The Black Rope – Issue 4

I hope your holidays have been great and the
coming holidays will be as well.

Salek, Deputy Fleet CO for Cold Terror Fleet, is
updating his records for Texas. So if you live in
Texas, even if you do not have a declared ship,
please contact him through [email protected]
or [email protected]

Being in fandom these many years I have seen all
manner of “wrongness” or perhaps better to say
“errors” in when in costuming. I am not speaking
here of mistakes people made in creation, although
there were quite a few of those, but of mistakes
of consideration in the choices they made. Some of
these can be attributed to a misguided attempt at
something far beyond the costumers skills, or
creations that did not take into account the
conditions of the venue. But the ones that mostly
come to mind, both in stage and hall costumes,
were those where the character of choice was in
such opposition to the person that it made them
completely unable to remain in character. Now
understand, I know that there are times we must
break character, and so it is to be expected. But
I am not speaking of such cases, but of those
whose default is to be simply someone in an odd
type of clothing.

As an example, my first ship commander (all those
years ago) told us that if we were approached by
someone of less than half our height we should
“drop the act” so as not to scare the child. In
practice this was used to great effect. But it
lead to me observing others at events, and I saw
quite a few people who seemed either unable or
unwilling to even step into character at all.
Unfortunately the number of such people has only
appeared to have grown thru the years. People to
simply “wear a costume” and not even think to
consider anything more. This more being at least
considering if who they appear to be is within
their ability to become, if only for a little
while. This is something that we who chose to
portray aliens must consider carefully,
particularly we of the IXL. For unlike our
(normal) Klingon cousins we cannot just become one
of the crowd.

One doesn’t have be long in fandom to have seen
examples of both sorts of people. From those that
made you think “not bad, but this guy doesn’t look
comfortable dressing like that.” To those on the
other extreme who you found yourself believing, if
only for a moment, that character was somehow
actually there. Now admiringly this can be more
difficult if you have seen the person costume up
or know them and so see it as different garb. But
even with this it can happen, and when it does it
is all the more glorious for the difficulties.

Now a case could be made, that what I am talking
about is not costuming but Cos-play. I will admit
there is a case to this, but for me the division
of the two is not easily made clear. For without
the person acting based on the character they
become simply a guy in a rubber mask, and it
doesn’t matter how good or bad the workmanship is.
For it is by becoming the character they portray
that belief is kindled, and even the greatest
masterwork costume will not help someone who
cannot or will not do this.

So am I saying we all should study acting, perhaps
take classes so we can perfect our stagecraft? Of
course not, unless you find you wish to do so for
other reasons. No what I am speaking about is
choosing the correct role to play with and
adopting, if only on a small level, the mindset of
that being. Common wisdom tells that character is
what you are, alone in the darkness. However for
the costumers this truth can be added to, with how
you perceive yourself directly relates to how you
are seen by others. Thus if you see it as just a
costume then that is all it will be. But if you
seek to, if only in a small way, to become someone
else, then a spark of something more is given
life.

Now you may wonder where I am going with this? In
the end I seek to make you, the reader, stop and
consider what your goal is before even putting
pencil to paper with a (new) costume idea. Before
the first step of design of how to build it, must
come the question: “Is that right sort of thing
for me?” or “Am I the right personality to wear
this?” For example, it is easy to go out and buy a
set of rubber ears, and come up with a
pseudo-Vulcan costume, but if you are the sort
given to fits of laughing, or who tends to giggle
often, then trying to portray a race known for
their stoic nature would be a bad choice. Not that
I am saying not to attempt difficult things, for
in difficulty there is challenge, and from
challenges is forged the true warrior spirit. No
what I am asking you to do is consider if the
challenge is the right one for you, or if there
are better ones out there for you to take on.

But this is not and cannot be seen as just a
moment of reflection before beginning a new
costume. It is something that must be considered
with each wearing of the item. This is where we of
the IXL have a great advantage, for we can select
which of “ourselves” we chose to wear on a given
day. I am not saying here to have a closet full of
costumes to suit each possible mood, none of us
have the space for such things. But before
choosing to wear a given thing, consider if you
are able to play that chosen role that day. Can
you channel the “idea” of that creation or would
it simply be a set of “weird clothing” you would
have on?

Some questions are only asked in the mind, and
this is such a one. No one can, or should, tell
you not to wear something. That is for you alone
to decide. All I am suggesting is that before that
choice is made you consider if you want to become
that person or not. Putting on a costume is
(relatively) easy, becoming the character you are
dressed as is not. Some people may never progress
beyond simply wearing things, but it is in the
attempting to do so that creativity really is
shown. Anyone can buy a costume, but to truly wear
it is much harder. For me that truth is why I
retired a costume I had spent hours/days building.
G’ulffey was based on a vargur, and as such was a
rather involved set of pieces. But beyond the
difficulty of wearing it in warm weather (as most
of our local conventions were in summer), the
personality that went with it was difficult to
maintain. Still I had built it and wore it to
several events, but in the end I came to see that
this was a poor choice of role and so let it go.
Will I revisit that character, perhaps. But not
unless I think I can become him, and not just be a
old fan-boy in a rubber mask.

Thiptho lapth, I am IXL Captain Thellizh’r
vestai-ch’Lethlaen (most call me “Ell”), incoming
Legion Brigadier of Dark Moon Fleet following the
departure of IXL Major K’Lara vestai-Majjas.
Several new warriors have joined since my
appointment this past August, and I am excited for
the future of the Legion.

I have been a member of KAG and the IXL since
2011. In May, I and my partner, IXL Captain
Thevynnian (Vynni) vestai-sh’Chavar, also of
Andor, started our own ship, the XLV Korelath.
We are hoping to increase KAG activity in the Wild
Frontier Quadrant, and welcome any local warriors
who seek an active ship to our ranks. We are four
Andorians at the moment, but hope to include
Klingons and other species. The Korelath crew will
be present at the Galaxy Blood Drive (Providence)
in December and Arisia in January.

It pleases me greatly to know other Andorians are
part of KAG and the IXL. We are among the mighty
few who reject the tyranny of the Federation and
honor our heritage as warriors. For those
unfamiliar with Andorian biological and societal
conventions, here is a short summary from my
perspective:

There are three main races within the Andorian
species: Thalassans, Talish, and Bishee, including
the Aenar. Thalassans have two knobby, insectile
antennae set toward the back of the skull, and
Talish have tendril-like antennae protruding from
the top of the forehead. Bishee also have antennae
extending from the forehead, which may have a
pinkish hue at the ends. They may also exhibit
ridges from the eyebrows to the base of the
antennae.

Antennae movement is largely involuntary and can
signal the emotional state of the bearer. They are
used for both balance and sensing proximity,
including electromagnetic fields. To lose an
antenna, or part of one, in a fight can be a
grave–but temporary–dishonor.

Most Andorians have been taught to strive for
“wholeness” in their lives. This entails duty to
one’s clan and homeworld, including compulsory
four-person marriage (bonding). The purpose of the
bondgroup is ultimately to perform the shelthreth,
or ceremonial procreation during Andorians’ short
time of fertility.

Andorians have four different sexes rather than
the two more common among humanoids, i.e. female
and male. They are chan, shen, thaan, and
zhen. To avoid confusion, especially among
outsiders, we use the prefixes ch’, sh’, th’, and
zh’ before our clan names to denote our gender.
For example, the Federation scientist Thirishar
ch’Thane is a chan of the clan Thane. For
simplicity’s sake when communicating with
binary-sex aliens, shen and zhen
accept she/her for pronouns, and chan and
thaan accept he/him.

Most Andorian clans–consisting of 60-100
families–honor old traditions, honing the arts
and trades of their ancestors, and exhibit a deep
respect of ecology, tradition, and ritual. The
ceremonial convening of all members at a clan
Sanctuary is known as Enclave.

Some conflicts are still settled with a
traditional duel known as the ushaan. This
is fought with an ushaan-tor, a type of
miners’ icepick.

It is believed that Andorians are genetically
predisposed to violence, though most remain calm
in tense situations until action is necessary.
They are generally viewed as intensely emotional,
though, at times, humorless. The Andorian code of
honor is not necessarily as explicit as the
Klingons’, but if we have been done a dishonor, we
will make it known.

Many aspects of Andorian culture are still not
discussed with outsiders, but hopefully this has
been an enlightening introduction.

Please do not hesitate to send me a subspace
message if you need assistance, or even if you
would just like to chat. Qapla’ and Happy
Holidays!

I am IXL Captain Athena Dejar
vestai-Hovbe’-Kurkura, epetai of House Hobve’
(StarWoman). I am happy to be serving the Imperial
Xeno Legion and I will recruit people to the IXL.
If anyone has any questions, they can contact me.
Qapla’!

A few weeks later, the Karnage was off to
the local Ren Fair. Rh’vaurek and I went
incognito in our Romulan civilian garb, so blended
in well with the locals. Sicarius, our CO, wore
his Klingon garb and created havoc with a group of
rather inebriated Feddies. One of our newer
members, Mark Restucci, also joined in on the
day’s festivities.

We entered a short span
of semi-inactivity (other than costume and panel
preparation for the upcoming convention season),
so were able to hit the ground semi-running at
LepreCon; a rather small convention where we were
able to pick up our current ship’s mascot —
a genetically re-engineered Tribble.
Should have heard it purring as it nestled on
Sicarius lap during the con.

The very next weekend was Star Trek: into
Darkness. While a few of our group were able
to snag tickets to a pre-event showing, the group
we had at the event was quite decent in number.
Again, the majority in Federation garb, but at
least we had a decent number show up in other than
jeans & tees.

A short 2 weeks later,
and we were at the local EVENT — Phoenix ComiCon.
PCC is a 4 day multi-media convention that started
in 2002 as a six-hour, one-day event with barely
over 400 attendees. It has grown to over 55,000
attendees in just over ten years and does
not look to be stopping any time soon. Phoenix
ComiCon 2013 was host to the premiere of Star
Trek Continues, a zombie walk, and a myriad
of costumers/cosplayers, Wil Wheaton’s Awesome
Hour, guest photo ops, a convention center
clearing fire alarm, and multi-track programming
that included quite a sum of Trek. We have found
ourselves becoming more and more involved in this
convention and ended up, for the first time in our
lives, as panel participants. Star Trek
was well represented at this convention with
people in costumes from every series. We of course
represented in our Romulan uniforms and were
pleased at the number of folks who recognized our
TOS uniforms. We also had the pleasure of photo
ops in uniform with Walter Koenig and Nichelle
Nichols. We even found ourselves riding the hotel
elevator with Mr. Koenig one morning. We
found panel participation to be exhausting, but
fun. It was our pleasure to share the stage with
other fans and speakers on several panels. These
included Klingon language, the aliens of Trek, and
what it meant to us to be a Trek fan.

(Wil Wheaton’s review of PCC2013 — https://wilwheaton.net/2013/05/phoenix-comic-con-2013/
)
(Holoimages of PCC from Karnage archives —
https://www.facebook.com/heather.grant.79/media_set?set=a.4862195875048.1073741840.1301755498&type=3
)

The next event was the VegasKahn (Creation’s Vegas
Con). While I did not attend, other members did.
They report that it was well attended enough that
members were able to take the Guinness World
Record title of most people in one location in
Star Trek outfits. Congratulations to those who
were there!

The exact same weekend as VegasKahn was CopperCon,
another small convention. Only a few folks in
costume at this event, but at least one young lady
was in a Mirror Universe Trek outfit. Due to the
size and lack of attendance, it did not take long
for us to make our rounds and communicate with the
attendees. A ship meeting had been planned for
during this event, but we had a decided lack of
attendance. Due to this, the only attending
members of rank, who just happened to be Romulan,
a few important decisions were made; the official
addition of pink marabou to all ship’s uniforms;
The now mandatory use of sequins on all sashes and
baldrics, and the inclusion of the word “winkie”
at the beginning of all KAG greetings in public.
All attending, voting members were upgraded two
chocolate chip cookies, and afforded the titles Podmasters. 

Winkie Qapla’!

Restless Star out of the Morganton Sector
and the IKV Raging Wolf out of the Lenoir
Sector. Over the course of the next few months, I
recruited many old members of the crew back into
active service, and recruited many more new
recruits. Two years later, our active crew stands
at eight, with a second ship recently started by a
former crewman, and several potential recruits
being worked on. With this growth has come some
interesting changes to the ship.

The Executioner, at her christening in
2001, was listed as a K’Tinga class cruiser with
heavy modifications. With the changing times and
changing crew, we have recently scrapped the
venerable old battlecruiser and commissioned a
newly built ship under the same name. The name
Executioner currently graces a K’Vort class
Bird of Prey. The K’Vort class is significantly
larger and better equipped than the K’Tinga class.
And due to the efforts of my Science Officers, a
pair of Vulcan mercanaries, our BoP is even more
advanced than the old K’Tinga.

The crew is also an interesting mix. Most of the
current crew are either Aliens or Klingons that
have developed the ability to shapeshift into
other races. Of the Aliens, we have two Vulcans
and a liberated Borg. Most of the rest of the
crew, including myself, are shifters with base
forms of Klingon. One member has recently
discovered the ability to shift into the form of a
Ferengi, while myself and my first officer both
have the ability to shift into the form of
Romulans. With my new shifting abilities and large
percentage of Alien and shifter crew, I intend to
involve the Executioner heavily with the
Imperial Xeno Legion.

My own shifting abilities were discovered only
recently, during the Earth festival of Halloween.
I have discovered the ability to transform myself
into the form of a Romulan like those seen in the
Star Trek reboot of 2009. In this form, I
have taken the name of Grakus, and I intend to
lend my services to the IXL increasingly as time
goes on.

It is my hope that the increasing number of
non-Klingon aliens serving on my ship, and in the
Klingon Assault Group in general, will aid in
recruitment to the Empire. The Klingon way of life
need not be kept exclusively among those of pure
Klingon stock. Any non-huMan Alien willing to
abide by the ideals of the Empire and the rules of
KAG are welcome to add their diverse skills and
perspectives to our ever-growing organization.
Qapla’, Good Yule and Seasons Greetings!