Hoshi Sato

Hoshi Sato, played by Korean-American actress Linda Park, is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe and the communication officer aboard the starship Enterprise (NX-01) in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. She is a linguist who speaks more than forty languages, including Klingon. She is an acknowledged expert at operating the universal translator, which was a key instrument in allowing cultures from different worlds to communicate. She is the first Japanese regular character on a Star Trek show since Hikaru Sulu in the Original Series.

There have been hints that Sato might be attracted to her colleague Travis Mayweather, but this has yet to be expanded upon. She also appears to be very close to Captain Jonathan Archer and they appear to have some history that predates her posting to the Enterprise, but the full nature of their relationship has also yet to be explored.

Relatively little of Sato's background has been explored in the series. It is known that she (briefly) suffered from space-sickness and is also claustrophobic. The fourth season episode "Observer Effect" revealed that she was once dishonorably discharged from Starfleet for running a floating poker game and breaking the arm of a Starfleet instructor who tried to break it up (she has a black belt in aikido). She was subsequently allowed to rejoin Starfleet on the strength of her linguistic skills.

Prior to her posting aboard Enterprise, Sato was teaching linguistics in Brazil and it's unclear as to whether she was an active Starfleet officer at that time, or was reactivated to serve under Archer. She later (again, in "Observer Effect") expressed regret at leaving without having the chance to say goodbye to her students.

The finale episode, "These Are the Voyages" revealed that Sato remained Archer's communications officer throughout his tenure as captain of Enterprise, and was considering resuming her teaching career in Brazil following the ship's decommissioning. The final episode also revealed that, after serving aboard Enterprise for ten years, she still wore an ensign's insignia. The reasons for this lack of promotion (or possible future demotion) have not yet been revealed, although it is not unheard of for an officer to remain at a set rank for many years without promotion (examples include William Riker and Pavel Chekov who remained at the rank of commander for many years without moving on to become captains, and Harry Kim who never moved beyond the rank of Ensign during the seven year run of Star Trek: Voyager). As noted in the Defiant records, Sato only ever achieved the rank of lieutenant-commander during her Starfleet career, suggesting either a slow rise up the ranks or an early retirement from active duty.

Name

Sato is one of the most common Japanese surnames.

Also, her first name Hoshi is the Japanese word for star.

Fate

According to art prepared but not entirely seen on-screen in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", of computer records of the time-traveling USS Defiant (NCC-1764), Hoshi was born in Kyoto, Japan. She eventually marries a man named Takashi Kimura, and retires from Starfleet with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Hoshi and her husband die in 2246 when the colony where they live, Tarsus IV, is stricken by a food shortage, and Governor Kodos orders the deaths of half of the colony's population. Hoshi and her husband are among those executed.

Note: episode writer Mike Sussman, in confirming this information to the TrekBBS, cautioned that the fate of Hoshi is not necessarily officially canonical since some of the above information was not actually visible on screen.[1]

The Mirror Hoshi

In the Mirror Universe, Hoshi held the rank of lieutenant (unlike the 'regular' universe's Hoshi, who is an ensign). In addition to being the communications officer, Mirror Hoshi acted as the consort of Captain Maximillian Forrest and then Commander Archer after Archer took control of the Enterprise. After Archer used the USS Defiant (NCC-1764) to put down the rebellion, Hoshi poisoned him and took command of the ship and taking Mirror Travis Mayweather as a new consort. Upon reaching Earth, Hoshi demanded Earth's surrender and proclaimed herself Empress (it is unclear whether she succeeded, although given the high technology of the 23rd century starship it is likely).

In the extras on the 4th season DVD release of the show, the cast and crew joked that the mirror universe "put the Ho in Hoshi".

Key episodes

Episodes in which Hoshi's character is expanded or plays a key role.

• Broken Bow - introduction to her character; assigned to Enterpise
• Fight or Flight - faces her fears on an alien ship whose crew was murdered
• Vanishing Point - first use of transporter
• Exile - remains on an alien planet to learn more about the Xindi
• The Council - imperative in communicating with the Xindi council
• Countdown - kidnapped and brainwashed by Xindi-Reptilians to assist in destruction of Earth
• Zero Hour - crucial in destruction of Xindi superweapon before Earth is destroyed
• Observer Effect - chosen to carry deadly pathogen in experiment observed by the Organians

External links

• Hoshi Sato at Memory Alpha
• StarTrek.com: Hoshi Sato
• Historical Archive at Memory Alpha
• Mirror Universe Hoshi Sato at Memory Alpha