Andorians
Andorians come from the frigid planet of Andoria. They are characterized by their blue skin, white hair and antennae. They tend to be violent and warlike, though they channel these agressions into ritualized dueling.
Andoria
Andorians are a near-mammalian humanoid species native to the world of
Andoria, an icy class-M planet orbiting a blue-white giant star 30 times larger
than Sol and lying approximately 275 light-years in a roughly coreward direction
from the Sol system. If it were not for heavy background radiation and what
would otherwise be considered unstable volcanic tectonics, Andoria, the the 5th
world in the system, would have been unable to sustain all but the most
rudimentary life, and so the life that has developed there is hardy, falling
under an odd taxonomic half-classification known as 'ghelnoid', which is how
Andorians refer to themselves in the same way a human might consider himself a
'higher primate'.
Culture
As might be assumed on a planet where weather conditions are severe and predators abound, Andorians evolved a clan-based social structure which even in modern times has not been discarded. Andorians live communally in one of three basic social structures, from largest to smallest:
kethni (singular: keth), a clan of Andorians. The biggest 300 kethni form the ruling council of the Andorian people, and clans come and go under strict rules. A keth is ruled by an atlolla, best translated as 'chieftain', and in modern times tend to fall as much along lines of social and cultural interests as bloodline. kethni do interrelate and intermarry (see below).'lodges', or temporary-but-stable communities of Andorians living amongst non-Andorian majorities. In Starfleet, each station, ship, colony, or outpost with a heavy Andorian complement will combine several living quarters to form a lodge where all Andorians can go and live. Families (see below) sometimes do not; but it is very rare for any single adult Andorian to live Outside The Lodge, a formal term with deep significance (see below). Andorians in lodges do sleep and dine communally, even in modern lodges were side chambers exist for private study, work, and play.
'quads', or marriage structures. Andorian marriages consist of four adults, usually two male-female couples. Andorians usually find their beloveds, and then seek a compatible couple to complete a 'quad', after which the two couples settle into their home, or a lodge, and raise their children as one family. Children born to either pair of a quad belong equally to the quad with only semantics or subtle word usage differentiating between grades of kinship. A son born to couple 1 of a quad would consider a son born to couple 2 his brother, no less than if they shared one or both parents. Andorian quads, if they have many children, sometimes split off from a lodge to have separate 'single family' living space, but smaller quads can and do remain in lodges for the sake of community.
Much more can be said about Andorian courtship, marriage, and social life. Some salient notes:
Andorian marriage bonds are stronger than just about anything. To an Andorian, the remaining three adults of the quad are life mates, even more important than children born to the quad. An Andorian force to choose his spouses over his children in a medical emergency, or forced to duel his own father to defend the honor of his wife, will do so with little hesitation.
Andorians have little nudity taboos. Non-Andorian visitors to a lodge or family home will see much blue skin.
Food and Drink
Andorians have unique patterns to their senses of smell and taste. For example, salt is spicy to an Andorian, and macho Andorians like to eat hearty Andorian, Terran, or Klingon roasted meat dishes sprinkled liberally with salt. Some Andorian Starfleet officers drink highly salted Margaritas or Bloody Marys once introduced to them by humans at Starfleet Academy. Other favorite drinks include sweet Agranu wine, as well as the earthy/rich ales brewed by keth Endilev, and famous to non-Andorians as 'Andorian ale' in the same way non-Irish humans think of 'Guinness' when they think of stouts.
Sports and Games
Andorian concepts of community and team-effort show in their sports and games. Andorians prefer team play to solo play, except when it comes to fencing -- Andorian sports include kochek, a cross between hockey and jai-alai played between three teams wearing spiked footwear on ice, as well as team-based dueling and martial arts competitions. Andorians are a warrior culture, and this shows in their fencing and unarmed martial arts styles. The two most common Andorian blades are the chaka, an unwieldy three-bladed hand-weapon similar to the Klingon bat'leth and serving a similar honor-blade function, too heavy and awkward to carry in day-to-day use and reserve mostly for honor duels and ceremonies; and the hrisal, a lightly curved short-sword. Most duels of honor are performed with the chaka, while most duty functions are met with the hrisal. Andorians practice a kickboxing art known as kharakom and a brutal wrestling art known as hleshvalath.
Religion
With only one exception, all of the many Andorian religions view marriage as a secular social contract, honored but not promoted by the religious hierarchy. Some fringe sects of Borvaism, a semi-idolatrous, philosophical warrior-religion referred to colloquially by some wags as 'Andorian Buddhism', promote 'hexes', or 6-person/3-couple marriage structures, for odd religious reasons. Most of these folks are considered 'fruitcakes' by other Andorians, as respected as Borvaism itself is.
Other Andorian religions include Eila Clahd, a back-to-nature faith which decries technological advancement; Emasha Yul, a polytheistic faith which is to Borvaism what Hinduism is to Buddhism; Hastra Bei Hastra, a very common non- idolatrous faith combining beliefs in reincarnation, purification of the soul, and strict scholasticism, with one wild high holiday a year to allow for a break from its relative asceticism; and Umarinism, a popular modern religious construct advocating the duty of Andorians to keep their passionate warrior natures alive and strong to set a holy example for the less passionate races of the Federation. Much more can be said about all of these Andorian religions, were space permitting. One thing to note: Seismic instabilities and cold weather make the few freely flowing liquid water seas on Andoria so treacherous that most Andorian religions conceive of watery hells. Andorians are not fond of swimming.
History
Andorians encountered the Orions and Rigellians first, then the Vulcans and
Tellarites, then Humanity. Relations with the Orions have always been love-hate,
while relations with the Tellarites are usually a hot-tempered loving rivalry
similar to a younger and older sibling. Vulcans, of course, are never really
understood, but some Andorians claim that Vulcan passion is simply harder to
ignite, but flares hotter when finally put to the torch.
Upon joining the Federation at its founding, Andorians fought for the same right as the other founding races to reserve one starship of every 'generation' to be crewed mostly by their own kind. Since the 2240s, the USS Eagle has been the name reserved for such, due to the similarities of the Terran Eagle to a similar Andorian bird symbolic of honor and nobility and the warrior spirit.
The original USS Eagle was a Constitution class explorer which served from 2247 to 2307 with regular refits; the USS Eagle-A, a Constellation-class Exploratory Cruiser, lasted a similarly long 56 years until it was replaced by the USS Eagle-B, a Ambassador-class Explorer, in the 2340's. When the Eagle-B was destroyed at the height of the Dominion War, a year ago, there was a short but intense debate as to what class of ship would supply the Eagle-C. Some fought for the luxurious Andoria-class Explorer, meant for long-term deep space missions, and in fact pointed out that the Andoria class was designed explicitly to provide such a replacement Eagle, when the time came. However, the needs of the war led the more heavily armed, less luxurious, thinly disguised battleship that is the Sovereign-class Heavy Explorer to be the model of the new Eagle, and the Sovereign-class NCC-956-C, USS Eagle, was launched in 2374.
Physical Characteristics
Andorian cellular physiology is based as much on cobalt as iron, giving them
a skin-tint in the blue portion of the spectrum, ranging from cerulean to a
blushing purple, while their hair tends towards white, ranging from silvery to
platinum. They possess antennae rising from the brow, near the hairline,
five-to-eight-inch-long fluid-filled sensory stalks which are as much mentioned
about them in jokes and colloquialisms as their skin tone and which extend their
perceptions for sounds and vibrations further and deeper than a human being's.
Some Andorians can recognize familiar footfalls and heartbeats close-up, but
this is a skill which takes as much practice as a human recognizing a good
friend by his after-shave.
In further comparison with humans, as the de facto baseline, Andorians tend to have a higher cartilage-to-bone ratio in their skeletal structure, instances of a chitin-like cartilage-bone fusion combining the former's resiliency with the latter's toughness, and internal ridges of this quasi-chitin which serve to compartmentalize organs from gross physical trauma. Andorians -- as well as lower ghelnoids from their homeworld -- also feature a redundant circulatory system which allows blood to seep osmotically through tissues as well as through the usual travel through venous structures. All of these things make them more resistant to pain, injury, and fatigue than a human -- Andorians take impact differently, and the more efficient blood flow means they rarely get sore or stiff from over-exertion; an Andorian never suffers the indignity of having his leg 'fall asleep', for instance, due to cramped posture, nor do they get frostbite from poor circulation in cold weather.
On the other hand, the unusual nature of their circulatory system also makes it easier for some drugs to travel through their body -- Andorians, when they drink heavily, get drunk quickly, and entire cottage industries exist in some Orion Syndicate-controlled systems brewing poisons and drugs that work best on Andorians. Because their bones have the tensile properties of cartilage, as well, these bones break messily when they do break (which requires about two to three times the force necessary to break human bone); any injury which breaks an Andorian's bones will require a great deal of healing time, and cause enough pain that even the Andorian nervous system cannot compensate for all of it. The heavy cobalt base to an Andorian's blood and tissue make them most compatible, on a cellular level, with Bolians -- Bolian blood and tissue can be given to an Andorian with little effort, and vice versa, whereas both race's blood would be incompatible with a Vulcan's, for instance, and require great effort to make compatible with a human's.
Dueling
The Andorian dueling code, as well as any ritual duel itself, is known as the ushaan. Duels are fought traditionally on white linens over ice floors, so that blood can be seen clearly and the duel ended at the appropriate time. Starfleet regulations allow Andorian officers and enlisted men to participate in duels -- anyone who takes part in the ushaan is considered a suicide if death occurs as the result. The ushaan is fought with only the duelists, between three and five supposedly neutral representatives of the governing body or appropriate law enforcement agency at hand, and two professional 'recorders' of the duel. Starfleet regulations state that the Commanding Officer of any Starfleet ship or installation is considered one of the 'judges' of the duel, regardless of his or her race and ignorance of the code of ushaan; by tradition, the CO should choose at least one neutral Andorian to stand as one of the judges, as well.
Names
Some example Andorian names are provided below:
Keth Names: Ghorev, Endilev,
Idrani, Claness, Aniri, Kor, Raioth, Hrisvalar
Male Names: Akeen, Thalev, Akoval, Sorjei
Female Names: Jaylas, Imaru
Proverbs
