1. Orion, Part 1

History

Orion once harbored a highly advanced civilization whose history had drawn great interest from Federation historians and archaeologists alike. The Orions had been trading with Coridan for several centuries before 2155. They were trading with the Earth Cargo Service as early as 2152. The Vulcans seem to have been aware of the Orions, at the latest, by 2154. According to Arik Soong, the Orions had expanded their area of operations between 2144 and 2154.

In 2154, Enterprise NX-01 was raided by an Orion Interceptor, and nine of its crew members were taken as slaves. This soured relations between the Orion Syndicate and United Earth. (ENT: "Borderland", "Bound") In 2155, Tellarites suspected Orions of raiding their vessels, and demanded that the Coalition of Planets establish a trade embargo against them. The Coridanites, however, called this accusation "Tellarite slander."

During the mid-23rd century, noted Federation archaeologist Doctor Roger Korby translated medical records from Orion ruins that helped revolutionize modern immunization techniques and became required reading at Starfleet Academy. In 2269, through the assistance of the Guardian of Forever, Starfleet officers Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock and historian Lieutenant Erickson traveled to the dawn of Orion's civilization to view the planet's history unfolding, firsthand.

As of the 2370s, the Orions were involved in interstellar trade, Orion Free Traders visited Deep Space 9, and the Orion Institute of Cosmology on Orion I was considered a prestigious cosmology academy. (DS9: "Little Green Men", "Call to Arms"; VOY: "Good Shepherd")

According to Starfleet officer D'Vana Tendi in 2380, some Orions hadn't been involved with piracy for at least five years, though this may have been a veiled reference to her personal history. (LD: "Crisis Point"). There were still some pirating operations active as of 2381.

Following the Burn in circa 3069, the Orions and Andorians formed the Emerald Chain crime syndicate. As of 3189, the Chain, led by Osyraa, was in conflict with the Federation. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1", "Die Trying")

Physiology

Orions were known for their distinctive green skin, which could feature yellowish to bluish undertones. They usually had green or black hair, (TOS: "The Cage", "Whom Gods Destroy"; ST: "The Escape Artist"; LD: "Something Borrowed, Something Green")

Some had red, brown or white hair. (Star Trek; Star Trek Into Darkness; LD: "Second Contact", "We'll Always Have Tom Paris"; DIS: "All Is Possible") Some Orion men were bald. (ENT: "Bound"; DIS: "Will You Take My Hand?")

Orion hearts had six valves, with blood flowing in both directions simultaneously. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 2"). Orions had dark green blood. (LD: "Mugato, Gumato")

Some female Orions were capable of emitting highly potent pheromones that could impact the physiology of other species. In heterosexual males of many species, including Humans, the pheromones accelerated metabolisms, raising adrenaline production to dangerous levels. This could cause aggression and, after cumulative exposure, levels of delusion and suggestibility. (ENT: "Bound")

These effects were not universal. Human heterosexual females reacted negatively to those same pheromones, experiencing headaches, while Denobulan males found their sleep cycles interrupted by them. Vulcans were immune to effects of the pheromones; this immunity could be shared by those who experienced a telepathic mating bond with a Vulcan. In 2154, Dr. Phlox of Enterprise NX-01 hypothesized that the pheromone acted as a defense mechanism against competition. (ENT: "Bound")

Not all Orion women emitted or utilized such pheromones, nor were all Orion women even capable of doing so. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris", "Hear All, Trust Nothing") In the 2150s of the mirror universe, Orion women served in the Imperial Starfleet alongside men from many subject species of the Terran Empire without incident. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")

In 2258 of the alternate reality, Orion women commonly served in Starfleet alongside men of many species without exerting any undue influence over them. In 2380, an Orion woman named D'Vana Tendi served aboard the USS Cerritos alongside men from species including Humans, Bajorans, Andorians, and Bolians without pheromones having any noticeable effect. (LD: "Second Contact")

In 2381, Tendi stated that she was unable to emit pheromones at all. When a Nausicaan suggested Tendi might use pheromones to gain advantage in a game of dom-jot, she replied, "I'm not even that kind of Orion!" (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris") In 2381 she reaffirmed this when Mesk joked that she was emitting "aggressive female pheromones," and she replied, "We don't all have those!" (LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing"). She developed a chemical capable of temporarily neutralizing the pheromones of other Orions no later than 2381. (LD: "Something Borrowed, Something Green")

Orions were immune to the hallucinogenic effects of nitrous oxide. (LD: "Room for Growth")

Society

In 2154, an Orion Syndicate member named Harrad-Sar, under the thrall of the organized crime leaders Navaar, D'Nesh, and Maras, claimed that in Orion society, men were slaves to women. Female members of the Orion Syndicate sometimes posed as enslaved persons in order to use their pheromones to manipulate or even control hapless would-be male slavers from other species. As a means of perpetuating this deception, female leaders of the Syndicate would sometimes allow themselves to be "sold" on Orion slave markets. (ENT: "Borderland", "Bound"; TOS: "The Cage")

From the 2150s to the 2250s, it was a common for slave traders, smugglers, criminals, and traffickers of women to stereotype Orion women as being "animalistic" in nature, characterizing them as having "extreme" carnal appetites and "certain innate skills." It was claimed that Human men could rarely resist the alluring dance of an Orion slave girl. (ENT: "Borderland"; TOS: "The Menagerie, Part II")

In 2380, D'Vana Tendi got angry with Ensign Beckett Mariner after Mariner stereotyped her in a holodeck program as being a ruthless slave pirate. It is shown that it is common for Orion females to be physically abusive to assert dominance over males, even if that male is a blood relative. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris")

Politics and Commerce

Prior to 2270, the Orions had carefully maintained an air of neutrality, especially while operating in and around Federation space. This, however, had proven to be more of a guise than a reality, and was often used as an effort to cover their usually shady operations. Nevertheless, Orion's official position of neutrality was valued before ship and crew, as all unsuccessful Orion missions ended in suicide. Orions would keep that rationale in good conscience, as they would otherwise fall subject to Federation retaliation, if they were to lose their neutrality. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; TAS: "The Pirates of Orion")

Trade Entities and Trade Contracts

The Orions regarded an offer of trade as a sign of respect. Despite the rich cultural history of Orion and outside of their "official" stance of neutrality, a dark side of Orion culture existed in the active trafficking of forced labor through the Orion slave markets, especially enslaved women. Verex III and the Orion colony were well-known trade centers during the 22nd and 23rd centuries. (ENT: "Borderland"; TOS: "The Cage")

The primary entity operating within these confines was known as the Orion Syndicate, comprised of a conglomeration of traders, pirates and smugglers. These individuals were well-known for their many illegal operations outside of the slave trade, including extortion, theft, raids, kidnappings and assassinations. These activities were facilitated in the region of space which separated the Orion Syndicate from the Klingon Empire, known as the Borderland. During the 22nd century, this volatile region of space attracted the most dangerous elements from both sides. (ENT: "Borderland")

In 2154, the United Earth starship Enterprise inadvertently made contact with Orion pirates when they encountered a number of Orion Interceptors, which kidnapped nine of Enterprise's crew. The crew was recovered from the Orion processing station on Verex III, where they had been taken. By 2257, the Orion government held land on Qo'noS, used as an embassy outpost. (DIS: "Will You Take My Hand?")

A secondary entity operating within the Orion realm was known as the Orion Free Traders. The Orion Free Traders had a partially established relationship with the Vulcans during the late 24th century. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

The first known Orion contact with Humans was made with Arik Soong during the 2130s. Soong established a relationship with the Orion Syndicate in order to acquire certain goods and equipment that he and his Augments needed to survive. (ENT: "Borderland")

The Orions actively conducted trade with the Earth Cargo Service during the 2150s. In late December 2152, an Orion freighter was scheduled to rendezvous with the ECS Horizon; however the Horizon failed to make the transfer. By the mid-century, certain Orion entrepreneurs, including Harrad-Sar, had made contact with the Gorn Hegemony. (ENT: "Bound")

By 2155, the Orions had established trade with the Coridanites "for centuries." That year, during the formation of the Coalition of Planets, the Tellarites pushed for an embargo against the Orions, claiming that several of their freighters had been attacked by the Orions. Considering their long history of trade with the Orions, the Coridanite ambassador stated that they would have known of these apparent attacks, refusing to believe what they considered to be "Tellarite slander," which they believed was simply a Tellarite attempt to deprive them of valuable commerce. (ENT: "Demons")

Little did the Coridanites know that a century later, Orion smugglers would be actively raiding dilithium from the Coridan system. The Babel Conference of stardate 3850.3, a prelude to Coridan's admission into the Federation, jeopardized future Orion raids, as Coridan would then become subject to Federation law.

In 2268, the Orions circumvented their neutrality by attacking the USS Enterprise, which was responsible for transporting delegates to the Babel Conference. Among the delegates was an Orion spy, Thelev, disguised as an Andorian, who in association with an attacking Orion scout ship made a futile attempt to prevent the conference by destroying the USS Enterprise. Had their attack on Starfleet succeeded, they would have instigated mutual suspicion and possibly interplanetary war. Had war broken out, they would have cleaned up supplying dilithium to both sides while continuing to raid Coridan. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")