Orion Arm

For other uses, see Orion Arm.

Star chart depicting the Orion Arm in relation to major landmarks.

The Orion Arm is the region of the Milky Way Galaxy containing the bulk of the Federation, as well as most of the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, and other local political organizations. The Orion "spur" (or "local spur") is a minor arm which is an offshoot of the Sagittarius Arm. It is bisected by the Alpha Quadrant/Beta Quadrant border. (ST references: Star Fleet Technical Manual, Star Charts; TNG novel: Intellivore)

The space adjacent to the Orion Arm, in the direction of the main Sagittarius Arm, was known to be a lonely expanse, mostly devoid of populated star systems. The gulf between Sagittarius and Orion was the patrol route of the USS Excelsior in 2285, and the location of the Ajir Empire and the Grond Protectorate that Excelsior contacted on that date. (TOS comic: "Double Blind, Part One")

The Federation spread rapidly across the Orion Spur in the 2350s decade. United Earth presented the California-class multirole explorer as a solution for a lack of ships able to respond within the Federation's expanded borders. (Star Trek Adventures RPG module: Lower Decks Campaign Guide)

In the year 2364, the Federation starship USS Enterprise-D was exploring the "outer rim" of Federation space in the Orion Arm. Investigation of this remote expanse of the Orion Arm was initiated by a concern of Ferengi expansion in the area, but this was unfounded. The Enterprise discovered two pre-contact civilizations and then, afterwards, accessed an ancient alien transporter system that yielded contact with a third inhabited planet, at Peacekeeper's World. (TNG novel: The Peacekeepers)

The graphic representation of the Orion Arm's place in the galaxy that was shown in Star Charts was seen in canon many times, as set artwork during the last three seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.

In FASA RPG sources, the term "Orion Arm" is used in a context that implies a much smaller region of space than described above. Please see Orion Arm (region).

Appendices

External links

• Orion Arm article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• Orion Arm article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.