In DS9 we were introduced to the mysterious Orion Syndicate, which seemed to have its fingers in every shady type of business there was. Surprising we never saw any Orions. Then in ENT the Syndicate seems to be the name by which the Orion territory/government is known and is, as you'd expect, filled with Orions. Personally I always thought of the OS as a crime cartel, men and women out doing business of all kinds with many different people. It may have started out as just Orions but over time expanded to include many different species. When I consider the Syndicate, that's how I like to envision it. Anyone else prefer it as such, or do you like it the other way?
I do wish the Orions had been developed more, as far back as TOS. All we really knew of them for decades was their women were hot, and the government pretended to be neutral on political matters while plotting covert assassination attempts. The Syndicate might have originated as an official government entity and spread outward.
Yeah I liked the concept of Trek having a mysterious mob of it's own. Kinda what the Ferengi should've been if they were done properly.
QUARK: I want you to get this fuck where he breathes! I want you to find this nancy-boy Ben Sisko, I want him dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna piss on his ashes!
Perhaps we did. Way back in FASA's Orion RPG booklets, they postulated three colours - green, tan and grey. The tan Orions' skin tones range from Orange to Caucasian-human. Or rather, the Syndicate representative introduced himself as if he represented the people. I personally see the Syndicate as the criminal organization and the Orion Union (the name used on a star chart graphic in Into Darkness) as the official Orion government.
Maybe it's like the "Five Families" in the old days of the mafia in New York City, they divided up the city and each had their own territory.
I really like what ENT did with the Orions, having the slave women really be the masters. I disagree the Ferengi should have been the mobsters, I think they should have been more like smart amoral businessmen. Like, Mitt Romney types. But I like the idea of a crime syndicate in the Trek universe.
They were mentioned enough times. Dukat made numerous references to Orion slave girls. The one episode we see the Syndicate on is set on Farius, so it's kinda natural it seems the Farians are taking point there. As for the Syndicate? Who knows, it might've been started by Orions, but hardly seems limited to... wouldn't be the first misnomer in history. One, Quark would be after Odo first... two, not every member of the mob are tough guys. For every thug breaking your thumbs, for every gangmaster calling the shots, there are the people who enable the system across the board. Really though, by the time Quark came into things the damage was already done though. This mentality would've had to start in The Battle or the Last Outpost.
Oh I know it's not limited to Orions. I was just wondering why they didn't want to show us an actual Orion since they had a whole episode about the Syndicate.. it would have been a popular move. And that's a quote there from Nerys Myk..
I for one loved it when Brunt showed up with a couple of Nausican thugs that one episode to beat on Quark with.