Bird in the Cage Chapters 5,6

Disclamer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Hoshi makes a new home at Stanford and goes out to lunch with Jon, Trip and a few others. Things aren't sailing as smooth as Hoshi expected, and that will impact her future.

Cameos galore in this chapter, some named, some not. How many can you spot? And who are they?

Information about Stanford University is on Wikipedia. The Stanford Center (Language Institute) actually exists...it's based in Taipei. The Spogli Institute of International Studies and the Stanford School of Engineering are top-rated in the U.S. The rivalry with USC Berkley is still very much alive in the 22nd century. (And the quote from Heisenberg is supposed to be true. The restaurant in Palo Alto that has his name doesn't exist, though.)

Rating: T

Please R&R. Thanks.


( Chapter Five )

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Sorry for the delay in updating this. Health issues again.

Hoshi has a strange dream that reflects her inner turmoil and she makes a personal decision.

Rating: T

Please R&R.

( Chapter Six )

Bird in the Cage Chapters 3,4

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Sorry it's taken me a while to update this. My family has some health-related issues that I've been dealing with. Updates may be slower than my usual speed for all my fics, so bear with me, please.

Hoshi hears about the events of "First Flight" and Jonathan Archer's unorthodox way of proving the viability of the NX Program. She also has an unpleasant realization about the direction her family is going. Oh, and Chomsky's theories on universal grammar is as complicated as it sounds. (Had to study it for linguistics.)

Spoilers: ENT "First Flight". And Stargate Atlantis fans might catch a quote from that series.

Rating: T

Thank you to all who have reviewed and put this story on alert! If you read, please let me know what you liked! It really helps my writing. Thanks.

( Chapter Three )

*****
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Hoshi's life takes an unexpected turn and she must make a decision.

Yeah, it does seem like almost all of Hoshi's friends are twice her age. She grew up mostly around adults and not around kids/teenagers her own age, so she acts a lot more mature than her physical age. Unfortunately, there are consequences to being so sheltered, as we (and Hoshi) will see later.

And we only caught a glimpse of Hoshi's dad in "Vanishing Point". Granted, it was a delusion in her mind, but I didn't get the impression that he was a very demonstrative person. I assumed part of it was because of the Japanese culture, but also of his own personality. For some reason, "business mogul" came to mind. Since Hoshi mentioned private tutors, it fit with what I imagined of her family.

Rating: T

Please R&R. I really do appreciate knowing what my readers think. Thanks!


( Chapter Four )

The Bird in the Cage 1,2

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: The title for this story comes from a Japanese song and game called "Kagome, Kagome."

Kagome, Kagome
Kago no nako no tori wa
Itsu, itsu deyaru?
Yoake no ban ni
Tsuru to kame ga subetta
Ushiro no shoumen dare?

English translation:

Kagome, kagome
The bird in the cage.
When will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
The crane and the turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?

A ring of children with one child in the middle, like a reverse "Duck, Duck Goose." The "bird" has his/her eyes closed, and the children go around him/her as they sing the song. At the end, they stop, and the "bird" has to guess who's standing behind him/her. If he/she's right, then the one behind takes the "bird"'s place in the middle and the game goes on.

I thought "the bird in the cage" describes Hoshi's childhood, since she said she was mostly alone with tutors for her language talent, and this sparked an idea. Translations for Japanese and Swahili phrases are in bold. The suffixes -san is "Mr./Mrs.", -sama is honorfic for a Very Important Person, -chan is an affectionate name suffix, -sensei is "Professor or teacher".

Rating: T

( Chapter One )

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Hoshi has a fateful meeting with Professor Hatayama that determines the course of her life.

Information on Tokyo University, Komaba Campus is on Wikipedia. Translation isn't as easy as it sounds...especially from an unfamiliar language with little in common with your own!

A few other notes:

Translations from Japanese in bold.

In Japanese, it's significant when someone gives you permission to use their given name. It implies trust. Colleagues who have worked for decades together would probably still refer to each other as "Lastname-san". So when Mwemina asks Hoshi to call her that, Hoshi's surprised, esp. given the honor bestowed on the elderly. Of course, when Archer tells Hoshi to call him "Jonathan", he isn't aware of the cultural significance, esp. given what the future will bring!

Please R&R. Thanks.

( Chapter Two )