Domestic Goddess lets inner Klingon out

Contestants don't cat-fight — female sci-fi lovers tend to stick together — but they don't play around, either. Thousands of audience members won't let them. When a past contestant appeared on stage in a Hooters uniform, the audience was at first entertained, but quickly dismissed her, judges recalled. Klingon women may be known to0 for an ample bosom, but they'd never flaunt it that way.

And once the queen is awarded her crown, trophy, sash and flowers, judges name no first or second runner-up. In the Klingon world, there are only winners and losers.

"It really comes down to selling what you've got," says Autumn Skye-Booth, a pageant winner and coach who has judged Klingon misses for six years. "Some of these ladies, I think they probably would be Klingons if they had a choice in the matter."

If they're like Sheckler, maybe they don't.

The 44-year-old first discovered her inner Klingon a few years ago, as she got to know friends from work as unabashed outside-the-office "Star Trek" fans. Sheckler herself was a Dragon*Con-attending fantasy fan who fit easily into their Klingon sisterhood, Clan IpaQ.

She learned that Klingons value honor, leadership and talent. Now, Sheckler says, whether she's running a meeting at work or throwing together a meal at home, she's reminded: "There is Klingon in me."

With the help of her clanswomen, including a few past pageant contestants, she has assembled a costume and constructed a three-minute talent presentation with a "Klingons go green" (as in environmental, not Vulcan, like Mr. Spock) theme to match her job.

The look starts with a black, skin-tight body suit and a heavy, long black jacket with oversized silver shoulders. She applies a heavy layer of foundation, thick black eyeliner and dark lipstick. Then she adds an extra-tall ridged forehead and an unruly red-black mane, all glued to her face and hiding away her long blond locks.

"If I woke up one night and saw that thing, I'd probably die," says daughter Kaitlyn Sheckler, 16. Despite her mom's obsession, she says she's still not really sure what a Klingon is, and she's positive that none of her friends do.

"'Babe,'" Sheckler's husband, Tom, told her when she began letting her inner Klingon out, "'I just don't see you as a Klingon.' "

But she saw it in herself, she said, in the Klingons' wild dark side and assertive manners. Ultimately, her commitment wooed the family. Which is fortunate. When a Klingon speaks, the mythology goes, people listen or they die.

"If she says she likes it, I guess it's OK," Kaitlyn said as her mom modeled her pageant outfit this week. "She's always doing stuff for us, her kids. For once, it's just her, doing something for herself."

Not that it's changed her that much. She kisses the family collie, Dexter, and likes watching sci-fi movies with her husband. She doesn't wear much makeup and looks good in pastels.

Every mother, every wife, every woman has a little Klingon inside her, Sheckler says.

"It's not how you look, it's how you dress, it's your attitude," Sheckler says. "Klingon women, we are wonderful."

IF YOU GO

Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant

4 p.m. Sunday. Grand Ballroom, Sheraton Hotel, 165 Courtland St. Participation and admission limited to DragonCon pass holders. Sunday pass is $30. 404-249-6400; www.dragoncon.org

About the pageant

The Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant began at DragonCon in 1999. It succeeded an earlier failed attempt, Miss United Federation of Planets 1996, which mostly drew contestants in Star Fleet uniforms.

The pageants were created by Eric Watts, the director of Star Trek programming for DragonCon and the commanding officer of the USS Republic, Atlanta's chapter of the Starfleet International fan club.

Watts saw it as an antidote to the usual Star Trek costume contest, a beloved event that usually draws a bunch of sloppy guys in uniforms that look like pajamas. The first year of the Miss Klingon Empire pageant drew so many onlookers that some were turned away. In 2001, it was moved to a ballroom where a couple thousand could watch — again, it packed the room.

"The quality of the makeup and costumes improved, so there's a higher expectation of a great show," says Watts.

The pageant lasts an hour and each contestant is judged on beauty, personality and talent. The pageant is open to women 21 and over, and no one body type dominates among the winners; it's mostly based on how well a woman stays in character.

"You can be whatever you are," says Autumn Skye-Booth, a long-time pageant judge. "As long as you're female and can put on a headpiece, you can be Miss Klingon Empire."

— Jamie Gumbrecht