Orion (Star Trek)

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Orions
Yvonne Craig as Marta, a green Orion slave girl
Homeworld	Orion
Affiliation	None

Orions are a green-skinned, alien species in the Star Trek universe. An Orion was first portrayed as an illusion in the original Star Trek pilot, but wasn't seen in the broadcast series until this original pilot was incorporated into a two-part episode (episodes 11 and 12) in the first season. Orions have also been portrayed in Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Contents 1 Episodes 2 Orions 2.1 Females 2.2 Culture 3 The Orion Syndicate 3.1 Episodes 3.2 Begin 2 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Episodes

Orions are portrayed or referenced in the following episodes and films, given in the order produced:

• Star Trek (the 1966 series)
  • "The Cage"
  • "The Menagerie"
  • "Journey to Babel"
  • "Whom Gods Destroy"
• Star Trek: The Animated Series
  • "The Pirates of Orion"
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • "Shadowplay"
  • "Little Green Men"
  • "The Ascent"
  • "A Simple Investigation"
  • "Call To Arms"
  • "Honor Among Thieves"
  • "Prodigal Daughter"
• Star Trek: Enterprise
  • "Borderland"
  • "Bound"
  • "Zero Hour"
  • "In a Mirror, Darkly"
• Star Trek (the eleventh film)^[1]

[edit] Orions

Orions have green skin, and the males of the species can be larger and stronger than humans. In the Star Trek universe, first contact with humans occurred in 2154 when the Enterprise (NX-01) encountered the Orion Syndicate following the kidnapping of T'Pol and eight other crewmembers to be sold as slaves.^[2] However, the first portrayal of an Orion was in the originally unbroadcast Star Trek pilot "The Cage". This pilot was incorporated into a two-part episode "The Menagerie".

The first appearance of a genuine Orion may be that of Thelev (William O'Connell), a spy/assassin surgically altered to appear as an Andorian for the original-series episode Journey to Babel. Mr. Spock speculated on Thelev's origins, though the issue was unproven at the end of the episode.

Televised decades later, but chronologically earlier, Orions appear in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Borderland as slave traders. Both Orion slave traders and Orion slave girls appear later in that same season, in the Enterprise episode Bound.

In the Mirror Universe depicted in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode, In a Mirror, Darkly, a female Orion is seen as a crewmember aboard the ISS Avenger, a Terran Empire starship. She is subsequently killed when the Avenger's alien crewmembers attempt to mutiny against the Terran Empire and the ship is destroyed.

Orions (who look distinctly different, though still green) also appear in the animated Star Trek episode The Pirates of Orion, which is considered a non-canonical reference.

[edit] Females

Vina (Susan Oliver) takes the form of an Orion slave girl in the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage", and the footage is used again in "The Menagerie". Marta (Yvonne Craig) was a green-skinned seductive woman in Whom Gods Destroy but her species was not identified. Orion slave girls appear again in the franchise in the Enterprise episode "Borderland", and the episode "Bound" revolves around a trio of Orion slave girls.^[3] Orion slave girls are mentioned in dialog in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, including "For the Uniform" and "Waltz".

Orion females are in particularly high demand as consorts and entertainment. Dialog in "The Menagerie" describes the Orion slave girls as "vicious, seductive" and that "they say no human male can resist them." The plot of "Bound" reveals that their seductive prowess stems in large part from the pheromones they release. These pheromones also have an incapacitating effect on males of most other species (Vulcans at least are immune). Orion women are known for their wiles and sexual appetites. An illusory Orion slave girl was one of the very first aliens to be seen in Star Trek when one appeared in the first Trek pilot episode, "The Cage".

[edit] Culture

Not much has been revealed of Orion culture. Orion pirates often harassed and attacked early Earth cargo ships (ENT Horizon). Stock for the Orion slave trade is obtained mostly through kidnapping of other species. If slaves don't command a high enough price at auction, they can be sold as food.

[edit] The Orion Syndicate

The Orion Syndicate is the name of an organized crime group in the Star Trek universe; it is operated by the humanoid species the Orions. An organization steeped in mystery, it was an important political power in the twenty-second and twenty-third centuries; by the twenty-fourth century it had obtained a similar reputation to Earth's Mafia and the organization no longer consisted solely of Orions but of species from many other worlds. The long list of criminal activities credited to the Orion Syndicate include the kidnapping and selling of Starfleet crew members, assassinations, protection rackets, smuggling, and piracy.

This organization was first encountered by the Enterprise in the year 2154. In the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Borderland", it was mentioned that the Orion Syndicate operates in the "Borderland"—a volatile region of space bordering the Klingon Empire.

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Honor Among Thieves", Miles O'Brien of the United Federation of Planets space station Deep Space Nine was assigned by Starfleet Intelligence to infiltrate an Orion Syndicate cell in order to discover the identity of a mole in Starfleet who had been leaking information to the Syndicate.

[edit] Episodes

• Star Trek: Deep Space 9
  • "Shadowplay"
  • "Little Green Men"
  • "The Ascent"
  • "A Simple Investigation"
  • "Call To Arms"
  • "Honor Among Thieves"
  • "Prodigal Daughter"
• Star Trek: Enterprise
  • "Borderland"
  • "Bound"

The Orion Syndicate also plays a significant role in the Star Trek: The Lost Era novel Well of Souls, in which the Enterprise-C gets caught in a "turf war" between the Syndicate and a crime organization based on a human colony outside the Federation.

[edit] Begin 2

In the 1988 computer game Begin 2, which simulates tactical starship combat within the Star Trek universe, the Orion Pirates (the word "syndicate" is never used) are one of the playable fleets. They are characterised by the use of small, fast combat ships supported by extremely large (but unwieldy) vessels designed for grappling and boarding. Their weapons are of less power and range than those of other fleets, but their phasers have a higher rate of fire. They are also characterised by a high degree of insubordination when the player attempts to issue orders.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Orion article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Orion slave girl article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Jango Monkey– This is an original Atlanta rock band that has a song called Green Girl (with other Star Trek references).