Captain Kirk to Raleigh City Councilman: ‘Get lost.’ And the politician loved it.

Actor William Shatner told David Cox to “get lost” Sunday — and the Raleigh City Councilman and lifelong “Star Trek” fan loved every minute of the encounter.

Cox came to Shatner’s panel at GalaxyCon in Raleigh on Sunday to thank the “Star Trek” actor, known for playing Captain James Kirk. What ensued was a scene reminiscent of Shatner’s famous 1986 “Saturday Night Live” skit where he tells “Star Trek” fans at a science-fiction convention to “get a life.”

During the question and answer period, Shatner barks for comedic effect at Cox to talk “right into the mike” and tells him “I don’t care what your name is” when he introduces himself. When Cox mentions he’s a member of the City Council, the comedy ratcheted up.

“What’s the City Council doing here?” said Shatner, who called Cox “Eddie.” “Are you like important? Get lost will you, Eddie.”

Cox goes on to tell Shatner that he started watching “Star Trek” in the 1960s when he was 8 years old. Cox mentions his doctorate in computer science and his job at Duke University as he tells Shatner “thank you for the inspiration over the years.”

“I just want to take a moment to thank you and welcome you to Raleigh,” Cox added.

Shatner expressed his appreciation, but wasn’t going to let things end there.

“Why are you here?” Shatner tells Cox as the crowd laughs. “Do you have a question?”

When Cox answers “no questions,” Shatner asks Cox, “why aren’t the streets cleaner?”

“Don’t get me started,” Cox replied with a laugh.

Shatner didn’t relent and asked Cox “after all those years of ‘Star Trek,’ do you have a question or something?” Cox responded by asking Shatner about what he saw looking out the window when he went into space in 2021.

Cox, who isn’t running for re-election, later tweeted that the experience was the “best fun I’ve had in awhile.”

Honoring Nichelle Nichols

The exchange with Cox provided a light moment on what was an otherwise sad day for “Star Trek” fans because of the passing of actress Nichelle Nichols, who broke racial barriers as Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original show. Shatner apparently didn’t know about Nichols’ death at the time of his early Sunday afternoon talk.

Shatner tweeted his condolences Sunday night.

“I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Nichelle,” Shatner tweeted. “She was a beautiful woman & played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US & throughout the world.

“I will certainly miss her. Sending my love and condolences to her family.”

Gov. Cooper meets Shatner

Another ‘Star Trek’ fan, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also came to GalaxyCon on Sunday to meet one of his boyhood heroes. Cooper tweeted that he talked with Shatner about the arts, music, health, the environment and other topics.

“We are at our best when exploring the unknown and growing our knowledge of mysteries far and near,” Cooper said in a statement. “As a long-time Trekker, I enjoyed meeting William Shatner. Live long and prosper, Captain Kirk.”

Shatner mentioned his meeting with Cooper during his GalaxyCon talk. He asked the crowd who had voted for Cooper, getting a loud response from people who said no.

“Why didn’t you vote for him?” Shatner said. “I want to hear why you didn’t vote for the governor? What’s wrong with the governor? He’s a wonderful guy. He’s got great ideas, forward-looking ideas.”