Hoshi Sato

Hoshi Sato, played by Korean American actress Linda Park, is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise.

Sato is the communication officer aboard the starship Enterprise (NX-01), and also 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.

Sato is the first Japanese regular character on a Star Trek show since Hikaru Sulu in the original series, though Park herself is of Korean descent.

Biography
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 Sato 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 because of her linguistic skills.

Before posting to the Enterprise, Sato taught linguistics in Brazil; it is not known whether she was an active Starfleet officer or was reactivated to serve under Jonathan Archer. She later (again, in "Observer Effect") expressed regret at leaving without saying goodbye to her students.

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

The series' final episode, "These Are the Voyages...", reveals that Sato remains Archer's communications officer throughout his tenure as captain, 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 records aboard the USS Defiant, 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.

Fate
According to art prepared but not entirely seen on-screen in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", of computer records of the USS Defiant, Sato was born in Kyoto, Japan, and was instrumental in the development of the universal translator. She eventually marries a man named Takashi Kimura, and retires from Starfleet with the rank of lieutenant commander. Sato 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.

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.

The Mirror Hoshi
In the Mirror Universe, Sato held the rank of Lieutenant. In addition to being the communications officer, she acted as the "Captain's Woman" (a combination yeoman/concubine) of Captain Maximillian Forrest and then Commander Jonathan Archer after Archer took control of the ISS Enterprise.

After Archer used the USS Defiant to put down the rebellion, Sato poisoned him and took command of the ship, taking the Mirror Travis Mayweather as a new consort. Upon reaching Earth, she demanded Earth's surrender and proclaimed herself Empress.

Key episodes
Episodes in which Sato's character is expanded or plays a key role.
 * "Broken Bow" - Introduction to Sato's character; assigned to Enterprise.
 * "Fight or Flight" - Sato faces her fears on an alien ship whose crew was murdered.
 * "Vanishing Point" - First use of the 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 the destruction of Xindi superweapon before Earth is destroyed.
 * "Observer Effect" - Chosen to carry a deadly pathogen in an experiment observed by the Organians.
 * "In a Mirror, Darkly" - The Sato of the parallel universe is promiscuous, conniving and ambitious, who ultimately declared herself as Empress Sato of Earth.