#odo wants to see it all! deduce if they will be any more useful or perhaps see if they can grow to serve him+gibby specifically

[gloopdimension]

my hylics head canon: i think odozeir fed poolwine to larvae not out of genuine malice but morbid curiosity as to what would happen to the wayne species itself

[suburbantimewaster]

This is the cover I used for chapter 2 of Mind Games with Marino meeting Odo for the first time, also drawn by s2ka, and, this time, I managed to get the references for Marino exactly right and she came out just like I pictured her.  In this scene, Marino’s bragging about her abilities while Odo wonders how he can make throwing her out the airlock look like an accident.

Marino walked into the Constable's office to find herself surrounded by walls of a dull brown devoid of any decoration.  The whole room was almost barren, save for two brown lounge chairs in front of a long and slightly circular desk of the same color and a gray bucket in the corner.  Dust marks surrounded each item, as if no one's bothered to move any of them in years.  Behind the desk sat a skinny man with brushed back dirty blond hair and unnaturally sunken eyes, almost alien, wearing the standard Bajoran uniform.  He seemed enveloped with his desk, as if he were hard at work on the latest investigation.  If Marino didn't know any better, she'd swear that the man was a Bajoran the Cardassians conducted experiments on to make him the perfect security officer.  Then she remembered people who would often synthetically change their appearance from having scanners inserted into their eyes to having their skin colored green.  The Bajorans wouldn't have access to that kind of technology, but the Cardassians definitely would.  One look at the way the skin around Odo's eyes sunk to draw more attention to them was enough for Marino to reconsider that notion.

Thankfully, she did know better, because the man had no wrinkles on his nose.   Behind him was a wall with neon green vertical lines that reminded Marino of the green rain on the old computer screens in The Matrix holodeck program.

"You know, if I squint hard enough, I think I can see people," the ensign said, gazing at that very wall.

The man only gruffed.

"I take it you're Constable Odo, the tightass investigator buried in his work."  Marino said, crossing her arms and, once again, noticing the lack of decoration.  "Gotta admit, I was hoping for something a little more original but, then again, why mess with the classics?"

"And how would you­—" the Constable said, lifting his head up to face her and practically bolted out of his chair.  "You?!"

"I see my reputation precedes me."

"I've read your report."

"Then you must be very thorough," Marino told him, taking a drink from her flask.  "Taking the time to study the people who will be working under you."

Odo narrowed his eyes at her as he rested his hands on the desk in an authoritative manner.  "You shouldn't be drinking from that."

The ensign rolled her eyes.  "Relax, it's just synthehol," she told him as if she were explaining to her mother that her tattoo was fake.

"For your sake, you better stick to that," Odo told her harshly.  "I expect my security officers to behave in a professional manner, on and off duty."

"Considering your bucket, I thought you'd be a little more open-minded about off-duty fun," Marino said as she took the right seat in front of Odo's desk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why else would you have that bucket there if not for nights where you get so wasted, you can't even find the bathroom?"

Odo looked at Marino as if she just told him that fairies were real.  "What exactly do you think that bucket's for?"

"Didn't I just tell you?"

"Elaborate."

Marino gave a frustrated sigh.  "I'd expect a little more intelligence from Deep Space Nine's top investigator but, very well, I will elaborate," Marino told him condescendingly.  "You work hard, you play hard.  Sometimes you get so wasted that you want to vomit, but you can't get to the toilet in time," she explained to Odo as if he were a simpleton.  "So, you have a backup plan with the bucket." The ensign pointed to the dust marks around the bucket.  "Then again, judging by how clean it is and how the dust marks line up around it, you've either never had to use it or you're so uptight, you actually clean the bucket and place it in the exact same spot, making sure to memorize where you put it."  She put her feet up on the desk.  "Normally, I wouldn't judge you for this, but you made that stupid comment about how your security officers must behave professionally, on and off duty.  So, now, I'm totally judging."  Marino stroked her pendant.  "Also, memorizing where you keep your bucket?  Serious waste of brain power, if you ask me."

"First, get your feet off of my desk and sit properly," he ordered.  "Second, you're wrong about my bucket."

Marino sat up straight and gave a single blink.  "What?

Odo gave her a smug smile.  "I said that you're wrong."  Marino shook her hands furiously as she heard the Constable mutter her least favorite words in any language.  "And, to think, your file said that you were smart," Odo said, as if he were challenging Marino to prove her worth.

"I can also tell that you're not from this quadrant, you earned the respect of the Cardassians and you managed to gain the trust of the Bajorans, and that you grew up in a lab,"  Marino said all in one breath, responding to the Constable's challenge.

It was his turn to blink silently.

"So, tell me," Marino said, folding her arms with a smug smile.  "How much of that was wrong?"

"Actually..." Odo hesitated and then admitted begrudgingly.  "It was all correct."

"I knew it!" Marino shouted with glee as she jumped up from her chair.  "My deductions are never wrong!"  Odo gave her a glance.  "Well, most of the time."

"Tell me," the Constable said with genuine curiosity.  "How did you manage to deduce this?"

"The Bajorans drove the Cardassians out recently, yet you seem right at home in your office as if you've been there for years.   You still have your job, so the Bajorans must not hate you.  I'm also familiar with every species known to the AQ and I've never seen anything like you before.  Since your species is unknown, it's not hard to believe that you got sent to a lab when they found you, something the Kents always feared would happen to Clark."

Again, she managed to say all of this in one breath, stunning Odo.

"I suppose that was rather impressive," he admitted begrudgingly

"And, believe me, that was an easy one," Marino bragged as she sat back down.

"Really?" Odo said with an irritated smile.  "Then why don't I make my own deductions about you?"

Marino shrugged.  "Sure, knock yourself out."

"You're an arrogant young woman who enjoys showing off and flaunting authority.  You completely ignore proper uniform code and our new Starfleet authority assigned you here because, after the incident, they didn't know what to do with you," Odo told her.  "However, if you ask me, Starfleet was a being a little too lenient."

"And what would you have done?" the ensign asked.  "Send me to a penal colony?"

"I would have made sure to keep you in line," Odo told her.  "As I plan to do now."

"And how exactly do you plan to 'keep me in line?'"

Odo folded his arms and gave Marino one command.  "Take off your necklace."

Marino clasped her pendant protectively as she uttered one word.  "No."

"This is a direct order from your superior officer!"

"And I'll tell you the same thing I told my other superior officers," Marino countered back.  "The only way you're getting this necklace off is over my dead body."

This defiance only served to anger Odo.

"I don't know what they let you get away with in Starfleet but, on my station—" Before the Constable could finish that thought, his computer beeped.  "Yes, Major?" he asked, hitting a button on his desk.

"Odo, are you reading something at A14?" a female voice asked.

"My security array has been down for two hours," Odo explained to her.  "I'll meet you there."  He shut off his computer and turned to Marino.  "Come with me."