The most important thing to note, before we touch the language, is that when we speak of Orions, we do not speak of a singular Orion planet, Orion species, or Orion government. What we call the Orions is in fact a multi-planetary culture which exists in the wreckage of a previous empire.

This empire, at its peak, colonized or subjugated 49 planets and 22 species. Due to free movement among the planets, the various member races hybridized to a degree that one can no longer discern any of those species clearly. However, this hybridization and the re-emergence of masked traits is likely responsible for the wide range of phenotypes among the Orions. Terrans are most familiar with the green-skinned type, but Orions in fact exist with blue, gray, ruddy, or even violet skin. Likewise, pheromone production varies even among families.

How the empire crumbled could be the subject of another book (and many excellent works exist on the topic). Suffice it to say that it was not a single collapse or conquest, but a gradual corruption of the central government, frequent assassinations, neglect of outlying territories, to the point that by the time Terrans made contact, the Orion Empire no longer existed in any real sense.

Federation diplomats have made efforts toward establishing ties with the Orions, but they have universally failed. What was not initially understood was that the Orions do not in fact have anything like a universal, functional government. The Orion worlds exist in a state of near-anarchy, with the role of government fulfilled by various Houses, clans, and syndicates. Too often, an ambassador has believed they were making a treaty with a government while their Orion counterparts understood the Federation to be making a deal with their House. Orion itself remains neutral, if only because there is no force which can unify the Orion peoples long enough to sign a treaty with anyone, nor to police that treaty once made.

All of this, of course, has effects on the Orion languages. There are, of course, several currently in use, nine spoken and at least two gestural. The latter come from one of the original Orion planets where the inhabitants did not possess a sense of hearing. The genes for deafness still exist at a higher than average rate among Orion peoples. But the gestural languages have additional purposes among Orions today. 

First is the so-called “tactful dance,” used in upper-class Orion circles to communicate subtext over the top of a spoken dialogue, especially in negotiations. For instance, a speaker may say verbally that she hopes nothing bad will happen to you, while maintaining a graceful pose which implies that the statement is a threat.

Second is sometimes called “slaves’ cant” and is much more subtle, involving small movements of the face and fingers. It has been adopted by enslaved persons within the Orion sphere of influence to have private conversations when others may be nearby to hear.

We will not be learning either language today. They are mentioned simply to remind the learner that, no matter how good their lexical knowledge or universal translator, there will be subtext happening that they are highly likely to miss.

The Orion writing system is derived from a different sign language no longer in use today. The glyphs each depict a stylized figure dancing, though the rest of that language is lost.

The three most common spoken languages are generally called by outsiders “high Orion,” “middle Orion,” and “low Orion,” in reference to the social classes where they are commonly used. High Orion is the original imperial language, and as such is used by persons of great influence within Orion society, especially among the older Houses. Middle Orion is the lingua franca of the Orion cultural sphere of influence and is the most common.

However, this text will deal with low Orion only. This language is simpler than either of the others, likely the result of its rapid adoption by non-native speakers in carceral environments. To put it bluntly: this is the language of slaves. Unlike the “slaves’ cant,” it is not secret and may be readily learned by anyone. It is not used to hide things from their captors, but to most easily communicate with new arrivals and to explain everything needed to know.

It is a sad fact of Terran-Orion relations that low Orion is by far the most useful for a human to know. The majority of Orions living within the Federation have a history of servitude which led them to seek asylum on a member planet. Thus it is often referred to as simply “Orion.”

Knowledge of low Orion—or as it is called within the language, leiv kolari or spina kolari—will allow you to speak with captives and those recently freed who do not speak Standard. Obviously this is far too sensitive a situation to rely on a universal translator, with the shades of meaning that are always lost. Even captives who do speak Standard will be set more at ease if spoken to in their own language.

Kolari had its birth as a creole, and as such you will find a number of different grammatical standards existing in parallel. We will divide words into groups according to what rules you will need to use to deal with them.

This introduction closes with one final reminder: Orion stereotypes are rife within the Federation, based mainly on the limited selection of Orions the Federation has dealt with. Some of these stereotypes are encouraged by Orions, who feel their power is greater the more they are underestimated by others. But you will not be ready to learn anything about Orions unless you first forget everything you think you know. Hopefully through study of the language and primary texts, you will slowly gather a much more complex and accurate view of the Orion worlds.