Interstellar Encounters

On Stardate 3802.2, a new threat made a terrifying appearance to Coreward. Contact with the large and long-established Farx Colony had been completely and inexplicably severed; merchantmen reported distinctive bird-like vessels with occupants who blistered or butchered entire worlds. Abandoning their colonies, streams of Orions carried the stories homeward carrying a scare through every Orion world. This new race, the Romulans would rampage through the Orion Arm for several years before discovering how resource poor it was, convincing them their efforts were best spent elsewhere. The BPC would learn some six months after the fact, about the complete and utter destruction of the Farx Colony, resulting in the slaughter of 22 million Orions.

Approximate to the discovery of the massacre at Farx, reports began being received by the BPC of Rimward activities by another new race, whom the Orion pirates had encountered. This other race was also technologically advanced, and ruthlessly supressed any resistance in seizing old Orion worlds. Methodical and cautious in approaching the Orions, the Klingons were careful to let no warning slip from the worlds they had conquered. Only pirates escaped their net to tell the tales-but who would believe a pirate? By the time truly reliable reports reached Botchok, more than a dozen Orion Colonies had fallen to the Klingons.

As the Klingon Empire expanded toward Rigel, the Orions realized their collective navey could not withstand the Klingon fleet. Therefore, instead of battling the Klingons, they welcomed them, and the opportunity for trade with a new race. The tactic worked, and the Orion proposal thoroughly confused the Klingons. The Orions readily agreed to allow a Klingon governor on Botchok and to pay tribute to the Empire, but to the Klingons, these were hollow victories. Something was wrong-the victory was too easily won. Often, the Imperial Governor on Botchok would ask his superiors on Qo'noS if the Klingons were still in charge (apparently, sobriety was a problem). Anxious for more control, he increased the Klingon fleet strength in Orion space. However, the move was useless as the Orions never rebelled against their Klingon 'overlords' and always paid their tribute in promptly. As the Klingons' desire for Orion trade increased, the Orions' tribute decreased until it vanished altogether.

Around Stardate 3285.1, the Romulans began to get the upper hand in border disputes with the Klingons. To bolster his forces, the Klingon Chancellor, Meveq, withdrew all warships and tradeships from Orion space over the feeble demands of the Imperial Governor on Botchok. Soon, the Imperial Governor was recalled also, though no one took his place. As the Orions had foreseen, the Klingons realized that the value of the Orions lay in their trade and that a military presence there was totally inefficient. Besides, the Orions posed a limited military threat.

Three years later, the Orions began to learn of a developing alliance to Spinward. An Orion Colony vessel patrolling the Outer Dark stumbled across a lost, dilapidated trading ship owned by Garggash Dlumppheg. Dlumppheg's refusal to identify himself and to trade infuriated the Orion commander, who escorted Dlumppheg to Botchok and let the BPC deal with the stubborn alien. Garggash Dlumppheg was Tellarite. Five months after his arrival, Dlumppheg departed Botchok with a trade agreement with the BPC, which though exclusive, was worthless. Other independent traders from the Federation following Dlumppheg discovered that governmental trade was almost nonexistent, and that the powerful Orion corporations and families were the ones with which to trade.

When, on Stardate 3551.37, the alliance formally banded together as the United Federation of Planets, Orions stood with the Rigellian delegation as interested parties but non-signatories. Always looking to make a credit, the BPC had offered to join if the Federation paid the sum of ten trillion credits 'for administrative costs, in Federation', but this infuriated the five alien worlds. It was then that the Orions had their first doubt as to Federation interests. The UFP did improve trade and cripple the pirates, but also sent a sizeable delegation to Botchok to work out treaties, agreements, and protocols for the smooth operation of the Rigel-Federation spacelanes.

As time went by, the Orions and the Federation both realized that they had wildly different assumptions about power and its allocation. To the Orions, the Federation seemed unnaturally stiff and inelastic; specific tasks were arbitrarily handled by a minister or other functionary. To the Federation officials on Botchok, the Orions were the epitome of anarchy. Not only were there no set officials for important governmental tasks, the Orions frequently squabbled over who would accept the responsibility or take the credit for doing a job. Furthermore, most of the delegates to the Botchok Planetary Congress were not above using their own connections beyond the BPC to force events to go their way.

The Federation embassy was forced to demand that the BPC impose some sort of order. There should be certain officers holding specific titles doing at least loosely defined work. The suggestion took the BPC by storm, and for more than a yera, they happily nominated ministers for ever-detailed tasks-the Minister for Rigellian Communications, the Minister for Insurance Claims (not to be confused with the Minister for Insurance Regulation or Insurance Writing), and even a Minister for Simplifying Government. When the exasperated Federation Ambassador, James Donnell, asked the BPC if they planned to name a Grand Poo-bah, the BPC promptly formed a Commision for the Nomination of the Grand Poo-bah, resulting in some desultory research. Their report has been deleted from the official record, and from that date the number of ersatz ministers declined.

Advised of the difficulties at Rigel, the Federation began to understand how little authority the BPC actually possessed. The Federation Council advised the embassy to continue to press for the necessary treaties and to increase, if possible, the legitimacy of the Orion government. As requested, the embassy performed the task by referring all Orions who came to them to the BPC first for adjudication. Although the BPC began to learn the ways of Federation-style government, the Federation gained little but duly signed and stamped pieces of paper that went virtually unenforced.