Orion Colonies
| |
| Free Orion Colonies | |
| INFORMATION | |
| Quadrant: |
Beta |
| Year Founded: |
200,272 BCE |
| Status: |
Extant |
| First Contact: |
2152 |
| Major Languages: |
Orion Free Trade Tongue, Botchoki, Kolari, Ur'eon, Vondemese |
| Major Species: | |
| Currency: |
Gold Pressed Latinum |
| SOCIO-POLITICAL DATA | |
| Capitol: |
None |
| Government Name: |
None; each colony is independent |
| Government Type: |
Plutocratic Merchant House Councils (Qaj), most with heavy corruption |
| Head of State: |
None; each colony is independent |
| Fleets in Service: |
Individual Qaj or Tahedrin forces |
| END OF BRIEFING | |
| Template:Organization | |
At a Glance
The Orion Borderlands
The Orion Colonies is a misleading term: there is no "united" Orion spacefaring empire or body politic. In the past, the Orions established broad trading consortiums and corporate empires (largely built on the backs of slaves) but those interstellar entities have not existed for at least five hundred years. Today, most Orion colonies are an independent body, an island unto themselves: the only act that the Orion people have jointly agreed to in the political arena is to declare themselves independent and neutral from the affairs of other galactic powers. Many (but not all) of the Orion Colonies agree, in principle, to allow less restricted trade and similar by-laws, as dictated by the Orion Free Traders Consortium.
The Orion planets correspond to a few dozen light-years of planets near the Federation-Klingon border. Other sentient beings have homeworlds in this area of space, but the region is noted for its longstanding Orion settlements as well as a number of "ghost worlds" with extensive Orion ruins. Three of the Orion Colonies fall under Klingon occupation. One has affiliated with the Federation. The rest of the Colonies are independent of any other group- including other Orion systems.
Extant Orion Colonies
Orion I
Orion I (Ur'eon)
Orion Moons
Orion III
The first colonial enterprise undertaken by poorer Orion Qaji and free traders was Orion III, now known as Vondem (literally: "alien place"). Vondem was an "interface world" meant to allow alien merchants and supplicants to visit the Orion system without coming to the Orion homeworld itself. The reason was one of ethnocentricity- some of the oldest, most conservative and most secure Caju had no interest in allowing foreign, alien influences on the homeworld. Today Vondem is the most alien-friendly and open of the Orion Colonies- and often looked down on in perpetuity by the rest of the Orion Colonies.
Vondem Moons
Botchok
Botchok
Gothei
Chi Orionis VI
Kolar
Kolar
Thaspa
Thaspa, one of the two moons of Kolar is a world of pleasure with a very light population. Thaspa is somewhat equivalent to an Orion version of Risa though it seldom welcomes outsiders with the same free abandon. If Risa were corporate-owned and had a strict guest list then, perhaps, the comparison would be valid. Thaspa is the headquarters of the Kolari Courtesan Houses and almost certainly has Orion Syndicate influences. The Qaj of Thaspa are independent of Kolar, but on welcoming terms. On Thaspa, a person who has enough latinum can pay for any pleasure or thrill no matter how illegal, decadent, or depraved.
Rastacine
Uryeis
Valaqis
Velod
Velod is known as the "Heretic Moon" and is the only Orion body in militant opposition to another Orion power. Velod was once a colony of Kolar but it's Qaj rebelled and established themselves as a separate empire of the Thakolarivaj six thousand years ago. Since that time, Velod has technically been at war with Kolar. Velod is a heavily industrialized and militarized Orion culture that does not welcome any outsiders. The Velodi consider themselves to be the "Last True Orions." They are not part of the Orion Free Traders Consortium but had agreed to the Orion Neutrality Pact before its nullification. Velod may be the only power believed to be mostly free of the influences of the Orion Syndicate because they are so isolationist.
Verex III
Verex III is a central marketplace and, if the Orion Free Traders Consortium had any kind of headquarters, Verex III would be it. In the ancient Orion world, Verex III was neutral ground for the Orion Qaj to negotiate political and trade deals. Verex III is and was independent of all other Orion colonies but it has only a small permanent population. In the past, Verex III was one of the central hubs for the Orion slave trade and was a safe port for Orion pirates. Today the latter is not sanctioned officially, but many of the dockmasters and government officials look the other way with a little latinum. Many of the cargo inspectors are on the dole of the Orion Syndicate as well.
Former Orion Holdings
Ajilon Prime
Coridan
Hoan
Hoan, the farther of the two moons of Kolar, has been abandoned by the Orions for 320 years. The moon, smaller and only able to be populated by pressure domes, had precious minerals and dilithium. It was populated mostly by slaves and Orion masters. 500 years ago, Hoan's supply was largely exhausted, except for veins that ran too deep to profitably excavate. Hoan hung on as a colony for another 180 years as the Kolari masters gradually withdrew, leaving the slave population to their own devices. It served briefly as a dumping ground for convicted criminals.
The slaves, having little to offer as a sustainable colony or nation, quickly resorted to piracy, smuggling, and harboring those criminal elements. It eventually became an intolerable nuisance for the Orion Free Traders Consortium which decided to interdict the moon. Now, watcher stations detain any craft entering or leaving Hoan space.
Nausicaa
Orion II
Rigel IV
Rigel VII
Rigel X
Legendary or Mythical Holdings
Alnilam
The Rigel Conundrum
One of the earliest confusions to befall Federation cartographers when they encountered both the Rigelians and the Orion species was the origin of "Rigel." When asked where the Orions came from, the cartographers heard "Rigel," a star system in the Beta Quadrant near, at the time, the Romulan frontier. The issue was made all the more difficult because Rigel is a multiple star system with four sentient, native species- the warp-capable Rigelian Jelna, the Rigelian Zami, the [Rigelian 3| Rigelian Chelon]], and the primitive, pre-warp civilization known as Rigelian Kalar.
The issue was compounded further because both Rigel VII and Rigel X had Orion traders among settlements there. Rigel VII, though the homeworld of the Kalar, has an Orion trade post on it. At one point, several thousand years ago, the Orions used the Kalar as brute slave labor and as gladiators in their Tatharoc arenas.
If that was not enough, the Orion world of Beta-Rigel VI is named Kolar by the Orions and their Caju are known to be some of the traders common to Rigel VII. It is possible that the Kolari Orions named these brutish humanoids on Rigel VII Kalar as a diminutive.
Raij-al vs. Rigel
The issue was eventually clarified: apart from a trade presence in the Rigel system, which is where the Orion Syndicate used to launch its raids of the Coridan system, the Orions are not from there. They had a slave port on Rigel VII during one of the last of the Orion Empires that has endured as an independent depot.
The mistake was a linguistic one: "Rigel," an Earth word, has a similar pronunciation to the Orionese word, "Raij" which means, "star." When an Orion says, "Raij-al" that loosely translates to "planet" (or, "star-rock"). When the cartographers asked the Orions where they came from, the Orions answered they came from a planet.
Political Structure
Democracy is a quaint idea to most Orions, especially the Kolari. The Orion Empires never embraced notions of the idea, preferring a clan-based system similar to the Roman paterfamilias. Orion society is highly stratified into what Humans would recognize as Feudalism.
Vaj
Orion Free Traders Consortium
Main Article: Orion Tree Traders Consortium
Orion Neutrality Pact
Main Article: Orion Neutrality Pact
The Qaj/Caj
Qaj-Based Feudalism
Clan-Based Feudalism
Absolute Loyalty
Tahedrin
Kaheedi
The Kaheedi best translates as "Matriarch," because she does not need to be related to all of the Caju. The Kaheedi is the Tahedrin's chief concubine or wife, or in some instances the Dowager Mother of the Tahedrin. In truth, the Kaheedi is the power behind the throne and almost always the one pulling the strings of the Tahedrin. Tahedri are as easily swayed by the power of Orion women as anyone else, though in general, his advanced age has made him less susceptible. Nonetheless, the Kaheedi exerts massive influence upon the Caju as is every bit the equal of the Tahedrin. Orions know when they pledge to the Caju, they are pledging to the Kaheedi just as much as the Tahedrin.
Though equals, the Kaheedi's job within the Caju is to run the Caju's home ground while the Tahedrin focuses on business and broad political matters. In truth, the Kaheedi influences where she wishes and deploys herself at will to advance any case that she shares an interest in with the Tahedrin. Many Kaheedi have their own "side-hustles," particularly those who are ambitious and want power beyond simply that owed her by the Caju. Though rare, a surprising number of Kaheedi work as the eyes, ears, and contacts of the Orion Syndicate.
The Kaheedi's traditional powers also arrange marriages for her male and female clans people, with or without the younger's consent. Marriage is purely a political arrangement- both sexes are expected to take concubines and lovers outside of their "official marital duties." It is the Kaheedi who gets to select which concubines get to stay or go within her clan holdings.