Andorian

Andorians are a curious blending of mammalian physiology with insectoid-like characteristics. They are humanoid in appearance with blue skin, white hair and a pair of knobbed antenna that are unnervingly active during interaction with other people. They are a comparatively tall species, averaging between 1.7 and 2.1 meters in height. This often gives them a misleading appearance of fragility, which is belied by their remarkable physical strength. Due to the extreme density of bone and muscle tissue, the average Andorian is quite capable of lifting an object of twice his or her weight. With a higher metabolic rate than Terrans, Andorians are especially vulnerable to phase pulse infection; even minor phase injuries could prove fatal. However, they have demonstrated resistance to a wide range of environmental conditions.

Females (shen and zhen) enjoy an equal position in Andorian society, and as soldiers are as capable as the males (thaan and chan).

Physiology

The most notable of the Andorian physical features are the antennae, which are set slightly higher on the head than ears on a human. These antennae are actually extensions of their sinus cavities, giving the Andorians a great sensitivity to minute variations in atmospheric pressure and temperature. They have an elevated aural sensitivity and an enormously enhanced sense of smell. The actual receptors are situated within the depressions at the tips of the antennae and are protected by the hard cartilaginous tissue that keeps the antennae rigid. The proximity of hominids can produce a "pins-and-needles" sensation in the antennae.

The antennae also express emotion, far more than do the facial muscles, and are the prime indicators of Andorian body language, such as:

• Polite interest by curving toward the object of attention,
• Fear or excitement by standing rigid and quivering,
• Weariness or depression by drooping,
• Confusion or upset by wringing and lashing,
• Sexual arousal by slow writhing,
• Intoxication by wobbling unsteadily in different directions,
• Rage by pressing back against the skull,
• Amusement or a shrug by facing each other. (The degree and intensity determine the intention.)

Because of the importance of the antennae, much of Andorian psychology revolves around these organs. Fear of damage to the antennae is deeper and more widespread than castration-anxiety in humans. Loss of antennae to an Andorian is the equivalent of deafness, muteness, castration and mutilation of the face to a human, and few Andorian warriors will voluntarily choose to live after such an injury. However the antennae do regenerate themselves in time, but the Andorian warrior is at a major disadvantage during the ensuing nine months. The uninvited touching of the antennae is considered an unpardonable rudeness, and the threat of injury to antennae is legitimate grounds for assault and murder.

Their senses are also more acute than those of humans, partly due to the function of antennae in sensing the environment around them. Andorian visual acuity is well above human standards. They listen by slightly bowing their heads, which gives them a false submissive demeanour, but they are actually positioning their antenna to get a better "view" of surrounding occurrences.

The spectacular colouration of Andorians is the result of a proteinous dye, HZB-41, analogous to melanin in humans, which is produced by nearly all Andorian animal life. The dye-cells have a comparatively short life span and must be produced constantly from protein sources in the diet. One of the most common symptoms of serious illness is insufficient dye production and a corresponding loss of skin colour. Andorians blush purple when embarrassed.

Like other mammals, they have an internal skeleton. However they also have plates of cartilage under their skin that act as a partial exoskeleton, providing added strength to their muscles and additional protection to the compartmentalised vital organs. Furthermore, Andorians can subsist on three or four hours of sleep during the 32-hour Andorian day. They are neither diurnal nor nocturnal and can even eat comfortably at midnight and then attend to duties.

Quadrigender

ThanIda Zh'Wann, an Andorian zhen

Four Genders, two superficially “male” and two superficially “female,” make up the Andorian species. These are thaan, chan, shen, and zhen. Sometimes it is difficult for an outsider to determine what gender an Andorian is on sight, as a chan can appear somewhat feminine and a shen can appear somewhat masculine. This is a very crude generalisation, though, since any thaan and chan might be mistaken for being the other respectively, which also applies for shen, and zhen. All four genders constitutes a bonding, equivalent of a wedding, and are also required for reproduction - the act known as shelthreth.

Gender Characteristics	Organs	Functions
Thaan	Internal testes, retractable penis	Produce sperm, fertilize shen
Chan	Internal Testes, retractable penis	Produce sperm, fertilize shen
Shen	Vagina, ovaries, uterus, average female breast tissue, retractable ovipositor	Receive sperm, produce egg, deposit egg in zhen’s womb, which dissolves there
Zhen	Vagina, more breast tissue than shen, womb with internal teats	Receive egg, nourish the embryo from the egg to term, gives birth vaginally

When the fertile period is upon the bonded quadruple, they emit certain pheromones that stimulate the gametes of the thaan, chan and shen. Meanwhile the zhen’s internal teats begin to produce milk, awaiting the egg from the shen.

The thaan and chan genders have internal testes and retractile penises. The gametes of each “male” gender contain one quarter of the number of genes necessary to produce offspring. The shen has an ovipositor. During the fertile period, the shen produces a haploid (containing half the genes required to produce offspring) egg. The egg - once fertilized by both a thaan and a chan - develop into a tiny immature embryo within a protective pod-like egg. During the shelthreth, the zhen’s vaginal passage is usually stimulated by all three of her partners to open and receive the egg. The shen then passes the egg through the ovipositor into the zhen’s waiting womb. After a couple of days, the egg will dissolve and let the embryo find a teat inside the womb. The yolk sac inside the shed egg is all that remains, and it is attached to the embryo's abdomen in the same area as the belly-button of a human would be. The yolk sac is usually shed before birth, but in some cases, as small as it might be, it might be removed after birth like any mammalian umbilical cord. The external breasts of a zhen will lactate and only the zhen is capable of nursing the young.

Psychology

Andorians are a hard-working and serious people, who are often but incorrectly viewed as humourless and irritable. The harsh history of early Andorian civilization has left a strong taboo against the appearance of frivolity or wasted effort, but it is more easily acceptable when not enjoyed in public. Andorians often feel uncomfortable when invited to pursue purely recreational activities like parties or social games. Their curt refusals often make them seem prudish or unsociable, while in fact they simply don't have a strong cultural reason for engaging in such activities. They also don’t engage in idle chit-chat. Conversations are to the point with only introductions given as a matter of courtesy.

The race has a genetic predisposition toward violent behaviour. Imminent danger causes a biochemical reaction to danger, resulting in either physical violence or an increase in sensory input levels, which, in turn, can enhance analytical and reasoning skills. Andorians do not succumb easily to pressure and actually get calmer in a crisis - until they get violent. Andorian history is one of conflict, though they do not battle without reason. The martial spirit is still alive in Andorian culture. Andorians are extremely disciplined, possessing a strong sense of duty and personal honour, and so they make excellent military officers. Andorian commanders take the time to study pros and cons of strategy when conditions of battle permit. However, in the heat of combat when Andorian lives are at stake, they will strike quickly and ferociously. This patience in a historically warrior culture is opposite from the mindset of warrior cultures like the Klingons and the Kazon, who embark on a course of action before having all the facts.

An Andorian smile is a soft, liquid gaze. They’ve adopted a tentative human-like smile because of familiarity with humans and will attempt the expression around other humanoids whose custom is to show friendliness by smiling. Andorian equivalent of a handshake among themselves is touching palms, fingers up. It is not a casual greeting to be used with newly introduced acquaintances, but an acknowledgement of trust or mild affection between two Andorians. When introduced to strangers or greeting personages of title or of age, an Andorian will execute a small bow. The Andorian bow is made from the shoulders rather than the waist or the neck.

Language

Irnashall ch’Xinya, an Andorian chan

Andorian speech is often, but not always, soft and sibilant due to their differing hearing apparatus. Some undertones of their communication are not immediately perceptible to other races and cultures. The ability to sense vibration and pitch has led to a cultural preoccupation with music, which was the original basis of Andorian language. The universal translator, however, amplifies their Federation Standard for ease of hearing.

The four Andorian genders are signified by prefixes used with the gender name, such as ch' and zh' for chan and zhen. The family name is prefixed with the gender of the individual and that the given name can be shortened conversationally. For example, KevaLen ch'Rhane, is a chan which is represented by the ch', a member of the Rhane clan and he often shortens his name to Len. In contact with other species, either the given name or the shortened version of it can be used in place of a surname, i.e. Lt. KevaLen or Lt. Len. Some Andorians who have been exiled may resort to other naming conventions, like using their last name with their rank.

Andorian Glossary

Here is a handy lexicon for Andorian words:

kharakom	Often described to humans as "boxing"
hleshvalath	Most Andorian fighting styles employ direct force, with the exception of this wrestling style which emphasizes grappling and restraint of the opponent - utilising slams, joint-breaks and bear hugs in a quick, brutal and efficient manner
alnaav	A rare and powerful martial arts style that requires a level of discipline and dedication rare even among Andorians
shoshi	Equivalent of "cool" or "awesome", metaphorically swift/speedy (not slang)
hefflak	Literally "merriment" but used as the earth-equivalant term for "incest"
bouf	"Pink", refers to things that do not work or are non-functional (see: pink skin)
ishinan	A command to make an attack, "open fire" or "weapons free"
kelthreh	One's own family
grelth	An arachnid
zhavey	Mother, or eldest mother
ren	Fire
xixu	A marine plant whose fronds may be mashed and used in baby food
klazh	An animal known for its careless way of moving
ishurni	Plural of ishur
shras	"Friend", which is significant enough to an Andorian, but ishurni may as well be siblings or spouses.
hari	A flatbread
khe'	Coldness
elta	A floral tree
vithi	An edible flower
gabavga	The full bladder and intestines of a "gabav." Best when served piping hot with a frosty mug of Andorian blue ale.
shola	Literally “the thing where/in which love is born,” is also a synonym for “soul” or “spirit,” with many of the same poetic connotations of those words in English.
jath’shola	(A person who “is the essence” of shola) is a loving, “soulful” person
feli	Someone who is passionate in the more standard sense
zztann	No translation. More or less means "things are very very very bad." Phrases to follow are normally along the line of "now we're really fwarked!"
challorn	A sweet-smelling flower
ondara	Music (literally: the sound the world makes)
hrisal	(Plural: hrisalni) is an Andorian sword-weapon, whose name translates to "best killing tool."
shax	A poisonous Parasitic insect that nests under the skin of its host. Shanchen’s mantle is a salve that provides temporary relief.
dosalnar	An Andorian sword-like weapon, and is among the top chosen weapons in Andorian duels.
eth'la	Type of flower vine
shapla	A betrothal symbol; woven locks of hair from bondmates
zhiassa	Mother's milk
schanchen	A type of medicinal plant
thasalla shiitar	An Andorian language term referring to a condition or situation where an Andorian's honor is obtained through combat, such as when a ship "goes down fighting".
karskat	Misbegotten
miral(ni)	The Andorian word for their antenna(e), literally meaning "best identifying/labeling tool." Used metaphorically when "measuring up" with each other, as Ferengi do with their lobes, and Terrans do with their "guts." When using its colloquial meaning in Federation Standard, Andorians usually use the blunter term "stalks." Asking Andorians if they "have the stalks" for something is questioning (or prodding) their courage or fortitude.
katheka	A stimulant analogous to coffee
ushaan	An Andorian tradition which means 'intimate' or 'private' combat that was developed in the planets brutal violent past.
tezha	Sexual union outside the shelthreth
shelthreth	Ritual consummation of marriage for the purpose of conception.
alneesh	A type of marsh bison
chaka	(Plural chakani) is an Andorian fighting blade weapon, similar to an over-sized Klingon d'k tahg with a sideways bat'tleh-style grip.
eketha	A type of hardwood tree
schnarzzed	Drunk, i.e. plastered out of one's freaking mind; see also fwarked or "fucked"
emvaiir	Hope
zabathu	A type of camel
thezuraa	A promise
shaysha	An edible beetle-like insect
shuralan	Gold; golden in color
shelat	Excrement, manure, defecation (aka shit)
rayth	A type of feline creature whose females are the dominant huntresses (quite like the Terran lion)
flabbjellah	A traditional Andorian sidearm that doubles as a musical instrument
zletha	A flower
cheldu	Refers to an ancient mystical art form of “healing touches”
hraas	Murder
tashrul	Archer; literally “person who injures from a distance”
shla’hlast	Infant; literally “the outcome of love: a living person”
kav	A liar
shelnak	Andorian currency, roughly the equivalent of one strip of gold pressed latinum or twenty human dollars.
ushevaya	Slang term for 'prostitute'
ohlasa	Explosion; “the sign/sound of fire”
ceara	Traditional clothing among zhen
cor’sala	“Thrill of engaging the enemy”
kollex	Icicle
dogra	Fertile soil; irrigated soil where food can grow
hroasen	Sleep (noun)
grela	“Messenger” or “courier”
lexu	“The touch of ice” or frostbite

Home World

Andoria is an “M” Class icy “moon” orbiting a ringed planet (Andor). In winter, a large portion of the planet is covered with snow. The Northern region remains icebound year-round and is the home of the sub-race of Aenar. Andoria is located close to Vulcan, which led to a series of conflicts between the Andorian Empire and the Vulcans. Andoria is also relatively close to the Sol system and Regulus. Andorian cities are mostly underground except for the uppermost floors and derive their energy from geothermal activity. The cities are connected to each other by thousands of kilometres of tunnels. Only during rare heat waves will the average temperature on Andoria rise above freezing, and even then only for a few weeks at a time. During mid-summer, a temperature reading of minus 28°C is not uncommon. Laibok is the Capital City of Andoria. But most Andorians call it simply the Capital City.

Andorian oceans are rich sources of food, industrial energy and scientific inquiry, not recreation. In spite of the cold climate of Andoria, large portions of the oceans remain open due to their salt content. These cold waters are fertile with sea life. In spite of its inhospitable surface, Andoria supports over 30 million people. At one time, Andorians numbered in the billions, but declining birthrates have reduced their numbers to 90 million in all of Andorian space. Andoria supports a thriving tourist industry. Its rugged terrain features several famous mountain ranges and spectacular glaciers. The view of the planet Andor in both the day and night sky is astounding, even to a space traveller.

Culture & Customs

Keval Ch'Rayya, an Andorian chan

Andorians serving in the military wear their hair short. Civilians wear their hair long, usually braided in a mass of braids and pinned up or hanging loose as suits the wearer. During sacred ceremonies, the hair may be worn unbraided and loose down the back.

The Andorian family includes all relatives of the four bondmates (one of each gender) and is called the Clan, or a Keth. A Keth may be quite extensive and number in the thousands. Keth still inhabit the underground caves (keeps) of their ancestors. A Keth will gather in a dedicated meeting hall known as Sanctuary. The meeting itself is called an Enclave. When the term is used, that indicates to all participants that ceremonial protocol must be observed.

Keth traditionally live and hold clan meetings in keeps, huge underground fortresses, most of them natural caves formed from volcanic or water action. The underground keeps take advantage of both subterranean heat and hot water to provide the hot and humid atmosphere that Andorians prefer. The meeting room of a clan has a large pool of naturally heated water in which those present immerse themselves.

All who are invited to the clan meeting (Enclave) must divest themselves of all clothing and don a provided one-piece garment called a shield, basically an oval of cloth with an opening for the head and something to tie the shield around the body like a poncho. Now considered a courtesy, changing into a shield garment is a carry over from clan warfare days when visitors had to divest themselves of all armour and weapons. Attendees enter barefoot, then slip into the pool, clothed in their shields.

All Andorians are screened from birth by the Keth for genetic fitness. This information is used to select the best four youth for marriage and procreation. A genetically inferior Andorian is not likely to be chosen for shelthreth. They will engage in shelthreth as long as they are together and only as a four-some. Engaging in sex for pleasure without the participation of all four is thought to be selfish, not living for the Whole.

In the few short years of fertility, Andorian will try to conceive as many children as possible to replace those who die. Unfortunately, fertile periods have been becoming shorter and fewer viable offspring have been born. The declining birthrate has forced the Andorians to arrange bondings among genetically strong members rather than let the young people choose their own love matches.

Andorian Artists

Andorians were renown for their artistic talents in both two and three-dimensional art. They also expressed themselves in literary and performing arts such as poetry, literature and music.

Andorians were a race of artists, which was largely tied in with their natural tendency towards violence and aggression. They were not Klingons, but in some ways they resembled Klingons in that they always had this anger just beneath the surface that could break out at any moment. They didn't lash out often but you could see when they were angry and when they were holding back from punching someone right in the face. However unlike Klingons, Andorians kept their anger in check. No matter how badly they wanted to throw a punch, they held back, largely because their culture, legal system, and unwritten code of behaviour was based upon obedience - following and upholding the rules as all costs. They were taught to do this from an early age. How an Andorian led their daily life was to not suppress their emotions as Vulcans did but to store them. Every annoying thing that happened, whether it was as tiny as getting a stone in your shoe or someone looking at them the wrong way, or as terrible as finding out your lover cheated on you, is was filed away to deal with later. You could see when they were angry but they held it back as best they could and usually, they succeeded. They hold back, store it. And then, later, they let out that anger all at once at a time that, according to their rules and their code of behaviour, is right. It helps make guardsmen into strong warriors.

But not every Andorian could be a soldier or an engineer. Many civilians threw themselves instead into the creative arts. Be is paintings, scultures, music, they store up their anger and their need to expel violent energy, and use it as fuel not to do battle, but to create beautiful things. Art was not a hobby to any Andorian. It’s something that many of them needed.

History

Ancient History

The first Andorian cities were founded underground where they could take advantage of geothermal activity. ‘Dwellings’ were hollowed out from rock and earth. In the stone age, the towns consisted of primative tunnels made simply by digging and shifting earth and stone about. As time went on, ancient Andorians gradually learned ways to create better and more comfortable dwellings for themselves, using more advanced tools to create their homes and the connecting tunnels. It was known that plant life (ie. vegetables) boomed in the summer (which occurs once every ten years), so tunnels to the surface were dug. Over the centuries, Andorians learned how to farm vegetables, but their diet, early on, consisted primarily of meat and fungi (mushrooms). Andorian fungi is rich in nutrients, so this was suitable to their needs.

The oldest town is thought to be Rhi, built underground on the continent of Ka'Thela. Ka'Thela has three inland seas, and Rhi was built close to one of these seas, where fishing provided a source of food. [Note that Andorian fishing is somewhat different to Earth fishing, but I will write a separate headcanon about that later.] Over time, as Andorians spread out and explored, neighbouring towns were built in Ka'Thela, with each of the three inland seas becoming the centre of distinct cultures, trading with each other, warring with each other, and expanding only as rapidly as a careful web of agriculture and trade could be built to ensure that outlying mountain or coastal settlements did not starve or freeze. Surviving arcitecture* depicts several emperors and grand wars, and contain many well preserved ancient structures (the twin guardians of Thalassa, statues of early Andorian warriors 70 metres high, are a particularly impressive and often photographed tourist sight.)

The three seas are named Thalassa, Kal'Sun, and Voral.

• The Thalassan Andorians, with their distinctive high, knobby antennae, eventually became the dominant Andorian race.

• The Talish Andorians (from Kal'Sun, distinguished by their greater variety of skin hues and forward, tendril-like antennae) emerged some time after the Thalassan.

• The Bish'ee Andorians, from Voral (distinguished by their richly blue skin and savage (even by Andorian standards) ways, interrupted their fighting long enough to build settlements. Bish'ee dominated cultures fractured in later ages. Apart from rich hoards of ancient weapons and tools, the only remnant of the Bish'ee are their descendants in Voral, sporting the 'diminishing’ antennae standing straight out from the head.

Since only a thin strip of Andorian latitude provides coastline that isn’t blocked by ice or threatened by deadly icebergs year-round, and since they did not have the materials to build boats (no trees, therefore no wood) Andorians avoided the oceans. Thus, civilizations moved and changed more slowly than on worlds with more water traffic. Glacial growth stretched over many centuries for even small changes, as day to day Andorian life featured desperate battles with each other and with the elements for survival, comfort, and warmth.

Despite the climate-induced stagnation, the early centuries of Andorian civilization were still a kind of 'golden age’, producing Andoria’s earliest ventures into music, art, philosophy, civil engineering, and other trappings of a young sentient species. The li-mi'sha texts penning a scientist/philosopher/rebel living near Thalassa are one of the most complete sets of written history avaliable from ancient history. They paint a stunning picture of a world driven by passion and frequently torn apart by it. (Obviously, they are written on parchment, because the materials to make paper or papyrus were not avaliable.)

The Kieloth

The first well-defined stage in Andorian history is the Kieloth, what Federation historians often refer to as the Andorian ‘medieval’ period, ranging approximately from the years 600BC to 1200AD on the standard Federation calendar. It began with the reign of a great Bish'ee King, Ankord of Jonava, who through force of will, gave western Voral a sense of unity that it would spend the next 1800 years trying to live up to. It ended with the global changes brought about by the conquests of a Ka'Thelan, Krotus, who exceeded Ankord’s achievement by doing the same thing for (or at least to) the entire world (well, the main continent of Ka'Thela and some of its surrounding islands, anyway).

Many Andorian traditions, such as the ornate leather-tabard-and-chainmail garb still used as ceremonial dress, originated here, as did the concept of the keth (clan). The small and numerous Andorian kingdoms of the Kieloth touched on (for the first time) nearly every habitable point on the continent of Ka'Thela. The slow underground migrations of previous centuries had finally resulted in widespread mixing of the three principle Andorian races, and established trade routes stretching from Jonava (in west Voral) to Kal'Sun - a remarkable achievement, considering some of the terrain and weather that the caravans dealt with on their year-long journeys. The legends of the previous eras fueled the poets of the Kieloth, and it was a time of artistic growth, urban squalor, and armoured warriors astride zabathu (Andorian camel). Rare instances of developed psionic talent seem to have first appeared shortly before this period (now thought to be the result of the telepathic Aenar traversing the lands, though evidence is circumstantial and these stories could just as easily be down to mythology and colourful, imaginative story-telling) and Andorian 'sorcerer kings’ battled for control of the lives of a terrified peasantry on the eastern shores of Voral.

In the underground villages huddled in the shadow of great halls, minstrels kept history alive in the form of song and plucked the strings of metal-forged, harp-like instruments, fitted with blades, in case audiences proved less than appreciative of the tale-teller’s interpretation of events.

The players in this period were many, and the roster shifts chaotically from decade to decade throughout most of the period. Study of the Kieloth tells the many stories of the rise and fall of everything from humble houses of worship to mighty military empires.

Life in the Kieloth was hard and brutal, but many today romanticise it, painting the squalid cities as quaint and colourful, bloody wars fought over a sagging great hall as honourable and vital, and people who were very possibly savage, psychopathic butchers as heroic defenders of some particular symbol, banner or keth. Many humans, in particular, are captivated by this period, since it seems to have been closer to the heroic images of Earth’s own Middle Ages than the Earth’s really was, even when accounting for the hyperbole and obvious distortion. The Kieloth was many unpleasant things, but it was, indeed, a time of adventure, extraordinary romance, and mystery. It was a time when a common burglar, like Ankord of Jonava, could become king simply by stealing the correct sacred spear and sleeping with the right group of influential princes and princesses, and when a madman, like the infamous Ulicri, could become king by smashing Ankord’s elderly skill with a clay pot of liqueur. From the cave of the average peasant Andorian however, it cannot have been very pleasant, since life on Andoria was a game of survival to begin with, and keeping warm and fed whilst those who own the land are distracted by lust and murder is a game more often lost than won.

After the death of Ankord of Jonava, the kingdom of Voral crumbled, those faithful to Ankord slowly migrating, dying, and/or changing allegiance, until eventually his kingdom was left a ruin. (The ancient kingdom of Voral would later be built over, during the renaissance period.)

Historically, the Kieloth is overshadowed by what followed, and is studied primarily for the things that it produced that are still beloved today (such as Andoria’s hundreds of distinct forms of bladed weaponry). The Kieloth laid the groundwork for the arrival and achievements of the mighty Krotus, the Ka'Lethian conqueror.

The Age of Krotus - 1245AD-1284AD

Krotus, the conqueror of Andoria (that is, the main continent of Ka'Thela and its surrounding islands), was arguably the greatest leader in galactic history, if for no other reason that his profound adaptability. When his career began, his small armies were equipped with swords and spears, speaking a minor dialect of an obscure language, and travelling on foot or by zabathu (Andorian camel). By the time he conquered his world, his armies (massive, and led, in part, by the survivors of those earliest campaigns) were equipped with maces, spearguns, catapults, and later, cannons, and had fluently adopted a newly rising language (Graalen) that would become the standard still used today, and travelled by machines (the first primitive vehicles). Krotus could seemingly bring a thousand soldiers into a city like a whisper, and could humble a nation and bring it a renaissance in what looked like a single stroke. “Andoria,” it has been said, “is a world tamed by Lor'Vela, but fathered by Krotus.”* Of the great minds and wills of the Age of Krotus, nearly everyone was either discovered, rescued, encouraged, inspired, given patronage, or murdered by the conqueror. His footprint on the snows of Andoria is doubtless eternal. (Figuratively speaking, of course.)

Legends sing of Krotus’ youth as a Talish fur-trapper, leading his band against a nameless warlord beneath the Enessi Mountains. Economists point to his enforced food and fur exchanges saving tribes from starvation and laying the groundwork for trade routes that would endure until today. The Andorian military institute - the Imperial Guard - still studies the lightning series of marches, diplomatic triumphs, intelligence coups, and brutal displays of power that brought all of Andoria under his sway in just under forty years.

Ethnologists describe the marriage of Krotus and his trusted lieutenant Belcorus to a Thalassan zhen and shen as the core of Andorian racial unity. Moralists sermonize on Krotus’ fate, slain in his dotage by his own daughter as his empire eroded. The stories of the many battles, allegiances, vendettas, and friendships along the way could fill (and have filled) hundreds of volumes, some of them possibly true.

Legacy of the Conqueror - 1245-1400 AD

In the two hundred years that followed the conquest, Andoria matured and advanced more rapidly than it had ever done before - and along with the advancement came war, as chunks of the culture that had been held together by the will of Krotus fought for independence. Eventually the ancient kindom of Voral, left in ruin after the death of its leader, Ankord of Jonava , was recolonised, the ruins built over with new and improved dwellings and structures and much of the history lost as slowly, ancient structures and artefacts were covered and overshadowed by the homes and structures of the new population. In the meantime, Andorian engineers and scientists began to experiment with creating more advanced technology - finding other ways to achieve feats that they had previously been unable to achieve due to a complete lack of trees and therefore wood and paper on their world. Records were made on parchment. The streets were being lit by oil lights, goods were being moved more quickly across continents using early machinery, and communication seemed to advance almost as rapidly as it tended to break down - for once the cultures broke free of the empire, they began to fight amongst themselves. The Andorians were able to destroy one another more violently, defend themselves more cleverly, and survive climatic extremes that had previously defied settlement. Some built entire cities within the mountains, others braved epic journeys across the ice-topped oceans; others wrote novels or ate well or danced the cold nights away. Increasingly, most woke up threatened by the spectre of war and took up arms to fight wars tangled in the clan lines that were a source of honour, pride and hatred.

During this period, the divide between rich and poor gradually became more pronounced - largely due to the movements of parchment. Parchment is harder to come by than paper would have been (if paper had ever existed on Andoria, which it didn’t), because it requires the killing of animals for their skins plus the skilled crafting of that skin into a writing material, and the impoverished could neither afford to obtain enough quantities of parchment to make detailed records on, nor could they even learn to read in the first place due to the lack of material to read. Parchment, and therefore books, was a luxury of the rich, and was used largely to broaden their knowledge and the education of their children, keep records, and keep the rich rich and the poor poor, by manipulating the movements of trade and currency. The poor kept their own records mostly by memory, word of mouth, drawings and paintings, and (for those few that did manage to learn how to read and write), writing on walls, stones, and in some rare instances, making carvings in clay. (Rare, because pottery, or at least well crafted pottery, was also a thing of the rich - but some peasants did work as potters and could therefore obtain their own hand-crafted pottery by that means.)

It was the constant warring that brought about a boom in technological growth. The ever-present threat of war inspired and/or frightened scientists and engineers to work harder and faster than ever before, groups of visionaries and inventors faithful to particular clans pooling their resources to invent better weapons, better travelling machines, better methods of storing their food and maximising their profits, and so on, for the sake of protecting their clans and homes. Each clan, or each group of 'allied’ clans, knew that their enemies were doing the same, so coming up with new technology and implementing it became a race against time. It was this boom in technology that brought about the industrial era.

The Industrial Era, trade, and war - 1400-1600 AD

By about 1400AD on the Federation calender, Andoria had largely become an industrialized world - or at least, the main continent of Ka'Thela, the most heavily populated area, had. The transition process was a gradual one, so cataloguing the era by date is not easily done and historians and keth'rasi will today argue over the finer details. During the late Renaissance period voyages across the seas had begun and colonisation of distant lands was slowly taking place, but due to the lack of boats (no trees, therefore no wood to build boats) progress on this front was extremely slow. Ka'Thela remained the major and most heavily populated and powerful continent in the world (and still does, to this day).

Thara, a confederation of nations occupying a full third of the Ka'Thela continent and most of the land connecting the major cities, had grown wealthy in the two centuries following the conquests of Krotus, as it occupied a front-row seat for two of the most important trade artery on the planet - the tunnels through the Thara mountain ranges, and the rivers connecting the three inland seas. At this time, Keth Utarsk was the ruling family of Thara (and to this day, are still the most influential keth (clan) in the city named for them). At least twenty other kethri were and still are involved with and are loyal to Keth Utarsk.

It is important to remember at this point that gathering and storing food was a constant struggle for Andorians - much moreso than it ever was on Earth. In the summer, the surface would become warm enough to walk on (though still dangerous due to cold weather) and plant and animal life would flourish, whilst in the winter, food production would stagnate, and the surface of the world would become completely uninhabitable. With summers that occurred only once every ten years, Andorians had to, and still must, make use of what short time they have to farm, catch and gather as much food as possible, and then decide what they want to stockpile and what they want to trade.

River trade

In the summer, once every ten years, Andorian traders and fishermen would take to kayaks and canoes (the only types of boats that Andorians had been successful in building, due to the fact that they are not made from wood but can be composed of animal hides stretched over bones), and amid a flurry of activity would swiftly catch and stockpile mass quantities of fish and distribute these about the continent via the river trade routes. Summer fishing was done in a similar manner to that of the Inuit people of Earth - that is, seeking out an isolated spot and killing fish one by one using a lure and a pincer-like trapping device. (Nanook of the North is a fascinating documentary that shows the life of the Inuk. To see the segment showing their fishing methods, fast-forward to 15:30. It’s a silent movie, so you can turn the sound off while you watch without missing anything.) Fishing nets were not used, as the materials to weave nets were hard to come by and boats large enough to implement fishing nets could not be built.

Fishing and capturing enough fish to sustain a population, and then distributing fish by small river boats about that population, during the short summer period, required great manpower, as well as great dedication and organization, and with both war and devastating weather conditions constantly upon the horizon, many fishermen and traders had to travel far afield and frequently perished whilst they worked. Storing food that would last from one summer until the next being a constant difficulty faced by all Andorians, and it was not uncommon for those who were unable to farm, catch, or buy their own food to steal it from others. The life of a river trader was a difficult and often dangerous job. Many who worked in this capacity, chose to do so either for the thrill and the challenge, or the ridiculously high pay (which was seen as adequate to account for the danger factor).

The reason why river trading was done at all (considering how dangerous it was) is that travelling by river was infinitely faster than doing so by underground caravan. People wanted their food, and they wanted it fast, and would often be willing to pay greater quantities of currency to those that could get it to them quickly. So fish (and other food, but primarily fish) was frequently transported by many small canoe-like boats that would brave the river rapids in order to deliver these goods. Of course this could only be done in the summer, so in more ways than one it was a race against time to get the job done.

Underground trade

By the time of the industrial era, tunnels dug through the rocks and caves connected each town and city with every other town and city, and throughout the winter years, caravans maintained regular travel and distribution of goods. In the renaissance period carts were towed by zabathu (Andorian camel) - by the industrial period, machines began to gradually replace the zabathu, enabling traders to travel more quickly and safely. They were, initially, something like trucks or cars, but with larger more robust structure suitable for getting along the rocky tunnels. They were frequently preyed upon by raiders, pirating thieves who would ambush a vehicle and steal the goods, often killing the travellers in the process.

The truck-like vehicles did not last long. About 20 years after they had begun to fall into use, and before zabathu caravans had fallen out of use (because the switch was not immediate; there was an overlap) they began to be replaced by the next thing.

The next thing was underground rails, that would take carriages through the tunnels even more swiftly, built in a manner similar to that of our Earth underground trains. The invention of underground trains made what had once been a dangerous process into one that was, for the most part, safe, and was probably the single most important invention in the history of modern Andoria, revolutionizing trade and making it possible for food, medicines and other materials to be distributed far more quickly and in greater quantities than ever before. Faster trade means faster overall production (with not only consumable goods but also raw materials also being transported back and forth more quickly), so the rails were directly responsible for a boom in public health, cultural growth, and population.

The invention of the railway was a direct response to the violence and danger of war. Those loyal to Thara and Utarsk, in an attempt to keep their trade routes from breaking down, invented the railways in order to ensure the safety of their traders and goods, protecting their own from thieves and pirates, as well as maximising profits at the same time. (As mentioned above, the recipient will often pay more for something that can be delivered quickly, and whereas journeys made by zabathu caravans could take weeks or months, and journeys made by truck could take typically 1-4 weeks depending on the distance, railway travel could get from one end of the continent to the other in under 5 days. Over time and as technology improved, the speed of the railways gradually increased, cutting that time frame down to 2 days or less.)

The Modern Age / The Age of Information

Due to constant skirmishes and wars fought during the industrial period, Andorian technology began to advance more quickly as governments demanded new and better ways of ensuring their continued power, putting scientists and engineers to work on inventing underground railways, weapons, and electronic communication methods, among other things. Radio and computer technology and internet communication sprung up during the late industrial era. It was the refinement of these inventions in the mid 1600’s, that heralded the modern age.

Computers and telephones were originally intended for use by the Andorian military in fighting their many wars and skirmishes. But as time wore on, this technology began finding its way into civilian businesses, and with it, possible the single most important invention in the history of Andoria: The PADD.

PADDs were invented on Andoria a great deal earlier (relative to the technology of the time) than their Earth equivalent (the Kindle and the iPad). Originally they were extremely primitive. About as big as a suitcase, with minimal options and only 2 colours on the screen - black and white. When you wanted to use it, you would have to set it down on a hard surface, open it up, then wait for 20 minutes whilst its systems churned into action. An incredibly clunky and inconvenient thing. It was exactly what the Kindle would have been like if it had been invented in the 1960’s, if you can imagine such a thing. The reason why Earth did not invent this device as early in its people’s history as the Andorians did, is because we had little need for such a thing - we had our old-fashioned books and magazines: on Andoria, where there is no paper and where the only thing that can be used for writing on is an expensive luxury item available only to the very wealthy, PADDs had a great deal more demand and use.

Once PADDs began finding their way into businesses, where managers and staff would use them to help organize their finances and the goings-on of working life and business, they gradually became popular, and around their growing popularity, society on the whole began to experience a gradual change. Andorians who previously had never had the opportunity to obtain parchment or learn to read and write, could use PADDs to educate themselves.

As the decades went by, computer technology, telephones, and the all-important PADD’s were refined, eventually becoming accessible (both in regards to physical size and cost) to all but the poorest of the poor.

This closed the gap between the rich, educated, and noble born Andorians, and the poor, uneducated, peasant classes. But Andorians from traditionally wealthy and privileged families did not take this lightly. Feeling threatened, they refused to allow those from the common and humble clans to raise themselves too high, and did what they could to keep the class system in place. Since Andoria was not a democracy but worked on a political system that is more like a monarchy (political power being something that largely inherited - the children of the leaders becoming the next leaders, and so on) this was not so difficult to do.

Despite the technological and sociological advancements, Andoria still suffered from many wars - often short lived ones that were fought over politics and the trafficing of goods (and in particular, food). War and the distribution of wealth was largely responsible for keeping the poor in poverty and for the wealthy maintaining their empires. The poor fought back in their own small ways, but the governments kept them down in their own ways, much as the governments of Earth do today, in the 21st century.

Geshev and Lor'Vela

Today, it is popular to say that as Lor'Vela came to adulthood, Andoria was dying and tired of war. This is a convenient image, but not entirely true.

Andoria was suffering. At the height of the wars, when modern technology had advanced to a degree that weapons of mass destruction were available, atomic weapons had scoured seven major urban targets, engineered diseases ran rampant, and simple starvation and exposure - natural conditions that were exacerbated by these wars - swelled the river of death twofold.

There were those, however, who were just getting warmed up.

In the Dharan uplands there lived a woman named Geshev, a warlord Atlolla of a powerful keth. Geshev was busy seizing power through treachery. Taking advantage of the weariness and broken hopes of her neighbouring clan chieftens, she called a meeting meant to begin talks of peace - and slaughtered those who attended, leaving their heads in a bloody circle in the snow. With centralized power and communications now dying in Dhara, Geshev was able to seize control of three rival clans in one day, and the surviving victims of her treachery, broken and helpless, turned to her for what cold mercies they might be granted in order to survive. Those who didn’t immediately recognize her rule went into a vengeful rage - which Geshev cleverly manipulated to her own ends, fostering conflict on the battlefields that had seemingly exhausted their potential for war.

Geshev conquered by guile and force with equal handiness. Within three years, the uplands of Dhara were hers, and her clan was among the most powerful on a dying world. Geshev’s clan became a source of cheap weapons and slaves, feeding the tiny fires that flared up regularly in the surrounding lands, and Geshev grew powerful, riding a wave of death and misery. Geshev is not a destroyer on the same level that Hitler was - the scale of her power did not stretch so wide or ravage as many lands. But it is an important piece of Andorian history, because it marks one of the darker eras of Ka'Thela, and more importantly, eventually became the catalyst for change.

Geshev had built a minor empire on her ability to divide those who desperately needed unity. Her daughter, who is known now by the name ‘Lor'Vela’, determined to reverse that trend and end the misery her keth was responsible for, called her mother out to fight in 1678. Lor'Vela was 14 years old, clumsy, awkward, and determined to kill.

The duel was not the ritual of skill and sport that Lor'Vela would later introduce to her weary world; it was a savage battle fought around a snow-crusted creek in Dhara one summer, as dozens or hundreds looked on. Poets and artists depict it as a sad occasion, with both combatants tearful and bitterly regretting where events had taken them, but grimly determined nevertheless, though historical records of the event are patchy, so we cannot know for certain what it was really like. Geshev lost, her body slashed and punctured by the furious young girl determined to undo what her mother had done. Lor'Vela herself was wounded but able to walk, and able to scream to all those assembled that her mother’s keth was now hers.

In a matter of years, the Tharan and even east Ka'Thalan clans had begun to take notice of what was happening in Dhara. A young girl had risen to command a powerful clan that had been built out of other clans by treachery - and had turned that wicked creation into a kind of federated force for rebuilding their land. The Dharans were still starving, sick, and struggling to live, but they were no longer at war - not with one another and not with their neighbours. Their laws were strict, written by the young woman and her remaining three parents, and dictated that matters of pride and anger would be settled by formal duel of chakani. Soon, clan chieftains from even distant Voral had visited the young and remarkable woman, to speak with her and learn the secrets of Dharan peace. Andoria had found hope again, and the young woman was named by all as Lor'Vela, literally “the woman who brought the laws”.

New Hope and Sacrifice

In 1692, after several false starts and delays caused by skirmishes and the worst weather in anybody’s memory, clan leaders from every surviving keth on Andoria gathered in a rebuilt hall in the city of Tarsk. Lar'Vela addressed them all, and for sixty days they spoke, and debated, and some even dueled - some clans resolving issues then and there that would have otherwise blocked the proceedings. In the end, laws had been written, decisions had been made, a government sketched out, and a great sacrifice was placed on the alter of time.

Lor'Vela herself made the sacrifice. Her own clan, a patchwork of might assembled of lies and cowardly murder, the deeds of her mother, was to be dissolved, with the conquered bloodlines set free to find their own ways again and determine their own chieftains. Lor'Vela gave up her position as leader entirely, to step into the ranks of society, and to live with her family in peace.

A Time of Achievement

With a new council of 300 in place, the Andorians rebuilt their home over the next few decades. They restored major rail lines and trade began to flourish again. The first few years still saw military flare-ups, border disputes and passion-driven assassinations, but few armies were mobilized, and no towns were besieged. Lor'Vela herself, perhaps ironically, died in a duel at the age of 59, defending the honour of her wife and husbands against a scandal engineered by a jealous rival.

Prosperity paid many dividends for the Andorians, who again embraced the pursuits of fine art, stirring music, good food and meaningful literature. A spirit of adventure and vigorous commerce prevailed. Andorians were even able to finally conquer the oceans, when Keth Ortharnu launched ironclad explorers designed for cutting through the ice. When the first of these shrugged off a collision with an iceberg on a long run along the northern shore of Voral, it was as if the Andorians had cast off an ancient demon, and could look upon their seas with a sense of possibility, insread of dread. The first ironclad ice cutter to circumnavigate the globe was the Kumari.

In 1734*, Andoria took her historic first steps into the galaxy around her, on a tiny manned rocket called the Lolis Canir. Launched by Keth Ivari from their homegrown facilities in Jonava, this primitive single-stage rocket set off a brushfire of progress as engineers from across the globe joined Keth Ivani. Every Andorian watched or contributed, awaiting the day that they could step out among the stars. Andorians constructed the first permanent colony on one of their neighbouring moons (on the site of modern city of Eghar) by 1805. Within four decades, Andorian zeal for space travel placed scientific colonies on other worlds in their own solar system and the time seemed ripe for even bolder adventures.

Hopes Lie Broken

The early years of in-system colonization led to the discovery that not all habitable worlds are like Andoria, and early expeditions into space taught the first Andorians - who travelled at pre-warp speeds, that in fact, a great many worlds were out there that were not like Andoria at all, and a great many stars were not like Andor. Up until this point, Andorians - or at least, those Andorians that believed in life on other worlds - assumed that all worlds would be like their own. They were surprised when first they learned of the existence of deserts, woodlands and forest.

Some of these early space travellers planned to colonize these worlds, believing that they would be the answer to many of the problems they faced on their own homeworld. With surfaces that were habitable year-round, and enough warmth for farms and plantations to flourish, this could be the end to hunger and starvation for the Andorians. Dreams of colonizing beyond the rim of their home star system manifested as a reality in 1822 when a team of Andorian scientists working in the orbital colony Ashalni'han announced a perfected form of cryogenic suspension. Working with Keth Ivari engineers, they drew up the plans for the Andorian ‘sleeper ships’ that would define an age of excitement and terrible tragedy for their world.

Of course there were some that opposed these plans. Many Andorians believed that colonization was a mistake, and that moving their people to worlds that were different to their own ice moon, would result in a loss of the identity and heritage of the Andorian people. The ice was where they were born and where they had lived for millions of years, and the ice, they felt, is where they should stay. It might not always be pleasant, or convenient, but it was what made the Andorians strong, and what made them who they were. The overall result was a widespread excitement for the project, dappled with a great deal of discomfort and public unrest.

Despite the protests and occasional rioting and vandalism, the plans went ahead. Keth Ivari and their associates constructed and launched nineteen vessels, beginning in 1830, aimed at stars both near and distant. Robotic vessels launched at two-year intervals followed each ship, carrying additional emergency supplies and equipment to help build the colonies and make it possible to send word back home. Thousands of Andorians (an average of 720 per sleeper vessel, each one hand-picked from thousands of applicants from which 'the best of the best’ were selected - scientists, scholars, artists, philosophers) boarded the vessels, and thousands died, or were simply lost in the blackness of space.

Fifteen of the ships simply failed. They malfunctioned, or were struck by meteors, or were diverted by unexpected gravity wells, or were destroyed by ion storms. In later centuries, the Andorians (with the help of their Federation allies) send out expeditions to find these lost vessels, to bring them home, to give proper respect to the dead. Three of the ships are still missing - lost in the vastness between the stars. If their systems are still operating, the hundreds may still be revivable, but as none of the twelve vessels recorded by 2360 have been operational, such hopes seem romantic at best. Of the nineteen ships launched, only four found destinations at nearby stars and brought their passengers to colonize new worlds.

The colonies, sadly, became mass graves. Unfortunately, the Andorians had been unaware of the effects that UV radiation emitted by these stars would have on their bodies - not to mention disease and other problems that occur when visiting alien worlds. And so for a time, the attempt to build an off-world colony seemed far away, the hopes of the people dashed. Meanwhile those who had opposed the project from the start harboured a sort of grim satisfaction over it - the tragedy proved that they had been right all along (or at least, that was what some chose to believe.)

First Contact and the UFP

First contact between the Andorians and the Vulcans took place 1953, leading to a prolonged period of hostilities. Their first contact with the Vulcans was promising, but relations sour in time. The threat of mutual annihilation exists as early as the 1950s. In the 2060s, the two species held eight-year-long territorial negotiations. At year 2105, the Vulcan and Andorians finally agree to a territorial compromise. Despite the agreement, tensions remained high and the two sides almost went to war twice over the next 92 years.

The immediate result of such thinking was that a planetary government consisting of a council of representatives, one from each major clan, became feasible. Thus did Andor jump from a fragmented, clan-based monarchy to a fairly unified, planetary parliament, without going through the stage of nationalism. This unique case of rapid social evolution proved remarkably successful for the Andorians, although it did cause some problems with early contacts between the Andorian Empire and the other Federation co-founders (Earth, Alpha Centauri, Vulcan, Tellar).

Government & Military

At first glance, one might wonder how such an aggressive species managed to keep from destroying itself when technological progress made super-efficient weaponry possible. Surprisingly, Andoria has never suffered what humans would term a major civil war. The fact is that ancient Andorians placed stringent restrictions on their fratricidal weaponry, as well as on their inter-tribal aggression. Andorians have always restricted their weaponry with their practical attitude toward warfare.

Specifically, they never lost sight of what they are fighting for: hrashklain (food-land). Being painfully aware of their dependency on their herds, and the herds' dependency on the fat-grass, Andorians are much more solicitous of the welfare of their beasts and lands than they are of each other. They are, by nature, the most passionately concerned ecologists in the Federation and not even Vulcans outdo them. In fact, the Andorian word for "criminally insane" is derived from the words for destroyer of grasslands.

To an Andorian, the whole point of warfare is to seize the prize, which prolongs the life of the victor; therefore, nothing could be more insane than to destroy or injure the prize. As a result, all weapons that could in any way damage the lands or herds are fiercely banned. This is why, despite their warlike nature and long technological history, Andorians still fight duels with spear, sword, axe, knife, and bow.

In an Andorian city, a social gaffe is cause for assault, murder or ritual suicide. This is understandable when one considers that the breaching of custom is the equivalent of declaring war upon members of one's own clan, and hence too dangerous to excuse.

Andoria is legally a constitutional monarchy, in spite of the fact that no single ruler has reigned over the planet in centuries. The last ruler, Thalisar the Last, deliberately died childless and abolished clan warfare. She brokered peace on the site of what is now The Plaza of Freedom in Andoria's capital city. This is an octagonal public space that contains fountains, towering leaves of translucent green mica from the Archipelago and a cerulean blue obelisk to the memory of Shran. During her reign she instituted the parliamentary system that would succeed her, and which has governed Andoria ever since. However, her throne “The Empty Throne” still exists in the room in which parliament meets, an honoured relic of the Andorians’ past.

Am Tal is the Andorian equivalent of Section 31 of Earth and the V’Shar of Vulcan. Their operations are not confined to Andoria and are known to engage in black ops. They sometimes provide vital information that advances the interests of Andoria through “anonymous sources” to Starfleet Intelligence.

The Imperial Guard

The Andorian Imperial Guard is the primary military force of the Andorian Empire, and maintains both starships and infantry. It has ranks of general, captain, commander, and lieutenant, and is staffed with both male and female personnel. The standard sidearm issued to Imperial Guardsmen is an assault-rifle-sized weapon that fires blue energy beams. It does not have a stun setting. When a Guardsman died far from home, it was his compatriots' duty to take a piece of the fallen back with them to Andoria (e.g. a vial of their blood). This item was to be taken to the Wall of Heroes. Commanders who lose ships under their command are seldom reassigned to the command of another starship. After the founding of the Federation, many Andorians served in Starfleet, although Andoria continues to support its own military forces for the protection of Andorian space.

Andorian military theories and practices differ significantly from those of Starfleet. Unlike Starfleet, a scientific and exploratory organization, the Imperial Guard is, first and foremost, a military force intended to protect the Andorian people, territory, ships, and trade routes. The IG leaves exploration to the Andorian Astronomical Study (an entirely separate organization.)

The Imperial Guard believes in taking an aggressive stance when facing problems, and its military doctrine reflects this strategy. While it won’t, to use a colloquial Earth term, 'pick any fights’, it doesn’t hesitate to respond with whatever means are necessary to finish them. To use the Andorian phrase, “The first strike is to the enemy, the duel is to the death.” Anyone who threatens Andorians anywhere will find themselves subject to multistage retaliation from the Imperial Guard. The standard attack pattern involves wings of fighters supported by squadrons of larger ships. While the smaller ships use their manoeuvrability to attack enemy ships from above and below, the larger ships make direct attacks, catching a target in a withering crossfire.

Despite their reputation for ferocity and bravery, Andorian military personnel aren’t fools- they don’t fight unreasoningly or when better options present themselves. They also know that even retreat has its strategic value; aggressiveness doesn’t mean pressing an attack which has no hope of success or fighting until the last Andorian dies. Besides, when better than a retreat, to spring an ambush on an unsuspecting foe?

After the Federation was formed and Andorians began joining Starfleet, who now protected what was once known as only 'Andorian Space’, the Imperial Guard remained only in their own region, as a home guard, protecting against threats that Starfleet could not protect them from (such as for example, the Klingons in the 23rd Century, and the Dominion in the 24th Century. Starfleet did not always have enough ships to spare, or could not mobilise ships fast enough when they did.) Even in the 24th Century, Andoria does not wish to give over complete and utter faith that Starfleet will always be there for them no matter what. Andorians are proud and patriotic people, and the Imperial Guard is considered the last line of defence that protects Andoria from any invasion force. After the fall of Betazed to the Dominion in 2374, the Imperial Guard experienced something of a 'revival’ on Andoria, where suddenly the number of potential recruits doubled, almost overnight.

Joining the Imperial Guard

Joining the Imperial Guard is not easy; there are strict mental and physical requirements (the entrance examination is one of the toughest tests in the Alpha Quadrant!) Prospective cadets must meet rigorous standards of physical fitness, intellectual determination, and personal fighting skill. Roughly one Andorian in five who seeks admission to the Imperial Guard succeeds in ‘breaking in’, to use the Andorian term.

Those who manage to pass the entrance exams attend Chekthora, the prestigious Andorian Military Institute on Andoria. Tathrev Asiva, now one of Andoria’s most revered visionaries, revived the AMI two centuries ago. After the Andorian unification and before the development of space travel, Andorian military schools had withered to nothing more than duelling academies, since nations no longer had to train soldiers to fight other nations. The challenges and dangers posed by the exploration of space, and the potential of encounters with strange (possibly hostile) alien races, prompted the young officer Tethrev Ivari to propose the restructuring and revival of an ancient school, to train Andoria’s space-based military forces. He worked and duelled long and hard to convince other Andorians of the need for such an institution, and ultimately succeeded.

Admittees to the AMI are known in Federation Standard [English] as 'cadets’, but most Andorians refer to them as thras'chaaki (“they who seek knowledge of the processes of war”). A thras'chaak studies at the institute for four years in a program that Starfleet later (from the early 23rd Century) modelled some of its curriculum on, in part. In the first year, an intensive exercise program (including several months of wilderness survival exercises) whips the cadets into shape physically while grindingly harsh courses turn Andorian military doctrine and procedure from theory to instinct. Most importantly, cadets adapt to Andorian military culture – specifically, they learn to control and restrict their natural tendency towards ritual duelling. Imperial Guard officers must channel their duelling instincts into their performance; career service in the Imperial Guard is sometimes called Kashuunavek, “the twenty year duel”. Over a quarter of the cadets drop out in the first year, many are booted out for frivolous dueling.

The second and third years of study focus on advanced military instruction. In their second year at the Institute, cadets further into Andorian tactical and strategic doctrines. In the third year, cadets have to make the difficult choice of specialized training. They then attend classes in special 'schools’ within the Institute which prepare them for careers in those fields. A cadet who proves unsuited to a particular course of study can transfer to another one, but this usually requires them to remain at the Institute for a fifth year and mark them as a lightweight to the other, properly focused, soldiers.

The fourth and final year of the Imperial Guard study is a 'practicum’ in which the cadet receives the rank of Chaken (Ensign [provisional]) and an assignment to a ship to gain hands-on experience in their chosen field. Most cadets, while very excited at the prospect of finally getting out into space on a ship, quickly learn that it’s not all glory– they work hard and spend more time studying than getting into space battles or emergency situations. Still, more than one cadet has distinguished themselves with heroics during the fourth-year training course.

The Institute’s graduation ceremony takes place in the Rotunda of Generals, where the graduating class is flanked by statues of Tathrev and other Andorian military heroes. At graduation they not only receive their diploma, but learn which ship or base the Imperial Guard has assigned them to. They depart Andoria the next day for life on their first ship.

Technology

Andorians are fond of technology, but they insist on its use with respect for nature. For this reason, their early wars of conquest were fought with a regard for planetary environment, and so the Andorians avoided much of the ecological devastation suffered by other cultures.

Mythology

A commonality in Andorian myths is that Andorians lack a piece of self-knowledge, which makes them unworthy of evolving beyond who or what they are. Nothing in the natural animal or plant biology, or fossil record, of Andor indicated an origin for sentient Andorians' unique four-gender paradigm. Until recently, a growing number of theorists have speculated that Andorians may not have evolved on the planet they consider to be their home world. Were they originally space-faring refugees from a dying planet?

Belief in the First Kin permeates all of Andorian culture and is especially important in the family.

The Star Guardian guides and protects the thaan gender. The Guardian’s attribute is Wisdom. The thaan is the member who initiates the consummation of the shelthreth with the shen. It is highly symbolic that a deceased Andorian’s soul and body are offered to the stars at the Sending. The soul is on a journey, to the wisdom beyond.

The chan gender is guided by the Fire Guardian. The Guardian’s attribute is Passion. It is the chan who completes the shelthreth with the shen after a good deal of foreplay amongst all four bondmates. Passion within the shelthreth is as sacred as the begetting of offspring.

The shen gender is guided by the Water Guardian. The Guardian’s attribute is Blood. The shen is the giver of life, the gender that produces the egg from which the Andorian is formed. During the season of the worst storms, the shen will paint the icon of “her” gender on the gates of Clan Keep in “her” own blood as a sacrifice to the Water Guardian and in preparation for the Spring Water Festival. This period of prayer, fasting and sacrifice is to plead with the Guardian for protection against the storms. Once this rite is performed and the Andorians are assured of the Water Guardian’s protection, feasting, dancing, and celebration follow.

The zhen gender is guided by the Earth Guardian of the zhen gender. The Guardian’s attribute is Strength. It is the zhen that nurtures the infant Andorian to independence and guides the young child in the ways of the people and the clan. Once the children are grown, the elder zhen of the clan often assume important political and societal roles, such as Clan leader, Party chieftain, Counsellor to the Federation, Priestess of one of the guardians or deities. This is not to say that other genders do not take on some of these roles, but zhen are particularly suited for these professions.

Each gender takes its duties within the bond very seriously. The attribute becomes a spiritual path, but of course not all thaan are wise, not all zhen have inner strength, etc. After the first shelthreth, the members of the bond become very close emotionally and spiritually each gender a part of a spiritual Whole within each of the other bondmates. Andorians believe that in the bond, the Whole becomes greater than the four of them singly. One’s life belongs to the Whole and the lives of the Whole belong to the one. Wisdom, Strength, Blood, and Passion. Without all Four, the Andorian is incomplete.

To lose a member of the bond to death is like losing a part of one’s soul. The surviving members are no longer Whole and soon after the Sending they look to replace the lost member. To live for the Whole extends into Andorian society. Reminders of the First Kin are everywhere, represented by symbols, carvings, and statues. It is with these reminders that Andorians approach their meetings, whether of the Keth or of the Parliament, with ritual and respect so that nothing they do or say will harm the Whole.