Seti's eyes flickered and opened. She lay face down on the pillow, and gazed over the plain of silky sheets that rippled and swirled over the bed's surface before plummeting abruptly on the opposite side. She moved her hand from under the refuge of the satin sheets and smoothed it over the cloth, searching. Her brow furrowed and she sat up, gathering the blankets around her as she surveyed the room.

The climate was completely unchanged since the night before; the torches still burned in their ornate perches, the slowly oscillating fan still coerced the reluctant air, and the faint glow of the horizon continued to feebly reflect off the polished stone floor. How she longed for daylight. At first the blazing sunset had seemed so beautiful - like a first rainfall - but it had since become tedious and depressing; to always look up at the same sky, no matter the hour, month, or even year. She closed her eyes and huddled within the blankets, blocking out the half glow that permeated the room. Her mind touched on incidents from the past, on conversations long ago uttered, on last night. . .

When she opened her eyes, reality had flooded back. She glanced around the dim room once, and it appeared she was alone. The Praetor slept erratically at best, and so it was not unusual that he should be gone. However, she did not want to be present should his Viceroy or any other member of his council decide to pay him an early morning visit. She pulled the sheets about her, modest even in seclusion, and reached for her robe which was thrown carelessly over the back of a nearby chair. She pulled it over her head, and let the coverlets drop to the floor, stepping out of them and moving around the bed. She searched for her sandals and made a quick perusal of the room. It was stark and cold despite the humidity. All polished surfaces, and exact lines -coal gray and pewter silver - the only furnishings were the immense bed and the diaphanous curtains that billowed slightly in the breeze.

For a moment she paused in the silence of the immense room, the Praetors private suite. It was not lost on her that no other individuals, except for a few privileged counselors and the Viceroy himself, had ever been invited into this private sanctuary. She swallowed and turned towards the great double doors that led from Shinzon's room, emerging into the dim hallway and making her way down the corridor.

There were no guards at this hour, but the great pillars that lined her path seemed like ancient sentinels, sober stone watchmen that never slept. They were featureless and without animated character, but their cold stone fronts seemed to look on her accusingly as she walked amongst them.

Seti stopped abruptly. She had heard something.

She squinted in the dim light, but the torches burning at intervals the length of the hall were useless. Damn their Reman eyes. Every surface was polished to a mirror shine, and they caught the reflection of every flicker, every mischievous shadow, even her own reflection. It wasn't a footstep she had heard, but rather the crush of some minute grain of sand under foot. She swallowed and moved away from the walls, continuing down the center of the hallway.

With one quick swoop, it kicked her legs out from under her and she fell forward onto the floor. The impact made her vision blacken, and strong hands grasped her neck and hauled her up, shoving her toward the wall. She collided with the stone face first, the force of her assailant's momentum pinning her from behind. Damp Reman hands wrapped around her mouth to stifle any protest, and she anticipated a blade in her side or to her throat. Instead, she was whipped around to face him, his menacing height towering over her.

"Your not as vigilant as you used to be." The Reman smiled and removed his clawed hand.

Remans didn't smile. Seti's brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to speak but the palm of his hand smacked her across the face. For a moment, her head hung to the side where his blow had sent it, the cheek numb and abraded by the rough texture of his skin. She began to tremble as rage and adrenaline coursed through her.

"Did that get you hot?" He breathed into her ear.

Seti flinched and tried to move away from him, but their proximity was too close.

"Oh," He quipped in mock apology, "you don't prefer this face? How about this one?"

In the fraction of an instant, his features rippled and smoothed. Soft, supple human flesh replacing the jagged ridges of former Reman skin; cold eyes softened into intriguing hazel orbs; and the enormous height and build of the Reman withered away to reveal the smaller human frame. For a moment, Seti stared at a flawless duplication of Shinzon, and a far more appealing smile spread across the familiar features.

"My talents are not without value." He mused. "Just think, you would never know if it were him you were with . . or me?" He chuckled lecherously.

Seti tried to shake his grasp, but he pressed her firmly against the wall with his body, sliding his cheek along hers, running his human fingers through her hair. He grasped at it, enjoying the silky feel, and pulled slightly to tilt her head back and expose her neck.

As always, with each new form that the Changeling slipped into, came an array of new sensations. Sight, sound, touch; within the skin of whatever creature he chose, these certain senses were heightened, or dulled, depending on the species. Puc imagined he had never felt the sensation of touch quite so acutely as he was experiencing it now, with these human hands.

"I can empathize with the human preoccupation for physical contact." He marveled, hearing Shinzon's honeyed voice as his own.

He had never cared for human beings as a species. Their physical bodies were inferior in comparison to other races, and their emotionally consumed minds - motivated by ego, ambition, and love - did little to rank them as overly intelligent. He had never held any desire to morph into one, and made it his personal objective never to do so unless necessity dictated. But on this occasion, he found pure joy in the exercise. It was reward enough to see Seti so infuriated. It amused him to get under the skin, and what he really wanted was to get under her skin.

"I can honestly say I don't blame you." The counterfeit whispered.

"Blame me?" Seti hissed.

"For your . . how shall I say? Extra curricular activities." He goaded. "Your dedication to the job is most impressive. Working late hours, going above and beyond the call of duty."

Seti summoned all her strength and shoved him away, restoring a tolerable distance between them. The Changeling merely smiled amusedly and reclined against the stone wall of the passageway.

"I think your more attached to him than you let on." Puc smiled coyly.

His eyes creased in enjoyment; eyes that were not Shinzon's, despite everything else. Seti would remember those eyes.

"Have I not delivered everything that you have asked for?" Seti asked impatiently.

"Yes." Puc replied simply.

"And was everything satisfactory as I said it would be?"

"Of course." He acquiesced.

"Then fuck off."

"Tsk, tsk, Seti. Your vehemence is wasted on me." The Changeling, emulating Shinzon's posture, clasped his hands behind his back and moved closer.

Seti was in no mood for Puc's manipulations, not whilst they stood at the heart of the Reman stronghold for any pair of ears to overhear. She turned her back and began to walk away.

"But there is still the issue of the Thalaron." Puc goaded in Shinzon's low tones.

Seti clenched her jaw and turned towards him.

"Do not attempt to lay your responsibilities on me." She replied acidly. "He will part with the Thalaron once he receives his ship, at the rendezvous on Theo Four."

"And what if I told you he'll be receiving it tomorrow?" Puc breathed conspiratorially.

Seti stared at him for a beat, contemplating the immensity of such simply uttered words.

"And after the exchange?" She questioned, glancing at him.

"You mean after we take the Thalaron?" Puc countered uninterestedly.

"He'll be dealt with."

The words turned Seti's stomach unexpectedly.

"So, I suppose that's it for me then? I simply tell him the ship is complete . . and walk away?"

"Precisely." Puc smirked.

Seti continued to stare at Puc for a moment, and then slowly, seductively, she advanced towards him. She pressed her body close to his and ran her fingers over the brilliant Reman uniform that was Shinzon's, grasping at the exaggerated shoulders and pulling him closer so that he could hear what she had to say.

"Then there is just one . . more . . thing." She tipped her face up to his, and brushed her lips against his chin. Puc's brow registered a pleasant surprise, and a slow smile spread across his face.

Seti smiled too, then grasped his lapels and yanked, at the same time bringing her knee up between his thighs. If Puc had been in the guise of another species, perhaps it might not have made the slightest bit of difference. But in Shinzon's body, a human male, this was a very painful punctuation to her sentence indeed. Puc gasped and dropped to his knees, his figure instantly rippling and morphing back to that of the Reman in an attempt to stem the flow of pain that ran into his stomach and seemed to rip his guts out.

Seti turned her back and wiped her hands of him.

"Did that get you hot?" She retorted over her shoulder.

Puc rolled away and limped down the hall, the retreat of his steps just beginning to fade as Seti rounded the corner. A small, triumphant smile had lit her face as she had heard the anguished sobs of a retreating Puc, but it immediately vanished when she came face to face with the Viceroy.

Seti stopped short, the smile dying on her lips.

"Good evening, Viceroy." She bowed stiffly and straightened, agitated that he now barred her path.

The Viceroy wasn't looking at her, his eyes were in the distance, the shuffling footsteps of the Changeling not lost on his keen Reman ears. His eyes flicked to the woman before him.

"Who was that?" He snarled.

"A Reman." Seti replied evenly. "One of your guards."

She clenched her jaw and looked at him indignantly, waiting patiently for the cross-examination, the accusation; but none came. Hesitantly, for his silence seemed more lethal than any words he might use, she moved around him and continued down the hall.

A foolish thought came unbidden, and Seti stopped abruptly, turning to face the Viceroy who had continued to linger in the hall.

"If the interest of your nation lies in diplomacy," Seti addressed him, "you might start by teaching your guards some manners." She paused, "Just a thought." She ended flatly.

There was no reply - not even the slightest flicker of acknowledgement from the Viceroy - and Seti left him in the hall with his thoughts. He stood for a moment, listening to the pad of her retreating footsteps behind him, not shifting his eyes from where the denounced 'guard' had disappeared. Then he stirred, silent except for the clicking of his staff against the stone as he walked in the direction from which Seti had just come; towards Shinzon's chambers.