Jovian Primative

Jovian Primatives are a fictional race of humanity,genetically engineered possesses superhuman strength and stamina,as cheap labor force for the Jovian Mining Corporation.Jovian Primitives were a slave race created by the Jovian Minning Corporation, an advanced offshoot of humanity. Because of the offworld Terran space miners low population of survival,within the upper atmosphere of the Titan of Jupiter,even within special renforced Mining ship they created a labor force of hominids bred to be strong, but of limited intelligence-at least at first.Later on.many future generations of Jovian Primatives gained more intelligence,as the race gained more experience.The term Jovian Primatives began as a put down,as to make primative or primal,cavemanlike,but the Jovians turned the insult into a badge of homor.

Jovian Primatives fights for survival with their huge,Jovian Corporation Mining Ships and many homeworld and colony planet,that they encounter. Raised in a savage world that should prepare them for what battles he may encounter as the series continues.The Jovianians are a multi colored skinned race of people native to the world of K'ai.

Jovian Primatives


 * "Empires may come and go, but Orion gold is eternal." -- Orion proverb

The Orions, also called Green Orions were a race from the Beta Quadrant famous for their involvement in many criminal endeavors: piracy, slavery, and the Orion Syndicate. They primarily inhabited the Orion Colonies.


 * The Orion homeworld is variously stated to be either Rigel VIII (Botchok), Rigel VII (Kolar), a world in the Pi-3 Orionis system, or more generally, the planet "Orion".

In their own language, they were referred to as Ur'eon or Kolari. The name "Orion" was derived from the Orion constellation.

The Orions had a number of sub-races, including the Green Orions (covered here), the Ruddy Orions, the Grey Orions, the rare halfbreeds, and muni, or 'blends', consisting of other colors and races. They absorbed a number of other races into their culture, also known as Orion but of limited numbers or presence. These absorbed races might include the Etoshans and Duthulhiv, a gray-skinned reptilian variety and a slimy purple variety.

Biology

 * The following information is either specific to Green Orions, or assumed to be without evidence otherwise. However, with different subraces and gender differences, and various contradictions, some of the following information could apply to one or another of the subraces, or be specific to a gender.

Orions were humanoids that possessed the same size and build of an average Human, though they could range from slightly smaller to somewhat taller and more massive, or more slender. Average heights ranged from 1.8 to 2 meters, with average mass ranging from 75 to 80 kilograms. Males averaged at 1.7 meters and 70 kilograms, while females averaged at 1.5 meters and 60 kilograms.They are a green-skinned species similar to humans in many aspects. They are of similar size to humans, and have a variety of hair colors known colors include grey, black, blonde, and brown. Some members of the species have been depicted with beards. The rarest feature depicted amongst these people is pointed ears

Their external physical characteristics were close to those of humans, though their features tended towards aquiline noses and sharp chins. However, Orion physiology and copper-based blood chemistry were more similar to that of a Vulcan, with skin tones ranging from emerald to dark olive greens, due to both their copper blood and the chlorophyll in their skin cells. This green skin darkened in strong sunlight. They could have either green blood, or orange blood.

Black was the most common eye-color, followed by lighter shades of green. Some Orions (called "erratics") had very different eye colors: blue, brown, gold, yellow, even pink and silver. Orion women could have very distinctive bright blue eyes. Ocular compounds to treat vision disorders, such as Retinax V did not work well on Orions.

Some Orions tended to be hairy, with body hair common among both men and women, which was seen as a mark of distinction, though baldness in older men was not uncommon. Generally, they had thick black hair with metallic green highlights. Hair was generally black or chestnut brown. However, a great many Orions were seen to be practically hairless, with even young men bald and lacking body hair. In old age, they developed white hair.

The Orions evolved under a blue-white sun with a similar spectrography to Rigel, with that system possibly being their home system. Thanks to their chlorophyll, their green-pigmented skin absorbed ultraviolet radiation, keeping them relatively immune to its harmful effects and somewhat resistant to radiation in general. They were possibly naturalized stabilized against radiation, in the manner of a radiation stabilizer.

They were also physically stronger than most other humanoid races (save Vulcans), though their musculature and powerful builds may have been due in part to a life of manual labor. They also had increased endurance. Though highly charismatic, they had reduced intelligence and capacity for psionics.

They had metabolic ratios quite different from that of a human and a 10 degree difference in body temperature (whether higher or lower is not clear), and Orion gourmands tended toward obesity, with no member of the species enjoying the concept of being underweight.

They lived about 90 standard years, with the effects of old age setting in after 60.

A pancreas was once successful transplanted between an Orion and an African Cape buffalo.

Orions, or the women at least, needed a number of short sleeps, instead of one long one.

Pheromones
Orions tended to smell, not due to lack of hygiene as some believed, but due to their natural skin oils. Distinctive, though not unpleasant, the scent was unnoticeable after a few minutes of exposure. However, it was heavily laden with pheromones that affected the subconscious of most humanoid races. The effect was soothing, and ten minutes in a sizable group of Orions drained tension. Orions found it hard to stay angry in a group, but a strong emotion, such as rage, fear or desire, altered the scent, and though it did not compel others, it did make them susceptible to that particular mood. Unless a humanoid was aware of this, they could find their emotions subtly altered. It was hazardous to be among a group of angry, frightened or panicky Orions, as their mood was literally contagious.

Orion females also produced large amounts of a powerful chemical pheromone that generally acted like a love potion. It had a range of effects on different species and sexes. In a Human male (and likely in males of most humanoid races, including Orions), it accelerated the metabolism and increased adrenaline levels, inducing aggression and delusion, and generally making him highly suggestible to the Orion woman who produced it. In this way, they became enthralled to the Orion woman. Human females, on the other hand, suffered a different, more negative effect, experiencing headaches and lethargy. Denobulan males experienced interrupted sleep cycles and extreme tiredness while Vulcan women were immune to any effects. Human males that were telepathically linked to a female Vulcan could also become immune to the pheromone. A Klingon male could experience a pheromonal shock due to the rush of hormones; allegedly, this could potentially be deadly for a young male. This made Klingons especially susceptible to an Orion woman's influence.

The effects of the pheromones were cumulative, such that a longer or more intense exposure resulted in more pronounced symptoms. Doctor Phlox postulated in 2154 that the pheromones acted as a defensive mechanism against competition.

Orion males apparently had similar pheromones to their women, though they were much less pronounced.

Orion women
Orion women were famously irresistibly sexually attractive, and though some of this reputation may have derived from marketing hype by dealers in Orion slave girls, most Orion women were considered beautiful and charming seducers. They were known for their extreme "appetites" and very few men were known to be able to resist their approaches. They had a heat cycle that drove their mating instincts, which increased when they were 'in heat'.

Orion women had long, sharp nails, almost like claws, which they could use as weapons. They also had a much greater physical dexterity than Orion men.

There was thought to be a subcaste of the Orion race that possessed animalistic qualities, giving rise to the legend of the "Orion animal woman". They were claimed to be less intelligent and behaved in a semi-animalistic fashion. It was unknown if these traits indicated a subspecies or a genetic alteration or were simply a myth based on their legendary sexual appetites, violence and savage Orion behavior. It may have derived simply from a lack of educational opportunities.

Orion pharmacologists developed a pheromonal treatment that vastly increased the user's sexual appeal at the risk of some degradation of the superego and other higher brain functions (resulting in, for example, animalistic impatience, blood-lust, reduced intelligence, inability to concentrate, a vulnerability to psychic assault, or a decreased will). This only worked on Orions. It might have been the origin of the myth of the Orion animal woman, or it might been developed to fulfill the myth and satisfy the resulting market.


 * Each source introduces the Orion animal woman then suggests a different means by which it is likely to be a myth. Thus, they probably don't exist. Decipher's mirror universe Orions keep an animalistic sub-caste however. It also unknown to what extent Orion slave girls overlap with Orion animal women; the terms are generally interchangeable.

Orion men
Orion males could shrug off a low-powered phaser hit (such as from a hand phaser or Phaser One) with only minor injuries instead of death, unless a vital organ was struck.

Psychology

 * "There are three kinds of people I don't want to face while making a deal: Vulcan bankers, Tellarite lawyers, or anybody Orion." -- Carter Winston

The Orion mind was complicated and thought in complicated ways, making them difficult for others to understand. There were five basic facets to the common Orion’s way of thinking: opportunism, egocentricity, materialism, hedonism, and barbarity. They also had four primary motives: profit, loyalty, revenge, and spite.

Opportunism & Egocentricity
Orions had a skill and reputation for finding advantages and comparing chances and risks, and the drive to seize an opportunity, no matter how unusual the means, and either profit or get away safely. This opportunism could make them very dangerous, but it was balanced by their flaws.

Their egocentricity made them confident and proud of their abilities and plans, of their cunning, strength, wealth and connections, and they weren’t afraid to show off and let everyone else know about it. This extended beyond themselves, making Orions proud of and loyal to their families, their companies and other groups they belonged to, their ships if they were spacefarers, to their stations in Orion society, and to the Orion species in general. These attitudes however could lead to overconfidence and showing off more than they should.

Materialism & Hedonism

 * "Keep money, but do not keep it dear." -- old Orion advice, learned from the Rigellians

Materialism was a dominant factor. An important, never-ignored ethical principle of the Orions was that value had to be given for value received, or in other words, that one couldn't get something for nothing. Everything had a cost, not just in money, but in time, effort, reputation or blood. Everything gained had a purpose, whether it was for personal enrichment, the sake of one's leader, revenge or other motives, though in the 23rd century there was a growing trend for Orions to trade value for intangibles that had little to do with seeking profit. These habits made them quite efficient and practical. Thus, material value was a universal language, a necessary standard to rely on and the foundation of business and diplomacy. This was comfort and sincerity to the Orions. They were talented at estimating value, and cared deeply for material things. Everything had a price, even things that most others took for granted – a common Orion joke was the value of sunsets, clouds and dust. Orion mothers even sold cookies to their children (albeit with a loving kiss). Meanwhile, Orion slaves bartered their labor for food, shelter and protection.

As a result of this materialism, Orions were a hedonistic race, who lived as well as they could within their means and aimed to enjoy life as much as they could afford. There was no virtue in being or acting impoverished. Orions pursued extremes of luxury, comfort, fineries, entertainment, indulgence, and great displays of wealth and used these things to outdo and impress each other. They tended to delight in partaking in the more civilized vices. Living well and letting others know about it was a point of pride, a display of their success and potential to help others achieve the same.

Barbarism & Decadence

 * "If an Orion has not seen it, it does not exist" -- an ancient saying

They were often called barbaric by members of other races, even Klingons, presumably for their practice of slavery, piracy and general hedonism. In return, some claimed to be merely decadent; they could not be barbarians after their long history, when they'd travelled through space when other races couldn’t cross their oceans. The Orions did not disagree with any negative portrayal of themselves; instead, they enjoyed their reputations. Being deceitful and treacherous had made them rich and helped them conquer worlds, and that was all they’d desired. They had no great racial destiny and thought it pointless to argue about it, even if they seemed stagnant and purposeless as a result.

With a lost heritage, an ancient history and a decadent culture, that both overshadowed and liberated them, they were left cynical and materialistic, looking out only for themselves, seeking wealth and enjoying it, and leaving dreams of conquest, glory and utopian visions to others. The Orions called it being practical, tending to be realists and pragmatists who scoffed at all ideologies and felt that life was too short to waste on rules or morality. Thus they were not bound by any set of restraints, rules, laws or codes of honor, nor did they have an overarching philosophy to justify their behavior.

Loyalty & Leadership

 * "Save your friends as you would save your profits." -- old Orion advice, learned from the Rigellians

Orion customs and traditions encouraged group loyalty and mutual protection, and they were loyal to family, company and anything else they were a member of. They believed that true friends could never be bought, and that loyalty was bound to blood alone, and that while money could not replace love and devotion, it was more reliable. The strength of their loyalty was according to the responsibility and care the object of it took for them, the size of the group and the understanding its members had for one another. Greatest of all was one’s own family, which took total care of its members and demanded absolute loyalty in return, and small groups were almost as close-knit. Last was government, where loyalty and responsibility were both nearly nonexistent. In the middle lay companies and corporations. In general, the larger a group was, the less loyalty and responsibility was shared.

Because of this loyalty-spectrum, Orions had a reputation for treachery, selfishness and deceit. But while Orion society was fast-paced, turbulent and filled with twists of fortune, such behavior was not random or only selfish, but followed certain standards of conduct, with specific goals and ideals, in which they frequently rearranged their limits and obligations to one another. Orions did not work at being treacherous; it was a byproduct of their self-centered world-view. However, they were not anarchists, nor completely uncoordinated and uncooperative, but had a fine and often-used sense of compromise, negotiation, and give-and-take. When (not if) arrangements changed, new arrangements were made to suit the new situation.

Despite being individualists, Orions admired and respected talented and charismatic leaders, particularly tahedrin (patriarchs) and rhadamanen (captains and archexecutives), people who stood for an ideal, who could not be swayed, bought, or shamed, who proved their cluros. Such a person could undermine or even win over their foes, and get others to follow them. Orions trusted such a leader and would do almost anything for them, ignoring personal gain and ambition: workers and slaves labored hard for a good boss, pirates would die for a respected captain. Rather than surrendering their individualism or personal feelings to such a leader, they saw through them a greater goal, a shared profit, or a better future for everyone. But too many mistakes or too little gain would break the spell, and the leadership would collapse, with Orions reverting to plotting and selfishness – at least until the next great leader came along. Otherwise, Orions had little faith in government or impersonal authority.

Whatever the group or their loyalty, wearing uniforms and badges was not common, and Orions did not ask for another's affiliation, family or employer, and if they were asked they were under no particular compulsion to reveal it. Orions rarely went even by their family names, unless they were particularly powerful. However, imposters falsely adopting a famous or powerful name risked a heavy punishment from actual members, who didn’t like being mocked and wished to protect their good name.

Revenge & Cluros
Revenge and spite were important to the Orions, though they could go to great lengths to hide the depths of their loss, grief or rage from their foes, in keeping with their code of cluros, which encouraged self-control and a cool head. They could even join or become apparent friends with their hated target. All of this was to avoid alerting a foe until it was too late. Making an effort simply to spite another went against typical Orion greed and hedonism – there was no one word for 'spite' – but it held an attraction for that reason, and was easily rationalized. Instead of treating these vendettas as matters of life and death, Orions played them as amusing games; only some held actual grudges. Orions were known to swear vengeance oaths on their enemies, and could appreciate a desire for revenge in others. They could also hire ganzu, or revenge societies, to get back at their enemies.

Said by some to be the highest expression of Orion culture, the code of cluros, meaning 'cold' or 'coolness', was a code of conduct that encouraged self-control and a cool head, and attempted to curb their excesses. By cluros, an Orion would attempt to hide their hurts, stay calm and even grinning in the face of danger or loss, and remain charming and polite to even their enemies and victims, no matter the provocation, all while attempting to get another to break theirs. Thus, Orions were typically known for their charm and influence, with a ready tongue and a good attitude, and they’d project a personality somewhere between a stylish devil-may-care humor and cheerful self-confidence at their best, and a tired cynicism and brash arrogance at their worst. They enjoyed mocking and taunting helpless foes while charming powerful allies.

Deception
Nor were they above convincing both sides to fight against each other instead, as they were always happy to risk others for their own cause. They were equally willing to run from a fight that they could not win. They watched others instead, plotted and waited to backstab the victor at the right moment. They were also shrewd and savvy, good at sensing lies, motives and subterfuge while masking their own intentions. They had a talent for conspiracy, intrigue and navigating a criminal underworld. No Orion who could still speak was considered powerless, and all were talented at wielding power behind the scenes, as well as obeying the letter of a law while evading its spirit. However, this did not mean that Orions necessarily lied, cheated and stole to get their way, no more so than any other race, as getting caught was bad for their reputation.

Few outsiders could say they understood Orions or knew the truth about them, and sources of information on them tended to disagree. This mystery was because Orions enjoyed puzzles, contradictions and paradoxes, and liked to sow confusion among outsiders and to tell lies,, often misleading both each other and non-Orions about their true motives. They felt no need to clear up misconceptions about them. To the Orions, knowledge was power, and confusion and misconception a weapon.

Care & Love
A high ideal of Orions was to become so successful that they could care for others; this manifested in owning slaves, starting a family, founding a colony, and in a wealthy corporation taking good care of its employees. It was a mark of ostentation that one's people were well cared for; the better they lived, the better one looked. Such care and responsibility also earned loyalty, respect and trust.

Orions believed that true love lasted forever, whether it was between friends, partners or life-mates. This love lasted past death or when another partner entered the picture, and was respected and honoured. When a friend or lover died, this continuing love honoured their memory.

Suicide & Life

 * "Why do you think my people have been able to maintain our operations for so long, so secretly and well, Captain Kirk? It is because all unsuccessful Orion missions end in suicide. When possible, we enjoy company." – an Orion pirate captain

Despite a general love of life and self-centeredness, Orions had a long history of committing suicide, either by doing it themselves or by provoking others into killing them. Their reasons could be to uphold their causes, to preserve the secrecy of their missions and their neutrality, to get revenge on their foes and to save themselves from being captured, and even at the order of a respected captain. Well-known examples of Orion suicide ranged from the legend of Lady Katam to the martyrdom of Julin Hyrax the Brave to the Laxala Incident, and the common practice of destroying one's own ship and any nearby enemies, used by the Orion Space Navy, pirates and desperate merchants alike. One particular form of suicide was Vyun-pashan.

However, this did not mean that life and death were cheap to the Orions. Suicide was a last resort, when all other options had been exhausted, and it was intended for the good of one's people at the cost of oneself. It could be carefully planned, and preparations were both mental and physical, and took a great deal of courage. Even so, when even suicide would not meet their goals, they would choose to live. They had an essential respect for life, and would act to preserve it where possible. At heart, their morals were sound, even if the practice and face of it was not.


 * The above paragraph is taken entirely from speculation from James T. Kirk, thus it may not necessarily be true, but it's probably intended to be.

Even pirates respected life, to a point. In an Orion pirate raid, compliant and unresisting crews were usually left unharmed. Pirates who took captives and hostages took cares not to mistreat them while they sought a ransom. If they could not get one, then they generally stranded them some place. Pirates who killed off innocent captives just to save some money horrified other Orions, who saw them as savage barbarians. Other pirates would even set a bounty on their heads to ensure that they were hunted down and killed for their crimes. However, crews that fought back after being boarded were free to be slaughtered.

This page details the various histories of the Orion people and of the Orion Colonies and Empires.


 * There are several contradictory accounts of Orion history, with the most complete versions presented in the FASA RPG and in the Last Unicorn/Decipher RPGs, with other components appearing in various novel sources. These are presented in separate sections below for clarity, and merged only in the 21st century and beyond.

Orion history
Orion records were a significant historical resource, with a huge volume of data and a wide variety of different media. But incredibly little of it was reliable, being rife subjective views, rampant falsification, and lazy scholarship. Orion historians and artists primarily presented the patrons' views, whether that of a family, a planet, or a business. For their side, victories in war and business were exaggerated, as were those of their foes, while defeats were downplayed or left out altogether. Accounts by the defeated were often destroyed to avoid contradiction with those of the victors. Some events were more myth and legend than history, with heroes and historical figures usually only partially detailed. Only the great Nallin the Unconquerable remained largely intact, but exploits alongside family ancestors were invented around him and reclaimed by later families.

Other histories were sanitized or designed to attack their enemies. The dirty little secrets of Orion history were also swept under the rug, if not totally erased. A case in point was the Dispossession, which saw the deliberate and widespread purge of all history that related to Grey Orions, including of the Dispossession itself.

The records themselves were difficult to obtain without sufficient bribery of the appropriate officials, and often needed to be studied under trying circumstances without the ability to determine authenticity. The more secret or more factual knowledge was even harder to find, depending on lucky discoveries of full and accurate records, intact archaeology, or a long and tedious compilation of pieces of knowledge from a wide range of sources. However, despite these problems, there were so many sources for Orion history it was possible for historians to construct a reasonably balanced chronology, albeit with many holes.

Archaeology
Through the Guardian of Forever on the Time Planet, a research team consisting of Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, and Lieutenant Ted Erickson of Starfleet, and historians Grey and Loom Aleek-Om, visited the dawn of Orion civilization in 2269.

The oldest Orion cave-drawings on Rigel VIII (Botchok) depicted spaceships landing on the plains, with bulky suited aliens emerging to capture and carry away the stick-figure natives.

Studies of ruins in the Rigel system were inconclusive on the issue of Orion history and origins. Some believed that the famous ruins on Rigel VII were actually Debrune sites (and tied into the Vulcanoid Rigelians), while others held that they represented primordial Orion culture.

Doctor Roger Korby's translations of Orion medical databases recovered from Orion ruins revolutionized immunization techniques, and became standard reading for xenobiologists and archaeologists, and at Starfleet Academy.

Historical research
Dr Eunice Shupman, Professor of Interstellar History at the University of Mars, wrote "The Price of Knowledge", an article discussing the difficulties of studying Orion history.

Dvoriv B'bargalah, a historian of Tellar, wrote Title to the Truth: Orion Historiography and Its Ownership, a bibliography of the borrowed legends surrounding Nallin the Unconquerable.

FASA History

 * The following history is taken from the FASA RPG's The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge and Book of Deep Knowledge, in which events are almost always dated in the reference stardate system. To better express timescales, as stated in the sources, these stardates have been converted into regular dates, as explained in the Cadet's Orientation Sourcebook. However, this produces some snarls in the chronology for the years 1–2000 AD, with some, but not all, events occurring in reverse order. The original order has been maintained for accuracy.

The Rise of the Orions

 * "Orion history is a prime example of why we need a Prime Directive to protect everybody." — Dr Thelanius Richter

Millennia of tumultuous history erased nearly all evidence of Orion prehistory. On this topic, ancient writings referenced the lost book The Origin of People, which discussed the possibility that Orions were planted on Botchok (Rigel VIII) by aliens. Corroborating this was difficult, as the clues were old and unreliable, and the same era included myth and legend about the Orion gods. Only the Rigellian records held the truth, and they were kept secret.

Around 998,000 BC (reference stardate −10,000/00), the Masters of Rigel seeded Rigel VIII with life, new and promising forms intended to evolve over a million years into an intelligent species capable of space-flight and revering the long-dead Masters as gods.


 * It is implied that this species became Orions. The time-scale is approximately correct, with Orions appearing 980,000 years later. However, their later appearance was a surprise, with no sign of sentient life previously detected.

Around 38,000 BC (stardate −400/00), the s visited Rigel to trade. Later speculation posited that they were responsible for placing Orions on Botchok, who appeared around the time that the Preservers disappeared. However, the evidence was circumstantial, with no specific signs of the Preservers on Botchok.

It was difficult to determine exactly when Orions first appeared on Botchok, but it was no earlier than 19,000 BC. The first known appearance of the Orion species dated to around 18,000 BC (stardate −200/00), during the Third Interregnum. No sentient life had ever previously been recorded on Botchok, a planet that many spacefaring races had visited and explored. Thus it was a surprise when primitive Orions—wielding no more than clubs and stones and barely into their Neolithic Age—attacked a Yugai colony, first bringing them to the notice of the many races frequenting the Rigel system. The Yugai repulsed the attack easily with their superior technology, destroyed the attackers' village, and forgot about them. Subsequent settlement plans took the Orion tribes into account, though they were only a minor nuisance to advanced aliens.

The alien races that settled Botchok soon came to appreciate the value of the Orions as slaves, however. The Orions, though traditionally robust and ingenious warriors, easily took to agricultural tasks. They were difficult to capture alive and tame, but once broken, Orion slaves were quite useful. Over time, the primitive tribes of Orions came to accept slavery. Some tribes captured other Orions to trade with the settlers, and on occasion, Orions even offered themselves as slaves. The value of Orion slaves was such that the Sugg soon began to export them offworld.

On 15th July 17,273 BC (stardate −192/7307.15), Muark Tan, a Glath starship captain, brought to the Rigellians of Rigel IV evidence of the Orions, including photographs, tools, weapons, clothing, and three live specimens. It was too late for the Rigellians to undo the interference, and Orion slaves were already valuable on the open market. The Rigellians never traded in Orions, inspiring a deep and reverential awe in them.

Other races soon began to raid Botchok for slaves, preferring to take already trained and broken Orions from settlements, rather than the wild. The Sugg armed their slaves with slug-throwers and other low-tech weapons, considering them their own best defense against raiders—Orion slaves fought to prevent themselves from being torn away from families and homes, but were too valuable for slavers to shoot. The arming of the Orions escalated, and soon the aliens were using Orions as slavers to capture other Orions and other peoples, and as slave-warriors. By 16,000 BC (stardate −180/00), the Orion slave trade was well established, and Orion slave-warriors had spread to many worlds.

Beginning of the Orion Era
By around 15,900 BC, Orions were so well armed that local races feared that Orion barbarians would overrun their worlds. The Orion-slaving races convened on the planet Kammzdast to discuss the matter, and in 15,956 BC (stardate −179/56), they signed the Treaty of Kammzdast. (Modern historians considered this date the beginning of the Orion Era.) It placed restrictions on the use of Orion slaves: regulating technology given to them; allowing them to be transported out of Rigel only for regular work; forbidding them from holding weapons outside the Rigel system; limiting mercenaries and slave-warriors; and permitting them to engage in combat only on the "unsettled" Rigel worlds, including Botchok itself. Though this was of great benefit to the signatory races—local space was kept in a relatively peaceful state for over ten thousand years—Botchok became a battlefield for the masters of the Orions, being the only legal place to wage a war, using Orion slave-soldiers.

They arbitrarily divided the Orions into territories and nations, each controlled by an alien faction, and used them against one another. In actuality, proxy warfare on Botchok was not as common as had been intended, nor continual, as disputants often did not have adjacent holdings on the planet, but it was immensely destructive. Occasionally, the aliens rebuilt what was left to preserve resources. More often, diplomats and generals had to negotiate with third parties just to make a battle possible. Watchful Orion servants and translators accompanied them, learning and sharing only with each other.

The Orion slave-warriors revolted against the disarmament, on Botchok and elsewhere, and resented their demotion. Because few of the slave-holding races had the capacity to continuously police their slaves, they began educating them instead so that they could be used in less militaristic capacities. The First Rigel Conference met in 15,839 BC (stardate −178/39) to relax restrictions in the Treaty of Kammzdast, granting more training and technology. The number of revolts slowly decreased, but the alien schools gave the Orions new perspectives, as they learned the languages, cultures, and weaknesses of their captors, and a hope to be independent of their masters began to arise. Some educated Orions revolted, but their ignorance of government and diplomacy meant that most efforts were short-lived. Realizing that they would have to be more than barbarians before they could gain their freedom, the Orions ceased their attempts at revolution, but did not surrender their hope.

The alien masters developed a hierarchy of the three Orion subraces. The more manageable Ruddy Orions were on top and acted as overseers and intermediaries. The Grey Orions, somewhat insubordinate, sat slightly below and handled machines and scientific and technical work. Finally, the Green Orions lay at the bottom, performed manual labor, and fought the battles. This pattern would continue through much of Orion history.

With peace brought to the Rigel system by the Treaty, the slave-owning races began to settle, especially on Botchok itself. The settlers even built cities for their slaves, to facilitate the industries of educating them; the Orions were also easier to keep under control in a civilized, urban setting. The Orions were taught to respect and obey their masters from birth. However, as their level of education increased, so did their yearning for freedom, and they learned to pretend be something they were not.

The 13th Rigel Conference, in 13,781 BC (stardate −157/81), granted the Orions more technology and relaxed rules on the transport and housing of slaves, allowing them to be shipped to more planets. Successive Conferences over the millennia gathered to adjust the Treaty of Kammzdast and deal with the Orions. Alterations were always small and grudging, without ever relinquishing any actual power to the Orions. However, it gave the Orions the tools to influence their own slavery and eventually end it. They, and the Treaty, would outlast almost all of the original signing races, even as new signatory races arose. Over time, the Orions came to be quite civilized, even prosperous, and for their trustworthy servitude, their masters granted them much of whatever they required. They earned technological knowhow, increased education, and other little freedoms

The Atom War, the Long Winter, and the First Stage
The 21st Rigel Conference, held in 12,327 BC (stardate −143/27), went so far as to grant the Orions nuclear technology. The Orions had learned that nuclear war was an excellent deterrent, and by constructing nuclear weapons of their own, they believed they could reduce or even eliminate warfare on Botchok.

But upon completion of their nuclear arsenal, the Orions delivered an ultimatum to their masters, ordering them to leave the Rigel system or be destroyed. After secret meetings, their masters responded by detonating their own nuclear weapons on Botchok in the brief and apocalyptic Atom War, on 12th September, 12,237 BC (stardate −142/3709.12). The Orions were disposable; the masters reasoned that they could do without Botchok for a generation, as there were still plenty of Orion slaves offworld to replenish stocks. The Treaty of Kammzdast was modified to restrict travel to Botchok, temporarily suspend proxy warfare, and place stronger restrictions on Orion access to nuclear and other forms of technology, though it also prohibited such excessive reactions in future.

Then the masters waited for the planet to recover. The Long Winter lasted twenty years, but Botchok's ecosystem took five thousand years to be repaired. Between the Atom War and the Long Winter, 80% of the Orions on Botchok died. It was another twenty-eight years before the 22nd Rigel Conference, in January 14,189 BC (stardate −141/8901), allowed the resettlement of Botchok. Offworld Orions, healthy and free from radiation damage, were forcibly taken back to their ancestral homeworld to repopulate it and repair the damage. Their accounts were compiled in the Book of Tears, in which outraged Orions vowed to never allow such an atrocity again, nor to be so cruelly used. They needed advanced technology but this was forbidden. Thus they determined to gain it any way they could, by invention, theft, or doing without. The Orions also had to convince the alien masters that they just did not need to be governed, but this would take extraordinary patience, restraint and long-term planning.

Three thousand years later, the Orions determined that Botchok's ecology was critically damaged, having never fully recovered from the Long Winter, and calculated that it would fail completely in another thousand years. The collapse would mean the end of Botchok and the extinction of the Orion slaves. At the time, there was heavier-than-normal fighting between Botchok's fifty-eight ruling cultures, inflicting greater damage to the world. Therefore, at minor negotiations during a truce in 9143 BC (stardate −111/43), representatives of the twelve largest Orion nations announced their findings. The masters were too busy warring to fix it, so the Orions proposed the Accord of Namazz (later appended to the 59th Rigel Conference), in which they volunteered to make repairs with their own labor, costs, and technology, and outlined a detailed plan for the project. The plan was approved; though a minor point to the master races, it was the first public responsibility allowed to the Orions, and their first taste of self-rule, all in an effort to save their homeworld. This re-terraforming effort, called the First Stage, concluded in 7730 BC (stardate −97/30).

The Era of Good Feeling
On 9050 BC (stardate −110/50), the Rigellians detained Talduk Sik, a Grey Orion, for studies and interviews. He was the first Orion examined by the Rigellians, who began to feel forebodings about them. The Grey Orions considered it to be an almost mystical experience, and some went on to think of the Rigellians as their "Makers".

In March 8486 BC (stardate −104/8603), the Orions on Sharu secretly diverted industrial resources for their own purposes, producing textiles, jewelry, and calculators. Though small and unimportant, this marked the first moment of Orion production of goods for their own use on an alien world. After this, around 8000 BC (stardate −100/00), the Orions began smuggling technology between Botchok and their colonies.

They also began to serve as unofficial crews aboard alien starships around this time, usually on big ships that were shorthanded, on distant space-routes, and on the quiet. They began as cargo loaders and watchstanders, with Grey Orion navigators and computer operators starting in 8191 BC (stardate −101/91), and Ruddy Orion crewmen following nearly a century later, bringing a reputation for reliability. In under five centuries, Orions were serving on most alien merchant starships. (The first official mention of Orion crews, however, did not come until 3587 BC (stardate −55/87)—on an insurance claim.) The prospect of Orions possessing warp drives frightened some of the master races, but it had not been considered in the Treaty, so an amendment was debated at the 42nd Rigel Conference. However, the move to ban Orion use of the warp drive was vetoed by races who believed that it would be too restricting on future trade.

In September 7901 BC (stardate −99/0109), the Orion Alliance was secretly formed on Botchok. They spread news and declarations by word of mouth, calling for every Orion and every Colony to master alien technologies so they could eventually liberate Botchok and abolishing the Treaty of Kammzdast.

The Bema revolt erupted in October 7822 BC (stardate −98/2210), when over 50,000 Orions protested their working conditions, which evolved into a demand for the liberation of all Orions and their homeworld. In an attempt to stop the revolt, Julin Hyrax the Brave volunteered his 3000 Grey Orions to the Magistrate of Bema, who refused in his distrust. Regardless, Julin led his unarmed force against the rebels, demanding their surrender. Only 22 survived the slaughter. For a time, Julin was revered as a martyr to a better future, and the Kammzdast signatories considered the act to be a positive change in Orion behavior.

This would be the last revolt for 5700 years, beginning the Era of Good Feeling of 7825 BC to 1508 BC (stardates −98/25 to −35/08). The Orions diminished their reputation as barbarians and built instead a reputation as loyal, honest, reliable, and trustworthy servants—a total lie. With this and their long history and experience in galactic affairs, they even became valued advisors. A report from around 5450 BC (stardate −74/50) commended the "loyal and hardworking Orions" for their "selfless service though in bondage". At that time, Orions were in service to 32 races, with colonies on 79 planets. Meanwhile, Orions earned the right to own their own enclaves and businesses and to (officially) serve on alien starships.

Orion influence in their own affairs continued to grow: for the first time, an Orion delegation was permitted to attend the 113th Rigel Conference in July 4712 BC (stardate −67/1207). Here, the Orions proposed rules for the proxy warfare system that would lower casualties and expenses without compromising their masters' authority or the excitement of battle.

In 2351 BC (stardate −43/51), Orion forces were used for offworld combat at the Battle of Lomatin IV, in contravention of the Treaty of Kammzdast. Botchok's governments protested and the master races involved were punished, but the practice continued discreetly.

The Orion Dawn
In 1508 BC (reference stardate −35/0811), the event that became known as the Orion Dawn took place: two Orions named Ombrey and Maark successfully stole two armed freighters, the Revenge and the Fate. They were aided by Orions on Botchok (Rigel VIII) and in Colonies near the Rigel system, forming a widespread network of secret supply stations and repair facilities. They were also aided by the silence of the Rigellians, who knew everything. Unable to return to Botchok, they took the ships to the Rigel BC system, where they established hideouts on the planets Rigel BC-I (Avali) and Rigel BC-II (Ugoan). They raided and captured other ships to add to their fleet, gaining 200 merchant vessels in less than fifty years, and later even secretly manufactured hulls for pirate ships on a regular basis. This was the birth of Orion piracy.

Botchok and the Orion Colonies covertly supported the pirates in their efforts to make star travel available to the Orions, while maintaining appearances with their master races. They were convincing enough that they were permitted vessels built and crewed entirely by Orions, so long as they were unarmed merchant craft and always open to inspection. In 1317 BC (stardate −33/17), the first Orion ships were launched from shipyards on Bema, Nilor, and Sharu. Orion shipping was profitable to shareholders, and less often raided by pirates.

Beginning around 1508 BC, the Rigellians used their subtle influence to allow Orions to become involved in the Trade Halls of Rigel IV. Experienced spacefaring Orions applied to work there, and after only a few decades, they were present in every Hall. By 1317 BC, they made up the majority of the Rigellian Trade Authority's clerical staff, obedient, efficient, and good with local commerce. Some master races worried about the growing Orion independence, but none were willing to interfere with the profits.

In 891 BC (stardate −28/9104), the 144th Rigel Conference deadlocked on the issue of Orion piracy, so the Orions offered to police the Rigel system and assist interstellar law enforcement. This was accepted with little debate. Following this, an anti-Orion riot was bloodily quelled. Meanwhile, a secret emergency meeting of the Orion Alliance split over the issue of piracy: the Gradualists (who proposed a gradual transition towards independence) felt that it hurt their cause for independence, while the Militarists (who thought the Gradualist view impossible) claimed that a strong space force was vital.

Around 700 BC, the Nine Worlds Confederation was formed, an alliance of the most powerful states neighboring Rigel. The Nine Worlds grew jealous of their strangely fortunate and influential Orion slaves, believing that they'd stretched the terms of the Treaty of Kammzdast too far. They began enforcing them strictly, and the Orions resisted with subterfuge and their sizable holdings. Orions and Rigellians complained that the number of required inspections was inefficient, but other opposition was faint, as the Nine Worlds were entirely within their legal rights. The Taunpymi Incident of 111 BC (stardate −21/1105) resulted in accusations that the Orions were complicit in pirate attacks. Anti-Orion riots occurred more frequently.

The Orion War & Independence
Having had success in curtailing Orion freedoms, the Nine Worlds called the 187th Rigel Conference on 14th July 95 BC (stardate −20/9507.14), where they issued the Ultimatum of the Nine Worlds, a list of prohibitions against Orions participating in any commercial activities in or out of the Rigel system. The Orions panicked and as soon as the resolution was announced, someone cut off the Conference's link to the outside world. Minutes later, Orion troops seized all ships orbiting Rigel IV, preventing them from leaking any warning. All Orions knew that this was the time to act; their legends claimed it was the result of centuries of planning, but in fact their actions were spontaneous and unrehearsed but surprisingly organized.

An Orion "delegation" arrived at the Conference (the first to which they had not been invited since the 113th), led by the previously unknown Nallin Oplate the Unconquerable, who presented a counter-ultimatum: the restoration of Orion rights and their peaceful freedom and independence or there would be war on all of the Nine Worlds. While the delegates at the Conference conferred to form a reply (it was still technically in session), Nallin returned to Botchok with a contingent of rhadamanen from the Rigel Trade Halls and informed his people of the revolt.

Within a month, by August 95 BC (stardate −20/9508), the Orions seized control of Botchok and imprisoned their former overseers. With diplomacy, Nallin bound the divided nation-states together and created the Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC) to govern the newly independent world. The Treaty of Kammzdast was discarded, proxy warfare on Botchok was finally ended, and the troops readied to defend their homeworld instead of fighting each other. The Recall of the Pirates was issued to provide the planet with a space fleet.

Only half of the Orion pirates had arrived at Rigel by the time a Nine Worlds fleet arrived on 3rd January 94 BC (stardate −20/9401.03), presumably to investigate the silence from the Rigel Conference or due to a communications leak. The Battle of Botchok, just barely a victory for the Orions, became the opening conflict of the Orion War. True to Nallin's words, rebellion erupted across the Nine Worlds, and Orions everywhere risked their lives to sabotage and distract the enemy war effort. The war lasted for thirty-seven years, as the signatories to the Treaty of Kammzdast refused to surrender the valuable resource of Orion labor. But it came to an end in December 57 BC (stardate −20/5712) with the Battle of Rhinate, and the Nine Worlds sued for peace. Of 58 participants, the Orions had defeated only 13 in open warfare.

Immediately following the cease-fire, on February 13th, 56 BC (stardate −20/5602.13), Nallin issued the Declaration of Nallin, declaring Botchok free of the Treaty of Kammzdast and that all Orions were free citizens protected by the Botchok Planetary Congress. It also claimed that the Orions would have no enemies, for they only wanted to resume all of their pre-war trade relations, on a fair and equal basis. It would not be as easy as that, however, for the Orions had made enemies of their former masters all across local space.

At this time, there were 21.35 billion Orions on 135 planets.

The New Days
Shortly before the Orion War ended, the Botchok Planetary Congress debated the social organization that they would adopt afterwards, and finally published the Codex Orion in April 61 BC (stardate −20/6104), a compendium of the laws of their society. This heralded the Era of Lawbringing, when the rights of slaves were guaranteed, the behavior of their owners was regulated, and Orion society was structured with the aim of lasting forever. Green Orions remained as the hard-working bedrock of Orion society, in service to the two races of the Ruddy Orions and the Grey Orions, who could contract to each other, but were considered equal and never subservient to the other. This system would develop into complicated and many-varied forms.

After the Declaration of Nallin came the New Days, a time of cultural and spiritual rejuvenation for the newly freed Orion people. It would not be an easy start, however, as the 40-year-long war had devastated local space, exhausted resources, and left little but continuing hostility towards Orions. The former masters, including the Nine Worlds, loathed the idea of treating them as equals, suspected them, and were embarrassed to admit how much they'd depended on them. So they ignored them, cut them off, and embargoed trade with them. Even where they were tolerated, Orions were kept out-of-sight and employed in only the very worst jobs.

The BPC chose to avoid the embargo by trading as discreetly as possible. Orion businesses hired alien ships to quietly trade for them, while Orion ships and crews visited only their own communities. Though equally impoverished by the war, they rebuilt with hard work, traded with what they had, and made underhanded dealings with their neighbors. To the Orions, economic interdependence gave them strength and they had to reopen trade no matter what it took. Surprisingly, the Orions enjoyed an almost trouble-free transition from slavery to freedom and quickly rebuilt the worlds of the Rigel system. Few wanted to appear worse-off than the Orions, so, with no real reason not to get involved, other races found underhanded ways to deal with them and obtain their goods and services and trade resumed as it had before the war. Many worlds accepted a hard-working Orion community that boosted their economy. Modern Orion slavery began here, as Orion rhadamanen hired out Orion dubyaln, or 'contract-laborers', just as before the war. After twenty years, no trace of the war could be seen; after fifty, there were only memories and a much richer interstellar society.

The newly free and enriched Orion Colonies commenced great building projects and underwent an explosion of art and culture in every form, as their old folk traditions blossomed. A thousand-year-long golden age developed. They were determined to enjoy the fruits of their millennia of hard work, with luxury and wealth. Meanwhile, those who traded with them, including their former slavers like the Nine Worlds, grew wealthy off Orion labor. Excess wealth and self-indulgence became a serious social problem for all, until aliens grew dependent on the Orion economy and absorbed into their culture. A few races died out, and others forgot their own culture and heritage, living as if they were Orions themselves, becoming some of the muni. Orions proliferated and dominated on the worlds nearest Botchok.

Expansion
However, for over a century after the War, the Orions were too preoccupied with recovery and investment to consider colonization. Only pirates and traders operated in the Outer Dark, largely as uncivilized adventurers; most sensible Orions sought wealth closer to home. But when population pressures increased, they began to develop new colonies in unknown areas of space. The first new colony since the war (Nallin founded one a few years after it ended) was established at Zonvan in the Outer Dark, in October 623 AD (stardate −14/2310).

These colonization efforts weren't always successful. Orions preferred to settle already-inhabited worlds so they could trade with their neighbors, and they brought prosperity to the worlds they inhabited. But they needed the permission of their hosts, and some did not want a permanent Orion Colony in their territory. Pirates also rode ahead of the settlers, making things difficult for them. Thus, the original Colonies carefully chose new ones for maximum survivability and sent out rhadamanen with the necessary funds to begin development. Expansion was slow, with a Colony launching a colonization effort only every few generations or longer if discouraged by failure. But in time new ventures would be launched once a year, with many planets colonized, abandoned, and re-colonized, some up to eighteen times.

This golden age was not without problems, however; a growing strength in the outer regions of Orion space had coincided with a weakening centralized government. In May 879 AD (stardate −12/7905), the Gaetano Region declared independence, triggering a war with the BPC. After hiring additional ships from the Anor, Guilpin, and Sark Regions, the BPC ran out of funds and was forced to withdraw. They never made a formal peace, and taxes paid to Botchok trickled to a halt. By 867 AD (stardate −12/67), the outermost fifteen regions had effectively seceded. The BPC grew increasingly chaotic as social conditions worsened across Orion space.

As Orions spread across space and became more diverse, social differences increased. A few Colonies appeared without any Ruddies or without any Greys, and each sub-race wondered why they needed the other. While Ruddy–Grey cooperation had driven the growth of Orion civilization, their racial friction drove its collapse. Meanwhile, low-class Greens grew restless, seeing their labor make the other races wealthy and powerful.

In July 1037 AD (stardate −10/3707), a colony was established at Talna III, only 31 parsecs from Sol. This marked the greatest extent of Orion space, 150 parsecs in radius, fully half the distance from Rigel to Sol. An Orion explorer traveled as far as Earth and Tellar, but left no trace but his ship's log. At this time, 57.3 billion Orions inhabited 972 planets, with a greater population density close to Rigel (some at least 50%, but typically 10%) and decreasing towards the Outer Dark (less than 1% at the fringes).

The Reverse
Eventually the wave of colonial expansion slowed, beginning a period known as the Reverse. Wealth and luxury made sponsors at Rigel increasingly discontent and covetous, and reluctant to fund colonial efforts. Minor disputes over tariffs and trade agreements deteriorated into full-blown corporate warfare, even reaching Rigel. Some Colonies, tired of paying taxes to the BPC and getting little in return, formally broke off relations and declared their independence. These rebellions had little real effect, however, as the Orion worlds were linked mainly by trade, which continued regardless of politics. Only a few nostalgic idealists begrudged this loss of authority, but they were among the most powerful.

Meanwhile, civil disorder began to spread from the lower classes to the middle classes. With their vast holdings, Orion governments became ponderous and ineffective, while local leaders were complacent or indifferent. Small uprisings grew to disrupt worldwide order. The technocratic Greys responded with cautious analysis, technological solutions, and wild ideas. The arrogant Ruddies reacted with brutal repression. Each was ineffective, but while the civilization that enabled Grey society collapsed, the Ruddies were better able to survive. The two opposing races came into conflict.

The Three Emperors & the Dispossession of the Greys
The BPC was unable to restore order or political power over the Orion Colonies with either harsh laws or military threats, and the ineffectiveness of these measures further weakened their authority. Eventually, desiring more power and extreme force to end the Colonies' disputes, several powerful families on Botchok successfully revolted. On March 21st, 1003 AD (stardate −10/0303.21), BPC President Boyor Ignatin—chosen and aided by the rebels—seized dictatorial powers, jailed his opponents, and reorganized Orion government. Later that year, he was crowned Emperor, founding the Orion Empire, and made his Demand for Unity to all the rebellious or seceded Colonies. To take the separatists back by force, he launched the Fringe Wars. These only wasted lives and resources and disrupted trade in the core of Orion space, while filtering arms to the poor and otherwise powerless, thus hastening the collapse of Orion society.

The Fringe Wars also saw many Grey Orion ruling families on the most distant planets wiped out, beginning the Dispossession. A pattern gradually emerged, wherein ruling Greys faced with revolution hired Ruddies, either locals or outsiders, to solve their problems, by serving as administrators, police chiefs, and military leaders, thus giving them power. As situations deteriorated and Greys demanded action, the Ruddies occupied Grey holdings in the name of 'military necessity' and 'temporary measures'. In time, they outright seized whatever they liked without excuses. Learning of this, panicking Greys on stable worlds closer to Rigel sold off their possessions (businesses, lands, and slaves) and fled and hid, saving local Ruddies the effort.

Boyor was assassinated in October 1062 AD (stardate −10/6210), and clan warfare and rioting destroyed the rest of his family line. The BPC named Renat the Old as the next Emperor, but succession struggles continued for another sixteen years. On March 7th, 1132 AD (stardate −9/5404.30), he created the Orion Provincial Senate, but most Colonies refused to send delegates. It lasted only five sparse sessions. Renat died on April 30th, 1154 AD (stardate −9/3203.07), and was succeeded by his nephew, Arnet the Thoughtful. Arnet implemented reforms conceived by Renat.

Meanwhile, a civil war at Votannis resulted in the massacre of over 40 million people, including 23.1 million Orions and the genocide of the native Trunes. These were the darkest days of the Reverse.


 * There appears to be an error in the chronology, in that Renat died and the massacre occurred in 1132 (reference stardate −9/3203.07) yet Renat created the Senate in 1154 (stardate −9/5404.30). This article reverses these dates for clarity. The dates still imply reign times of over a century, however, and life spans even longer.

In a plan to restore old Orion ways, Arnet abdicated on March 17th, 1288 AD (stardate −8/8803.17), but he went missing before nightfall and his family was rounded up and killed. The BPC reestablished order on Botchok and thereafter ignored the Colonies.

The age of the Three Emperors formed the peak of the three-century-long Reverse. These turbulent times destroyed Orion wealth and made colonization too expensive and risky. Pirates plagued the furthest Colonies and peaceful aliens avoided them, and they were unable to maintain earlier levels of trade. More Colonies were abandoned than were founded or re-established, and others stopped trading and were left behind in the Outer Dark to manage on their own. The once-detailed Orion records were mostly lost, and only vague secondhand accounts survived.

Eventually, Grey Orions no longer owned any significant property or held any power. They were widely reviled and blamed for the Reverse, even where they'd never ruled, and even some Greys believed it. Massacres were numerous, and entire planetary populations of Greys were slain in brutal purges, leaving 90% of all Grey Orions dead. The rest were in hiding or refugees, but they soon fell into captivity, either sheltered by sympathetic Ruddies, or held hostage and forced to work for their freedom, or by begging for their lives and being permanently enslaved. They survived surprisingly well, by making themselves useful.

As peace slowly returned, the victorious Ruddies needed to rebuild and needed experts to restore lost industry and technology. The Greys, with their technical knowledge, became valuable. Guldin of Grey slaves circulated as spoils of war, theft, and pirate raid, by purchase and trade. The Ruddies grew dependent on them, and to fear them again.

In May 1220 AD (stardate −8/205), BPC and Colonial representatives (all Ruddy Orions) met on Kammzdast in a special meeting to discuss the Grey Orion question, aiming to eliminate all possible threat from them, then and in the future. They chose to destroy their history, by officially revising the Codex Orion to remove all reference to them, authorizing the alteration or destruction of historical records related to them, and banning all current and later mentions of them as anything but technically skilled slaves. Such materials were even taken from the Grey themselves. In time, Orion history was erased or rewritten to forget the Grey Orions, bar what books they memorized and kept alive via an oral history.

Orion indian summer
After the pride and arrogance of the Orion Empire, a humbled BPC quietly changed its focus from government to accounting. To restore economic order, the BPC created the Orion Registry, a census that listed all remaining Colonies together with their population, trade preferences, and other useful business statistics and data. Its compilation was a major undertaking that took several lives, but the first issue was published in January 1301 AD (stardate −7/0101) (thereafter semi-regularly at roughly ten-year intervals). It was universally accepted, and turned out to be quite useful, marking the end of the Reverse. It showed a population of only 31.05 billion and falling on 507 worlds. With order restored, the decline slowed.

The year 1715 AD (stardate −3/15) finally saw the declining population stabilize at 20.315 billion on 213 worlds. This triggered a century-long period cultural rebirth called the Orion Indian Summer, with renewed interest in colonization, re-occupying lost and abandoned Colonies. A use was also found for the Grey Orion slaves, to restore the stagnant Orion technology, and they began to spread once more.

Fearing the Greys again, Ruddy Orion masters spent the next 150 years trying various methods of maintaining control, to keep them powerless but still useful. Imprisonment was not enough, and drug addiction reduced Grey skills and made the Ruddies dependent on their suppliers. Finally, they decided upon genetic mutilation, an affliction of random weaknesses, deformities, and handicaps that made them utterly dependent on their owners and only marginally less useful. It was permanent, incurable, and cheap. To prevent the Greys from ever undoing the damage, a great deal of Orion medical knowledge was purged, leaving Orion medicine behind that of other races, and resulting in additional suffering for the other Orions.

By the late 18th century, the Orions returned to copying and forging the starship designs of other races. These imitations were useful to pirates, who could operate disguised as a freighter or explorer. This practice would continue on into the late 23rd century.

However, as Orion space had contracted in the Reverse, pirate numbers had increased, and the loss of order and trade had made them bold and desperate. The Registry had been equally valuable to them, as it showed prime targets to strike and places to avoid. Large bands grew to the scale of pirate fleets, and instead of lone ships, they began to raid entire Orion Colonies. The puny Colony defense forces could not guard every world.

This culminated in the devastating sacking of the Tellun system, led by the notorious Orion pirate Half-a-Man Sooris, beginning on 19th February, 1894 AD (stardate −2/9402.19), and lasting for weeks. His was the largest pirate fleet in history, outnumbering the Colony defenders, and many crews mutinied to return and defend their homes. The Orion Colony on Troyius, once one of their most productive worlds, was temporarily abandoned, and over 2.5 million people died, including 1.5 million Orions. Even after the pirates withdrew, the fear remained and the decline of Orion space resumed.

The 73rd Edition of the Orion Registry, published on September 8th 1916 AD (stardate −1/1609.08), reported a halt to the contraction of Orion space, now smaller than in the New Days. Now only 12.7 billion Orions survived on only 64 worlds, and most were only 20 parsecs from Rigel. Many worlds still had large Orion populations, but only those near Rigel, still loosely federated and acknowledging the BPC, were counted, though trade and travel here were on the wane. The rest, no longer in contact with Botchok, were not included; they had been lost, forgotten, and left to fend for themselves in the Outer Dark.


 * From this point on, the reference stardate system used by FASA grows increasingly out of step with canonical and commonly accepted histories presented in later sources, sometimes falling behind by 50–100 years, or advancing ahead. Previous dates above are also doubtful, but are unsupported by other sources. From this point on, the dates are left in the reference stardate system to avoid confusion and placed near related events in chronological order.

Last Unicorn / Decipher History
Though Orions claimed Rigel VII (Kolar) as their homeworld, the planet could not have existed in the Rigel system long enough for Orions to have evolved there. It was considered more likely that the s or some other ancient culture had "seeded" them there.

Orion civilization first flourished in the Enala river valley on the continent of Evanaroi, circa 220,000 BC. Industrial development took off later in the Kotay Archipelago, with a shortage of labor but an excess of tidal and water power. Traditional Orion sources told how spacecraft were launched from the island of Rohay in approximately 203,000 BC, even while much of the rest of Rigel VII was still developing gunpowder rocketry.

Given the vast distances involved, their settlement and development of the Rigel system was slow, but slowly but surely Orion colonies were eventually planted on most its worlds. Orion astronauts reached Rigel XIII and studied the superstring over its south pole; with this knowledge they developed the warp drive a thousand years later. With this power, Orions spread out into interstellar space, at around the time that the Iconian civilization fell. They embarked on large-scale space exploration around 200,000 years ago, and became some of the first interstellar travelers in their part of the galaxy.

The Great Orion Empires
Following a long period of Orion piracy, colonization and interstellar disputes, Rigel VII and the Orion colonies were united in the Thakolarivaj, the "Great Orion Empire", under Nispavan I, the first Emperor Of All Space, in 200,993 BC. In this Empire’s time, Orions developed and perfected technologies that were beyond the understanding of Federation science in the 23rd century, and had only begun experimenting with in the late 24th century.

It lasted almost sixty thousand years, but the Great Orion Empire was ultimately destroyed by an unknown species employing robotic planet-killing craft from another galaxy. This empire became known as the First Orion Empire, as it rose and fell many times over the next 200,000 years. However, none of its successors could match its longevity or technological brilliance. Increasingly, the Orions saw conquest as unprofitable and found more potential and success in mercantile pursuits and piracy. Steadily, as the Emperors grew more degenerate, the caju, or merchant clans, rose to dominance in the Empire.

Approximately 35,000 years ago (prior to the 24th century), the Second Orion Empire was caught up in a lengthy conflict with the First Federation. Both states interfered with the progress of developing worlds.

The Thakolarivaj reached its greatest extent during the Fourth Orion Empire, greater even than the First and pushed deep into the Alpha Quadrant.

Another Orion Empire dominated most of the Orion Arm around 23,000 years ago. Archaeologists labeled it the Curved Rodinium Culture, but disagreed on whether this was the Seventh or the Eighth Orion Empire.

The Eighth Orion Empire saw Orion scientific progress become essentially static.

The Twelfth Orion Empire expanded into the Alpha Quadrant around 8000 BC. The oldest surviving caju could trace their lineage to this era. But the Twelfth, and last, Orion Empire fell in 5200 BC.

Reign of the Caju
After the collapse of the Twelfth Orion Empire, the caju felt that galactic conquest was best left to lesser species. They gave up on overt rule and settled in seek only a profit and live a life decadence. With these their only goals, Orion scientific progress finally came to a halt. Those Orions with ambition and prospects married into the caju and departed for the interstellar marketplace, leaving the homeworld to slide backwards. Nevertheless, the caju developed a trading network more extensive than even the largest of the Orion Empires. Some remnant of the Empires remained into the late 24th century in the form of the Vaj, simply the "Empire", a weak and internally divided nation-state of Rigel VII.

Following the Debrune conquest and settlement of Rigel V in 453 AD, the Orions were reluctant to share the Rigel system with the expansionist invaders. They armed the native Kaylar and supplied them with transportation to aid in their resistance against the Debrune (later the vulcanoid Rigelians. After a century of such warfare, the Rigelians had made sufficient gains and negotiated trade deals with the Orions, leading to stability on Rigel V.

In 1529, the Vegan Tyranny invaded the Rigel system and attacked Rigel VII, obliterating the last remnants of global technology and causing the world to fall into barbarism. The Vegans withdrew two centuries later, increasingly bankrupt and harassed, but Rigel VII had barely recovered by the 24th century.

The Orions and the Tholians had their first recorded encounter in 1925.

Later, in 1934, an Orion scout ship made first contact with the Andorian colonists on Cimera III. This relationship ended abruptly in 1951 when the Orions failed to return.

By 1960, the Orions were launching raids into the collapsing Vegan Tyranny, creating hazards for interstellar travel and communication through the region for the next eighty years.

Other Histories

 * This section lists various other disconnected pieces of Orion history. These may or may not fit into either of the above or with each other.

The dawn of Orion civilization
Through the Guardian of Forever on the Time Planet, a research team consisting of Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, and Lieutenant Ted Erickson of Starfleet, and historians Grey and Loom Aleek-Om, visited the dawn of Orion civilization in 2269.

They visited the ancient and barbaric early Empire of Orion (also called the Orionic Empire), though no-one knew what the clothing of the era was and Starfleet uniform and 23rd century Federation casual dress was expected to be conspicuous. Gold was the only currency. Kirk expected the trip to be fun and adventurous, and found it to be a whirlwind of colors, sights and sounds, as they explored the period for 2.5 days in local time. Their last visit was to a low-quality inn in a bazaar, near an auction of Orion slave girls.

The Dyson spheres
Early in Orion history, Orion pirates sometimes destroyed whole inhabited planets simply because they weren't economically viable. They would then use the fragments to construct Dyson spheres and then populate the vast area with slave labor.

Against the Inshai Compact
The Orion Congeries were suspected of placing an (alleged) sunkiller bomb in the star Sigma-1014 Orionis, causing it go nova and destroy the hearthworld of the Inshai Compact, which had been their rivals in trade and resisted their expansionist aims. The light from this nova would reach Vulcan and be seen as the da'Nikhirch, heralding the birth of Surak.


 * The places the birth of Surak in circa 67 BC, while  places it in 279 AD to agree with Surak's 4th century life in . Subtracting the distance in light-years between (the fictional) Sigma-1014 Orionis and 40 Eridani (Vulcan's sun) from either of these dates would give the true date of this event. Both novels imply forty-five years or less.

This destruction quickly led to the collapse of the Inshai Compact, along with its great power and restraining influence. The Orion Congeries swept in to begin their long-desired piracy, and war, famine, plague, and economic and social collapse swept the Compact worlds. Meanwhile, decentralized interstellar corporations of the Compact seized power, armed with planetcracker weapons, fighting over trade routes and sources of raw materials, blackmailing worlds into submission and destroying those who refused. Formerly peaceful Compact worlds, like Etosha, and depopulated ones, like Duthul, fell into this kind of piracy to survive. These worlds and corporations degenerated into the guilds and companies that were the direct ancestors of modern Orion pirates.


 * In both sources, it is said that the Orion pirates evolved out of the Inshai Compact, but also that it was the Orion Congeries that attacked the Compact in the first place. Thus it is not clear what species were in the Orion Congeries, or if the Etoshans, the Duthulhiv and others were themselves Orions or some other race. They may be some of the non-Green Orion races seen in some sources.

Forty-five years after the da'Nikhirch, Duthulhiv pirates established communication with Vulcan, offering peaceful trade and cultural exchange, with a meeting to take place at Shikahr. This was a trap, and the pirates attacked and captured the gathered leaders of Vulcan to hold for ransom. The exorbitant ransoms were not paid, and the Vulcans drove out the alien invaders in a great war known as the Ahkh. The Vulcans later shot down or captured Etoshan pirate ships and learned from them their science, technology and star-maps.


 * The dates the Shikahr meeting to January 18–19, 22 BC. This would correspond to circa 324 AD for the 4th century dating of Surak.

Against the Karsid Empire
In 1873, the Karsid Empire initiated an infiltration and take-over attempt of Earth, by contacting the United States of America under President Grant. This was resisted by Congressman Aaron Stemple, and the plans delayed to 1877. In the interim, revolts began in the Orion systems and turned into a full-scale revolution. This affected Karsid outpost stations and shelved their plans for invading Earth, and contributed to the Karsid Empire's downfall.

Federation Members
The Orions of Rigel VIII were given the technology for interstellar travel by early Human explorers from Earth, prior to the introduction of the Prime Directive. They went on to colonize the two planets of Rigel's secondary system, and from there developed a pirate empire, built on the slave trade, particularly of Orion slave girls.

This slavery was eventually abolished by the Federation around the 2250s, and the Orions became Federation members by 2365.

21st century
On reference stardate 0/14, the Orions made first contact with a terrifying new alien threat – the Romulans. Their ships first appeared on stardate 0/1402 to the Coreward end of Orion space at the time, but never responded to attempts to communicate. Their intent became clear when, on stardate 0/1410.21, an Orion pirate vessel stumbled across a Romulan fleet destroying the Farx Colony. With great skill, it fled under fire to raise the alarm.

From stardate 0/1411, the Orions began a widespread retreat before the advancing Romulan fleet. An evacuation of eleven worlds in the immediate vicinity of Romulan space was undertaken; two worlds were assaulted even as the people fled, with heavy loss of life, while the survivors escaped on colony ships. The Triangle and areas within the new borders of the Romulan Star Empire were depopulated of Orions.

The refugees told of bird-like vessels that butchered colonies and scorched whole planets, while the attackers never responded to any communication or offer of ransom. A great panic swept through the Orion Colonies and more worlds were abandoned near the Coreward border, including Ukrainia Novya and Holcomb's Planet. Rhinate, meanwhile, stood firm, and refugees settled there. The Romulans rampaged through the area for a few years, until poor resources convinced them to go elsewhere, finally leaving on stardate 0/1612.

Shortly after the Tellarites made first contact with the Rigellians (stardate 0/3008.03), they learned of the great wealth of the Orion Colonies in stardate 0/3109. However, they wouldn't make contact with the Orions themselves until much later.

By the end of the 21st century, the Orions had long been a civilization on the decline, falling into decadence and social breakdown. At this time, the Orions lived on a number of planets in the Orion sector, making a living as criminals on the fringes of other societies. The alliance that would eventually become the Federation first made contact with them at this time.


 * This appears to contradict the 2154 first contact seen in the . However, Arik Soong had contact with the Orion Syndicate as early as 2134, and other members of the Coalition of Planets may have made this first contact, such as the Andorians at Cimera III, below.

In 2073, Andorian scientists finally made contact with their lost colony on Cimera III, and through them learned of the Orions.

22nd century
In 2132, the Andoria-Rigel trade corridor was established.

During the 2130s, the Human Arik Soong made contact with the Orions and established a relationship with them to trade for goods and equipment for him and his Augments.

Klingon Occupation
Later, on stardate 0/7202.10 (circa 2138), conflict began with another alien race, the Klingons, as an Orion pirate fought a Klingon light cruiser at Phillo'tok V and lost. When they conquered Orion worlds, they ruthlessly suppressed resistance and were careful not to let any warning reach the others. Only pirates escaped to speak of it, but naturally unreliable, few believed them. By the time confirmed reports came to Botchok, the Klingons had subjugated numerous Colonies. As the Klingon Empire closed on Rigel, the Orions realized that their collective navies could not withstand it.

Therefore, instead of battling the Klingons, Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC) President Balon the Devious welcomed them and the opportunity for trade with a new race, on stardate 0/7203. These events marked first contact between the Orion Colonies and the Klingon Empire.

The Orions cunningly concealed from Emperor Kamtav epetai-Javvic the true value of Rigel, their mineral wealth and the size of their holdings. Therefore, he settled for a small display of force and military occupation of only a minor trade center of the Colonies. The Orions made little resistance. The Colonies officially became a Klingon protectorate, with a Klingon governor on Botchok and paying tribute to the Empire. The governor was a figurehead who acted mostly as a trade liaison and made no efforts at control. Trade opened up with the Klingon Empire, a wealthy new market with a secret desire for luxury items. By and large, the Orions profited from becoming a Klingon protectorate, while the Empire gained access to resources necessary for building up their fleet. In  return, Orions paid only casual attention to their mutual protection treaties. But the great Orion trading families took pains to ensure that the Empire didn’t grow too interested in Rigel's wealth.

However, the average Orion was completely unaware of this state of affairs, as the Klingons didn't place enough forces in Orion space to limit Orion freedoms. The Klingon governor was confused, finding these to be hollow, easy victories, and that he exerted no real influence. He often asked his superiors if the Klingons were really still in charge, and suspicious and anxious to have more control, he increased fleet strength in Orion space. However, the effort was wasted, as the Orions never rebelled and paid their tribute promptly. However, as the Klingon desire for Orion trade increased, the tribute decreased until it vanished altogether.

By stardate 0/7610, border disputes between the Klingons and the Romulans had escalated. President Balon convinced the new Emperor to withdraw all warships and trade vessels from Orion space to bolster his forces. The Orions would conduct the trade of war-related resources themselves. The Emperor was left with the impression that this was all his idea.


 * This is one of the five unnamed weak Emperors who followed Kagga epetai-Havrk. Canonically, the position of Klingon Emperor was removed in the mid-21st century, but the FASA RPG had a continuing line of Emperors.

Though the Klingon governor protested feebly, the ships went and he was recalled soon after. No Klingon came to take his place, and his position was downgraded to a civilian governorship. The Orion Colonies seemed only marginally useful to the Empire. As the Orion leaders had predicted, they were worth more to the Klingons in trade, and that a military presence was inefficient. Exploiting the Romulan tensions, the Orions kept the Klingons away from Rigel for a long time, while they quietly developed their own military forces. Thus the Colonies were liberated by a period of extended, benign neglect.

Coalition of Planets
A few years after shaking off the Klingons, in stardate 0/7907 (circa 2150), the Orions learned of another growing interstellar power. An Orion Colonies vessel patrolling the Outer Dark rescued a lost and dilapidated Tellarite trading vessel commanded by Garggash Dlumppheg. The Tellarite's stubborn refusal to identify himself, let alone trade, angered the Orion commander, who dragged him to Botchok for the BPC to deal with. Five months later, Dlumppheg left with an exclusive trade agreement with the BPC, and promptly sold franchises to the biggest corporations on Tellar, Andor, Vulcan and Alpha Centauri VII.

Following the information of Tellarite traders, the Terran trade vessel UNSS Marco Polo visited the Orions at Rigel on stardate 0/7907.21. It opened direct trade between Terrans and Orions discovered the great wealth of the Orions. On stardate 0/8202 (circa 2152), the Marco Polo returned with cargo and the news that the exclusive ties between Dlumppheg and the Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC) (whose trade was practically non-existent) didn't apply to the Orion trading families, and that a much more profitable market was to be had. Small independent traders carried out trade with the Orions while Dlumppheg was sued unsuccessfully more than 750 times in Andorian, Centauran and Human courts. Meanwhile, the Marco Polo and subsequent Human traders began an Orion love affair and fascination with the cultural artefacts of 20th century Earth.


 * The FASA RPG presents an alternative, peaceful first contact scenario between Humans and Orions than that canonically depicted in the . However, they do not necessarily contradict, given the earlier activities of the ECS, below, and Arik Soong, above.

By the early 2150s, trade was occurring between the Orions and the Earth Cargo Service. The ECS failed to make a rendezvous with an Orion freighter in late December 2152.

In May 2154, two Orion interceptors attacked the Earth starship Enterprise in the Borderland and kidnapped nine of her crew. The Enterprise followed them to the Verex III processing station and rescued them from the Orion Syndicate-run slave market there. The Syndicate sought revenge on Archer for this, and in late December, Harrad-Sar attempted to capture and deliver the Enterprise and its crew to them, with the use of three Orion slave girls and a false magnesite mining deal with the Syndicate.

Orions were also in contact with the Gorn Hegemony at this time.

In 2155, at the founding of the Coalition of Planets, the Tellarites pushed for an embargo against the Orions, after several of their freighters had been attacked. Coridan III, which had already been trading with the Orions "for centuries", called this "Tellarite slander" and an attempt to deprive them of commerce, and refused to believe it. This controversial issue was a major impasse in the negotiations until the two governments finally reached an accord on trade sanctions against the Orion Syndicate. However, Earth's government did not wish to provoke the Syndicate into embargoing trade with any Coalition worlds, such as Coridan or Tellar, for fear that they would withdraw from the alliance.


 * It seems that these trade sanctions were not made at this time.

Shortly after, in February 2155, Orion slavers kidnapped thirty-seven Aenar from their city on Andoria, taking advantage of a reduced military presence there. The Enterprise tracked the Orion slavers to Rigel X and interrogated an Orion Syndicate clerk to learn that the Aenar had been traded through Adigeon Prime, and ultimately discovered that they'd been sold to agents of the Romulan Star Empire.

The Earth-Romulan War broke out in 2156 (reference stardate 1/0610) and ended in 2160 (stardate 1/0909). Though Orions remained out of the conflict, a large quantity of war materiel was freighted through their worlds. Additionally, many Starfleet crews took shore leave there and learned of Orion pleasures.

Relations with Earth soured after it was discovered that an Orion trader had inadvertently brought a souvenir contaminated with a mutant strain of the Omega Virus to the Pluto Research Base and sold it to a researcher there. The "Pluto Plague" killed all 200 people at the base in stardate 0/8508 (c. 2157).

The Federation
The United Federation of Planets was founded with the signing of the Articles of the Federation at the First Babel Conference, in 2161 (stardate 0/8706.06). An Orion delegation stood with the Rigellian delegation, as interested parties but non-signatories, where they made good impressions as members of older, wiser races. The Federation delegates debated whether the Orions should be allowed to join, weighing the potential wealth of their financial system against their practice of slavery.

Fearing that the arrangement would diminish their corporate empire, the BPC then offered to have the Colonies join the Federation as full-status members for a "fair and equitable" compensation fee of 10 trillion credits, infuriating the five signatories who thought it a request for a bribe or a demand for tribute (the Rigellians had only requested 8 billion). Members offered to help the Orions reform themselves and join their new currency-free economy, but this offer was rejected as the Orions predicted that they would be better off subverting Federation ideals instead and that there would still be a demand for criminal services. Rigel and the Orion Colonies remained entirely outside the Federation.

On stardate 0/9003 (c. 2163), the Starfleet ship USS Atmos intercepted the Larc, an Orion personnel transport, and for the first time charged the Ruddy Orion captain with slavery. A guldin of Grey Orions on board managed to transmit a secret message to the Atmos in an apparent bid for freedom, but the Orion captain vaporized the lot of them to prevent their discovery, much to the BPC’s relief.

Some of Starfleet's earliest missions broke the back of the Orion slaver and pirate fleets, beginning with the Battle of Delta Doradus in 2166, and preserving Federation commerce. Seven Orion pirate vessels were destroyed.

As the first Starfleet ships defended the trade routes to Rigel from pirates, Orion trade improved with all Federation members. The Federation sent its first diplomatic delegation to Botchok on stardate 0/9101.13 (circa 2165) to work out treaties, agreements and protocols for the smooth operation of the Rigel-Federation routes, and they were publicly quite popular. But confused and hindered by the complexities of Orion government, the non-specific roles of its members, its intrigues, corruption, squabbles and general anarchy, the Federation embassy insisted on some sort of order, and suggested certain officers with specific titles doing defined work. For a year, the BPC merrily assigned Ministers for ever smaller and more ridiculous tasks. The BPC had been offended when it intercepted one of the delegation's dispatches and read that it was considered "quaint, disorganized, and of unknown political importance in spite of their claims."

The Federation soon came to realize just how little authority the BPC actually possessed, but continued to press for the necessary treaties. In an effort to increase legitimacy, they referred all Orions to the BPC for adjudication, which duly signed and rubber-stamped all actions and enforced nothing.

The Orions kept the growing Federation and the Klingon Empire from discovering each other for many years, with each just one of many cultures and races that the Orions traded with. However, though peace was widespread, Orion leaders predicted that the Federation's existence would soon be discovered by Klingon Empire, and that conflict was inevitable. They also feared that the Klingons would also soon grow interested again in Rigel and Orion holdings. Beginning in stardate 1/0910, the Orion Colonies quickly signed a number of trade and non-aggression treaties and mutual protection pacts with the Federation, but still did not join them. Then they did it themselves, informing the Klingons of the Federation's existence on stardate 1/1004 (circa 2184), though all records of this deal were lost under mysterious circumstances.


 * Star Trek: Enterprise presented a much earlier contact between Humans and Klingons, beginning in 2151. In this light, it is possible that the Orions hid news of the formation of the Federation, or simply downplayed the significance and power of each state to the other.

An Orion exploration fleet was sent to the Romulan Star Empire on stardate 1/1208 (circa 2186) to open trade and diplomatic relations. They never returned.

Relations between the Federation and the Orions continued to decline. On stardate 1/1209.12, the Andorian-crewed Starfleet cruiser Thanatok destroyed a pirate enclave at Brurem. The overzealous captain was punished after the BPC protested the murder of civilians, but similar incidents were kept quiet. Pirate raids against Andorian targets increased.

Colonization
The Orions soon came to realize that the Federation was expanding, and the outside universe was closing in, faster than they had anticipated. Federation colonists and developers were flooding into their space and seizing their worlds, and Orions on Federation worlds found they had to adhere to their laws and regulations. Some tried to move away, but the number of available places was diminishing, while anti-Orion sentiments made it difficult for existing Orion Colonies to do business. Orions who protested to the BPC were shown the agreements made with the Federation, and complaints, bribes and threats against the BPC rose sharply.

Orion settlers arrived at Talna III on stardate 1/1811.07 (circa 2192) to re-establish an abandoned Colony there, but found Human, Vulcan and Andorian settlers there already, who turned them away. The Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC) issued protests to the Federation Council, only to be told that, although they upheld the rights of prior inhabitants, unoccupied ruins were not enough to claim those rights, and that prior settlers (the Federation colonists) had the right to refuse later immigrants (the returning Orions). The Orions were incensed, and Talna became a symbol of Federation desires to annihilate them.

The Klingons returned to Rigel in stardate 1/1818, this time to commence active trading. In response, many Orion trading families reduced trade with the Federation, shutting down operations and closing their ports, much to Federation irritation. For the rest, by carefully staggering and timing ship arrivals, they kept the two powers from encountering one another for many more years.

After Orion ports remained closed to even emergency traffic, the Federation threatened to revoke its non-aggression treaties in stardate 1/2412, so the Orions reopened their ports to Federation trade, albeit on a limited basis. Another treaty was signed between the two, promising Orion worlds protection from outside aggression and binding the Orions to refrain "directly" attacking the Federation. In the event of war between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, the treaties enabled the Orions to potentially trade with both sides.

The situation worsened on stardate 1/2701.14 when Human and Andorian settlers on Beta VI ordered the removal of a pre-existing Orion Colony, accusing them of "chronic criminal activity and corruption". The BPC insisted on the appointment of a Federation High Commission, which supported the Federation colonists and advocated the Orion relocation. The Orions left without paying their bills, amounting to 21.32 million credits lost to Beta VI, plus the costs of moving the Orions in the first place. On one positive note, the Orion Colony of Votannis was sold to the Federation-based Benson Development Corporation in stardate 1/2706 with no conflicts.

23rd century
The Orions saw in the Federation a lucrative interplanetary market, and engaged in everything from slave-trading to outright seduction of Starfleet captains, though they failed against Federation ideals and Starfleet strength.

A barroom brawl in stardate 1/3308 (circa 2207) between Klingons and Human traders on an Orion colony world was the ignoble first contact between the two superpowers. The Klingons demanded information on the so-called "Human Empire" from the Orions, and a series of quiet raids and disappearances of Federation ships commenced. The Federation eventually questioned Orion authorities about this aggressive new power in stardate 1/5101.

Stardate 1/3611.20 saw the leaking (through Botchok) of the infamous Ethan Report, allegedly the product of a secret Federation High Commission. It cited the continuing problems of enforcing Federation law among the Orions and dealing with the BPC, and advised a policy of containment to reduce Orion influence. The language was harsh, labeling the Orions "barbarous atavisms", claiming that they were bent on "mastery of the Federation monetary system" via "bribery, blackmail, coercion by force up to and including piratical attacks in Federation space." Though it scandalized the Federation, the Orions felt it was a declaration of war.

Shortly after the Ethan Report, on stardate 1/38 the Orions signed a secret, non-aggression treaty with the Klingon Empire, to provide relief to Orion Colonies deep in Klingon territory. Trade between the two increased significantly, while intelligence activity on Botchok intensified.

A major wave of Orion settlements began on stardate 1/40, throughout the Triangle (the area of space lying between the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire). Elsewhere, on stardate 1/4112, several Orion families developed freeports and tradeworlds with no regulations or tariffs to restrict trade. These were a big success, and Orion traders recouped their development costs by leasing commercial space and setting up trade brokerage houses, though later efforts could not repeat initial achievements.

A year later, on stardate 1/4212.31, the Federation Uniform Mercantile Code (FUMC) became law. Botchok and the Orion Colonies were forced to comply or face prosecution, though the Rigellians successfully claimed exemption due to cultural tradition. The FUMC would be tested on stardate 1/4705.18, when a Federation Tribunal found the Orion Duraba Corporation guilty of 1850 separate violations in a criminal conspiracy across 20 planets. Anti-Federation riots on the Colonies took over 6000 lives and cost 37 million credits in damages.

Some time later, Freeloader, the first and most infamous of Orion freeports was officially opened in the Triangle on stardate 1/5103.27. This began large-scale trade operations in the region, which soon became the most popular open trade area in the known galaxy.

Orion Neutrality
First contact between the Federation and the Klingon Empire on stardate 1/5105 immediately turned into conflict. Predicting that war between the Klingons and the Federation was inevitable, the BPC drafted the Orion Neutrality Act, and subsequently issued it on stardate 1/5105.02, after Starfleet and Klingon vessels clashed for the first time. To preserve what little power they had, Rigel and the Orion Colonies were declared unaligned and free to trade with either power. They also requested that all military vessels in Orion space (left undefined) inform the BPC of their location and itinerary. The Federation Council was outraged, fearing that ship information would find its way to the Klingon Empire, which was only displeased, satisfied with the possibility of gaining that data, while they could lie about their own. Neither side dared break off trade or invade Rigel over this, and the BPC narrowly escaped domination by either side.

Following the Act, Rigel became an adventurous place where espionage was rife, competition between the powers was fierce, and Klingons and Federation citizens could meet socially, but distrusted each other as much as they distrusted the Orions. Meanwhile, the FUMC halted Orion growth by clamping down on illegal traffic between neutral Orion worlds in Federation space, and enmity grew. The BPC was flooded with complaints from nearly every Colony, and the Orions fought to keep open the routes of Orion trade and culture.

Following Federation/Klingon contact, the Klingons launched raids on Federation shipping while masquerading as Orion pirates, who did the same while pretending to be Klingon. On stardate 1/54, in the space of a year over 200 Orion pirate vessels were destroyed or captured in battle.

In 2224, the Orions made first contact with Acamar III and began strip-mining operations there.

In stardate 1/6908 (c. 2233), Orion authorities discovered a spy ring in which a guldin of Grey Orions received sensitive Klingon and Orion information, and relayed it to both the Federation and Romulans, in what was called the Parallelogram Affair. The Greys were executed and a young couple from the Federation were declared suspects in the spy ring, arrested, and subsequently disappeared. The news was a great scandal across the Colonies.

Later, on stardate 1/7603, Orions discovered rich dilithium deposits on Rigel XII, which they promptly mined and sold to both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, for use as power rectifiers for warp drives, revolutionizing interstellar travel and military-grade weapons technology.

On stardate 1/8104 (c. 2240), the worlds of the Bartunu system petitioned to join the Federation. The BPC, The Star Group corporation, and the Hjulah, Faktim, U'taliis and Prochem families attempted to sabotage the secession, though without success.

In 2245, an Orion woman competed at an interplanetary gymnastics competition on Earth.

In 2249, the Federation annexed the human-inhabited colony on Rigel IV in an effort to counteract Orion slave-trading. >

The Four Years War
A Klingon fleet consisting of over 100 warships invaded the Rigel system on stardate 1/9301.04 (circa 2251). The Orion Space Navy did not resist, but scattered units attacked and were destroyed, while Federation ships were seized. According to the Klingon Admiral Kentin epetai-Kazu, their aim was not to occupy the Orion Colonies, but to invade the Federation. However, it was over a year before they did so, and the Orions entertained the Klingons lavishly until then. They were happily awaiting the war that would ruin both sides and increase trade with both.

The Four Years War between the Federation and the Klingons finally broke out on stardate 1/9409.29 (2252). The Orions were surprised when the Federation declared that, according to treaty and the FUMC, they could not trade with the Klingons during the war. Forced to choose between the two, the BPC complied, though several Orion businesses were bankrupted; the Federation was blamed, rather than the BPC. As a result, several Colonies in the Triangle declared independence from the BPC in December and formed the Orion Frontier Mercantile Association (OFMA), and continued trade with both sides. Many others followed, and the Federation-BPC agreements became worthless.

Orion neutrality was tested in the Laxala Incident on stardate 1/9504 (circa 2253), when a Klingon task force intercepted an Orion merchant vessel transporting dilithium to a Federation world and the ship was destroyed. The BPC issued the Sacred Cargoes act, declaring that Orion merchants were to be untouchable by both sides, and together with the OFMA, threatened to destroy all dilithium on Rigel XII if either side disrupted their trade. Both sides complied and the Orions profited, saving their worlds and economies from collapse. The Federation also benefited from the supply of dilithium and other scarce war resources, which they badly needed at the time.

In 2254 Orions were amongst a brigand, including Arcturans, Khodini and renegade Humans, in the Marrat Nebula region to attack Starbase 13 in response to Starfleet's Project Pharos - a scheme to bring order to the region and control illegal activity by building a huge galactic lighthouse.

As the Klingons retreated before the advancing Starfleet forces on stardate 1/98 (circa 2256), they began the Year of Horror against Orion worlds, damaging industry, ruining ecology, executing their leaders and people, and leaving populations starved and demoralized. However, they spared the Orion worlds of Rigel from destruction, probably to make them appear to be Klingon allies. In response, Night of Empty Hands on stardate 1/9804.10 would see widespread rioting against the Klingons on the Rigel worlds, though only two unlucky Klingons were killed, as the rest had already secretly returned to their transport ships the week before. Accused collaborators, real or not, were dragged from their beds by lynch mobs. The next morning, over 12,000 Orions had been killed by mob violence.

Days later, on stardate 1/9804.16, Admiral Namtac the Tardy of the Orion Space Navy reported the departure of the Klingons from Rigel, and that Starfleet forces bypassed the system in pursuit. A squadron was ordered to welcome the Starfleet ships with the news that Rigel was free, but they failed to return or communicate, and tensions rose. On stardate 1/9805, Arthas Liktor the Bold ran through the Federation lines in a modified courier to report that his world, the Orion Colony on Hartha, had been harshly restricted in trade by powerful Federation forces. Arthas and his crew were imprisoned by an alarmed and uncertain BPC to ensure their silence.

By stardate 1/9806, rumours spread of battles beyond the Klingon front-lines, the destruction of Klingon fleets, the looting of peaceful Orion worlds, secret Klingon super-weapons, and many other wild stories. Refugees flee and defense committees are established everywhere.

Grateful to escape Klingon atrocities, the BPC triumphantly welcomed the 396 Starfleet ships that came to secure the Rigel system, who duly sent their details as per the Neutrality Act. Nevertheless, Admiral Brazeau arrived with the Eighth Fleet, sealed off the system and landed troops to seize the spaceport and communication centres.

Near the end of the war, on stardate 1/9709.01 the Rigel Demilitarized Zone Commission, meeting at Starbase 27, had been formed to decide the fate of the Orions after the war (which came with the Axanar Peace Treaty on stardate 1/9806.13, which called for the removal of all Klingons "to the opposite side of Orion space"). The Commission visited Botchok on stardate 1/9806.29, where Commissioner Dzwonkowski met with the BPC in a closed session to demand that they accept the Federation plan: to officially set the Orion border, inside which the BPC could enforce the Neutrality Act, outside which Orion activities would be under Federation law. A riot broke out in the Congress, and two members were killed.

Under protest and with a narrow majority, the BPC capitulated and by unilateral treaty Orion space legally became the Orion Neutrality Area, a 20-parsec sphere centred on Rigel. All worlds falling outside it, even those primarily occupied by Orions, were now inside Federation space. Not long after, on stardate 1/9808.15, Dzwonkowski and BPC President Vloun signed the Orion Emigration Act, which required the registration of all Orions in Federation space.

Abolition of slavery
Afterwards, the Federation found many Orion Colonies now within its borders. Some chose to join the UFP, either as associate or full-status members, desiring Starfleet protection and Federation benevolence, while others did not. However, they all used and traded in Orion slaves, against Federation law, and popular opinion went against the Orions. Efforts to force the abolition of slavery were launched

In a unanimous vote on stardate 2/0001.11 (c. 2257), the Federation Council imposed heavy sanctions on Orion businesses, ports and shipping interests that dealt in slaves, while individual members and independent worlds made outright boycotts. Though a number of UFP companies dependent on the Orions went bankrupt, the Federation economy survived without the Orions. After Captain Christopher Pike investigated and made a shocking report on the Orion slave trade, the Federation Council officially endorsed the boycott on stardate 2/0103.13.

The First Amendment to the Articles of Federation was passed on stardate 2/0105.01, finally banning the Orion slave trade in the Federation and outside the Orion Neutrality Area. Orion Colonies in the Federation suffered financially, but their protests and Federation sanctions and boycotting prompted the BPC to declare slavery illegal in the Orion Neutrality Area as well, in order to maintain Federation trade.

However, without enforcement of the law in Orion space, it was essentially a meaningless gesture. The slave trade continued in Orion space, and secretly within The Triangle and the Federation, particularly around some more open free-ports, though greatly inhibited by Starfleet policing.

Federation relations
After this, the Orions stopped being a significant problem for the Federation; though pirates and Orion saboteurs were still active, Rigel and the Colonies themselves were quiet and deemed nearly harmless. Anti-Orion attitudes in the Federation waned, and the Council relaxed some of the restrictions on Orion immigration. The main concern was of Orion trade with the Klingons and the possibility of Klingon infiltration through the Orion Neutrality Area. Some Orion corporations and leading families remained angry over the banning of slavery, however, and some independent elements waged a war of piracy and aggression against Federation citizens.

On stardate 2/0602, the BPC began sending agents deep into Federation space, even as far as Earth, to anticipate the Federation's future plans for them. Meanwhile, the pressure of Federation settlers on the new Orion borders continued to be a problem.

The Organian Peace Treaty was forced upon the Federation and the Klingons in 2267 (reference stardate 2/0801.24). Though the Orion Neutrality Area would form a bubble in the Neutral Zone between the two powers, the Orions were ignored and left out of the treaty. Many, even in the Federation Council, took this to mean that the Organians considered the Orions harmless, though others pointed out that their motivations were unknown, and that they themselves might not know how to handle them. Ironically, the Orions were the only benefactors of the treaty, with a free hand in the Neutral Zone, and their own neutral space a valuable gateway across it.

The Babel Incident
Despite centuries of trade between the Orions and Coridan III, the Orion Syndicate had taken advantage of factional conflict there. Working out of Rigel, they funded, constructed and ran a number of illegal mining operations and one-sided trade agreements. From their secret and illegal dilithium mines,, Orions were raiding and smuggling dilithium out of the Coridan system in the 2260s.

The situation had become so bad that, in 2267, an effort was made to admit Coridan to the Federation so that it could become subject to Federation law and have its rights to its own mineral resources protected. However, the extent of alien involvement in Coridan’s affairs, by Orions, Tellarites and other Federation worlds, made the issue of its membership highly questionable, enough that a full Babel Conference was called in 2268 (stardate 3850.3, or reference stardate 2/0902) to discuss the matter.

To protect their operations in Coridan, certain Orions attempted to sabotage the conference, with the Orion Syndicate making an attack. An Orion spy, Thelev, was cosmetically altered to appear Andorian, and infiltrated the staff of ambassador Shras Endilev in 2267. En route to the Conference, Thelev murdered the Tellarite ambassador Gav and framed the Vulcan ambassador Sarek, then attacked Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk. Meanwhile an Orion scout ship attacked the Enterprise. Their aim was to spread suspicion and possibly interplanetary war between the Federation worlds, while they continued to steal from Coridan and supply dilithium to all sides. The plan was unsuccessful, and Coridan was admitted into the Federation.


 * The has the Orions as members of the Federation, who voted against Coridan's admission to protect their own interests there. In the FASA RPG continuity, this may refer to those Colonies annexed by the Federation during the creation of the Orion Neutrality Area, or of the Area’s complex status within the Federation.

Though the BPC denied any involvement, the Babel Incident had a terrible impact on the Orion Colonies. Three Orion corporations implicated in the sabotage went bankrupt, triggering the Great Crash of 09, and Orion trade with the Federation, in the Triangle and in the Neutral Zone suffered heavily. With the loss of the dilithium smuggling operations, this was a devastating blow to the Orion economy. The Coridan and Babel incidents also cast Orion neutrality into doubt for some time afterwards.

Decline
By 2269, the Orion slave trade was thought to be extinct (but was shown not to be), at least within the Federation, after Starfleet wiped out the trade in Orion slave girls inside its borders. However, this allowed Orion women to join their men in crime and piracy instead. Meanwhile, the T'Prar Foundation worked to help freed slave girls, with a Deltan-operated reorientation village in the Delta Triciatu system.

By 2270, Orions still had no interest in joining the Federation, nor with the Klingon Empire or any other interstellar state. In return, other states had little desire for relations with them, and recognized their neutrality. These attitudes maintained their neutrality and provided a screen for their covert actions. The Federation still did not know much about Orion culture either.


 * The has Orions assumed to be an isolationist, reclusive people, who shunned contact with outsiders and with no reason to be suspected by other people. However, this is later contradicted by mentioning the Coridan/Babel affair, as well as by canon examples and other sources in general. Thus this might simply represent general Orion attitudes and behaviour following Babel; however, only around two or three years have passed.

In 2270 (stardate 6334.1-6335.6), an Orion ship attacked the USS Huron and stole its cargo of dilithium and strobolin. The Enterprise tracked it to an asteroid belt, but a confrontation ensued. In the end, the Orions attempted to destroy themselves and the Enterprise to preserve the appearance of Orion neutrality. This failed, and the ship and crew were captured, placing increased doubts on their claims of neutrality. Captain James T. Kirk expected that the Orion captain would stand trial, Orion neutrality would be shown to be a sham, and their piracy would be ended. The Orion captain feared Federation retaliation.

By as late as the 23rd century, the Orions were allegedly maintaining a policy of neutrality in interstellar affairs. Often an Orion Pirate ship would be found raiding Federation colonies, but when faced with capture the ships would activate a self-destruct device and the Orion government would disavow them as rogues. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was once successful in capturing an Orion ship, however it is unclear as to the extent this helped shed light on Orion duplicity.

By reference stardates 2/1103–2/1203, the Orion Colonies had a complicated status within the Federation: they weren't quite an independent state within it, but nor were they full and proper members. Their relationship and professed neutrality was strained by regular privateering actions. Meanwhile, the transport of Orion slave girls outside the neutral Orion worlds remained prohibited; consequently, few Federation or Starfleet personnel at this time had actually seen one. Some in the Federation began to question the earlier decisions to allow the Orions to remain neutral.


 * This quasi-membership might refer to those Colonies annexed by the Federation during the creation of the Orion Neutrality Area, or of the Area's status within the Federation.

The Lifaq family in the Triangle finally managed to send a successful trade mission to the Romulans at H'lass on stardate 2/1107, but a permanent agreement could not be reached: the Romulans wanted guaranteed delivery, while the Lafaqs wanted a guaranteed price. But the potential Romulan market continued to attract Orions to the Triangle. Stardate 2/1502 saw a Starfleet Intelligence report on possible Orion trade agreements with the Romulans in the Triangle, and a thaw in Orion-Romulan relations was rumored.

An evacuation of Aleriad on stardate 2/1203 by the USS Enterprise was complicated by Orion agents. Meanwhile, Rigel VII suffered the first outbreak of Orion blood fever. It depopulated several Klingon settlements before quarantines began.

Reports of Klingons and unidentified starships visiting the Orion Colony world of Daros IV on stardate 2/1407 led Starfleet Intelligence to send agent Commander Michael Thorn to investigate. After he went missing on  on stardate 2/1410.21, the Eridani Star was dispatched on stardate 2/1412 to complete his assignment.

BPC President Refner Gyron the Sly was inaugurated on stardate 2/1606 and instituted a new policy of aggressive quid pro quo neutrality between the three superpowers. While collecting all the intelligence it could, the BPC would trade favourable knowledge and trading-partner status for trade concessions. Over the next five years (to at least stardate 2/2106), this would gain more trade in Klingon space (provided that governors and staff are not corrupted), limited delivery contracts and battle protocols from the Romulans (in spite of confrontations with pirates), and a range of small benefits in the Federation.

The Federation continued to expand into Orion space, occupying former Orion worlds, but re-established Orion Colonies and increased trade led to increased profits without heightened tensions. The first Human colony in Orion space was settled on stardate 2/1606, illegally and unannounced. This would be quietly closed down and ushered out in two months.

According to unsubstantiated claims, some wealthy Orions on the Coreward side of the Colonies had copied Romulan starships out of intercepted Federation intelligence reports. They were allegedly using these ships to explore space between the Romulan Neutral Zone and Gorn space, but this could not be verified as there were few Starfleet vessels operating in the deep space past Starbase 18.

On stardate 2/1701, Starfleet Intelligence agents rescue Federation Ambassador Helen Jarvis, after she was kidnapped by Orion terrorists.

Crescent and Trefoil Developments, a recently founded Orion company, was rumoured to be manufacturing electronic components of a non-Federation design on stardate 2/2107. Later, stock certificates suspected to be Orion forgeries were found on stardate 2/2110.02, on a number of worlds near the Federation/Romulan Star Empire border. These were likely intended to destabilize the major Tellarite corporations they were for.

An Orion Wanderer class pirate vessel hijacked the USS Juggernaut on stardate 2/2112.24, in orbit around Memory Alpha. The USS Sparon learned on the incident at Daran V on stardate 2/2201.11. The investigation culminated in the Battle of Omicron Aurigae on stardate 2/2202.19, between the Orion pirate and three Federation starships.

Following the leaking of Project Genesis data in 2285, Starfleet Intelligence speculated on Orion involvement in the leak. Investigators postulated (on stardate 2/2207.05) that an Orion surveillance vessel disguised as a freighter (or a cloaked Klingon vessel) was monitoring internal communications at the Regula I Spacelab, or that an Orion agent had infiltrated a supply shipment to the base, between stardates 2/2106.01-2/2107. The evidence for these theories was that Orion trade vessels had been known to operate in the general area. This was considered farfetched and never proven. The idea remained in circulation, however, reappearing in a report on stardate 2/2401.04, pointing to a rise in Klingon agents near Orion space over the previous several months (i.e., a year later). The Klingon Captain Kruge was also thought to have infiltrated the Federation via Orion space.

Either way, Orion governments were expected to be aware of the events around the Genesis Incident and the lost Starfleet vessels. On stardate 2/2206.26, immediately following, various Orion ruling families censured the Federation and issued a formal protest to the Federation Council regarding the quarantine of the Mutara sector. They insisted that the Federation had no legal right to ban traders from a sector due to "scientific investigation".

The Orion colony on Rockhaven in the Triangle was destroyed on stardate 2/2304.15, with rival Orion pirates suspected to be responsible. Starfleet Intelligence would later (stardate 2/2306.01) report on an Orion privateer, R'Zaad, who had grand plans of welding all Orions into a confederation under his leadership, then create an Orion empire in their space between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

With some of the Rigel worlds becoming Federation members in the late 23rd century (from 2275 to 2297), and a growing Federation presence in the Orion sector, Orion traders and pirates found their actions increasingly limited. The Khitomer Accords of 2293 also enabled Starfleet to devote itself to operations against Orion piracy, and again crushed their pirate fleets, keeping Orion Syndicate operatives on the run.

24th century
Looking elsewhere, Orions transferred their operations into the Alpha Quadrant, while surviving elements of the old pirate fleets reformed the Orion Syndicate into organized crime.

In the early 24th century, at one time of another, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) transported dignitaries from the six most powerful Orion families.

On stardate 2/9910 (circa 2340), Starfleet Captain Koren Anastas occupied one of the last of the major Orion pirate outposts on Matacai.

Following the Federation and the Klingon Empire signing the Treaty of Alliance in 2352 and the foundation of their Grand Alliance, their respective states and economic interests continued trying to restrict and eliminate Orion piracy. These anti-piracy efforts broke the Orion Commercial States' domination over portions of galactic commerce, and reduced their power significantly. Unable to depend anymore on revenue from the pirate consortiums, they were forced to adapt to a new economic age, where free trade was more cost-effective than disruptive competition. The Orions grew dormant and less prominent, and the Syndicate re-evaluated the burgeoning Federation for new ways to exploit it, though with limited success.

As a child, Harry Kim was exposed to Rigellian fever while playing with Orion children from an Orion diplomat's entourage. He was placed in quarantine for three days, but never developed symptoms.

In the late 2350s, Orion pirates attacked the USS Kingston (24th century), believing it to be carrying latinum to a processing plant (it was actually carrying stock gametes to a colony on Rukbat III). They massacred the crew to hide the evidence of their attack, but Aaron Cavit and other Starfleet Cadets were hidden in the cargo bays. Their survival lead to the Federation hunting down the pirates responsible.

Circa 2258, the USS Seeker smashed an Orion cartel operating on several outer Federation worlds, including Twenginian and Conquiidor, and rescued over 200 Federation citizens from slavery. In revenge, the Orions involved hatched a plot to frame and discredit Commander Darryl Adin, who'd spearheaded the effort. This involved a brutal pirate assault on the USS Starbound. At this time, Cadet Tasha Yar believed that the Orion state was not member of the Federation (and could not be, due to its cultural practices), and nor were there any Orions in Starfleet. Orions were appeared in Starfleet Academy simulations like the Priam IV test.


 * Given some Orion Federation member worlds and Starfleet personnel in other sources, and Yar's inexperience, she may be mistaken on this point.

Over a ten-year-period from circa 2354 to 2364, Orions traded in increasing numbers across the Treva sector, as part of an effort to  establish a hold over the area. They did not participate in any slave-trading, likely to avoid attracting the Federation's attention. They also did not trade with Treva so as not to risk blowing the cover of President Nalavia, who was working to prevent Treva from joining the Federation and turn it and the other worlds of the sector against the Federation.

The emergence of the Ferengi in the 2360s made the earlier reduction and re-development fortuitous. The Ferengi Empire raided several established trading centers on the border of the Orion Colonies, and in the face of such pillaging, an accommodation with the Grand Alliance appeared to be a necessity. In exchange for giving up piracy, the Orions could seek the protection of Alliance warships.


 * The outcome of this question is unknown. As the Ferengi ceased to be threat, and Orion piracy continued (albeit reduced) and criminal activity grew, this likely didn't happen.

In the late 24th century, Orion operations had suffered heavily due to Federation expansion, and they became directly antagonistic to it. They engaged in smuggling beneath the noses of Starfleet officials and engineered important assassinations in an attempt to influence Federation policy.

There was an Orion ambassador present at a trade conference on Deep Space 9 in 2370, which would negotiate trading access through the Bajoran wormhole. The Orion ambassador also objected to Bajor joining the Federation.


 * The source implies that the Orion ambassador is from a Federation government, suggesting Orion membership.

By 2372, Orions had apparently had no official trade with Bajor since before the Cardassian occupation, and not with the provisional government afterwards. However, black market trading did occur, such as when the Orion Calculanthra secretly sold replicators to Ompar Tenzil of the Bajoran government through Manimoujak, a Yridian middle-man. In return, Ompar allowed Manimoujak to take Bajoran dissidents, the poor, and those who uncovered their schemes, and sell them into slavery, including to Orions.

With the Maquis uprising in the late 2360s, the Orion Syndicate-dominated world of Farius Prime became a key link in Maquis supply lines. The Syndicate actually aided their efforts here. However, when the Cardassian Union joined the Dominion in 2373, the Syndicate betrayed the Farius Prime Maquis cells and surrendered them to Jem'Hadar soldiers. This action saved Farius Prime from a Jem'Hadar assault such as other Maquis bases had suffered, and kept that world neutral and independent in the coming Dominion War.

Dominion War
The Orions remained low-key during the Dominion War itself, however, planning to take advantage of whoever won.

However, in 2374, Starfleet Intelligence recruit Miles O'Brien infiltrated Raimus's Syndicate operation on Farius Prime to identify a Syndicate operative in Starfleet. He also discovered the Syndicate working for the Dominion, and their plot to assassinate the Klingon ambassador to Farius and disrupt the Klingon Empire's alliance with the Federation.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Rigel early in 2375, the Orion Syndicate sent ships into the debris field to scavenge whatever they could before Starfleet could recover its own technology.

Beginning in 2373, the Borg incursions and the Dominion War had forced Starfleet to strip its assets from the Rigel system, giving the Orion Syndicate there a free reign. They used the opportunity well, and by the war’s end in 2375, they were once again dominant in the Rigel system, with crime, piracy and smuggling on the rise. The Orions again insisted on their neutrality and lack of involvement in interstellar affairs.

Star Trek Online Timeline
After several years of cracking down on criminal activity in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, Starfleet Intelligence was successful in curbing the threat of the Orion Syndicate, though in 2387, they recommended that the Federation continue to keep a close watch on its activities. On stardate 64163.8, Syndicate boss Raimus was assassinated on Farius Prime by Hassan the Undying, paving the way for Hassan's employer, Melani D'ian to seize control of his operations.

By Starfleet Intelligence estimates, Melani now controlled at least 30% of Syndicate operations. Analysts noted that other Syndicate bosses might seek to bring her down before she increased her powerbase further. She was also the first Orion in over 20 years to dominate the Syndicate, and this signified an Orion return to prominence.

By the following year, 2388, the Orion homeworld in the Rigel system was over-polluted and nearly completely depleted of natural resources. Meanwhile, Starfleet's war on crime was becoming a serious impediment to Syndicate business. Seeking assistance with both issues, Melani D'ian lead a delegation of Orions to negotiate with both the Klingon Empire and the Breen Confederacy. In exchange, they promised Orion support and its reserves of ancient knowledge, but didn't commit until a fully detailed offer was made. The then–Klingon Chancellor Martok was interested in the secret knowledge, but distrusted Melani and the Syndicate.

In 2392, Kevin Steiner of Terra Nova abandoned his campaign for Federation President after his links to the Orion Syndicate were exposed by the Federation News Service.

According to Starfleet reports, Orion Syndicate traffic had increased markedly under Melani’s control, and Starfleet had a harder time combating their activities. She carried out a ruthless purge of so-called 'untrustworthy' members and competing leaders, and created a unified and loyal force out of the remaining Orions.

In 2394, Klingon Chancellor J'mpok sought to his strengthen his position by resuming negotiations with the Orion Syndicate. He met with Melani (though Hassan was presented as being in charge, and she a slave) on Ter'jas Mor, and after four days of negotiations, the two signed a non-aggression and mutual defense pact on stardate 71282.12. By the terms of it, the Orions would receive ships, weapons, and a planet in Klingon space that they could rule as a vassal state. The Klingon Empire gained the Syndicate’s allegiance, access to their intelligence network, and technology. The Federation Council condemned this as an alliance with criminals, and Starfleet Command vowed to continue combating Syndicate activities in Federation space.

As a gift, 150 Orion women were sent as servants to the Great Houses on Qo'noS, and Melani moved into an estate on Ter'jas Mor. By this point, she was known as the Emerald Empress. In the same year, Orions on the homeworld made plans to colonize their new world.


 * The Full Log Entry says 1500 Orion women, while the Supplemental Log says only 150. The number of known Great Houses would indicate that 150 is more likely.

In 2397, Hassan the Undying moved his own base of operations to the former Orion homeworld, in order to run Syndicate operations outside Klingon space, presumably on Melani's orders.

From 2399, Orion ships joined their Klingon allies in a war against the Gorn Hegemony (ending in 2403) and the Nausicaans (ending in 2405).

Throughout the 2400s, the Orions continued to be a thorn in the Federation's side, especially due to the Federation–Klingon war of that era. Many Starfleet ships engaged Orions conducting illegal operations within Federation space during this period.

Undated
At some point before the late 24th century, the Klingons, and then the Romulans, attempted to use the Orions against the Federation.

Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline in which Humans never evolved, and the Federation never founded, the Orions were wiped out by the 2260s, likely by the Klingons. Instead, the Vulcans occupied a similar role as the Orions. 

Pirates and Mercenaries
Some merchants supplemented their income with piracy against alien ships. Telling a pirate from a merchant could be a difficult task and entirely depended on which way the weapons are pointing - if one was armed, then the Orion was a merchant.

The great merchant houses and corporations commonly hired mercenaries and privateers in their feuds and wars over markets and trade routes. However, when the wars were over, these mercenaries and privateers turned to piracy until the next one. Those Orions that became soldiers tended to drift into a career of piracy or mercenary work, as they possessed little patience for a regimented life, nor did they enjoy taking orders or wearing dull uniforms.

Diplomacy
Opportunistic and with a skill for finding advantages and comparing risks, Orions made formidable negotiators and clever diplomats, who enjoyed matching wits with their opponents as if it were a game. Their politics were full of intrigue, bluffs, concealed motives, and outright confidence trickery, and delaying and being annoying for the sake of it. They played games of double- or even triple-crosses to increase their own profits, and saw not a conflict of interest but an understandable compensation for their efforts.

Many diplomats served dual roles as spies, producing both real and invented secrets, and Orion women in the bedchambers of important officials on frontier worlds gave them an extra edge in information and influence. Due to their neutrality, Orions could work as spies for the Klingons and other Federation rivals, for the Federation itself, or for both.

Science & Archaeology
Some of the more ancient Orion civilizations produced amazing scientific and technological wonders, but few Orions in modern times still practiced in the fields of science. There were however a number of archaeologists who scoured the ruins of other worlds. Most Federation archaeologists would call them tomb raiders, but either way they often had otherwise unobtainable information or artifacts from Tkon, Debrune or Iconian ruins. Ancient Orion ruins were also a prime target, with no shortage of funding for an excavation, in the hope of recovering lost arts and technology. Rumors persisted of still-functioning machines lying in deep ruins. Unfortunately, these ruins were at the mercy of time and the elements, and fell prey to treasure hunters and art thieves who hacked and blasted their way through, obliterating records, archaeology and Orion history alike.

Technology

 * "If you want to see the future of Orion, go to Federation laboratories. If you want to see the past glory of Orion, go to the kitchen." – an unnamed wit

The Orion habit of stealing the ideas of others and putting them to practical, profitable use was a survival skill from the very beginning of their history, and continued to be vital to their civilization. Almost all their technology and knowledge was copied from others now forgotten, including antigravity, antimatter manipulation, warp drive and terraforming techniques. Thus Orions were on par technologically with their neighbors.

However, most Orion technology and products tended to be cheap imitations, forgeries and knock-offs, with cut corners, inferior parts, falsified quality, and a complete disregard for durability, copyright or patent laws. It was cheaper and more profitable to do this, and surprisingly, the forgers were less expensive and in greater demand than genuine artisans. The very best forgers, when well paid, could produce excellent products indistinguishable from the originals, but most only wanted cheap, crude copies to make a bigger profit. Thus, Orions had a reputation for cheap, short-lived, low-quality, high-gloss products. This was tolerable in basic items, but vital components in life support, transportation and spacecraft were downright dangerous.

This was an irritating problem for the Federation, but not one easily policed by Starfleet. It had mixed benefits however; technology crossed the Klingon Neutral Zone between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and potentially the Romulan Star Empire too, enabling each power to learn of the other technological advances.

Despite the close resemblance, Orion products were distinguishable by their over-wrought design, intended to catch a buyer's eye. They featured elaborate decorations, filigrees, stylish trim, showy ornamentation and racing stripes, all of it useless and tacky. There were native Orion designs as well, which over equivalent Federation technologies were notable for their simpler design, smaller size, and greater efficiency, as well as their high price, great rarity and nigh-uselessness. These curious novelties were designed for comfort, entertainment, and indulgence, and most such items tended to be closely guarded museum pieces, with only research value. These devices were surviving examples of techniques lost to modern Orions, and sometimes unknown even to 23rd century Federation science. Some were still in limited use and production, found in furniture and kitchens, implying that someone, somewhere, was still manufacturing them, but trading them only to Orions. These neat gadgets were rarely available to outsiders.

Examples of such gadgets included holo-movies, books that produced their own reading lights, unfading luminescent paste jewelry, dustless floors, musical fountains, holographic tapestries with moving figures, and living carpets that grew and smelled like grassy meadows. In the kitchens, there were knives that didn’t cut living flesh, stoves that didn’t use heat or radiation, and devices capable of turning raw ingredients into complete meals at the press of a button (possibly like a replicator). A device in a privately owned Orion museum could polish any surface: soft plastics were easier than granite, but theoretically it could even do newly forged neutronium. It was hand-held, emitted no detectable radiation, and was yet to run out of power. And though Orion aircars used Federation antigravity units, there was Orion antigravity furniture using much tinier units that could not be examined without being broken, while in a ruin heavily guarded by a planetary ruling family there was an antigravity table that could not be moved without being destroyed by the force necessary to free it.

Starships
The very first Orion starships were actually stolen from other races. Even when they finally built their own, the designs were taken from captured or thoroughly examined existing vessels. These were crude copies at first, but time and practice gave the early Orion shipwrights the skills to construct near-exact duplicates. Eventually these would be modified to suit their purposes, with stronger warships or disguised vessels designed to confuse or hide a piratical purpose. Eventually they would design their own, but in recent centuries they returned to copying others, such that most modern Orion vessels were of alien design (though Romulan vessels were rarely imitated for lack of opportunity to study them). These copies could be so exact that sensors could not tell them apart, and one needed to examine ship's papers and serial numbers instead. A number of used starships on the market were in fact new Orion imitations.

Other Orion ships were pieced-together from salvage or bought whole from the surplus of other starfaring states, and could be quite primitive. They could skimp on expenses and comforts, and used many cost-cutting measures instead, no matter how dangerous. Some still utilized nuclear fission of first-stage matter, as a power-source, calling it the time-honoured methods of their ancestors. Orion pirate vessels with such a power source left behind a distinctive trail of radioactive waste.

Entirely new Orion starship designs were only made long after the Orion War, though timid architects continued to mimic aspects of others rather than deviate from standard practice. Their designs tended to be uninspired, unimaginative, and utilitarian. However, at their greatest, they possessed the records and technology of many civilizations, some older or more powerful, and they had even surpassed the impulse engine for the paragravitic drive, technology that the Federation had yet to discover by the late 23rd century. Much of this technology and knowledge was lost in the Reverse, with only pieces surviving in wrecks, lost records and ruins, waiting to be rediscovered by archaeological engineers.

What did survive consisted of ancient formulae, algorithms, and data tables to determine configurations of components, precise and comprehensive, based on centuries of experience with the capabilities of native Orion vessels and rarely applicable to Federation vessels. There were many instructions along the lines of "if you do this, you get that, so add these". Such designs had very little margin of error, and required a high quality and reliability that was no longer available in Orion shipyards. Maintenance was an expensive hassle, and exceeding the capabilities was even more dangerous than for Starfleet or Klingon ships. Therefore, there were few ships of native Orion design in operation, commissioned by only the wealthiest owners and trusted only to the best crews and officers.

Native-designed Orion civilian starships were commonly couriers, freighters, liners and the popular "Rigel yachts". Small and efficient warships were easier to build, so there were a few corvettes and elderly frigates, but none to overpower any front-line warship of local superpowers like Starfleet, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. Starfleet Intelligence closely watched Orion shipyards in case an old-style, large and efficient warship was ever built. Only two out of three kilometer-wide colony ships remained in orbital museums. And of course there was a vast array of pirate vessels, but despite popular tales, there were (allegedly) no slave ships.

Like the rest of their counterfeit technology, Orion-made ersatz starships were equally lacking in quality, utilizing substandard parts, cheaper materials, and lower quality control and manufacturing standards. They required frequent repairs and overhauls. Orion starships were also often highly decorated, to the point of being ugly. They included unnecessary fins and masts, non-functioning antennas, racing stripes and complex geometric designs engraved on the hull. Intimidating pirates might have been the aim, but this did little good. Even starships closely copied from Federation and Klingon designs, including the sickbays, had fully Orion-style galleys and equipment.

Orion courier vessels tended to have maximum speed for fast delivery, but only minimal cargo space. Such designs could include a ramscoop with a double compression chamber.

Culture
They have widely varied customs and ideas, there are two known civilizations of the K'aitians, the magic-oriented people of the Jade City, and the technologically oriented island nation of Pitll Pawob.

There seems to be strict laws governing the leaders that hold the throne. At a certain point Queens must choose a mate, and it is forbidden for Queens to wed someone who has not proven themselves in battle against the dreaded Warthos. Culture itself was a tool to the Orions. When contacting a new client or making a first deal, Orion traders and diplomats worked hard to be as similar to those they dealt with as possible and to know all they could about them. When dealing with another race or culture, they spoke the other’s language, adopted the correct customs and matched them for behavior, even to the smallest and even unconscious details. For an individual, they studied their habits, preferences, prejudices, strengths and weaknesses. They were careful not to let the image slip, in case it made the other party suspicious. Though the purpose of all this was to understand exactly what a client wanted, it also showed them what they wanted to see, and gave an Orion trader an edge in the relationship.

However, as each grew more familiar with each other, elements of Orion culture gradually crept in, beginning with simple furniture and ending with banquets complete with musicians and dancers. The Orions called this a lowering of their guard, to allow the other to see their ways. They showed off their opulent culture, charm and success, and made sure that their clients were comfortable and happy. It also shifted the initiative to themselves and placed a non-Orion under pressure, when they found such practices unprofessional.

And when the deals were completed, the Orion discarded the adopted culture as it soon as it had served its purpose. In their view, the only culture good for them was their own, with decadence, slavery and all. It had been stagnant for centuries and shielded against change, despite the many other cultures they’d pretended at.

Orion culture during their time as a slave-race had been little more than folk art and "gypsy" culture. Following their liberation, the New Days saw Orion culture blossom into hundreds of forms and entirely new schools of design, almost overnight, with music, literature, dance (including forms of ballet), holovision and more. Modern Orion culture of the 23rd century echoed proudly back to this time, with themes and traditions of their mighty, majestic, graceful people coming into their own.

A materialistic and hedonistic people, Orions – those who could afford it – spent all they could afford on luxury items, comforts and displays on wealth. These included expensive clothing and jewelry, ornate furniture and decorations, grand mansions and fancy vehicles, and any other way could to enjoy life. Orions also tended to delight in partaking in the more civilized vices. However, on the other hand, they also could not stand to go broke, and did all they could to avoid this terrible state.

They also enjoyed entertainment on a large-scale, from concerts and holomovies to street circuses and festivals, all of which offered a chance to dress up and be seen in their finery. Wealthy and noble Orions took great pride in putting on grand banquets, with feasts of food from many worlds, and musicians, dancers, and other forms of entertainment. Such a banquet concluded every business meeting and deal, and every Orion corporation had an entertainment division for this. The purpose of all this was to impress and outdo each other. These banquets also played host to subtle wars of manners and etiquette between rival families and businesses, with continually evolving rules determined by seemingly-casual remarks and signals: they measured how much one could drink or smoke; what one could look at and for how long; the beginner of an applause, its volume and duration; and so on. The appearance of an Orion slave girl at a banquet was a high compliment to a guest and a test of their will-power.

Orion women, and particularly Orion slave girls, were legendary for their dances. These dances were commonly seen at grand Orion banquets, used as much for distraction of a rival as for entertainment. Their forms ranged from ballet to belly-dancing. Some dances were performed with daggers and were apparently even blended into a martial art in dancefighting.

Orion Colonies and other worlds they dominated often featured the distinctive Botchoki architecture of fluted and spiraled towers, minarets with bulging onion-dome shapes, knurled blocks of apartments with balconies, all built of colored stone and adorned with cloth hangings in a gaudy and riotous display. They were known for their bazaars, markets, cantinas clubs, nightclubs and grand pleasure palaces, which offered a range of services, including gambling.

Orions enjoyed games of skill and cunning – even more so when only they knew the rules, not their opponents. Even a game of chance could turn out to be really a game of skill and cunning.

A business contract was regarded as precious and secure, not something to be easily broken. Due to the Orion value system, a contract between them might not have even concerned money. A slavery contract was one example where labor was bartered for food, shelter and protection.

Orion mothers sold cookies to their children, though they gave them with a loving kiss.

Orion cooking was described as exotic, with a range of tear-inducing spices. The Orion firepot was one special method of preparing food. Orion foods were noted for treating wing-slugs as delicacies, a range of strong liquors, hot spices (some of which are classed as illegal drugs), and many things said to be aphrodisiacs.
 * food
 * demma • Orion spices • Orion wing-slug • xiqai


 * drink
 * mandisa • Orion ale • Orion beer • Orion rum • Orion tea • Orion whiskey • Orion wine

Beginning in the mid-22nd century, Orions experienced a craze for the culture of Earth's 20th century, after the Earth trade ship UNSS opened trade relations with them, a huge commercial success. Orions fell in love with Westerns, historical pirates, fast food, baseball, rock and roll, The Three Stooges, the Kledani brothers and historical fashions such as Western wear and Levis. Orions also adopted slang words from Earth, particularly American and Russian. Orions grew to like humans as a result, and considered them kindred spirits, but this was based on their practices of centuries before. This lead to cultural confusion, with Orions believing that Earth was ruled by Godfathers and Shoguns, where cowboys murdered Indians, while humans found all this an uncomfortable reminder. This was considered a fad for the young and impressionable, however.

Beliefs
Orion myth resembles or distorts aspects of the history of the Rigel system, of the Rigellians and the Masters. One legend said that the gods once lived on Botchok, until they fought a war, changed their ways and left to protect other worlds from their folly. Others stated that the star Rigel was an ancient, powerful life-form, and that the Orions were created in the image of the Masters to take their place as rulers of the Orion Arm. Others thought of the Rigellians themselves as their Makers. These legends derived from the accounts of Talduk Sik and of faithful Orion servants allowed into the depths of Rigel IV to meet Rigellian elders or surviving Masters and being gifted with wisdom (mainly financial advice) or confused accounts of Rigel's history. These ideas formed the tenets of various Orion religions.

One group, the Earthly Brothers even revered Humans as the natural and perhaps even divinely appointed successors of the Orions.

Some Orions typically swore on the Thousand Gods but rarely bothered to worship them. Others have prayed to and sworn by a Mother Goddess. Some Orions even swore by particular concepts; for example, "Who in the name of plunder are you?"

An Orion afterlife was the Dark Place. Some Orions swore by nine hells, there was an afterworld for the evil that was a scalding pit of torment. Meanwhile others referred to "the veils of heaven's harem" and "the luminous veils" (though this was possibly a poetic reference to space itself).

There were Orion sects that (in common with Clan Ru and some Native American tribes) considered only their own tribe to be the only life-forms with souls and thus others didn't exist morally. As such, laws, rights and supernatural considerations only extended to their own species.

Orion mystics were known to make use of elaborate con operations, sometimes with advanced technology to give them supposed powers, in order to achieve their goals and lend verisimilitude to their words.

There were ancient Orion sculptures that were considered religious relics. Two had been thought long lost, but turned up in the possession of the Romulan smuggler Achernar in 2281. They were illegal to trade. Scenes from Orion mythology could be found embossed on Orion firepots, a type of cooking cauldron. These could be crudely erotic.

Some Orion commanders were apparently superstitious about killing the captain of a ship directly, if they were taken prisoner in a pirate raid. Instead they chose some other means, such as beaming them into a dangerous environment likely to kill them anyway. It was also supposed that a face-to-face hand-off between two captains was for spiritual reasons.


 * As the former line was from a lie by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and the latter merely supposition from James T. Kirk, these might not be true. The high esteem for captains is mentioned in and discussed above, however.

Combat
Disruptor pistols, concealed or otherwise, were often found in the hands of Orions,, particularly smugglers and pirates, as they were cheaper and easier to construct than phasers (which were only occasionally used). Sonic disruptors were usually of a Klingon design (the Mark 1 was a common trade item with them ) but they were equally likely to be counterfeits.

Knives were also popular melee weapons, from pirates to Orion Space Navy (OSN) enlisted personnel, who trained in their use. OSN officers meanwhile trained with swords. Even Orion slave girls carried small concealable blades, sometimes coated in a drug or poison, such as Cylanite. They could perform dances with a pair of knives as well. One particular form of knife used by Orions was the dancerknife.

Unarmed combat was also known amongst the Orions, with tatharoc and dancefighting. Slave girls were also known to grow their nails long, almost like claws, which were handy in a fight.

Orion pirates favored body armor and protective helmets in battle. Circa 2359, they developed a new form of armor that was light, as flexible as a stiff cloth, and able to absorb and diffuse phaser energy, such that a hand phaser kill-setting could be reduced to a minor stun. With this armor and their helmets, only a shot through the eye could kill them.

There was also a strong tradition of duelling, between the upper-class Ruddy Orions to settle their disputes (at least between social equals), and amongst the people of the Colony of Thirat to avenge insults. The Thiratin in particular were adept in martial arts and weapons training.

Fashion
Orions of either gender were fond of dyeing or oiling their hair in unusual colors, and styling it accordingly, though hair dyes usually remained subtle in order to highlight the glossiness of black or chestnut coiffures. They could also paint their lips, eyelids and other conspicuous body parts.

They typically enjoyed wearing jewelry, small daggers, and other ornaments. They preferred items that were elegant, beautiful, expensive and had tiny compartments to hide sensitive items such as poisons or black mail tapes. Almost no Orion would dress badly if they could help it.

Some were quite fond of jewelry, from rings to earrings to gemstones studded in their teeth.

Orions even sharpened their teeth.

History

 * "Orion history is a prime example of why we need a Prime Directive to protect everybody." -- Doctor Thelanius Richter

The Orions had an ancient history, filled with slavery, empire, and decay, and confused, contradictory and often false. Their origins were wrapped in mystery and alien interference, yet they outlasted almost all other interstellar civilizations, and survived being caught between superpowers.
 * See main article: Orion history

Language and names

 * See main article: Orion language

Throughout their history, the Orions developed several different languages, which included Orion, Yrevish , Kolari and Trader's Tongue.

They were good swearing languages. Lower forms had more base words and vile epithets, while higher forms had a sophisticated cursing case that could be used to deliver delicate and elaborate insults in ambiguous terms. These were sometimes in verse, and counted as works of art, but were rarely heard by non-Orions.

Orions paid a great deal of attention to non-verbal communication as well, of body language, tells, tone of voice, importance of a subject and other minor clues to a person’s mood and intent. They found a lot to read and to conceal, and Orion activity involved a continuous exchange of a subtle, ambiguous code. Those who dealt frequently with Orions, or saw more of their culture, came to notice this and acquire the skill; some even had difficulty dealing with non-Orions or their own species, friends and even family afterwards.

Orion names typically came in three parts: a given name first, a family name second, and an honorific or nickname. The first name tended to be short; though older and prouder families might give longer names, they preferred names that were memorable and easy to pronounce. Unless very well-known and respected, family names were rarely mentioned in public, since they could identify relations, allegiances and enemies. As such, an Orion was typically known by their first name, plus any honorifics and titles they might have.

An Orion male, by the time he was an adult, would probably acquire a nickname that marked a prominent characteristic or accomplishment. A neutral or flattering honorific would generally follow the name (e.g. Nallin the Unconquerable, Hubin the Burned), while a negative one usually came first (Half-a-Man Sooris, Crazy Drelk). Orions also enjoyed any titles and distinctions that they might have earned.

In addition, an Orion might adopt other names as required, for local custom, an alias or pseudonym, a pet name, a false name, or just on a whim.

Background

 * The FASA role-playing game represented Orions with a color-coded caste system, of which Greens were the worker caste, Ruddies the nobility and Greys an untouchable science caste. The original script for also implied that the Orions came in other colours than green. However, due to their prevalence in all other sources, this article assumes that Green Orions are the default variety. Information specific to other varieties is presented with those varieties.


 * The pale blue Orions seen in were a result of animation problems rather than deliberate choice.

Jovian Primatives
The Red Jovians are the dominant culture of the Jovian civilization. They are organized into a system of imperial city-states including Helium, Ptarth and Zodanga, controlling the planetary canal system, as well as other, more isolated city-states in the hinterlands. The Red Jovian Primatives are the interbred descendants of the ancient Yellow Jovian Primatives,  White Jovian Primatives , and  Black Jovian Primatives , remnants of which exist in isolated areas of the planet, particularly the poles. The Red Jovian Primatives are said in  A Princess of Mars  to have been bred when the seas of Jovian began to dry up, in hopes of creating a hardy race to survive in the new environment. [7]   [38]

Biology
Grey Orions were a humanoid species related to the Green Orions and Ruddy Orions, but they tended to be shorter, slighter, quite frail and much weaker than their racial cousins, and less charismatic, but also a little more dextrous and great deal more intelligent. Their numbers were small, making up at most 5% of the Orion population (though they once numbered nearly 20%).

Their primary difference was their coloration, with skin ranging from a light gray to a charcoal black. In strong sunlight, this would tan with a deep metallic hue. Their hair and eye colors were similar, and usually matched the skin color. Their hair was straight and stiff, and their teeth were large and naturally yellow. Between their appearance and their disabilities and deformities, Grey Orions suffered a frightful aspect.

But the most significant aspect of their biology was their inherent genetic damage, which inflicted a wide range of random mutations, deformities, handicaps and physical and mental disabilities upon them at birth, of varying severity. Though inherited, these were unpredictable, and a Grey Orion could suffer from one to a half dozen such conditions, sometimes minor (though enough to be a problem), sometimes quite major, and sometimes opposing, contradicting or even balancing each other. These included:
 * Allergies to food, requiring a special diet
 * Allergies to natural materials, synthetic materials, plants, animals, people or light, leading to skin eruptions or respiratory difficulties
 * Anxiety: emotional problems and fear about new and unknown activities or dealing with people.
 * Arthritis
 * Asthma
 * Balance problems due to faults in the inner ear
 * Baldness or increased hair all over the body.
 * Cardiac weakness against exertion
 * Constant itching
 * Cystic fibrosis
 * Depression: a chronic depression or even a chronic sense of euphoria, or a manic depression.
 * Digestive disorders, constant abdominal pain or nausea
 * Dwarfism
 * Epilepsy, or stress-related convulsions that lead to uncontrolled attacks upon people or vandalism of a room
 * Gigantism
 * Hearing problems, from tinnitus to impaired hearing to total deafness.
 * Hormonal immaturity, causing the body to never grow to adulthood, with possible childish behavior (though with an adult mind)
 * Hunchback
 * Hydrocephaly, an enlarged and possibly asymmetrical head.
 * Immune deficiency disorders, leading to an inability to resist disease
 * Insensitivity to cuts, burns, bruises, even to all pain or a total numbness to all feeling
 * Missing or deformed body parts, from a hand or a foot to whole limbs
 * Missing or displaced facial features, such as an eye, ear, nose, or mouth (requiring being fed through a tube)
 * Myasthenia gravis, a chronic muscle weakness
 * Narcolepsy
 * Neurofibromatosis, or Elephant Man's Disease, causing tumors to grow throughout the body.
 * Obesity or an inability to gain weight, becoming skeletally thin
 * Ossification, with bony growth over the joints
 * Osteoporosis
 * Palsies, from facial twitching to bodily shaking, occasional or constant
 * Paranoia
 * Premature aging
 * Plated skin, rendering the skin into a coarse pattern of horn-like plates or scales, across all skin and causing hair to fall out.
 * Sensitivity to dust or humidity (small quantities of either lead to respiratory arrest), heat (leading to heat exhaustion), or cold (causing hypothermia).
 * Smell: no sense of smell or an over-sensitivity of smell
 * Skin coloration: instead of being Grey, sometimes they appear Ruddy or Green or another color, or even striped or spotted like a halfbreed.
 * Skin rashes, eruptions, ulcers, blisters, peeling, even shedding skin down to raw flesh
 * Skin sensitivity to light (causing burns), touch or pressure (causing pain).
 * Spastic paralysis
 * Too many or too few fingers and toes
 * Vision problems, such as distorted vision (astigmatism), short-sightedness, far-sightedness, color-blindness (red-green, blue-green, yellow-orange, or complete black-and-white vision), night-blindness, day-blindness, or total blindness.
 * Water retention, severe

A very few lucky Grey Orions were born with no handicap at all, or one so minor as to not be a problem, or perhaps a perfect balance of opposing conditions, and were left completely normal. However, most faked a handicap to avoid the attention of their non-Grey masters.

With constant and expensive medical care, most Grey Jovians would die outside their guldin. These sealed, controlled environments and life-support chambers, together with supplies of medicines and drugs and regulated diets kept Grey Orions alive and as healthy as they could be. However, Grey Jovians were allergic to some treatments, such as ocular compounds like Retinax V, and the destruction of Orion medical knowledge that accompanied the genetic curse on the Grey Orions meant that available treatments are limited or unknown.

On average, not including the effects of various illnesses, Greys typically lived shorter lives and aged faster than other Orions. Physical and mental deterioration began around age 40, with only a few decades left to them. They usually died of old age, of their conditions, or in a rare moment of physical exertion, perhaps after slipping into a coma.

Grey Joviansare arrostocracy of the Jovian wORLD

The Red Jovian Primatives are highly civilized, respect the idea of private property, adhere to a code of honor and have a strong sense of fairness. Their culture is governed by law and is advanced technologically. They are capable of love and have families.

Green Jovian Primatives
The Green Jovian Primatives are fifteen feet tall (males) and twelve feet tall (females), have four arms and eyes mounted at the side of their heads. They are nomadic, warlike and barbaric, do not form families, have little concept of friendship or love and enjoy inflicting torture upon their victims. Their social structure is highly communal - they have no concept of private property - and is rigidly hierarchical, consisting of various levels of chiefs, with the highest office occupied by an all powerful Jeddak. However, the title of Jeddak is obtained by mortal combat, rather than hereditary means. They form tribes, which war among one another constantly. They ride aggressive animals, thoats, and armed themselves with swords, lances and firearms which use 'radium' ammunition.

The Green Men are primitive, intellectually unadvanced, do not have any kind of art and are without a written language. While they craft weapons, any advanced technology they possess, such as 'radium pistols', is stolen from raids upon the Red Jovian Primatives. They inhabit the ancient ruined cities left behind by civilizations which lived on Jovian during a more advanced and hospitable era in the planet's history. They apparently arose from a biological experimental which went awry and as with all other Jovian Primatives, they are an egg-laying species, concealing their eggs in incubators until hatching. Tars Tarkas, who befriends John Carter when he first arrives on Jovian, is an unusual exception from the typical ruthless Green Martian, due to having known the love of his own mate and daughter.

the Green Jovian Primatives are often referred to by the names of their hordes, which in turn take their names from the dead cities which they inhabit. Thus the followers of Tars Tarkas, based in the ruined ancient city of Thark, are known as "Tharks". Other hordes bear the names of Warhoon, Torquas and Thurd.

Yellow Jovian Primatives (Okarians)
Yellow Jovian Primatives are supposedly extinct, but in The Warlord of Mars they are found hiding in secret domed cities at the North Pole of Mars. They are bearded, exceptionally cruel and keep slaves, acquiring these by using a giant magnetic device which pulls fliers off course, and allows the Yellow Jovian Primatives to capture their crews.

Orovars
The White Jovian Primatives, known as 'Orovars' were rulers of Mars for 500,000 years, with an empire of sophisticated cities with advanced technology. They were white skinned, with blond or Auburn hair. They were once a seafaring race but when the oceans began to dry up, they began to cooperate with the Yellow and Black Jovian Primatives to breed the Red Jovian Primatives, foreseeing the need for hardy stock to cope with the emerging harsher environment. They became decadent and 'overcivilized'. At the beginning of the series they are believed to be extinct, but three remaining populations, some original Orovars, Therns and Lotharians, are still living in secret and are discovered as the books progress.

Lotharians
The Lotharians are a remnant population of the original White Jovian Primatives, which appear only in . There are only 1000 of them remaining, all of them male. They are skilled in telepathy, able to project images that can kill, or provide sustenance. They live a reclusive existence in a remote area of Jovian, debating philosophy among themselves.

Tharhellians
Descendants of the original White Jovian Primatives who live in a complex of massive cave city and passages in the cliffs above the Valley Dorthos,set with in the Northwest Territory of Jovania.

This is the destination of the River Isha, on whose currents most Jovian Primatives eventually travel, on a pilgrimage seeking final paradise, once tired of life or reaching 1000 years of age. The valley is actually populated by monsters, overlooked by the Tharhellian Jovians, who control these creatures, and ransack, and eat the flesh of those who perish, enslaving those who survive. They consider themselves a unique creation, different from other Jovian Primatives. They maintain the false Martian religion through a network of collaborators and spies across the planet. They are themselves raided by the Black Jovian Primatives. They are white skinned and blond.The Tharhellians upclass style their similar to the Ariscratic Sidairians.

Black Jovian Primatives
Legend suggests that the Black Jovian Primatives are inhabitants of Lovhan continent of Jovia]], when in fact they live in an underground stronghold near the south pole of the planet, around the subterranean Sea of Omean, below the Lost Sea of Korus, where they keep a large aerial navy. They call themselves the 'First Born', believing themselves to be a unique creation among Martian races, and worship Issus, a woman who styles herself as the God of the Martian religion, but is no such thing. They frequently raid the White Martian Therns, who maintain the false Martian religion, carrying off people as slaves

On the Wiki Community Contribute   Share Watchlist	 Random page	 Recent changes Orion (halfbreed)   Edit    Talk0 41,960PAGES ON THIS WIKI Halfbreeds were persecuted mixed-race Orions, crosses between the Green Orions, the Ruddy Orions and the Grey Orions. Interbreeding between the subraces was feasible, but difficult; most had life-spans of only a few months. Ruddy–Green crosses were the most likely, given the numbers and health of each. Ruddy–Grey and Green–Grey were theoretically possible, but none were known to exist. The mutilated genetic code of the Greys meant that survival was highly unlikely—a hybrid birth would require intensive medical care, only found inside a guldin, a Grey Orion life-support chamber. A pregnant non-Grey would never be allowed out again.

Surviving halfbreeds had wildly varying traits from their parents, though all Green crosses had their distinctive body odor (and likely their pheromones too). They also received a strange mixed coloration of both of their parents, manifesting in spots or stripes like a zebra or tiger.

The mixing of the three subraces was not tolerated by the majority of the Orion population, and halfbreeds were thoroughly despised. Known mixed-race parents and halfbreeds could be attacked by furious mobs of Greens or shot down by Ruddy police or soldiers, and generally treated like vermin and hunted animals, not as Orions.

It was estimated that there were less than fifty or so halfbreeds scattered across the galaxy in the late 23rd century. A few mixed-race couples and their children could survive on non-Orion worlds, far from their culture and others of their kind. A few could potentially survive in the Orion Colonies, sheltered by sympathetic grandparents or by prominent families wishing to hide a scandalous affair, or by relatives needing a halfbreed as a patsy in a scheme. Discovery and death was a constant danger.

Jovian slave girls were female Orions who were very popular "commodities" trafficked through the slavemarkets of the Jovian Crime Syndicate. Their presence became a major distraction to the crew of the Enterprise due – it turned out – to the powerful pheromones which they were releasing. It was revealed that Orion females were not enslaved at all, but rather the enslavers, and the sisters were active agents

However, not all female Orion slaves were lodubyaln. Most performed mundane household chores, simple industrial or manufacturing tasks, or worked as carers. The lodubyaln were a small minority, often kept in sheltered luxury and secure secrecy, rarely seen by non-Orions. Though they technically laid at the very bottom of the Orion social scale, with no possessions or freedoms, they were also among the high elite of Orion slaves, seen as trusted companions and considered one of the pillars of their civilization.

Standards of beauty in Orion culture were not as polished as in most Federation races. Orion slave women were seen by others as almost brutally sensual, even coarse. Far from a limitation, their barbaric image even amongst their own people only added to their appeal. Typically, they wore skimpy costumes and were laden with jewellery, walked around barefoot with hair loose and unkempt, while their movements, body language and scent spoke of passion and mesmerising attractiveness Orion language  Edit    Talk0 41,960PAGES ON THIS WIKI Orion language referred to a number of languages used by the Orion civilizations of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Contents [hide] 1 Variants 2 Interpreters and speakers 3 Glossary 4 Other translations and examples 5 Loan Words 6 Connections 1 VariantsEdit The major divisions of the primary Orion language were High Orion and Low Orion. High Orion was used by the upper class and in diplomacy, negotiation and on formal occasions, while Low Orion was used in passing in everyday life, spoken by lower classes but used informally by all. While similar and with the same words, pronunciations were different. High Orion often sounded musical and lyrical, with flowery terms, precise rules for grammar and careful shades of meaning. Low Orion, however, had more nasal and exhaled language sounds, broader vowels and was generally much simpler and cruder. Both were trickier than they appeared. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) In the Orion language itself, this was called Kolari. Some Orions chose to speak older and more antiquated or poetic forms such as High Kolari or Imperial Kolari, primarily to score social points or confuse non-speakers. In any language, they enjoyed ornate speech and veiled insults. (Decipher RPG module: Aliens)

The Orion language was full of double meanings, ambiguities, intentionally vague words and interpretations that depended on context. There were no single words for 'yes' or 'no', but were instead qualified as, for example, 'yes, if...' and 'no, but...'. It was said to be an excellent debating language, though with no direct answers. It was well-suited for concealing motive and meaning.

It was also a good swearing language. Low Orion had more base words and vile epithets, but High Orion had a sophisticated cursing case that could be used to deliver delicate and elaborate insults in ambiguous terms. These were sometimes in verse, and counted as works of art, but were rarely heard by non-Orions.

In general, Orions preferred not to use their language around others, as it could confuse aliens. Instead, they spoke the alien language to be polite and understand the other's way of thinking. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge)

There was a 'backcountry' dialect that is spoken by provincial commoners. (TOS novel: Crossroad)

Trader's Tongue was a variation used in business. Related to this was the written language, Trader's Script, as well as Trader's Measure. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)

Another variation was Yrevish. Ambassador Spock felt that it was important to have an interpreter fluent in Orion Yrevish in the Federation delegation to PojjanPiraKot. (TNG - Double Helix novel: Red Sector)

A common Orion language was called Orion Prime. In an alternate reality, Cadet Nyota Uhura spoke to Cadet Gaila in it. (TOS novelization: Star Trek)

Orion language tended to have a guttural, sibilant quality (this may be specific to reptilian Orions). In the Priam IV test at Starfleet Academy, Cadet Tasha Yar attempted to operate a computer on an Orion boat, but didn't recognize the Orion language. When the computer issued a vocal query, she reacted with the common Human exclamation "ssh", which matched one of the computer's Orion language voice commands. This set off an alarm, as the Orion signal for danger was apparently to hiss like a snake. (TNG novel: Survivors)

2 Interpreters and speakersEdit Due to the large number of Starfleet encounters with Orions beginning in the 22nd century, many members of Starfleet were schooled in spoken Orion. Notable personnel with instruction in this language included Nyota Uhura, James T. Kirk, Wanda Worrenstill, Marvin Wanglestien, Kristine Reardon, Stoan, Jack Thompson and C'Raal. By the 24th century, Orion language was a second year elective course at Starfleet Academy. (FASA RPG modules: Cadet's Orientation Sourcebook, The Strider Incident, Decision at Midnight, Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual) Klingons also learned Orion to help in their dealings with that civilization. Klingon Empire personnel with instruction in this language included Madra tai-Vurstic, Kagga sutai-Formorax, Kepel zantai-Venonn and K'Zinh sutai-Velai. (FASA RPG modules: Termination: 1456, Decision at Midnight, The Triangle)

Many other civilians and members of non-aligned powers were noted to have been instructed in Orion, such as Kellie Louise Baker of Baker's World; Bhind'rr of Lanroche VIII; free traders Thorapolis Creole, Wilton Tull and Linda Robbins, Dirk of Remfry, Jonny Farlo of Jonny's Retreat, Jonas Elley and Lee Willson of Mantiev; Captain Patch of the Dark Phoenix; Jean Carislon of Jemison; Q'Kuattr; Zeenne; Selene Trikaka and T'planna. (FASA RPG modules: Decision at Midnight, The Triangle)

Manager Friel of Wagner Trading Post was prone to swearing in Orion, with passable pronunciation. She did so once in the 2260s upon hearing that a merchant starship convoy had been attacked by Klingons. (TOS novel: Dreams of the Raven)

Hikaru Sulu also knew some Orion curses, and used them when experiencing difficulty piloting in 2270, testing the Wraith-class shuttlecraft. (TOS - The Lost Years novel: Traitor Winds)

3 GlossaryEdit Coming from a range of sources, these terms may not all be from the same Orion language. bhar a term or rank for a ship's lieutenant or executive officer (TAS - Star Trek Log Five novelization: The Pirates of Orion) caj great family, clan (plural caju) (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) cheltol A term that discreetly translates as a 'capable male student'. (DS9 novel: Twilight) chuulak Back country dialect term for a type of Orion public execution by slow torture to deter others. In an alternate timeline 25th century, Adajia recalled that a Consilium master was going to order mentally incompetent Thad Smith executed by chuulak for dereliction of service to the Consilium Institute. (TOS novel: Crossroad) cluros 'cold' or 'coolness'. Cluros is an Orion code of conduct. For example, to keep one's cluros is to keep one's cool. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) delbaj 'lieutenant' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) dubi 'slave'. This is a diminutive of dubyal, or 'contractor'. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) dubyal 'contractor' (plural dubyaln) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) elt a term or rank for a ship's captain or commander (TAS novelization: The Pirates of Orion) etadubran 'contractor-holders', 'the obligated'. These are slave owners and slave drivers. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) F'deraxt'la A term for the Federation, pronounced as to rhyme with "Federation" in the Trader's Tongue, referring to a person born of three parents, all of whom were related. The adjective form of the noun was f'deraxt'l. (TOS novel: Prime Directive) fesin 'hutch'. A training house for the lodubyaln. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) flars Word in Orion Trader's Tongue, apparently describing a quality of machismo. The pirate Krulmadden, convinced that there was fissionable material to be plundered on Talin IV, decided that he would take his ship there and "show our flars" to the Starfleet blockade assembled there. (TOS novel: Prime Directive) ganzu The term ganzu seems to translate to 'revenge society'. (plural is also ganzu) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) gisjacheh Possibly a profanity. For example, "this gisjacheh drug" that caused an Orion pirate ship a great deal of misfortune. (TAS novelization: The Pirates of Orion) j'hordak 'shadow', or less politely, 'hanger-on'. (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) -kar 'House of -'. This suffix signified a mansion or estate, such as Keroskar, the 'House of Keros'. (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse) Klong 'the Wall'. A term for the Klingons. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) kohl'ash An Orion word which means something akin to 'retreat'. (ENT novel: Age of the Empress) koledru venari 'thieves' honour', the code of the Orion Syndicate (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) korgasant 'tentacled-mauler' The Korgasant is a predatory animal native to Daros IV. (plural korgasanti) (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse) lisk 'associate' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) lodubyal 'life-contractor'. These are entertainment slaves, particularly slave women that work as courtesans and sex slaves. (plural lodubyaln) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) lodubyal ot executive or mistress of a group of lodubyaln (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) magren 'operator' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) morakos 'shadow-killer' The Morakos is a predatory animal native to Daros IV. (plural morakoi) (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse) morl 'crewman' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) muni 'blends' (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) Oromente Qualfn 'Qualf Liberation Force' (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) poden cities-on-stilts (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) pounla underground cities (plural plounla; may be in error) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) rhadaman 'arch-executive' (plural rhadamanen). These are business leaders and starship captains, including pirate captains. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) rhadaman anthus 'prince of executives' (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) shodar 'chief' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) slethi 'winged-torturer' The Slethi is a predatory animal native to Daros IV. (plural slethii) (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse) tabadi 'matriarch' (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) tahedri 'patriarch' (also tahedrin) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) The Orions: Book of Deep Knowledge makes tahedrin the singular and turns tahedri the plural. According to the pattern of pluralism established in it and The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge, where n is added to form the plural of various occupations (eg. dubyal/dubyaln, uta/utan), then tahedrin ought to be the plural form of tahedri. Following this, tabadin would likely be the plural of tabadi. Thakolarivaj 'Great Orion (Kolari) Empire' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) Thana Kolari Orion term that meant 'Extended Orion', where 'Orion' is called 'Kolari'. These words refer to the area of space occupied by the Orions, excluding the Rigel system. (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) tiradosir 'rapacious' (FASA RPG module: Orion Ruse) uktas bo urndo 'blasters and book-keepers'. An Orion sentiment referring to military and political control versus trade and economic forces. One must fall before the other, though it doesn't specify which. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge) uta 'master' (plural utan) (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge) vaj 'empire' (Decipher RPG module: Aliens) Vyun-pashan a type of Orion suicide (TAS novelization: The Pirates of Orion) 4 Other translations and examplesEdit The word 'stealing' in either the English language or Federation Standard was translated by the Orions into their term for 'getting paid'. (TOS novel: Doctor's Orders) 'Discount goods' was the translation of the Orion word for things that did not work. (FASA RPG module: The Klingons)

There was no one word for 'spite' in the Orion language, and the concept of doing something for nothing was difficult to explain and for Orions to understand. However, they could easily conceive of it as a type of revenge and readily practiced it. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Deep Knowledge)

"Shandaken, dgr'xt en. K'laxm f'dactla en str'ln axltr'dn. Pr'dyn dgreilt jarras'tla en axm b'rerr–" Uhura translated this message and said "He's telling them [lead by Police Commander Shandaken] to give up. He says he wants them to go back to Orion, where they can all be charged with high treason–" (TOS novel: Death Count)

5 Loan WordsEdit After developing a love for the culture of Earth up to the 20th century, the Orions picked up some slang words of the Human languages, particularly from Russian and American. The Orion language was often mistaken by the unfamiliar for Rigellian, the language of the Rigellians. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge)

6 ConnectionsEdit

DutiesEdit
More than simple sex slaves, lodubyaln were more akin to professional courtesans or the geisha of Earth's Japan. Their purpose was to serve as entertainment and distraction, but also to be a comforting ear and a servant of perfect trust and loyalty. (FASA RPG module: The Jovian Primatives Book of Common Knowledge) Their main skill was, of course, seduction, and they made for perfect agents for influencing others. (Last Unicorn RPG module: Star Trek: The Original Series Core Game Book)

They were extensively trained in a range of entertainment forms, and could serve as singers, musicians, artists, conversationalists, story-tellers, and most famously, as dancers. They were also good at socializing, gaming and gambling. Following on from their normal duties, they could also potentially be good teachers, diplomats and negotiators, and have skills in trading and appraisal. They could also pick up more criminal skills, and learn to defend themselves, in either unarmed combat or with a knife. However, they were quite limited in what else they could learn. Poor education led to the "animal woman" myth. (FASA RPG modules: Cadet's Orientation Sourcebook, The Jovian Primatives Book of Common Knowledge, The Jovian Primatives Book of Deep Knowledge)

The function of slave women in Orion society was very utilitarian but quite ambiguous. The appearance of one at an Orion banquet was a powerful distraction but a high compliment to a non-Orion guest, who’d be seen as capable of resisting their charms while still enjoying them. A host could then test their guests’ willpower and self-control. Between strong drink, exotic food and aromas, and the Orion woman’s powerful pheromones, a guest would begin suffer some degree of neuro-intoxication, becoming more suggestible, forgetful and pliable - a ripe opportunity for making a deal.

The primary purpose of the lodubyaln was to please their contractor-holders, or etadubran. They also had to keep themselves attractive and healthy, perform and entertained when required, and never to give any indication that they might have a life or any interests beyond this. They had to give unfailing love, loyalty and devotion to their contract-holders, regardless of any personal feelings, which usually went against Orion instincts for selfish gain. They were also forbidden from revealing any secrets of their masters. (FASA RPG module: The Jovian Primatives Book of Common Knowledge)

Self-DefenseEdit
To defend themselves in public, slave girls were trained in unarmed and knife combat skills, and often concealed small knives and other blades, which could be coated with a poison or drug. They also had long fingernails like claws, which were handy in a brawl. (FASA RPG module: Cadet's Orientation Sourcebook)

PaymentEdit
In exchange for her devotion and pleasure, a lodubyal was provided with all necessities of life and many additional luxuries and indulgences. Though not meant to have a single possession or any wealth, not even her jewelry, in practice she could accumulate a stash of money, jewels, precious metals and other small valuables, given by her clients, suitors and generous masters, or gained through friends and connections. This formed a nest egg with which she could retire; the earnings were usually sufficient. (FASA RPG module: The Jovian Primatives Book of Deep Knowledge)

Retirement & FreedomEdit
Lodubyaln had little choice about leaving their jobs, but after 21 years of service, at age 35, they were permitted to purchase their contract with their saved tips and side-earnings at current market rates. Though they were required to remain in service until the end of the term (or pay a 25% early withdrawal penalty), generous and satisfied contract-holders could sell or even dissolve the contract early. A few lodubyal stayed on until age 40, and rarely went past 50 (where contracts couldn’t depreciate any further).

After this, a retired lodubyal had three choices: to get married and become a mother, to become a mistress and trainer to other lodubyaln, or change careers completely. This choice was completely voluntary, and there were no restrictions.

Some spent their working life looking for a suitable potential husband to purchase their contract and make them their wife. A married lodubyal usually settled peacefully into a domestic life as a wife and mother, though her husband would remain in control in the patriarchal Orion society.

A retired lodubyal could also become a Lodubyal Ot, an executive or mistress in charge of a group of younger Orion slave girls, or become a teacher or supervisor at a fesin, training the next generation in her arts. Though the life-style was much the same, the work was largely freelance, with resignation permitted after a year, and increased earnings.

Alternatively, they could switch careers into a completely different field. There were no restrictions in this, whatever their history, and their status became that of any normal Orion female. An ex-lodubyal with sufficient drive could potentially become a businesswoman or even a starship captain. Some took what they learned from their masters and used that knowledge to make themselves wealthy.

Retired lodubyaln who changed careers were not hindered by their former slavery, and actually gained a mystique for their skills and all that they had seen and heard and could never speak of. It was not unusual for a previous master to fear her appearance in a position of influence, and a few would risk a great deal to eliminate her and her potential for danger. (FASA RPG module: The Jovian Primatives Book of Deep Knowledge)

In the 23rd century, the T'Prar Foundation worked to help freed Orion slave girls. In 2269, they organized for twenty-six slave girls to be transported to a reorientation village in the Delta Triciatu system. It was operated by Deltans, who were immune to their pheromones (TOS novel: Prime Directive (novel)).

Powers and abilities
Jovian Primatives are has powers inherited from both their parents. Like other Jovian Primatives, the father, has superhuman endurance, regenerative abilities and superhuman strength, which, like thier father, increases when they is enraged, although the isn't as strong as the Jovian Primatives are persona.They are all five foot seven inches tall, have green eyes and hairless bodies.

They Jovian Primatives are slightly superior in strength to the average human being, being able to lift (press) approximately 1000 pounds under optimal conditions. They work eighteen hours a day, and sleep the other six. They have no culture or need for recreation. They have been taught to speak and understand the basic vocabulary of a six-year-old human being. They have a life expectancy of forty-two years Jovian Primatives arealso can revert to a human form when calm or otherwise incapacitated.

However, in his case, his other form is half-human, half-Oldstrong. From his mother, Caiera, Jovian Primatives has the powers of an, emerging from his birth cocoon,Jovian Primatives able to walk and talk within moments, and he can draw power from the planet and harden his body. resistant to most forms of injury or damage. The extent varies between interpretations, but he has withstood the equivalent of core solar temperatures,[42] nuclear explosions,[43] and planet-splitting impacts.[44] They have been khown to have both regenerative and adaptive healing abilities, including growing tissues to allow him to breathe underwater,[45] surviving unprotected in space for extended periods (yet still eventually needing to breathe),[46] and when injured, healing from most wounds within seconds.[47]

Obedience Disks onto the chest of an individual to make sure they would follow his every command whether it was to serve him as a slave or to fight one another in his gladiatorial games. Resisting only angered the Red King, and using his spear, he channeled an electrical shock through the disks to cause massive pain.

Powers and abilities
Jovian Primatives all powers inherited from both his parents. Like theJovians, his father, he has superhuman endurance, regenerative abilities and superhuman strength, which, like his father, increases when he is enraged, although he isn't as strong as the adult Jovian Primatives are persona. He also can revert to a human form when calm or otherwise incapacitated. However, in his case, his other form is half-human, half-Oldstrong. From his mother, Caiera, he has the powers of an Oldstrong, emerging from his birth cocoon able to walk and talk within moments, and he can draw power from the planet and harden his body.

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