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File:Odan Symbiont.jpg

Odan Symbiont.

Odan

Odan's male host in 2367.

Odan in Riker

William Riker, Odan's temporary host in 2367.

Kareel Odan

Kareel, Odan's new female host in 2367.

Odan is a Trill symbiont. Odan is an accomplished ambassador for the Federation and as of 2367 had been joined to at least three Trill hosts and was even joined, briefly, with a human.

That year Odan came aboard the USS Enterprise-D to mediate negotiations between the two moons of Peliar Zel. Odan had previously mediated between Alpha moon and Beta moon some 30 years before, in the body of a different host. It was hoped that he would be able to accomplish the same results this time and prevent a war between the two. During his efforts Odan refused transport to the surface and insisted on travelling by shuttlecraft. This lead to an attack during which the host body was injured, necessitating the removal of Odan.

Odan could not survive more than a few hours outside of a host. A Trill transport was within range and with a suitable host aboard but the Enterprise could not leave Peliar Zel, and the transport was 40 hours away. To extend the life of the symbiont, William Riker volunteered to become temporary host. Odan was transferred to his body successfully.

Ultimately Odan was successful in averting a war but barely in time to prevent permanent harm to the incompatible body of its host, Riker. With negotiations complete Odan was removed and joined to become Kareel Odan.

The transfer of Odan had enormous repurcussions. The two factions in the negotiations were initially skeptical of the explanation for Odan's change in appearance and negotiations almost never happened. At the same time, Odan and Doctor Beverly Crusher had begun a relationship prior to his host's injuries. The change in appearance proved professionally and personally difficult for Dr. Crusher.

Both of these reactions can be primarily attributed to the fact that the joined nature of the Trill was not widely known at the time. However, the extremely public and open display of such a surprising secret soon made the joined society of Trill common knowledge. (TNG: "The Host")

Odan's male host was played by Franc Luz. Kareel, his new host, was played by Nicole Orth-Pallavicini. The Trill featured on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Insurrection would be noticeably different than Odan in both appearance and organization.
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