Andorian Empire
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
The Andorian Empire was the imperial government of the Andorians and a founding member of the United Federation of Planets in 2161. The capital world of the Andorian Empire was Andoria.
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[edit] Government
The Andorian Empire was a parliamentary democracy, lead by a chancellor. The Andorian chancellor maintained diplomatic relations with the Aenar race, following their contact in the early-22nd century. (ENT: "The Aenar")
[edit] Military
The military branch of the Andorian Empire was known as the Andorian Imperial Guard, which operated both starships and infantry forces. (ENT: "Cease Fire", "Proving Ground")
[edit] History
[edit] Contact with Vulcan
Contact with Vulcan came during the early 20th century. According to the Vulcans, their first contact with Andorians "seemed promising," "despite their heightened emotions." However, it was soon discovered that "they were duplicitous," wishing to only honor "agreements that didn't conflict with their interests." (ENT: "Proving Ground")
A border dispute, dating back to the 1950s and lasting 200 years, begins between the two powers, due to their neighboring home systems and the Vulcan's suspiciousness towards the territorial and militaristic nature of the Andorians. The Andorians felt that the only thing that kept Vulcan from invading Andoria was "the threat of massive retaliation." (ENT: "Proving Ground")
In the mid-21st century the Andorians terraformed a class D planetoid which they named Weytahn, lying at a strategic position on the frontier between the Andorian and the Vulcan system. When Andoria refused to allow the Vulcan High Command to inspect the colony in order to search for possible threats in form of military installations, the Vulcans forcibly evacuated the planetoid. In 2097, a treaty was signed, in which the Vulcans officially claimed Weytahn, which they named Paan Mokar, and a surveillance satellite was placed in orbit of the planetoid in order to enforce the accord. (ENT: "Cease Fire")
In order to guarantee the safe "observation" of their "aggressive" neighbor, however, the High Command maintained a highly sophisticated surveillance station beneath the monastery of P'Jem close to Andoria. Using the disguise of an ancient Vulcan monastery, the facility was able to spy on the Andorian population while staying unnoticed. In 2151, Shran, a Commander in the Andorian Imperial Guard, unveiled the secret of P'Jem with the help of the crew of the Earth starship Enterprise, thereby starting Human-Andorian relations and dealing a crippling blow to Vulcan prestige. After the Andorians destroyed the monastery later that year, however, the High Command began blaming Starfleet and Subcommander T'Pol, who was serving aboard Enterprise, for the loss of P'Jem, which would not only result in T'Pol's mother being expelled from the Vulcan Science Academy but also in an impairment of the Human-Vulcan relations. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem", "Home")
Another hotspot in the cold war between Vulcan and Andoria was Coridan, a class M planet rich in dilithium ore. In the 2150s, Coridan suffered from a civil war, in which rebels, backed by the Andorian Imperial Guard, tried to overthrow the chancellor and her corrupt government, who was in turn supported by the Vulcan High Command, since Vulcan tried to maintain its trade partnership with Coridan, which was a lucrative source for dilithium. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")
In 2152, a new open conflict arose on Weytahn, which was reclaimed by the Andorian Empire after being deserted for nearly 60 years. With the conflict about to escalate, Shran, who was leading the Andorian invasion forces on the planetoid, requested Captain Jonathan Archer of the Enterprise as a trustworthy mediator in order to negotiate a cease fire, which could finally be accomplished and both sides resumed their negotiations. (ENT: "Cease Fire")
Upon hearing of the Xindi attack on Earth in 2153, the Imperial Guard sent the Kumari into the Delphic Expanse to locate the Enterprise. When it was discovered that Enterprise was tracking a Xindi prototype weapon, the Guard wished to procure the technology to aid in their conflict with the Vulcans. In justifying their actions, they declared that, "with a weapon of this magnitude at our disposal, they wouldn't dare attack us." The prototype was, however, destroyed forcing the Andorians to go home empty handed. (ENT: "Proving Ground")
Unknown to the Andorians at the time, the Vulcans had intercepted the data and telemetry that had been send to Andoria on the prototype. Footage of the Xindi's test of the prototype was later manipulated and used by Administrator V'Las in convincing the Vulcan High Command that the Andorians were planning to use the prototype to augment their fleet and to create a weapon of mass destruction to use against Vulcan. These actions would come to a head at the Battle of Andoria. (ENT: "Kir'Shara")
[edit] Member of the Federation
After further years of mutual rapprochement, the Vulcan-Andorian conflict eventually came to an end with the foundation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, of which Earth, Vulcan, Andor and Tellar were the founding members. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...") After the founding of the Federation, many Andorians served in Starfleet. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
As a key member of the Federation, Andorian Ambassador Shras represented Andoria at the Babel Conference in 2268, at which it supported the admission of Coridan as a new member of the Federation. (TOS: "Journey to Babel")
In 2286, the Andorians held two seats in the Federation Council. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
An Andorian served on the ruling council of the pocket dimension Elysia, during the late 23rd century. It was unknown how long his species had been trapped in that universe. (TAS: "The Time Trap")
During the 24th century, a few rogue Andorian factions chose not to join the Federation, and continued to be a threat to Federation starships. (TNG: "The Survivors")
- The status of the Andorian Empire post-2161 is unknown, but it seems likely that it still exists as a political subdivision of the Federation, like United Earth.
