Shinzon

by Amanda
 
  Amanda Chryso's eyes opened only to reveal that she was surrounded by darkness. A small fraction of light offered shadows as her only view as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. And even though she was sure the temperature was not less, if any lower, then the temperature she lived in on the Enterprise, the darkness and the shadows made her feel like a shiver was going up her spine. There were echoes that bounced off the walls that surrounded her and movement that she couldn't place. There was someone there watching her, but where she couldn't narrow it down. She tried to slow her breathing and calm the rapid beating of her heart.
With the final calming breath, Amanda felt her disorientation slip away and she was once again in control of her mind and body. Memories of where she had been when she was attacked and brought here came rushing back. She had been on a shuttle with special make-up thanks to Dr. Beverly Crusher that made her look like a Romulan. There had been intelligence that suggested instability with the Romulan Empire and Starfleet Command had a need of concern. Her task hadn't seemed that difficult, but always dangerous when dealing with the Romulans. She was to do poking and prodding to find out the status of the government then rush back to the Enterprise. Her shuttle had been attacked before she had even reached Romulus and she was knocked unconscious by a beam of some sort that had penetrated her shields or she had left of them after the attack.

Amanda knew it didn't matter if her capturers knew she was awake. They were already in the same room as her and saw her starting to move. She sat up stiffly, noticing that her major injuries she had suffered during the battle were healed by her muscles were still stiff from the healed injuries. She swung her legs over her bed and laid her eyes right on the dark. Only she knew there was someone there. "You might as well come out," Amanda stared as if she was staring the person in the eye, "I know you're right there."
Out of the shadows came the creviced and shadowed face of a Reman. Amanda couldn't hold the small gasp in and her mouth dropped open a bit before she regained control to regain her look of confidence. "Are your injuries healed?" the Reman simply asked her, staying half in the shadows and half in the dim light that was offered.
"Are you the one that healed them?" Amanda studied his face, not really being able to use her empathic abilities to feel him other than the fact he was here which she could have known just by using her eyes.

The Reman watched as she stiffly slid off the bed and stepped towards him. He watched her cautiously, but made no move to move away from her. "Shinzon will see you now." Amanda was about to ask who Shinzon was, but the Reman had already disappeared into the darkness. She stared desperately looking for his movement in the darkness and suddenly his hand shot out of the shadows. Amanda jumped a bit, but followed the hand. The Reman's darkened figure led her through the various corridors and hallways as if in a maze. Amanda had to give up on trying to remember which way they came for future reference if she needed to escape. Without Data or a tricorder, she would never be able to make her way around here. She started to instead look for signs if they were on Remus or if they were a ship of some sort. Amanda hadn't known of any real data on Remus other than it was a twin planet of Romulus. One side of the planet always faced the sun and the Remans lived on the side that was always in the shadows. The Romulans used the Remans and their planet to mine dilithium and were considered second-class citizens, an undesired caste. Remans had been used in children's stories before as the bad guy of the story, because of their hideous looks.
Her Reman escort stopped short outside a door and stepped off to the side. Amanda took the hint she was supposed to enter. She took one more look over on him, having had never seen a Reman in person until now, before walking through the automatic door that revealed a room with the same dim lighting she had experienced all over where she had been lead. She stopped in the middle of the room and immetiately felt a strong presence. "Computer raise lights," a slightly accented voice called. The lights obeyed with a small whine that was barely heard. Amanda stood before a human male, "Lieutenant JG Amanda Renee Chryso, godchild of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. You serve as the Assistant of Operations on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D in Starfleet of the Federation."

"You're human?" Amanda felt a wave of dizziness, but struggled to hide her weakness. Whatever they had used to knock her out still wasn't out of her system. Shinzon saw her weakness though. He studied her with his hazel eyes as Amanda stared at him back. He suddenly turned from away from her with a sharp turn, "Right now you're probably thinking that something is familiar about me, but you can't quite put your finger on it." The man the Reman had called Shinzon turned back to her, "It will all make sense as our time here will go on."
"If you know anything about me, sir," Amanda lifted her chin, "Then you'll know that I am under the command of a formidable man that will not hear from me at the designated times and he'll come for me." Amanda stepped closer to him to hopefully impose her presence upon him, but a smile crept at the corners of his mouth, "You may know his name, but you don't know the man. Send me back to the Federation and you'll get off without getting trouble. I personally promise you that."
Shinzon stopped smiling when she said that. "Your promises mean nothing here, Amanda. May I call you that?"
Amanda looked over his eyes, his shaven head, the scar on his full lips, but stopped back at his eyes. "You said that you look familiar to me. Have I seen you somewhere? Obviously you were not always on Remus."
"You have laid your eyes on me many times, Amanda," Shinzon folded his hands behind his back, "But I wonder if I ever truly noticed how beautiful you were? How well you handle yourself on your own?"
"What am I doing here?" Amanda didn't let his words deviate her thoughts from the fact that she had been abducted and taken against her will. "You seem to know a lot about me, but you haven't told me why I am here or what this I have to do with you. You obviously choose me for a reason."
The smirk Amanda was beginning to detest was all the reaction she got from Shinzon for awhile. He suddenly turned, "I want to know about this 'formidable man' that you speak of." He was back facing her in a sharp haste, "I want to know about Captain Picard and you, as his godchild, were the perfect person to really tell me about him. I don't want statistics. I want to know the man he is, Amanda. The man behind the facade." Shinzon stopped and began to study her again, "Tell me… is he anything like Tom Paris?" Amanda's eyes sharpened when he said Tom's name. "Oh, yes, I know even the things that Starfleet doesn't have in your record. Did you love him?"

"Tom Paris has nothing to do with Captain Picard," Amanda snapped back quickly, "Not that you're going to get anything out of me about him either. If you know so much about me, Shinzon, then surely you know that. Why are you so interested in Captain Picard?"
Shinzon walked over to a display console and showed her schematics of a ship that surpassed any Romulan ship that she had ever seen. "What if I told you that I have chosen Captain Picard to be the one to change history with? That ship is going to be your open door to peace with the Romulans. Just think of it, Amanda." Shinzon's tone changed in his voice. He almost sounded sincere and passionate about this. "The Remans have been used by the Romulans for generations and we've been in the middle of everyone that the Romulans have attacked or declared a hate for. There's no reason for all this."
"You're the disturbance in the Romulan government," Amanda said softly.
"What?" Shinzon looked at her and she shook her head. Shinzon turned from her and turned back while he ran his hand over his shaved head. That movement made Amanda's heart stop. She had seen it so many times before, but he looked at her before she could give it further thought. "My people are tired of other people's ideas, skirmishes, and we're tired of being treated like the diseased peasants tossed out on the street. Not everyone hates Earth."
Amanda wasn't so sure and thought about her words carefully for a moment. "Are you trying to convince me, Shinzon?" Shinzon reached behind his back, which Amanda made a move to defend herself if needed, and he pulled back a dagger handle out to her. Amanda reached out and took it with an uneasy feeling about where this was headed.
"You want to stab me and contact your ship as fast as you can with what you have found out," Shinzon didn't look in the at least a bit worried for his life despite the fact she was holding the weapon and not defending himself at all, "But something about me is making you hesitate. So do it, Amanda. Don't listen to the one side of yourself and just get it over. Save the Romulan Empire from having to deal with me later." Amanda took a breath.

There had to be a catch. He was too calm about this. He had to know that Starfleet trains their cadets in hand-to-hand combat and she would at least be able to defend herself against him if not more. But then again, she should just go for it. Whatever this man was planning on doing, he was unstable and there was no way he could upstage the Empire. Her eyes looked at the ship on the console monitor still before them. It was a ship beyond all reason. It couldn't happen. The Remans could dream all they want, but she seriously doubted they had anything against their suppressors. And if they did, an unstable Empire could mean trouble for Starfleet and the fellow governments. She could end it all right there.
But despite the fact this man had kidnapped her, he had done not hostile act towards her. He hadn't threatened her. Shinzon had just stated what he wanted from her. A simple revolt from some slaves probably wasn't going to do the upheaval that Shinzon had promised her. There would be no reason for a Starfleet officer to just attack an innocent man… just yet. She turned the blade to be in her hand and held out the handle to him. "How did you know I wouldn't…" Amanda started.
Shinzon leaned in, putting his hand over hers to pull her closer, and put his lips next to her ear, "Because I know you." He stood back from her and sheathed the dagger once more. "I look forward to our time together, Amanda. Computer, return to normal illumination." The lights lowered and Shinzon disappeared into the shadows before Amanda's eyes adjusted.

The door she had entered through opened and the Reman appeared, awaiting for her to follow him. Amanda looked back, looking for Shinzon one last time before she followed him out of the room. She was truly confused at this point. There was something about him that was familiar and yet something so much twisted from what she felt comfortable about. He made her uneasy with all he knew about her and what did he mean that he "knew" her? He knew facts about her. Anyone could have found out that she had a relationship with Tom Paris. That spread across the quadrant since he went through a trial and a very public punishment. But Amanda was so sure that that's what Shinzon was referring to. He was giving her clues, but she wasn't putting them together right. Hopefully this time she would spend away from him would give her some clarity. If only Data was there to make her see the unbiased truth.
At this moment, she was never more scared. She was even more scared now then she was when she was told she was going on this mission. Here she was in Romulan space without Riker's protection, Picard's supervision, Data's logically clarity, Geordi's problem-solving, Deanna's ability to assess the problem with her emotions, and Crusher couldn't be the motherly figure to her. This would be a true test of her Starfleet training. Amanda was on her own on this one and it looked like this one would be a test to everything she had never questioned before. This whole situation was going to test Amanda herself as a person.


Amanda had been fed and clothed since her meeting with Shinzon. After hours of being awake, she laid down in the bed that was provided in her living space. This room wasn't like a prison outside the fact that there was a guard outside the door and she was locked from the outside world. The bed was comfortable, but Amanda couldn't sleep despite her exhaustion. Her every sense was wide awake and her mind was whirling with thoughts of what to do next.
She had explored her room, took in what surroundings she did have, and even tried to memorize what little information the computer in her room did offer her. The Remans had begun to suffice on their own. Documents were started to be recorded and education among their people was beginning to rise. She had learned that already the Romulan hold over the Reman home world was weakening. The people worked for the Romulans, but they led lives outside of the mines. They had begun to expand on their own as a civilization. All this had began to take place with the man they called Shinzon. There was no record of how he got on the Reman home world or how he became their leader. There were stories of him as a child in the mines. However he did get to Remus, he had been raised among the Remans. He was more Reman then human.
All this information was interesting, but it wasn't helping her with her dilemma. Amanda had to escape and get back to Federation space. The only way she could do that was through Shinzon. Despite the fact that he had been the one that kidnapped her and was holding her hostage, he seemed to be interested in her. She intrigued him as much as he intrigued her. Amanda found herself trusting him and not knowing why. If Amanda trusted him, then Shinzon had to at least think about trusting her since their first introduction. She had no doubt that they would meet again, but she couldn't do anything more until then. Amanda had prepared herself as much as she could with what little resources she had. It had been at least two days since she had last slept, so there she lay. Her eyes were closed, but that was the only thing that was resting.

The sound of her door opening and closing drew her from her thoughts that she had been so lost in, but she didn't open her eyes. She lay there still, trying to find out what was occurring without tipping the person off that she was indeed awake. She then began to feel who it was. A presence that was older than her time on the Reman ship had been came over her. She knew there was only one person on this ship that could feel that way. Amanda opened her eyes and rolled over to see Shinzon staring at her from across the room still. She sat up in bed and returned his gaze, "I can't tell you what you need to know, Shinzon. Captain Picard isn't going to help you over-throw the Romulan Empire. I think you know this, but you're unwilling to admit it and let me go. But you have to."
That comment made him come alive and finally move for the first time since she had been looking at him. "Why do I have to?"
"Because I think you know that the Federation wants no part in this," Amanda explained, "I can tell you right now that no one is going to believe that you'll win this, Shinzon. If Captain Picard helped you and you lost, the Federation would be the paying for this. Not the Remans, because the first thing the Romulans will do is make sure the Remans are extinct. Then they'll come after the Federation for trying to help them. We enjoy a very hesitant peace with the Empire right now. Tensions will never let off, but one thing, especially something major like helping the Remans, will start an all off war with them." She paused to see if any of this was making sense to him and let what she said sink into his thought process. "The Federation isn't ready for a war with the Empire."
"Vkruk use to tell me stories of when the Remans weren't always slaves," Shinzon stepped forward towards her, "A time when the Remans were a strong race. We didn't always bend to the will of the Empire. We were our own empire. I've also read up on human history. Perhaps the reason the Federation won't help is because humans also were slaughterers and slave drivers much like the Romulans."

Amanda pushed back the covers and walked on her bare feet to stand in front of Shinzon, "That was different. It was a long time ago and we've learned from that. We didn't slaughter other species. We slaughtered our own people. It was a price we had to pay, but we did pay it dearly." "Yes, and it took you centuries to even respect your own people even to end slavery," Shinzon replied simply, "The Remans cannot wait for centuries for the Romulans suddenly realize what they are doing is wrong. And who is to say that they even will? We are not their own species. How do you make the Romulans learn the same lesson the humans learned centuries ago? All the hope the Remans have lies in me."
Amanda shook her head, "You're going to have to do it alone, Shinzon. You see, Captain Picard use to tell me stories too. He told me of a time when the Picards were soldiers. They never left behind a fellow comrade. They're going to be coming for me and I don't think you can fight both the Federation and the Romulans at the same time."
"How can you be so sure?" Shinzon almost whispered. "I'm freeing a whole race," Shinzon held out his hands and gestured around them.
"Because you're human too, Shinzon," Amanda stated, "You may have grown up Reman, but you have human blood running through you. Your people may be the Remans, but your species is human. I don't know how you got here, but I know you're human above all else. Whether you want to believe or not, those humans that slaughtered themselves and held their own species under slavery are your species too." Amanda shook her head and looked at him, "The Federation can't afford what this upheaval is going to cost them. So no matter what I tell you about Captain Picard… it isn't going to help you."

Amanda left him in the middle of her room and crawled back into bed. She pulled the covers up over her and curled up as she closed her eyes. There was a long pause and she could feel his eyes bearing down on her until she finally heard the door open and close. With a sigh, she rolled over to see that he was indeed gone. Amanda placed her hands over her face and shook her head. She was going to find herself in the middle of a revolution and then the Enterprise would get dragged into it towing the Federation in right behind them.
She wasn't sure if her words really got through to Shinzon, but they had to. Amanda wasn't even really sure if she could stop this all by herself, but she had to. Everything she had said to him was true. The Federation had enjoyed an uneasy peace with the Romulans, but this would surely come back on them after the Romulans had stomped out the Remans. The Remans were a commodity to the Romulans. They would dispose of them and then they'd turn their attention on the Federation. Somehow the whole peace of the quadrant rested on the shoulders of a Lieutenant JG. How in the world she was going to sleep that that burden, she wasn't sure. Amanda the feeling that sleep would not come to her this night, but at least she knew that Shinzon probably wouldn't get any either.

The next morning or what Amanda thought to be morning finally came. The Reman that had escorted her everywhere since coming onto the ship showed up at her door to take her somewhere else. Once again he did not talk in the turbolift and he did not look at her. Amanda studied him though and didn't try to hide it this time. She knew little about the Remans and what was her curiosity going to get her but more information on a way out of here? She finally turned him and made it perfectly clear she was waiting for his acknowledgement.
Amanda could feel him realizing that she was standing there waiting on him to finally turn towards her, but he held his ground to stare forward and only forward. She had read reports and files on the Remans, but not much was known about them. She had never seen one in person to allow herself to not show interest in the species. She was an explorer and reaching out to species that she had never encountered before was bred into her. In that respect, she was a Picard more than a Chryso.
"You cannot ignore my existence, Vkruk," Amanda plainly stated. The Reman's eyes shifted towards her direction, but his body did not turn at the sound of her voice. Amanda lifted her chin a little higher to show her defiance against his silence, "You care for Shinzon like a son. You believe in his cause."
The Reman finally turned to her, "Shinzon is the first person to offer the Remans hope." He turned again to face forward. Amanda continued to stare him down. She was about to say something else, but the turbolift opened and revealed the bridge of the ship. Vkruk did not step out onto the deck, but Shinzon was there waiting for her. He held out his hand and gestured for her to come out of the turbolift to join him. Amanda looked once more at the Reman and then stepped out to stand in front of Shinzon.
The turbolift doors shut and left her standing on the command deck of the ship alone with Shinzon. His attitude towards her had changed though. No longer was she the key to opening the door that was Captain Picard, but he was interested in her. This visit was not to discuss what she could tell him, but it was a personal one between them. Amanda could see it in his eyes and then saw the admiration he had for her shining in them. She glanced down and then up around the bridge.

Shinzon turned his gaze from her, "This is the bridge of the Reman predator. I haven't named her yet, but she is the Reman future." Shinzon looked back at her and stepped closer, "Your words last night made me approach my way of thinking in a different light. My approach to you has changed." Amanda stopped looking around and looked him dead in the eye. He turned sharply from her, "I look familiar to you for a reason. I am a clone of Captain Picard." Shinzon turned to see her eyes widen and her face change expression, "I was part of an elaborate scheme to replace myself in Picard's place. The plan was never set in action and I was sent to live or die on Remus. Vkruk is the only reason I am still alive. The Remans are my own reason for living. I want to change the way they live. I want to give the Remans a name outside of the Romulan slaves. We are something more."
Amanda stared at him and suddenly everything fell into place. The eyes, the motions that he made, and every little thing that reminded her of someone suddenly took shape as Picard. She was staring at a younger version of her godfather. The connection she felt towards Shinzon was the same connection she had been building all her life with Picard. "What are you planning to do?" Amanda asked softly.
Shinzon smiled slightly at her, "Peace. The only way we are to gain a life outside of the mining fields is peace; peace with the Federation." He stepped towards her again and made her body tingle as she felt overwhelmed by his presence coming over her like a tree to shadow her from the summer sun. "But of the first time I have thought about life outside of being a Reman. I want you to show me what it means to be human."
"Shinzon, I'm only half human myself," Amanda tried to swallow to control her emotions and avoided looking him in the eye.
"You are more human then you have yourself believe," Shinzon smiled and turned away. Amanda let out all the air she was holding and let herself relax a moment. "You are the godchild of the man I was cloned after. I had myself believe that you were only here, because of what my plans were. But now I know why I choose you. My interest in you has shifted." Shinzon turned to her once more and waited for her to look at him. "Surely, you've felt it too." He moved to stand inches from her, "I realize it's not all about destiny."
Amanda looked up at him, "What isn't all about destiny?"
Shinzon lifted his left hand and touched her face with the backside of the hand as his eyes moved back to look at her, "My life." Amanda closed her eyes as his breath played upon her senses. "Not quite the godfather, am I?" Her eyes snapped opened when she was reminded whose clone he was. She moved back away from his reaching distance and tried to regain her mental control.

Just as he was moving in on her again the ship shook. Remans spilled onto the bridge from doors all around the room. Shinzon roared at them as they came to their positions, "What is it now?"
"Romulans," Vkruk announced as he came to stand beside Shinzon.
Amanda looked around and found the station she was interested in. A Reman started to stop her as she approached it. Amanda gave Shinzon a look and he motioned for the Reman to get out of her way. Amanda nodded and took the station. "Sensors report one Romulan-class warbird." They were struck again and the Reman pilot was spilled across the floor lifeless. Before anyone could take the position, Amanda slid into the seat.
"Give us time to get the cloaking device back up," Shinzon stood behind her and stared at his advisory on the screen. Amanda nodded and tried something that she had been taught. The Reman predator swooped past the Romulan warbird and turned to escape as it went the other direction. Fleeting shots from the warbird barely scrapped the predator as they went into cloak again. Shinzon stood up-right and removed his hand from the back of her seat when the attacks stopped.
A Reman officer reported, "The cloaking is up and functioning properly. We have escaped." Amanda stood up and looked Shinzon right in the eye, "The Picard maneuver." She looked around the bridge and then headed to the turbolift. Vkruk followed after her when Shinzon nodded for him to. "Your only adversary for the Remans is running scared right now, Vkruk." Amanda didn't look at the Reman when he turned to look at her after that statement.

Shinzon sat at his desk and stared at the computer screen in front of him. There was a picture of a young woman with her body turned towards a young man with his arm around her. It was obvious they were in love and happy to be together. He wanted to know that young man. He wanted to be with her.
He had never been around humans before and at first he thought it was because she was the first human he had ever seen. He had pushed all his thoughts back and concentrated on his real reason for bringing her here. She was the first human he had gotten to know. Shinzon realized humanity was more then just existing for the people you represented. If the Remans were to survive off of Remus, then they would have to learn to co-exist. If all humans were like Amanda then that should be their concentration.
The sounding of his door made him look up from the picture. He pressed the button on the desk to have the doors opened and turned to see Amanda standing there with Vkruk. Vkruk nodded and bowed out as Amanda stepped into the room. They shared a moment then her eyes shifted to the picture of her and Tom Paris on his graduation from the Academy when she was a freshman there.
"That person is someone else," Amanda stepped closer to him as he stood up to face her, "And Captain Picard is someone else." Her eyes shifted back to the picture on the computer. Shinzon followed her eyes and then looked back at her, "I wanted to know him. You are the first woman I have felt this way about and I don't know what to do with my jealousy." Amanda glanced up at him, realizing he was talking about Tom Paris and not Captain Picard.

Her eyes went to the floor as she closed her eyes to another time, "He was cocky, arrogant…" Her eyes snapped back open and were looking at him, "But he loved me and he was my first love. I didn't know what to do with my jealousy then either. Mine wasn't another woman though. Our careers pulled us apart." Amanda looked sadly at the picture before reaching down and snapping it off the screen. "He was another time."
Shinzon felt his chest swell when she said that, but he didn't let himself go completely. "Why did you do what you did today?" Shinzon asked her, "You aren't a member of this crew. Helping us does not help you."
Amanda hesitantly reached out and laid her hand on his chest before she looked up, "Being dead isn't going to get me rescued; now it is?" She smiled, "I don't like Romulans anyway." Shinzon found himself smiling at the comment. Her smile fell from her face as she looked at his lips. Her hand moved from his chest to trace the scar on his top lip which he let her do as he watched her intently. "You may be his clone, Shinzon," Amanda looked back into his eyes, "But you're not Jean-Luc." Shinzon wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment, after living in the shadow of the famous Starfleet captain, or be upset that she couldn't see the similarity between him and the man he was cloned after. Amanda didn't let him finish his thought process as she pressed her body against his and hovered her lips over his. Her breath made his whole body burst into making his senses overload. Shinzon took the movement as an invite and ignited everything he was feeling into kissing her. Amanda fell right into the kiss.

Amanda awoke the next morning back in her room. She thought about the first thing that came her to mind, Shinzon, and smiled. She stretched and rolled over to be startled wide awake and out of any sleepy haze she had been in. There sat Shinzon in a chair watching her sleep. In his hand was a single rose. She looked at the rose and then up at him. His eyes seemed to shine and twinkle in the dim light she had in her quarters on the ship. His expression was warm and almost happy; the first time she had seen him so.
She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him with a smile on her face as she was unable to keep off her face. Her eyes shifted to the table beside him. On the tray sitting on the small table were scrambled eggs and a piece of toast with a big glass of orange juice dripping from saturation. Amanda looked back at him in confusion.
Shinzon stood up and awkwardly held out the rose, "I did some research on human romance and found that breakfast in bed is romantic." Amanda looked at the flower and then up at him. She reached and yanked him down on the bed by the arm. With a smile, Amanda leaned in and kissed him.
When she parted, she traced the scar on his lip with the tip of her finger, "Well, you found the right file." Amanda gestured to the rose he was still holding and the tray, "No one has ever done this for me. I've never even gotten a rose."
Shinzon studied her for a moment, "Not even Tom Paris?"
Amanda shook her head no with a smile, "Not even Tom Paris." Amanda stared at him a moment before she pushed back the blankets and sat in the chair beside the tray, "How did you have Earth recipes?"
"Vkruk was able to find a few from Earth to educate me on the human side," Shinzon's silence made her look up from the tray in some surprise, "To know your enemy is to know yourself." Amanda stopped smiling at that moment. Shinzon started to however, "That was before I met you." Amanda smiled and looked down as she blushed. "Tell me, are all humans like you?"
That made her look at him in confusion, "Like me how? I'm only half human, remember, Shinzon? If you mean that they are suspicious at first, but still curious, then yes. Humans are driven by curiosity. I think it comes from when our ancestors on the planet were afraid of what they didn't know about. It's become a human drive to strive to learn all we can about everything around us. You are the same way, Shinzon."
"I meant so beautiful and intelligent," Shinzon teased or so Amanda thought he was teasing her. His human interaction wasn't so sharp, so it was difficult to understand what he always meant. Amanda felt herself using her empathic abilities more around him then she did with most of her crew.

Amanda moved back to the bed and sat inches away from Shinzon. Her heart started beating rapidly again and her senses were filled with him. Her eyes tried to take in every inch of him, "Shinzon, how did you get the scar on your lip?"
Shinzon moved the scar from her sight, almost embarrassed by it. Amanda thought it added to his sexual appeal he carried about himself. He was so much like Picard because of being his clone, but so much unlike Picard. His life on Remus had changed him to make him his own person. Amanda would have thought of Shinzon as Picard's son, not his clone. So much was alike when she looked over him and looked into his eyes, but Shinzon was awkward where it came to his own personal feelings. Shinzon was in control and placid on the surface, but he was full of doubt beneath and raged about how he should react. He knew his Reman side, but his human emotions were new to him and Amanda's presence had a side-effect he never even thought about. "A lifetime under the hand of a Romulan guard leaves more then just emotional scarring on the soul of a man."
She nodded as she reached out to take his hand in hers and squeeze it softly telling him she was there. Shinzon looked up and gave her a look that she had never seen from him. His eyes weren't cold, but his whole face was radiant from his eyes to the warm tone of his skin. "It's like you're two men," Amanda whispered running her hand against his cheek, "You're Shinzon the leader of the Reman resistance and then you're my Shinzon." Shinzon, having never been touched like she was touching him, closed his eyes and let himself get lost in her touch. She stopped and his eyes opened. They stared at one another for a moment as they started to move in for another kiss.
"Vkruk to Shinzon," a voice over the ship's communication's system made them jump apart, "the Federation vessel is contacting the Romulan ship on duty along the Neutral Zone. They are looking for the girl."
The Shinzon raised by the Remans was back as he looked at her in a different light as if he was reminded that the woman he was falling for was also the victim of his last scheme to free all the Remans. "I'm on my way to the bridge," Shinzon confidentially walked to the door and turned around, "Get dressed and join me on the bridge."

Captain Picard moved down the lower deck of the bridge of his ship, the Enterprise-D, the pride and joy of the Federation and Starfleet. His first officer stood a foot behind him on the right side while Counselor Deanna Troi took up flank on his left side. Data, who was probably Amanda's best friend in the senior bridge members, sat at his Operations station he shared with Amanda. Worf stood behind Picard at the Tactical station and Geordi LaForge was standing beside him, near the Engineering station he usually used on the bridge. Everyone was zoned in on this conversation. They were all worried about Amanda.
She had been sent on a mission to survey the instability that had been reported through intelligence that was less than vague. Her growing up with a Vulcan teacher and her half-Betazoid abilities made her perfect for the job. Picard had no doubt that he was sending the best officer for the mission, even if she had less field experience and was one of the newer officers on his bridge crew. Her disappearance could have happened to any one of them.
"Commander Dultran," Captain Picard tried to ease over the beginning of the conversation, "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise."
The Romulan stared at him, not amused and not as giving in the same friendliness he had given her. "Captain, I know who you are," the Romulan commander simply stated, "What I want to know is why you have contacted us."
"A week ago we sent a shuttle to skim along the Neutral Zone and map the current conditions along the border," Picard lied through his teeth and the Romulan knew it, "Sending a ship would have been against the treaty, but the mapping was necessary. We have not received reports from the officer or the shuttle and we have not found her at the rendezvous point."
The Romulan immediately stood up and stared him down, "And you think that we kidnapped her, captain?"
Picard smiled, trying to gain control over the conversation one more time, "No, we are contacting you, because we do not know if a Starfleet shuttle has suffered some kind of emergency and has drifted to your side of the Neutral Zone to cause an incident we'd both like to avoid. We are simply inquiring if any of your ships know the whereabouts of our shuttle and our officer."
Dultran wasn't going to let this go. "So, let me get this straight, captain. You sent a Starfleet shuttle to spy on the Romulan government and now that she has disappeared, you want us to tell you that we have her in our custody and will simply hand her over to you?" Dultran stood up and came closer to the screen, "Seems to me that we had every right to withhold your officer, captain."
"Commander," Picard tried to be as light-hearted as possible, "we both could fight each other with words and threaten each other without even saying a hostile word. But all I want to know right now is do you know anything of our shuttle and our officer?"
Dultran stared at the screen a second more, going over in her mind if she should just cut to the true subject of the conversation or keep him going in a word game. She finally shook her head no, "No, captain, we have not heard of any Starfleet shuttle or an officer."

Picard glanced back at Will Riker, his first officer, in fallen hope. This had been his last option in finding Amanda. He had worried like a father over his only child when she had disappeared into space with her shuttle. As her captain, he was proud to have such a young officer to be that ready for such a mission, but he was scared to death as her godfather. Now his fears had come to the surface. He turned back with less enthusiasm as he had contacted her with, "Would you relay to the Romulan Senate and ships to keep an eye out for her and apologies for any inconvenience this shuttle might give you if it floats into Romulan space?"
Dultran softened when he said that. She probably realized this was more personal then it was a captain looking for a missing crew member. She nodded sharply, "I will relay the message, captain. We will stay in the area and allow you to search for your shuttle as well as set up a pattern of our own." This surprised Picard and he saw her face lighten when his _expression was realized. "Captain, you had no hostile intent. The Romulan Empire is not always out to get you. Dultran out." Her face disappeared from the screen.
Picard turned to Riker in surprise then looked at Troi. She nodded. "Commander Dultran is not falling for the story, captain," Troi said, "But she is truthful in saying that she doesn't know where Amanda is and is willing to help us find her. I get the feeling the faster they help us find her, the faster they can get us out of sensor range of their space though." Picard nodded and then looked at the counselor again. Deanna Troi shook her head no, "I can't feel her, captain." Picard nodded solemnly and then walked to his Ready Room.

The transmission between the Starfleet ship and the Romulan warbird ended. Vkruk turned to Shinzon and stared at him a moment. He had known there was something more going on between Shinzon and the prisoner. Shinzon was brilliant and the best person to lead the Reman revolution. Vkruk had always known this, but he hadn't realized how the presence of a human female could jeopardize their plan so quickly. Already the way that Shinzon referring to the young woman had changed in just the week she had been there. Vkruk did not have much knowledge of humans since Shinzon had been his only contact outside of Reman and Romulan. He didn't realize how strong the human sexual drive was when both parties seemed interested in the other. Vkruk felt he had to remind Shinzon of why they were here and why they had kidnapped the human female in the first place.
Vkruk stood closer to Shinzon, "The prisoner must be destroyed. She has failed to give us pertinent information." Vkruk looked over Shinzon's features as he said what Shinzon knew he had to do. This wasn't going to be a happy ending and Vkruk had to remind him of that despite the pretty words the prisoner had used on Shinzon. "The Romulans are here. Captain Picard is here. We have no need for her."
Shinzon turned on Vkruk sharply, "We have every need for her. Picard is here. He has come for her. What a better way to learn about an adversary then by spying in on them?" Vkruk stared at Shinzon. "She has not even fought us. There is no need to destroy her. She knows nothing." "Do you plan to outrun the Federation forever?" Vkruk asked him, "Someday we are going to reveal our ship and our station as we go to destroy them. Our trap will not work. They will know immediately from the Romulans we were the ones that kidnapped her."
"Which isn't a factor if she is returned to them unharmed," Shinzon sneered hostilely at Vkruk, "We kill her and the Romulans know they weren't the ones to do it. Don't you see? The Romulans are already working with the Federation to find her. They figure if they can't find us, then working with the Federation will give them an edge. If she's safely returned then the Federation will go away."
Vkruk stared him down, "But the Romulans will know that we kidnapped her."
"Don't be ridiculous," Shinzon laughed a bit, "The Romulans aren't going to voluntarily tell the Federation that they are at the mercy of the Remans. They'll help the Federation find Amanda then they'll let the Federation leave with her. Then it will be the Remans against the Romulans once again, a fight we know to proven time after time in our favor even with our ship half completed."
Vkruk huffed, "What about the prisoner's memory?"
Shinzon closed in on Vkruk, "Her name is Amanda and she will be called that. Understand?" Vkruk wasn't happy about it, but he nodded. "There's no need; Amanda needs to remember her little visit here." He stared down at Vkruk from his command chair for a moment, making it clear who was in charge on this ship. Just then the turbolift door opened and Amanda appeared in the doorway of the bridge. Shinzon couldn't help but let his face light up and soften when she appeared. Vkruk watched the whole display in disgust. "Amanda!"
Amanda stepped forward, "Shinzon, we have to talk."
"Of course," Shinzon lead her to his Ready Room, which was much different then a Federation captain's Ready Room. Its main purpose was for Shinzon to discuss something private with someone and not be far from the bridge when he was in the middle of something important. His troops did not need to hear the decision making. All they needed was a strong leader giving them orders. "You will be pleased to find out that the Enterprise and Captain Picard have come for you."

Amanda didn't seem to be worried about that and no reaction came from her when he finished telling her the good news. Shinzon was confused. He took a step towards her and she stepped back. This angered Shinzon more then it surprised and saddened him. "What is the main weapon of this ship, Shinzon?" Amanda stared him back with a cold look that seemed to have returned from when she first came onboard this ship.
"The Reman warbird has 52 disruptor banks and 27 torpedo bays along with our shielding," Shinzon said exactly, "Or we will when the ship is finished. She is still without a name, but this ship will fulfill its destiny when it's complete."
Amanda walked up to him, "I didn't ask for a tactical analysis, Shinzon. I asked what the primary weapon on this ship was."
Shinzon then realized what she was saying, "I just told you our weapons. All quite impression, but rather normal for a warbird about to take on a whole planet of oppressors."
"No, you just told me what you want me to know," Amanda didn't let down, "There's radiation on this ship, Shinzon." Shinzon dropped his head when she said that. She had found the Cascading Biogenic Pulse powered by thalaron radiation. "Is this your way of taking the way towards peace?" Shinzon lowered his eyes and then looked back up at her. "I thought I knew you. I thought I saw the good in you."
"Blinded!" Shinzon interrupted her, "Blinded by the good, you mean. Admit it, Amanda. You have fallen in love with a Reman revolutionist. The perfect Starfleet officer, daughter of an admiral, godchild of the most famous Starfleet captain, serving on the flagship of the Federation, and you fell in love with me." Shinzon stepped forward and touched her face with his hand, "And I fell in love with you." Amanda pulled from his touch. Shinzon took offense to that, but kept quiet of his emotions. "You will be returned to the Enterprise and back to your life of perfection - only you won't remember your time with us."

"Shinzon!" Amanda grabbed his hands and pleaded with him, "I'm not embarrassed of you being a Reman revolutionist. Starfleet will agree that you deserve your own freedom, but this isn't the way." Shinzon tried to pull away, but Amanda held on tighter, "Shinzon, look at me." Shinzon raised his hazel eyes to look at her as she requested. "You weren't going to approach this with peace. You were going to kill everyone on Romulus and take the planet. There is another way! I know you… I know Captain Picard… I know you're a good man. I wouldn't have let you in if I didn't see that."
Shinzon removed his hands from her loosened grip, "You saw who you wanted to see. Was it too much of a temptation? To have the heart of a Picard clone who is about to free the Remans from the horrors of being under Romulan guard. I am about to change history. The temptation was too much." Shinzon stopped and looked over her a moment, trying to keep his heart bold and strong against her, "You seem to always fall for the rebels, don't you, Amanda? Tom Paris… me…" Shinzon hit a button on the console beside him. Two Reman guards came through the door. Amanda looked at Shinzon in horror. Before she could move, she was grabbed by both of them and looked up at him. Shinzon stepped forward and touched her face again as he kissed her lips one last time, "We'll meet again, my sweet Amanda. You won't remember what it's like to have breakfast in bed, a rose when you awake, but I'll remember what it's like to be looked at as a human." Shinzon touched her hair; the soft strands caressed the ends of his fingers that left him obsessed with wanting to touch her more, "I'll remember for the both of us. I'll remember that I loved you and at one time you loved me." Before she could speak, Shinzon motioned with a sharp motion of his head and she was dragged out.

Shinzon walked to the infirmary with the company of two guards following behind him. The doors opened and revealed what was going according to his plan. Amanda was on the table, laid out, but passed out. Two Reman doctors worked on consoles around her that told what her life signs were. They worked without worry since they had had enough experience working with Shinzon's physiology. Shinzon felt as if his chest had been struck when he saw her laying there defenseless, without her eyes open, her windows to her soul.
"The procedure was successful," one of the doctors approached him, "She will not remember anything from her time on this ship."
"Out of my sight!" Shinzon snapped. The guards and the doctors looked up in surprise. "Now!" Shinzon was impatient. They looked at each other, but then left him alone in the infirmary with Amanda.
His eyes stayed on her as they moved past him and then the sound of the doors closing behind him sounded. He finally stepped forward and hesitated his hand over touching her again. Shinzon wanted her there with him. She made him feel strong. She enhanced everything about him. He had been complete with her by his side. Now, even though she was right under his touch, he felt more alone then he had ever felt as the only human on Remus. That's why he had to remove her as a factor before she ruined everything they had worked for.
Shinzon finally reached out and smoothed her hair arraying from her head. He closed his eyes and kissed her lips one more time. The slow and soft kiss lasted as long as he could take it. He stood back and swallowed the lump in his throat. He had never experienced this painful feeling of separation. Shinzon felt a tear come down his cheek. He wiped it away. Shinzon took her hand and kissed her again. He didn't pull away after the kiss this time though, "Amanda, I love you. A part of me, the good man you saw, will always love you. Forgive my sins. Forgive me, because I can't be that man. He goes with you." He swallowed one last time and then looked up, "Transport the victim." Shinzon watched as she shimmered away. He took a deep breath and then walked out of the room, "Take us out here." The engines of the warbird powered up and carried him away from the good man that Amanda had brought out in him.

Captain Picard practically ran to Sickbay when Dr. Crusher called him about Amanda materializing on a table down there. He had taken the time to call the Romulan warbird that had been helping them and explained she had just appeared. Dultran nodded and made arrangements to leave the Neutral Zone. He had been grateful for the safe return of Amanda, the daughter he never had, but his curiosity was alive with imagination wondering what had happened to her while she was gone. Where was she? Did the Romulans have anything to do with it? Was Dultran just wasting time while the Romulans rushed to get her back to the Enterprise?
He passed crew members all watching as he was rushing through the corridors, but he didn't care. All that was on his mind was getting to Amanda and making sure she was all right. Picard finally reached the Sickbay doors and paused outside of them. He took a moment to calm himself and entered Sickbay as collected as he could be. Picard was relieved to see Amanda sitting up and being checked over by Nurse Ogawa.
Dr. Beverly Crusher approached him, closing a tricorder. Picard continued to stare at Amanda through the windows of Crusher's office. "How is she?" he simply asked.
"She's fine," Crusher said, a bit surprised herself, "We had to do some radiation treatment on her. She must have been exposed while she was there. Not enough to harm her though. Whoever had her took good care of her. She's not dehydrated and has been properly fed while she was gone."
Picard looked from Amanda to Crusher, "Whoever?"
Crusher nodded, "Her memory ingrams have been erased. Whatever information or intelligence she might have picked up while she was held captive have been erased." Crusher looked at Picard, "Jean-Luc, she doesn't remember a thing." Picard sighed and nodded, understanding the frustration Crusher shared with him. "She's back and she's healthy, at least we have that much." Picard looked back up and noticed she looked just as healthy as she when she left in that shuttlecraft. "And she's been asking for you."
Picard nodded and stepped forward. Amanda's eyes lit up when she saw him walk into the main Sickbay area. The nurses and doctors left the area, leaving him some peace and quiet to be alone with his godchild. He waited until they were gone before he approached any further.

"I'm sorry, captain," Amanda said softly, "I don't remember anything."
Picard let his smile naturally come to his face, "You have been returned to us, safe and healthy. That is all I asked." Amanda nodded and looked up at him. Suddenly something hit her. Picard noticed the change in her, "What is it?"
"I don't know," Amanda reached up her hand to Picard's lips and went to trace something that wasn't there and stopped. She quickly brought down her hand and shook her head, "I just want to go to my quarters, if you don't mind."
Picard helped her down off the bed, "Let me walk you to your quarters." Amanda and him walked out into the corridor. "We don't believe the Romulans were your captors. They sent a warbird to help us find you. Having a Federation ship this close to the border was making them nervous. We are still trying to figure that one out. Then the transporter trace that brought you back wasn't Romulan. Perhaps all this has to do with the intelligence report we received about the disturbance in the Romulan government."
Amanda was confused by this, "Then who would it be if it wasn't the Romulans? I didn't even make it Romulus." Amanda shook her head, "I remember that my shuttle was attacked, but I can't remember by what or who. I was knocked unconscious and then I woke up here." Picard didn't say anything when she said all this; disappointed they couldn't go after who had done this. "How long was I gone?"
"Two weeks," Picard stated, "Dr. Crusher does not see any long term effects from this. You will just be missing part of your memories. Whoever had done this to you knew the human mind."
Amanda paused outside her doors, "I remember that I was scared… then I wasn't. I don't know why, but I wasn't scared. Whoever my captors were, they didn't mean to hurt me."
"Miracles never cease," Picard smiled and looked over her. Amanda smiled back and hugged him quickly. "Well, you best get some rest." Amanda nodded and entered her quarters. Picard stared at the door long after it closed and took a deep breath. He hit his communicator on his chest, "Helm, take us out of here." The Enterprise hummed to life and carried them from Romulan space and the Neutral Zone.

Amanda entered her quarters and was immediately greeted by her dog. She laughed as she kneeled down and was attacked by his long tongue. "Did you miss me, Cody?" Amanda laughed and played with him for a bit, happy to see him too. She stopped all movement when her eyes spotted something she knew hadn't been in her quarters when she was last here.
She left Cody sitting where he had greeted her and walked over to the table. There on the table was a single rose. It wasn't in a vase and nor did it look like it had been there long. Maybe it was from someone on the crew welcoming her back or that's what Amanda told herself, but deep down something told her that's not where the rose came from. She picked it up and studied it. She closed her eyes and took the smell of the red petals in. For a moment, she thought she remembered something. She opened her eyes and the memory or almost memory was gone.
Amanda carried the rose to her bedside table and laid it across the top of the small table. She curled up on the bed and faced the rose. Her eyes just stared at it. She went to sleep with the image of the rose with her. Cody jumped up on the bed and curled up beside her, happy she was home.

A Year Later

Shinzon sat at his desk on the Reman warbird, the Scimitar, going over the continued building of the ship. It would be at least another year or so before it was completed, but things were moving just as planned. The thalaron radiation was become a stable weapon he would use to carry out his plan. Soon he would be able to make his move and free his Reman brothers. Vkruk, his viceroy, appeared before him. Shinzon looked up.
"What is it?" he snapped, making it known once again that he was not happy with being interrupted when he did get a free moment alone.
His viceroy stepped forward and laid a computer pad on his desk and then stepped back again, "Intelligence from Starfleet I believe you will be interested in." Shinzon stared at him in confusion. They had been watching Starfleet intelligence reports for awhile now, but Vkruk had personally taken on the task of going through them. He had never brought one to Shinzon. If it was important, he told Shinzon himself. Before Shinzon could question it, his viceroy bowed a bit and then disappeared out of the office once again.
Shinzon grabbed the pad, intrigued by his viceroy's strange actions. He skimmed the report and found nothing of interest until close to the end. Lieutenant Amanda Chryso had died a few months back serving Starfleet on a mission against the Maquis and the Enterprise-D had been destroyed only a few months after her death. He stared at the report over and over. Right then, he felt his human side come back and mourn for a moment then harden to the bottom depths of his soul. He tossed the pad aside in anger. Now there was nothing left for him but the Reman freedom. How silly he had been to let himself get distracted by Amanda he had told himself in recent months. Since her leaving him, he had preferred to be alone unless commanding or overseeing the Scimitar's building.

Shinzon left his office and traveled to the room they had kept Amanda in nearly a year ago. Shinzon stared at the bed, empty, and had since lost her body imprint where she had slept. He replicated a single red rose and placed it on the bed. He then sat down in the chair he had watched her sleep from for awhile. He tried to remember what she had looked like when she had been sleeping before him. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to that time… when she loved him and when she was alive before him. In that moment, the Shinzon Amanda had fallen for died and was replaced with the monster she had pleaded with. His heart hardened and his soul died. He left that all behind in that room with a single rose on the bed.