The real life star Rigel, also known as Beta Orionis, is a bright
supergiant star, visible from Earth as
one of the
"legs" in the constellation Orion (the hunter). From this name -"Orionis"
it is sometimes
assumed that the Orion pirates and
any reference to Orion, e.g. the 'Orion syndicate' is referring
to the Rigellians. However "Enterprise" seems to
make a clear distinction between the two species...
Orion and Rigellian. SEE: Rigellians
Appearance:
A
green-skinned species of humanoid.
Physiology:
Orion females secret a
highly potent pheromone, the effects of which are cumulative -- the longer one
is exposed, the more pronounced the results will
be. Phlox suspects the pheromone acts as a defense
mechanism against competition.
When exposed to human males, it accelerates the
metabolism, causing aggression. Under prolonged
exposure, adrenaline levels can become dangerously high. Men can become
delusional and extremely
vulnerable to suggestion.
Human women are also affected, resulting in headaches and listlessness.
In the case of male Denobulans the pheromone will impact
their sleep cycles. A Denobulan would
have to take
stimulants to stay awake.
Vulcans and those who have entered into a mating bond with
a Vulcan appear to be immune to the
effects.
"Bound" [ENT]
Places of Interest:
Borderland - A volatile region between the Klingon Empire and the
Orion Syndicate. It attracts the
most dangerous
elements from both. "Borderland" [ENT]
Verex III - A slave processing station near the
Borderland.
"Borderland" [ENT]
Culture:
They are
traders with known dealings in the black market, and questionable intentions
towards
the Federation. Their political structure and
main economic motor of the Syndicate seemed to be based on
criminal activities such as smuggling, piracy, slave
trade and assassinations.
They even sell their own people into slavery, but only the women. Orion
women are known for their
extreme appetites, and their
innate skills.
"Borderland" [ENT]
Commodore Mendez once said they were "like animals --
vicious, seductive." He thought no human
male could
resist
them.
"The Menagerie, part 2" [TOS]
Orions were reported to have transported half the population of a village on
Brinda IV to work as slave labor in mining
camps.
"Shadowplay" [DS9]
Quark suggested Odo try a holosuite program where three Orion slave
girls administer a massage.
"The Begotten" [DS9]
Slave Processing stations - They are
heavily guarded. Only "legitimate" traders are permitted to enter.
Methods for controlling the slave population include
Shock sticks, and Neurolytic restraints -- a device
attached to the neck which induces convulsive seizures in disobedient
slaves. If a slave attempts to
leave the premises
it will kill them.
"Borderland" [ENT]
Orion Syndicate - The Alpha Quadrant's leading
organized crime ring.
Members were known to take their own lives before
being compelled to testify against the Syndicate.
Quark
had some dealings with them, and had been trying to get into it for years, but
they didn't allow
him to join because he couldn't afford
the substantial membership fee. He was due to testify against them
to the Federation Grand Jury. The Syndicate planted a
bomb on the runabout in which Odo was taking
Quark
there.
"The Ascent" [DS9]
Draim was an Orion Syndicate member who specialized in
blackmail and extortion from his base of
operations on
Finnea Prime. The I'danians gathered evidence to bring this notorious criminal
to
justice in 2372; Arissa had been working for the
Orion Syndicate, under her employer, Draim.
"A Simple Investigation" [DS9]
Members of the Orion Syndicate are expected to pay a portion of their income,
called a fare, to their
superiors in the organization.
If you "sponsor" a person and allow them to join the Syndicate, you become
responsible for everything
that person does. If
anything happens, you are made accountable.
The Syndicate was extremely
harsh toward anyone who betrayed it, and would go to almost any length
to kill such a person. If that was not possible,
the Syndicate was known to kill that person's family.
"Honor Among Thieves" [DS9]
DS9: "Little Green Men"
Orion Bomb
- DS9: "The Ascent"
DS9: "A
Simple Investigation"
DS9: "Call to Arms"
"Business as Usual" [DS9]
History:
2154,
May 17: It appears that the Orions have expanded their range of
operations in the last ten to
twenty years since they
never used to be in the area of the Borderland the Enterprise was in...
They kidnap 9 of the Enterprise crew and take them to a
processing station on Verex III. Soong,
since he
still had codes giving him access to the processing station was able to help
them rescue
their people. However the Enterprise
was pursued by Orion interceptors intent on getting their
"property" back. A Klingon bird of prey run by Soong's Augments saved
Enterprise and ran the
interceptors
off.
"Borderland" [ENT]
2254: The Talosians create an illusion for Capt. Pike in which
Vina appears as an Orion slavegirl.
"The Cage" [TOS], "The Menagerie" [TOS]
2267: Orion operatives attempted to sabotage the Babel
Conference. An Orion vessel fired on the
Enterprise
NCC-1701, which was transporting delegates to the conference. At the time, Orion
smugglers had been raiding the Coridan system and
stealing dilithium crystals to sell on the black
market.
Their attack was intended to prevent Coridan's admission to the Federation.
"Journey to Babel" [TOS]
"The Pirates of Orion" [TAS]
stardate unknown: Arissa began to work for Draim without knowing
the full extent of her employer's
business. Soon after
she discovered the consequences of her assignments she decided to leave the
Orion Syndicate. Something easier said than done. Arrisa
went to DS9 for a meeting with Tauvid
for help in
escaping from working for the Orion Syndicate. But her boss, Draim, killed
Tauvid so
as to stop her from obtaining a datacrystal and
the information contained on it. Odo tells her that
she should testify against her boss and regain her old life. The following
morning, Arissa contacted
Draim and proposed an exchange,
the crystal for her own life. Draim agreed to it, however he had
two of his operatives, Traidy and Sorm, plan to kill her
once he had retrieved the datacrystal.
Soon after, Odo
received a visit from an Idanian official who informed him that Arissa is not
who she
thinks she is. He tells Odo that she is an
Idanian agent who was given a new identity in order to
infiltrate Draim’s organisation. Arissa has no knowledge of this as her memory
has been removed and
stored on the data crystal.
But Arissa is already meeting to make the exchange. As she prepares to
give Traidy the data crystal, he and Sorm ambush her. Odo
and the Idanian official arrive just in time
and rescue
her from the two hit men. With the truth about Arissa and the data crystal now
known,
Arissa underwent the procedure to restore her
memories and her appearance.
"A Simple Investigation" [DS9]
2374: Since 5 undercover operatives sent by Starfleet to
infiltrate the Orion Syndicate have been killed
within
the last year, Starfleet Intelligence believes that the Orion Syndicate has an
spy within the
Federation. Starfleet recruited
DS9’s Chief of Operations Miles O’Brien and sent him to the industrial
world of Farius Prime to infiltrate the Syndicate.
He was to make contact with members of the Syndicate,
and
earn their trust in an attempt to expose the Starfleet informant. Posing
as a handyman, O'Brien
made contact with a trio from the
Syndicate by repairing a piece of their equipment. After researching
O'Brien's fake background, Bilby, the
leader of the trio, decides to bring him into his circle of associates.
O'Brien discovered that the Syndicate met their Starfleet
informant last year on Risa - the spy was in
charge of
Risa's weather system. O’Brien also learned that the Orion Syndicate had
formed a connection
with the Dominion. He
uncovered a plan by the Dominion to get the Syndicate to assassinate the
Klingon Ambassador to Farius Prime. The Ambassador
wanted the Empire to break away from the
alliance with
the Federation. But Chancellor Gowron, on the other hand, was adamantly
committed to
the Alliance. The plan was to make it
look as if the assassination had been ordered by a rival Klingon
house. With a martyred Ambassador, the isolationist
faction within the Empire (who will think that
Gowron
ordered the assassination) will gain support - this would lead to the Klingons
retreaating into
their own territory, leaving the
Federation to stand alone in their war against the Dominion. Everyone
within the Syndicate was sworn to secrecy regarding the
Dominion’s involvement in this operation.
O’Brien told
his Starfleet Intelligence contact about the spy, and what the Dominion were up
to.
Later, the Chief told Bilby that he’s working for
Starfleet. Bilby realises that the Klingons will be
waiting for him and the other Syndicate members who will be attempting to kill
the Ambassador, and
since he took O’Brien into his trust,
the Syndicate will blame him for what will be a doomed mission.
So he decided to go ahead with the mission anyway - that
way, the Syndicate wouldn’t kill his family
after the
mission fails. O’Brien returned to DS9 with Chester, Bilby’s Cat.
"Honor Among Thieves" [DS9]
stardate unknown: The Tigan family mining business on New Sidney
was in trouble. Unbeknownst
to their mother, Janel
and Norvo Tigan call upon the Syndicate for low-interest loans. The
Syndicate
wanted the favor returned -- giving the
recently widowed Mrs. Bilby a job in the mines. Unfortunately,
it didn't end there. The Syndicate wanted other
"favors". And when mysterious sabotage followed,
it
became clear that to go against the Syndicate would not be the a healthy course
of action for the
Tigans. The Tigan brothers, suddenly
found themselves "in," and wanting "out." They couldn't reason
with Marika Bilby who was demanding more and more money
from the family, and finally Norvo
concluded that if
Marika were dead, the family's problems with the Syndicate would go away.
O'Brien
who had been keeping in contact with Marika went
to look for her killer. Norvo was arrested and
sentenced to thirty years incarceration.
"Prodigal Daughter" [DS9]
Individuals of
Note:
Bilby, Liam - A member of
the Syndicate who believes that “family is everything.”
"Honor Among Thieves" [DS9]
Devna (Nichelle Nichols) - An Orion female on the Elysian
Ruling Council who acted as its
Interpreter of Laws. She
also performed a dance of Orion women at a reception on the Enterprise.
"The Time Trap" [TAS]
D'Nesh (Crystal Allen) - "Bound" [ENT]
Harrad Sar () - Placed 3 Orion slave women on the NX-01 under the
pretext of smoothing relations
between Starfleet and the
Orion Syndicate.
"Bound" [ENT]
Maras (Menina Fortunato) - "Bound" [ENT]
Navaar (Cyia Batten) - "Bound" [ENT]
Raimus - A powerful member of the Orion Syndicate whose base of
operations was Farius Prime.
"Honor Among Thieves" [DS9]
Thadeo Bokar - A commodities broker working in the Tigan mine on New
Sydney. He recognized
O'Brien's name as someone the
Syndicate was looking for.
"Prodigal Daughter" [DS9]
Unnamed Trader (Joseph Mell) - An Orion affiliated trader, and a
Starfleet acquaintance of his (Robert
Phillips) are seen
in an illusion created by the Talosians for Captain Pike.
"The Cage" [TOS], "The Menagerie" [TOS]
Vina - Appeared as an Orion woman in a Talosian illusion.
"The Cage" [TOS], "The Menagerie" [TOS]
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