Stuck
written by: Misanoe
notes: this is an alternate universe in which Hoshi choose not to serve on the Enterprise or even join Starfleet. Instead, after college, she spent a few years with her feet on firm ground in search of languages to break down and decipher. Afterwards, she started teaching at a university not far from a Starfleet base, where she occasionally called upon to help translate alien languages.
The students in Hoshi's class began to shift in their seats, constantly glancing at the clock. A few of them began to pack their notebooks and the sound of the zippers was beginning to distract Hoshi from her lecture. Glancing at the clock she decided to show mercy to her students and dismissed the class several minutes before the bell rang. With a flurry the students flew out of the class and Hoshi found herself in an empty classroom within thirty seconds. She began to gather her papers on her desk and didn't notice the man in Starfleet uniform quietly walk through the open door.
"Professor Sato?"
Hoshi glanced up expecting a stray student standing before her, surprised when she recognized his uniform. "May I help you?" She asked politely, her hands frozen over her folders.
"Good afternoon Professor Sato. I am Lieutenant Matthew Lin of Starfleet."
Hoshi nodded her greetings and waited patiently for him to continue.
"I am here on official Starfleet business. We would appreciate it if you would accompany me to the Starfleet base."
Hoshi looked at him in surprise. "Now?" Normally Starfleet phoned her secretary in advance with details when asking her to come in. "What exactly is this for?"
"My assignment was only to escort you to Starfleet. No other details were given to me. You will be briefed by another officer when we get there."
"I'm sorry Lieutenant. I have other obligations at the moment. My next class starts in five minutes. Perhaps I could come after my last class today. I should be done around 4:30." She responded. Gathering the rest of her materials she finished packing her bag and was about to leave for her next class when she realized Lin was still standing in front of her desk. "You're still here." She stated.
"We've took the liberty of canceling the rest of your classes for the day Professor Sato." Lin interjected. "We would really appreciate if you could come with me now."
Hoshi narrowed her eyes in irritation. "Starfleet does not have the authority to cancel any of my classes or intervene in my life in this manner. I am not affiliated with Starfleet in anyway and they hold no jurisdiction over me."
"We apologize Professor Sato. I'm sure my superiors will be able to explain their actions to you in a much more suitable manner."
Hoshi bit back a chuckle. "I'd have to go to Starfleet to complain to your superiors."
"Whatever it takes to get your there." Lin grinned.
Hoshi let out an over dramatic sigh. "Fine, I'll go with you." She smiled and continued. "But only because I want an apology from your superiors." She finished jokingly. "Where to driver?"
"Follow me Professor Sato."
***********************************
When they reached the Starfleet base Hoshi continued to follow Lin, trying not to knock into the uniformed Starfleet personnel scattered about. Looking down at her apparel she felt out of place as she noticed she was the only one not in the purple jumper.
"Professor Sato." Lin called out, as he paused and waited for her to catch up to him. "This way."
Walking into the building Hoshi found Lin steering her towards a direction she was not used to. Normally she was immediately escorted towards the linguistic database, where she met with several other linguists.
"Where are we going?" Hoshi asked Lin, as she followed him down through a doorway which led to a nearly empty corridor.
"We're in an authorized personnel only section of Starfleet. I was told to escort you to meeting hall b10. I'm not sure who you will be meeting down there."
"I see." Hoshi responded, wondering what exactly Starfleet wanted from her.
"Here we are." Pressing a small panel at the side of the door, Lin spoke out loud. "Lieutenant Lin, with Professor Sato." Stiffly he stood with his arms behind his back as the door opened.
"Enter."
Hoshi followed Lin inside the room and looked around. It was considerably small and contained only a meeting table with several chairs. Her gaze stopped on the people standing in the room before her. There were two of them. An older man with a full head of hair with specks of gray appeared to be the higher ranking officer. The other had blonde hair and light blue eyes. He stood a little more relaxed then everyone else in the room, and gave her a smile as his eyes met hers.
"Dismissed Lieutenant."
Hoshi looked at Lin and gave him a small smile before he left the room.
"Good afternoon Professor Sato." The older man said as he walked towards her. "I am Admiral Spencer and this is Commander Tucker."
"Nice to meet you." She replied, sitting down in the seat Admiral Spencer held out for her. Both taking seats to face her Spencer continued.
"We're sorry to inconvenience you Professor Sato, but what we need to present to you is quite urgent."
"Please let me begin Admiral." Hoshi interjected. "I realize that the matter at hand must be of some importance, but I am not Starfleet personnel nor do I wish to be. I am an educator and have other obligations that come before Starfleet. It is not appropriate for Starfleet to interfere with my schedule." Hoshi paused to give both men a reprimanding stare. "If Starfleet is in need of my expertise I will be happy to oblige as long as Starfleet remembers my time is my own."
"I apologize Professor Sato." Spencer replied after a thoughtful pause.
Hoshi smiled. "Now, what do you need me for?"
"Professor Sato, several months ago we sent the first human star ship into space."
"I remember, it was in the news everywhere. The Enterprise if I'm not mistaken."
"You are not," Spencer replied. "The Enterprise was sent out as an exploration vessel. The purpose was to meet with other species and make new friends so to speak. The linguist assigned to the Enterprise was Ensign Brandon Wells."
"Yes, I remember him. He graduated fourth in my class. Has something happened to Brandon?" Hoshi asked with concern.
"Ensign Wells is on the vessel Enterprise and doing quite well. As you know Starfleet designed a universal translator in the hopes of being able to understand other life forms. As a precaution, a linguist was sent with the Enterprise if the translator were to run into any problems."
Hoshi nodded, remembering how she had been offered the job a year ago.
"You were our first choice and we were regretful when you did not accept the assignment."
Commander Tucker looked at Hoshi in surprise when he heard Spencer reveal that piece of information. He had always assumed that Ensign Wells had been first choice. That anyone could refuse an assignment on the first starship was news to him.
"The translator was only a prototype and after being used by the Enterprise, we realize that it is not nearly sophisticated enough to translate most of the languages we encounter. The Enterprise has come to rely solely on Ensign Wells. While he has performed adequately, we wish to ensure the safety of the Enterprise. We are about to start the process of updating the old translator, which afterwards should be able to adapt to new languages quicker and with higher accuracy."
It began to dawn on Hoshi why she was brought to Starfleet. "You want me to help update the translator." Hoshi stated.
Spencer nodded. "You are still Starfleet's first choice Professor Sato. We've had our eye on you since you were brought in and deciphered what our linguists could not."
"Klingon." Hoshi replied.
"Correct. We hope that you would consider collaborating with Commander Tucker for the next few months. He is one of the best engineers we have."
Hoshi sat there thoughtfully before asking, "How big of a part would I play Admiral? At the moment I have other commitments and the time I could donate is limited."
"We understand that the school quarter should be done within the next month. We hoped that you would work part time, reviewing the work of the other linguists for that month, afterwards taking the next quarter off so you could head the linguistic department."
"It would be better suited if I were able to work part time throughout the course of this project. Then I wouldn't have to take time off at the school."
"We would prefer if you would head the linguistic department Professor Hoshi. You have an ear for languages that is uncommon in most people. It would be a great service to Starfleet and exploration if you would lend your talent for several months."
Hoshi mentally sighed in her head. He was playing the guilt card. "Give me a night to think about it Admiral Spencer. My decision has the ability to wreak havoc with my life." She replied wryly.
Commander Tucker gave a small smile at the response, having sat quietly throughout the whole conversation.
"Of course Professor Sato." Spencer stood up, the other's following suit. "We will be awaiting your decision." Holding out his hand Hoshi grasped it and gave him a firm shake. "In the meantime, why doesn't Commander Tucker brief you on what the assignment will be like, should you choose to accept. Do you have the time Commander?" Spencer asked.
Commander Tucker stood there and nodded. "I'll show Sato her quarters and the work area."
Hoshi lifted her eyebrow. Quarters?
"With that settled, good day Professor Sato, Commander." Spencer said before stepping out of the room.
Hoshi watched Spencer walk out of the room before turning around to face Tucker. "So." She smiled. "Where to?"
******************************************
"And this over here would be your quarters if you decided to head the linguistic department." Hoshi followed Tucker into the room and nearly gasped. It didn't seem as impersonal as she thought the quarters in Starfleet would be.
"Wow. If I knew that Starfleet quarters were like this I might have gone on the Enterprise."
Tucker grinned. "Trust me, the quarters on the Enterprise look nothing like this."
Hoshi looked at him questioningly.
"Let's just say Starfleet likes to bribe," Tucker gave a fake cough, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "Oh did I say bribe? I meant Starfleet likes to treat their head linguists well."
Hoshi chuckled as she looked around. "I take it I would be sorely disappointed if I did join the Enterprise."
"The quarters would be a nice shock. But hey, by then you'd be in space so what are you going to do?" He joked. "All joking aside, I should have held out like you did. This room was specifically designed for you."
Hoshi looked at Tucker in surprise. "For me?"
"Yup. It must have been quite a shocker when you turned down the linguist post. The probably thought being on the first spaceship itself would be an inducement enough. This time they're taking no risks and bringing out the big guns. They're even willing to jump you over ensign to a lower officer ranking."
"They must really want that translator." Hoshi replied as she followed Tucker outside of the room.
Tucker shrugged. "It's gotten pretty hectic up there." He said, pointing his finger towards the ceiling. "Ensign Wells is barely handling all the pressure. I think the stress is beginning to get to him."
Hoshi looked at Tucker in surprise who shrugged in response.
"He's a good linguist, but from what I've heard, you're better."
"I graduated second in my class Commander." Hoshi answered, "There's always someone better."
"True. I guess Starfleet just wants the best, and their knocking on your door. Not the one who was first in your class."
"How do you know how Brandon is holding up?" Hoshi asked, curious about her former classmate.
"I was on the Enterprise until a week ago." Tucker answered. "I miss it up there."
Hoshi smiled wryly. "A tin bucket hurtling through space. Not really my idea of fun."
Tucker looked at her in surprise. "I guess it seems a little dangerous." He paused when Hoshi snorted and smiled. "It's like an adventure out there, the new planets, the people. Space, with infinite-"
"Possibilities." Hoshi finished. "Jonathon Archer went on that spiel when he tried to get me to sign on as crew."
"You know Jon?"
"Barely. He kept following me around leaving messages everywhere I went. Space, the final frontier."
Tucker grinned at the overused phrase. "Didn't convince you huh."
Hoshi shook her head. "I had other things I wanted to do. If I have the need later on, space will still be there."
Tucker nodded in agreement. "That's true, but you won't be the first."
Hoshi smiled. "I thought I would manage. And I did." She paused and continued, "I actually suggested Jonathon to contact Brandon. If what you say is true," She gave him a sidelong glance, "Not that I'm saying your lying to me, I feel slightly responsible for his predicament."
"Wells will survive." Tucker reassured her. "He just needs to get used to it out there."
They walked in silence for a while, both reflecting on their very different perspectives of Brandon Wells.
"You seem really excited about space travel." Hoshi cut in. "What are you doing on earth?"
Tucker grinned ruefully, "Believe me it wasn't my idea. They dragged me off Enterprise kicking and screaming the entire way. They needed an engineer for this project. I was first choice. Have to keep my feet and solid ground until I'm done."
"You must have been disappointed."
"It's not so bad anymore." He replied, giving her a flirtatious wink which caused Hoshi to burst out in laughter. Tucker placed his hands to his heart and pulled out an imaginary dagger. "Ow."
"Oh I'm very sorry Commander." Hoshi replied jovially, "What I meant to say was it'll be very hard for me to keep my hands off of you."
"Well, you better try Professor," Tucker grinned. "I'm a man spoken for."
Hoshi lifted the back of her right palm to her forehead and gave a mock feint, "I'm so devastated, I don't think I'll ever recover." Catching the glance of a cute uniformed Starfleet officer walking past them in the hallway, she gave him a little smile then looked up at Trip. "Feeling all better now."
Tucker burst out laughing. "I think I'm going to enjoy working with you Professor Sato."
"I haven't yet decided if I want to work here Commander Tucker." Hoshi replied.
"Call me Trip." He responded, bringing out his right hand to shake her hand.
"Hoshi."
written by: Misanoe
notes: this is an alternate universe in which Hoshi choose not to serve on the Enterprise or even join Starfleet. Instead, after college, she spent a few years with her feet on firm ground in search of languages to break down and decipher. Afterwards, she started teaching at a university not far from a Starfleet base, where she occasionally called upon to help translate alien languages.
The students in Hoshi's class began to shift in their seats, constantly glancing at the clock. A few of them began to pack their notebooks and the sound of the zippers was beginning to distract Hoshi from her lecture. Glancing at the clock she decided to show mercy to her students and dismissed the class several minutes before the bell rang. With a flurry the students flew out of the class and Hoshi found herself in an empty classroom within thirty seconds. She began to gather her papers on her desk and didn't notice the man in Starfleet uniform quietly walk through the open door.
"Professor Sato?"
Hoshi glanced up expecting a stray student standing before her, surprised when she recognized his uniform. "May I help you?" She asked politely, her hands frozen over her folders.
"Good afternoon Professor Sato. I am Lieutenant Matthew Lin of Starfleet."
Hoshi nodded her greetings and waited patiently for him to continue.
"I am here on official Starfleet business. We would appreciate it if you would accompany me to the Starfleet base."
Hoshi looked at him in surprise. "Now?" Normally Starfleet phoned her secretary in advance with details when asking her to come in. "What exactly is this for?"
"My assignment was only to escort you to Starfleet. No other details were given to me. You will be briefed by another officer when we get there."
"I'm sorry Lieutenant. I have other obligations at the moment. My next class starts in five minutes. Perhaps I could come after my last class today. I should be done around 4:30." She responded. Gathering the rest of her materials she finished packing her bag and was about to leave for her next class when she realized Lin was still standing in front of her desk. "You're still here." She stated.
"We've took the liberty of canceling the rest of your classes for the day Professor Sato." Lin interjected. "We would really appreciate if you could come with me now."
Hoshi narrowed her eyes in irritation. "Starfleet does not have the authority to cancel any of my classes or intervene in my life in this manner. I am not affiliated with Starfleet in anyway and they hold no jurisdiction over me."
"We apologize Professor Sato. I'm sure my superiors will be able to explain their actions to you in a much more suitable manner."
Hoshi bit back a chuckle. "I'd have to go to Starfleet to complain to your superiors."
"Whatever it takes to get your there." Lin grinned.
Hoshi let out an over dramatic sigh. "Fine, I'll go with you." She smiled and continued. "But only because I want an apology from your superiors." She finished jokingly. "Where to driver?"
"Follow me Professor Sato."
***********************************
When they reached the Starfleet base Hoshi continued to follow Lin, trying not to knock into the uniformed Starfleet personnel scattered about. Looking down at her apparel she felt out of place as she noticed she was the only one not in the purple jumper.
"Professor Sato." Lin called out, as he paused and waited for her to catch up to him. "This way."
Walking into the building Hoshi found Lin steering her towards a direction she was not used to. Normally she was immediately escorted towards the linguistic database, where she met with several other linguists.
"Where are we going?" Hoshi asked Lin, as she followed him down through a doorway which led to a nearly empty corridor.
"We're in an authorized personnel only section of Starfleet. I was told to escort you to meeting hall b10. I'm not sure who you will be meeting down there."
"I see." Hoshi responded, wondering what exactly Starfleet wanted from her.
"Here we are." Pressing a small panel at the side of the door, Lin spoke out loud. "Lieutenant Lin, with Professor Sato." Stiffly he stood with his arms behind his back as the door opened.
"Enter."
Hoshi followed Lin inside the room and looked around. It was considerably small and contained only a meeting table with several chairs. Her gaze stopped on the people standing in the room before her. There were two of them. An older man with a full head of hair with specks of gray appeared to be the higher ranking officer. The other had blonde hair and light blue eyes. He stood a little more relaxed then everyone else in the room, and gave her a smile as his eyes met hers.
"Dismissed Lieutenant."
Hoshi looked at Lin and gave him a small smile before he left the room.
"Good afternoon Professor Sato." The older man said as he walked towards her. "I am Admiral Spencer and this is Commander Tucker."
"Nice to meet you." She replied, sitting down in the seat Admiral Spencer held out for her. Both taking seats to face her Spencer continued.
"We're sorry to inconvenience you Professor Sato, but what we need to present to you is quite urgent."
"Please let me begin Admiral." Hoshi interjected. "I realize that the matter at hand must be of some importance, but I am not Starfleet personnel nor do I wish to be. I am an educator and have other obligations that come before Starfleet. It is not appropriate for Starfleet to interfere with my schedule." Hoshi paused to give both men a reprimanding stare. "If Starfleet is in need of my expertise I will be happy to oblige as long as Starfleet remembers my time is my own."
"I apologize Professor Sato." Spencer replied after a thoughtful pause.
Hoshi smiled. "Now, what do you need me for?"
"Professor Sato, several months ago we sent the first human star ship into space."
"I remember, it was in the news everywhere. The Enterprise if I'm not mistaken."
"You are not," Spencer replied. "The Enterprise was sent out as an exploration vessel. The purpose was to meet with other species and make new friends so to speak. The linguist assigned to the Enterprise was Ensign Brandon Wells."
"Yes, I remember him. He graduated fourth in my class. Has something happened to Brandon?" Hoshi asked with concern.
"Ensign Wells is on the vessel Enterprise and doing quite well. As you know Starfleet designed a universal translator in the hopes of being able to understand other life forms. As a precaution, a linguist was sent with the Enterprise if the translator were to run into any problems."
Hoshi nodded, remembering how she had been offered the job a year ago.
"You were our first choice and we were regretful when you did not accept the assignment."
Commander Tucker looked at Hoshi in surprise when he heard Spencer reveal that piece of information. He had always assumed that Ensign Wells had been first choice. That anyone could refuse an assignment on the first starship was news to him.
"The translator was only a prototype and after being used by the Enterprise, we realize that it is not nearly sophisticated enough to translate most of the languages we encounter. The Enterprise has come to rely solely on Ensign Wells. While he has performed adequately, we wish to ensure the safety of the Enterprise. We are about to start the process of updating the old translator, which afterwards should be able to adapt to new languages quicker and with higher accuracy."
It began to dawn on Hoshi why she was brought to Starfleet. "You want me to help update the translator." Hoshi stated.
Spencer nodded. "You are still Starfleet's first choice Professor Sato. We've had our eye on you since you were brought in and deciphered what our linguists could not."
"Klingon." Hoshi replied.
"Correct. We hope that you would consider collaborating with Commander Tucker for the next few months. He is one of the best engineers we have."
Hoshi sat there thoughtfully before asking, "How big of a part would I play Admiral? At the moment I have other commitments and the time I could donate is limited."
"We understand that the school quarter should be done within the next month. We hoped that you would work part time, reviewing the work of the other linguists for that month, afterwards taking the next quarter off so you could head the linguistic department."
"It would be better suited if I were able to work part time throughout the course of this project. Then I wouldn't have to take time off at the school."
"We would prefer if you would head the linguistic department Professor Hoshi. You have an ear for languages that is uncommon in most people. It would be a great service to Starfleet and exploration if you would lend your talent for several months."
Hoshi mentally sighed in her head. He was playing the guilt card. "Give me a night to think about it Admiral Spencer. My decision has the ability to wreak havoc with my life." She replied wryly.
Commander Tucker gave a small smile at the response, having sat quietly throughout the whole conversation.
"Of course Professor Sato." Spencer stood up, the other's following suit. "We will be awaiting your decision." Holding out his hand Hoshi grasped it and gave him a firm shake. "In the meantime, why doesn't Commander Tucker brief you on what the assignment will be like, should you choose to accept. Do you have the time Commander?" Spencer asked.
Commander Tucker stood there and nodded. "I'll show Sato her quarters and the work area."
Hoshi lifted her eyebrow. Quarters?
"With that settled, good day Professor Sato, Commander." Spencer said before stepping out of the room.
Hoshi watched Spencer walk out of the room before turning around to face Tucker. "So." She smiled. "Where to?"
******************************************
"And this over here would be your quarters if you decided to head the linguistic department." Hoshi followed Tucker into the room and nearly gasped. It didn't seem as impersonal as she thought the quarters in Starfleet would be.
"Wow. If I knew that Starfleet quarters were like this I might have gone on the Enterprise."
Tucker grinned. "Trust me, the quarters on the Enterprise look nothing like this."
Hoshi looked at him questioningly.
"Let's just say Starfleet likes to bribe," Tucker gave a fake cough, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "Oh did I say bribe? I meant Starfleet likes to treat their head linguists well."
Hoshi chuckled as she looked around. "I take it I would be sorely disappointed if I did join the Enterprise."
"The quarters would be a nice shock. But hey, by then you'd be in space so what are you going to do?" He joked. "All joking aside, I should have held out like you did. This room was specifically designed for you."
Hoshi looked at Tucker in surprise. "For me?"
"Yup. It must have been quite a shocker when you turned down the linguist post. The probably thought being on the first spaceship itself would be an inducement enough. This time they're taking no risks and bringing out the big guns. They're even willing to jump you over ensign to a lower officer ranking."
"They must really want that translator." Hoshi replied as she followed Tucker outside of the room.
Tucker shrugged. "It's gotten pretty hectic up there." He said, pointing his finger towards the ceiling. "Ensign Wells is barely handling all the pressure. I think the stress is beginning to get to him."
Hoshi looked at Tucker in surprise who shrugged in response.
"He's a good linguist, but from what I've heard, you're better."
"I graduated second in my class Commander." Hoshi answered, "There's always someone better."
"True. I guess Starfleet just wants the best, and their knocking on your door. Not the one who was first in your class."
"How do you know how Brandon is holding up?" Hoshi asked, curious about her former classmate.
"I was on the Enterprise until a week ago." Tucker answered. "I miss it up there."
Hoshi smiled wryly. "A tin bucket hurtling through space. Not really my idea of fun."
Tucker looked at her in surprise. "I guess it seems a little dangerous." He paused when Hoshi snorted and smiled. "It's like an adventure out there, the new planets, the people. Space, with infinite-"
"Possibilities." Hoshi finished. "Jonathon Archer went on that spiel when he tried to get me to sign on as crew."
"You know Jon?"
"Barely. He kept following me around leaving messages everywhere I went. Space, the final frontier."
Tucker grinned at the overused phrase. "Didn't convince you huh."
Hoshi shook her head. "I had other things I wanted to do. If I have the need later on, space will still be there."
Tucker nodded in agreement. "That's true, but you won't be the first."
Hoshi smiled. "I thought I would manage. And I did." She paused and continued, "I actually suggested Jonathon to contact Brandon. If what you say is true," She gave him a sidelong glance, "Not that I'm saying your lying to me, I feel slightly responsible for his predicament."
"Wells will survive." Tucker reassured her. "He just needs to get used to it out there."
They walked in silence for a while, both reflecting on their very different perspectives of Brandon Wells.
"You seem really excited about space travel." Hoshi cut in. "What are you doing on earth?"
Tucker grinned ruefully, "Believe me it wasn't my idea. They dragged me off Enterprise kicking and screaming the entire way. They needed an engineer for this project. I was first choice. Have to keep my feet and solid ground until I'm done."
"You must have been disappointed."
"It's not so bad anymore." He replied, giving her a flirtatious wink which caused Hoshi to burst out in laughter. Tucker placed his hands to his heart and pulled out an imaginary dagger. "Ow."
"Oh I'm very sorry Commander." Hoshi replied jovially, "What I meant to say was it'll be very hard for me to keep my hands off of you."
"Well, you better try Professor," Tucker grinned. "I'm a man spoken for."
Hoshi lifted the back of her right palm to her forehead and gave a mock feint, "I'm so devastated, I don't think I'll ever recover." Catching the glance of a cute uniformed Starfleet officer walking past them in the hallway, she gave him a little smile then looked up at Trip. "Feeling all better now."
Tucker burst out laughing. "I think I'm going to enjoy working with you Professor Sato."
"I haven't yet decided if I want to work here Commander Tucker." Hoshi replied.
"Call me Trip." He responded, bringing out his right hand to shake her hand.
"Hoshi."