Meck Odom

Odom's origins were in a prosperous Core Worlds family, though they maintained no allegiance to the Emperor. His father gained recognition as an architect, while his mother managed a business involved in import and export. He also had a sister in his family.

In contrast to many citizens within the Empire, Odom possessed a deeper spirituality, having explored the doctrines of the B'omarr Order.

During their time at the Academy of Carida, Odom and Kyle Katarn were the closest of friends, sharing a living space. His Omega Exercise involved an attack on a weapons factory, which proved to be an abandoned warehouse filled with mynocks. Despite this, he eagerly contacted his father through the comm net, boasting of his supposed bravery. Conversely, Kyle fought against a Rebel base and became a hero among the cadets.

Following his recovery in the hospital, Katarn requested a clandestine meeting with Meck in the Academy's library, specifically in the cooking section. There, he shared the inexplicable premonitions that guided him during his mission, appealing to Meck's religious background. Meck expressed discomfort at Kyle raising such a personal matter, stating that his studies offered little insight into the Force. Upon hearing Nathan Donar III approaching and calling for Katarn, Meck departed, only to rejoin them later as Donar recounted his version of Katarn's story, which Meck found amusing, especially after enduring Kyle's poor jokes for four years. He was surprised that Kyle had not yet contacted his father to share the news.

Katarn received the Imperial Medal of Valor, and Odom hoisted him up amidst a cheering crowd of their peers eager to admire the medal. Odom's parents and sister attended his class' graduation and extended an invitation to Katarn (who, being a "rimmer," was without family present) to spend the night with them. Katarn initially declined, not wanting to intrude on a family gathering, but Odom insisted that his parents would be delighted to meet a genuine hero; Kyle agreed, provided Odom's attractive sister would also be present.

Odom's request for an Imperial Special Operations assignment was approved relatively quickly. As a Lieutenant, he was stationed at the clandestine Danuta research facility in the city of Trid on Danuta, where a portion of the Death Star plans were stored. A maintenance droid that had been reprogrammed spied on the facility for the Rebel Alliance, and footage of Meck was viewed by Kyle, who had since joined the Alliance. Mon Mothma grew suspicious upon recognizing Meck in that video during an Alliance mission briefing. While he was stationed on Danuta, he would often but secretly visit the Danuta Temple to be among the B'omarr monks, and the Blue Moon.

Later, while Katarn was on a mission to steal the facility's plans, he encountered Odom while the latter was meditating at the Temple, leading to an arrangement to meet at the Blue Moon. Despite his unease, Meck arrived at the bar in civilian attire. He was relieved to see that Kyle was alone and that it wasn't a trap set by "security types." Meck revealed Kyle's wanted poster, complete with his image and accusations. Kyle confessed his defection, explaining the details of the mission to Danuta. Kyle pledged to keep Meck's identity a secret and proposed that they collaborate to create a plausible story. Meck disclosed that each side of the facility had multiple entrances, each designated with a letter, and that his duty was scheduled for 21:00 at gate S-2. He also highlighted a security flaw in the air ducts, suggesting that Kyle infiltrate the complex through an air shaft.

Meck's task was to use remote testing equipment to temporarily disable the security systems of the outer perimeter by opening and closing the door locks, providing Kyle with a seven minutes window to enter. A squad leader informed Horst of a detected alarm system shutdown in sector S-2. As Horst prepared to contact the quick response team and dispatch a squad of walkers, Meck Odom arrived, explaining that he was behind schedule while completing remote tests on the door locks. Horst reprimanded the Lieutenant, noting that his shift had ended five minutes prior and that his false alarm would mobilize a squad of Imperial commandoes. Odom apologized and assured that it wouldn't happen again.

During the ensuing skirmish, the two orchestrated a blaster shot that wounded and incapacitated Odom, hoping to dispel any suspicion.

Meck Odom possessed dark hair and skin, along with a square face and a perpetual smile. In his interactions with Kyle Katarn, he consistently appeared cheerful and playful, striving to maintain his friend's spirits.

Unlike the majority of Imperial citizens, he harbored a clandestine interest in religion, maintaining a low profile due to the Empire's intolerance.

Despite Odom's allegiance to the Empire, Kyle Katarn was confident that he would betray it upon learning of the Death Star's malevolent nature. Kyle entrusted the success of his mission, and his very life, to their friendship and Meck's religious principles. At the time, Odom was not entirely certain he had done the right thing and felt responsible for the deaths of his fellow Stormtroopers; but he comforted himself with the belief that the Rebellion would do the right thing—his true loyalty was to saving lives, not to the Empire or Rebellion. However the troublesome course of Kyle Katarn's life made Meck to wish not to meet him ever again and end their friendship.

Meck Odom's initial appearance was in the novel Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire, which was based on the Star Wars: Dark Forces video game. The video game level that corresponds to the Mission to Danuta lacks an interaction with a character analogous to Meck Odom, although there can be several Imperial officers at the room where the Death Star plans are kept.

Peter Moore portrayed Meck Odom in the Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire audio drama. Throughout the audio dramatization, he is referred to as "Odom Meck" and is listed under this name on the Dark Forces: The Collector's Trilogy audio drama box.

While the novel alludes to Meck's religious background, the drama specifies that he studied with the B'omarr order. In the novel, the Danuta Temple is nondescript, whereas the audio drama identifies its denomination as B'omarr. Their initial meeting on Danuta differs significantly: the novel implies that Katarn visited the Temple in the hope that Meck would appear, leaving a message for him; Meck indeed accepts some risk when he decides to meet Katarn after receiving his message. In the audio drama Katarn finds Meck in person while meditating in the Temple, and the men arrange their meeting for later.

Another point of divergence is their last meeting in the facility. In the novel both Kyle and Meck are conscious about the security cameras; Meck pretends to run against Kyle and once Kyle identifies Meck, he shoots at him, carefully in order to wound him, without any more interaction, ensuring that that their collaboration isn't revealed in the facility's footage. In the dramatization however, once they find themselves alone, they do have a final dialogue, before they agree to be shot and wounded to make it believable.