Orions in Jay - Trek
Physically: Orions are humanoids. In any gaming system they'd be built
using a straight human template. They appear human and have human body language.
Where they are different is in skin color, which ranges from lemon yellow, through gold, copper and into burnished bronze.
The darker Orions are occasionally referred to as "Ruddies", but they are all the same folks.
Bio-chemically the Orions are similar to Vulcans, they have copper based blood and they can share many of the same drugs. But Orions and Vulcans are not cross fertile and their closest common relative was tens of millions of years ago, judging by DNA drift.
(GM's note they're both humanoid and share humanoid body language due to the Humanoid biased DNA seeded across the Universe by the First Precusors.)
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Orions are omnivores, they bear live young and suckle. They have a tension between fidelity and promiscuity which drives a lot of melodrama.
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The Orions are not united by a single culture. They are found on worlds all over known space, and beyond.
Federation science believes that some time in the past the Orions had a large empire that spanned a huge area, and then collapsed due to internal rebellions and external warfare.
The Name "Orions" comes from their own name for themselves - the Star Hunters. The Orions originally encountered viewed themselves as pirates, bandits and rebels crossing space at will and taking what they wanted from the weak.
A confusion in translation linked them to the Earth Constellation Orion.
Once the confusion was explained, the Orions decided that they liked the name and adopted it publicly.
Little is known of the original Orion Empire. Some hints of it survive in terms of common cultural elements and language showing descent from a common source.
The Biggest hint is that the largest, most powerful group of Orions those centered on Botchok refer to themselves as "The Orion Colonies" Indicating the planet was settled by the Orion Empire at ome point in the past.
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Botchok - Botchok is the home of the core culture of the Orions so far. Botchok is mercantile, ruled by an oligarchy of wealthy families in a family/corporate structure. There is some mobility in Orion society but an individual must be ruthless, intelligent, energetic, and paranoid to get very far.
The ruling classes of Botchok adhere to a belief in "The Natural Order" - which is basically Social Darwinism. The most fit survive thrive and prosper. The less fit become fodder for the will of the more fit.
Historical accounts of Botchok are difficult to acquire, since history is often rewritten to agrandize the current ruling powers.
Information avaiable reports that in about 1,000 BCE, Orions were commonly used as low wage workers on Starships of other empires and cultures in Known space.
In 968 the Bema Revolt occurred and Orions from Botchok stole several starships belonging to these patron entities.
Although there were harsh reprocussions, including an embargo of Botchok and strict control of which Orions could leave the world for what reason, the Botchok Council maintained that it was the act of a criminal conspiracy and not an officially sanctioned revolt.
By 800 BCE Botchok had her own starships and the domination of Botchok by outworlders was beginning to end.
Over the next 700 years Botchok contacted other Orion worlds and began to beuild a stellar empire of her own.
This New Orion Empire was accompanied by virulent piracy, smuggling, corruption and crime.
The El-Aurian Empire often stood in opposition to the Orions, but the Plucky and Piratic Orions thrived by being in opposition to the old, stodgy and conservative El-Aurian Empire.
Early Vulcan scouting missions in the 1400s and 1500s often were forced to pay tribute to Orion raiders or disappeared, captured by Orions. Vulcans worked on reducing the losses, sending smaller ships, fewer people and working on their defensive systems.
Early warp drive travel was rendered dangerous and costly by the Orions for the Vulcans, Klingons and others. At the same time, Orion traders freely moved across the galaxy, contacting anyone they wanted to, raiding and trading.
The Orions remember these as "The Good Old Days."
In the 1700s the Orions ran into their worst nemesis - the Vegan Tyranny.
Details of this conflict are not available even though it resulted in a huge decline of the New Orion Empire. The reason why details of such a huge war are not available is that it was fought quietly.
Assassination, espionage, corruption, stealth, guile, and deception were the weapons of this war. Not many knew of this conflict and still fewer knew how it was progressing. It is known now that a series of civil wars that afflicted the New Orion Empire wre the results of the Vegan Tyranny getting the upper hand in this conflict.
The New Orion Empire tore itself apart in a maze of violence and idiocy, as deranged heirs to family houses pursued delusional and self destructive ends.
By 1980, the Orion Empire had collapsed. A handful of Orion planets retained warp dive and continued to sporadically raid more vibrant cultures.
The final blows came in the 2160s when the newly formed Federation cut it's military teeth hunting the Orion pirates, and smashing the remains of the imperial infrastructure. All of which was firmly denied by the Grand Council on Botchok with maintained firmly that they were peace loving merchants and that the Pirates were criminal renegades.
In a treaty Botchok was guaranteed a neutral zone, right of commercial passage and terrtorial rights over any Orion world that elected to join the Orion Cuncil.
This Treaty was objected to by more knowledgable members of the Federation, but optimists believed that the Orions would soon see the benefits of Federation membership.
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Almost as soon as the relationship was stablized, the Orions when back to business as usual, creating deniable ships and crews to raid and trade far and wide. These Raider/Scouts became romanticized heroes on Botchok. Corruption was the rule of the day, with smuggling, drug dealing, black mail, vice other crimes indulged in with gleeful abandon by members of "The Orion Syndicate"
The Orion Syndicate doesn't actually call itself that. The upper levels are purely Orion, but the mid Management levels are occupied by sociopaths and ruthless beings from all over the galaxy.
The "Orion Pirates" label has become both a brand name and a hinderance, but it has it's uses.
The fact is thast Botchok is effectively, and through intermediaries the fence of the galaxy. And no one lives long as a Pirate without tacit approval by the Syndicate.
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When the Original Orion Empire collapsed, planets across the Galaxy found themselves cut off. Some had the population and energy to maintain high energy civilization.
Most collapsed into primativism.
The New Orion Empire lifted up Orion worlds all over, but like all totalitarian regimes, control was always an issue. Outliers were always second class Orions.
When the Vegan Tyranny came along, more of these planets collapsed into savagery, prompted by Vegan sabotage from within. civil wars and exchanges of nuclear or anti-matter weapons were relatively common.
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GM's note I always see Orion culture as "Persian" flavored, vaguely arabic and baroque.
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When discovered a primitive Orion World's location is guarded by the Federation. The initial thought is that these particular Orions deserve the right to build their own culture on their own terms.
However this rarely lasts. The Orion Syndicate has compromised Starfleet Command with varying degress of success over time, so the location of primitive Orion worlds is quickly discovered.
Then a foot race ensues.
The Federtion wants to convince the former Orion world and it's people to throw in their lot with the Federation. The Orions want the planet back in their fold.
A few Orion worlds gleeffully join the Federation. More gleefully join the Orion Council.
Most hang back, distrustful and try to play one end against the other.
Orion ships and Raiders often treat any Orion inhabited world as a free port.
Once the syndicate moves in with vices and luxuries the loyalty of the world is often quickly turned towards Botchok.
The Federation contests gamely for influence on former Orion Worlds.
The Romulan star Empire has several Orion worlds as client states. So does the Klingon Empire.
The Bendarri empire has Orion Citizens and participants. They have a big leg up on influencing Orion worlds in their sphere since they were too far away for regular Orion contact.
There has been no word of Orions in Cardassian, Gorn or As'Tann space.
The Orion range seems to end with "Classic" Known space - The Zantree/Zarian Kliges'chee zones have not discovered any former Orion worlds, yet.
There is no word of an Orion client world in the Acceptian Empire.
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Orions when encontered tend to be nationalistic, and a touch defesive about it.
An Orion ruler who is told his world is one of many, and now a foot ball for much bigger powers is going to be very prickly and aware of the respect with which he is regarded by suitors.
Orions are aware that they are a minor power in the galaxy (still) and resent it. Their own cultural references to The Natural Order are either dropped or become subjjects of self delusion. Either way orions are angry to find themselves not at the top of the heap.
And determined to recover their position.
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This is why You'll see Small Orion Kingdoms scattered all through the ST-OM universe.
Orion Pirates
While Orion, and the alien race native to the planet, are officially part of
the Federation, the Orion pirates are a menace across the sector, though some
are an unofficial arm of the Orion government.
Many Orion Pirates are not ethnic Orions, but come from nearly every race in the known galaxy.
Pirates operate in every known part of Known Space save the Tholian Holdfast.
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Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.