The Orions were a warp-capable humanoid species from the Alpha Quadrant. This species originated from the planet Orion.
History
Orion once harbored a highly advanced civilization whose history had drawn great interest from Federation historians and archaeologists alike but 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.
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.
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.
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 was once successful in capturing an Orion ship, however it is unclear as to the extent this helped shed light on Orion duplicity.
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.
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.
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.
The Orions remained low-key during the Dominion War itself, however, planning to take advantage of whoever won.
Biology
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 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.
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.
Society & Culture
The Orions were, in general, a reclusive people who shunned contact with outsiders and stayed close to their home systems. They maintained their neutrality and avoided joining with any of the neighboring superpowers, though this could have been a cover for their illicit activities.[
Orion society was quite stratified and discriminated between its members based on color, gender, wealth, power, family and profession, and attention was paid to social class, ranks, titles and a person's "honor", with many fine distinctions. Those who had more were more respected and better off than those who did not. Having connections with those who did was also useful. The divisions were firm, but not absolute, and people could rise upwards with effort and skill. Those who rose from poverty and obscurity to riches and fame were greatly admired, but those who fell so low or consorted too much with their inferiors were scorned. Uppermost were the nobility, the leaders of industry and trade, and starship captains (characterized by Ruddy Orions). Below them were the middle-class workers, the laborers, the soldiers and the slaves (mainly Green Orions), who comprised the vast majority of the population. At the very bottom were the lower-class poor, the outright impoverished and those who lived on the streets, called "slime". Meanwhile outside and off the social scale altogether lay Grey Orion scientists and technical experts, slave girls and halfbreeds.
The system was patriarchal and male-dominated at every level. Women only had a say in the home, and even there it was minimal, depending on negotiation and compromise. Some Orion women were held in a state of semi-slavery by Orion men, and were generally undereducated and semi-literate, helping to give rise to the myth of the "Orion animal woman" and the legendary Orion slave girls However, there were exceptions; it was not impossible for a woman to inherit a family and skilled women could rise to positions of authority, and were typically very good at what they did. Orion women were just as capable as their men, and they were just as talented at wielding power behind the scenes.
A fundamental component of Orion society was the practice of Orion slavery, which supported much of their economy and culture, and was governed by customs, contracts and laws. The practice dated back to their very earliest history, when the Orion species was a slave-race. Specific forms of slavery were Orion slave girls and Grey Orions. They were also known to capture and sell alien slaves.
