Orion Syndicate " " You are now the property of the Orion Syndicate . Break the rules and you will suffer . Follow the rules and you will suffer " less . " The Orion Syndicate was a criminal organization created and maintained by the Orion s . The Syndicate ' s activities included gambling , racketeering , smuggling , piracy , slave - trading , extortion , and assassination . Operation . The Syndicate was ruthless in its tactics , and its members were extremely loyal . Entry required a substantial membership fee , and any member would take their own life before testifying against the Syndicate . In addition , it was customary for the Syndicate to financially support any family member of a deceased associate . ( ) In an act called " witnessing , " Syndicate members would often vouch for the loyalty of any new recruit whom they brought into the organization . This was a method of ensuring trustworthiness amongst its members , as any Syndicate member who was found to have brought in a disloyal recruit would be killed along with that recruit . ( ) History . 22nd century . During the 22nd century , the Orion Syndicate controlled an area of space bordering the Klingon Empire . The area of space between the two powers was a volatile and lawless region known as " the Borderland . " It was in this region that a group of Augment s , relics from Earth ' s Eugenics Wars , attacked a Klingon Bird - of - Prey in 2154 , murder ing the crew and stealing the ship . In order to avert a war with the Empire , was sent into the Borderland in an attempt to locate the Augments . While on this mission , however , " Enterprise " was attacked by an Orion Interceptor , and nine crewmembers were kidnapped . The crewmembers were taken to a processing station on Verex III , where they were intended to be auctioned off as slaves . Although Captain Archer was able to rescue his crewmembers , his actions in stealing Orion " property " made him a wanted man in the Syndicate . ( ) Later that year , an Orion named Harrad - Sar attempted to kidnap Archer and deliver him to the Syndicate . It was during this incident that it was learned by the " Enterprise " crew that Orion females , previously thought to be little more than commodities to be bought and sold , were actually in charge of the Syndicate , controlling the males via highly potent pheromone s . ( ) 23rd century . In 2268 , in response to the possible admission of Coridan into the Federation , the Orions engaged in a covert mission to prevent such an occurrence , in order to preserve their piracy activities in the Coridan system . To this end , they placed a spy amongst the Andorian delegation to the conference to debate Coridan ' s admission , and sent a ship on a suicide mission to attack the , which was transporting the various delegations to the conference , in an attempt to provoke mutual suspicion and interplanetary war amongst the Federation worlds . The Orions ' plot was eventually uncovered , however , and Coridan was admitted into the Federation . ( ; ) 24th century . By the 24th century , the Syndicate had expanded its membership to include operatives from a variety of worlds , becoming an interstellar organized crime consortium . In 2371 , an Idanian Intelligence operative was placed undercover in the organization of a man named Draim , a Syndicate member who specialized in blackmail and extortion . Due to the fact that Draim employed telepaths to screen all potential associates , the operative ' s memories were removed and placed on a data crystal , and she was given a new identity . Believing her name to be Arissa , she worked as a net - girl in Draim ' s operation , obtaining information which Draim would later use for blackmail . Arissa stayed undercover for two years , never realizing that she was an undercover operative , until she was recalled by Idanian Intelligence , and her memories were restored . ( ) In 2373 , the Syndicate attempted to murder the Ferengi Quark , who was being transported to Inferna Prime to testify against the Syndicate in a grand jury , by planting a bomb aboard the runabout he was being transported aboard . Although the bomb successfully exploded , it had been discovered beforehand by Quark and Constable Odo , who was transporting Quark to testify . Odo managed to beam the bomb into space , but the bomb had been set to go off should anyone attempt to use a transporter on it . Anticipating this , Odo channeled the explosion through the transporter buffer , saving the lives of both himself and Quark . ( ) The next year , Starfleet Intelligence recruited Miles O ' Brien , Deep Space 9 ' s chief of operations , for an undercover operation to infiltrate the Syndicate , tasking him with discovering the identity of a leak within Starfleet . Although O ' Brien managed to complete his assignment , he also discovered that the Syndicate had begun working with the Dominion in a conspiracy to destabilize the Klingon - Federation alliance . Upon learning this , Chadwick , O ' Brien ' s Intelligence contact , decided to warn the Klingons about an assassination plot against their ambassador to Farius Prime , a decision which would lead to the deaths of the Syndicate members with whom O ' Brien had become acquainted . O ' Brien , however , who had become close to Syndicate member Liam Bilby , chose to disobey orders and warn Bilby of the plot . Bilby refused to abandon the assassination attempt , however , knowing that to do so would let the Syndicate know that he had brought an infiltrator into their midst , ensuring the death of Bilby ' s family . ( ) Bilby was subsequently killed in the operation , and the Syndicate , who made a practice of financially supporting the family of their deceased associates , blackmailed the Tigan family on Sappora VII into putting Bilby ' s widow , Morica , on their payroll . Thadial Bokar , a Syndicate operative , had offered financial assistance to the Tigans , whose pergium mining company had begun to take a downturn , and , in return , ordered them to support Morica . Morica , however , began demanding larger sums of money , which the company could not afford , and was subsequently murdered by Norvo , the youngest of the family . Upon losing contact with Morica , O ' Brien traveled to New Sydney , the primary inhabited planet in the Sappora system , to conduct an unofficial investigation into her whereabouts , uncovering her murder . Initially believing the Syndicate to be responsible , O ' Brien continued his investigation , but the truth was eventually uncovered when Ezri Dax , Norvo ' s sister , realized what he had done . ( ) Apocrypha . The Orion Syndicate appears in the novel " Demons of Air and Darkness " , as well as " A Time to Heal " and " A Time to Kill " . The Orion Syndicate also features in the " " novel " Well of Souls " . According to the " " video game , the Syndicate is just one of eight Orion pirate cartels , the others being the Orion Cartel , Crimson Shadow , Camboro , Prime Industries , Tiger Heart , Beast Raiders , and Wyldefire Compact . In the 25th - century alternate timeline of " Star Trek Online " , the Orion Syndicate ( and much of the species ) has allied with the Klingon Empire in its war against the Federation . The legitimate Orion government is not mentioned directly , but it seems to be implied that either the government has taken control of the Syndicate or vice - versa , as the leader of the Syndicate , , was apparently the Matriarch of the Orion homeworld as well .