Unlike many other spacefaring states, the Orions are not a unified population, but are instead spread out into several large factions and a great many smaller ones, separated by space, allegiances and cultural differences. They are considered decentralized, with a network of bases. Their society is generally anarchic. They claim no sovereign space and were not an imperial power. Some Colonies were Federation members or possessions of the Klingon Empire. There were over a hundred Orion Colonies in the late 23rd century, and despite hardships, most of these worlds maintained at least one purely Orion settlement.

Despite a love of space travel and exploration, Orions are not a pioneering people, uninterested in settling and developing other worlds, and neither do they desire conquest, only exploitation. They prefer to settle on already inhabited worlds, so that they can better trade with the natives and be a part of the local economy, though some were founded on unsettled planets. In this way, they expanded through the territories of more sovereign powers, such as the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

These "colonies" ranged in size from Orion neighborhoods within alien cities to entire cities of their own located elsewhere, both bringing their own (usually Botchoki) architecture and culture but politely only speaking their own language when no aliens were around to hear. Thus, Orions were not always the sole humanoid inhabitants of the planets they occupied, but could be found living among alien populations that could be many times their number. The Orions did so, often with the goodwill and permission of the existing inhabitants or owners, but not every world desired Orions permanently living among them. These peoples usually benefited from the trade and wealth that the Orions brought in. However, the Orions also tended to bring with them crime and corruption, and practices such as slavery and piracy that did not endear them to their hosts. As a result, some worlds maintained strict controls and laws on their local Orion populations. Others simply turned them away.

In ancient times, the earliest Orion colonies were settled forcibly by alien slavers needing workers, and remained controlled by them until the Orion War. In the New Days that followed, Orions began founding their colonies independently. The term "colonies" remained in use even for settlements millennia old, with independent planetary-scale civilizations and wholly Orion populations that were the sole survivors of various disasters, or that had simply absorbed the natives, for they remained culturally tied to the homeworld. Orion colonial expansion was slow, with new colony ventures typically only launched when population pressures increased on their existing worlds, once every two of three generations, or longer if a previous attempt had failed. However, disasters and war could also drive refugees out to seek new homes. Intended colony sites were carefully studied for the best survivability and acceptance from their hosts before an expedition was launched. Then they would send a rhadaman or scion of a powerful family with a colony ship, settlers (typically all Ruddy Orions), money and cargo to trade, to the new planet to found the colony. In its early years, the corporation or family that had launched the colony regulated the flow of Orion settlers to ensure a rival was not attempting to displace them, and protected the safety and prosperity of their people. The colonies could later be abandoned, however, if disaster, war, or loss of trade threatened them, or if the previous inhabitants or owners no longer wanted them.

Though they had a homeworld in the Rigel system, the Orions had no overarching government or controlling influence, and no Orion had the authority to speak for the entire species. Authority was instead divided up among three power structures: the family, which handled most social aspects; the cartels, which took care of the financial; and lastly, the government, which was responsible for little more than bureaucracy and public services. Although various bodies claimed authority over the whole, none had enough power to actually exert it. Apparently important posts within Orion space were the Potentate of Orion and the Orion chancellor

Orion society was loosely organized by caju, or great families. They headed clans comprised of thousands of members, in an interdependent web of smaller families joined by marriage, alliances, and business deals, and wielding significant strength and influence. Each caj functioned as a merchant house, operating primarily around trade but also managing Orion governments and various aspects of their civil life, such as organizing trade networks, inter-clan marriages, explorers, and mercenaries. The caju took care of their own.

The great merchant clans and houses dominated local Orion politics, running the culture as a sort of plutocratic republic. Linked together, they formed an extensive trading network, larger than an empire, but often warred with each other for possession of markets and trade routes.

Entire planets were governed by one or a handful of ruling families whose name and word was law. Where government, law and other institutions were weak and disrespected, families were flexible and personal, and Orions admired individuals with authority and personality. The tahedri or tabadi of a ruling family was well known, much-loved, and close to his or her people.

They were also the prime drivers of colonization, with the sons of powerful families gathering ships, settlers and goods to trade, and venturing into space to find a new world upon which they could found a new Colony. Many of the outermost Colonies remained fully in the control of a single family.

The most durable form of organization in Orion society was the business cartel, which satisfied their desire for wealth. The structure mimicked that of the Orion family, with one man at the top and a handful of proven, trusted agents beneath him. Although they could range from a small shop, to a couple of men and one ship, to a corporation that spanned several worlds, Orion businesses never had more than five levels of command. This made them fast and efficient, with one decision-maker who could instantly move to seize an opportunity. They could be built around a family business, or by unrelated businesspersons.

In the pursuit of wealth and power, and lacking competition, many Orion cartels accidentally took the place of governments, by owning so much property and employing so many people that their decisions affected the populations of entire worlds, with an influence that went beyond their own holdings. Their policies, products, pay-rates and health-care benefits had direct economic and social effects, which their Chief Executive Officers and Boards of Directors had to take into account; though they'd consider it a nuisance, it did give them political influence. For them, size equaled power and power equaled responsibility, and Orion corporations above a certain size had to strike a balance between making money and maintaining the welfare of the communities that supported them. By Orion philosophy, well-run planets and happy and cared-for employee-citizens made the corporation look good.

These great cartels, then, are essentially totalitarian states, with the wealth and power to match. A single person at the top, or a handful of them, has absolute power and no laws to bind them. However, they also have to maintain employee loyalty, making many large companies not unlike feudal fiefdoms, dependent on that loyalty. Thus, the company is like a second family to its Orion employees, taking care of them with good pay and holiday time, and valuing their involvement. More than most Orion Colony governments, Orion companies had more support and more patriotism, complete with flags, songs, bands and festivals, and each had an entertainment division. Acting as sovereign rulers, they answered to no one but their rhadamanen and their stock-holders.

The rhadaman, or 'arch-executive' (plural rhadamanen), was a key role in Orion business and in Orion society in general, comparable to a Sicilian Cosa Nostra capo or Russian oligarch on Earth. No mundane business executives, rhadamanen were talented leaders of Orion employees in their thousands, who gained their loyalty and confidence. They were the ones who could hold their companies together and on course, and keep internal struggles to a bare minimum and behind-the-scenes, who could get the job done. They were the heroes of Orion culture and commanded great authority and respect. However, they (and their families) were also prime targets for pirates to take hostage and ransom them back to their cartels. Although rare, they were actively sought out by corporations, preferably from within their own ranks. Like in an Orion family, succession was according to age and seniority. Highest of the rhadamanen was the rhadaman anthus, roughly translated as 'prince of executives'. Every starship captain, whether a pirate or a trader, was also a specialized rhadaman, as ship hierarchy and actions were largely the same as a business. A captain’s decisions meant success or ruin for his crew, or life or death, and his power was gained from the work he did and the respect he gained.

The earliest reference to the position was before the Orion War, when Nallin the Unconquerable recruited a large force of rhadamanen from the Trade Halls of Rigel IV to help him liberate Botchok (Rigel VIII). Following the war, during the New Days, rhadamanen were renting Orion 'contract laborers' to alien worlds and led new colony ventures to other worlds. An Orion cartel doesn't have the option of closing an inefficient or unprofitable operation and firing the workers. Instead, it had to upgrade the facility, adjust the industrial base, and retrain the workers while supporting them and their families. If this was not feasible, it would be sold to the highest bidder, even it was an entire planet. Worlds with only one kind of produce, such as mining or agriculture, were more likely to suffer this fate. However, for obscure behind-the-scenes goals, Orion corporations occasionally manipulated their holdings (particularly smaller ones) into unknown or unprofitable directions, by altering production, closing factories or importing outside labor.

They even had their own armies and fleets, which they could use to launch hostile take-overs (in the form of armed invasions and occupations of offices, plants, farms and mines), control space-lanes (with pirates paid to assault rival shipping), and ruin competitors (by scandal, sabotage or force). They weren't above seeking aid from the Federation, the Klingons or the Romulans during such conflicts, nor playing them against each other and their rivals, but this was dangerous and risked showing their weakness to other Orions, and therefore rare. However, some could get desperate to keep their jobs, even to the point of taking over a company in a coup d'état. Internal struggles and intra-corporate conflict were less common and less bloody, but generally involved more employees and resources.

Across their various planets, Orion governments were a mixture of monarchies, oligarchies, a handful of republics, and a few societies that appeared to Federation sociologists to be in total anarchy. None were larger than the planetary level. More complete Orion governments were democratic, with elections held for public posts on most Orion Colonies and in the vestigial nations of the homeworld. Those Colonies with planet-wide civil governments followed the Botchok Planetary Congress model.

Government simply did not matter to or interest Orions, whether they claimed towns or planets: they had no real authority or power over the actions of people, businesses or families. The weakest and most unstable power structure in Orion society, governments handled the unwanted tasks of maintaining public services and keeping records. The core part of Orion government was its bureaucracy, which administered each Colony and did what it could to stay in power. Its duties were to issue permits and licenses, carry out inspections and accept bribes. Their power was minor—even the homeworld had to rent ships to patrol its space and defend itself—but they were the first choices for alien powers unfamiliar with Orion ways and wishing to negotiate, which gave the governments some influence and leverage. Although necessary, Orions found little profit in the public services of government, such as street cleaning, space-port maintenance or garbage collection. When a profit could be made, enterprising Orions quickly developed a business for it and charged desperate customers. Thus local Orion governments closely resembled loose patchworks of individual subcontractors paid by the local caju to negotiate with foreigners, construct public works, run court systems and so on.

Another role of Orion government was diplomacy, originally exchanging envoys and ambassadors as nothing more than a way to keep in touch and provide busy-work for needy civil servants and poor nobles. These diplomats grew in influence as the Federation and other alien powers sought Orion authority with which to negotiate, but they had little more than their words and reputations to back them up. Though their power was only persuasive, diplomats could negotiate settlements between miscreants and complainants to stop some activity, usually with currency or other valuables. Though considered undignified and mercenary, it was effective in providing a useful role for Orion governments and policing their society.

The Federation maintains a presence in the Orion Neutrality Area. Within the Rigel system, Rigel II is home to a Starfleet monitoring mission and Rigel III (Chelar) is actually a Federation member world. Elsewhere in the Area, there are several Federation-aligned worlds, including Semarang—home of Starbase R-3, the Federation’s foremost anti-piracy station in the Rigel sector.