Saturday at Grand Slam featured a bevy of stars from all different galaxies. The day was highlighted by appearances from a number of Original Series cast members and a very special honor for William Shatner. But first, fans settled in for a visit from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's resident bartender.

As he took to the stage, Armin Shimerman ("Quark"), showed his allegiance to both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (he played the weasely Principal Snyder for three seasons). The actor marched out onstage wearing a large, prosthetic Ferengi forehead on top of his real head. As the crowd cheered, Shimerman turned around to reveal his jacket, which was emblazoned with the familiar Buffy logo. When the clapping subsided, Shimerman ditched the rubber forehead and got down to business, answering questions about his stints on both series.

Shimerman mentioned that fans may notice a rather dramatic change in Quark's voice from the first episode to the second. He explained that in the series premiere ("Emissary"), he gave Quark a very raspy voice. Rick Berman advised him to change it, as Shimerman would most likely ruin his vocal cords. "From the first episode to the second episode, Quark's voice changes radically, but then from the first Star Trek series to the second Star Trek series, the Klingons changed radically, so I don't think my voice made much of a difference!" noted Shimerman.

Appearing right after Shimerman was Alan Ruck, who proved to be popular with the audience not just for his role as Enterprise-B captain John Harriman in "Star Trek Generations," but for all his varied roles in television and movies. Most of the questions asked revolved around his parts in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Speed," and the sitcom Spin City. But since this was a Star Trek convention, he began his time on stage by saying, "I really still don't know to this day why I'm here. Because when I wake up in the morning and I look in the mirror, I don't think, 'Wow, Alan Ruck — intergalactic hero.' I just don't."

But he said it was a great honor to land the role in "Generations," calling it "a little miracle" that he had a chance to be part of that world. "I mean, I got to meet James Doohan! I got to meet Walter Koenig! I didn't get to meet Patrick Stewart, but I got to work with William Shatner, and I was welcomed into their world. I was glad to be part of it, even for a little moment." Comparing the role with others he's done, he observed, "What I was supposed to do in Star Trek was, you know, screw up, and be inept, and facilitate Captain Kirk's demise. Which I did!"

Speaking of Doohan ("Montgomery Scott"), fans were grateful to see the NCC-1701's chief engineer, who made it to Grand Slam despite recent health problems. As Doohan arrived onstage, the audience gave him a standing ovation. "Thank you very much," he said. "It is a great pleasure to see you all."

During his appearance, Doohan discussed some of his contributions to the Original Series, such as his invention of the Klingon language. Doohan related that he was having lunch with Gene Roddenberry one day, and Roddenberry mentioned that the person who was in charge of creating the language wasn't working out. "[Roddenberry] said, 'I don't know what we're going to do. We want the language to be clear and concise.' I said, 'Let me do it!' His assistant and I sat down after lunch and it took five minutes for me to create the Klingon language."

Doohan also made some notable contributions to everyone's favorite engineer, Scotty. "They had difficulty naming the character, and I said, 'How about Scotty?' And they said, 'Oh, that fits!'" As other changes were made to the character, Doohan says he suggested other things as well. "Anything I suggested, they usually accepted, which was always my intention anyway!" he joked.

Family was a recurring theme throughout Doohan's appearance, as both his young daughter Sarah and his son Chris joined him briefly onstage. And when asked if Scotty would ever marry Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Doohan joked, "Yeah ... she's not married yet, is she? The only trouble is, I'm married!" He went on to say that this year marks his 29th anniversary with wife Wende.

Continuing the day's TOS theme, Walter Koenig ("Pavel Chekov") kicked off the afternoon's string of appearances by former crewmembers of the NCC-1701. Koenig expressed that he was "thrilled" to be at Grand Slam, and discussed some of his current projects. Among other things, he's in the middle of working on a short film that he wrote, which is about "an actor that has been eased out of the business and is trying to make a comeback in a schlocky sci-fi movie." Koenig hopes to eventually screen the short at festivals. The busy Koenig made another appearance later in the con to discuss the upcoming film "Illegal Alien," another project he penned.

Koenig also took the time to answer plenty of questions about Chekov and TOS. For example, why was Chekov always the "screamer" of the crew? "I was the screamer because — believe it or not — I was young and the most vulnerable of the crew." Koenig noted that even when he was well into his 40s and acting in the Trek movies, he continued to fulfill that role. "I was probably typed as the guy you could count on to express the situation," he said.

Right after Koenig, Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura") arrived onstage, greeting the audience with her trademark grace and style. "Thank you so much, you're so kind. Oh, and you're so beautiful ... still," she said, gazing out into the crowd.

Nichols discussed some of the books she's penned over the years, noting that there is interest in a sequel to her autobiography "Beyond Uhura." "Let me get a little older so I can have some more adventures to tell!" she joked.

Nichols also talked about the recent TV Land Awards, where she accepted a special Pop Culture Award for Trek with TOS co-stars Doohan, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. "It was a very different kind of awards show," she enthused. She had kind words for presenter Mira Sorvino, saying, "It was so wonderful, because Mira Sorvino, this beautiful actress is an avid Star Trek fan. And she is also wonderfully and delightfully articulate. She gave the most beautiful introduction to us."

Later on, TOS' dynamic duo, William Shatner ("James T. Kirk") and Leonard Nimoy ("Spock"), brought the day's festivities to a close with their joint appearance. The pair played off of each other constantly throughout their time onstage, displaying their legendary chemistry with charm and wit. After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, the two actors discussed their recent projects, including Nimoy's photography book, "Shekhina." "Leonard, your whole book is filled with naked women!" exclaimed Shatner. "That's a tough job! What technique!" Quipped Nimoy: "Have you been studying it carefully?"

With Nimoy's help, Shatner also re-enacted shooting a particularly difficult scene in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," which he directed. Noting the various hardships involved in directing, Shatner jokingly wondered why Nimoy wasn't around to assist him. "If you had called me, I would have been there," said Nimoy. Shatner retaliated: "I was calling 'help,' isn't that your name?!?"

As autograph notices for Star Wars star Carrie Fisher flashed onscreen behind them, Shatner wondered if Fisher might join them onstage ... which she did. After hugging Shatner, Fisher wondered: "Is that a mic in your hand ..." "No, I'm just glad to see you!" laughed Shatner. "Have you met my friend Leonard?" Not missing a beat, Fisher strode over to Nimoy, who enfolded her in a tight embrace. As the crowd cheered, Shatner mock-complained, "That's what happens every time! Every time I introduce him to a girl!"

As their time onstage together drew to a close, Nimoy presented Shatner with Creation's Lifetime Achievement Award by reading a poem he'd composed for the occasion. Sample line: "Never a captain was braver or truer/Fighting the Gorn and kissing Uhura."

Shatner also took the opportunity to auction off two items for his Hollywood Charity Horse Show and Ahead With Horses, which benefits disabled children. A clapboard from "Star Trek V," signed by both Shatner and Nimoy, went for $5,000, while a visit to the set of Enterprise received a high bid of $3,500.

Another highlight of the day was a spirited presentation by Fisher, who had the crowd in stitches during her energetic Q&A session. Richard Arnold from Creation reports that following her talk, Fisher was taken on a private tour of the dealers room — once it was closed and cleared out — and was completely amazed by all the merchandise across the various properties, especially the t-shirts and artwork of Michael David Ward from Lightspeed. She had no idea there was so much stuff out there for fans.

Story by: Tim Gaskill, Sarah Kuhn & Sandy Stone
Pictures by: Sandy Stone

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