Andorian history Andorian history is characterized by initial conflicts with most neighboring species and the final alliance with its old adversaries , culminating in the founding of the United Federation of Planets . Early history and contact with Vulcan . The Andorian s originated from the icy moon of Andoria . Early in their history , the Aenar diverged from them as a subspecies , having retreated to the Northern Wastes , thenceforth considered a myth . ( ) The Andorians employed ice - cutter s to navigate their homeworld ; the first to circumnavigate the planet was called " " , a name that would be carried on to future Andorian vessels . ( ) Being located in a neighboring star system , contact with came during the early 20th century . According to the Vulcan s , their first contact with Andorians " seemed promising , " " despite their heightened emotions . " However , the Vulcans soon came to see them as duplicitous , wishing to only honor " agreements that didn ' t conflict with their interests . " A border dispute , dating back to the 1950s and lasting two hundred years , began between the two powers , due to their neighboring home systems and the Vulcans ' suspicion 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 . " ( ) In the 2050s , 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 the form of military installations , the Vulcans forcibly evacuated the planetoid . Sometime between 2058 and 2063 , it was one of V ' Lar ' s first responsibilities to negotiate the first territorial accords between Andoria and Vulcan . 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 . ( ) Around 2104 , the Andorians discovered their subspecies , the Aenar , in the Northern Wastes of Andoria . Since then , they have maintained diplomatic contact with the Andorian government . ( ) Some time before 2154 , the Andorians were also in conflict with the Tellarite s . According to Ambassador , Tellarite cruisers had driven " those blue demons " back into their own territory by force . ( ) Contact with Earth and Andorian - Vulcan cold war . In order to guarantee the safe " observation " of their " aggressive " Andorian neighbor , the Vulcan 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 United Earth starship , 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 Sub - Commander 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 . ( ) Another hot spot 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 , a lucrative source for dilithium . ( ) In 2152 , a new open conflict arose on Weytahn , which was reclaimed by the Andorian Empire after being deserted for nearly sixty 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 was finally accomplished and both sides resumed their negotiations . ( ) Upon hearing of the Xindi attack on Earth in 2153 , the Imperial Guard sent the " Kumari " under Cmdr . Shran 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 . " However , the prototype was destroyed , forcing the Andorians to go home empty - handed . Before , however , Shran secretly relayed all technical and tactical sensor readings his ship had taken from the weapon to " Enterprise " ; this information would prove to be of enormous use in preventing a second Xindi attack on Earth . ( ) Three months later , Shran and the " Kumari " openly sided with Earth , following the trail of the Xindi weapon . The " Kumari " engaged a Xindi warship , providing a critical diversion to allow " Enterprise " and her crew to destroy the weapon . ( ) Unknown to the Andorians at the time , the Vulcans had intercepted the data and telemetry that had been sent 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 . In 2154 , V ' Las , who actually stood under the influence of a Romulan operative , ordered a preemptive strike invasion of Andoria and lured the bulk of the Andorian fleet near Paan Mokar / Weytahn by creating false warp signature s in its vicinity , while the Vulcans secretly amassed a fleet of twelve Vulcan cruisers near Regulus , a star outside the range of Andorian listening post s . Despite " Enterprise " and Vulcan Ambassador Soval warning Commander Shran of the incursion , the Andorians were only able to gather six warships at the outskirts of the Andorian system to face the Vulcan fleet , with " Enterprise " joining them in hopes of preventing war . After the two fleets clashed and the Battle of Andoria commenced , Vulcan Minister Kuvak urged V ' Las to halt the attack , as even though they were currently winning the battle , they had completely lost the element of surprise and were now facing heavy casualties for both sides in a protracted conflict . Soon after he went on to protest that none of the Andorian vessels were outfitted with the Xindi weaponry that V ' Las had used as justification for the preemptive strike , Kuvak managed to stun V ' Las and immediately ordered the fleet to withdraw , ending the battle . ( ) Detente , the Coalition of Planets , and the Federation . After the Vulcan Reformation , the Vulcan High Command was dissolved and the new government entered into a less hostile stance with Andoria , ending years of cold war and military tension . Never again did the Vulcans stoop to such a level as using the P ' Jem monastery to hide a sensor array for spying on Andoria . ( ) In November of 2154 , Andorian diplomats planned to meet a Tellarite delegation led by Ambassador Gral on the planetoid Babel . The original purpose of the conference was to resolve a longstanding trade dispute between both factions . However , the Romulan Star Empire had become aware of the threat posed by a closer partnership between Andoria , Tellar , Earth , and their neighbors . The Star Empire ' s attempts to destabilize the region led to the Babel Crisis , during which a secret mission by the Romulans involved the use of two Romulan drone ship s , which were able to camouflage themselves as various other vessels . By destroying the Andorian vessel " Kumari " under the guise of a Tellarite cruiser , thereby causing the cancellation of the Babel conference and nearly escalating an old conflict between the two races , the Romulans nearly succeeded with their plans . However , Captain Archer of the " Enterprise " defused the tension between the Andorians and Tellarite s by unexpectedly answering Commander Shran ' s Ushaan challenge , thereby protecting Naarg of the Tellarite delegation and deliberately sparing Shran ' s life by incapacitating him . Archer subsequently allied the Andorians , Humans , Vulcans , and Tellarites to find and destroy the drone ships , thereby altering the result of this Romulan mission to the exact opposite of what it was intended to achieve . ( ) With the averted escalation of the Babel crisis , Andoria , Earth , and many other worlds realized the value of their joint work and were convening a conference to found a Coalition of Planets in 2155 . The conference was disrupted by a Human isolationist movement called " Terra Prime " , which managed to garner short - term support among the populace and instigate protests outside the Andorian embassy - a very unsettling situation for Ambassador Thoris , who started to doubt whether Humanity was truly ready to host this conference . After Terra Prime ' s activities were ended , Archer resumed the conference with a passionate speech for joint exploration , thereby earning the applause of all delegates , including Thoris . ( ) Several participants at the Coalition of Planets conference became welded together when the conflict with the Romulan Star Empire escalated into the Earth - Romulan War . After United Earth and the Star Empire entered a state of war in 2156 , a humiliating defeat of the Romulans by an alliance of Andorian , Tellarite , Vulcan , and Earth forces at the Battle of Cheron in 2160 effectively ended the conflict and led to the establishment of the Romulan Neutral Zone between the two power blocs . ( ; ) In 2161 , one year after the Earth - Romulan War was decided , Andoria - along with its old war allies Vulcan , Earth , and Tellar - founded the United Federation of Planets in San Francisco on Earth and established a joint Starfleet . ( ; ; ) By 2164 , Commander Shran was promoted to the rank of general and appointed Jonathan Archer as an honorary member of the Andorian Imperial Guard . Five years later , in 2169 , Archer then became Federation ambassador to Andoria . ( ) As a key member of the Federation , Andorian Ambassador Shras represented Andoria at the Babel Conference in 2268 , at which the planet supported the admission of Coridan as a new member of the Federation . In an attempt to sabotage the talks , an Orion Syndicate operative disguised as Shras ' aide murdered the Tellarite ambassador Gav , who opposed Coridan ' s Federation membership . ( ) 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 . ( ) In 2286 , Andoria held two seats in the Federation Council . ( ) At some point before the 24th century , a few rogue Andorians continued to be a threat to Starfleet starship s . ( ) As of 2366 , there were no Andorian females stationed on board the , but at least one Andorian was visiting Risa . Later that year , Andorian traders were in contact with Kivas Fajo and wished to make a bid for Tellurian spice s . ( ) As of 2369 and 2370 , respectively , Andorian transport s and freighters were operating out of Deep Space 9 . ( ) By the 2370s , Andoria was a popular tourist destination and the Andorian Academy was one of the most renowned art schools in the Federation . ( ) During the Dominion War , Andor ' s strategic importance was on par with worlds like Earth , Berengaria VII , and Vulcan . In late 2374 , Andor was the next potential target for an invasion after the fall of Betazed . ( ) Mirror universe . In the mirror universe , Andorians had been subjugated by the Terran Empire sometime prior to 2155 . By that year , however , some Andorians had joined a rebellion , which used various non - Terran vessels , e . g . , Andorian battle cruisers , to fight the Empire . ( ) Some Andorians like , along with members of other species like Tellarites and Klingons , were still in rebellion against the Terran Empire as of the mid - 23rd century . At that time , the Terran emperor held the title Regina Andor amongst others . ( ) Appendices . Apocrypha . According to the Last Unicorn Games source book " " , the Andorian people decided on one icy night in the 17th century to destroy all historical records after a new peaceful faction came to power after nearly a millennia of civil war . This let their people get over the differences that once nearly annihilated their species , and as of the 24th century it was something of a planetary pastime to be a historian , trying to discover Andoria ' s lost ages ( now that their race has matured , and would be able to understand them without risking war ) . The " " novel " Lost Souls " depicts Andoria ' s capital city Laibok and much of the planet being devastated by the Borg during an invasion in February 2381 . In the " " novel " Paths of Disharmony " Andoria secedes from the Federation in 2382 due to an ongoing reproductive crisis on the planet and the revelation that the Federation had information that could lead to a scientific breakthrough . Julian Bashir solves the issue and Andor rejoins in 2385 .