A general downturn in travel and tourism did not keep a spirited international crowd from packing the ballroom at the Sheraton Universal on Saturday for the fourth annual Galaxy Ball hosted by Robert Beltran.

About 400 people attended the afternoon and evening events of the one-day fund-raiser for the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles and several other charities. That figure is down slightly from last year, but still represents large contingents of fans from such places as Germany, Italy, Australia and Japan, plus other points in Europe and all corners of the United States.

Beltran expressed his thanks in advance to those who wouldn't let recent events keep them away from the Star Trek celebration. "We live in very precarious times which threaten not only our personal safety, but also our financial security," he wrote in the event's program. "Yours is the commitment, courage and compassion needed to ensure that an event like the Galaxy Ball can continue to exist even under the most trying times."

The "mini-convention" consisted of Q&A sessions during the afternoon with stars from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, followed by autograph sessions with the actors. That night, the ball itself was a glamorous affair which saw the fans decked out in their most elegant evening wear for dinner, dancing and a chance to see the stars show off their musical and comedic talents. Fund-raising took place through a variety of silent and live auctions of mostly Star Trek-related items, including autographed scripts and set tours. The amount raised through ticket sales and the auctions is currently being tallied; this story will be updated with the totals once they are announced.

The day got off to a lively start as four TNG veterans reunited on the ballroom stage. Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes and Wil Wheaton didn't waste any time getting into a laughing mood as they traded put-downs and other general nonsense. Spiner, now sporting a goatee because he's been touring with a production of "Kiss Me Kate," put on a pair of stylish sunglasses and struck a sinister pose for the audience, prompting Frakes to comment, "We couldn't find Brent so we brought Lore instead."

Wheaton mentioned that he has been watching TNG episodes now running on TNN and "realizing as an adult ..." — (Spiner gestured air-quotes to the word "adult" to mock the terminally young-looking actor) — "... how cool our show was." Wheaton said seeing those reruns was "like watching a moving high school yearbook," which made the others pretend to get all teary-eyed.

Stewart expressed pride that the director of the upcoming motion picture "Star Trek: Nemesis," Stuart Baird, is "an Englishman!" When asked if there have been any significant changes to the plot since the events of September 11, Spiner, who co-wrote the story for the film, said, "No. They cut out all the good bits because of budget," but he has not heard from Paramount that the script would be altered due to the current political climate. Stewart added, "We did have a momentary pause ... but we decided there was no better time for a Star Trek movie." That movie will start production later this month for theatrical release next year.

Asked how he feels about the new Star Trek series, Stewart responded, "Why do I suddenly feel like Bill Shatner?" He said he remembers William Shatner being interviewed shortly after TNG began and stumbling around trying to find a response to the same question, as he had not seen the new show and was not involved in its creation, and Stewart is now in the same position. He has a videotape of the pilot episode of Enterprise sitting on his desk, but he hasn't seen it yet. Spiner, however, saw "Broken Bow" and thought it was "terrific." Wheaton has been watching the show regularly and loves it. "I look forward to it every week, and where was Jolene Blalock when we were doing our show?"

Regarding Shatner, Stewart confirmed that he is talking with him about possibly doing a second "Mind Meld" video, similar to the one Shatner did with Leonard Nimoy (see related story here), whereby the two stars of "Star Trek Generations" would share a heart-to-heart conversation on a variety of topics. On Thursday, Shatner mentioned during a live chat on STARTREK.COM that he would like to do a "Mind Meld" with Stewart (see chat transcript here).

Representing the cast of DS9 were the very tall Rene Auberjonois and the very short Aron Eisenberg. Their differential in height prompted Eisenberg to observe that people were turning their cameras sideways to capture the two of them together. Auberjonois accepted several congratulations from the audience for his recent Emmy nomination (for a guest performance in The Practice), and spoke about how gratifying his lengthy acting career has been. But the 61-year-old admitted that despite his experience in playing a Shapeshifter, his talent has limitations. "The one thing I can't do is, I can't melt. Sometimes I'll see people in an airport and they'll expect me to do it for them, and I have a little trouble doing that."

Asked who their favorite Voyager actors were, Eisenberg was quick to name the event's host, Beltran, because they worked together on the episode "Initiations" (where Eisenberg played a young Kazon). "We had such a great time goofing around," he said. Auberjonois cited Ethan Phillips as a very dear friend from the day they both joined the cast of Benson in 1980. He commented that "it's sort of ironic" that he's done two TV series in his life, and in each case, in "Benson, my best friend was a short bald guy, and in Deep Space Nine my best friend ended up being a short bald guy [Armin Shimerman]. And my wife is beginning to be a little suspicious about that." Eisenberg chimed in, "So there's hope for me!"

Then it was Voyager's turn. Roxann Dawson and Robert Picardo joined Beltran on stage, and talked about what they've been doing since the show concluded earlier this year, as well as their thoughts on Enterprise. In Dawson's case, the two subjects overlapped since she directed "The Andorian Incident" and will helm more episodes in the future. "I think the new show is wonderful," she said. "I think they made a wise choice to do a prequel to the Star Trek saga." Picardo responded by recalling that Leonard Nimoy, after first seeing TNG, said "But — they're not us!" He explained, "You get used to seeing yourself saying all those silly and ponderous things, and when someone else does it, you go, 'Wait a minute — that's somebody else!'" But he felt Scott Bakula is "a very charismatic actor and leader" and the show should be quite successful.

Picardo noted that he and Dawson shared the stage for a Star Trek-themed episode of The Weakest Link that will air on November 26. Dawson revealed, "He voted me off! That's why he isn't sitting here [next to me]." Picardo said it wasn't personal, but Dawson told the audience, "Watch the show and you decide."

Other projects Picardo has in the ringer is an episode of Frasier he will soon be shooting at Paramount where he will play Martin Crane's new boss. Early next year he will be coming out with a humor book called "The Hologram's Handbook." "It is a how-to book if you're an advanced artificial intelligence — how to get along with people that are not as good as you are," he said. As for Beltran's upcoming projects, he said, "I'm going to be working with Garrett Wang very soon — I'm going to be doing his website. That should keep me busy." Actually, he's currently writing a stage play and co-writing a couple of screenplays.

The three Voyager stars then proceeded to auction off a copy of the script for "11:59" autographed by all the cast members (twice by Tim Russ, for some reason). Dawson and Beltran even did a reading of a scene from the script, Beltran taking on his squeaky Janeway voice. Picardo also threw in call sheets and other paperwork the actors received for that episode. "If you are a really, really anal Star Trek fan, this is for you," he declared to bursts of laughter. The package sold for $650 to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The evening cabaret kicked off with instrumental music by Neil Norman and his Cosmic Orchestra, familiar faces at conventions and other Star Trek-related events. Among the pieces they performed were the opening theme for the "Star Trek: The Experience" attraction in Las Vegas, and the theme to the Art Police, a series of short films produced by Tim Russ for the Internet. The director of the Down Syndrome Association, Roxanne Carreon, thanked the well-dressed crowd for their generosity and support, and then to demonstrate that those born with Down Syndrome are not necessarily limited in their abilities, two young adults with the condition, Andrea Fay Friedman and Luke Zimmerman, performed a scene from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

And then it was time for the Voyager stars to show off a little, too. Ethan Phillips (known by his friends as "Johnny") debuted a new talent: the saxophone. He played a couple of solos with the orchestra, then joined Tim Russ on guitar as they played a few songs from Russ' CDs. Robert Duncan McNeill insisted that the crowd get up and dance — over Beltran's objections (he wanted to save the dancing for later) — while he sang "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry and other energetic pieces. But he had to use cheat sheets "because I'm blond now and I can't remember the words to many songs anymore." Dawson also permitted dancing to her rendition of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," in tribute to B'Elanna Torres and her baby, claiming that Tom Paris left them after they returned to Earth.

Taking a more serious tone in light of the events of September 11, Beltran himself took the stage and gave a very moving rendition of Paul Simon's "American Tune." Later in a similar tribute, Beltran recited the poem "Choose Something Like a Star" by Robert Frost. Much less serious but just as timely, Phillips returned to the stage and told jokes, like he has in the past, but this time they were all about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Picardo introduced his set saying, "My mother once said to me, Bobby ... No one can ever humiliate you publicly, if you beat them to it. Here's what I thought she meant by that." He then proceeded with song parodies from his CD "basic bob: parodies, travesties, anomalies."

Ultimately the whole Voyager group, along with Eisenberg, took the stage together and led the crowd in a rousing chorus of "Love the One You're With" by Stephen Stills. Afterwards, they still had a few auctions to take care of. More autographed scripts from TNG and Voyager added several more hundred dollars to the charity coffers. Then the stars took on the task of auctioning off set tours of Enterprise and the WB's Angel, both of which are shot on the Paramount lot. Interestingly, the chance for an encounter with David Boreanaz commanded a heftier price than Scott Bakula from the predominantly female crowd — the Angel set tour sold for $4,500 versus "only" $3,200 for Enterprise.

The evening continued late into the night with dancing to salsa music provided by Beltran's brother, Louie Cruz Beltran, and his orchestra.