What's bringing Klingons into 'Star Wars' country?

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Klingon Empire, Klingons will gather in the obvious location: Empire.

Saturday, members of the bumpy-foreheaded warrior species from "Star Trek" plan to invade (in the nicest sense of the word) Rico's Pizza in the community east of Modesto. They'll party, feast and share demonstrations of costuming and weaponry, said North Hollywood resident John S. Halvorson, aka Thought Admiral Kris epetai-Kurkura, who founded the Klingon Assault Group in 1989.

"We've promised not to demolish Rico's," Halvorson said.

Despite their group's menacing Assault Group name, the members come in peace. The Klingons will welcome the curious, as well as unknowing Rico's customers who stumble upon the event. They'll even have spare headpieces that visitors can try on to experience "that Klingon feeling."

And, yes, they're well aware they're entering "Star Wars" country, birthplace of George Lucas. "We'll be nice to any 501st members who show," Halvorson said, referring to the 501st Legion Central California Garrison, the costuming group that dominates these parts.

The animosity between hard-core "Star Wars" fans and Trekkers has been milked for laughs in pop culture, including a hilarious scene from the movie "Fanboys." But Halvorson calls the issue "nothing to get worked up over. "It's like comparing an orangutan and a sand shark," he said. "Two different animals," with the only similarity being both sagas take place in space.

Halvorson said he doesn't have a good feel for how many KAG members will attend Saturday. It could be a landing party of fewer than 10 or a small army of up to 50.

The Klingon Assault Group is not a dues-paying organization, he said, which makes it hard to track membership. "At our peak, we had maybe 5,000 members," he said. "I would say now we're somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000. But we're growing again."

KAG.org lists more than 700 active members. There are no members in Stanislaus County, Halvorson said, but the group gathering Saturday in Empire likely will include people from the L.A. area, Fresno, Bakersfield, the Bay Area and greater Sacramento.

So, why here, why now?

The "Star Trek" TV series introduced Klingons in Episode 26, "Errand of Mercy," which first aired March 23, 1967. And Empire, Calif., was selected because, frankly, it's much closer to L.A. than Empire, Colo., which Halvorson heard of when attending a convention in Denver.

Halvorson searched for other places named Empire and came across Stanislaus County's. He paid a visit while returning from a trip in Seattle, looked around for a suitable place to meet and decided on Rico's.

When he brought up his proposal to an employee at the pizza place, he recalled the young man "looked at me like I was a far-out old dude," which he is.

As Klingons go, Halvorson seems pretty laid-back. Take his costuming, for instance. "Some people really want to look perfect and will spend two to three hours in a hotel bathroom putting on their headpiece and liquid latex along the edge, feathering and layering that in. That’s two, three hours I could be doing something else. I slap it on, make sure it's not crooked and go."

And the language? He speaks some, but he's just as happy to talk like an Earthling. "There are some who get very intense and speak the language without breaking character," he said. "But how do you order pizza in Klingon?"

Rico's Pizza, 5000 Yosemite Blvd., opens at 11 a.m. Saturday. Halvorson expects the Klingon gathering to run from about noon to 5 or 6 p.m.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 2:00 PM with the headline "What's bringing Klingons into 'Star Wars' country?."