ORION PIRATES

''This is an article about the Orions as they exist in the Star Fleet Universe and not in various canon Star Trek sources. If you are seeking information about mainstream Star Trek, see the above link.''

In the fictional Star Fleet Universe, the ''Orion Pirates'' represent the overall structure of organized crime (largely involved in piracy and smuggling) throughout the Alpha Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy. There are a number of rival Cartels, independent operators with diverse spheres of influence, that use the same types of ships, and are considered 'Orion Pirates'. However, while the origins of the Orion Pirates stemmed from the adoption of piracy by ships from the Orion National Guard, the majority of crewmwmbers on 'Orion' ships are not racially Orion, but draw their ranks from almost every star-faring species in the Octant.

Contents

The Orion Enclave

The Orion Cartels

The ''Throne of Ozymondas''

References

The Orion Enclave

Orion itself is a member of the Federation, albeit one which gained unprecented leeway in terms of its obligations to the UFP. This was in no small part due to the military and economic situation the Federation was in at the time of membership, as it was deeply embroiled in the first Federation-Romulan War and needed Orion's forces to tip the balance in their favour.
Examples of these concessions include the exclusive rights of the Orion National Guard fleet in the patrol and defence of the Cluster (The Federation Police are forbidden from operatign within Enclave space) and the right of Orion to secede and declare neutrality in the event of foreign invasion. This clause was invoked in the General War, when the Klingons managed to reach the frontiers of the Enclave during their massive invasion of the UFP in Y171. The Orions retained neutrality until the success of Operation Wedge, when Star Fleet forced the Coalition powers from the Orion Enclave's borders.

The Orion Cartels

It is generally believed that the Orion Pirates got started in Y113, when a sizeable portion of Orion's National Guard fleet mutinied and took up piracy as a vocation. It has been rumoured that this event was with the secret support of the Orion government, which officially denied any such links. If there were any such connections with some Cartels, it is unlikely that Orion would have links with the many Cartels in operation by the time of the General War.
As of Y175, eleven major Cartels were known to be in operation:

★ The 'Capital Cartel', operating in Federation space, including the ares aurrounding Orion itself,

★ The 'Cirentus-Ta Cartel', active in the ISC and the Romulan Empire,

★ The 'Cluster Cartel', operating out of a base in the WYN Cluster, striking at Klingon, Lyran and Kzinti targets,

★ The 'Daven Cartel', in Hydran, Lyran, LDR, Klingon, Kzinti and Federation territory,

★ The 'Hamilcar Cartel', in Hydran, Klingon and Federation space,

★ The 'Kublai Cartel', in ISC, Gorn and Romulan space,

★ The 'Lion Cartel', in Federation and Kzinti space,

★ The 'Penzance Cartel', in Federation and Romulan territory,

★ The 'Pharaoh Cartel', in Klingon, Federation and Romulan space,

★ The 'Star Cartel', Federation, Gorn and Romulan space,
and

★ The 'Omega Cartel', in ISC and Gorn space.
Note that the Tholian Holdfast is conspicuous in its successes against Orion activity, and no Cartel lays claim over space within Tholian borders. (That doesn't stop them from trying, though.)
The Orion Pirates operate a number of scattered, hidden bases to support their operations. One major base and shipyard is known to be in the WYN Cluster, which is paid for by supplying ships to the Cluster government itself. This shipyard was eventually used to construct a new series of WYN warships, known in the Federation as the 'fish ships' (due to the codenames given them by Star Fleet).

The ''Throne of Ozymondas''

When Aurora III vanished from the Alpha Octant in Y130, an Orion vessel was caught up in the enveloping cosmic storm and transported to the Omega Octant along with everything else in the system. Offering its services to the nascent 'Republic of Aurora' (later Federal Republic), the ''Throne'' became perhaps the most famous vessel in the Republic, more than compensating for any past crimes against the Federation before the arrival in Omega. (Indeed, its first scouting run was for free, in exchange for an amnesty for their previous actions.) It gathered information on other Omega races and technologies, and gradually gained a highly diverse group of races for its crewmembers, due to its open recruitment on Aurora during its stopovers insystem.
The ''Throne of Ozymondas'' is unique not only because it is the sole Orion-designed vessel operating in the Omega Octant, but she possesses the ''only'' cloaking device in all of the Omega Octant. Because of her cloaking device (and by-design lack of sensor and scanner systems redundancy inherent to all vessels of her class), her general orders routinely insisted she flee from engagement lest such a singular and irreplaceable asset be lost. Given the cloak and her Orion Steal Coating combination (both of which are "foreign" to the Omega Octant), she excelled in her intelligence duties.

References

★ GURPS Prime Directive, 4th Edition (ADB, 2005)

★ (R8.1) Orion Background, ''Star Fleet Battles, Basic Set'' (ADB, 1999)

★ ''Star Fleet Battles Module R8: System Defense Command'' (ADB, 2004)

★ ''Star Fleet Battles Module Ω3: The Omega Wars'' (ADB, 2000)

★ The Orion information page on the Federation Commander website.