Kulian

Kulian was an Orion nation-state on the planet of Botchok (Rigel VIII).

It was one of the so-called "Big Four", along with Mazak, Tipot and Yuin, whose delegates controlled the Botchok Planetary Congress and the Orion Colonies Intelligence. It had elections for public posts.

These nations were created by the Treaty of Kammzdast–signatory alien races who'd invaded Botchok and enslaved the Orion race. After the 1st Rigel Conference in 15,839 BCE (reference stardate −178/39), they arbitrarily divided the ancient Orion communities into territories and nations to make them easier to organize and manage. Each was dominated by a different alien faction, who used their enslaved Orions as pawns in proxy warfare against one another.

In 9143 BCE (stardate −111/43), during a truce in the fighting, Orion representatives from the twelve largest nations of Botchok announced to their masters that the planet's ecology was critically damaged, having never fully recovered from the Long Winter and other warfare. They proposed what became the Accord of Namazz, a project in which the Orions volunteered to make repairs with their own labor, costs and technology. This was the first public responsibility allowed the Orions, and their first taste of self-rule.

When Orion forces were used for offworld combat at the Battle of Lomatin IV in 2351 BCE (stardate −43/51), in contravention of the Treaty of Kammzdast, the governments of the Orion nations protested and the involved master races were punished, though the practice continued discreetly.

Finally, following the Orion revolt at the 187th Rigel Conference on Rigel IV in 95 BCE (stardate −20/9507.14), Nallin Oplate the Unconquerable returned to Botchok and informed the Orion governments of the revolt. Within a month, the Orions had seized control of the planet from their alien overlords and imprisoned them. With diplomatic ability, Nallin bound the once-rival nations together and founded the Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC). Together, they prepared for and fought the Orion War, and eventually won their freedom. 

By the late 23rd century, Kulian and a number of Botchok's other ancient nation-states had survived and retained their original power and independence, some of the few Orion nations to do so. However, they were weak and pathetic compared to the powerful Orion caju and corporations across the Orion Colonies. They had few disputes with one another and history had blurred the distinctions between their governments, and the nations were largely vestigial. Usually they just disagreed on matters regarding the BPC itself and its role in the Orion Colonies.