A/N

Nemesis has been likened to Lord of the Rings numerous times, in that the remans are basically orcs - appearance, weakness to light, etc. That, and the film opened alongside The Two Towers. One similarity that I haven't seen brought up as often (though I'm sure it has) is how both Shinzon and Lurtz slide themselves up the weapon of Picard/Aragorn in their last moments. So, um, yeah. Originally this was meant as a sattire on the tropes/similarities, but I went for a sombre tone instead.

The Echo and the Voice

Once, I knew a reman named Lurtz.

He was large and strong, but silent. He fought and killed his fellow remans in many brawls. But he also attacked the romulans, our masters. He was feared, but respected. Only the strongest survive in the mines of Remus. The strong are afforded respect. The strong gather even more strength, as much as the darkness of our world allows. So Lurtz, he was respected.

Yet it wasn't enough.

I remember when Lurtz gave up on his own life and pride. When he attacked his overseers, knowing full well it would be his last act in this universe. No-one beyond Remus would remember his name. No-one on Romulus would care. The Empire would never know he existed.

He killed two romulans before he met his end. The third managed to impale him with a sword – a ceremonial weapon in most circumstances, nothing more than a badge of station for those who would oversee the slave caste of the Empire. Yet the sword was a weapon here, more effective than any disruptor. I remember how Lurtz looked at his wound. Looked at his killer. How he laughed until the end.

And I remember most of all how he slid himself down the blade. Reman and romulan, as close as circumstance could allow. I remember my kin saying that he did this so he would not be forgotten. That a reman brought low his foes, and stood free, if only for a moment. How he laughed until the end, and met Death with a smile.

In the end, he didn't want to be forgotten.

I remember it all, as history repeats itself. I remember it as I am impaled by a piece of my own ship. I remember how Lurtz feared nothing. And how I too, am the same.

So I slide myself up the blade. Like Lurtz, I shall be remembered. Like Lurtz, I shall meet Death with open arms. Like Lurtz, I shall meet my foe's gaze.

But I am not Lurtz. I am not dead at the hands of a romulan. I have fallen at the hands of my progenitor.

"You're not reman."

"And I'm not quite human. So what am I?"

Even now, I do not know.

"What am I while you exist?"

Even now, I cannot answer.

But history will provide that answer. History will decide on everything, and remember. Shinzon, Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire. Shinzon, the one who brought low the mighty Enterprise. Shinzon, a copy of the greatest Starfleet captain who ever lived.

The voice has triumphed over the echo. But the echo shall last as long as the voice. My echo shall remain among the stars for eternity. And so, like Lurtz, I meet my foe in death's embrace. I meet his eyes, the same as mine. And keep the embrace until the end.

Look in the mirror. See yourself.

The mirror is fading. All is fading as darkness takes me. Yet still, I can speak. Still, I can spit my last breath.

"Our destiny…is complete."

My words are spoken.

And at last, the echo fades.