Andorian

The Andorians were a sentient species from the moon Andoria. They were distinguishable by their blue skin, white hair and antennae. The Andorian state was the Andorian Empire, one of the founding Federation Member States. 

Biology
The blue hue of the species was the result of a high concentration of cobalt in the hemoglobin of their red corpuscles. They were generally stronger as well as hardier than other races except when compared to the Vulcans. This was due to the greater gravity, thinner air and harsher climate of the Andorian home world. While most Andorian were the typical blue race there was also a smaller sub-species known as the Aenar, who were white-skinned, blind, and possessed very powerful telepathic abilities. The Andorians covered most of their world, and regarded the Aenar as nothing more than myths until the early 22nd century, when they re-established contact with the sub-terrestrial Aenar, who lived in the arctic wastelands of the extreme north and numbered only in the thousands. 

The Andorian species was unique in that it was composed of four sexes, known in Andorii, the primary Andorian language, as chans, thaans, zhens, and shens. Chans and thaans were roughly comparable in reproductive function and appearance to the male sex, while the latter two were roughly comparable to the female sex. (, et al.)

Andorians were blue-skinned humanoids, similar in build to the average Human. Their homeworld featured predominantly icy environments with a thin, ozone-rich atmosphere so they evolved to live in cooler conditions, but were capable of living in a wide range of climates. One adaptation the species featured was a redundant circulatory system which allowed them to survive comfortably in their environmental conditions. 

Andorians efficiently metabolized nutrients and regulated body heat. However, compared to Humans Andorian metabolisms tended to be higher, so they would tire more quickly when engaged in strenuous activities for prolonged periods. The Andorian body had a limited exoskeleton, as well as other insectoid characteristics. Andorians ranged in height from about 1.7 to 2.2 meters tall, with the average male at about 2.3 meters, and a female at 1.8 meters. The average weight for a male was 70 kilograms, and a female 45 kg.

The average body temperature of an Andorian was 42 °C, pulse rate was 110, and respiration of 28. The average life expectancy for a male Andorian was 129 years, while the average for a female was 134. 

Reproduction

 * See main article: Andorian Genders.

The Andorian species was uniquely composed of four sexes. For a long time this was the source of a population crisis for the Andorian people as they struggled to maintain replacement rates for the species. (, at al.)

Antennae
One of the most noted features Andorians had were their antennae. They could obtain a great deal of sensory information through their continually waving antennae - they could detect electrical fields, changes in air density and temperature and sub-sonic sounds. Their antennae were remarkably sensitive organs that gave them a sonar-like detection abilities that were similar to that of Terran bats. Due to this ability, it was very difficult to sneak up or even elude an Andorian - even in total darkness. There was a lesser desirable characteristic of these antennae which was their sensitivity to pain. A hit to them gave an Andorian as much pain as a male Human got by being hit in the groin. In Starfleet, Andorian marine personnel were often equipped with specially designed helmets. 

However the antennae were not particularly reliable sensory organs as they could be thrown by picking up strong emotions through surges in adrenaline or teptaline or even detecting overheating equipment. When an Andorian concentrated they could use their antennae to single out bioelectric signals nearby. 
 * The Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual offered a different interpretation of the function of the antennae. The book suggested Andorians were color-blind, but their antennae contained a complex network of wavelength-sensitive cones, which their brain combined adding color to their vision. Andorian vision could be described as quadroscopic, having four individual light-receptive organs (two eyes and two antennae) which gave them superior depth perception to many species.

The antennae contained some brain tissue at their base, and most damage could be done safely above this area. If a portion of antennae were cut off, it would take several months to grow back, during which time the Andorian would suffer loss of balance, among other symptoms. 


 * See also: Antenna.

Sub-Species

 * Aenar
 * Bish'ee
 * Talish
 * Theskian
 * Thalassan

Medical Conditions

 * Haslev-Rahn disease (Shesh caste only)

Culture
Andorians had a genetic predisposition toward violent behavior. Within their own society life was extremely structured which helped tame their tempers. In the wider galaxy many Andorians bottled up their rage, managing to contain it in public but sometime having violent outbursts in private. Compared to many other species Andorians excelled under pressure. Their bio-chemical reactions induced them either to fight or increase their sensory input levels, which led to them having great abilities at analysis and reasoning. 

To outsiders, Andorian attitudes and speech may have seemed humble and timid, but in reality their posture often owed to the fact that they were moving to give their antennae a better "view" of surrounding occurrences. Their speech was soft and sibilant due to their differing hearing apparatus, and some undertones of their communication were not immediately perceptible to other races and cultures. This predilection towards sensing vibration and pitch led to a cultural preoccupation with music, which was the original basis of Andorian language. The standard Andorian sidearm, the flabbjellah, doubled as a musical instrument. A well-known genre of their music to offworlders is their Andorian "Blues". (Production notes for ST: TMP;, )
 * See also: Andorian languages

Duels regarding honor were dealt with through the Ushaan trial of combat, which has many rules. 

Andorian society had little need for lawyers, with those who occupied such a profession being executed at least a thousand years before the Andorian Empire joined the Federation. 

Andorians seemed to have a belief that within society there was a need for productive members and that those that suffered from disabilities such as being blind were a burden. Such individuals were little cared-for and were only tolerated for what few capabilities they did have, such as breeding. 

Government
See Andorian Empire

Beliefs
Andorian beliefs included a deity called Uzaveh the Infinite. 

This mythological being's "image" (or, at least, the combined interpretation of "The One" and Sybok's collective minds) is in a make-up screen test from a deleted scene of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier".

Family
Andorian marriages were set in groups of four due to their unique four-gendered biology. This arrangement affected Andorians through the early years of their lives. Andorians' mating bondgroups were arranged at a young age in preparation for the shelthreth and the conception of a child. Andorian society has, in recent centuries, become increasingly fixated on the necessity of honoring the bond and conceiving children. Andorian youths are encouraged to identify with the bond over their own individuality. (, et al.) It was known that the birth of a child to the clan conscious Andorians meant that they considered such events almost sacred. 

Because the window of fertility was so narrow in Andorians, marriage typically took place very early in adulthood; twenty-three was considered quite old for an Andorian not to be married. 

Sayings

 * "Let your woes become your deadliest weapons." (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 12, Telepathy War 1 Renegades)
 * "A man is no more than the sum of his memories, a culture no more than the sum of its history."

Rituals

 * Rite of Kanlee

Recreation

 * Kochek • Andorian blues

Nutrition
Most Andorian foods are considered edible to Humans, and vice-versa. However, chocolate-or at least Argelian chocolate-is a poison to Andorians. 

Like most Humanoid species, the Andorians enjoy the intoxicating effects of alcohol. By far, the most popular variety of Andorian alcohol, both among Andorians themselves and their trading partners, is their ale. Andorian ale is produced in vast quantities on Andoria and offworld colonies like Syrinx III, and is one of the Andorian Empire's primary exports. Andorian ale is colored blue, with most varieties appearing somewhat translucent. It is similar in appearance to Romulan ale, although it is not as potent. That said, it has considerably higher alcohol content than Human ales; seeing as Andorians are no more resistant to the effects of alcohol than Humans, Andorian ale is usually served in small glasses (above). A particular variety of the drink, chemically enhanced to produce a luminous effect, is known as "glow-ale". Other alcoholic drinks include Gredlahr, which is similar to Terran rum only sweeter, and the "Andorian Sunset" cocktail, which is created from Andorian ingredients but was probably invented by Humans. The cocktail is purple in color, resembling a genuine Andorian sunset. Popular non-alcohol beverages among Andorians include "citrus drinks" made from the juice of Yutann, an equivalent to the citrus fruits of Earth. These drinks are known for their strong odor, often unpleasant to non-Andorians. According to the Ferengi Nog, they smell like a combination of lemon oil and Terran goats. Faridd is a carbonated soda-like beverage. Srjula is a nutritious formula served to infants and young children, although it cannot, of course, compare to Zhiassa, the Zhavey’s milk. Katheka is an Andorian stimulant beverage roughly analogous to Earth coffee. An Andorian equivalent to tea is Fridd, which is often served ice-cold; you drink it as it thaws.


 * food : akharrad • alardi partinna • dreaak • duuploni • gristhera • hari • honar • imparay redbat • kaizis sprout • necreena • pizza • sandbush seed • shaysha • skopar • sohla t'pocowan • sour grain pilaf • spice cake • spice bread • tuber root • taqq • vithi • yutann • xixu


 * drink : ale • Andorian sunset • citrus drink • faridd • fridd • glow-ale • gredlahr • katheka • punch • srjula • zhiassa

History

 * See the Age of Lament and Ten Lordships of the Thaha Dynasty articles for those eras of Andorian history.

It was the migration of early Andorian tribal clans to the the more temperate latitudes that caused the race to become violent yet efficient warriors. In the northern regions of their home world which were warmer, the Andorians found an abundance of food and learnt rudimentary agriculture. However, the warmer climate that affected the clans made them more war-like which led to conflict as they began to fight with one another for land as well as food even though there was plenty to go around at the time. The northern tribes grew hungrier for war as a result and they moved south to fight the clans in those polar regions. Fortunately, the colder climate curbed the invaders violent tendencies and led to a logical resolution to the conflict. Around 30,000 years ago was the end of the Andorian stone age with the earliest recognizable Andorian cities being formed. 

Since that point forward, the Andorians were engaged in constant warfare which was fought between the many warlords of both the local as well as regional levels. Each battled one another either for political or military advantage but other motives were present such as personal grudges or even sheer pique. These campaigns often shedded a great deal of Andorian blood and was another eason for the species rise as being warriors of virtue, courage, personal honor and skill at arms. This inter-species warfare ended by the year 1284 when the warlord Krotus arose and united the entire planet under his rule. It was during his reign that the Andorians entered their Industrial Age and achieved a level of peace as well as prosperity that was not known prior to that time. However, this period of their history came to a traumatic end when Krotus was assassinated by his own daughter in 1332. Deprived of his strong leadership, the Andorians fractured politically until 1597 when a dispute between two local warlords for control over a trade route at the Tharan Mountains ignited the tribal conflicts once more. 

This return to warfare was different from previous generations as this time the Andorian clan chieftains possessed advanced weaponry that was equal to that of Earth's 20th century. What followed a tragic and horrific period in their racial history that was known as the Time of Lament which lasted nearly a century and almost decimated the Andorian population. The after effects of this age had a devastating blow to Andoria's economic and infrastructure with many parts of the world returning to a pre-industrial age level of technology. From this ruined world arose Lor'Vela who was 14 years of age in 1692 who attempted to persuade her people to step away from the endless cycle of conflict. Lor'Vela herself fell sick at this time as she was sickened by her peoples destructive ways after witnessing her mother a kethni leader defeat a rival. From her sickness, she received a vision of her world restored to the glory that it had achieved from the reign of Krotus. When Lor'Vela recovered, she challenged and killed her mother in a duel thus gaining control over her kethni. After that, she sent ambassadors to the other clans that survived the Time of Lament and summoned them to the city of Tarsk. At the Council of Tarsk, she managed to convince the other kethni to abandon their war-like ways against one another and to demonstrate her new goal for unity - she released all the captives that her kethni held and allowed them to return to their respective clans. This act stunned the others who were persuaded in joining Lor'Vela in this dramatic shift in their society and form a world government. This led to the destruction of all written records before this period in the 17th century in order to erase any knowledge of past misdeeds that might trigger further conflict. 

Lor'Vela's actions would save her species who entered into their space age by the late 18th century and began colonizing space near their homeworld. This saw the development of 19 impulse ships that were filled with colonists in suspended animation and allowed them to colonize neighbouring star systems. During the 19th century, specifically in 1875, the primitive space farring Andorians encountered a Romulan starship carrying Emperor Vitellus with his vessel around the planet Andor. Though technologically inferior. through sheer luck, the Romulan ships shields collapsed and the Andorians managed to seriously damage the ship with their primitive weaponry. The ship later crashed on Andor where most of the crew were killed leaving Emperor Vitellus the only survivor who died shortly afterwards. At the time, he had been carrying an artifact known to his people as the Bloodstone which was recovered by a Healer known as Telev. At the time, his homeworld had succumbed to a terrible plague and through the artifact he had recovered from the crashed alien ship - he managed to use it to save his people from further suffering. This artifact would later be known as Telev's Bane and became linked deeply with Andorian history. At some unknown point in the future, the Andorians made first contact with the Ferengi who threatened them with full scale slaughter unless they were provided with merchandise to trade. One of the items given to the Ferengi was Telev's Bane. 

On Stardate -1/8703, the Andorians tested their first prototypes of sub-light interstellar starships. This later culminated in the formation of the Andorian Empire in -1/9609 with the first colonization of another world by Andorian explorers. Many of the early exploration efforts were lost and their fates were never discovered though enough managed to survive to form colonies that would be recontacted in the future when Andoria developed the warp drive in 2118. The already formed colonies served as a delicate chain of outposts that allowed the Andorians to further explore space and some of these Andorian worlds such as Cimera III made contact with other species such as Vulcanoid Rigellians. The Andorians were one of the few races that had developed warp drive technology by themselves. This allowed them to establish the Andorian Star Clan, an interstellar empire that consisted of 13 planets. 

As the Andorian Empire expanded, they eventually came into contact with the remnants of the Vegan Tyranny on Stardate 0/2204 with conflict erupting between the two. This war would rage across many years and ultimately ensure the downfall of the Tyranny who were unable to reform their empire and brought about them eventually disappearing from the galactic arena. They would later encounter the Vulcan's who were distressed by the Andorians violent nature and attempted to guide the species. However, the Andorians reacted violently to the Vulcans efforts as they believed the Vulcans were both overtly as well as covertly hampering their attempts at becoming an interstellar power. This led to a number of skirmishes between the two races until the signing of the Tau Ceti Accords. During First contact with the Terrans, the Andorians opened fired on the Human exploratory vessel, leading to hostilities that almost erupted into war. But before the Terran Alliance could mobilize, the Andorians received peaceful diplomatic overtures from the Vulcans' peace mission. 


 * The FASA RPG states that the Andorians got on well with the Vulcans, which contradicts canon in ENT that showed the two races to be engaged in hostilities.

In 2155, the Andorians along with the Tellarites were greatly disappointed in the Vulcan government not aiding the Coalition members against the aggressive actions of the Romulan Star Empire. Though ambassador Soval urged the Andorians and the Tellarites to remove themselves from the frontlines, the Andorians did not comply and instead attempted to aid the United Earth forces against the Romulans. It was only after the destruction of the Ka'Thalen Krotus and the battle of Threllvia IV did the Andorian government reconsider their options after learning that their vessels were particularly vulnerable to the Romulan remote hijacking weapon. 

During the 22nd century, Andorians armed their torpedo warheads with sirillium. Despite years of co-existence with the Tellarites, the Andorians were known to hold hostile relations with this founding Federation member race. Furthermore, the Andorian Engineering Corps was noted to service Federation member vessels. 

Starships

 * See Andorian starships.

Connections

 * A Rogues' Gallery of Andorians – exhaustive list of Andorian appearances (canon and non) compiled by Ian McLean
 * The Andor Files
 * The Andor Files