| Orions | |
|---|---|
| Orions | |
| Continuity: | Star Trek |
| 1st appearance: | "The Cage" |
Orions are a sentient, extraterrestrial race featured in the Star Trek film and television franchise. Visually, they were first identified in the original unaired pilot episode of the first Star Trek television series "The Cage". In the episode, a character named Vina assumed the illusory form of a member of an Orion sub-sect colloquially known as an Orion slave girl. The first actual Orion was first seen in the form of Marta, another Orion slave girl played by actress Yvonne Craig in the season three episode, "Whom Gods Destroy". Orions were also featured in the short-lived 1974 animated Star Trek cartoon series. The Orions received more play in the spin-off series Star Trek: Enterprise, which elaborated more on their culture and background. Significant episodes featuring the Orions include "Bound" and "Borderland".
History
Members of the Orion Syndicate maintained a slavery auction house and processing station on the borderland world known as Verex III. One of their most popular commodities was the sale of "green animal women", courtesans who were particularly known for their unique appetites. In the year 2154, Orion slavers based out of Verex III captured nine crew members from the Enterprise NX-01 and brought them to Verex III where they were to be sold at auction. This included crewman Jeffrey Pierce and Commander T'Pol. Captain Jonathan Archer beamed down to the planet to rescue his missing crew members. Doing so incited a riot within the auction house, but he succeeded in getting his people back aboard the Enterprise. In retaliation, the Orions sent two Interceptors after them to reclaim their stolen "merchandise". The Enterprise crew received aid from an extremely unlikely source - a group of Augments piloting a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. The Augments shot down one of the Interceptors, but the second one managed to evade destruction and made it back to Verex III. [1]
Orion slave girls
- "They're like animals... vicious... seductive. They say no human male can resist them."
- ―Commodore José I. Mendez
An Orion slave girl.
As their name implies, Orion slave girls, sometimes referred to as green animal women are sold as commodities at slave auctions and are known for their allure and willingness to please their owners. According to one Starfleet officer in 2254, "They actually like being taken advantage of". [2] Captain Christopher Pike, late of the starship USS Enterprise, once experienced a telepathic fantasy wherein he found himself at an Orion Colony, watching a human woman he knew as Vina, dancing in the guise of a green animal woman. [3]
Orions of note
- Marta ("Whom Gods Destroy")
Notes & Trivia
- In Star Trek: The Animated Series, Orion males were portrayed with blue skin. In Star Trek: Enterprise, they are presented with green skin.
- Scientist Arik Soong was known to have made many deals with the Orions in exchange for parts, equipment and other resources that he required to continue his work in genetic engineering. [4]
- An Orion female from an alternate timeline named Gaila was featured in the 2009 Star Trek feature film. Played by Rachel Nichols, she was a Starfleet cadet and a roomate of Nyota Uhura. Uhura walked in on Galia while she was having a fling with Cadet James T. Kirk. She was also present when Starfleet received a distress call from Vulcan. With the primary fleet occupied in the Laurentian system, Starfleet was forced to commission the Academy cadets and dispatch ships immediately to begin a rescue mission. [5]
See also
External Links
References
- ↑ Star Trek: Enterprise: Borderland
- ↑ The validity of this comment is conjectural since it originated from a fantasy implanted into Captain Christopher Pike's brain.
- ↑ Star Trek: The Cage
- ↑ Star Trek: Enterprise: Borderland
- ↑ Star Trek (2009)