A member of the Founders, the shapeshifters who formed the Dominion, and the primary leader of the Dominion's military foray into the Alpha Quadrant. The Female Shapeshifter often wooed Odo to come back and join the Great Link, often testing his loyalty to his solid colleagues. But when Odo killed a fellow shapeshifter, she personally saw to it that he was punished by transforming him into a solid. Even after that incident, the Female Shapeshifter desired nothing more than to bring Odo back into the fold. She claimed that was more important to her than winning the war against the Federation/Klingon/Romulan Alliance. Despite her spiritual rhetoric, she was absolutely ruthless in her dealings with solid species. When she learned the Cardassian military had turned against the Dominion, she ordered the complete annihilation of their race. Even when the tide of war had turned and her headquarters were invaded, she refused to surrender, insisting on causing as much bloodshed as possible in her defeat. But after Odo linked with her — passing along Dr. Bashir's cure to the fatal disease which had afflicted her people — she had a change of heart and ordered a cease-fire. She subsequently signed a peace treaty and turned herself over to Federation authorities to stand trial for war atrocities.