The Messiah- Pt. 4

The Messiah

By JD1

Rating: PG, Mystery, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Paramount. No profit was made

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Part Four

**The California, Ready Room**

When they reached the planet, they hailed the planet and the people, the Saadya, seemed very willing to help.

“Yes, yes. We know the Taso. Bad people. Work for bad people. Do very bad things. We will help. Yes, yes. Help we will.”

“Thank-you, we appreciate that.” The group had moved into T’Pol’s ready room so they were not over heard by anyone else. “Do you know where we could find the Taso?”

“No, no. We do not know where they are. No. But. But we know other associate of theirs. Yes, yes we do.”

“And where could we find these associates?” T’Pol asked.

Helper, what the Ambassador called himself, tilted his head to the side making it almost touch his shoulder. He seemed to be thinking before he answered her questions saying, “Bad, bad people their associates. Oh, bad people. Bad people in Trypic System. Bad people.”

“Thank-you.”

“No, no, no. Thank-you. We help. We like to help. We help a lot. Be not enough. One day, we help ourselves.” The screen went blank and Travis walked out the door to plot his new course.

“Well, it seems you made a good choice. How did you know?” Malcolm said, giving Trip a verbal pat on the back.

“I don’t know. I just remembered. Somehow I know the planet. Who knows.” Trip seemed distant through the entire conversation, his mind trying to remember where he saw the planet. Why he knew that that was the planet to go to.

**Ajtowea Palace, Shiloh’s Room**

Once he had been introduced to everyone, he had been shown to his quarters. They were so much like those in his dream it frightened him. He had been given a new pair of tan pants, these ones darker, and a black vest, not unlike Deacon's only longer.

Suddenly, the doors opened to revel Deacon escorted by a Taso guard. "Deacon, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were."

"A likely story."

Deacon looked at him, sincerity on his face, "We will be leaving soon. I just wanted to say good-bye."

"Actually, I don't think that will be necessary. I want you to stay here, be my personal assistant." Deacon was utterly shocked. He had not expected this.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

The doors opened again and Grand Master T'poish waited outside them. "The emperor has instructed me to request your appearance at the stadium."

"For what reason?"

"To teach you Ubi Tiga, what else?"

He had been dragged off to the stadium in which he would be shown how to learn a foreign Martial Art. T'poish walked over to a stand where four knife-like objects were set. He picked up two and handed them to Shiloh before taking the other two for himself.

They formed a strange curve that would fit along his lower arm. One side of the blade was dull while the other was fairly sharp; these particular weapons were not meant to kill. T'poish grabbed the handles and made the flat edge rest on his arm. Shiloh imitated the movement and got into the same catlike position T'poish was in.

They circled each other for a few minutes before T’poish struck. Shiloh easy deflected it with his own knife. For another five minutes, T’poish continued on the offensive and Shiloh the defensive.

When Shiloh felt comfortable enough to take the offensive, he went for his stomach. T’poish dogged the attack and tried to slice Shiloh stomach; only he succeed. Shiloh jumped back and looked down at the green gash across his abdomen.

“Green blood. They told me you came from far away, but not that far,” T’poish commented. “Are you all right?”

“I am just fine.” He resumed his stance and T’poish just nodded and copied him.

They continued for thirty minutes or so before Shiloh managed to disarm T’poish. “I must congratulate you. Not many can walk into a Ubi Tiga stadium, pick up Madals for the first time and defeat the Grand Master.”

“I’m a fast learner,” was Shiloh’s only comment. His stomach stung from the undressed wound that had luckily stopped bleeding a little while ago. Adding to that was a fresh cut on his left cheek.

“I will call someone to bring you back to your quarters and have a look at those.” T’poish walked off leaving Shiloh alone in the room. He walked into the center of the circle arena.

He studied the Madals in his hands. They were light weighted and he could easily hold them in his hands. Slowly, he started to swing them around in his own form of practice.

When T’poish reentered the room, Deacon accompanied him. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to them.

“You are skilled at this,” Deacon stated. Shiloh just raised his eyebrow in a Vulcan manor. “Nice cuts. I guess ya’ll need me to play doctor again, huh?”

“Apparently.” Shiloh nodded to T’poish and the two of them left. “Once you finish ‘playing doctor’, I wish to go outside. If that’s ok with you?”

“Sure.”

**The California, Ready Room**

They finally made it to the Trypic System. This system was increasingly smaller and would be easier to guess. Three out of five planets were inhabited. Again, there was one planet that seemed so familiar to Trip but he couldn’t place it.

There was one planet that was almost completely green and had small areas where it was a purplish blue. T’Pol said that that was the only water sources that they had. The rest of the planet seemed to be a mining operation. The green was produced by a rare mineral that practically made up the planet.

Trip told them that he thought that it was that planet and then the process started all over again. Commander Darwin threw a hissy fit. When that ended, they hailed the planet and the gaggle headed into the ready room. They introduced themselves, explained what was going on, and asked for help.

These people referred to themselves as the Piran. They said that they knew the Taso and their masters. “Do you know where we can find either of them?”

“The only people that speak of the whereabouts of the Taso’s masters are the Tasos and them. No one else knows it,” Gaydo told them.

“Then do you know where we could find the Taso?” Trip asked, his voice not much of a polite tone.

Gaydo just starred at him for a minute before he said, “After this rotation, a Taso ship will come to collect the raw materials we mine. They will then take it back to their masters. You can follow them.”

“We don’t know how. They use some kind of stealth technology,” Travis replied.

“Stealth technology that we gave them. I will have the code up loaded to your ship that way you can track them.”

“Thank-you. This means a lot to us,” Archer responded, more for Trip and T’Pol than anyone else. The screen went black and Archer said, “Two for two, Trip. I had no idea you were such a great guesser.”

“Yea,” was all that Trip said in response.

**Ajtowea**

As he worked his way through the dense crowd, he found that it did not bother him as much as he thought it should. The people, most nicely clothed while some would be considered beggars in ancient Earth times, where kind but seemed a little scared of him.

The dirt streets were full of small bazaars and little businesses. They sold many things, including food, clothing, jewels, tools, and so on. They seemed packed with business for the maximum of one or two shopkeepers.

He had little hope that his father and his friends would be able to find him again. It was logical to assume that. So, he decided that, if he was going to be a leader, he needed to understand the culture and people.

He walked over to the first shop he came to. It sold beautiful and intriguing clothing. Some he had only seen in history books while others he had never seen before.

“Do you like anything? Perhaps I could help you find something?” The shopkeeper’s voice, though shaky and unsure, asked with a normal slyness one needs.

“No thank you. I just wish to look if that is all right with you?”

“Absolutely, look as long as you like.” Shiloh nodded his thanks as the enthusiastic shopkeeper went to talk to other customers.

When he had finished looking, he moved on to the next store. This one sold jewels. It had, what on Earth would be classified as, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, crystals, gems, and more. They were gorgeous.

He continued like that for an hour; looking at the different stores and seeing what they had. He tried to speak with many of the people in attempts to show them that he was just as human (AN: well, you know what I mean) as they were.

Finally, he decided to head back for it appeared to be getting dark. When he entered the palace, Deacon was there to meet him.

“I see you’re still alive.”

“Excuse me?”

“They could have easily killed you, or captured you, or something. You never know.”

“Look, Deacon. If I must lead them as, what do they call it? Mat’iah. Then I must learn to trust them as much as they must learn that I am no more or less of a living being than they are.” Shiloh’s statement was said firm enough to shut up Deacon externally but, inside, he was still screaming at him.

**The California, Mess Hall**

“Do you trust them?” Travis asked Malcolm as the two of them and Hoshi ate their lunch. It had been a hard few days and neither had eaten much. Which had gotten them ordered to the Mess Hall until they ate something.

They had been discussing the Piran and whether or not they could be trusted. Travis, thought they could at least assume that it they were working for the Taso and their masters. He was only asking Malcolm because of his suspicious nature.

“I don’t know. I don’t think they’ve told us the entire truth but I don’t think they have anything to hide from us,” Malcolm responded in between bits of his food.

“You’re right.” After a pause, Travis continued, “Do you think we’ll find Shiloh?”

“Don’t speak like that, Travis,” Hoshi scolded him in a motherly tone.

“Of course we will,” Malcolm said, forcefully. They would find him no matter what. He wasn’t sure of that but he wanted to believe.

They would have to wait. Wait to find out how much they were told was true. Wait to see how much they were willing to do for Trip and T’Pol. Wait to see if they could truly do anything. And Malcolm hated waiting more than anything. Because that made him think and the more he thought, the more doubts he had. And, at this moment, he wanted none.

**Ajtowea Palace, Shiloh’s Room**

They entered his room and found that nightclothes had been brought to him while he was out. They weren’t much more than a silky pair of pants, but they would do nicely on a planet as hot as this. The normal temperatures, as he was told, ranged from 90 to 110oF.

Deacon removed the bandages on his shoulder and found that the wound was almost healed but, like its purpose, it would leave a nice scar. Next, he checked the new cut across his stomach. It had stopped bleeding and begun to heal. The cut on his cheek was nothing major for it was not that deep. He would live without any real treatment for it.

Shiloh laid down in his bed while Deacon got into the make-shift one made for him in Shiloh’s room so he could be there at all times.

After a moment of silence, Shiloh turned on his side and said, “Deacon, while I was out there, no one seemed sick. I don’t understand.”

Deacon mimicked Shiloh’s position. He smiled at his inadequate choice of words earlier and thought of new ones. “It is an illness of the mind and soul, not that of the physical body.”

“The mind and soul?”

“Remember the prophet I told you about? There were hundreds more in that time. They created thousands of prophecies, those the A’j’ay now use to base their lives on. The boy in the prophecy was supposed to happen fifty years ago. They were scarred and needed the messiah to lead and guide them. The creation of you was kept secret so no one would reject you.”

“They need me to keep them from going insane. Right?” Deacon nodded solemnly. As Shiloh turned on his back he remarked, “I heard once that insanity is worse than death. You’re always dying little by little. A piece of you gone as you slip away in your mind.”

“Good night, Shiloh.”

“’Night.” But Shiloh didn’t sleep, he thought about their discussion. He could understand why it would be kept a secret; that was logical. But something didn’t fit. Something kept nagging at the back of his mind. He was so tired that he ignored it, figuring that he could think about it in the morning.

**The California, Bridge**

The next day, just as promised, a Taso ship came and picked up something from the planet. Then, only an hour later, they left and the California followed them using the codes given to them.

Seven hours later, they arrived at another planetary system. The Taso ship stopped at a brown and turquoise planet. Being careful to stay in a geosynchronous orbit of the planet, they scanned it. The planet was populated by Taso. Not a single Human nor Vulcan signature was found.

“They lied,” Archer mussed.

“No, they’ve got one more stop,” Trip stated. “That will be the planet we want.”

“How do you know?” Archer asked.

“They’ve only unloaded one third of their cargo. The other two thirds must belong to their masters and that’s where they’re taking it.”

“Keep an eye on them, Lieutenant. If they go to Warp, follow them,” T’Pol order.

“Yes, ma’am.”

**Ajtowea**

The next morning, Shiloh entered the huge dining area. They had invited him to eat breakfast with them, and he had accepted.

Their foods were very different from anything he had ever seen before. They had an interesting and somewhat disgusting look but an exotic taste. The smell, to his sensitive Vulcan nose, was very bizarre and yet pleasing.

He sat down and was served a plate of, what looked like, messed up fruit. There were orange grape-looking things, along with a green and purple apple thing, and a red orange kind of thing.

Not wanting to offend them, he took a bit of the apple and it tasted a lot like grapes. When he tried the other two, they all tasted like other fruits.

The next course came and he ate some of it. Again, finding the food appealing. Throughout the meal, he listened to the others talk. A trait shared by his human counterparts rather than Vulcan.

“Is there any place you wish to visit today?” Ti’en asked him as the dishes were removed.

“I heard of a…temple in which the prophecies were kept. I was wondering if I would be permitted access to that place.”

Ti’en, who seemed a little taken aback, nodded his head and simply answered, “Of course.”

Deacon walked him to the Temple of Time, which is what they called it. “Are you sure this is what you want to see?”

“Yes, I’m very intrigued by this.”

Deacon sighed.

They walked in and the sheer beauty of the place startled him. The place was almost as big as the front hall to the palace. Golden walls and ceiling surrounded him and drapes fell into his face. The walls were covered in a text that he had never seen before.

He walked over to a wall and ran his hand over it. The imprints that text made tickled him figure tips. “What does it say?” He asked Deacon.

“This one is about…the A’j’ay’s defeat of the Goundo.”

“How about this one?” Shiloh asked as he moved to another panel on the wall.

“The discovery of the Taso. The one next to it tells how the alliance between them will falter, and the A’j’ay will conquer them like the Goundo,” Deacon replied.

“This is amazing. Do prophets still add to this place?” Shiloh asked as he wandered around the room.

“No, now being a prophet can mean anything from life imprisonment to being an example. If you are one, it is not discussed.” Deacon’s words grabbed Shiloh’s attention.

“There are no more prophets then?”

“None that are known of. Plenty exist. That panel speaks of you,” Deacon said as Shiloh walked up to another part of the wall. “The panels follow a timeline order. From here on, all the prophecies have something to do with you.”

“No pressure,” Shiloh muttered. Shiloh wandered aimlessly around the room, Deacon translating the text for him. They stayed there for almost four, five hours. Eventually, they headed back to the palace, Shiloh stopping to greet a local or look at a shop he had not previously been to.

“How did you like the Temple of Time?” Karu Gabi asked as they entered the hall.

“It was…fascinating.”

“I am glad you liked it. But there is another important matter I must speak to you about.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“We have detected a ship entering the system. It is neither ours nor any of our allies. Perhaps you would know it?” He handed him a small computer padd, not unlike what Starfleet uses. It had a picture of a ship on it, presumably that of the one that entered the system. When he saw it, he almost dropped dead. “Do you know these people?”
“It’s Starfleet.”

**Shuttle Pod**

They had to wait an hour before they left. Careful to stay out of their scanning range, they followed them to the next system. Ten planets orbited a gas giant; five M-class; three inhabited.

There was a golden brown and crystal blue planet with huge patches of green. It had multicolored rings and made the colors of the planet gleam. Another was gold and turquoisey blue. It, too, had rings only they were purple and gold. The third planet was tan and green with silver rings.

The first one, with the colorful rings, was the one that the Taso ship headed for and the only one that looked familiar to Trip. They waited in a geosynchronous orbit until it left, but while they waited, they ran a few scans of the planet to make sure it was the one.

There were only two major cities, ten smaller towns, and fifteen or so small settlements throughout the entire planet. In one of the largest cities, there were about seven hundred unknown signatures, a human, and a human/Vulcan.

“That’s where we go. As soon as they leave.”

“Yes, sir,” Travis responded. Their plan was to get in at night and run. They couldn’t beam through the atmosphere, it was too risky with the rings and what they are made of. Instead, they were calling upon Travis’s extraordinary piloting skills.

They had decided that only Archer and Trip would try to get him and that Travis would have to wait in the Shuttle Pod. The least number of people that went down, the better. Malcolm and T’Pol would stay onboard the California and make some excuse for being there if they were caught. Fight if necessary.

The Taso ship finally left when it was about three in the afternoon on the planet. Archer and Trip met Travis in the Shuttle Bay. They were all dressed in the basic clothing of the people that lived there.

The trip down was seemingly long and uneventful. They decided to land in a remote area not far from the city. There were hundreds of trees around so it was easy to hide. Travis wished them good luck and got in before they covered up the door with leaves and brush like they had done to the rest of the shuttle.

Then they started for the city, hoping to be able to fit in correctly. The inhabitants seemed to speak English, so that wouldn’t be a problem. They walked to what appeared to be the main road. Tons of people were walking up and down it as they looked at the stores. With their hoods up, Trip and Archer easily blended in with the mass of people.

**Ajtowea**

The ship they had detected that came into the system had gotten into orbit but did nothing to try and communicate with them. By four, Shiloh had become sick of hearing all about the ship. They could not beam him out or down here and they weren’t going to negotiate. The A'J'ay weren’t going to attack, Shiloh had made sure of that.

He needed to get out. He and Deacon went outside just to get away. They walked through the shops again; no real attempt to find and buy anything.

Shiloh was keeping his eyes opened; his real motive for going out there was to see what was going on. What he didn’t tell them was that the Starfleet crew had probably brought a shuttle down to see what they were up against.

He looked over the crowd and noticed two people. They seemed out of sorts; [ “place”?] their hoods were up and they seemed to just walk aimlessly around heading nowhere and yet with a distinct purpose to find something.

“Deacon, do you see those two. Over there?”

“Yea, what about them?”

“Notice the way they walk. They’re heading nowhere yet everywhere." Shiloh stopped Deacon and turned him so he was facing him. “Go over there and try to get a look at their faces. Come back and tell me what they look like.”

“All right. But how?”

“Ask them something. Get their attention. Whatever.”

Deacon just nodded and walked over there. He got right next to them and tried to hear what they were saying. Their voices were muffled so that was hard but he did over hear:

“I can’t g…solid readin’ down her…is crowd. But his signature w…that buil…when we were on the ship.”

“All right, let’s he…hat way. See if we c…et in or at least get some recon in…r later.”

Just then, Deacon bumped into them. “Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to. I’m really sorry.”

“That ok.”

He looked right at his face. The man under the hood looked remarkably like Shiloh. His blue eyes and facial structure matched Shiloh's but his blonde hair was not a trait shared by them. He walked back to Shiloh who’s look urged him to talk. "The man I bumped into looks a lot like you.”

“My dad?”

“I would assume so. I was listening to what they were saying. They talked about heading to the palace. Maybe we should get back. You should talk to them before they do something stupid.”

“Good idea.” They turned and headed for the palace.

They had made it to the palace and carefully scanned the building as they stayed in the shadows. It didn’t take much to stay hidden and the guards seemed to only watch the doors. Their hoods were down so they could see what they were doing and to try and cool down in the sweltering heat.

“Trip?”

“He’s not in there.”

Archer watched as two young boys wondered the streets heading toward the palace. They seemed to be about Shiloh’s age. He couldn’t see either of their faces but one was his height and even had his black hair.

That one’s clothing was pretty fancy and was more than likely had some royal blood. The other was a little shorter and his clothing suggested that he was the other’s servant or something.

He turned back to Trip and asked, “Anything?”

“No, nothing.”

Just then, “I think I’ve found what you are looking for,” came from behind them.

They spun around and the same two boys that Archer was watching stood behind them. “Shiloh.” Trip grabbed Shiloh in a huge bear hug, practically cutting off his circulation at the same time as he lost his ability to breathe.

“I guess I was right that it was your father?” Deacon joked from behind them.

“Yea. Ah, dad, Admiral Archer, this is Deacon. You can trust him,” he added at their suspicious looks. They both nodded at him to show that he was accepted.

“So, whacha ya doin’?” Shiloh asked with the playful southern accent he had learned to emulate from his father.

“We were lookin’ for you,” Trip said, playing back.

Shiloh looked over his shoulder and inquired, “So, what’s the plan?”

“We’ll sneak you out at midnight. Head for the forest; Travis is waiting with the Shuttle,” Archer explained the simple plan. But his comment reminded Shiloh of the dream he had had:

He recalled the images of Trip and Archer grabbing him and the three of them running in the middle of the night. They wore A’j’ay clothing and tried to blend into the darkness of the night. They ran toward the forest, cutting through an opened field first.

“No,” he stated flatly.
“What da ya mean, no?” Trip asked, confused by his reluctance.

“It won’t work. Not the way you intend it to anyway.” Shiloh’s eyes pleaded with them to understand but they didn’t.

“Ya can’t just stay here.”

“No, that wouldn’t be my first choice either,” he said as the first part of the dream wondered into his consciousness:

He stood in a doorway, looking out at Ajtowea. He turned away from the window and saw no one anywhere. As he walked down the halls, he heard the sound of his feet echoing in the empty halls.

“Then how are you goin’ to get out?”

Shiloh thought for a moment before saying with a smirk, “I tell them. Come on.”

“Ti’en.”

“Ah, Shiloh. Who are your friends? AH, well, it doesn’t really matter now does it? We don’t allow peasants in.”

“They’re not peasants. This is my father and his best friend,” Shiloh introduced them as they reluctantly took off their hoods.

“Well, isn’t that just grand,” the emperor said, his face falling. It was as if he expected to say that they were pirates going to take over the world. With a wave of his hand, the guards seemed to come and take them.

“No,” Shiloh warned. “This way.” He led them outside to a place where the entire population could see them. “Everyone! These people are under my protection. Anyone who dares to challenge that, will deal with me…and me alone.” As he said the last part, he glared at the guards that seemed to walk closer to him.

“No one will challenge you.” He heard someone cry out.

“Good,” was all he said, or more mumbled, before escorting them back inside.

“Hmm, I don’t think I could have put it into better words myself,” the Emperor said with no true interest. “You’ve learned our customs exceptionality fast. I applauded you.”

“Deacon taught me. Show a lot while we were at the Temple of Time.”

“Then he must be a great teacher.” Ti’en looked over at Archer and Trip, “Well, if they are under your protection, they must stay near you. They can have shelter here. Claude, find them a room and some proper clothing.”

“Yes, sir.” With that, Claude, who was the same to fetch Shiloh’s clothes, went to do the same for Archer and Trip.

“I don’t quite understand all this. How can this kid, who’s only been here for a few days, have so much power already?” Archer asked.

“To them, I’m not a child. I never have been. I’m a messiah to their people. A religious figure everyone worships,” Shiloh explained. “No one will risk challenging me or harming me. No one.”

“And who is he?”

“Oh, that’s just the Emperor of the planet,” Shiloh’s comment was light and playful with a lot a sarcasm in.

“Ha, ha, very funny. No, I am the ruler of the entire planet. Emperor to only that think this is an empire,” Ti’en said in a mock serious voice.

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