Hoshi

Mar

2016

Portrait of a Character – Trea Hoshi

Origins

First just seen as an embryo, barely a few hours old, Trea Hoshi is the embodiment of the hopes of the Arisian people. As the first female conceived since the elimination of women on that world, she is meant to begin a new era where the population again becomes regularly two-gendered. Her title, which is the title of the other girls (who are identical to her), means ‘Mother of the World’. Her very existence is owed, in There’s Something About Hoshi, to the female hormones of Hoshi Sato.

Portrayal

Ziyi Zhang as Trea Hoshi (image is presented for educational purposes only)

Trea Hoshi is played by actress Zhang Ziyi. I really loved the idea of using the same actress for Trea Hoshi as I had for Takara Masterson Sato Tucker, as the characters are similar in some ways. I have barely described the Arisians; they are essentially ‘forehead aliens’, with a pattern to their foreheads but otherwise little to distinguish them from humans.

Personality

Originally, I had not intended to write a sequel, called There’s Something Else About Hoshi. The opportunity presented itself when I was prompted to write to set a scene. But then there was the matter of an almost-grown Trea Hoshi herself.

She is somewhat schoolgirlish, and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by all of the attention that is continually showered on her and the other cloned girls.

Relationships

Her relationship is utterly unknown. At the end of There’s Something Else …, it’s Milit’s engagement to Trea Aquili that is announced. But there is, of course, someone for Trea Hoshi. Perhaps I’ll write that story one of these days.

Mirror Universe

I cannot see her as existing in the Mirror Universe, as her origins are dependent upon Hoshi Sato. I just do not see the Empress as having the time or interest or the sympathy for such things.

Quote

“Trea Aqili and Trea Mirana and I often speak of such things. The governmental ministers are most interested. They bring gifts, much like you have been provided with today.”

Upshot

As one of many clones, Trea Hoshi isn’t meant to be easy to know or distinguish from the other clones. The storyline might need to continue; it could say a lot about sexism, I imagine.

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Feb

2016

Portrait of a Character – Travis Mayweather (Mirror)

Origins

This character is canon, and he is one of the only people unambiguously left standing at the end of In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (Hoshi is also alive but it’s somewhat unclear about the other main characters).

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Travis Mayweather (Mirror)

Anthony Montgomery as Mirror Travis Mayweather (image is courtesy Memory Alpha)

As in canon, Travis is played by actor Anthony Montgomery.

I think the actor did a bang-up job and, since he’s improved as an actor, I would love to see him pick it up again.

Personality

Ruthless, nasty, irresponsible, and more than a little dumb, Travis is an interesting choice of henchman and lover for Hoshi. She continually corrects him and puts him down in public, but he provides a huge public service for her. Because no one wants him in power, Hoshi remains safe. As for Travis, he remains fairly safe as his relationship with Hoshi is non-exclusive and she actively seeks other fathers for her elder children. As a result, there are few rewards to replacing him, and men like José, Frank, Chip, and Aidan do better to remain more subservient. Travis is the one with a target painted on his back.

Relationships

The Empress Hoshi Sato

The Mirror Travis, while he is dying for some fun times with women like the Mirror versions of Melissa Madden and Shelby Pike, is beholden to the Empress. In Coveted Commodity in particular, he is essentially led around on a leash. His only hope is to pass on his genes to Izo and work to assure his son’s survival. This he does by blackmailing Dr. Morgan into agreeing to help Izo, even after Travis’s death. This Morgan more or less does (although, like most denizens of the Mirror, Morgan’s word isn’t worth much).

Theme Music

Everybody else in Temper seems to have gotten a theme song except for Travis!

Prime Universe

The Prime Universe Travis is a rather different guy and is covered in his own post.

Quote

“Use knives or swords. It’s more fun.”

Upshot

In Temper in particular, I really got a chance to let Travis have it with both barrels. He dies in three separate timelines. Once is by Jun Sato; the other two times, he’s fragged by his own troops. An ignominious end, no matter how you slice it, for an evil man who was ‘only following orders’.

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May

2015

Review – The Black Widow

A black widow spider represents Pon Farr gone wrong, wrong, wrong.

Background

For a Star Trek fan fiction challenge about “what if”, I decided to take a canon episode into a far different extreme direction.

Plot

In the canon episode, Bounty, T’Pol prematurely goes into Pon Farr because of a medical issue (she and Phlox are affected by a microbe).

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The Black Widow

The Black Widow, a horror story from an alternate timeline.

As a part of the episode, she comes onto Phlox, who rebuffs her, and then tries for Malcolm, who is in a pressure suit, and he rejects her as well, eventually shooting her in the back with a phase pistol and stunning her. Archer comes back (he escapes Tellarite captivity) and all is more or less well.

I decided there would be two major differences. Phlox would succumb to her charms, and Malcolm would miss.

As a result, this changes the dynamic dramatically.

The New Plot

In the new plot, once both of these events occur, T’Pol goes after the first man who can (she hopes) satisfy her urges. And that turns out to be Travis.

When the story opens, Jonathan has just returned. Malcolm greets him at the transporter and tells him that there will be a staff meeting immediately. He informs him of Travis‘s death, and also Brian Delacroix‘s, and that Deb Haddon has been gravely injured. Archer, a bit disoriented and very confused, goes along with this. He sees Malcolm, Hoshi, and Tripp at the meeting. Phlox speaks from Sick Bay.

Archer learns that, after seducing Phlox, T’Pol escaped from decon (the escape is canon, but the seduction failed in canon). Malcolm was there with his team – Brian and Deb. T’Pol came onto Malcolm who rejects her and then, in a rage, she snapped Brian’s neck and shattered Deb’s helmet. A fragment lodges in Deb’s eye, and she is permanently blinded.

And then there’s the matter of Travis. After escaping from that scene, and Malcolm shooting after her but missing, T’Pol confronts Travis in his quarters. She essentially sexually assaults him, and her appetite kills him.

The story continues with Archer confronting her in the Brig, but she is barely competent, and relations with Travis have not satisfied Pon Farr. Hence she will die in a few days if they don’t get her to Vulcan on time.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

I really liked the way this one worked out, as I moved from a bewildered Archer to Hoshi with a measure of PTSD, to Malcolm’s disgust and emotional detachment, to T’Pol’s frenzied mania, to Phlox’s shamed confession, to Deb’s acceptance of her fate, to finally communicating with Admiral Forrest and informing him of this big, bad Vulcan secret. I don’t write horror too often, but I think this story turned out well.

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Feb

2015

Portrait of a Character – Sekar Khan

Sekar Khan, I should have kept you!

Origins

For the E² stories, I wanted the Quartermaster character (the position is canon, but there was no named character working in it, in the series) to be rather active.

Dev Patel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Much like Crystal Sherwood, Sekar (the name is pronounced like ‘shaker’) would be a creative person.

Portrayal

Chandrasekar is played by actor Dev Patel. I like this smart, handsome actor and feel he would play the kind of guy who stays in the background until the E² scenario rears its ugly head. And once it does, he gets a ton to do, and suddenly becomes a rather important person indeed.

Personality

Pleasant and a bit self-effacing, Sekar mainly stays to himself. He’s a part of the crew during the Xindi War but is wondering what to do with himself. However, once the ship is sent back in time, he becomes busy. Brides need approximations of gowns. Babies need onesies. The crew has to plow fields … something. Sekar gets the call, again and again, to conjure up new things more or less out of thin air. He does so with creativity and aplomb.

Relationships

Hoshi Sato

Sekar’s only known relationship is with Hoshi. In both iterative kicks back in time, they marry. However, in the first scenario, she dates both him and José for a while, before finally choosing him. Ironically, in the prime timeline, she refers to him as old what’s-his-name when dating Ted Stone, in There’s Something About Hoshi, a strong indication that he left the ship at the end of the hostilities.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Sekar

There is nothing preventing Sekar from existing in the Mirror Universe. I write Mirror artists as being elites, so he would possibly be a rather wealthy man.

Would Empress Hoshi be interested? The idea intrigues. Perhaps I’ll write it someday.

Quote

“I guess it’s a way for the single people to get close. You know that dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire.”

Upshot

I made Sekar for the E² timeline, and I think he served that purpose rather well. So will I bring him back? His portion of the timeline has limitations. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility, particularly in the Mirror Universe.

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Nov

2014

Portrait of a Character – Major Strong Bear Dawson

Origins

When I first wrote There’s Something About Hoshi, I needed to have a replacement for Major Jay Hayes, as he had died in canon. Enter Dawson, who was originally a WASP. But then I learned that there is a canon Star Trek TAS character, Dawson Running Bear. Hence Dawson got his name and a bit of his origins.

Portrayal

Strong Bear (Bud) is played by actor David Midthunder.

Portrait of a Character – Major Strong Bear Dawson

David Midthunder as Strong Bear Dawson

As is often the case with ethnic characters, it was very important for me to ‘cast’ an actor who is of that ethnicity.

Dawson is proud and powerful, and Midthunder seems to be both of those things and also supremely confident. This makes for, I feel, a dynamite combination.

Personality

The strong and silent type, Bud is devoted to duty. However, in There’s Something About Hoshi, he is nearly as affected as the other straight men are. In Shell Shock, he is initially one of the accused, and he and Malcolm meet during the experience. By the time of On the Radio, he is a valued member of the crew and even T’Pol can figuratively let her hair down a bit in front of him. But he’s still pretty far removed. That would be the case for nearly anyone, though, who comes into a work situation much later than the initial stage of building the team.

Mirror Universe

David Midthunder as Mirror Universe Strong Bear Dawson

There is no reason for Major Strong Bear Dawson to not exist in the Mirror Universe. However, I imagine him as a person living off the grid and more or less thoroughly embracing his roots.

Also, I do not believe he would be anyone would call him Bud.

Quote

“HQ wanted more experience after the war. They would’ve assigned me earlier but I was getting off assignment with freighter defense and then the Rommie War broke out and they didn’t want to change horses in the middle of the stream. Helluva way for me to meet my new troops, eh?”

Upshot

I like this character well enough, and he is a kind of utility player. And I suspect I could place him into other scenarios and he would do fine. I will have to find places for him to shine.

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Sep

2014

Review – The Conspiracy

The Conspiracy was another instance of trying to surprise readers.

Background

In response to a Star Trek fanfiction prompt about the Seven Heavenly (Theological/Cardinal, too; the prompt was not about getting into the minutiae of theology) Virtues (which are the counterpart to the Seven Deadly Sins; I had already written about pride, in Before the Fall), I decided to tackle the somewhat obscure prudence for my next Star Trek fanfiction story.

Hall of Mirrors

To up the ante, I went with a setting where virtues would be all too rare – the Mirror Universe.

Plot

It’s New Year’s Day of 2161.

And a few people meet, furtively. They are: Josh Rosen, Aidan MacKenzie, Andrew Miller, Chip Masterson, and Lucy Stone. There’s one more member of the cabal, Francisco Ramirez, but he can’t get away, as José Torres has put Gary Hodgkins on to watch him.

While they would probably not mind killing Empress Hoshi, the cabal’s real thoughts are of escape. So as a prelude to Temper, Lucy and Chip mention that an attempt is going to be made to cross over to what we call the Prime Universe, as Hoshi wants another advanced ship. And they also mention that Andy will be sent to Vulcan to pick up slaves who can perform calculations, a neat prefiguring of Fortune and the Mirror Universe‘s Melissa Madden‘s death in a shuttle crash. Hence the story works to mesh those incidents together.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I used this story as a kind of bridge between Together and Temper, but on the Mirror side of things. And I think it works out well and helps to fill in some of the gaps in the Mirror Universe timeline.

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Apr

2014

Portrait of a Character – Takara Sato

Takara Sato, the treasure, is very important to the timeline.

Origins

I wanted Empress Hoshi to have just one daughter, and one pair of twins. Hence Takara and Takeo were born. Takara was to be the elder of the two. These would be the children fathered by Chip Masterson. The only child younger than them is Izo. Jun, Kira, and Arashi are older.

Portrayal

Zhang Ziyi as Takara-Sato (image is for educational purposes only)

Takara is played by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.

I wanted a very beautiful Asian actress who could believably be the person to continue Empress Hoshi’s dynasty.

Without Takara, the House of Sato falls. She ends up being the only one of the six royal children to reproduce.

Personality

Zhang Ziyi as Takara-Sato (image is for educational purposes only)

Privileged and beautiful, Takara is the apple of her mother’s eye.

While Hoshi has no problem allowing her sons to run wild, she takes more interest in Takara, and who Takara is marrying. Part of this is some sexism on Hoshi’s part. However, that works with how I write the Mirror Universe, as most women are in low positions there. Hence Hoshi particularly wants Takara to marry well. Takara Sato’s choices multiply during the alternate timelines in Temper.

Relationships

Tommy Digiorno-Madden

Sailor Mercury

During Temper, Tommy in particular is interested in Takara, who often dresses quite a bit like the Sailor Mercury anime character.

He is so interested that he threatens to fight Joss for her. Joss wisely bows out, telling Tommy that she does not interest him and doesn’t want to fight. However, Takara favors Joss. But this is mainly because he is the first-born of his family. And, in this alternate timeline, he is a baseball star, whereas Tommy is a common (to Takara) soldier.

Tommy’s wrath also extends to Charlie Tucker, son of Tripp Tucker and Beth Cutler, but Charlie is on the surface of Lafa II and doesn’t experience Tommy’s threats first-hand.

When the timeline is restored, they meet as children, in Fortune. And, later, Norri bequeathes her callidium-laden earrings to him, urging him to use them for dream contact.

I will explore this later, as the idea intrigues me.

Charles Tucker IV

Zhang Ziyi as Takara-Sato (image is for educational purposes only)

When the prime timeline is restored, Chip and Lucy are able to smuggle the twins to the forests of Lafa II. With Tommy and Joss gone back to the Prime Universe, Takara’s sole prospect is Charlie. Fortunately, they fall in love, and wed later, and become parents.

Their son, Charles V, marries the daughter of Takara’s half-brother, Ken Masterson, and Charlie’s sister, Betsy Tucker. That daughter is Denise Masterson (in the Prime Universe, Ken’s daughter is Kelly, and her mother is as yet unknown).

It is their grandson, Charles Tucker VI, who succeeds Jun and Kira as the Emperor Charles I. Takara’s family is presented to Hoshi on Hoshi’s deathbed, in Who Shall Wear the Robe and Crown? and Hoshi complains about the pollution of Tucker blood into the Sato genome.

In He Stays a Stranger, Takara helps to get her mother out of the Lafa System, in exchange for agreeing to return to the royal fold.

Theme Music

Her theme song is Tori Amos’s God.

Prime Universe

It’s impossible for Takara to have a Prime Universe counterpart. Her analogue is Marie Patrice Beckett.

Quote

“You already had the fight. Everybody got a prize.”

Upshot

I like Takara Sato, who has a kind of chameleon personality, depending upon which timeline she’s in. I’m not so sure where else I can feature her, though.

Mar

2014

Recurrent Themes – Blueberries

Why blueberries in Star Trek fanfiction?

A part of it is the visual appeal. There is no question that they are a pretty presentation on any plate. But then I started putting them into all sorts of places in my fiction.

They just have the right sort of appeal as a food that many people enjoy and can relate to. Everybody knows what a blueberry looks like, and what it tastes like. It is a way for space adventures to gain some down to Earth appeal.

Appearances

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Blueberry Pie | Blueberries

Lili’s Blueberry Pie

Jay Hayes and Dave Constantine in particular are blueberry fans.

Lili gets this information out of Jay when she first meets him during the events of Harvest. As a result, blueberries figure thematically throughout the time they know one another. With Dave, she learns of his preference during The Way to a Man’s Heart. By making Dave a blueberry pie, it reminds her of Jay.

During the E² stories, Lili is constantly putting the blueberry jam jar in front of Jay. He sometimes notices, sometimes he doesn’t. This detail thereby serves as a subtle reminder of how much she likes him. She is paying attention, even to that. In addition, in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, she feeds him his last meal before he goes to rescue Hoshi (and, in Star Trek: Enterprise canon, he’s killed). The last thing he eats is a handful of blueberries that Lili gives him, right before she hugs him and tells him to be careful.

Blueberries show up briefly in Saturn Rise and Fortune, too.

Upshot

Beautiful and sweet, blueberries, to me, symbolize not only simplicity and

wholesomeness, but also a means by which people can safely connect.

After all, or at least it seems this way, doesn’t everybody like blueberries?

Dec

2013

Review – There’s Something Else About Hoshi

Background

For a Star Trek fanfiction Weekly Free Write about setting a scene, I decided to revisit Aris and an older story, There’s Something About Hoshi.

In Between Days

In the earlier tale, Hoshi becomes irresistible when aliens inject her with a certain substance after removing some of her female hormones.

Frank Todd and T’Pol help to prevent a riot from starting on the NX-01, as all of the straight men (and, presumably, Diana Jones, who is a lesbian), are affected.

The sequel brings the story line over eighteen years into the future.

Plot

As Hoshi and her husband, Takashi, and their children, Toru and Yoshiko arrive on Aris for a visit, the head of the government, Milit, greets them.

And so, apparently, do all 5,999 other Arisian men on the planet.

Hailed as Andaara Trea Hoshi, they explain they are thanking her. They call her the initiator of the 6,000 brand-new ‘mothers of the world’. Every Arisian man is bearing some sort of a gift. Travis, who is with them, jokes that they’ll need a bigger shuttle in order to get all of the gifts back to the ship.

Politely, Hoshi declines their many offerings. These vary in size, scope and expense, but are all offered with grace. The family meets some of the newly-cloned Arisian women, including the first one, Trea Hoshi. The girls are all more or less made in Hoshi’s image. This is except for a detailed forehead pattern that marks them as Arisians.

Matchmaking on a Planetary Scale

Alpine ibex Correction: Nubian Ibex Deutsch: A…

The men explain they want to marry all of the newly-cloned girls. Hence they are ready to match them up. It seems the matches will happen through political expedience, rather than any sort of attraction. Travis and Hoshi convince the Arisians to give the gifts to the girls, and to see what happens next. The story ends with Milit announcing his engagement to one of the girls and then Hoshi telling Captain Malcolm Reed that he’d better warn Lili that she’ll need to cater a few thousand Arisian weddings.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I was so happy to go back to this story line. Because I had originally left it with hope but also dangling a bit. I can see that my storytelling abilities have improved since the original tale, too. It’s a study in contrasts for me.

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Nov

2013

Review – Equinox

Equinox is where I had to kill one of my darlings, an event from Fortune.

Background

Equinox

For a monthly prompt about sacrifice, I wanted (as I often do) to turn it on its head. This was not to be a story about noble sacrifices for idealistic causes, with Starfleet cheering all the way. Instead, it was to be a story about personal human sacrifices, and how Starfleet can, I suspect, chew people up and spit them out.

Plot

The story begins with Malcolm telling Travis and Hoshi that he’s going to miss them. Hoshi is looking forward to spending more time with her family. Travis is trying to salvage his marriage. They are both retiring. It’s 2181, and they are the last three left of the original seven senior officers on the NX-01. T’Pol has returned to Vulcan and Phlox is back on Denobula. Tucker is dead, and Archer is pursuing a political career, which dovetails with Star Trek: Enterprise canon. With Hoshi and Travis’s retirements, Malcolm will be the last one standing.

Lafa II Southern Continent

And then he gets a call from Leonora Digiorno, and learns that Doug Beckett has died in the forests of the southern continent of Lafa II, a scene from Fortune.

Hence Malcolm knows that, no matter what, he’s got to get home and be with Lili. And he will have to set aside everything and, potentially, jeopardize his standing and his command, things he has worked very, very hard for.

But there is no question.

He will go to Lili.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

So I like how it turned out, as it wove the themes of sacrifice and familial duty, crossing them with duties to Starfleet. It was a chance to fill in a few gaps left in Fortune, and to bring in the bench characters and give them great roles, people like Aidan, Chip, Deb, José, and Jennifer. The story acts as a bridge to the deeper future and continues the process of tying In Between Days to the Times of the HG Wells. Finally, I think it fulfilled its purpose well.

Portrait of a Character – Trea Hoshi

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Travis Mayweather (Mirror)

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

The Empress Hoshi Sato

Theme Music

Prime Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – The Black Widow

Background

Plot

The New Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Sekar Khan

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Hoshi Sato

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Major Strong Bear Dawson

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – The Conspiracy

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Takara Sato

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Tommy Digiorno-Madden

Charles Tucker IV

Theme Music

Prime Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Recurrent Themes – Blueberries

Appearances

Upshot

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Review – There’s Something Else About Hoshi

Background

Plot