House Call

The Normandy was a vast complex organism, and EDI was its brain. Without her, the ship would fall apart. The crew was, effectively, at her mercy. Luckily for all of them, she wasn't a callous machine, just a curious one. That's why she piloted the ship using her mobile platform; the personal touch brought her closer to the crew. She had to admit though she would rather Joker was still at the helm. She missed his companionship, but there was nothing for it. The Alliance had made one very tempting offer.

EDI was sitting in the pilot's seat, making some adjustments to their current flight plan, when she suddenly felt very odd. She always had a passive awareness of the entire ship, a cursory awareness, but an awareness nonetheless. She could tell you at any point exactly how many people were on board, what decks they were on, and what rooms they were in. However, she could not then tell you who they were without doing a more detailed interrogation of the data she was receiving. Same went for things like temperature; she always knew if any part of the ship was cold or hot, but she had to actually check her instruments to see exact numbers. Nevertheless, EDI was always aware.

All of this extrasensory awareness vanished quite suddenly. Without warning or explanation, she didn't know anything about anything happening aboard the ship, only what was directly accessible through her mobile platform. For the first time, EDI was limited only to her body's senses. Touch, taste, hearing, seeing... These were her only guides for the moment.

EDI would have probably thought it was quite exciting if it weren't an immediate cause for alarm. She calmly and carefully considered possible causes, then quickly narrowed those down merely to the probable ones. If those didn't pan out she'd go to the improbable ones, and if those too didn't pan out then she'd probably have to have an awkward conversation with Shepard, assuming of course any of them were still alive by that point.

"Dr. Chakwas? Dr. Michel?" She called down over the intercom.

"Dr. Chakwas here. EDI? Is that you?" She asked.

"Yes doctor."

"I've never known you to use the intercom. You usually just appear as that little globe... Are you practicing being human with Yeoman Chambers again?" She asked.

"Yes doctor, but that is unrelated to this. I am having some technical difficulties. Could you please look inside the AI Core for me and tell me if you see anything unusual?"

"I'm not a technician EDI. The first time I know something is wrong is when it stops working, and you sound fine."

"I merely need a visual confirmation that everything is functioning properly."

"Which means...?"

EDI paused for a moment. What did that mean for someone without technical experience? She couldn't expect Dr. Chakwas to understand the language of engineering anymore than she could expect Chief Engineer Daniels to understand the language of medicine.

"If nothing is sparking," she finally said, "we will consider all core systems to be nominal. If something is sparking, I will contact Chief Engineer Daniels immediately."

"Ah," Dr. Chakwas replied. "That I can do. Standby. I'll report back in one moment... What the devil..."

"Dr. Chakwas? Is everything all right?" A moment's silence. "Dr. Chakwas? Please respond."

"Everything looks normal EDI," she answered finally.

"You appeared surprised a moment ago. May I ask why?"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. A patient had just walked in... In fact I need to be seeing to them at once, if you won't be needing anything else."

"No. That is fine doctor. Thank you. I will continue my investigation elsewhere."

...

In the infirmary, Haze ceased to impersonate the good doctor, and returned to her normal voice. Chakwas was a little preoccupied at the moment. She had opened the door to the A.I Core just after Haze had cut EDI off from the rest of the ship. Chakwas had interrupted Ashley just as she was about to start working on Dr. Michel. Luckily she hadn't had the opportunity to say much before Ashley through a psychic harness around her mind too, and suddenly both doctors were now at their mercy.

Haze returned to them now, hidden away just inches from EDI's true self, the artificial intelligence completely unaware of anything going on right under her nose. Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel were both on their knees. Ashley stood between them, her hands clutching the tops of their heads. Their mouths hung open and their eyes were vacant as she sifted through their brains.

"I've locked the infirmary door," Haze said. "As far as anyone else is concerned, the doctors are out to lunch. There should be no further interruptions."

"Good. You know Karen," she said to Chakwas, "I really have to thank you. Without you, this body of mine probably wouldn't have held up even half as well as it has. Yet at the same time with every examination, no matter how invasive, you never suspected I wasn't the genuine article. Or perhaps... You did. Perhaps you didn't want to admit it, or perhaps you were waiting. Waiting for this moment... It's a shame your body is too old and frail to survive conversion. I wouldn't mind you looking after me for the rest of time."

"Speak for yourself mistress, I think the younger model is much cuter," Haze chuckled, extending one of her long fingers to just underneath Chloe's chin. A bit of drool formed at the corner of her mouth and dripped onto her clothed breasts. Haze pushed up, closing her mouth for a moment. She let go, and it fell open again. Haze giggled, amused. "Especially when she's all dumb like this."

"Her body is quite suitable. Her mind, however, lacks the same sophistication and depth of experience that Karen here has... Hmm." Ashley considered this, in a tone which Haze instinctively recognized.

"You have a plan mistress?"

"I was considering something," she said. "My creators imbued me with their wondrous gifts. It's time to see what I can do with it." Her eyes and hands began to glow vibrant blue, a glow which quickly outlined both doctors. They jolted, as if registering that something was happening to them. Their lips began to quiver and their eyes rolled back in their heads. Haze licked her own lips with her blue tongue as she watched. Did she look like that when Ashley fried her brain? She hoped so.

The look of mindless ecstasy only seemed to grow as their bodies began to disintegrate. Haze could have sworn she heard them both gasp, like they'd just had the greatest orgasm of their lives, as both were reduced to nothing but glowing silhouettes. They faded as the glow around Ashley intensified, and her hair began to float and wave freely in all directions like she was charged with electricity. Suddenly, the tips of her gloved fingers turned silver, and strands of organic metal snaked out. They began to connect and overlap, forming first a metal skeleton, then muscle, then a silvery grey skin just like Haze. It didn't stop there, however, as the new form shaped a uniform much like the ones Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel had been wearing. Like Haze's suit it was merely an extension of her body and rapidly dyed a bluish-black. Her breasts and ass grew large as symmetrical circuitry spread outwards from a glowing circle on her upper back, creating glowing spots where her nipples and navel would be in some token acknowledgement of human anatomy. She was not human, however, she was something new. Something more.

The glow faded from Ashley, who stumbled backwards. Haze stepped with superhuman speed to catch her.

"Are you all right mistress?" She asked concernedly, clutching her lady tight.

"Yes... Yes I'm fine..." She sighed. "That was exhausting... and exhilarating." She stepped forward, circling around her creation. Haze circle the other direction.

"Did it work?" Haze asked. They both looked at the new woman on their knees before them, head slumped forward, eyes shut. Then she lifted her head upwards and her permanently shadowed eyes fluttered open, revealing glowing jewels within. Just like Haze. Her face was pretty, much closer to Michel than Chakwas, but even then it had been shaped just right. Her inky blue lips were plump and shiny, and while they rested in a sort of permanent smirk, her eyes darted between them with concern.

"Who..." She eventually voiced, the same mechanical twinge as Haze. "Who am I?"

"You are Malady," Ashley decided in that moment, "and I am your mistress."

"I am Malady... and you are my mistress?" She repeated. After a moment processing, she nodded. "I am Malady and you are my mistress." She repeated with more conviction. "Mistress... My head feels... strange. It's so full... I can barely hear your wonderful whispers..." Haze felt sorry for the poor thing. To not be able to hear the constant chorus of sweet nothings. It was so... exquisite.

"You are digesting the minds of Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel," Ashley explained. "It will take some time, but you will absorb everything that we require from them, and the rest will simply fade away. Until then. There are more,,, direct ways to stimulate your mind." Haze flashed a naughty grin from the corner as her imagination ran away with her. Before it got too far, however, she managed to regain some sense.

"Mistress?" She asked. "What do you want me to do about EDI? I assume you didn't have me lobotomize her for nothing."

"For now, EDI can remain as she is. When the time comes, she will play her part. However, in the meantime, we've work to do."