XLV Korelath

AER: Dragon Con 2013

Ell and Vynni. Photo by Cecil V.

Ell and Vynni. Photo by Cecil V.

Once again, the crew of the Korelath (though this was our first DC as a ship!) traveled to Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA. Vynni, Lissan, Thian, and I (Ell) took air transport from Boston to a friend’s in Charlotte, then rode in his ground vehicle to Atlanta.

On Friday night, in disguise as characters from the “Defiance” universe, Vynni, Lissan, and I gave a brief but spirited performance of “Under Pressure” at Klingon Karaoke.

Saturday morning, I woke up plagued with the Terran ailment known as “con crud”, which can arise from having too many humans in one area. Nonetheless, we pressed on. Vynni, Lissan, Thian, and I arrived slightly late to the staging area for the parade, but made it in time to carry the KAG banner. We were happy to see many more Klingon and alien warriors present, compared to the previous couple years. The parade was enjoyable, but it was very hot and the new route was exhausting. After the parade, we immediately assumed our human alter-egos.

On Sunday, the big event of the day was preparing Lissan for her entry in the Miss Star Trek Universe pageant. The night before, I’d realized that we did not have enough blue makeup for her, nevermind Vynni, Thian, and I, who’d committed to helping with the pageant. I’d tweeted at @NorcostcoATL, a vendor in the dealer’s room, to see if they carried what we needed. At first the answer was no, but then they told me they’d actually gone out of their way to pick some up from their store to bring it to con. I arrived just as AmericasMart opened to pick it up. HUGE thanks to Norcostco for saving the day–again.

Lissan with human camera-wielding warrior, Natalie.

Lissan with human camera-wielding warrior, Natalie.

Just before we were to arrive at the pageant, a thunderstorm began. We made our way from the Hyatt to the Sheraton, careful not to get wet. Lissan was already backstage preparing, and Vynni, Thian, and I arrived to help with the pre-show activities Kolex had planned. I was still quite sick, and apparently had trouble counting volunteers needed from the audience. We played Kahless Says and a couple other games before being forced to kill all the volunteers. A pesky borg kept regenerating and attempting to assimilate others.

Lissan sang her original song “Ice Queen” but, sadly, did not win or place as a runner-up in the pageant. Her performance was beautiful and fitting of a warrior. It requires a great amount of courage to participate in the pageant, and we are proud to call her one of our own.

Later that evening, Vynni, Thian, and I participated in the Guinness World Record Attempt for most fans in Star Trek costumes in one place. We’d originally thought that we would not be allowed to enter because our uniforms are not “canon”, but we were, indeed, able to participate. Unfortunately, our number fell short of the record established at Star Trek Las Vegas last month, but we were still 900+! I believe it is certainly possible at a convention with as many attendees as Dragon Con has; perhaps it will be attempted next year.

Afterwards, we met with other KAG members on the 10th floor of the Marriott. We spoke about what we wanted out of KAG; it was good to meet with other warriors. Kolex promoted Vynni and I to IXL Captain vestai, and I was happy to promote Lissan and Thian to IXL Lieutenant tai. The Korelath was presented with a wonderful banner made by Keela, proclaiming us to be the 2013 Ship of Honor for the Wild Frontier Quadrant. We are excited to return home with this award and will strive to bring glory back to this region. After the meeting, I was happy to have a chance to catch up with a fellow Andorian warrior, our friend L’khor.

On Tuesday, we made our way back to Charlotte, and were home in Boston on Wednesday. Dragon Con was, once again, a glorious event. We are back with renewed enthusiasm to recruit members for the Korelath. Qapla’!

 

Holding the KAG banner in the Dragon Con 2013 parade. Photo from Collider.com.

Holding the KAG banner in the Dragon Con 2013 parade. Photo from Collider.com.



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