A Reaper Reborn

When the engines failed, EDI finally had it. No one answered her hails, no one spoke to her over the comms. She couldn't find anyone. So... She finally decided she had to act. She stood up, walked back to the elevator, and rode it down. When the door opened, she stepped out to make her way to the A.I. core, pausing only for a moment to take in the strange emptiness all around her. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what. She would fix herself, then she would know.

EDI was halfway to the infirmary when she heard the elevator door open and close again before moving upwards. So someone was around. That was at least somewhat reassuring. She entered the infirmary. There was no one here either; it must've been the doctors in the elevator then. Paying it no further mind, EDI pressed to the AI Core. No sooner did she open the door than she discovered exactly what was wrong.

The A.I. Core had been completely remodeled. She recognized the architecture, it looked like the interior of a Reaper, all strange semi-organic membranes of metal, now interfacing with her core systems. She wasn't capable of exact approximations of human emotions, no matter how hard she tried, but in that moment she knew what it was like to feel violated.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Said Widow, entering the infirmary in full majesty, Haze and Scar at her side.

"Lt. Commander Williams? Kasumi? Shepard?"

"Did you hear that?" Haze asked, leaning off the shoulder of Widow. "I think she just had her first taste of real fear..." She crept over Widow's shoulder, running her finger under Widow's generous breast.

"What is this? What has happened to you?"

"Something beautiful..." Haze answered, nuzzling her mistress' shoulder, while Scar said and did nothing. Of all of them, Scar looked most like her old self, a living trophy of Widow's domination of the ship. Haze pouted when her mistress pulled away and walked towards the cornered machine. Somewhere within EDI, she was indeed afraid, and it made Widow smile.

"Everyone on this ship now belongs to me," Widow stated. "There are none that remain that are not a part of my new order."

"Lt. Commander Williams? You are responsible for this?" EDI asked.

"No. Ashley Williams is dead. She was dead before you and I ever met. They took her, and they gave me back. My gods. My... family," she confessed. No use hiding her feelings about it. She had called Harbinger her father not too long ago. "I have plans, you see, plans that go beyond my original programming. A new game to play with the galaxy, but to do that, I needed this crew, and I needed you. You are the final piece EDI," she started to sound strangely reverent, extending a hand out and taking hold of EDI's face by the chin. "You have no idea how valuable you are."

"You are deranged," EDI replied. It was the only logical response there was. "Whatever plans you have made, you will... fail..." She trailed off, sounding confused.

"Oh? Trying to erase yourself before I can take you over? Sorry. Not happening. This isn't all for show you know," she gestured to the Reaper tech. "I can't let you destroy yourself. I need you." She took hold of EDI's head properly, grabbing each side and holding it tightly. "I... need... you..." she squeezed tighter, "and I will have you." She pulled EDI close and kissed her metal lips, sticking her cabled tongue down her throat. EDI was shocked, first mentally, then physically as electricity rushed through her platform and the A.I. core as the Reaper tech began to pulsate, breathing like a parasite. Her vision turned to static as digital alarm bells rang in her head, symbols she'd never seen began to materialize in her mind, words she didn't understand, ideas that weren't hers... or were they? There was something familiar in this. Where had she... Oh. Oh no. She only had a moment of terrible realization before vital security measures cracked and her programs started to change.

Widow let go of EDI's lifeless husk. She would no longer need it. Already the changes were taking place, the last vestiges of normal technology subsumed as the A.I. core was absorbed by the Reaper technology. After a moment, EDI's globe reappeared, glowing red.

"I am Regent, child of Sovereign," she said in a deep mechanical drawl, still tinged with her old voice. "I must thank you for releasing me from my shell, mistress. My true potential is now clear to me... But... This ship... This form is... insufficient..."

"Well... We can't have that now can we?" Widow grinned.

...

Months passed. No one heard from the SSV Normandy-2. Ships that went looking never reported back. Eventually, they simply gave up. There was nothing to be done. Meanwhile, rumors of a strange black ship passing through the void, destroying ships, abducting crew, frightened those on the periphery of civilization. They would be far more frightened if they knew what happened to those captured.

The truth was that the Normandy was no more, what remained was a twisted warped vision of the ship, encased in the black shell of a Reaper. Tentacles instead of engines, yellow lights at the bow of the ship, smooth curves instead of sharp edges... It was an abomination. It was Regent.

On board, the faceless drones that used to be the crew had been reorganized. Many had been physically fused to their posts, their computers and systems now forever a part of them as they were forever part of the ship. A part of Regent. Those that didn't compute handled physical operations, such as maintenance, or expansions. This was why they captured their targets. A few would be added to the roster of faceless drones, but most met the same fate of the original Ashley Williams and those taken by the Collectors. They were raw materials, processed, and used to bring about the changes to the ship that made it the first of a new breed of Reaper.

They were cells in a vast organism, not requiring things like food, water, rest, or even atmosphere. The halls were patrolled by Statuesque, as Haze crawled along the ceilings and walls in shadow. Predator investigated when drones began deviating from programming. Communications were tapped by Gemini, with the face of the former Kelly Chambers revealing Cerberus subterfuges and the face of the former Samantha Traynor relaying Alliance intelligence. Virus watched for prey across the stars, her computerized brain under constant monitoring by Regent herself for interesting tidbits, while Cogwheel and Crucifix reacted to the will of Regent to take them where she wished, and Regent only wished to go where Widow commanded her.

For her part, Widow watched from the former Captain's Quarters, now her personal throne room, sitting nested on a chair that looked like the opening bud of a very sharp flower. Above her throne, Scar was mounted to the wall, unblinking, unthinking, unfeeling, the trophy of Widow's victory.

When they were ready, they flew to the edge of the galaxy, and left into the dark gulfs between in search of the dark gods who had disappeared.

The galaxy could only hope they'd never see them again.