Chapter Seven

"Congratulations, Alex."

The lanky man garbed in dark blue ceremonial robes turned to face the similarly dressed woman. The only difference in their garments was that opulent gold sash that decorated his robe.

"Thank you, Hoshi," Alex said with forced cheer. He lowered his gaze and chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip before speaking again. "This should have been yours, Hoshi," he whispered, fingering the gold material.

Frustration buzzed violently between her temples. All day long that was what people had been telling her. Her supposed 'genius' was renowned and the fact that she came in second, well, that could only have been attributed to her brother's illness. They looked upon her with pity and it riled her. So she came in second, she didn't understand what was so god damn awful about being second best. She had to restrain herself from throttling all of them, but that restraint was wearing thinner than the fabric of her mother's old couch. It would, however, have been bad form for her to strangle Alex. So she responded as she had to the others.

"I gave it my best and you sure as hell gave it yours. And that's why that decoration is on your robe and not mine."

The silly man opened his mouth to speak again. Probably with something more humble and self-deprecating.

"Alex. Don't force me to give you another compliment, okay?"

The gaping mouth shut immediately, much to her satisfaction and relief.

"Good. Now give me a hug."

His smile was genuine that time. And as his arms tightened affectionately around her, Hoshi mused that she could have lost to someone a whole lot worse than Alex.

Unfortunately, now that the reception was in full swing, her youth made it easy to single her out, and she felt stifled by the crowd's pity. Finally, Hoshi excused herself from the ordeal, catching the lingering look of concern on Alex's face. But she couldn't dwell on it much further. Her degree gave her much more freedom than she had as a student, and that was the important thing. She wanted to be close to Ryuji and give him whatever support she could to help him conquer the mysterious disease that had plagued him for over these few months. Linguistics took a backseat to family.

"Frankly, I don't understand it. One day he's unable to get out of bed, and the next he's as healthy as the next man. In any case, we'd like to observe him for two more days..."

The voice of the perplexed doctor droned on in the background, but all Hoshi could see and hear was Ryuji.

"I can't believe it, Hoshi. Yesterday I felt like I was going to cough up my lungs. Today..." he gestured with great comedic animation. His attempt to lighten the mood was ineffective, as eivdenced by the non-existent smile on Hoshi's face. "Hey, you're not going to cry, are you?"

Hoshi shook her head mutedly, miraculously holding in the tears that threatened to tumble down her cheeks.

"Good, very good," Ryuji replied with great caution. Hoshi frowned, trying to convince him that comedy wasn't the way to go. He blinked slowly, as if sudden movement would trigger a flood of tears. "Um....Hug?"

With a ghost of a smile, Hoshi gingerly hugged him, squeezing tighter only when she felt the strength of his arms around her. "I'm so happy," she said softly, silent tears finally trickling down her cheeks.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'm still going to be here to threaten every guy you date. What are big brothers for?"

Lips trembling, Hoshi tried in vain to stop the tears. "I just thought when they called me after the reception, I..."

"Hoshi. Dad told me what happened at your school. I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."

"Ryuji, please don't," Hoshi turned away, she couldn't bear to see him blame himself, couldn't bear to hear the same thing over again.

"I--" He was interrupted from saying more when the door opened again.

"Ryuji, how're you feeling?" The doctor entered the room with their parents.

"Ryuji, you had us so worried..."

"Son, you gave us quite a scare..."

Hoshi watched as they fussed over Ryuji, but when he caught her eye, his guilt was still there.

"I'm...going to get something to drink," she muttered before exiting the room. Once out, she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and willing the noise around her to disappear. They didn't understand, it wasn't Ryuji, it was her. She'd done her very best, and the work was easy for her. But apparently she was wrong. It was her fault, Ryuji--

"Had nothing to do with your failure."

She hurled around to see a man standing beside her. He was even more nondescript than Ryuji's Doctor Castor. What had he said? It was a rare occasion that she doubted her own ears.

"Pardon?"

"Allow me to introduce myself, Ms. Sato. I'm Damien Sloan," he said, handing her a card. Hoshi, puzzled, read the card. It had nothing but a row of numbers from one to thirty-one, with the number thirteen circled.

"I don't understand."

"Perhaps we should go outside, Ms. Sato. I have a proposition for you."

Hoshi frowned, unable to digest the strange man's words. "I'm sorry, I'm not interested."

"I will explain everything. Including your brother's mysterious illness."

The bait had been thrown. Sloan bowed slightly at the waist and walked away.

"How did you--Wait!"

The usually crowded patio was eerily empty when Hoshi caught up with Sloan. Wary, she hesitated. Though the sun was shinning brightly above them, basking her in light and warmth, she couldn't help but feel an icy sense of foreboding darkness permeating through her.

Sloan lazily gestured for her to sit. He took no other action. Like a predator lying in wait, he was patient and still, watching Hoshi approach.

The air was thick, and her eyes stung from her unblinking vigilance as she neared him. Every fiber of her being told her to stay away, but it was impossible for Hoshi to ignore him when it concerned Ryuji.

She sat with her back straight and ready, perched for escape. "What do you know?"

He smiled indulgently, "What don't I know?" Leaning forward, he began, "I belong to a covert organization called Primes that gathers intelligence from Starfleet. My section, thirteen, is cryptography and communications. And we're very interested in recruiting you."

"I've never heard of this Primes. And I'm not interested." Hoshi's head ached. "You said something about my brother." That was the only thing that concerned her.

"Primes is...not an publicly recognized organization. There are some things that can't be done through official channels, we are there to assist Starfleet when its hands are tied. We both work toward the same goals, the betterment of human kind."

Sighing impatiently, Hoshi exclaimed, "It sounds to me that Primes is rather presumptuous in its goals when it can't be held publically accountable for anything. And I don't care about any of this, what do you know about my brother?"

Something in Sloan's eyes hardened, and suddenly, she knew that she had thrown away her safety net. The viper was about to strike.

"I know plenty. I know that language comes to you as naturally as breathing. I know you should have been first in your class. I know why you weren't, and it wasn't because of your brother. I also know why your brother was sick."

Her knuckles had turned white in her lap. Something was very wrong.

"Your work was doctored. Your brother was deliberately infected with a virus. Because I ordered it. It's just a taste of what we're capable of."

Hoshi tore away from her seat, stepping crookedly away as her breath labored with fear.

"Who are you?"

"Sit down. I'm not finished." His tone ordered compliance.

Trembling, she sat. "There's more?"

Sloan chuckled. It was a terrible sound. "You were genetically modified to be a language prodigy--unfortunately the public frowns upon that. There's a Eugenics Act I'm sure you are aware of. They confine and sterilize individuals who have been indicted for genetic manipulation. By all accounts you should be institutionalized, not acclaimed."

Her thesis, her work, the final exams. Though her thoughts were on Ryuji, they seemed like something she could have done perfectly. Language came almost automatically to her. Frankly, it didn't require much thought on her part at all. It was instinct. But after the initial surprise when Alex was named first in their class, she really hadn't given it much thought. Maybe instincts could go wrong when emotions were involved. Now, however, the stranger had exposed the nagging feeling that sat in the darkest corner of her mind.

"I don't believe you," she bluffed, though her heart was tripping readily at his words. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Sloan deposited a vial on the table before leaning back, a portrait of ease. "This contains the anti-viral agent used to cure your brother. You can go have it tested if you wish. As for approaching you now... Our genetic experimentations have not aways been successful. People sometimes turn out exactly as the public feared, unstable, uncontrollable...a waste. You, on the other hand, are a success. We want people like you to assist us in acquiring delicate information."

She didn't care what information they wanted. "What if I refuse?" Thankfully her voice was steady.

"We'll just have to turn you in to the authorities. Your family will be degraced as the perpetuators, and you'll be seen as nothing but a fraud with an unnatural advantage. Everything you've worked for, every award, every credential, all for nothing. You'd also be locked away in a place where...the silence is often deafening."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Hoshi found this all too horrific. She wasn't a prodigy. She was made to be good, made to turn out this way. But she remembered working for those awards, working into the night when other children were having fun at birthday parties. Even with her gift, the accolades weren't something she had taken for granted. Now this man was telling her it was all part of the plan, that she had been made to be this way.

"Hoshi, may I call you Hoshi? We're not evil by any means. We're just very cautious about contingency plans when it comes to our organization. In fact, we could take you places you could have never imagined."

"What do I have to do?" she asked softly.

Sloan smiled. "There is a warp five starship in the works. You'll be on it as a Starfleet communications officer. You'll send us all forms of communications to and from the ship. And install our algorithms in the communications arrays."

"That's it?" It sounded too simple. "What about after the mission?"

"It's an important mission. Afterwards, if all goes successfully, you will no longer be obligated to us. However, some of our agents find their jobs rewarding in uncovering the issues that would have never been brought to light...You look unconvinced. You have my word, that if you choose to leave the Primes then, we won't expose you, unless you threaten us with exposure as well."

"You won't hurt my family."

He sat back in his chair. "Rest assured, we're very big on individual responsibilities and investments. That was just for show."

For show. To prove that he could do those things. To display his power over her.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked, her bloodless hands white from tension.

He picked the invisible lint off his jacket before regarding her with his flat gaze. "No, you don't." Rising from the chair, Sloan took in her despondent demeanor with satisfied smile of a well-fed snake. "I will be contacting you shortly."

Hoshi tried to suppress the shudder that went through her. But she didn't want him to leave thinking that this was all there was to Hoshi Sato.

"Sloan," she called out to his back.

He faced her, arrogantly expectant.

Her face twisted with derision. "Is there anything that you can't do?" she mockingly asked.

Sloan seemed to contemplate her question. He looked past her, out toward the horizon, made bloody by the setting sun.

Finally, he answered gravely, "See the future."