Dedra Meero

During the Imperial Era under the Galactic Empire's rule, Dedra Meero, a human female, served as a lieutenant within the Imperial Security Bureau. Initially part of the Enforcement division, she later transferred to Investigations. Meero eventually earned a promotion to ISB Supervisor, overseeing two sectors that included Steergard and Sev Tok. This advancement placed her among the ISB Board, a group of supervisors tasked with providing informative reports from their respective sectors to Major Lio Partagaz at the ISB Central Office located in the Imperial capital city on Coruscant.

In 5 BBY, Meero was present at one of these gatherings within the ISB Central Office. Following Partagaz's reprimand of Captain Lagret for his errors, Partagaz posed a question to the assembly regarding the essence of the Imperial Security Bureau. Meero responded by reciting the organization's mission statement verbatim, which Partagaz dismissed as incorrect. When Supervisor Blevin presented an update on the Ferrix incident, mentioning the theft of an Imperial N-S9 Starpath Unit, Meero used her datapad to investigate the matter further.

After the briefing, Meero, accompanied by Attendant Heert, was in her office, seeking more information about the Starpath unit's theft to justify her involvement in the Ferrix case. Given that the device was taken from the Steergard Naval Yard, which fell under her authority, Meero instructed Heert to formally request involvement in the situation from Blevin's office.

Upon the rejection of her request, Meero personally visited Blevin's office to discuss the matter, but Blevin, claiming to be busy, suggested she schedule an appointment. Meero insisted on her right to be involved because the device was stolen from Steergard, but Blevin countered that Ferrix was in his sector, accusing her of using the situation to advance her career. Meero retorted that she didn't need his career advice, and after Blevin rejected her request a second time, she resolved to escalate the issue to Major Partagaz.

Meero and Blevin brought their disagreement before Partagaz in the meeting room. Meero highlighted the Starpath unit theft and her claim to jurisdiction, but Blevin accused her of seeking to expand her responsibilities, advising her to focus on her own sector. Meero instinctively asserted to Partagaz that there were indicators of an organized insurgency, citing the theft of Imperial artifacts and coordinated attacks across multiple sectors, supported by three case files on her desk. However, Partagaz demanded concrete evidence, which she could not provide. Consequently, Partagaz instructed them to confine their activities to their assigned sectors.

After dismissing Blevin, the major acknowledged to Meero that working with Blevin could be challenging, but noted that Blevin consistently submitted his quarterly reports, unlike Meero. Partagaz emphasized that he expected high performance from her, given her promising career trajectory, advising her to avoid trivial matters and focus on work like her successful detainment record at Sev Tok, even suggesting he might send her more such cases. Meero sighed in relief after Partagaz departed.

While walking through the ISB headquarters' corridors, Meero observed Blevin passing by with a group of attendees. After a discussion about Hosnian Prime and its military assets, Meero dismissed Heert, noting the late hour. The attendant resisted, sensing her uncertainty. Heert pointed out that she was tracing clues, listing events in locations like Kessel, Fondor, Jakku, Base Cay, and Steergard. However, Meero conceded to Major Partagaz's view that the events seemed too scattered to be organized.

Heert countered, suggesting that Meero didn't truly believe that. The supervisor understood that, if she were on the other side, she would disperse activities and avoid repeating patterns. When Heert suggested the randomness was deliberate, Meero proposed reviewing two more files each, to which Heert agreed. Taking a stimulant pill with a drink, the supervisor resumed her work.

Shortly thereafter, a Rebel infiltration team stole approximately 80 million credits from an entire sector's quarterly payroll at an Imperial facility on the planet Aldhani. In response, Major Partagaz convened an emergency meeting with all supervisors and their staff. Meero stood with the rest of the staff as the major ordered the preparation of Star Sector and Planetary Emergency Retaliation plans by midnight, and informed them that no one would be leaving.

The next day, Meero, out of uniform, attended a briefing in the ISB meeting room presided over by Colonel Wullf Yularen. Yularen informed the Imperial staff of the bureau about the countermeasures to be implemented across the galaxy following the Aldhani heist. He mentioned, among other things, that he had consulted with Emperor Palpatine to ensure permanent ISB leadership in the matter, granting full access to resources for both the Army and Navy, and calling a special session of the Imperial Senate to pass an amendment granting full control over surveillance, search, and seizure.

The supervisor was not pleased with the new rules imposed by her superiors, believing they were playing into the rebels' hands by treating the Aldhani incident as a mere robbery instead of recognizing it as a declaration. Afterwards, Meero went to the datavault, staffed by attendant Felzonis, to request a Multi-Sector Data Blend from two years prior, including reports on bases, repair facilities, and missing items. When Felzonis inquired about the star system for the report, she requested data from all systems, marked confidential to her office.

Later, at another ISB supervisors' meeting, Major Partagaz criticized Supervisor Lonni Jung for not keeping pace with neighboring sectors. Partagaz then asked Supervisor Blevin if he was eager that morning. Blevin replied that he had no good news, as he wanted to press charges against Meero, suggesting her overreach at Ferrix had compromised Imperial security. Partagaz asked Meero if she was comfortable with her integrity being questioned, to which she replied that she was interested in hearing what her colleague had to say.

After a heated exchange and Blevin's accusation of unauthorized access to his sector records, Meero, to protect Partagaz, claimed she used the Imperial Emergency Act to collect data from multiple sectors without official approval. She then asked if they believed the Rebellion respected sector boundaries, to which Lagret replied that Partagaz had created those sectors. Meero countered that they were merely organizational principles, irrelevant to the rebels. When Partagaz questioned the relevance of his work, Meero responded that systems must adapt or perish. The major asked her to elaborate, and she replied that an organized rebel effort was acquiring Imperial military components.

Meero pointed out that Blevin knew she had a report ready and that his accusations were driven by self-preservation. Blevin argued that she was a dangerous intelligence with a loose sense of rules. Partagaz acknowledged his suggestion, recognizing Meero's dedication and reassigning the Morlana sector to her jurisdiction before adjourning the session. Meero thanked him, and Partagaz advised her to watch her back.

Later, Meero dispatched her Attendants Heert and Corv to the Imperial Bureau of Standards to bring Syril Karn for interrogation at the ISB central office. When Karn revealed during interrogation that he was unable to read the Ferrix report before being dismissed from his job in the Morlana System, Meero and Heert had to leave to attend another meeting elsewhere in the building. As the pair left, Meero ordered Corv to give Karn a copy of the report to read.

During this meeting, Meero requested additional resources to hunt down Cassian Jeron Andor, identified as one of the two culprits in the Ferrix incident. The resources she sought included a full planetary comnet, a full tech package from the Ferrix garrison, Series Nine Spectrum surveillance, funding for local agents, and a Code Droid. Although Meero and her staff were unable to identify Luthen Rael, code-named "Axis," she remained determined to find him. Later that day, the ISB officers returned to the interrogation room. Although the former Deputy Inspector believed he could identify Rael's voice if he heard it again, Meero determined that Karn's description of Rael was not of further use. Karn protested that he did well at his job and that he could be a valuable asset to her operations. However, she ordered him to forget that this had ever happened.

Around a month later, Meero was present on Ferrix in the former hotel that had been converted into the headquarters for the Ferrix garrison. She was present for the torture of Salman Paak and Bix Caleen, alongside Prefect Vanis Tigo and Doctor Gorst. Meero taunted Caleen during the interrogation, before the doctor forced her to listen to the harrowing cries of dying Dizonite children. After the torture, as she left the hotel, Meero ordered Captain Tigo to keep Caleen alive, due to her being a witness who could identify Axis. When asked about Salman Paak, Meero responded that she did not care what happened to him, to which Tigo replied that he wanted to hang the prisoner.

Upon her return to Coruscant, Meero attended a meeting with Major Partagaz, bringing her ISB Attendants Heert and Corv to the meeting as well. She discussed the list of Imperial equipment that Caleen had given after interrogation, which contained a targeting unit that was recovered from a safehouse operated by a rebel cell associated with Maya Pei. Through Andor's return to Ferrix three days after the Aldhani heist, she connected Axis to the events on Aldhani. When Heert presented statements from two soldiers at the Aldhani Garrison who believed Andor looked similar to one of the rebels, Partagaz responded that the amplified interest made the connection to Aldhani worth following up. Captain Lagret asked why Meero did not question Maarva Andor, to which she cunningly responded that she decided to wait and that she could be used as bait to lure Andor back to Ferrix.

The following day, upon arriving at the central office building, Meero was intercepted by Syril Karn, who thanked her, believing she had influenced his recent promotion. Meero responded dismissively, questioning his presence outside her workplace. Suspecting Karn was stalking her, Meero threatened to imprison him on the Outer Rim if he persisted. Inside her office, Attendant Heert informed Supervisor Meero that Imperial authorities had apprehended a rebel pilot using a stolen Imperial masking unit, and that Attendant Corv was verifying if the unit was on their list. Meero instructed her aide to dispatch Doctor Gorst to interrogate the prisoner aboard the Destroyer above Steergard, where he was being held. Heert replied that he had already sent Gorst, and asked if she wanted to go as well. She replied that there was no time and dismissed her assistant from the room after congratulating him on his work.

After remotely interrogating the prisoner, Meero attended a small meeting with Partagaz, her attendant Heert, Lagret, and two of his attendants. During his interrogation, the prisoner claimed that he did not contact anyone during his escape attempt. Heert added that the masking unit had been stolen from the Imperial naval yard in Lozash the previous year. Supervisor Lonni Jung and his attendant entered the room, having arrived late due to being offsite. Partagaz informed them about the capture of the rebel pilot, who was part of Anto Kreegyr's rebel cell. The major informed Jung that he believed that Kreegyr was unaware of the pilot's capture, and that the prisoner had revealed a planned raid on the Spellhaus Imperial power station.

When Jung warned that the pilot would be counted missing soon by not showing up on Kafrene, Lagret proposed destroying the ship and making it seem accidental. Meero proposed the idea of fouling the ship, damaging a mechanical component and planting the pilot's body in the cockpit. She suggested staging the accident quickly and allowing the ship to drift into traffic near Kafrene. Agreeing, Partagaz ordered her to make it top priority and to act carefully, leaving no trace. As Meero and Heert left the conference room, the major ordered the other Supervisors to schedule a meeting with Military Intelligence about the planned raid on Spellhaus.

Meero was in the conference room when Supervisor Lagret confirmed the trap set for Anto Kreegyr's men on Kafrene. Her assistant, Heert, handed her a datapad, from which she read the situation report to Major Partagaz. Meero mentioned the details of the supposed mechanical failure implanted. Supervisor Lonni Jung suggested Partagaz go ahead with a routine inspection, assuming Kreegyr was watching their movements.

After the trap had been sprung on Anto Kreegyr's men, Meero expressed concern and frustration about Military Intelligence not taking any prisoners when they could have done so, as the captives could have had information valuable to the Empire. Partagaz stated that the point of the massacre was to "wipe the taste of Aldhani from the Emperor's mouth," referring to the Aldhani raid, where over 80 million credits were stolen from the Aldhani Garrison by rebel operatives, among them Vel Sartha and Cassian Andor.

The next day, Cassian Andor's mother, Maarva, died of illness. Captain Vanis Tigo, commander of the Ferrix garrison, informed Meero of this. He reported that the local society, Daughters of Ferrix, had requested a public funeral on Rix Road according to local customs and that he was prepared to deny their request. Meero, however, instructed the captain to authorize the ceremony, seeing it as an ideal trap for Andor, whom she was certain would return. By nightfall, she arrived on Ferrix aboard a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, accompanied by a guard of two death troopers. After being debriefed at the Imperial planetary headquarters in the Rix Road hotel, she went for a walk in the city with Attendant Corv.

The following morning, as Imperial forces prepared for the funeral, she received a briefing on the garrison's security measures from a hotel balcony. She instructed Tigo not to use lethal force, as she needed Andor alive, and ordered the replacement of an Imperial sniper unit with a riot unit. The funeral began earlier than expected, giving Imperial units little time to prepare and establish a perimeter around the hotel. During the ceremony, Nurchi, a friend of Andor's who had been informed of his arrival the night before, approached Corv with information on Andor's location. Corv pretended to arrest him and led him to Meero. The supervisor immediately gathered her escort and inspected the supposed hiding place, finding no trace of Andor. Unbeknownst to her, Andor had escaped through the old furnace tunnels and was entering the hotel while its security was focused on the funeral outside, as Maarva Andor's recorded farewell speech was particularly anti-Imperial and the crowd was visibly moved.

Enraged by the spectacle, Tigo kicked down the droid B2EMO, which was broadcasting the speech. This provoked the crowd, which attacked Tigo and the Imperial security trooper detail, forcing the Prefect to crawl through the chaos and hide behind the Imperial perimeter. The riot caught Meero unprepared and outside Imperial protection, as Andor had just eliminated one of her death trooper escorts inside the hotel. Alone, Meero fought the protesters with her blaster drawn until she was attacked and beaten. While crawling through the mud to reach her pistol, she was cornered in a warehouse by an armed man, who shut the door. Grabbing a tool, Meero attempted to fight him, only to realize it was Karn who had saved her. Shocked, she admitted that she should thank him. Karn simply responded that there was no need.

At some point later, Meero found herself at odds with Director Orson Krennic of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research, who was overseeing the construction of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station.

Dedra Meero, a fair-skinned human woman, maintained a severe, though calculated, demeanor. Her blonde hair was meticulously styled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Supervisor Meero, a driven and unyielding operative within the Imperial Security Bureau, fervently championed the organization, striving for advancement within its predominantly male structure. Possessing a sharp intellect, unwavering resolve, and a talent for predicting the rebellion's moves, she was a formidable presence.

Meero was typically seen in the Security Bureau's standard white uniform, paired with black boots. Her rank insignia plaque displayed three blue squares, and she carried a set of code cylinders. On occasion, she supplemented her uniform with a cream-white overcoat, a black kepi, and black gloves. Sometimes, she also carried either a briefcase or a Power 5 blaster. She utilized a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle for transportation.

The character of Dedra Meero, played by Denise Gough, was conceived as the central antagonist for the 2022 television series, Andor.

Tony Gilroy, the creator and writer, intentionally made Meero a character that was difficult to dislike, aiming to imbue both the heroes and villains with the complexities of real-world individuals. As Gilroy and the writing team developed Meero's character, they recognized her as an underdog facing challenges within her environment, being one of only two women employed by the ISB. Gilroy perceived her as someone fighting to climb the ranks in a male-dominated field, excelling at her job more than her peers. Gilroy and the writers began to sympathize with Meero and sought to establish her as a compelling character. During the Ferrix episodes, they reassessed Meero's actions and concluded that they did not need to condone her worldview or cruelty. Instead, they needed to empathize with Meero to strengthen her character.

Gilroy was deeply impressed by Denise Gough's performance in the play People, Places and Things and immediately recognized her suitability for the role. Gough's agent later informed her of the Star Wars casting call, leading Gilroy to approach her for the part. Initially, Gough was unfamiliar with Gilroy's work and had limited knowledge of the Star Wars universe. Gilroy found this encouraging, admitting his own limited familiarity with the franchise. He proceeded to explain the series' premise to Gough and provided her with the scripts for the initial three episodes, which she found captivating. Following an hour-long discussion about Dedra Meero, Gough decided to accept the role in the show. Gough was drawn to Meero due to the show's emphasis on character development.

When Gough inquired about her character's history, Gilroy explained that she was an outsider seeking a position of authority to gain a sense of control. Gilroy also described Meero as both a "fascist" and a "badass." To prepare for the role, Gough deliberately limited her viewing to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to avoid over-saturation and maintain originality. Instead, she focused on embodying the traits described by Gilroy. The actress drew inspiration from the villain Gustavo Fring from the Breaking Bad television series, and she emulated the steely grace of Jennifer Connelly's performance in the Snowpiercer television series.

The actress relished the opportunity to portray a female character ascending to power in a male-dominated environment. She also appreciated the chance to illustrate the detrimental effects of the pursuit of power and control on individuals. Despite being a villain, she perceived Meero as a genuinely devoted believer in the Empire, portraying her as someone who considered her fellow Imperials to be "very mediocre." Gough found Meero terrifying due to her desire to control everyone and everything, which she saw as the antithesis of Luthen Rael. She aimed to portray Meero as ambitious as the most villainous men and to "color in all the shades" to create conflict in viewers. Gough did not want Meero to be redeemed. She assumed Meero felt like she needed to achieve and be seen because she was never validated psychologically. During Gough's first fitting in Meero's uniform, she told the designer the uniform had to be tailored and nipped in a certain spot.

Gilroy and director Toby Haynes wanted the audience to empathize with Meero. Haynes believed that the scariest villain is one who thinks they are doing the right thing, so he tried to show that in three dimensions to make the audience think about what it takes to be a good guy. Scenes on Ferrix were filmed in an intricate set in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire. According to Gilroy, everything on Ferrix was filmed first. On Gough's first day on set, she was in the Ferrix set during Maarva Andor's funeral, where Gough and two death troopers walked through a large group of extras. Gough loved playing Meero and rooted for her because she worked in a room where she was surrounded by men not doing their jobs properly. Early in the shoot for the episode "Announcement," Gough had to say she needed a Multi-Sector Data Blend going back two years, but she had difficulty enunciating the line. After a discussion with director Benjamin Caron, Gough realized she needed to use muscles she usually only used on stage, and she could then say the line.

When Gough first met Kyle Soller, Syril Karn's actor, and they filmed their scenes together, she thought it was great because Karn was an intense as Meero. Both actors tried to match each others' ambition and intensity. When Gough filmed Meero's rejection of Syril Karn outside the ISB Building in the episode "Nobody's Listening!," Gough tried to be furious to show how Meero did not like being touched by Karn. The actress was excited for the scene of Meero torturing Bix Caleen. She said her twitchy face emerged organically, likely from her body language being under control. Caron instructed Gough to have her hands behind her back and to not have any swiss. Gough initially had reservations about Meero getting rescued by Karn in the finale. When Karn brought Meero into a little room, Gough figured out a way so that Meero would first reach for something to hit her rescuer with.

Gough received the scripts for the second season of Andor. She wanted the season to include Meero out of uniform to show who she is underneath. When Soller, Gough, and Bix Caleen actress Adria Arjona were invited on as guests for the "Dagobah Dispatch" podcast, they were asked if Karn and Meero would develop a romance in the second season. Gough stated she was unsure if any person would be able to romance Meero, aside from Meero herself. Soller responded by saying his character had delusions of grandeur that he would not stop chasing until he could fulfill them.