Load up and get to work

"As fun as it might be to spend time in the penthouse with you and Tracy, I think we have some work to do," you said. You really didn't care one way or the other about rushing out and finding those nanites at the moment, but you feared Mona might somehow swindle you out of your soul if you gave her the opportunity. Though it seemed you could still act of your own accord so long as Mona didn't directly tell you to do anything specific, which hopefully meant she'd let you take care of things your own way.

Mona smirked as she looked at you and the slightly bewildered Safiya who was still trying to comprehend the power of the Endo inside her. "Wow, a real go-getter, huh? I like the initiative. Tell you what." She pulled out a little data drive from her pocket, handing it to you. "I want you to investigate Hideki Labs, see what they're doing in the R&D areas. You two had the right idea checking a rival billionaire's operation, but my drones didn't uncover anything in their search while you were being operated on. I don't think King has a clue what to do with nanites, anyway. She's barely figured out how to use the phase binder she stole from me two years ago, after all, and that's a machine that she doesn't need a microscope to see."

"You think Hideki is responsible for the SCPD sabotage, too?" Safiya asked. Neither of you bothered to ask about how she knew about the phase binder theft, it seemed like this was just a typical occurrence between these three big businesses.

Mona shrugged as she glanced around her hidden lair filled with secret Yabusa tech. "It seems likely, since one of my subordinates filed the police report without consulting me. I tell my people not to bother with that stuff, but sometimes my employees forget and then all hell breaks loose. Maybe the thief has an inside connection with your former police department and they got spooked? All I do know is that I looked at the nanites that came out of Angel Seven's head before merging your minds, and they bear at least some resemblance to Yabusa's lithium-based designs."

Nodding, you looked around. "So, where do I plug this in to look at the data?"

"Stick it in your new work PC," Mona said, pointing at Safiya with a grin. "...I'm sure you'll figure out how in due time. You're free to take anything on this floor and keep it out of phase, I've got vehicles, tools, weapons, new Endos and other machines, just don't leave anything behind and bring things back when you're done, your biosigns will grant you access. And keep everything unmarked, use Tex's flair for creativity to modify your armor and such. I don't want news pieces about Yabusa raiding Hideki if you get caught. Got it?"

She didn't wait for a response, turning and departing for the elevator. You glanced at Safiya, finally alone with her once more. In response, she pulls you in closely for a brief but welcome kiss.

You and Safiya took about an hour to wander the area, finding useful objects left and right that Safiya either absorbed and phased out of reality, or briefly absorbed so she could synthesize the electronics later from the parts she did keep. She found some of the bigger Yabusa machines to be of interest: the Tarantula construction bot and a tall humanoid-shaped mecha with 'Goliath' stamped on its side. Safiya claimed both and put them out of phase, giggling all the while. "I could turn myself into a giant mecha and you could sit inside me in a cushy seat at the controls," she said with a wink.

"I don't know how that will help us, but I'm sure we can find the time!" You made sure she stored enough practical items as well, going so far as to even absorb the appliances in what had once been a breakroom nearby, making jokes about how she could have a 'bun in the oven' in a literal way if you phased in the oven door at her stomach. Well, at least baked goods on the go sounded like a nice perk compared to everything else going on.

After Safiya seemed satisfied by absorbing seemingly half the warehouse's bizarre machinery, your focus returned to the data drive. You held it up, looking at your partner. "So... do you know where this goes?"

Safiya shrugged. "While you could just try sticking it everywhere, at the moment I can say with certainty I don't have any active ports. You're going to have to create some on me."

"And how do I do that?" you asked.

"Well, Mona used voice commands to make all those changes to me, it seems like you're authorized to do the same thing." Safiya blushed a little. "As in, I'm literally at your mercy in body and mind with that module installed in me."

Nodding, you tapped at your chin in thought. "Well I guess I should just try to get some more info on just how to do all that, right? Every machine comes with a manual, I'll just..." You thought for a moment, before realizing it was probably simpler than you'd first thought. "Hey Tex, help."

Safiya immediately froze and stood straight up again, losing any semblance of humanity as the Endo overrode her movements and speech capabilities. "You've accessed the TexOS operation help database and userguide. Provide a query."

You slowly walked around the unmoving Safiya, still tapping at your chin. You looked her over from high to low, hoping she'd end up etched in your memory if you stared long enough. "How do I, uh... use you"

"You may use the 'Hey Tex' command and provide instructions to the Endo that will execute through the host body. You can issue commands to phase objects in and out as well as to alter movements and behaviors. Items that you phase in or out will generate as a standalone object--if you want them attached to the body in some way, request a phase bind and specify where to bind. It is best to use the Phase Designer tactile interface to create complex shapes for the body and name them to recall with voice commands. You can also design more complex movement routines in the Action Designer. However, everything is still possible to do via voice command."

"Do you have to be in this, uh, standing-still state for me to access all these TexOS features?"

"Administrative users can configure settings such as Tactile Interaction, Tattoo Screens, Remote Config, Awareness, this Doll Mode, and Half-Doll Mode at any time. However, in Half-Doll Mode, all commands and queries must be carried out with the 'Hey Tex' command and this interactive help module is not active." ...Doll Mode? That sounds like something from the Ascend headsets that Hideki makes! These companies really are stealing everything from each other! Now you had to wonder if the rumors were true, that Yabusa decided to use humans to control their machinery via phase binding because their AI designs were horrendous at the time. And maybe it would've stayed horrendous had they not reverse-engineered Hideki's Hilda AI... maybe that's been the thing that brought Yabusa's fully autonomous robotics division into the fore again despite the success of phasebound cyborgs.

You walked around the frozen Safiya, eyeing her up and down. She didn't turn to acknowledge you, calmly standing still. Even as you reached out to touch her, squeezing her hips together, she didn't so much as flinch in response. The Endo inside her, plus the synthetic Tex gel integrated into her, must really lock her in tight. "Okay, so I could say something like... hey Tex, phase out all of your clothing."

Immediately, Safiya's outfit vanished, leaving her standing fully naked--and easy to squeeze again! That seemed easy, you could try more complex commands later. Though, you liked it when Safiya would shake her hips for you, having the golden-skinned woman merely standing like a mannequin seemed pretty awkward. "Hey Tex, swing your hips side to side."

Safiya's body did as instructed, shifting her weight so her hips moved to the left, then the right--and then stopped again. You frowned, stepping around to her front. "Hey, what gives?"

"Your movement function was carried out precisely as described. If you want more data on setting movement functions, simply request it."

"More data, then."

"You can set four levels of movements, based on complexity: functions, routines, directives, and behaviors. All commands are issued as functions, which are exact interpretations of movement or speech as described, unless otherwise specified. Routines are looping movement functions that will continue until told to stop or some other condition is met. A directive is a goal-based movement, where the body will interpret the best movements and actions to achieve the goal. Behaviors are permanent modifications to actions that are not associated with a goal."

You blinked, scratching your head at what sounded like a lot of programmer lingo. "Can you give me an example? Like, using my 'shake your hips' command?"

"Of course," Safiya said with TexOS's artificial politeness, hips still frozen in what seemed like a permanent cant to one side now. "Your command of 'swing your hips side to side' was interpreted as a function where the hips were moved to the side, then to the other side, before ending. If you issue it as a routine, the process would return to the beginning of the movement parameters and begin again. A directive is often vaguely defined, one that is set to dance might include swinging hips to satisfy the parameters of the directive but is not guaranteed. A behavior may be something like 'whenever standing still, shake your hips', and that behavior will always occur under the proper conditions, or all the time if no condition is set. These can be set for body actions, speaking actions, as well as general cognitive states given the integration level of this host."

It was a lot to take in, operating your personal computer person... not to mention there was still a conscious mind in there! It sounded like the last one could be interesting, you could make Safiya think it's normal to stand around naked while you did everything... but you kind of liked to see her reaction.

After a few more minutes of questions, especially around the configuration settings to make sure you got everything right, you felt you better understood the operations of the TexOS and were ready to attempt your first big changes. "Okay, so... let's see, how to do this. Hey Tex, I have multiple commands. Phasebind a keyboard with USB input to the hips. Generate a 'Tattoo Screen' on the stomach. Kneel down but keep the upper body upright. Enter Half-Doll mode, awareness on. Execute."

A lot of things happened simultaneously, but as per your instructions, a blinking, almost dazed Safiya looked up at you, kneeling before you as a keyboard appeared to sit in her lap, with those orange glowing tattoos from earlier present on Safiya's stomach with a design that looked like a typical PC interface. "Hnnnnn... that's all so weirdly good, Artemis, to feel all of that happening to me... every little change feels like a burst of euphoria, Mona was smart to include that in the design. It makes me want to get you to try doing more things..!" She didn't seem to mind the nudity given the company she was in.

You sat cross-legged in front of Safiya, at a decent height to see everything, though Safiya's impressive breasts hung slightly in the way. Now was as good a time as any to try a few Half-Doll commands! "Hey Tex, lean back and prop your upper body up with your arms on the ground."

Squeaking and wide-eyed, Safiya felt her movements suddenly change, doing as you commanded to pull her body backwards, angling it so you could better see her stomach--though it also looked like Safiya was thrusting her chest at you in that pose! "Ghhhh..." was all Safiya could manage to utter.

"Trust me, Safiya, I'm going to enjoy this just as much as you..! Though, time to do some research before we play more." You stuck the data drive into the keyboard and started to type, using Safiya's stomach as an interactive touchscreen as the glowing orange tattoos morphed and changed to display the contents of the data that Mona provided to you: information on nanites, how to track and disable them, tools for containment, detailed maps of Hideki Labs... it was almost as if Mona had been planning an infiltration of Hideki Labs for some time, actually. She just needed someone as uniquely talented as you and Safiya had become. You generated a copy of the screen on the top of Safiya's giant breasts so she could read the data as well while stuck in her pose, as you two chatted mostly about the mission parameters for some time. If all went well, you could even go so far as to make an entrance tonight!

...Which did leave you with some free time before then...