear clothing. Over the course of " Deep Space Nine ," Ferengi sexism will be challenged time and time again, with Quark having to face the fact that his mother Ishka (Andrea Martin, then Cecily Adams) has been secretly leading the charge toward a women's liberation movement back on their home planet. 

Quark, throughout the series, is deeply devoted to these Ferengi principles. They may seem backward and even gross to a human viewer, but Quark never once winks at the camera, nor does Shimerman plays the character as wicked. Devious, perhaps. Criminal, to be sure. But not sadistic or cruel. Indeed, Quark is typically either upbeat (when business is booming) or annoyed (when it isn't). 

Criminal, but not evil

Quark is perpetually annoyed, incredibly shrewd, and often called out on his bad behavior. But — and here's what makes his character so appealing — he never abandons the fundamental things that make him who he is. His personal beliefs are dearly held, and he will not — will not  — abandon them. In a true science fiction sense, Quark provides an outsider perspective on humanity, looking to their habits of charity and their baffling abandonment of capitalism as strange and offputting. 

Something magical happens on "Star Trek" when two nonhuman characters interact. Humans, in subsequent discussions, become ineffable and confusing. Our culture is just as strange to them as theirs is to us. Starfleet may be making a perpetual effort to include and understand others, but Ferengi have no such compunction, choosing to criticize and deconstruct some of our own fineries. In one of the best scenes of the entire series, Quark has a conversation with Garak (Andrew Robinson) a Cardassian tailor who once served the war effort. Neither character has spent much time with humans, and each bemoans the fact that so many of them have just moved onto the station. As an example of how bad humans reflect on his business, Quark serves Garak a glass of root beer. Garak hisses that it's vile. "I know," Quark says, disgusted. "It's so bubbly, and cloying, and happy."  

"Just like the Federation," Garak says.

"But you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it," Quark says. "Just like the Federation."

Being bubbly and eager to please, the two aliens note, shows a grievous lack of character. The Federation, Quark says out loud, has a lot to be wary of.

Quark's moment

Quark and the other Ferengi characters on " Deep Space Nine " were often treated like comic relief, and one can bet that a "comedy" episode was likely about Quark and his family (his brother Rom, played by Max Grodénchik, often had "dim bulb" scenes). It took "Deep Space Nine" a while to decide just how intelligent Quark was meant to be ( a frustration for Shimerman ), often seeing him vacillate between crafty and clueless. It took "Deep Space Nine" several years to allow the Ferengi characters to grow. Rom was revealed to be a decent, kind man with sharp engineering skills, and Rom's son Nog (Aron Eisenberg) wanted to become a Starfleet officer. 

Quark, meanwhile, was eventually allowed to be intelligent and deeply righteous. Even honorable. The character's best moment probably came in the penultimate episode of the show, "The Dogs of War" (May 24, 1999) wherein Shimerman gets to express the deep, glorious beliefs of the character. "As far as I'm concerned," he says, "the Ferenginar that I knew doesn't exist anymore." He says "This establishment will be the last outpost of what made Ferenginar great: the unrelenting lust for profit." 

What he is standing for might look petty to the human audience, but after seven seasons with Quark, they have most assuredly come to sympathize with him. So when Quark says he won't preside over the demise of Ferengi civilization, we see a man standing up for himself. We see a man eager to keep his ideals. "The line has to be drawn here!" he shouts. "This far and no further!" 

Quark is willing to exploit, but he is also willing to play by his own rules. And what is "Star Trek" if not strong-willed adults articulately standing up for what they believe in?

Every Quark Star Trek: DS9 Love Interest Ranked

The greatest love of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Quark (Armin Shimerman) may have been gold pressed latinum, but the Ferengi bartender did have a handful of genuine romantic connections across DS9 's seven seasons. Quark was instrumental in changing how the Ferengi were presented following their fumbled introduction as Star Trek: The Next Generation villains . Through Quark, his brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) and his nephew Nog (Aron Eisenberg), the Ferengi characters in Deep Space Nine were multi-layered members of an alien species and not two-dimensional stock bad guys.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Ferengi were sleazy misogynists who saw women as objects , but that wasn't the case for characters like Rom in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Quark's brother Rom fell in love with Leeta (Chase Masterson), and the two went on to have a hugely positive impact on Ferengi culture. While Quark certainly wasn't above objectifying women like his TNG counterparts, he was also capable of falling in love. While Quark's romances wouldn't necessarily go down in the history of DS9 's greatest love stories , they did occasionally allow the Ferengi to become a romantic hero.

Quark's 10 Best Star Trek Episodes

Grilka (mary kay adams), quark's "glorious" klingon ex-wife..

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 3, "House of Quark", the Ferengi was married off to Grilka (Mary Kay Adams), a fierce Klingon woman whose husband, Kozak (John Lendale Bennett), Quark had apparently "killed". Of course, Quark had done nothing of the sort, he'd stood and watched the drunken Kozak fall on to his own knife. However, Kozak's death allowed Grilka to orchestrate a bid to take control of her own House, something that was forbidden in Klingon society. Grilka therefore married Quark, with the intention of using him as a proxy in affairs relating to her House.

"The House of Quark" was the first of Robert O'Reilly's eight appearances as Chancellor Gowron in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Once Quark had helped his Klingon wife retain control of the House of Grilka, he requested a divorce as theirs had been a marriage of convenience. However, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 3, "Looking For par'Mach in All the Wrong Places", Quark found himself attracted to his ex-wife . To win back his ex-wife, Quark sought the help of Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), who also showed an interest in the "glorious" Grilka. Quark took a crash course in Klingon courtship rituals and even won a duel with Thopok (Phil Morris) for the hand of Grilka, albeit temporarily.

Pel (Hélène Udy)

Quark's new best friend was a female ferengi in disguise..

​​​​​​Quark fell in love with Pel (Hélène Udy) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 7, "Rules of Acquistion", a relationship that challenged his prejudice. Ferengi society barred women from participating in business deals, and forced them to stay at home, where they would fulfill their husband's needs. Ferengi women like Quark's mother Ishka (Cecily Adams) and Pel started to lead the charge to change these outdated rules. Disguised as a male Ferengi, Pel quickly became close to Quark and ended up partnering with him on a business deal in the Gamma Quadrant with associates of DS9 's Dominion villains .

"Rules of Acquisition" was the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to mention the Dominion, who would become the show's main villains from season 3 onward.

Quark was outraged when he discovered the truth, but his blackmailing of Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn) to protect Pel demonstrated his genuine love for her. Their last tender kiss, and Quark's genuine sadness at Pel's parting was proof that she had left a lasting impact on the Ferengi. However, Quark still largely objected to Ferengi women conducting business transactions, which led to tensions with his mother and his brother in the season 3 episode, "Family Business". Still, Quark's romance with Pel was the first indicator that Quark was a more progressive Ferengi than many had first believed .

Riker Almost Had A Ferengi Girlfriend in Star Trek: TNG

Professor natima lang (mary crosby), ingrid bergman to quark's humphrey bogart..

The Cardassian political ethics professor Natima Lang (Mary Crosby) was Quark's great love , but their romance was very rocky indeed. Natima and Quark met during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor , where she saved Quark's life after he was accused of selling food to Bajoran laborers. Natima was touched by Quark's uniquely Ferengi approach to philanthropy and the two embarked on a one-month love affair that ended when Quark used Natima's position to steal money from Cardassian Central Command. Quark was heartbroken, and spent the rest of his life regretting his betrayal of Natima.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 18, "Profit and Loss", Natima and Quark were reunited against a backdrop of political unrest on Cardassia. Sheltering two wanted criminals, Natima was to be arrested by the Cardassians, and sentenced to death for being a political dissident. To make up for his betrayal and prove his love for Natima, Quark did everything in his power, from bribing Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) to pleading with would-be-assassin Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) to spare Natima and the students' lives. Quark and Natima's romantic reunion was brief, but she promised to return once her mission to reform Cardassia was complete .

"Profit and Loss" was initially titled "Here's Lookin' at You..." in reference to the 1942 Michael Curtiz movie Casablanca , starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell)

"i hope jadzia appreciates all this…".

Arguably, Lt. Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) was Quark's greatest love, but it was unrequited. Quark's attraction to Jadzia seemed much deeper than the ogling and objectifying relationship he had with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). Of all the characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , it was Jadzia who truly understood Quark and treated him as a friend and equal . When Pel left the station, Jadzia consoled Quark, and the two regularly played tongo together after hours in Quark's Bar. Jadzia even forgave Quark's unforgivable crime when he inadvertently facilitated the theft of the Dax symbiont in "Invasive Procedures".

The 1992 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Writers' Bible described Quark as being " consumed with passion for Dax. "

One thing Jadzia struggled to forgive was when Quark got into the arms dealing business in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 18, "Business as Usual" . Indeed, Jadzia's anger at Quark is one of the motivating factors for his change of heart in the episode, so important is her opinion of him. When Jadzia was killed by Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo), Quark was heartbroken and joined Worf's mission to get his wife's spirit into Sto-vo-kor, Klingon heaven. It was an uncharacteristically brave thing for Quark to do, a testament to his devotion to Jadzia.

Star Trek: Discovery Is A Sad Reminder DS9s Dax Is Long Dead

The rules of acquisition, rule of acquisition #229: latinum lasts longer than lust..

Ultimately, Quark's greatest love in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is profit and gold pressed latinum . That's nothing to be ashamed of, it's in his nature as a Ferengi. However, it is interesting that the influence of Jadzia, Natima, and Pel have all impacted Quark's adherence to his beloved Rules of Acquisition. " Females and finances don't mix " is Rule of Acquisition #94, but that directly contradicts Pel's astute business acumen that was superior even to Quark's. " Never place friendship above profit " is Rule of Acquisition #21, but Quark regularly placed his friendship and infatuation with Jadzia above his thirst for profit.

The Rules of Acquisition were invented by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's executive producer and writer, Ira Steven Behr.

Rule of Acquisition #9 states that " Opportunity plus instinct equals profit " which effectively describes Quark's doomed romance with Natima during the Occupation. However, despite living up to Rule of Acquistion #9, Quark felt guilt over how he betrayed Natima. So, while Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's beloved bartender rigidly lived by the Rules of Acquisition, these important women in his life did make him take a more flexible approach to the tenets of Ferengi society. It's like Rom's own personal Rule of Acquisition; " Money is money, but females are better. " Sadly for Quark, however, he's still waiting on his Leeta.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The House of Quark

• Episode aired Oct 10, 1994

Quark is forced to marry a Klingon widow after he takes credit for the accidental death of her husband, the head of a powerful Klingon House. Quark is forced to marry a Klingon widow after he takes credit for the accidental death of her husband, the head of a powerful Klingon House. Quark is forced to marry a Klingon widow after he takes credit for the accidental death of her husband, the head of a powerful Klingon House.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Avery Brooks
• Rene Auberjonois
• Alexander Siddig
• 15 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• Commander Benjamin 'Ben' Sisko

• Constable Odo

• Doctor Julian Bashir
• (as Siddig El Fadil)

• Lt. Jadzia Dax

• (credit only)

• Chief Miles O'Brien

• Major Kira Nerys

• Keiko O'Brien

• D'Ghor

• (as John Lendale Bennett)
• Starfleet Medical Officer
• (uncredited)
• Klingon High Council Member
• Bajoran Officer
• Michael Piller (showrunner)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia In spite of the many Klingon-oriented episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) , this marks the only appearance of the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS on the series.
• Goofs Gowron's robe disappears after he announces Quark and Grilka's wedding is official.

Quark : I am Quark, son of Keldar, and I have come to answer the challenge of D'Ghor, son of... whatever.

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places (1996)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Dennis McCarthy Performed by Dennis McCarthy

User reviews 15

• Sep 13, 2021
• October 10, 1994 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 46 minutes

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Characters / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Quark's Bar

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Main Characters Page | Starfleet Crew | Federation And Bajor | Quark's Bar, Family, and Other Ferengi | Cardassian Union ( Gul Dukat ) | Klingon Empire | The Dominion | Mirror Universe

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Odo: Don't worry, I plan to investigate the Klingons, the Bajorans, Quark, the visiting Terrelians... Sisko: You think Quark had something to do with this? Odo: (perplexed) I always investigate Quark. —"Visionary"

• To Kira; Quark simply cannot take a hint. When caught with their hand in a till, a good Ferengi will shout, 'Thief! Thief!' Likewise, whenever Quark makes a pass and gets shot down, he says to everyone within earshot, 'The woman simply can not get over her latent attraction to me! '
• In "Fascination" , when he falls under the influence of Lwaxana Troi's Xanthi fever , he briefly starts making the moves on Keiko O'Brien. Needless to say she is not remotely interested, and Miles drags him away by his ears.

• Accidental Proposal : Quark always wished for a statuesque alien babe of his own, but he probably didn’t count on getting married at knife-point to a Klingon woman whose husband he accidentally killed! Oddly enough, it works out pretty well.
• Anti-Hero : A Pragmatic Hero who's pretty much in for himself and his family, but there's no cruelty in his heart and he'll reluctantly help when things get too hot.
• Art Evolution : Early in the series the area around Quark's eyes darken to a violet/purple hue.
• The Bartender : He's more self-serving than the average example, but genuinely enjoys talking to his customers and getting to know them. It's why he chose running a bar over something more impersonal (like arms dealing).
• Because I'm Good At It : The sad truth of the matter is he is really good at selling weapons, with his holosuite arrangements (useful for product demonstrations) and his way with people. It's precisely the sort of career he might have pursued if he'd remained in the Ferengi Alliance.
• And in "Bar Association", he refuses to let Rom take time off to treat a life-threatening ear infection, but it's later revealed that he cut everyone's salary so he wouldn't have to fire anyone.
• Quark's status as either is largely dependent on viewpoints. By hew-mon standards, he's an appalling boss. By Ferengi standards, however, he's astoundingly benevolent (to the point where Brunt outright accuses him of being a Philanthropist which judging by Quark's reaction is possibly the worst insult one Ferengi can level at another). He only takes 30% of their tips, and even gives them vacations .
• Also, remember: he can and has crushed gold bars into pieces .
• Big Brother Instinct : Definitely doesn't come through most of the time, but Quark was willing to risk his life when Rom was going to be executed by the Dominion.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality : Part of the reason that Quark comes across as a Small Name, Big Ego is that much of what non-Ferengi see as his flaws, he considers his best qualities.
• Book Ends : Being threatened with physical violence by Kira. It happens at the end of the pilot and series finale. Quark practically winks at the camera.
• Sisko is insistent he be kept around and active for his role as community leader; Quark had to be blackmailed into not leaving the station on his own in the pilot. Most of his revealed schemes are actually fairly petty, like low-level smuggling and trying to start a rat-fighting ring. He's also been shown acting as an informant for Odo when Worf accidentally broke up a sting operation they were pulling.
• Casual Kink : Despite ostensibly believing in traditional Ferengi values, it's hinted that Quark does get off on aggressive alien females. He appears to have enjoyed his Destructo-Nookie with Grilka, and when a leather-clad Ezri Tigan from the Mirror Universe walks into his quarters and puts a knife to his throat, Quark thinks it's kinky roleplay and is quite eager to play along. "Spare me from beings who think pain is pleasure. [beat] In small doses, perhaps..."
• The Chew Toy : Quark's long list of injuries and near-death experiences rivals that of Harry Kim! (Who he incidentally tried to swindle in "Caretaker".) Most of these accidents occurred during a botched business deal or illegal exchange.
• Chivalrous Pervert : He has his moments, such as the time he protected one of his Dabo girls from being assaulted by a drunken customer.
• The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes : He's burned through quite a few girlfriends because they mattered less to him than furthering his businesses. And yet he hectors Odo over lacking a heart and nonexistent personal life.
• Cool and Unusual Punishment : Quark shows a surprising sense of willpower by dragging Odo up an icy mountain and refusing to give up — he refuses to let his brother get the bar, his nephew be completely corrupted by Federation values and to die with his body unsold! ("The Ascent")
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass : Quark's usually portrayed as a coward, but just count the number of times he kills veteran Jem'Hadar soldiers over the course of the series.
• A Day in the Limelight : He's pretty much the star of the show for all the Ferengi-centric episodes. Particularly the ones that take place almost entirely on Ferenginar.
• Determinator : Not often, but as shown in "The Ascent", Quark, crashed on a uninhabited planet, refuses to die and attempts to signal for help simply to spite Odo. In one episode, he even survives a hit from a phaser that was shown killing someone just a few minutes earlier (showing it wasn't set to stun). The only reason they can think of for why Quark doesn't die from it is that he absolutely does not want Rom getting the bar.
• Subverted by Major Kira, who was extremely upset about him putting Jadzia's life at risk, even though he ultimately helped her. (Quark making a sexual hologram of her without her permission can't have helped either.) It was only after he risked his life to help out the Deep Space 9 resistance cell at the beginning of season 6 that she decided to forgive him.
• He goes into business with his cousin Gaila, an arms merchant, but changes his mind and ultimately wrecks Gaila's business because he can't stand to sell the death of millions.
• When the Dominion takes over the station, Quark is initially okay with it. Sure, he misses the Federation, but business is good and (as he says) the current occupation is nowhere near as bad as the Cardassian one. However, his viewpoint changes over the course of the arc. Towards the end, he bemoans the current situation, saying he doesn't like the Cardassians and finds the Jem'Hadar creepy (not to mention they don't ever buy anything so all they do is take up space and scare away business). He culminates by saying, "I wanna sell root beer again!"
• Brunt's scheme to crash the Ferengi stock market to become the Grand Nagus is too power hungry even for him.
• Despite his frequent antagonism of Odo, he's one of the first to stand up for Odo when he's framed for murder.
• Extreme Omnisexual : Bajorans, Vulcans, Klingons, Cardassians, Trill.. you know, it might be easier to list the species Quark hasn't hit on.
• Lampooned when Quark got temporarily promoted to Nagus. His office suite, pet-stroking, and dialogue ("and yet now you call me Nagus...") evokes Vito Corleone . ("The Nagus")
• Fang Thpeak : Especially in early episodes, as with many Ferengi and Klingons, thanks to the prosthetic fangs.
• Faster Than They Look : Quark despite his short stature is an amazing sprinter as shown in "The Magnificent Ferengi" where it took other Ferengi including the Starfleet-trained young Nog minutes to catch up with him. He's also a good quickdraw with a disruptor.
• The Fettered : Ironically, Quark is insanely principled and does his best to always adhere to his ideals. It's just that he follows the Ferengi's greed-based Blue-and-Orange Morality , meaning he comes off as totally amoral to everyone else.
• Foil : Quark, like all Ferengi, is anti-Trek personified. Anything the Federation is for, Quark is against — and he even offers up some counter-arguments.
• Meanwhile, in the first season episode "A Man Alone", he remarks that, as his oldest adversary, he's the closest thing Odo has to a friend.
• In "Fascination," Odo makes an offhanded remark basically admitting to stalking Quark.
• In the finale, Odo pointedly defies this trope, though Quark takes it completely in stride. Quark is ultimately proven right, thus playing the trope straight, Odo simply wouldn't admit it to Quark's face.
• The Gambler : Self-proclaimed in "Starship Down," and the reason why Quark prefers a risky investment to a safe one.
• Vic's nightclub is a nested example of a bar-within-a-bar. His program was originally intended to run for only an hour or two, since the holosuite is a rental. However, Nog later arranged it for it to run continuously.
• Good Old Ways : Why he doesn't get on with his 'ahead of the times' mother and why he's skeptical of Rom's new Ferenginar. Over the course of the show, he went from being an unusually progressive boss to behind the times just by standing still.
• His comment in "Bar Association" is telling; he can either cut everyone's hours (and salaries) by a third to keep the bar running, or fire half his staff. He chooses to keep everyone's job. He almost never resorts to violence to get anything done (other Ferengi have no such compunctions), and the reason why he gets so many invoked Strawman / Jerkass Has a Point moments is that he is entirely too human and can relate (his "Root Beer" speech is classic Quark). He gets into constant trouble with the Ferengi Commerce Authority because of his strangely compassionate side. Comes to a head in "Body Parts," where Brunt explains that his hatred of Quark is not due to any particular misdeed, but rather that he is a philanthropist by Ferengi standards note  During the Occupation, he sold supplies to the Bajoran Resistance at slightly above cost rather than gouging them for all he could .
• On the other hand, this also explains why he's such a traditionalist. While other Ferengi are often shallow and greedy enough to do just about anything for profit, he considers the public welfare just as important.
• He's also deeply religious, almost as spiritual as Kira in his own way. He's been seen praying and in one episode even had a dream about visiting the Ferengi equivalent of Heaven.
• He's often capable of providing good advice, even if it's to people he (cordially) can't stand. One time he out-logic'd a Vulcan.
• For all his Ferengi sexism and lechery, Quark feels attraction toward strong, independent women such as Grilka and Pel. Over the series, Quark also respectfully assists Kira, Jadzia Dax, and other strong women.
• He defies the Dominion and joins Ziyal in freeing Kira and Rom from certain death by holding Jem'Hadar at gunpoint. Even Quark seems surprised by his actions.
• Among a people who traditionally regard self-preservation as a higher virtue than courageous sacrifice, Quark has often risked his own life and limb even when strategic withdrawal and writing off the losses would be more immediately profitable , and often seems to resent his people's reputation for cowardice.
• Honest John's Dealership : The Ferengi's Hat . Lampshaded in "Little Green Men", when one of the 20th Century humans mentions that Quark reminds him of his brother-in-law, who is a used car salesman.

• Hypocrite : Disgusted by the decline in traditional Ferengi values (unrelenting greed), he decides he's going to turn down the job of Grand Negus unless Zek rolls back his reforms. It doesn't seem to occur to him that by turning down a job that would make him obscenely wealthy on principle, he was himself rejecting those very same traditional Ferengi values.
• He's still fuming over turning down his cousin's offer to go into business with him. Oh, you remember Cousin Gaila; the guy with his own moon? Unsurprisingly, Garak — who knows 80 ways to kill someone and now ekes out a living mending pants — is a little less than sympathetic. (Quark may not be filthy rich but he is pretty well off.)
• That said, background imagery and throwaway lines in both Picard and Lower Decks , if taken at face value, show that years after the events of the series, Quark did well enough for himself that his bar is now a Quadrant spanning franchise! Mariner: (regarding a storefront on Starbase 25) Oh, they have a Quark's here now! That used to just be an abandoned lot where teens made mistakes!
• That being said, a season 3 episode of Lower Decks does show that Quark's copying Karemma technology and nearly causing Tendi and Rutherford to get taken to the Gamma Quadrant resulted in a deal where the Karemma dropped the charges against Quark in exchange for a hefty chunk of his profits, so he's definitely not as successful thanks to that screwup.
• Iron Butt Monkey : Quark takes an amazing amount of pounding on occasions, include one severe Naussican-inflicted breakdown that among other things shattered one of his eye sockets. But he always bounces back (though it probably helps that there's a doctor right across the Promenade from his bar).
• Interspecies Romance : With Grilka, a female Klingon; over the course of two episodes she kidnaps and marries him to save her House from being taken by an enemy, he saves her House, they divorce, and then they start falling in love. She only appears in two episodes without further mention, so it's unknown where things went after the first time they had sex. In the continuity of Star Trek Online , it's mentioned she ended up marrying Worf in 2386 and they have a son together. Also with Natima Lang, a Cardassian woman who Quark was genuinely deeply in love with.
• He doesn't get along with either his mother or his brother, and rarely interacts with his nephew at all, but it's made clear in several scenes with Rom; as much as Quark may belittle or argue with them, he clearly loves them. When the station came under attack and he thought Rom might have been killed, he abandoned the bar and went to help search the wreckage, sounding incredibly worried as he asked Kira if she had seen his brother.
• While everybody else, especially Worf, wasn't sure how to react to Ezri Dax's arrival at Deep Space Nine, Quark was the first person outside the Siskos to welcome her.
• He allegedly sold supplies to the Bajorans at cost during the occupation. He denied the allegation, claiming it was just above cost (which still counts, as he surely could've gouged them if he really wanted to). He makes comments throughout the series about how awful the Cardassian Occupation was, and it's implied he's owed a lot of favors on Bajor because of all the times he provided subtle assistance to Bajoran laborers... and to the resistance.
• Though it was in an Alternate Timeline , when Sisko had apparently died and a depressed Jake wanted to spend time with Nog, Quark gave his nephew the day off with zero hesitation despite the bar being very busy.
• Kavorka Man : Quark beds an absurd number of women throughout his career despite being a short gonk with a mostly obnoxious personality. He was well on his way to "melting a Vulcan heart" before she got jammed up for her Maquis activities.
• By the end of the series, Quark is on a first-name basis with the Federation Ambassador to Qo'nos, has a more than passing acquaintance with the most powerful Klingon Chancellor in generations, is the on-again off-again of the leader of a Klingon Great House who he helped install (remember, Klingon Great Houses field fleets ), is well-acquainted with one of the most powerful members of the Bajoran military, his nephew is destined to become one of the Federation's greatest captains, he's the beloved bartender of one of the Federation's most brilliant physicians and its one of its most highly-regarded engineers, he's Enemy Mine with the de facto contact point between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant, and his brother is the Grand Nagus . You can find richer Ferengi, but you'll never find one with better connections, or one who's better-liked by more powerful people outside of his own species. His influence continues after the series, too. In Picard season one, an important piece of plot-driving information passes to Jean-Luc Picard through the hands of none other than Mister Quark of Ferenginar .
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste : Trust Quark to try and make a profit out of the accidental death of a Klingon customer.
• Like an Old Married Couple : Rom's first marriage failed when he left to work on DS9 . Quark's a confirmed bachelor note  his marriage to Grilka notwithstanding , and was the only character to not earn a Last-Minute Hookup in the final season. They're basically a couple, like it or not. Armin Shimerman confirmed that his arc in Season 7 was mending fences with his family, particularly Rom.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse : For all Quark's protestations about how Ferengi women should be - docile, submissive, naked - he's not attracted to women like that, except maybe the naked part. He's attracted to aggressive, strong-willed, highly intelligent women. And then you meet his Moogie...
• Loser Son of Loser Dad : According to Ishka, her husband wasn't a very successful businessman. Rom seems to have inherited his lack of financial acumen, and Quark's luck isn't so hot either, though he's certainly more savvy than his brother.
• Loveable Rogue : Quark may be a money-grubbing, penny-pinching, manipulative little swindler who lies and cheats as easily as sucking air, but he ultimately means no harm, and when push comes to shove, he will do the right thing to help his friends, his family, and his home. Besides, compared to the numerous real villains in the series, he's practically a saint.
• Loveable Sex Maniac : Tries to sleep with the Dabo girls he hires, although this gets toned down later. They wound up unionizing to improve the bar's working conditions, but that doesn't entirely stop his wandering hands.
• Mayor of a Ghost Town : Began the series as this. Cunningly, Sisko snatches Quark before he can leave the station and appoints him " community leader "; a nice way of saying that if Quark doesn't stay, his nephew goes to jail.
• The Millstone : Particularly in the show's early years. Quark often endangers the entire station in pursuit of an illegal transaction. One such incident (smuggling Verad onboard) almost got Jadzia killed — this caused him to tone it down a little.
• Necessarily Evil : Odo regularly allows Quark to break the law, while using him to get a bead on the more significant criminals Quark interacts with.
• Never My Fault : When he's caught out, you can always count on Quark to throw Rom under the bus. (In fact, there's a provision in the employee contracts that anything that goes wrong in the bar is automatically Rom's fault .) He did it in the pilot episode, he does it every other week, and it's a wonder Rom hasn't buried a spanner in his head by now. It's no surprise that Rom eventually left the bar to pursue his true talent — engineering.
• No True Scotsman : Quark catches heat from the Ferengi Commerce Authority for failing to adhere to proper business practices. For a time, the bar is liquidated by the FCA, and Quark himself barred from doing business anywhere within the Ferengi Alliance. Quark : I can reform! I'll start gouging the customers again! I'll revoke all my employees' vacation time! Brunt: ...You gave them vacations ?
• Papa Wolf : Contrary to appearances, he's fiercely protective of his nephew Nog. Although sometimes what he does to "help" is wrong (like sabotaging his entry exam to Starfleet Academy), sometimes it isn't (like gunning down Jem'Hadar soldiers to protect a comatose Nog during the Siege of AR-558). The whole reason he ended up staying on Deep Space Nine to begin with is because if he'd refused, Nog would have been stuck in jail for years.
• Persona Non Grata : In "Body Parts", he breaks a contract with his nemesis Brunt. For being in violation of the 17th Rule of Acquisition note  A contract is a contract is a contract (but only between Ferengi) , his business license was revoked, he was legally barred from doing business with other Ferengi, and he was banished from the Ferengi homeworld. He would regain his license and good standing in Season 6.
• He's not afraid to pour some drinks on the house when O'Brien and Bashir are believed to have been killed, or to offer Odo romantic evidence.
• He's genuinely happy to hear that Keiko is pregnant and then proceeds to wax nostalgic about Nog being a cute baby; Quark even read what's implied to be the Ferengi equivalent of the Dick and Jane books to the infant Nog ("Acquire, Brok, acquire!").
• While he often exploits his bar staff and especially the Dabo girls, he will sometimes come to their defence when patrons get a bit too familiar; at one point during "In The Pale Moonlight" one of the girls is being harassed by a drunken customer, so Quark intervenes (and gets stabbed for his trouble).
• Pragmatic Villainy : Quark is an incorrigible smuggler and black marketeer. However, "Things Past" revealed that he refuses to sell maraji crystals (an illegal drug) because the Cardassians don't like them and the Bajorans can't afford them.
• Professional Butt-Kisser : To Zek, the Grand Nagus. Zek treats him like pocket lint, but Quark still holds out hope for a reward one day. He never gets it.
• There's also a provision that anything that goes wrong in the bar is automatically Rom's fault.
• Company policy dictates that the staff is not responsible for lost (read: stolen ) property. Said policy is spelled out on a small sign hanging over the exit that is easily missable. Ambassador Troi was not pleased.
• Real Men Hate Affection : Rom and Quark can never quite be nice to each other and have to express their affection through trading insults. It gets especially tangled during wartime, as Quark becomes the stand-in for every family who waits to hear news from the front. Even he can't keep up pretenses forever. Rom: You're my brother. Whatever happens, we belong together. Quark: Well, like I said, you're an idiot. (goes to leave, then kisses Rom on the head)
• Rule-Abiding Rebel : By Ferengi standards, Quark is a radical due to such controversial opinions as "women should be allowed to spend and make money", "employees should have bonuses and vacation time", and "deals should be made in good faith." From a modern capitalist point of view - and as he points out himself several times - he's simply making pragmatic economic decisions to maximize his profits, and thus more closely keeping to (stated) Ferengi cultural norms than anyone else.
• Sharp-Dressed Man : Always has a snazzy and colourful blazer and shirt combo.
• Shipper on Deck : As the station's eyes and ears ( Ha! ), Quark comments on the pairings occurring all around him. Even some that never actually took off , such as Sisko/Jadzia.
• Subverted with Liquidator Brunt , who would be happy to see Quark dead, or, short of that, shunned by Ferengi society, for watering down traditional Ferengi values.
• It's also thrown in his face during "The Ascent". Part of the reason Odo pursued him all those years was because he thought Quark was (or had connections with) part of the Orion Syndicate, and he couldn't even afford the entrance fee. Quark shoots back that this means Odo wasted years hounding him for bearing a failure.
• Also this parting shot from "Body Parts": Quark: Look, I've broken the contract, so do your job. Take my assets, revoke my Ferengi business licence. Do whatever you have to do, then get out. And if I ever see you walk into my bar again... Brunt: Yes? Quark: You won't walk out.
• Kills at least half a dozen Jem'Hadar Super Soldiers in shootouts over the course of the series, despite how often he insists fighting is no way for a Ferengi to behave. He's a blindingly fast draw with a disruptor pistol and a very good shot.
• When circumstances forced him into a duel with a Klingon, he escaped with his life by showing up anyway, throwing the fight and saying how it's effectively an execution ("Killing an unarmed Ferengi... half his size "), calling out the Klingon High Council for letting the farce of an inheritance dispuse continue, goading his opponent into fighting anyway and causing Chancellor Gowron to intervene and admonish his opponent for such a dishonor. Quite a little Batman Gambit on his part.
• Was fully intent on defending his bar during the Klingon attack on his own, if not for Rom without his knowledge taking parts of his old service disruptor to fix the replicators.
• In "Business As Usual" he was willing to give up his life to sabotage a weapons deal that would have led to the deaths of twenty-two million innocent civilians. "One life for twenty-two million. Best deal I ever made."
• Status Quo Is God : Many things change throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but one thing never does: Quark will always, ALWAYS end up back tending his bar by the end of any given storyline. Quark's business opportunities never go anywhere significant or backfire and whenever he's handed the opportunity to be rich it's either taken away from him or he's forced to give it up. Conversely, Quark is constantly getting away with things that should have gotten him arrested by Odo likely before the series even started and if his bar is taken away from him he always gets it back.
• Super-Senses : Like all Ferengi, Quark's got good ears. Odo uses it to torment him by pacing out his room when Quark's trying to sleep. Even when he's something like a mouse, Quark can still hear him, and it bugs the hell out of him.
• Token Heroic Orc : Like any good Ferengi, Quark has a keen eye for profit and a self-serving nature. When push comes to shove, however, he will set aside profit to help Sisko and the crew of DS9 .
• The Unfavorite : His mother always preferred Rom, partly because Rom takes a lot after his late father. Quark and his mother have a lot in common, but are on opposite ends opinion-wise. As she herself puts it, Rom is always her little boy but Quark grew up young and is more of an equal.
• That said, by the end of his The Bus Came Back trip in "Hear All, Trust Nothing" of Lower Decks , he's immediately back to being on the off-foot again after being caught for being successful for too long off of stolen Karemma technology, with Quark being forced to give up 76% of all of his franchises profits to them as to help facilitate trade relations with the Federation as compensation for his crimes against the Karemma. Something he takes rather poorly when Freeman asks if he's happier being poor than in jail .
• Unrequited Love : Implied to be the case with Jadzia Dax, especially by the time she is married to Worf. After she is killed, his feelings are still there for her successor Ezri.
• Unusual Ears : Like all Ferengi.
• Vitriolic Best Buds : He and Odo snark and bicker at each other all the time, but Quark will defend Odo if others are against him.
• Worthy Opponent : Feels this way about Odo. Even in the second episode, he defends Odo against accusations of murder.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame : Quark absolutely hates the fact that his most successful business venture — the bar and casino — is a legitimate one. According to him, Quark is mockingly known as "the Synthehol King" back on Feringinar, a reference to his squeaky-clean reputation amongst the Federation citizens whom he ought to be fleecing left and right. (Synthehol, as the name implies, is a beverage which mimics the taste of alcohol without any of the deleterious effects. It's an absolute joke compared to Ferengi alcohol, which perfectly sums up his homeworld's opinion of him as toothless and non-threatening.)

Odo: I've had my eye on you for a long time, Rom. You're not as stupid as you look ! Rom : I am, too! — "Necessary Evil"

• All of the Other Reindeer : Rom's poor business sense and aptitude for engineering make him an outcast in Ferengi society. Lampshaded by Nog, who is bitterly aware that his father could've been Chief Engineer on a starship if he'd had the opportunity. Instead, he tried to fit the "good Ferengi" mold and go into sales — for which he has absolutely no talent. Nog's disappointment in him (and subsequent successes in Starfleet) is what motivates Rom to quit working for his brother.
• Almighty Janitor : Ostensibly a pit boss, Rom is basically forced to perform all of the dirty work Quark shovels on him: Repairs, waiting tables, and cleaning, too. His talents were eventually recognized by Starfleet, averting this trope and leading to a few promotions. Though he did come up with the self-replicating minefield trick, which suggests he's still underemployed. (He eventually became Grand Nagus.)
• Annoying Younger Sibling : But pretty much only as far as Quark is concerned.
• As shown under Papa Wolf , and Quark learned the hard way, you do not interfere with his son Nog.
• Cain and Abel : Once he realizes he could inherit the bar, he tries to convince Odo that Quark wouldn’t want to be kept alive by artificial means... Then there's the time he cooperated in Quark's (failed, repeatedly) assassination.
• His early appearances as depicted as a cold blooded opportunist who would gladly kill his own brother. Later episodes characterized him as a Kindhearted Simpleton .
• The Chew Toy : He's got clear self-esteem issues thanks to, among other things, being a poor businessman and having a domineering older brother in Quark. He's usually the one that gets blamed when something goes wrong.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder : Before he was characterized, he had this towards Quark.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass : Even in earlier characterizations where Rom isn't the hypercompetent mechanic he is later, he still manages this. Even Odo recognized him as being more devious than Quark, naming Rom along with Gaila (who owns his own moon) and the Grand Nagus.
• Ear Ache : At one point, he gets a nasty ear infection, on account of getting too much oomox... self-administered oomox.
• Early-Installment Weirdness : In the first season Rom is more ruthless (even trying to kill Quark in "The Nagus") and meaner to Nog. Later seasons depict him as a lovable idiot who wouldn't hurt a fly.
• Easily Forgiven : In "The Nagus," Rom actively takes part in a plot to murder Quark, yet Quark seems to hold no grudge and lets him keep working at the bar without ever mentioning this incident again. The rest of the officers and crew on Deep Space Nine don't seem to take issue with this either. Seems to be a case of Status Quo Is God . (Then again, Ferengi culture is only slightly less built on backstabbing duplicity than the Romulans or the Cardassians, so maybe Quark took this as a sign of positive growth on his brother's behalf.)
• "Eureka!" Moment : His epiphany regarding the minefield came on the eve of his wedding, when Rom was freaking out over trivial matters like closet space.
• He off-handedly comes up with the idea of self-replicating anti-starship mines to blockade the Bajoran Wormhole against Dominion reinforcements while barely paying attention. While O'Brien is generally the only man keeping DS9 in general in a modicum of working order, Rom is responsible for all the high technology in Quark's Bar working at all (usually through MacGyvering stuff).
• Rom's skill with devices is shown at one point while he and Quark are away and the bar is locked. O'Brien, one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators, is having trouble getting through the lock. Odo passes by and comments that he's never seen a more "convoluted" design.
• Nog states that his father is an engineering genius and could easily be the chief engineer of a starship, but is stuck being a waiter in Quark's bar.
• Genius Ditz : A damn fine engineer, completely lacking in common sense and, worse for a Ferengi, business sense, until near the end of the show. Quark: Looks like your stupidity has saved you again. Rom: It comes in handy sometimes.
• Grew a Spine : Over time, he gains more self-confidence (in part thanks to Nog), eventually becoming an engineer for the station rather than the minor partner (and Mr. Fixit ) at Quark's Bar.
• Happily Married : Him and Leeta.
• Hero-Worshipper : Although O'Brien is not an officer, we start to see how respected he is among the rank and file aboard DS9 . Nog follows the Chief around like a puppy, and Rom insists on copying his breakfast orders down to the letter. The mere mention of orange juice and bacon makes Quark look like he's about to hurl, suggesting it's far from the usual Ferengi diet.
• Hidden Depths : Very well-hidden- even Odo initially thought he was just an idiot who "couldn't fix a straw if it was bent" before reconsidering and realizing he was smarter than he looked . He turned out to be an engineering genius.
• Ignored Expert : He did tell Quark that the holosuites need downtime once a week for essential maintenance. Quark refuses to listen, then blames Rom when, surprise surprise, the holosuites go bust.
• Interspecies Romance : He dates and ultimately marries Leeta, a Bajoran Dabo girl.
• Klingon Scientists Get No Respect : The Ferengi value business acumen above all else, and tend to shun anyone who doesn't thrive in the cut-throat world of business. Unfortunately, for Rom, he's a terrible businessman, but a great engineer. Once he joins Chief O'Brien's maintenance crew, he blossoms.
• Loser Son of Loser Dad : His and Quark's father wasn't a very successful businessman, and Rom isn't so great at business either. Eventually subverted when Rom becomes the Grand Nagus.
• Love Makes You Stupid : How he wound up as a single father working for his brother. Ferengi marriages aren't exactly like human marriages - there's contracts involved. Rom was so head-over-heels with Nog's mother he never bothered checking the revised contract, and got swindled for all his money, and promptly dumped. Quark: Hooray for romance!
• Momma's Boy : Much to Quark's annoyance. Rom calls Ishka "Moogie". Ironically, Ishka is quick to point out that, while Rom has greater affection for his mother, Quark is the most like her in personality and financial skills.
• Mr. Fixit : Because Quark is so cheap when it comes to repairs, Rom has to be ridiculously inventive to keep everything running smoothly. For example, he uses a spatula as a key conductor in the holosuite's mechanisms (a mesh of Federation, Ferengi, and Cardassian technology only he understands).
• Nice Guy : While as self-centered and vicious as the worst Ferengi in early episodes (albeit bad at it ), he evolved into this in later seasons. He once gave the entirety of his net worth to a fund for war orphans.
• Papa Wolf : Mess with Nog at your peril. When Quark sabotages Nog's Starfleet admittance test, Rom was furious. Even though all the rest of the time he's completely dominated by Quark, he went as far as to threaten to burn the bar down because he cares more about Nog's happiness than anything.
• Real Men Wear Pink : Provides Quark with sage advice for passing himself off as a woman. In fact, Rom almost knows too much about the subject.
• Simpleton Voice : After his first appearance.
• Took a Level in Kindness : Season One Rom was as unscrupulous as his brother—if a little slow on the uptake—with a penchant for fobbing work off on his son.
• Throw the Dog a Bone : After years of poor luck, Rom gets made Grand Naugus in the second-to-last episode.
• By Ferengi standards Rom is considered something of a Brainless Beauty though.
• When they start to get serious he starts to have serious doubts about his good luck and starts to suspect she's after his money. When she's still interested after he donates it all to charity he knows it's real.
• Undying Loyalty : He may not impress on first impressions, but you can trust Rom with your life. Or, as O'Brien learned in "The Assignment", the life of your wife.
• Walking Disaster Area : An absolute menace on the baseball field, resulting in bat-related injuries for the entire team. (His jersey number is 13 .)

Rom : You remember my son Nog, don't you? He's the first Ferengi to join Starfleet. Zek : I'll try not to hold that against him. — "Profit and Lace"

• Almighty Janitor : Despite only being a cadet, he is able to work a Chain of Deals to get Chief O'Brien the supplies he needed while getting Martok a better batch of bloodwine, without Captain Sisko ever realizing his desk was gone . His Ferengi hearing came in handy during several missions. Other than Chief O'Brien and Rom, he is the only engineer on the station who understands the amalgam of Cardassian, Bajoran, and Starfleet technology that keeps the station running. And, he was the first Starfleet officer on the station to learn about the Romulans signing a non-aggression pact with the Dominion.
• Artificial Limbs : After the Siege of AR-558. It's actually a synthetically-grown replacement functionally identical to the one he lost, but he still struggles with getting used to it at first.
• Authority in Name Only : In "Blaze of Glory," Nog began goose-stepping around the promenade like a mall ninja. He baffled General Martok by marching right to some Klingons and telling them to clear off . "No loitering!"
• Book Dumb : At the beginning of the series, he can't read or write in English. Jake teaching him to do so is a big part of their friendship.
• Broken Pedestal : Initially, he hero-worships Red Squadron, the Academy's best of the best. His adventure with them in "Valiant" burns it out of him.
• Due to the Dead : By the time of the 32nd century, Starfleet would name an Eisenberg -class starship in his honor.
• Going Native : With humans to some degree. Not least in a quintessential human activity.
• Grammar Nazi : After his return from Starfleet Academy, Nog goes over one of Jake's attempts at writing. Despite Jake's hope for feedback, all he gets is spelling corrections.
• Gung Holier Than Thou : He is rather enthusiastic about militaristic behavior, especially for a Ferengi.
• Heroic BSoD : The episode "It's Only a Paper Moon" focuses on the psychological toll that AR-558 took on him—withdrawn, defensive, and unwilling to go back into reality after the trauma of losing his leg . He more or less has PTSD .
• Informed Flaw : He claims not to have the "lobes" for business, but he proves an extremely canny operator who can get just about any part or favor required. It's possible that he might not have the savvy or ruthlessness to go up against other Ferengi as adversaries, but as fixer for his comrades, he is eminently capable.
• Legendary in the Sequel : Star Trek: Discovery establishes that Nog made such a name for himself they named a ship after him in the 32nd century..
• Loser Son of Loser Dad : As he bluntly points out to Sisko, he is, by Ferengi standards, a failure from a family of failures. As such, he's desperate to prove himself.
• Neat Freak : Became one after attending Starfleet Academy, much to the annoyance of Jake, who's much more of a slob, when two became roommates.
• Never Learned to Read : An early subplot has Jake teaching Nog to read.
• No Indoor Voice : All but outright stated to be part of the whole Compensating for Something package.
• His friendship with Jake Sisko is something that both their parents initially try to discourage.
• He and General Martok aren't quite friends, given the huge discrepancies in culture and rank, but they're extremely respectful to each other. Martok always greets him before anyone else when he enters Ops as a result of Nog having the cajones to enforce station regulations to a Klingon general.
• Plucky Middie : Once the Dominion War starts, he's still a cadet for much of the initial invasion until he's field promoted to ensign.
• In the Finale, he is promoted to Lieutenant.
• In the expanded universe he would go on to become Chief Engineer of the Enterprise -E and eventually was promoted to captain of the USS Chimera (as implied in "The Visitor").
• Safe Cracking : Using his superior Ferengi hearing. Came into play during the heist in "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang".
• Sanity Slippage Song : Bashir brought some Vic Fontaine MP3s to AR-558 and Quark played "I'll Be Seeing You" for Nog while Nog was wounded and recovering in the infirmary, even during the pitched battle. When he came back from surgery, a traumatized Nog continued to replay the songs over and over again in his quarters. The Incessant Music Madness drove Jake to kick him out, and Nog limped his way upstairs to the Las Vegas hologram. ("It's Only a Paper Moon")
• Shell-Shocked Veteran : After losing his leg in the Siege of AR-558 .
• The Scrounger : By the time he joins Starfleet, he's an expert at navigating the "Great Material Continuum", much to Chief O'Brien's bemusement (and relief).
• Token Heroic Orc : At first, appears to be playing against the Ferengi hat of capitalistic greed full-tilt. However, once in Starfleet, he starts subverting it by using his innate Ferengi business sense to requisition needed supplies seemingly out of thin air (see The Scrounger above). He's still very much a Starfleet Officer after his Character Development , but he doesn't completely discard where he came from either.
• Toxic Friend Influence : Nog introduced Jake to the concept of whopper lies. Later (hilariously) reversed when Nog becomes the straight arrow, while Jake drags him into zany schemes .
• Space Cadet
• Unusual Ears

Leeta : I have brains! Quark : Sure you do, honey. That's why I hired you. Now, eat up, and then take those brains back to the dabo wheel where the customers can get a good looong look at them. — "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?"

• Ascended Extra : She was initially brought in as a vapid, superficial one-off Love Interest for Dr. Bashir. Fan response was strong, and she would appear in over a dozen subsequent episodes, becoming a fairly prominent secondary character by mid-series.
• Buxom Beauty Standard : She has a very busty figure, which often causes men to stare.
• Cute, but Cacophonic : When she gets upset by Rom's calm acceptance of his impending Dominion-mandated execution, she starts wailing.
• A Day in the Limelight : To a certain extent in the Season 4 episode "Bar Association". Once the midpoint of the show passes she no longer qualifies for this as she's more or less a recurring character by that point.
• Dude, Where's My Respect? : She's not a Disposable Sex Worker , but Quark treats her like one. She and Rom later let him have it.
• Fanservice with a Smile : Her duties as a Dabo Girl require her to be overly flirtatious, and overtly friendly with her clientele.
• Girly Girl : One of the most girlish and feminine characters in the crew. This actually comes in handy one time, when she needs to help Quark act like a female in "Profit and Lace".
• Good Stepmother : Not a consistent part of their dynamic, but she explicitly refers to herself as Nog's stepmother at least once; in a spin-off novel, Nog explicitly observes that Leeta has been a better mother to him than his own mother. Nog later takes to calling her "Moogie", the Ferengi term of endearment for mothers and grandmothers.
• Good with Numbers : A must-have skill for any good Dabo Girl.
• Ms. Fanservice : She was introduced as blatant eye-candy, being fairly attractive and often getting gratuitous fanservice scenes.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl : She doesn't seem to care much for modesty. In "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" she greets Dr. Zimmerman at her door in only a Modesty Towel before going to get dressed. Then promptly walks out of her dressing room without it, and without finishing dressing, when she learns of a new job opportunity . She only notes her state of undress due to Zimmerman staring , and just casually apologizes before retreating to finish getting dressed for his sake.
• Opposites Attract : She's a gorgeous, charismatic, outgoing young woman. And he's easygoing, loyal, passive, and underestimated. They're both ditzy, though.
• Remember the New Guy? : In "Facets," Jadzia invites her seven closest friends to join her in a Trill ritual, including Leeta, who had had one scene in the last three seasons prior to that point. This was a function of the Dax symbiont having had three female hosts prior to Jadzia, but Nana Visitor was the only other female member of the main cast. Even after including Leeta, that still left one (handled by Quark, figuratively playing in drag long before "Profit and Lace").
• Smarter Than You Look : Despite Leeta's bubbly, somewhat ditzy demeanor, she is a keen observer and seasoned student of sociology.
• The Social Expert : She's an amateur sociologist and is very good at socializing and befriending people.
• The Tease : She often has a flirtatious demeanor, even when not working.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife : She's the hot wife to Rom 's ugly guy.
• What Does She See in Him? : Everyone is dumbfounded when she dumps Julian Bashir for Rom. Well, Quark and Bashir are, anyway.

• The Ace : Played for laughs, and entirely an Informed Attribute by the rest of the cast through the show, with none of his actual supposed abilities and personality ever seen on screen.
• Amusing Alien : They get a lot of mileage out of someone who never actually speaks.
• The Bartender : In the alternate future shown in " The Visitor ", Nog reveals that Morn took over the bar after Quark and Rom retired.
• Bald Of Awesome : According to a one-off mention by Quark, Morn's species have head hair, Morn has simply gone bald (Quark recalls of the first time Morn came into the bar that "he still had all of his hair then").
• Bizarre Alien Biology : He's got two (apparently metal-resistant) stomachs, more than one heart, and at least four lungs .
• Casting Gag : In "Who Mourns For Morn?", Quark tries to get a customer to sit on Morn's stool after he dies - that customer is Mark Shepherd out of his normal make-up.
• Character Shilling : Played for Laughs . The rest of the cast constantly talks up how funny, talented, talkative, charming, handsome, etc., Morn is, none of which the audience ever gets to see.
• Other ideas were batted around for preserving Morn's stool, including a holographic recreation of everyone's favorite barfly. Hilariously, after Morn returns from the dead and cheats Quark out of a fat inheritance, Quark, in a fit of rage, tries wrestling the stool out of the floor.
• Expy : For Norm of Cheers . His name is even an anagram.
• Faking the Dead : Has to pull this in the above episode due to his checkered past.
• To be fair, Li Nalas was specifically talking to the Bajorans and asking them to stay and help so that the runabouts could transfer non-Bajorans (like Morn) to safety.
• Off-screen; described afterwards by Kira, Odo, and Quark. After Quark speculated that a Dominion attack on Deep Space Nine would leave them all dead, Morn hit Quark with a barstool and ran through the Promenade screaming "We're all doomed!", then ran naked into the station's Bajoran shrine (interrupting Kira's meditation) and begged the Prophets for protection.
• Hidden Depths : Apparently, he has a beautiful singing voice and used to practice bat'leth with Worf.
• It might be a case of him avoiding Suspicious Spending , as he had to wait ten years for the statute of limitations to expire on the robbery. After that you'd think he'd quit his day job as a freighter captain, but apparently he likes his job (though he did give Quark a large tip for his troubles).
• He's also there the morning after Dax's bachelorette party.
• Massive Numbered Siblings : He has seventeen brothers and sisters.
• Momma's Boy : A vital message that changed the course of the Dominion War only got through because he smuggled it in one of the many presents he was rushing home to give his mother for her birthday. Of course, it's presented that this is sort of a cultural thing for all Lurians: "Mother's Day" is such a huge holiday on their homeworld that everyone was too busy celebrating it to guard the planetary bank, allowing Morn and a team of four other thieves to rob it.
• Odd Friendship : With everyone! Amazingly, Morn seems to get along with practically everyone on the station. When he faked his death, pretty much everyone on DS9 showed up to pay their respects. His friendship even goes as high up as Sisko, who's trust in him convinced him the secret messsage smugged out during the height of the Dominion War was genuine.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome : Morn's smuggling of the warning message to Sisko that the minefield around the wormhole was soon to be destroyed, his success in passing on the message led to Sisko reaching the wormhole in time and asking for help from the Prophets to destroy the massive Dominion fleet coming through it, saving the entire Alpha Quadrant, Federation and more in the process.
• Noodle Incident : Pretty much Morn's whole backstory is a series of these.
• Parody Sue : Morn basically does nothing onscreen throughout the entire series but is constantly and consistently praised as the greatest thing since James T. Kirk. Apparently , he's talkative, charming, funny, a ladies man, an excellent fighter in Klingon martial arts, has a beautiful singing voice, and single-handedly altered the course of the Dominion War by smuggling out vital secrets to the Federation. Jadzia even talks about how attractive she found him, but thought that he was "way out of her league." Jadzia.
• Pretty Boy : According to Odo, he's considered quite androgynous for a Lurian, though to the viewers Lurians all look pretty much the same .
• Running Gag : Everyone always talks about qualities he has or actions he took we never get to see. Such as him being very talkative and sociable. He is usually just seen quietly drinking in the bar. Quark : You know Morn; he never shuts up.
• Small Role, Big Impact : Largely just a comedic background character, but if it weren't for him, the Federation wouldn't have found out the wormhole minefield was going to be disabled until it was too late, and a Dominion armada would have conquered the entire Alpha Quadrant.
• Spear Carrier : His role is to be a regular face at Quark's... and not much else.
• Stomach of Holding : He kept over 1000 bricks worth of liquid-latinum in his second stomach for over ten years with no ill effects, apart from massive hair-loss.
• Take Our Word for It : Comedic version. He's quite the blabbermouth. You'd never know from watching. He's also referred to as the resident Boisterous Bruiser on a couple of occasions and apparently has a tremendous singing voice. Apparently also a ladies' man. See Kavorka Man .
• He does, however, laugh. Once . He also yelped in pain another time when Quark was trying his hand at darts and accidentally threw them at Morn instead of the dartboard.

Zek : The Gamma Quadrant, gentlemen — millions of new worlds at our very doorstep. The potential for Ferengi business expansion is staggering. Zek's crony: And best of all, no one there has ever heard the name "Ferengi"! — "The Nagus"

• Abhorrent Admirer : He spends one episode hitting on Kira. She's almost too bewildered to be disgusted.
• Annoying Laugh : A high-pitched, grating giggle, serving as an effective shorthand for a Grand Nagus's right and privilege to be the most irritating little git in this or any other room. Then again, he is played by Wallace Shawn, an expert at annoying laughs.
• Assassin Outclassin' : According to Zek himself, being Nagus comes with regular attempts of assassination. He's been out-stepping them for eight decades .
• Blue-and-Orange Morality : He encourages successors to want to usurp his position, but only approves it due the Ferengi way through profits. He doesn't approve of trying to gain the position through assassination.
• Characterization Marches On : In his first appearance, he messes with Quark's head and sets him up for a fall, but that's about it. In later episodes Quark is his chosen agent when dealing with the Gamma Quadrant and for several other matters and is barely aware of Rom (who takes advantage of the situation to skim the profits). In his last few appearances he seems to actively hate Quark and love Rom apropos of nothing (although the shift can be attributed to a mix of his growing senility and his new relationship with Ishka).
• Celebrity Paradox : Indirectly so. Wallace Shawn was Grand Nagus Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , which is a Spin-Off of Star Trek: The Next Generation , and Dr. John Sturgis on Young Sheldon . Wil Wheaton was Wesley Crusher on Next Generation and also was on The Big Bang Theory As Himself .
• Dead Alternate Counterpart : In the Confederation timeline his skull is one of many displayed in Picard's trophy case.
• Dirty Old Man : Has a healthy libido, similar to most Ferengi. He can out-compete them, too, as shown when Quark hands him a holosuite menu. "The Nagus will try all five." His idea of a retirement plan is to find a planet of babes and spend his twilight years getting it on.
• Everyone Has Standards : Quark observes that the Grand Nagus has to think of the collective good of the Ferengi Alliance rather than their personal benefit, observing that this quality is what made Zek a better Grand Nagus than Brunt would be.
• Hospitality for Heroes : More or less the reason why he continues to hang out with a bartender and his brother.
• Jerkass : One of the reasons the position of Grand Nagus is so prized amongst Ferengi is that it lets you be a petty-minded asshole to everyone with zero repercussions. Zek is only too happy to oblige.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold : 'Gold' might be pushing it, but his advancing age does mellow him out, as does his marriage to Ishka .
• Married to the Job : Greed is hard work. The Nagus has been running the Ferengi Alliance non-stop for eighty-five years, with no vacations. The Ferengi work ethic seems to frown on vacation time or luxuries.
• Money Fetish : Like all Ferengi.
• Parent with New Paramour : He's the paramour to Quark's parent Ishka. He regularly browbeats and insults Quark into respecting Ishka and threatens him whenever Quark gives him any lip.
• Pet the Dog : In "Favor The Bold" he, with some convincing from Quark, offered to buy Rom's freedom. Sadly it didn't work since the Dominion didn't care about money.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : By Ferengi standards. Zek is greedy but he puts the common financial good of the Ferengi over his own personal greed.
• Scatterbrained Senior : His advanced age has caused him to become increasingly absent-minded and forgetting a lot of the basic things one needs to know to run the Ferengi government. This eventually leads to Ishka becoming The Female Behind the Male , helping him keep the empire together.
• Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior! : And also Grand Nagus. Time to throw out the etiquette books, people.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money! : Basically his response when the FCA tries to shoot down his social reform. Overlaps with Screw the Rules, I Make Them! , because in Ferengi society, those who have the money make the rules.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts : With Ishka.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Zek uses his diplomatic immunity (and a healthy amount of extortion) to enjoy free reign of the station, as well as Quark's home on Ferignar. This irritating behavior is similar to Lwaxana Troi. He's even got a mute bodyguard.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave : In every appearance, Zek monopolizes Quark's bar, reserves his holosuites free of charge, demands to use his quarters, and delights in imposing himself everywhere.
• We Want Our Jerk Back! : After the Prophets turn him into a friendly, generous philanthropist via a Heel-Face Mind Screw , Quark is horrified. It's not just because a Heel-Face Mind Screw is inherently creepy, either - Ferengi culture is literally built on venal, money-grubbing dickery, and having the Grand Nagus turned like that could have apocalyptic consequences - it's basically the Ferengi equivalent of the Pope being caught by paparazzi blowing money at a strip club/brothel. (Ironically, given Zek once almost literally did show up to blow money on Deep Space Nine at a strip club/brothel, but that's just in line with what the Ferengi consider healthy moral values for their religious leaders.)

• Battle Butler : Like any Grand Nagus, Zek employs a hulking, mute manservant from the Hupyrian race to taste-test his food and flatten any enemies. He's the reason why Quark resists the urge to push Zek out an airlock. Maihar'du's vow of silence and grim countenance are probably a reference to Lurch from The Addams Family .
• Elective Mute : Hupyrian servants are sworn to a vow of silence, speaking to no one except their masters. Maihar'du is no exception.
• Inelegant Blubbering : When Zek is zapped by the Prophets, Maihar'du knows what's been done to him but due to his vow can't say anything, so all he can do is sob to himself.

"Your father might have bought you your first copy of the Rules of Acquisition, but who helped you memorize them?" — To Quark, "Family Business"

• Abusive Parents : Though not thoroughly abusive and getting along really well with her son Rom, she was rather neglectful and patronizing of Quark in his youth and in his adulthood. She almost gets Quark in deep financial trouble with the FCA by breaking cultural taboos through earning profit and nearly gets Quark bankrupted with no apologies. In "The Magnificent Ferengi", Quark risks his life to save Ishka from the Dominion and she still treats him as The Unfavorite later on.
• The Ace : At least by profit worshiping Ferengi standards. Ishka is a genius when it comes to finances and business, eventually going so far as helping the Grand Nagus run his empire. It's worth noting she was able to do this despite living in a society that would not allow women to do anything except raise their children.
• Affectionate Nickname : Rom calls her 'Moogie' (implied to be the Ferengi version of 'Mommy').
• Cultural Rebel : A Ferengi woman who earns profit and wears clothes.
• Friendly Enemy : She happily gives investment advice to her Dominion captors (although the Ferengi are technically neutral).
• She says this about her relationship with her first husband: despite his inability to understand and manipulate finances, he provided a good home and was a loving husband and father.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts : With Grand Nagus Zek, or "Zekkie" as she calls him.
• The Smart Guy : She has great business sense, far more than her late husband or her sons. She was effectively the shadow Grand Nagus for a time when her paramour, Grand Nagus Zek, started slipping into dementia, before her son Rom took the position.
• Ungrateful Bastard : In "The Magnificent Ferengi", Quark risks his life to save Ishka from the Dominion. Half a season later in "Profit and Lace", she is still chastising Quark as her unfavorite.
• As Grand Nagus Zek's senility starts to catch up with him, she effectively becomes the shadow ruler of the Ferengi Alliance, with his cheerful assent.
• She filled this role in her first marriage as well; despite being a good man with good intentions, her first husband would have gone bankrupt if not for her helping him with the finances .

"You are a disease, Quark, a festering tumor on the lobes of Ferengi society; and it's my job to cut you off." — "Body Parts"

• Blatant Lies : "It's Nothing Personal , Quark." Brunt targets Quark endlessly because he sees Quark as betraying everything that Ferengi culture stands for.
• Dirty Coward : For all his posturing and bluster, he's just a petty bully at heart, visibly afraid when Quark physically threatens him.
• The Dreaded : All Ferengi fear the FCA, but Brunt strikes fear deep into the hearts of Quark and his family.
• The Fundamentalist : Brunt is basically the embodiment of the Ferengi at their worst; opportunistic, hostile, always scheming to get ahead, totally devoted to the Ferengi ideal ( except when he benefits from ignoring it ), and completely devoid of any of Quark's redeeming qualities.
• Intimidating Revenue Service : Because wealth is everything to Ferengi, the FCA is basically their equivalent of the Tal'Shiar or Obsidian Order . Brunt's first appearance has him walk into Quark's with a pair of leg-breakers and a writ shutting down the bar.
• Internal Affairs : The FCA's role in Ferengi society, right down to everyone hating them for it.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain : Not that Quark isn't terrified of him all the same, but even he's shocked when Brunt reveals that he's willing to use the terms of a contract to have Quark killed (or rather, have Quark kill himself) simply to prove a point, rather than simply having him beaten, or letting Quark pay back the difference.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat : His Rule-Fu is strong — strong enough to get Quark to try and commit suicide-by-Garak.
• Politically Incorrect Villain : Played with in that Brunt's values are more in line with what most of Ferenginar believes, even Quark himself, ostensibly. Ferengi hardly have what you could call progressive views on females, but Brunt is outright disgusted by the idea of Ishka earning profit for herself. Or wearing clothes, which Ferengi women are not allowed to do, for that matter. And Quark personally catches his ire for what Brunt considers "philanthropy", practically a four-letter word among Ferengi. "But Quark takes 30% of his employees' tips!" Why isn't he taking all of it? "But he hardly gives them any time off for vacations!" He lets them take vacations?!
• Professional Butt-Kisser : In his own words, when he receives news that Quark will be named the Grand Nagus. : "It's never too early to begin sucking up to the boss!"
• Smug Snake : The FCA are some of the most powerful men on Ferenginar, and Brunt enjoys that fact immensely.
• Ungrateful Bastard : After being given his job back at the FCA for his part in rescuing Iska from the Dominion, (which he was fired from in the first place for his previous scheme involving trying to usurp Zek) he happily takes up the position of 'Acting Grand Nagus' after Zek is briefly forced into exile for 'daring' to grant business rights to females.
• Verbal Business Card : "Brunt, FCA." Though given both Brunt's personality and his occupation, this is less to introduce himself and more to cultivate the appropriate amount of terrified expressions at his arrival.

"When you sing in as many joints as I have, you become a student of the human heart." — "His Way"

• The Ace : The epitome of cool.
• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome : In the Mirror Universe, he's a gun-toting Android who is in the Alliance's employ (see the Klingon disruptor with Bajoran grips), who gets shot by Bashir. It seems all Bashir does in this universe is squeeze gats.
• Author Appeal : Basically a giant vanity piece by Ira Behr, who loves swing music and Bobby Darin.
• The Bartender : Ironically for a character who was introduced shortly before Ezri, he fit the "Ship's Counselor" role quite nicely, himself...leading to a sort of battle-over-turf between them in "It's Only A Paper Moon".
• Brooklyn Rage : Vic's nemesis in the mob scenario, Frankie Eyes, has a bone to pick with him from their childhood. Vic: It goes back to the old neighborhood. I used to beat him at stickball. Bashir: ....AND?? Vic: And nothing. We've been rivals ever since.
• Catchphrase : "Crazy!"
• Gilded Cage : Like the EMH on Voyager , Vic dutifully performs his role, but secretly pines for a more autonomous life. When Nog becomes a recluse and starts living in the holosuite 24/7, it has the added effect of allowing Vic to roam free: to sleep in a real bed (instead of simply being shut off), to play cards with his band-mates, and to have the semblance of a real life. The opposite is just as true for Nog: he can pretend all he likes, but living the high-life in a tiny holosuite is neither enviable nor healthy. Despite this paradox, Vic selflessly shuts himself off rather than let Nog continue to wrap himself in a cocoon of delusions.
• Glamorous Wartime Singer : Has pretty sweet lungs for a light bulb! His audience is composed of weary Starfleet officers, just looking for a breather.
• Good Counterpart : To Professor Moriarty from TNG.
• Homage : He plays Sam to the grieving Worf's Rick. Worf insists that he " play the song " until Vic acquiesces and sings All the Way . Turns out that was Worf and Jadzia's song. After several visits, Vic and his band have begun to dread Worf's arrival, as the song usually ends with Worf smashing up the joint.
• "It's Only a Paper Moon" revealed the extent of Vic's powers. Not only can he unilaterally turn himself off (as he does while booting Nog out of his casino), and later re-materializing in the empty holosuite without being called. He's also able to appear through nearby holographic projectors, as when he visits Kira during His Way.
• Intangible Man
• Hostile Show Takeover : A scripted event in "Badda Bing, Badda Bang" causes Vic's nightclub to be taken over by the mob. His friends on the space station take time off from the war to help him out—because if they don't, his character will soon be wearing cement shoes .
• Jive Turkey : Vic: If you're gonna work Vegas in the sixties, you better know the score. Otherwise you're gonna look like a Clyde. Kira : A Clyde? Vic: A Harvey, you know. Worf: Har-vee? Vic : A square. (getting impatient) You know what a square is, right? O'Brien: (happily) It's one side of a cube! Vic : Well, I guess that answers my question .
• Lounge Lizard : Vic is an amalgamation of Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , and other lounge singers from the sixties.
• Most Common Card Game : In the series finale "What You Leave Behind," Quark and Vic Fontaine play Go Fish while waiting to hear news on the outcome of the battle for Cardassia (since he is programmed to only play games indigenous to Earth of the Rat Pack era, it's the only game they both knew well enough to play together).
• Playing Cyrano : He was capable of scanning the crew and detecting any sexual tension within seconds. He helps Odo and Kira get together, with only a bit of deception.
• It's not as bad as Sisko paints it; the Rat Pack entertainers Vic is based on were instrumental in ending segregation in Vegas and supporters of the Civil Rights movement in general. The program is also set in 1962, two years after segregation ended.

• Blue-and-Orange Morality : By Ferengi standards, as he cares more for killing than latinum. That said, he does not shun wealth entirely: he was once mentioned seeking business advice from the Grand Nagus. He was also not pleased when it was revealed that Quark had tricked him into believing that the reward for Ishka's rescue was less than half of what it really was—he might not be motivated by latinum, but that doesn't mean he's going to tolerate being swindled.
• Challenge Seeker : His main motivation for joining Quark's rescue mission is to test his skills against the Jem'Hadar.
• Psycho for Hire : What his job as an eliminator amounts to.
• Sociopathic Hero : Downplayed. While his profession involves killing others for money, he is a good deal more likeable than either Brunt or Gaila. That said, when Nog's simulation of Ishka's rescue goes horribly awry, his first reaction is to simply shoot her, reasoning that since they weren't going to rescue Ishka, he might as well "put her out of her misery."

• Arms Dealer : How he makes his living.
• The Corrupter : When he finally makes his onscreen debut, it's to offer Quark a job as an arms dealer, which costs Quark all of his real friends as well as Quark's own self-respect. When Quark starts having doubts, Gaila gives him a rather dark little speech about how no one will really miss the loss of one star in the sky.
• Lack of Empathy : Not only does he brush off the deadly consequences of his business, he also laughs over Hagath's "bad temper" when Hagath has one of their associates murdered for vacation-time fraud.
• Phrase Catcher : Just about every mention of Gaila includes the fact that he owns (or used to own) his own moon.
• Riches to Rags : After "Business As Usual", the once wealthy Ferengi is reduced to being a vagrant after the arrest of his business partner Hagath.
• Vague Age : He looks somewhat older than Quark but not elderly. However, when he says he wants to retire from the weapons business, his justification is that he's been doing it for fifty years.

Alternative Title(s): Quarks Bar

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor René Auberjonois dies at 79

Fellow actors George Takei, William Shatner and more pay tribute online to the actor who played Changeling Odo.

Actor René Auberjonois played lawyer Paul Lewiston in the TV drama Boston Legal.

Prolific actor René Auberjonois , best known for his role as shape-shifter Changeling Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , has died at the age of 79.

The actor died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles of metastatic lung cancer,  his son son Rèmy-Luc confirmed to the Associated Press.

Auberjonois also appeared as the character Paul Lewiston in 71 episodes of the TV drama Boston Legal . He is also known for his roles in Benson , The Practice (which earned him an Emmy nod), Stargate SG-1 , Warehouse 13 , Star Trek: Enterprise , Frasier , It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , Murder, She Wrote , and The Jeffersons , to name a few.

Auberjonois has starred in numerous films such as director Robert Altman's M.A.S.H. in which he played Father Mulcahy. He appeared in other Altman movies such as McCabe and Mrs. Miller , Brewster McCloud , and Images. Auberjonois also appeared in the 1976 King Kong movie, The Patriot, Batman Forever , and  Eyes of Laura Mars .

René Auberjonois as Odo with the rest of the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

He is also known for his voice acting roles including 1989's  The Little Mermaid , were he plays Chef Louis and sings the song "Les Poissons."

Auberjonois' character  Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  was often treated as an outside by other characters, which in turn made Odo rather gruff and persnickety at time. His character was hilariously sarcastic, but he also could show a certain sensitivity that only outsiders can fully understand. He was one of my favorite Star Trek characters.

His Deep Space Nine co-star Armin Shimerman who played Quark tweeted on Sunday a favorite memory of the actor. 

"His last message to me was entitled 'Don't forget…'," Shimerman tweeted. "I know that I, Kitty and all that knew him will never forget. The world seems noticeably emptier now. I loved him."

It is with great heartache and loss I share with you the passing of dear,dear Rene Auberjonois.His last message to me was entitled "Don't forget..." I know that I,Kitty,and all that knew him will never forget.The world seems noticeably emptier now. I loved him. — Armin Shimerman (@ShimermanArmin) December 8, 2019

Star Trek actor George Takei also tweeted his condolences.

"This is a terrible loss," Takei tweeted. "Star Trek fans knew him as Odo from Deep Space Nine. We knew him as René. He was a wonderful, caring, and intelligent man. He shall be missed. When I look out to the stars, I shall think of you, friend."

This is a terrible loss. Star Trek fans knew him as Odo from Deep Space Nine. We knew him as René. He was a wonderful, caring, and intelligent man. He shall be missed. When I look out to the stars, I shall think of you, friend. https://t.co/IE2gtivRcg — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 8, 2019

His Boston Legal co-star and fellow Star Trek actor William Shatner also tweeted his thoughts about Auberjonois.

"I have just heard about the death of my friend and fellow actor Rene Auberjonois," Shatner wrote. "To sum up his life in a tweet is nearly impossible. To Judith, Tessa & Remy I send you my love & strength. I will keep you in my thoughts and remember a wonderful friendship with René."

I have just heard about the death of my friend and fellow actor @reneauberjonois . To sum up his life in a tweet is nearly impossible. To Judith, Tessa & Remy I send you my love & strength. I will keep you in my thoughts and remember a wonderful friendship with René. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 8, 2019

Actor Edward James Olmos tweeted , "Rene Auberjonois a true gentleman and passionate artist passed onto the next understanding, and we will miss him so much. I was honored to have worked with him on Windows On The World, his second to last film. He delivered an amazing rendition of NY NY -- a brilliant artist."

Rene Auberjonois a true gentleman & passionate artist passed onto the next understanding & we will miss him so much. I was honored to have worked with him on Windows On The World, his second to last film. He delivered an amazing rendition of NY NY - a brilliant artist #sswa #RIP pic.twitter.com/KR5PKylNZe — Edward James Olmos (@edwardjolmos) December 8, 2019

Additional fellow actors, celebs and fans paid tribute to Auberjonois on social media. 

We are deeply saddened to report the passing of René Auberjonois. #StarTrek #StarTrekFamily https://t.co/ySVTLSERIA — Star Trek (@StarTrek) December 8, 2019

😥 pic.twitter.com/jj07NmaqCO — Discovery Writers (@StarTrekRoom) December 9, 2019

Rene was another icon I was amazed to have had the honor to work with on #WAREHOUSE13 . An artist in every sense. Rest In Peace, sir. https://t.co/fvKV0pEUvB — Eddie McClintock (@EddieMcClintock) December 9, 2019

I am so sorry to hear that the wonderful René Auberjonois has passed away. I had the great honor to play his daughter on Boston Legal. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and his many fans. May he rest in peace. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/eRxwfmmkcy — Jayne Brook (@thejaynebrook) December 8, 2019

Rene Auberjonois describes life with Odo's makeup during this 1993 interview with Good Morning America. #StarTrek #ReneAuberjonois pic.twitter.com/icRqcXjsdG — TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) December 8, 2019

RIP Rene Auberjonois, a man who loomed large in the TV & film landscape of my youth. I eventually got to meet him and felt so privileged to have done so. My thoughts are with his wonderful family. — Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) December 8, 2019

Rest in peace, René Auberjonois. You did many things but this was by far your biggest impact on me. pic.twitter.com/DtdcSgX7Nc — Benjamin Siemon (@BenjaminJS) December 8, 2019

Rene Auberjonois has left us. So sad. Such a lovely man. Had.the great pleasure of working with him on stage doing Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. And in Nicaragua in the height of the Contra-War, filming Walker. A gentleman and a scholar, chef and photographer. Miss him already. pic.twitter.com/5CLzNzBjt8 — Xander Berkeley (@xanderberkeley) December 8, 2019

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The aunt of star trek: tng's tasha yar actress once romanced ds9's quark.

Despite leaving TNG in season 1, Denise Crosby has lasting ties to the Star Trek franchise, including her aunt, who fell in love with DS9's Quark.

The aunt of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Denise Crosby once had a brief romance with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Quark (Armin Shimerman). Denise Crosby played Lt. Tasha Yar in TNG , whose family continued to pop up in the show even after she was killed by Armus. Tasha's sister, Ishara Yar (Beth Toussaint), used the crew of the USS Enterprise-D to help her launch an invasion of the Turkana IV Alliance's territory in TNG season 4, episode 6, "Legacy". Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 introduced Sela (Denise Crosby) Tasha Yar's half-Romulan daughter from an alternate timeline, who became a recurring villain on the show.

Tasha Yar's extended family appearing on Star Trek: The Next Generation was reflective of Denise Crosby's own family links to the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby was the granddaughter of popular crooner and actor Bing Crosby, named after her father, and Bing's son, Dennis Crosby. Embarrassed by a high-profile child support case between Dennis Crosby and Denise's mother, Marilyn Miller Scott, Bing Crosby reportedly never met his granddaughter . Amid this court battle, Bing Crosby's second wife, Kathryn, gave birth to her second child, Denise's aunt and future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star , Mary Crosby.

Star Trek: TNG's Most Hated Episode Still Traumatizes Denise Crosby

Star trek: tng's denise crosby's aunt played quark's love interest in ds9.

Denise Crosby's aunt Mary played Professor Natima Lang in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 18, "Profit and Loss" . Mary Crosby was a prolific TV guest star in the early 1990s, appearing in shows such as Murder, She Wrote and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman before being cast as Natima in DS9 . A specialist in political ethics, Natima was a prominent member of the Cardassian dissident movement, who wanted to overthrow their government's military rulers. Natima Lang was a character who brought out Quark's romantic and heroic side, something that DS9 writer and producer Ira Steven Behr disapproved of :

" I felt we didn't need another tough, sexy, swashbuckling character on the show. We had enough of those." - Ira Steven Behr, The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion

Mary Crosby is best known for playing Kristin Shepard in the iconic soap opera Dallas between 1979 and 1981 . Kristin Shepard was the character who famously shot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in the soap, with the reveal becoming one of the highest-rated episodes of any TV drama. In an interesting parallel between her character in Dallas and her character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Mary Crosby also shoots Quark in "Profit and Loss", albeit accidentally. It's a fun nod to Mary Crosby's best-known TV role.

Denise Crosby's Other Star Trek Family Links

Mary Crosby isn't the only member of Denise Crosby's extended family to appear in the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby's brother, Paul, is married to actress and stunt performer, Spice Williams, who has made many appearances in the Star Trek franchise . Spice Williams-Crosby played Vixis in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the first officer on Klaa's Klingon bird of prey. As a stunt performer, Spice Williams-Crosby doubled for Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine on episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Denise Crosby is also a distant relation of Family Guy creator and Star Trek: Enterprise guest star, Seth MacFarlane . Ancestry details of Seth MacFarlane reveal that he was a descendant of William Brewster, an ancestor of Bing Crosby. This means that Denise Crosby and Seth MacFarlane are distant cousins, a detail which must have pleased the noted Star Trek fan. In 2011, Seth MacFarlane revealed his desire to reboot the franchise on TV, a dream he never got to realize. However, his sci-fi comedy drama The Orville is the next best thing, a loving homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation that features many of its alumni.

All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Origins [ ]

Odo was one of the " Hundred Changelings ", a group of one hundred newly-formed Changelings that the Founders sent out into the galaxy , "centuries ago", to gather information and explore, and was not expected to return until the late 27th century . ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ", " The Begotten ", " Chimera ")

Dr. Mora Pol

In the 24th century , Odo was found adrift in his natural gelatinous state in the Denorios belt in the Bajoran system and was brought to the Bajoran Institute of Science where he would be studied by Doctor Mora Pol for seven years. Not initially recognizing Odo as a sentient being , Mora subjected him to a long series of experiments, in which Odo endured time in a vacuum chamber and a protein decompiler , as well as extensive electric shocks. Odo eventually rebelled against Mora's unintentional mistreatment by forming into a tentacle and hitting him, ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Begotten ") before later forcing Mora to recognize him as sentient by copying a beaker on a laboratory table. ( DS9 : " The Alternate ")

Odo's name stemmed from the Cardassian word for "nothing", Odo'ital , which was the loose translation of the "unknown sample" label in Bajoran on his laboratory flask. After he was discovered to be sentient, the scientists began jokingly referring to him as "Odo Ital", in a similar manner to a Bajoran name, which eventually got shorted into simply "Odo". ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ", " Chimera ") He himself used only the single name "Odo". ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ") Early in his life, when he heard others address him as "Odo", he heard it as "nothing". He felt that the name was appropriate, since he had no friends, no past, and no form; once he had gained the respect and affection of Kira and the others on the station, he ceased hearing "Odo" as "nothing" and simply considered it his name. ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ")

Later in life, Odo recalled that when he was first discovered, " I didn't know what I was. I had no memory of where I was from. I didn't even know I had the ability to mimic other forms. " ( DS9 : " The Begotten ")

Mora continued to study and teach Odo during the Occupation of Bajor , assisted by Dr. Weld Ram . When Odo assumed humanoid form, he copied Dr. Mora's hairstyle. During the Occupation, Odo performed a Cardassian neck trick that greatly amused the Cardassian officers. When Odo left Dr. Mora's institute, he did not leave on good terms; he resented some of the methods Mora had used on him and blamed him for not realizing that he was sentient. ( DS9 : " Necessary Evil ", " The Alternate ")

Odo later recalled, in 2370 , that when he was younger, " people were always asking me to change shape for them. They'd pretend to be my friends, but all they wanted was to see me become a chair or an animal . None of them ever really cared about me. " ( DS9 : " Shadowplay ")

Cardassian occupation [ ]

Odo during the Occupation

At some point during the Occupation, Odo arrived on Terok Nor. He was seen as an impartial outside observer and often settled disputes between the Bajoran workers on the station. In 2365 , due to his reputed neutral position, Odo was recruited by Gul Dukat to investigate the murder of a Bajoran collaborator. Among his chief suspects was Kira Nerys , who Odo found out to be a Bajoran resistance fighter. He lied about this to Dukat and did not reveal her identity but, in 2370 , discovered that Kira was indeed the murderer. In their initial encounter, Kira sardonically called Odo " Constable ", a term she later adopted as a term of affection, and which eventually fell into common use as an unofficial title for him. ( DS9 : " Necessary Evil ")

Odo continued working for the Cardassians, eventually becoming chief of security .

In 2366 , Odo investigated an assassination attempt (a bombing ) on Dukat. Three Bajoran workers were initially linked to the attack, and Odo – too concerned with maintaining order and the rule of law – hurriedly convicted them and allowed them to be executed . If he had performed any kind of investigation instead of relying on circumstantial evidence, he would have seen that the three men were clearly innocent. However, he didn't know the difference between "order" and "justice" at that time.

A bombing identical to the one that nearly killed Dukat occurred three days later, and Odo realized the men had been innocent and that his lax investigative procedures had caused a serious miscarriage of justice. This incident prompted him to be much more insistent on actual justice, though not necessarily the actual letter of the law. Odo's guilt was revealed when, after traveling through a plasma storm , his mind formed a link with the other passengers – Captain Benjamin Sisko , Elim Garak , and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax – and caused them to relive what had happened seven years prior, the three men taking on the roles of the convicted men while Dax represented an unidentified Bajoran woman in an hallucination of the past. ( DS9 : " Things Past ")

Later in 2366, Odo was designated an officer of the Cardassian court in order to testify in criminal cases. ( DS9 : " Tribunal ")

It was quite clear that his Cardassian employers still viewed him with suspicion; an automated counter-insurgency program designed to activate in the event of a slave revolt on the station was programmed to raise a force field around Odo's office on the assumption that he would take sides and aid the insurgents. ( DS9 : " Civil Defense ")

As an investigator in a totalitarian regime, Odo was occasionally required to operate outside official channels, and he maintained a clandestine network of debts and allegiances to high-ranking members of the Cardassian government, which he could call on when needed. In the course of his career, he developed an extensive knowledge of espionage and assassination techniques, such as poison , explosives , and scrambling signals. ( DS9 : " Improbable Cause ")

Deep Space 9 [ ]

Chief of security [ ].

Odo smiling during his duty shift

Odo retained his post as chief of security even after the Cardassian forces withdrew from the space station in 2369 , when the station fell under Federation administration and was renamed Deep Space 9 . Odo never held any rank but was informally referred to by the title constable , which was first used by Kira upon their first meeting in 2365 . ( DS9 : " Necessary Evil ") He sometimes gave orders to officers who had a formal rank but were part of his staff, indicating that his role as chief of the security staff took priority over the rank structure in certain instances. ( DS9 : " Time's Orphan ")

At first, Odo and Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko, the station's then-new commanding officer did not see eye-to-eye on how station security should be handled, but they eventually became close associates. ( DS9 : " Things Past ", " Emissary ", " A Man Alone ", " The Passenger ") Sisko stood by him when he was accused of killing a Bajoran he had arrested years earlier. When the Bajorans on the station became unruly and wanted to harm Odo, Sisko protected him. The situation was resolved when it was discovered that the Bajoran, Ibudan , had faked his own death in order to take revenge on Odo. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ")

Having been found in the Denorios belt, the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole provided Odo with further opportunity to investigate his origins. He was tricked by Croden into believing he had discovered Odo's people. The story had been fabricated by Croden to manipulate Odo into helping Croden rescue his daughter, Yareth . Croden apologized to Odo for the deception and wished him luck in finding his people. ( DS9 : " Vortex ")

Odo in an incident involving one of the Saltah'na energy spheres trying to take possession of him

Odo resolved a conflict between Kira, who threatened mutiny , and Sisko, who wanted to arrest her for treason . Both were being mentally affected by Saltah'na energy spheres that contained a log of a similar battle in an ancient culture, causing the crew to do the same thing. Fortunately, Odo's non-organic nature rendered him immune to the effects of the spheres, and with the aid of Doctor Bashir , he was able to remove the spheres' influence and eject them out of a cargo bay door. ( DS9 : " Dramatis Personae ")

As the outcome of an investigation regarding a Cardassian claiming to be war criminal Gul Darhe'el , Odo managed to prove that the man was actually Aamin Marritza , a file clerk for Darhe'el who wanted the Cardassian people to realize their crimes. ( DS9 : " Duet ")

Odo provides reconnaissance during the Bajoran coup

In 2370 , an extremist group of Bajorans known as the Circle , led by Minister Jaro Essa and supported by Vedek Winn Adami , demanded that all non-Bajorans leave DS9 and Bajor . Civil war threatened the planet , but Quark informed Odo that the Circle was being helped and financed by Cardassia in order to drive out the Federation, leaving the planet ripe for reconquest. Weapons had been smuggled to the Circle through Kressari traders, which Odo revealed by using his shapeshifting abilities to "borrow" a passenger manifest with a Gul's thumbscan on it. ( DS9 : " The Homecoming ", " The Circle ", " The Siege ")

When Odo was affected by a gas in the Gamma Quadrant that turned him into a destructive creature, Dr. Mora, the scientist who had discovered him, helped cure him. ( DS9 : " The Alternate ")

Together with Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, Odo, while in the Gamma Quadrant, discovered a planet where people were disappearing. The people were actually holograms created by Rurigan , the sole survivor of a planet destroyed by the Jem'Hadar . Odo and Dax fixed the holographic projector and restored the people. In the process, Odo formed an attachment to a girl called Taya , even shifting into a spinning top for her amusement before he and Dax departed. ( DS9 : " Shadowplay ")

Odo helped represent Miles O'Brien in a Cardassian court on false charges of aiding the Maquis . Odo's knowledge of Cardassian law annoyed the court, and his delaying tactics provided time for Sisko to prove the evidence false and gain O'Brien's release. ( DS9 : " Tribunal ")

Odo in 2370

During a mission to locate the Founders of the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant, Odo found himself drawn to a rogue planet in the Omarion Nebula . There, he discovered that the Founders were in fact Changelings like himself. After initially becoming annoyed with shifting into every plant and rock he could see, with the aid of the Female Changeling , he changed into a bird and took flight, finding that he enjoyed exploring his shape-shifting abilities. He soon discovered the Founders' distrust of " solids ", though, and rejected them in favor of his friends, with the Female Changeling acknowledging his request for the time even if she warned him that he wouldn't be as fortunate in future interaction. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ", " The Search, Part II ")

Later that year, Odo had another encounter with the Founders while he was on an away mission with Kira. In response to a distress call from a Lissepian cargo ship under attack they pursued modified Peregrine -class courier ship to a moon in the Badlands . While on the moon, Kira was captured, and the Female Changeling assumed her identity. The Changeling pretended that she was trapped inside a growing crystal that was suffocating her. After Odo admitted having romantic feelings for Kira, he was able to see through the ruse when she claimed to feel the same way; he was sure that Kira didn't love him but knew she wouldn't lie to him about something so important. It gave the Changeling an understanding of Odo's feelings for Kira, although Odo still refused to admit how he felt to the real Kira, simply claiming to have seen through the deception due to a 'slip of the tongue' that the real Kira would never have said. ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ")

In 2371 , a newly-"born" Jem'Hadar was found among the wreckage of a salvaged ship Quark had purchased. The baby matured into an adolescent within days, and as a Changeling (and therefore a Founder in the boy's eyes), Odo inherited the responsibility of looking after him. The Jem'Hadar was willing to do anything Odo asked of him. Odo tried to break the boy of this habit and encouraged him to think for himself and resist his inborn tendency toward violence. Ultimately, the boy decided that he belonged with the other Jem'Hadar and that anyone who was not Jem'Hadar was his enemy, arguing that if Odo actually accepted his right to self-determination, he would respect his wishes. Odo, wanting to protect the crew, escorted the boy to Dominion space. ( DS9 : " The Abandoned ")

It was also during this time that Odo had requested his own personal quarters , and was decorating them with furnishings appropriate for himself, allowing him to experiment with his abilities in private. ( DS9 : " The Abandoned ")

Also in 2371, Odo was forced to admit to Garak that, despite his disgust at the Founders' behavior, he still wanted to return home. He accompanied Garak in an attempt to contact Enabran Tain . Odo became a prisoner of Tain, who was plotting, along with the Romulans , the extermination of the Founders. The plot failed, and Odo was aided in his escape by a Founder who was posing as a Romulan on Tain's ship , although he still rejected the offer to return home. This resulted in the Battle of the Omarion Nebula , in which both the Romulan Tal Shiar and Cardassian Obsidian Order were decimated. ( DS9 : " Improbable Cause ", " The Die is Cast ")

Odo as Curzon

Odo also served as host for Curzon Dax during Jadzia Dax's Trill zhian'tara , during which Odo shifted into a form resembling Curzon. Initially, the two wanted to stay together, but Curzon was eventually convinced to return to the Dax symbiont . This gave Jadzia a greater understanding of the joy Odo found in his shape-shifting abilities, and Odo learned how much fun solids had staying up all night drinking and playing tongo . ( DS9 : " Facets ")

In late 2371, Odo was forced to kill a Changeling posing as Ambassador Krajensky , who had tried to provoke a war between the Federation and the Tzenkethi . By killing the impostor, Odo became the first Changeling ever to harm another. ( DS9 : " The Adversary ")

Odo – along with Rom , Quark, and Nog , – time traveled to Earth of 1947 . None of the Ferengi were aware of Odo's presence until he revealed himself as having shapeshifted into the guise of a German Shepherd dog , Odo having sneaked onto a shuttle the Ferengi had traveled there in, Quark's Treasure , in order to catch Quark in flagrante delicto , smuggling . This became known in Human history as the Roswell Incident . Along with the three Ferengi, Odo eventually managed to escape back to the 24th century and Deep Space 9. ( DS9 : " Little Green Men ")

Odo, along with Sisko and Leyton, speak to President Jaresh-Inyo

In 2372 , Odo accompanied Sisko, who now held the rank of captain , on a trip to Earth to advise Starfleet Command on the Changeling threat. Odo was able to demonstrate to the organization how easy it would be to infiltrate Starfleet, and subsequently helped free Sisko from a prison after Admiral Leyton , a former mentor to Sisko, was revealed to be staging a military coup . ( DS9 : " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ") While visiting Earth on this occasion, Odo was secretly infected with a morphogenic virus by rogue organization Section 31 , in the belief that he would eventually link with others of his kind, transferring the disease and ultimately eliminating his entire species. ( DS9 : " Extreme Measures ")

Odo with the Siskos

Odo protected Shakaar Edon , the head of the Bajoran government, while Shakaar visited the station, even though Odo was jealous of him because Shakaar was in a relationship with Kira. ( DS9 : " Crossfire ")

Odo with Kira and Shakaar

When Worf 's brother, Kurn , arrived on the station after being dishonored by the Klingon High Council due to Worf siding with the Federation in a Klingon attempt to conquer Cardassia, Odo gave Kurn a job of security officer, although this ended when Kurn made near-constant attempts to commit suicide . ( DS9 : " Sons of Mogh ")

Odo also went on a joint mission with the Jem'Hadar to stop a group of renegade Jem'Hadar from capturing an Iconian gateway . ( DS9 : " To the Death ")

Later that year, Odo became desperately ill, not as a result of the virus , but because he had been poisoned by his own people in order to force him to return to them for treatment. Once there, he was judged by the Great Link and forced into his humanoid form permanently, unable to change shape, as punishment for harming another Changeling. While Odo was locked into a humanoid form, it hinted that he was essentially still a Changeling because, as Dr. Bashir later pointed out, Odo's brain still contained morphogenic components. The other shapeshifters may have just used their greater collective ability while linked with Odo to force him to alter his form into that of a humanoid, guiding the specific elements of his transformation such as Human physical makeup based on their expert knowledge of Humans. While part of the Link, Odo unwittingly infected his entire race with Section 31's bioweapon . Also, owing to information Odo had gleaned in the Link, he was convinced that Chancellor Gowron , the leader of the Klingon Empire, was actually a Founder. ( DS9 : " Broken Link ", " Extreme Measures ")

Life as a solid [ ]

Odo surgically altered to appear Klingon

Permanently locked into his solid state, Odo became extremely depressed. He found some comfort in the new sensations of eating and drinking, but this gave him little solace. Odo's frustration was exacerbated when Captain Sisko decided to bring him on an undercover mission to expose Gowron as being a Changeling infiltrator. If Odo had still been a Changeling, he could have simply changed into Gowron's pet targ . Instead, he, Sisko, O'Brien, and Worf disguised themselves as recipients for the Order of the Bat'leth and attempted to use polaron radiation to expose Gowron as a Changeling.

Odo, using the alias " Kodrak ", proved to be a less than intimidating Klingon, but the mission went as planned until someone recognized their true faces. The Starfleet officers were exposed and nearly executed, but General Martok helped them escape to complete their mission in the name of the Empire. Although Worf almost killed Gowron in honorable combat, Odo had deduced, by this time, that "Martok" was the true Changeling and Odo's information about the infiltrator had been deliberately falsified by the Founders to provoke further unrest between the Federation and the Klingons, weakening them and paving the way for a Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant . The mission was ultimately a success and the Martok Changeling, having been identified by Odo, was killed by a barrage of disruptor fire. Before undoing Odo's Klingon alterations, Bashir mentioned that he could surgically alter Odo's face to realistically resemble any humanoid; Odo declined the offer as he preferred his face the way it was. ( DS9 : " Apocalypse Rising ")

Odo behind Uhura and Chekov in 2268

It was during Odo's time as a solid that the USS Defiant , through the treachery of an undercover Klingon named Arne Darvin , was sent back in time to the year 2268 . The ship found itself near space station K-7 at a crucial moment when Darvin had been exposed as a spy and subsequently disowned by his people. Odo helped search for an explosive tribble to prevent Darvin from killing James T. Kirk , and even acquired one as a pet. He found Worf's recounting of the Klingons' "war" against the tribbles rather amusing, finding it hard to believe that a cute ball of fur was a "mortal enemy" of the Klingon Empire. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

Odo, Worf, Bashir, and O'Brien on K-7

Apparently, the Founders' attempt to force Odo to remain a solid took some time, as a plasma storm later reacted with leftover morphogenic enzymes and therefore caused his mind to telepathically reach out to link with other Changelings. At the time, he was returning from a conference with Sisko, Garak, and Dax, when the four of them were suddenly trapped in a dream-like but utterly realistic recreation of the Cardassian Occupation based on Odo's memories. The people in the dream believed them to be a group of Bajoran terrorists who had been executed during the Occupation, but instead of Odo, his predecessor Thrax was in charge. Odo did not realize (or did not want to admit to himself) that Thrax's actions in the dream were in fact a recreation of his own, and their personae there were a group of innocent Bajorans who had been executed because Odo had sided with order rather than his sense of right and wrong. The experience, a product of Odo's guilt, persuaded him to admit the truth to himself and others. ( DS9 : " Things Past ")

The baby Changeling imitates Odo's face

In 2373 , Quark found an infant Changeling among some salvage he had purchased and sold the infant to Odo. He, in collaboration with Dr. Mora, made attempts to teach the infant, which was very ill, to change form, just as Mora had done with Odo himself. Though their attempts did result in making the infant form a face to look at Odo (along with various other shapes, assuming them seemingly at a much faster rate than Odo had when in Mora's care), its morphogenic matrix began to destabilize. As it died in Odo's hands, it linked with Odo and restored his morphogenic matrix, allowing him to change form once again. This was done as a means of thanking its mentor for all that he had tried to do. As Dr. Mora departed the station, he encouraged Odo to think of his restored abilities as a gift the Changeling had wanted him to have, and Odo, in return, told Mora that he now had a better understanding of what Mora had done for him years ago. ( DS9 : " The Begotten ")

The Dominion War [ ]

After the Dominion captured Deep Space 9, Odo was one of a few crewmembers who remained on the station, retaining his old role as chief of security, only with Dukat in charge. Odo joined the Ruling Council at the invitation of Weyoun . After the Female Changeling arrived on the station, his loyalties were questioned. The Female Changeling realized that the reason Odo remained with the solids was his love for Kira. She linked with Odo, hoping to manipulate him. While Kira led a resistance cell, Odo did nothing to help. Rom was arrested, but Odo again did nothing, stating that he was at peace after his linking. His inaction directly led to thousands of deaths as Starfleet was forced to accelerate their plans to retake DS9, going without an entire fleet to meet an enemy who outnumbered them two to one. Kira was later put into the brig and when the Female Changeling explained her plans for the solids, including the execution of Kira, Odo's eyes were opened. During a subsequent battle to retake Deep Space 9, he helped Kira and Rom escape from custody. Odo and his security forces attacked the station's guards, allowing Kira and Rom to disable the station's weapons system, helping the Defiant to retake the station. ( DS9 : " A Time to Stand ", " Behind the Lines ", " Favor the Bold ", " Sacrifice of Angels ")

Odo and Weyoun 6

In 2375 , Odo tried to help Weyoun 6 defect to the Federation, as Weyoun 6 believed that the Dominion War was a mistake, but his programming meant that he still saw the Founders as gods ; contacting Odo was as close to a compromise as he could come. Due to an attack perpetrated by Weyoun 7 and four Jem'Hadar ships, the attempt failed and ended with Weyoun 6's death; he triggered a termination implant in his brain that killed him in a matter of minutes . At this time, Weyoun also revealed that the Founders were all dying of a strange disease, and Odo was the only one who seemed unaffected by the disease. ( DS9 : " Treachery, Faith and the Great River ")

Odo cured of the morphogenic virus

Some time after this, it was revealed that Odo was the original source of the morphogenic virus that was killing the Founders, having been infected by Section 31 during his brief visit to Earth, ( DS9 : " Extreme Measures ", " Homefront ", " Paradise Lost ") in an attempt by Section 31 to end the threat of the Founders by committing genocide. Odo was beginning to die of the disease himself, but after tricking Section 31 agent Luther Sloan into coming to DS9, Bashir was able to discover a cure for the virus, although it necessitated him and O'Brien each using a neural interface to enter Sloan's dying mind when the agent tried to kill himself rather than reveal the cure. ( DS9 : " Extreme Measures ")

Odo joins his people in the Great Link

Odo was instrumental in ending the war with the Dominion. He and Colonel Kira joined a Cardassian resistance group led by Damar . As such, Odo provided valuable help in Damar's fight against the Dominion. When the Female Changeling refused to order Jem'Hadar and Breen forces to stand down, Odo linked with her, curing her of the virus and convincing her that she was wrong about solids and to stand trial after ending the war. In exchange, Odo agreed to return to the Great Link permanently to help build a new Dominion, and to cure his people. This meant the end of his relationship with Kira, though he was accompanied on his return to the Great Link by Kira. As he merged into the Link, he changed into a tuxedo, which Kira liked him in. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Later life [ ]

Before or around 2401 , Odo warned his friend and former colleague, Worf, about a group of Changelings who, still bitter with the solids who defeated them, had broken off from the Great Link to seek revenge against Starfleet and the Federation. ( PIC : " Seventeen Seconds ")

Beliefs [ ]

Odo had a deep sense of justice, which he valued above all other things. As he told Sisko at one point, " Laws change depending on who's making them, but justice is justice. " ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ") Because of this, Odo enjoyed "thumbing his nose" at authority and going by his rules rather than those of Starfleet. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ") He once speculated that his belief in justice was an innate part of his racial makeup, and thus a link to his lost people. ( DS9 : " Necessary Evil ") When his people revealed themselves to be the Founders of the Dominion, they claimed that what they desired was order, not justice. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ") A desire for order was present in Odo's personality also, however, and it was expressed in his sometimes-authoritarian methods, which were justified because, in his view, they made things safer. As part of his jobs, he would, for example, spy on people's private communications and he wanted to introduce a general curfew to the station, be allowed to search more arriving passengers, and wanted dozens of extra security staff. His views on order sometimes made him blind to the plight of those who might be oppressed. In his view, the space station was safer under Cardassian control because of the powers given to security staff - an opinion his friend Kira Nerys corrected by pointing out it was not safe for Bajorans at that time. Odo admired the efficiency of the ruthless Cardassian intelligence agency the Obsidian Order . ( DS9 : " The Maquis, Part I ", " The Wire ")

Odo's service during the Occupation changed his attitudes about justice significantly. When he began working for Gul Dukat, he believed he was on neither the Bajoran nor Cardassian side, an impartial investigator whose only goal was to find the truth. Experience during the Occupation and being forced to choose sides when the truth would not lead to justice caused him to realize that contrary to a Human axiom, justice is not blind. During this time, he also began to distinguish justice from order, recognizing that he preferred the former after he allowed three Bajorans to be unjustly executed. When DS9 was under Federation command, Odo released Cardassian political prisoners from his jail whom the Bajorans wanted handing over to the Cardassians in exchange for the release of Bajoran prisoners. He did so because he thought it unjust that that they should be handed over. ( DS9 : " Necessary Evil ", " Things Past ")

As late as 2369, Odo had never "coupled", claiming he chose not to do so. He saw too many compromises involved in humanoid relationships and failed to understand the humanoid obsession with coupling. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ") Odo also believed in punctuality. His daily patrols of the Promenade were so routine that shopkeepers could set their watch to him. ( DS9 : " Crossfire ", " Broken Link ")

Shapeshifting nature and ability [ ]

Odo did not have the benefit of connection with the Great Link while he matured, and as a result, he was relatively unskilled in the use of his shapeshifting abilities when compared to most other Changelings. Unlike Odo, other Changelings, such as the Female Changeling , showed little difficulty in mimicking the faces of Kira Nerys and others. ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ", " Paradise Lost ")

Nonetheless, Odo was able to improve his abilities with time and practice. By shapeshifting into an object, not only was he able to create a visual representation of the object; he was able to duplicate the object to such degree that if he was scanned with a tricorder while he was in the shape of a bird, the tricorder would detect a bird. ( DS9 : " Paradise Lost ")

Odo did not have a sense of smell, or a sense of taste either, which is part of the reason he disliked eating; he noted once that he had actually attempted to eat shortly after he first mastered the ability to assume a humanoid form but commented that the lack of a digestive system had made the whole process very messy, without elaborating further. ( DS9 : " If Wishes Were Horses ", " Meridian ", " Improbable Cause ") When the situation was appropriate, Odo was able to use his shapeshifting ability to create a visage of a table setting with a meal which he could "consume," and in doing so be a part of the dining experience. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Odo did not wear real clothes, instead creating his uniform from his body. Despite his difficulties imitating certain humanoid features, he was skilled enough as a shapeshifter to imitate some technological devices well enough for them to be functional, including his combadge on his uniform. But on at least one occasion Odo elected to wear a "real" combadge. ( DS9 : " Invasive Procedures ")

Odo could not hold a form permanently, and had to regenerate on a regular basis, generally every sixteen hours. During this time, he returned to his natural state for a period of several hours. Nevertheless, in 2369, while trapped in a turbolift for several hours, Odo showed signs of distress when approaching the fifteenth hour mark since the time of his last regeneration; physical changes in his appearance were already beginning to show. ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ") Several years later, while bunk mates with Quark during a mission on the Defiant , Odo appeared fine physically, even if highly agitated, when – interrupting multiple attempts Quark made to engage in conversation – Odo explained he had been holding his shape for a full sixteen hours. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ") In one case, Garak tortured Odo by preventing him from regenerating, using an Obsidian Order device that prevented Changelings from changing form. The inability to regenerate appeared to cause Odo great distress and pain, as well as causing his physical appearance to begin to fall apart. ( DS9 : " The Die is Cast ") Other Changelings did not seem to have this difficulty; when suffering from the Morphogenic virus , the Female Changeling remarked she had not been able to change form for weeks. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Personal interests [ ]

Odo employed a number of tactics in his attempts to integrate with solids; for instance, he would often sit for quiet drinks with friends, and would create the illusion of drinking by forming part of his body into a cup of coffee and then drinking himself. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Thanks to the instruction of his people, Odo began to take a great interest in his abilities as a shapeshifter, and to explore the various forms and sensations he could experience while in his liquid state. He outfitted his personal quarters to this end. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ", " The Abandoned ")

When he was used as a host for the memories of Curzon Dax during Jadzia Dax 's zhian'tara , Odo, after Curzon left his body, admitted to Dax that he had found Curzon's memories of various Humanoid activities such as eating, drinking, and playing tongo quite enjoyable, to the extent that he was amazed that Curzon had ever been able to get any work done. ( DS9 : " Facets ") Even prior to this, he noted that he was intrigued by the preparation efforts solids put into food, participating in Sisko's efforts to prepare a meal for the senior staff ( DS9 : " Equilibrium "). During his time as a solid, Odo learned to appreciate the simpler things in life. When Captain Sisko found Odo in Quark's, Sisko was surprised to find the constable was not on duty for once; he was instead studying a glass of sparkling wine . Odo observed how soothing the sound of the bubbles was. Although he had found ingestion a disgusting process at first, Odo told Sisko he had come to enjoy it. ( DS9 : " Apocalypse Rising ")

Other aspects of monoform life proved less than comforting to Odo. In one embarrassing folly, he instinctively attempted to turn into a Vorian pterodactyl while chasing a criminal on the Promenade , but instead fell and injured himself. Additionally, he suffered from poor posture because he carried himself too rigidly for a normal humanoid. ( DS9 : " The Ascent ", " The Begotten ")

Odo also had a penchant for the Earth sport of kayaking . He and O'Brien occasionally used a kayaking holoprogram , which O'Brien brought with him from the USS Enterprise -D . Odo found the experience "quite enjoyable," although he refrained from singing sea shanties while they paddled. ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ")

Odo found humanoid death rituals fascinating, particularly the Ferengi tradition of vacuum desiccation . When Quark was selling discs of recently deceased Ferengi entrepreneur Plegg , Odo sarcastically informed Quark of his interest in the subject and offered to buy a disc, much to Quark's surprise. It turned out that Plegg was very much alive, and that Quark had been cheated. Plegg found this very amusing, although Quark and Odo did not. ( DS9 : " The Alternate ")

Odo ejecting Sisko

During a baseball game between the Niners and the Logicians , Odo served as umpire , a position he found fascinating. He took his duties as umpire very seriously, to the point that he threw Sisko out of the game for breaking a rule, specifically, touching the umpire. Later, Odo also ejected Vulcan captain Solok from the game, for the very same reason. ( DS9 : " Take Me Out to the Holosuite ")

Personal relationships [ ]

The link [ ].

Although Odo was ostensibly an "orphan" from his beginnings of life in the Alpha Quadrant, Dr. Mora liked to think of himself as Odo's father and referred to himself as such on several occasions. Odo resented this presumption and preferred to forget his time in Mora's laboratory, mainly due to the various shock treatments he had been subjected to before it was realized that he was a sentient being. ( DS9 : " The Alternate ") When Mora helped Odo care for an infant changeling, the two of them bonded better, Odo realizing what Mora went through while "raising" him and understanding how hard it must have been for Mora when he left. ( DS9 : " The Begotten ")

In a manner of speaking, all Changelings, and particularly the Great Link, were his family. He felt an irreconcilable estrangement from the Link when he discovered their hatred of the solids and that they were the leaders of the ruthless Dominion. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ", " The Search, Part II ")

When arguing with a few Klingons, Drex asked in Klingonese if his mother let him talk to men. Garak responded that he wasn't sure if Odo even had a mother. ( DS9 : " The Way of the Warrior ")

Friendships [ ]

"I'm watching you, Quark."

From the time Quark opened his bar on DS9, he and Odo were constant antagonists. Regardless, they maintained a mutual respect for one another, and Quark once observed that as Odo's worst enemy, he was the closest thing the shapeshifter had to a friend. ( DS9 : " A Man Alone ") Odo always kept a vigilant eye on Quark's illicit activities, but in many cases, he was able to use Quark's underground contacts to infiltrate criminal organizations to which he would not otherwise have access. ( DS9 : " Indiscretion ")

The two often had idle conversations at Quark's Bar while Odo was on duty and Quark was working. They maintained their rivalry yet were fond of each other's company and their regular exchange of insults. For example, Odo simply "hrmphed" when Quark, in his momentary capacity as Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance , told him to kiss the Nagal staff , yet he was confounded by a sudden burst of cooperation in 2370, which was actually Quark's interpretation of the 76th Rule of Acquisition : "Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies". ( DS9 : " The Nagus ", " The Homecoming ") During a temporary crisis in which a group of non-corporeal beings caused people's wishes to come true, Odo amusingly wished Quark into a holding cell without thinking about it. ( DS9 : " If Wishes Were Horses ")

More than anyone else, Quark knew about Odo's secret feelings for Kira and confronted him about them several times. It was Quark who told Odo that Odo was in love with Kira, breaking through the defenses Odo had carefully erected to keep his personal life private. Odo did not want Quark's sympathy, but when Kira officially began dating First Minister Shakaar, it was Quark who came to his quarters to check on him. There, he set Odo straight, although with the usual facade; Quark ran a regular betting pool on how long it would take Odo to catch a perpetrator, and he claimed his profits would suffer if Odo did not rectify things and get back to work.

By choice, Odo's quarters were directly above Quark's, and at times he took perverse (albeit secret) pleasure in annoying the Ferengi by practicing his shapeshifting skills during the night. Whether it was a Takaran wildebeest or a Rafalian mouse , Odo was able to annoy Quark whenever he felt like it. Once he set aside his feelings for Kira and got on with his life, Odo conveniently had his floor reinforced. As this would also soundproof the floor, Quark saw that his advice had helped and thanked Odo. ( DS9 : " Crossfire ")

In a mental recreation of Terok Nor during the Occupation, Odo (seen as a Bajoran) had to do subsidiary work at Quark's Bar which he felt quite humiliating. He asked Captain Sisko " How much damage would it do to the timeline if Quark were to suffer a mysterious... accident? " ( DS9 : " Things Past ")

After O'Brian and Bashir recovered from a shrinking accident, Odo shared a prank on them with Quark; tricking them into thinking they weren't fully baxk at normal height. In truth, both Odo and Quark were just on a step. Odo smirked as a bemused Quark stated "and they say you dont have a sense of humor"

Odo and Quark stuck together on a class L world

Quark and Odo managed to get along briefly while trapped on an inhospitable planet and under dire circumstances; they resumed their old rivalry as soon as they returned to DS9. ( DS9 : " The Ascent ")

When Laas visited the station and was detained for " the fog episode" on the Promenade, Quark later came to Odo to explain to him " You're smart enough to know that people don't want to be reminded that you're different ", in a seemingly friendly way. ( DS9 : " Chimera ")

When Odo left DS9, he attempted to do so without anyone noticing, but Quark caught up with him in the airlock . Odo claimed to have nothing to say to the Ferengi, but while he did not say so, it was clear Odo would miss his long-time adversary. When Kira tried to apologize for Odo's coldness, Quark said " That man loves me – you can see it written on his back ". He later admitted to Kira before entering the Great Link that he would miss everyone aboard DS9, even Quark. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Odo and Worf in 2372

Worf and Odo both enjoyed their privacy, and they shared a dislike of unexpected visitors. Although the two of them did not become close friends (as was the case with most of Odo's friendships), Worf and Odo respected and understood each other, as in many ways they had similar personalities.

The two of them clashed while Worf was attempting to acclimate himself to life aboard DS9. Worf observed that Quark was conducting smuggling activities and informed Odo about it only to find that Odo already knew of the transactions. Unknown to Worf, Odo was conducting an undercover operation and planned to use Quark's clandestine connections to infiltrate a large smuggling ring. When Worf placed Quark and Quark's contact under arrest, he discovered that the container in which the payment for the illicit goods were located was actually Odo in disguise. ( DS9 : " Hippocratic Oath ")

Worf and Odo discussing station matters with Kimara Cretak

Worf and Odo occasionally argued over the laxness of security on DS9. On one occasion, when Worf apprehended a Dopterian who had stolen items from Worf's quarters , he asked Odo why he "allowed" such security breaches to occur. Odo responded by citing a number of security breaches aboard the USS Enterprise before Worf told him to stop. ( DS9 : " Bar Association ")

Once the two learned each other's ways, they found they could relate to one another far more than they realized. Odo offered Worf advice on how to keep people from simply "dropping by" his quarters. ( DS9 : " Crossfire ")

Miles O'Brien [ ]

Miles O'Brien and Odo had a good working relationship. Odo volunteered to represent O'Brien when he was tried in a Cardassian court, successfully proving O'Brien's innocence despite the Cardassian legal structure regarding the trial as a mere formality for a pre-determined sentence. This trial gave Odo the opportunity to get to know O'Brien better and develop an admiration for his strong sense of duty when he proclaimed that he had always tried to be somebody his children could be proud of. A couple of years later, he allowed the O'Briens to return the temporally-displaced Molly O'Brien to Golana , even though they broke her out of a holding cell. He joked that he was actually disappointed as he expected O'Brien to succeed in breaking someone out of the station without being discovered. ( DS9 : " Tribunal ", " Time's Orphan ")

At one point, Garak made mention that O'Brien shared "Human crime novels" with Odo; he stated that they may have been influencing Odo's thinking. ( DS9 : " The Die is Cast ")

O'Brien and Odo went kayaking in a holosuite several times; an activity Odo found "quite enjoyable". ( DS9 : " Heart of Stone ") Odo (or the impostor Changeling trying to pass as him) tried to use knowledge of details from their most recent trip to prove he was the real Odo. ( DS9 : " The Adversary ")

Odo with Garak

Elim Garak and Odo were forced to work together during the events leading up to the joint Tal Shiar-Obsidian Order strike on the Founders' homeworld . What began as a decidedly unwilling partnership, evolved into a mutual respect as Garak began to understand that, unlike his other erstwhile sparring partner Doctor Julian Bashir, Odo truly understood who Garak was. Strangely, Garak's attempt to torture Odo while trapped on the Tal Shiar ship created a mutual understanding and a peculiar bond between them. Garak recognized that he no longer had the will to torture those he was close to, and Odo empathized with Garak's willingness to do anything to return to his own people. They later had many quiet "drinks" together. ( DS9 : " Improbable Cause ", " The Die is Cast ", " The Way of the Warrior ")

Garak once attempted to set Odo up with a date with Chalan Aroya but was ultimately unsuccessful. ( DS9 : " Broken Link ")

Benjamin Sisko [ ]

Odo speaking privately with Benjamin Sisko in 2371

Although Odo noted that he didn't think he would like Benjamin Sisko when he first met him, the two formed a keen respect for each other over the years. When Sisko was promoted to captain, Odo noted that, while he didn't personally see the relevance of such titles, he could think of nobody who deserved this ritual more than Sisko. Sisko reciprocated this admiration more than once. When Odo's life was at stake following his capture by the Obsidian Order and later his illness, Sisko took the Defiant into Dominion territory to save Odo, despite the risks of conflict with the Dominion. Odo also accompanied Sisko back to Earth when they received news that the Changelings had reached Earth. He helped him develop means of detecting Changelings on the planet . On another occasion he helped Sisko, who was falsely accused of being a Changeling by Admiral Leyton , escape. ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " The Adversary ", " The Die is Cast ", " Paradise Lost ", " Broken Link ")

While on a routine mission in the Alpha Quadrant, Odo and Chief O'Brien happened upon another Changeling named Laas . Odo was fascinated, as Laas too was one of the hundred infant Changelings the Founders had sent out to learn about other civilizations. The two of them bonded quickly, and Odo was able to tell that Laas' intentions were good despite the chief's concerns.

Laas did not integrate well when they returned to the station. He openly stated his dislike of "solids," much to Odo's chagrin. Laas believed Odo had been brainwashed into acting and thinking like a solid, making excessive and disruptive use of his own shapeshifting abilities to prove his point. Ultimately, Laas left in search of other Changelings in order to form a second Great Link. ( DS9 : " Chimera ")

Romance [ ]

Kira nerys [ ].

Odo and Kira kiss passionately on the Promenade

Over the years, Odo began to fall in love with Kira Nerys . He kept this a secret from her, and stood by as she entered into and ended other romantic relationships, including the death of Vedek Bareil Antos . After Bareil's death, Kira took up a relationship with Shakaar, the head of the Bajoran government. Although she eventually learned his true feelings after an encounter with an alternate future version of him, Kira and Odo were left reluctant to pursue a relationship at the time, due in no small part to the future Odo having erased over eight thousand people from existence simply to prevent Kira's death in his original timeline and give his younger self another chance with her. Eventually, with the help of Vic Fontaine , he finally revealed his feelings for her in 2374 , Kira reciprocating his feelings. Despite this, Odo left Deep Space 9 at the end of the Dominion War to heal the Great Link of a virus that was killing the Changelings and showing them positive aspects of the solids. ( DS9 : " Children of Time ", " His Way ", " What You Leave Behind ")

Lwaxana Troi [ ]

Lwaxana Troi without her wig

Odo and Lwaxana play shapeshifting games in his quarters

Ambassador Lwaxana Troi was infatuated with Odo from the moment she saw him. As she put it, " I've never been with a Changeling before! " Odo found Lwaxana's advances annoying and even complained to Commander Sisko that Ambassador Troi wouldn't leave him alone. An accident trapped the two of them in a turbolift together shortly before Odo was set to revert to his gelatinous state. Over the course of several hours, the two of them began to understand each other better.

They were stuck in the turbolift so long that Odo could barely hold his shape and was literally "melting." Lwaxana offered to carry Odo in her dress, but he was embarrassed and worried, as no one had ever seen him in his liquid form. He was worried that if someone saw him like that, they would be repulsed because he was so different from them. To make him feel understood, Lwaxana removed her wig and admitted that no one had ever seen her in her natural state either. Odo felt more at ease after this revelation and allowed Lwaxana to carry him. Their interaction had a profound effect on Odo, giving him more confidence in who he was. ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ", " The Muse ")

During Ambassador Troi's next visit to DS9, her persistent feelings for Odo combined with a case of zanthi fever caused people in close proximity to her to desire others: Jake Sisko and Doctor Bashir both became infatuated with Kira, for example, Jadzia Dax with Sisko, and Vedek Bareil with Dax. ( DS9 : " Fascination ")

Lwaxana's final visit with Odo was when she fled her Tavnian husband, Jeyal , who was intent on taking her unborn child when it was born. In Tavnian culture, boys and girls were raised under strict gender separation, something Lwaxana's husband had initially promised would not be the case for their child (he later declared his intention to take her male child as soon as it was born, disregarding his previous assurances to her). Lwaxana had married Jeyal in response to being rejected by Odo and having her heart broken. She had come to Odo for protection from her husband and Odo came up with the plan to marry Lwaxana in Tavnian tradition in order to end the biological father's legal claim to their offspring under Tavnian law (which specified the mother's husband as the legal guardian for male children). This required a public profession of his love for her, which needed to be believable. While Odo wasn't romantically attracted to Lwaxana, his profession of love for her was genuine, revealing the depth of appreciation he had for her and their friendship. Reflecting on their relationship since their time stuck in the turbolift a few years before, he said, " Before I met her ... I was ashamed of what I was, afraid that if people saw how truly different I was they would recoil from me. Lwaxana saw how different I was and she didn't recoil. She wanted to see more. For the first time in my life, someone wanted me as I was. And that changed me forever. The day I met her, is the day I stopped being alone. And I want her to be part of my life from this day on. " The plan was successful and Lwaxana was free from Jeyal. Odo wanted her to stay on DS9 following their marriage, but Lwaxana knew Odo's love for her wasn't romantic and she would come to resent him for not reciprocating her love. Their friendship was too precious, she said, to allow that to happen. ( DS9 : " The Muse ")

Odo talking to Arissa

An Idanian woman named Arissa once fell for Odo while he was protecting her from the group who were trying to kill her, the two even spending the night together (a first for Odo, outside of a single pseudo-sexual encounter during his brief time on the Founder homeworld). Later, he found out that she was an agent sent into deep cover to infiltrate the Orion Syndicate . She was married and, due to her mind having been altered to escape telepathic examination, she did not know this while she was undercover. As she departed to return to her former life, she assured Odo that she had genuinely loved him in their time together and in a way still did. ( DS9 : " A Simple Investigation ")

Female Changeling [ ]

When Odo first visited the home of his people the Changeling representing them took the form of a female humanoid. The two linked together in a way that might be considered sexual. ( DS9 : " A Simple Investigation ") Later, during the Dominion's occupation of Deep Space 9, Odo became involved with the Female Changeling. Initially, his only intent was to learn more about his own people and perhaps influence her towards a peaceful resolution of the current conflict. However, she was able to manipulate him and his desire for control over his own emotions regarding Kira. Eventually she was able to almost completely turn Odo away from his former friends and allies, but the revelation that she intended "to break" the Alpha Quadrant peoples of their desire for freedom shocked him into reconsidering his new "perspective". He effectively ended their personal relationship by siding once again with the Federation against the Dominion. ( DS9 : " Sacrifice of Angels ") Later, at the end of the war, he was able to save her life from the morphogenic virus and convince her to give the stand-down order to the remaining Dominion forces by promising to return to the Great Link with the cure. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ")

Alternate realities and timelines [ ]

A version of Odo from an alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline in which Harry Kim was never assigned to the USS Voyager , Odo arrested Tom Paris in 2371 , after Paris attacked Quark in Quark's bar. Odo's actions during this incident resulted in Paris still sitting in a holding cell on DS9 when Voyager was thrown into the Delta Quadrant . Odo was later mentioned by Paris, in conversation with Kim, at which point Paris described him as "a very unpleasant shapeshifter." ( VOY : " Non Sequitur ")

In an alternate timeline in which the Defiant was sent back in time to the 22nd century , Odo was the only member of the crew (besides Dax) who lived to see the Defiant arriving in the 24th century. In two hundred years, he had grown more proficient in shapeshifting and was able to assume a more humanoid face. Odo, during the Defiant 's visit in the 24th century, admitted his romantic feelings to Kira, and subsequently linked with his younger self. He sabotaged the Defiant and caused it to avoid crashing on Gaia , wishing to give his younger self and Kira a second chance at love. By doing so, the inhabitants of Gaia ceased to exist. ( DS9 : " Children of Time ")

Holograms [ ]

Odo was holographically duplicated at least twice.

Luther Sloan recreated the entire station, and staff, of Deep Space 9 in 2374 as part of his investigation into Julian Bashir, including Odo. ( DS9 : " Inquisition ")

The USS Protostar 's computer chose a holographic Odo as as a member of Dal 's command crew during his attempts at taking the Kobayashi Maru scenario . ( PRO : " Kobayashi ")

Chronology [ ]

Mid- 24th century : Found adrift and in his gelatinous state in the Denorios belt , Odo is brought to the Bajoran Institute of Science to be studied by Doctor Mora Pol

2363 : Guls Dukat and Hadar attend a reception at the Bajoran Center for Science to view Odo and his abilities. The Changeling performs the Cardassian neck trick , to wide acclaim

2365 : Becomes an investigator on the Cardassian space station Terok Nor

2366 : Is designated an officer of the Cardassian court, in order to testify in criminal cases

2369 : Becomes chief of security when Terok Nor is transferred to Federation control as Deep Space 9 . He learns he originated in the Gamma Quadrant

2371 : Discovers the Great Link , and later becomes the first Changeling to kill another

2372 : The Great Link sit in judgment of him, and render him " solid "

2373 : The dying act of an infant Changeling is to make him a Changeling once more

2375 : Leaves DS9 to rejoin his people in the Great Link

Memorable quotes [ ]

" You are a thief! "

"QQUUAARRKK!!!!"

" You can tell a man's intentions by the way he walks. "

" All right, let's try again. Close your eyes, take a deep breath... clear your mind of anything in it... if there's anything there... "

" I have a friend at Starfleet Intelligence . And she has a friend who has a cousin who's married to the assistant of one of the members of the Federation Medical Council . " " Really? " " And according to my friend, her friend heard something from his cousin that his wife heard from this council member that I thought you might find interesting. " " Which is? " " Doctor Wade is not going to win the Carrington. "

" But don't worry – I plan to investigate the Klingons, the Bajorans, Quark, the visiting Terrelians... " " You think Quark had something to do with this? " " I always investigate Quark. "

" …But then I contacted a friend at Starfleet Intelligence who used to be assigned to the Federation Embassy on the Klingon Homeworld. He put me in contact with a former Klingon operative who's out of favor with the current administration. This former operative sent me a series of reports " " Odo, cut to the chase. " " The three Klingons now on the station are part of a covert strike force that reports directly to the Klingon High Council. " " Why didn't you just say so? " " Sometimes I have to remind you just how good I am. "

" I've had enough of your dissembling, Garak! I am not Doctor Bashir and we are not sparring amiably over lunch. Now, you dragged me into this investigation and you are now going to cooperate with me. " " Dragged you in? I don't know what you're talking " " You blew up your own shop, Garak! Well, I don't think I've ever seen that particular expression on your face. Is it surprise? " " Yes, Constable, it is. I'm surprised that you could come this unlikely conclusion. " " Drop the pretence. I knew as soon as I spoke with the Flaxian. Assassins don't like varying their methods. He planned to poison you. I think you spotted him on the station and then blew up your own shop so that I'd begin an investigation. " " That seems like a very elaborate way to get you involved. If I needed your help I could have just asked. " " But you couldn't be sure that I'd take you seriously. Or that I'd help you. Besides, I think you secretly enjoyed destroying your own shop. " " Well, I admit watching it burn wasn't exactly tragic. " " Whether or not you want to admit it, you pulled me into this case and now you're stuck with me. "

" Come on, Quark, move it along. You should be in the emergency shelter by now. " " I'm not going to any emergency shelter. This is my bar, and I'm going to defend it. " " Really? And how do you plan to do that? " " With this. " " You're going to hit them with a box? " " No. This is my disruptor pistol. The one I used to carry in the old days, when I was serving on that Ferengi freighter. " " I thought you were the ship's cook. " " That's right. And every member of that crew thought he was a food critic. If the Klingons try to get through these doors, I'll be ready for them. " (reads note in the empty box) " 'Dear Quark, I used parts from your disruptor to fix the replicators. Will return them soon. Rom.' " " I will kill him! " " With what? "

" It's just Quark's luck that you would be assigned quarters right above his. " "Luck had nothing to do with it. "

" They were an ecological menace, a plague to be wiped out. " " Wiped out? What are you saying? " " Hundreds of warriors were sent to track them down throughout the galaxy. An armada obliterated the tribble homeworld. By the end of the 23rd century, they had been eradicated. " " Oh, another glorious chapter in Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt ? "

" Someone's extracted all the latinum! There's nothing here but worthless gold! " " And it's all yours. "

Appendices [ ]

See also [ ].

• Odo 1 , a combat training holoprogram
• Odo One , a program used to drive away the Saltah'na energy spheres
• Odo's bucket

Appearances [ ]

• " Paradise "
• " Distant Voices " (dream only)
• " By Inferno's Light "
• " Far Beyond the Stars "
• " Change of Heart "
• " Strange Bedfellows " (impersonated only)
• PRO : " Kobayashi " (hologram only)
• PIC : " No Win Scenario " (image on PADD only)

Background information [ ]

Odo was played by Rene Auberjonois throughout the entire run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Odo has also been played by Salome Jens (when he took the form of the Female Changeling in " Tacking Into the Wind " to infiltrate a Jem'Hadar ship), several animals (including rats, birds, and a German Shepherd), and various inanimate objects.

As Michael Piller explains, " we needed a character who represented the traditions of Spock and Data , the outsider who looks in at humanity. " ( New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine , DS9 Season 2 DVD , Special Features) He described Odo as " the curmudgeon of all curmudgeons. So instead of Data who worships humanity and wants to be that, and Spock who would deny it, Odo has been forced to pass as a humanoid all of his life, to look like us and act like us because it's a lot more socially acceptable and he resents it. So he has now found a way to use it as a defense mechanism and keep a distance from it and find ways to be critical of the human condition. " ( Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Unauthorized Story , p. 10)

Concept art for "a much more muscular, intimidating lawman" version of Odo" ( Star Trek: The Magazine, Issue 5, p. 22)

The original 1992 Writers' Bible for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [2] gave this biography for Odo:

Odo, an alien male, middle-aged curmudgeon, and a shape-shifter. In his natural state he is a gelatinous liquid. He was Bajoran law enforcement officer on the space station under the Cardassians. Starfleet decides to have him continue in that role, since he's extremely savvy about the Promenade and all who frequent it. His back story is: 50 years ago, with no memory of his past, he was found alone in a mysterious space craft that appeared in the Denarias asteroid belt. He was found by the Bajoran and lived amongst them. At first he was sort of an Elephant Man, a source of curiosity and humor as he turned himself into a chair or pencil. Finally he realized he would have to take the form of a humanoid to assimilate and function in their environment. He does it, but resents it. As a result, Odo performs a uniquely important role in the ensemble: he is a character who explores and comments on Human values. Because he is forced to pass as one of us, his point of view usually comes with a cynical and critical edge. But he can't quite get it right, this humanoid shape, though he continues to try. So he looks a little unfinished in a way. He's been working on it a long time. Someone might ask him: Why dont you take the form of a younger man. His answer: I would if I could . He has the adopted child syndrome, searching for his own personal identity. Although he doesn't know anything about his species, he is certain that justice is an integral part of their being, because the necessity for it runs through every fiber of his body – a racial memory. Thats why he became a law man. He has a couple of Bajoran deputies; he doesnt allow weapons on the Promenade, and once every day he must return to his gelatinous form.

According to Rene Auberjonois, " Constable Odo was envisioned originally as a kind of young John Wayne sheriff-in-town. " Similarly, Ira Steven Behr stated, " I was told six months before the series began that Odo was going to be a Clint Eastwood type, and when we started creating the first couple of episodes, we sent writers off to write Clint Eastwood. And then I was told Rene Auberjonois. And I said, 'Clint Eastwood, Rene Auberjonois? Clint Eastwood, Rene Auberjonois? Does not compute.' And then I saw what he brought to the role, and I had to call up a whole bunch of writers and say 'Guys, I apologize, but this is better than we even imagined.' " ( Crew Dossier: Odo , DS9 Season 3 DVD special features)

Although Rene Auberjonois himself was initially unsure as to whether or not he could play the role, his daughter had no such doubts: " When the script was first sent to me and I read the description of the character, my daughter said to me, 'Oh dad, yeah, this is yours, you're gonna get this.' My kids were completely confident that this part was for me, which, considering the nature of the character, I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not ." (Hidden File 04, DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)

Auberjonois was not allowed to eat or chew gum while filming, for fear it would ruin the make-up, although Salome Jens managed to get away with chewing gum on the set. Subsequently, Auberjonois said that "now I chew gum as a tribute to Odo." [3]

The name "Odo" is shared with a central character in Ursula Le Guin 's 1974 novel The Dispossessed . The character, ironically and in contrast to the Odo of Deep Space Nine , is an anarchist . Michael Piller originally called the character "Otto", but Rick Berman changed it to "Odo". ( New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine , DS9 Season 2 DVD special features)

Odo's relationship with Quark is a clear homage to the classic 1942 Michael Curtiz film Casablanca , with Odo in Claude Rains ' role of Captain Louis Renault and Quark as Humphrey Bogart 's Rick Blaine, although the garrulous Renault and taciturn Blaine are somewhat the opposite in personality to their counterparts. At one point Quark notes, " Everybody comes to Quark's, " a nod to the title of the play on which Casablanca is based ( Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison ), while, in " The Ascent ", he asks, " Do you think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship? " a twist on the film's closing line.

Several scripts refer to Odo's superior strength, such as " Vortex ", [4] and his lack of a sense of smell. ( DS9 : " If Wishes Were Horses ")

Mary Chieffo once remarked, " Of course, I have a soft spot for Odo. " [5]

In 2001, René Auberjonois was the voice of Bio-Con, a villainous snake-like shapeshifter similar to Odo, who appeared in the CGI animated series Max Steel .

Apocrypha [ ]

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Millennium series of novels , it was revealed that Odo rarely shifted into smaller forms such as insects due to a psychological block from his original "training" under Doctor Mora; Mora once speculated that Odo's excess mass during small transformations was transferred to a pocket dimension, and Odo initially worried that something might happen to his mass if he maintained a small shape for long. The same novel series also speculates that the Founders placed a mental block on Odo's abilities to make it difficult for him to alter his face, thus explaining why he can never get faces quite right, even after linking with other Changelings on several occasions.

In the DS9 Relaunch novels, Odo sent a Jem'Hadar ambassador to the Alpha Quadrant to foster understanding in the Dominion of other cultures. He soon returned to DS9 and reunited with Kira.

Odo later learned that the Hundred were initially sent out to find the Progenitor – the first Changeling and the key to solving their declining population, as Changelings could not reproduce (Odo and the other Hundred were not "infants", but merely Changelings that had never been part of the Great Link) – but the discovery of the Progenitor's death caused the Changelings to disperse across the quadrant. As of 2382 , Odo had only rediscovered approximately thirty Changelings, including himself and Laas, to form a new Link.

According to the Star Trek: Terok Nor novel Night of the Wolves , Odo was found in a spherical module in the Denorios Belt by the Cardassian vessel Kevalu , which was under the command of Dalin Malyn Ocett , in 2345 .

In the Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel Raise the Dawn , Odo returned to the Alpha Quadrant to help Sisko investigate reports that the Typhon Pact, an alliance of the Federation's enemies, have stolen Jem'Hadar technology to perfect their own quantum slipstream drive , only to be trapped in the Alpha Quadrant when the wormhole was seemingly destroyed thanks to Kira's attempt to stop a Typhon Pact ship from using it again. Sisko offered Odo a place on his new ship, the USS Robinson , but the novel ends with Odo deciding to remain on Bajor for a time to think about what he will do next.

In Star Trek Online , Odo makes a sudden appearance at the very end of the mission "Scylla and Charybdis" when Dominion ships race in to aid the Alpha Quadrant Alliance in protecting Bajor and the heavily damaged Deep Space 9 from a fleet of Hur'q ships, only cryptically telling the player character "We have to talk." Odo plays a major role in the "Victory is Life" expansion, voiced again by René Auberjonois. In the introductory missions for new Jem'Hadar characters, set immediately before "Scylla and Charybdis", Odo instructs his Vorta advisors Weyoun and Loriss to lead his Vanguard Fleet through the wormhole to Bajor. He calls a conference on DS9 and informs the delegates that the Dominion fleet, save for his Vanguard, has all been destroyed by the Hur'q, and calls for the Alpha Quadrant powers to join him in combating the threat. In the course of events in the Gamma Quadrant, Odo admits that he has secretly used transponders to purposely lure the Hur'q to various worlds, including Bajor, to convince the other powers to fight them alongside the Dominion, and reveals that he has been kept in the dark by the Female Changeling and the rest of the Great Link in regards to their threat. In the mission "Home", Odo personally leads the defense of the Founders' homeworld of Empersa, and later brings the Dominion officially into the Alliance.

Odo of the alternate reality

The alternate reality version of Odo appears in the Star Trek: Ongoing story arc The Q Gambit where he is a member of the Free Federation Resistance after being found by Resistance scientists in 2348 . Odo helps Sisko, James T. Kirk , Montgomery Scott , and Nyota Uhura escape from Terok Nor by posing as a Jem'Hadar and are then beamed aboard the USS Defiant where they head for Earth, which had been taken over by the Klingon Empire and renamed "Tera'." When Kurn escorts the group to meet with Chancellor Worf, Odo tells Sisko that something felt amiss to him, and he was right when Worf is suddenly killed by his guards and Kurn, but it is revealed that they're actually Changelings who proclaim Earth is now under Dominion control. One of the Changelings then points his disruptor at Odo saying he would have the honor of dying first for betraying his people, to which Odo said he would commit the betrayal a thousand times over as they have twisted their once peaceful civilization into a mockery of all that is honorable. They are saved when a shuttlecraft piloted by Miles O'Brien arrives and causes the ceiling to crumble killing the Changelings. Odo then explains that he arranged for the shuttle to come pick them up but couldn't risk telling Sisko in case their enemies found out. When they meet up with Jake Sisko and Jadzia Dax on the Resistance outpost planet Paradise, Sisko becomes host to a Prophet and Odo explains to Uhura who the Prophets are.

External links [ ]

• Odo at StarTrek.com
• Odo (Star Trek) at Wikipedia
• Odo at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Odo at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

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Published Jan 10, 2023

Odo & Quark's Outlandish Quarrels

Revisiting our favorite Deep Space Nine frenemies' best exchanges!

StarTrek.com / Rob DeHart

In their roles as security chief and delinquent barkeep, Odo and Quark are the very definition of “frenemies” aboard starbase Deep Space 9 . With Odo’s quest for justice only rivaled by Quark’s thirst for wealth, the duo have peppered their arguments with devastating insults, witty banter, and even friendly advice over the years.

Documenting their entire inventory of exchanges would be near impossible, so we’ve narrowed things down to a list that highlights some of their most dazzling dialogue from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

“Sure, sometimes we're on opposite sides, but that doesn't mean that we aren't close. I never told you this, Odo, but I consider you as dear to me as my brother.” “And I've seen how well you treat him.”

— quark and odo in " profit and loss ".

StarTrek.com

Attempting to save his beloved Natima Lang and her students from Cardassian persecution, Quark leaned on every trick he had up his sleeve to convince Odo to release the dissidents from custody. From theorizing about a Cardassia free of military rule to asking Odo to do it as a personal favor to him, Quark eventually tried using a bit of truth, largely describing the type of kinship that he and Odo actually had.

On the other hand, comparing his feelings for Odo to those he held for Rom opened the door for the Changeling to reply with a gruff retort about how Quark treats his biological brother. Although argumentative, this back-and-forth establishes a clear connection between the duo that would continue to develop as the series progressed.

“Vole infestations are not uncommon on this station. If you don't believe me, ask Chief O'Brien.” “When I came in, he and Morn were painting numbers on the voles’ backs.” “We were just... counting them to see how many we'd caught.”

— quark and odo in " through the looking glass ".

Ah, the infamous Cardassian voles. Upon catching Quark and Morn making preparations to stage a vole fight, Odo brought the Ferengi ringleader before Benjamin Sisko, allowing Starfleet’s station commander to hear each person’s side of the story.

As usual, Quark portrayed himself as a victim of a vole infestation who was merely seeking to do his civic duty by capturing as many of the rodents as he possibly could. Sisko and Odo never believed that argument for a nanosecond, but Quark’s plea that the numbers on the voles were not intended to keep track of them as fighters proved to be a hilarious-yet-futile tactic that the Ferengi hoped would deceive the two officers.

“These hew-mons, they're nothing like the ones from the Federation. They're crude, gullible, and greedy.” “You mean like you.” “Yeah! These are humans I can understand... and manipulate.”

— quark and odo in “ little green men ”.

Accidentally thrown back into humanity’s past, Quark, Rom, and Nog were startled to find that Earth’s 20th Century inhabitants were much different than the ones they knew from the 24th Century. While Odo, Rom, and Nog wished to return to their century, Quark saw the potential for profit. He envisioned staying in the 1940s in order to build his own Ferengi empire.

Not missing a chance to poke at his opponent, Odo astutely pointed out that the qualities Quark planned to exploit were exactly the same as the ones he himself lived by on Deep Space 9 . In typical Quark fashion, the Ferengi took no offense from the verbal jab, humorously agreeing that his own traits bestowed upon him the ability to manipulate these humans.

“You remember back there when I told you I hated you, and you told me you hated me?” “Vividly.” “I just wanted you to know- I meant every word of it.” “So did I.”

— quark and odo in " the ascent ".

Having crash landed on an inhospitable planet after the Orion Syndicate bombed their runabout, Odo and Quark endured their most trying experiences with one another. Cold, hungry, and tired, their tempers flared, and, at one point, they declared their hatred for one another.

Once rescued, the two recalled that spat as they rested in Sickbay. Any other pair of characters might have seen this period of relief as a chance to make amends for the harsh words they shared during a dangerous expedition, but Quark and Odo elected to pursue their usual “apology-through-insult” route. Then again, would we really have preferred it any other way?

“I served on a Ferengi freighter for 8 years…” “All right.” “...I must have witnessed the procedure hundreds of times.” “Witnessed? You mean to say you never handled the controls yourself?” “Energizing!”

— quark and odo in “ babel ”.

With the rest of the station’s crew incapacitated, Quark arrived in Ops to help Odo avert a disaster. Quark suggested that he beam the security chief to a docking hatch so that he would be able detach a visiting vessel before it exploded. The offer surprised Odo as he did not realize the Ferengi knew how to operate a transporter.

Of course, Quark then disclosed that he had merely witnessed the procedure without giving Odo adequate time to interject. Fortunately, Quark proved capable with the technology, granting Odo the opportunity to save DS9 from destruction.

“Funny, for a minute there, I thought you were talking to me as a friend.” “...Nah.”

— odo and quark in " crossfire ".

Heartbroken over Kira’s affections for Shakaar, Odo lashed out at the furnishings in his quarters before taking a seat and sulking in silence. Having heard the original disturbance, Quark arrived to berate Odo, but upon seeing his foe’s emotional state, opted to offer his own version of comforting words.

Veiling his advice in a story about the pool he ran where patrons wagered on how long it would take Odo to apprehend various criminals, Quark encouraged Odo to be that steadfast and reliable officer rather than someone who gives up and sits in the dark. Despite his obvious intentions, Quark nevertheless refused to admit that he was acting as a friend.

“Dear Quark, I used parts of your disruptor to fix the replicators. Will return them soon, Rom.” “I will kill him.” “With what?”

— odo and quark in " the way of the warrior ".

Expecting the imminent arrival of a Klingon invasion force, Quark vowed to protect his bar at all costs, boasting about the disruptor he kept handy in a small box. However, upon opening it, the only item to be found was a note from Rom, which Odo read with great pleasure. When Quark’s frustration boiled over and he threatened his brother, Odo delivered the perfect comedic reply with the timing of a professional. The moment also added a bit of levity to what would become a tense and brutal situation.

“I suppose, during the occupation, the Cardassians considered their security chief a security risk.” “And I know why.” “Oh, do you?” “It's because they knew you were an honorable man. The kind of person who would do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. And now, your integrity is going to get us both killed. I hope you're happy.”

— odo and quark in " civil defense ".

Trapped in the security office by a previously unknown Cardassian program designed to quell any Bajoran revolts, Odo and Quark discovered that the Changeling’s workspace was protected by a forcefield that operated separately from those that had popped up around the rest of the space station. Quark’s analysis of the situation was flawless in his own mind, as the Ferengi did not assign blame to the Cardassians for creating the failsafe or the Federation officers who accidentally triggered it. Instead, Quark hurled his critique at Odo’s dedication to duty, an attribute which conveniently plagued the barkeep’s business operations over the years.

“You're telling me that after all these years, after all we've been through, you're not even going to say goodbye to me?” “That's right. Nerys, I'll be on the runabout.” “Don't take it hard, Quark.” “Hard? What are you talking about? That man loves me. Couldn't you see? It was written all over his back.”

— quark, odo, and kira in “ what you leave behind ”.

In a farewell so fitting that it may even rank up with Captain Picard’s decision to attend the U.S.S. Enterprise-D ’s poker game in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's “All Good Things...,” Quark arrived at the airlock just in time to catch Odo before Kira shuttled the shapeshifter back to the Founders’ homeworld in the Gamma Quadrant.

The moment perfectly encapsulated the pair’s friendship, as Quark took Odo’s dismissal of his feelings and subsequent exit as signals which demonstrated just how much the constable cared for his Ferengi adversary. As such, the duo’s cantankerous goodbye stands as one of their finest moments.

Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Jay can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @StobiesGalaxy.

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