"Orions!" scoffs the Colonel. "To use a Human expression I heard once on Earth, it would appear that the Orions are as pervasive in the Shackleton Expanse as water is on concrete: they find every crack they can and sink their way in."
"The Orions have long frustrated the Empire with their dual ability to provide worthy and much-needed trade while also being honorless dogs and striking when our attention turns elsewhere. We have lost three freighters and one bird-of-prey near the Expanse so far under mysterious circumstances stemming from attacks by pirates, and the Orions claim ignorance about these attacks."
"The Orion Trade Union has successfully labored to keep their trade franchises open throughout the quadrant despite the misgivings of the Klingon High Council. Their ships bring essential goods to Narendra Station such as quadrotriticale and antimatter to the trade outposts established here."
"Although I would enjoy nothing more than stopping every Orion vessel and having my warriors complete a thorough search of their holds, doing so is time consuming and they have managed to get the Federation, the Ferengi, the Tholians, and more to their side over their 'right to engage in free and unrestricted trade.' I personally have overseen the seizure of an Orion ship that came to the Expanse, deposited its cargo, and then engaged in piracy before trying to return home."
"When it comes to navigating the Expanse, we believe the Orions may have detailed maps of the electromagnetic and gravimetric disturbances that make travel through the Expanse so hazardous. When it comes to avoiding these phenomena, the pirates seem to not only know where they are located, but the best stellar coordinates to lie in wait for a passing ship before striking. It appears their preferred tactic is to use ships equipped with tractor beam-based rams to force a vessel into these eddies to damage it and then strike before the ship can bring its systems back online. It is a tactic as clever as it is gutless, as they allow for the natural forces of the universe to do the bulk of the fighting for them."
"In addition to the Orion pirates, we also have to deal with the Orion Syndicate. The Syndicate is like a tribble infestation: once you think you’ve eliminated them at their source, they always somehow return. The Orion Syndicate here does what the Syndicate does elsewhere, which is to say they have a keen way of blending professional, legitimate business dealings with their criminal enterprises. The fact that they can offer cold, hard latinum to those who need it means that anyone at any time can come under their thumb."
"There is one incident in particular that shows how resourceful the Syndicate is. One of my operatives on Narendra posing as a Klingon food peddler observed a Bolian pottery merchant on the Galleria repeatedly getting into arguments with passing Orions over the quality of the pottery. The Orions would return the pottery they purchased, claiming they were poorly-replicated forgeries and then the Bolian would return their credits. Although it appeared the Bolian was always accepting returns from the Orions, he was wealthy enough to purchase his own private ship."
"After 'intercepting' one of these pots we learned that the Bolian was encrypting the deployment of Federation and Klingon vessels into the pottery itself! The returned pottery contained the Bolian’s cut of the goods stolen from other vessels. The General demanded the Bolian be returned to the Empire to stand trial, but he employed his rights as a Federation citizen and was sent back to Bolarus IX for trial. It appears the Bolian died in his sleep not long after leaving the station, which leaves us once again without a key witness into the Syndicate’s dealings."
Translated from Klingon.
