A founding member of the United Federation of Planets, the Andorian people hailed from
the frozen moon Andoria, orbiting a ringed gas giant in the Beta Quadrant.
As one of many humanoid species in the galaxy, it is possible their history stretched back
4.5 billion years to a powerful Progenitor species that seeded life on many worlds, some
of which eventually evolved into humans, Romulans, klingons, cardassians and others.
According to Andorian mythology, their people originated in a paradise similar to the Garden
of Eden on Earth or Sha Ka Ree for the Vulcans, but whatever the case, their ancestors eventually
split into two distinct subspecies, with the more socially minded, blue skinned Andorians
populating the surface, while the pale-skinned, isolationist Aenar (eenar) made their home
underground in the northern wastes, cutting themselves off from the outside world.
As a consequence of this schism, they evolved distinct biological features, such as the
Aenar losing their eyesight, but gaining a telepathic form of communication and sensory
understanding.
Losing contact until they restablished diplomatic relations in the 22nd century, for much of
their history Andorians believed the Aenar a mere legend, and so developed independently,
creating a militaristic culture, known to be passionate, family oriented, loyal and
honest, though they were also capable of deception if absolutely necessary.
Adhering to a strict honor code, Andorians always paid their debts and could invoke Ushaan,
a duel to the death for the sake of vengeance, fought with ice miner tools while tethered
together.
Uniting under an imperial government led by a chancelor, military rank often determined
social status with service in the military, called the Imperial Guard, considered the
highest honor.
Viewing males and females as entirely equal, marriages involved groups of four, with women
displaying romantic interest by assaulting a prospective mate.
Training great warriors, Andorians were naturally resistant to many environmental conditions,
able to survive extreme heat and cold.
However their bodies also tired faster than other species, and so had a disadvantage in
prolonged fights as they exhausted more rapidly.
When an Andorian died in space, someone brought a piece of them back to Andoria, or else might
take their blood for the Wall of Heroes, a monument honouring those deemed worthy.
When their technology developed to the point of interstellar space flight, the Andorian
Empire began to explore the Alpha and Beta quadrant and expand their territory until
eventually establishing diplomatic relations with many of their neighbours.
Although initial contact with the Vulcan species was amicable, their vastly different cultures
led to mistrust and border disputed by the 1950s, Earth Calendar, which continued over
the next two centuries.
By 2151, Andorians suspected the Vulcan government, known as the High Command, of spying on their
Empire through a long range sensor array hidden within the religious monestary of P’Jem.
Yet even after the Andorians raided the Monestary twice no evidence of such an array was found.
Nevertheless, suspicion remained, until commander Shran of the Imperial Guard ship Kumari, launched
a third attack, this time taking the monks hostage.
Soon enough, the human government of United Earth found itself dragged into the conflict
when captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the Enterprise NX 01 arrived to visit the
Monestary, leading to their capture.
Although this first contact between Humans and Andorians began with hostility, Archer
and Shran soon found common ground after discovering there really was a secret research facility
under the monestary.
Though Earth was an ally of Vulcan, Archer felt this deception unacceptable, and so gave
the Andorians all their sensor data about the instillation.
While this decision drastically damaged Vulcan’s reputation and their relations with Earth,
it created a foundation of trust and respect between Humans and Andorians.
A few months later, the Andorians escalated the conflict by destroying the Monestary of
P’jem, which in turn nearly dissolved the Earth-Vulcan Alliance, as High Command blamed
Archer and humanity for the entire situation.
These three regional powers next clashed when Captain Archer was kidnapped and held for
ransom by a faction of Andorian-supplied rebels on the planet coridan, fighting against their
oppressive, corrupt, Vulcan-allied government.
The Vulcans overlooked the abuses of these leaders because they could not risk losing
an important source for dilithium which was an essential component for warp drive technology.
Eager to strike against their enemies, the Andorians happily supported the rebels, but
when commander Shran discovered Archer was taken prisoner, he led a rescue mission which
liberated the captain and his first officer T’pol.
Though Shran technically acted against the interests of his own people, he felt there
was no choice, as the Andorian honor code demanded he repay the debt owed from the incident
at P’Jem, where Archer sided with the Andorians against his allies the Vulcans.
The following year in 2152, the Vulcans and Andorians engaged in direct combat on the
planet Weytahn, fighting to a stalemate which led to peace talks between Ambassador Soval
and Commander Shran.
Unable to reach an agreement, Shran requested that Captain Jonathan Archer of United Earth
mediate the discussion, trusting him to be impartial.
Showing his diplomatic prowess, Archer successfully navigated the contentious arguments to reach
a peace agreement that marked the first major step towards an eventually alliance between
these 3 growing powers.