Her Own Desires

To be a Quarian was to be an animal trapped in a moving cage. They hid it well of course. Generations of being confined to their environmental suits meant that they had grown accustomed to it. However, they could not escape the fact that they could never truly live the way others did. They could not experience the simple joys others took for granted. They could not taste food that hadn't been thoroughly sterilized, they could not feel the open air on their skin without poisoning themselves, they could not enjoy the touch of a lover without suffering for it.

For Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, these feelings combined with the isolation brought on by her people's rejection of her, meant that she had finally reached her breaking point. She would no longer just accept any of this. She would find a way to change the game, and she did, in a forgotten piece of ancient technology recovered by Liara on a recent visit to a dig site. The people it had once belonged to were said to have had remarkable powers. Tali, upon examining it, discovered something that developed into a particularly devious idea...

She restored it in secret, and when it was finished, she marveled at its simplicity. It was a simple silver capsule about four inches long, with a number of buttons carefully concealed along its surface. To anyone else, it would appear to be nothing more than an oddity, some kind of strange stylus or tool. To Tali, it was so much more. She just needed the right person to test it on, and she knew exactly who that would be...

...

Miranda entered the engine core, slightly concerned as to what Tali wanted her for. She hoped it wasn't for her little sexual escapade near Tali's workstation a few nights previously. She was pretty sure she had thoroughly cleaned up after her and her 'guest'.

That thought left her, as did all others, when she saw a naked Tali leaning against her terminal in the engine core. Miranda’s jaw nearly dropped.

“T-Tali?” She asked incredulously.

“Hello Miranda,” she replied with a coquettish grin. “Like what you see?” She winked.

If Miranda was being honest with herself, yes. She did like what she saw. Tali’s body was perfectly formed in all the right places. Her ass was supple, her breasts perky, her waist narrow, her hair long and dark, and her eyes the brightest yellow. All of that, however, was secondary to one overwhelming thought.

“Where’s your suit?” She asked in surprise. “Won’t you… Won’t you…”

“Oh, that?” She replied. “I won’t be needing that anymore.”

“W-What?” Miranda asked, trying not to stare. “Why not?”

“Because I’ll be too busy wearing you!” She smiled and pointed the capsule at Miranda. Before Miranda react, Tali pressed a button, and a beam of light struck Miranda where she stood. A glow brighter than the sun poured out of her mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. Tali also thought she could make out a faint glow in some more private areas too. It lasted less than a second, but to Tali, this crucial test would be forever framed in her mind. It was the moment that everything changed.

When the glow faded, Miranda stood for a moment, then literally collapsed in a heap, like a deflated balloon. Tali walked over and picked her up. She had all her features, all her obvious and subtle beauty, even her clothes still remained a part of her somehow, but she was hollowed out. She had become something of a living costume, inert for the moment, but not for long if Tali had her way. The creators of the technology Liara had discovered were, as it turned out, not unlike the Quarians it seemed. Feeble, weak, frequently overlooked in the grand scheme of things, but they learned a secret. The secret of how to take over the bodies, minds, and identities of others in order to grow stronger. There was much of it she did not understand, but the proof was in her hands. Now all she had to do was try her on.

She turned the skin around and pulled open the back, which separated like clay in the hands of a sculptor, and bit by bit slid inside. She wasn’t sure at what point she became Miranda, just that at some point she noticed the air no longer stung as it passed through her lungs unaided, and she no longer felt nauseous when she stepped forward on long slender legs… She licked her lips, running her tongue along her perfect white teeth as she did so, and smiled.

“Fuck yes,” she said in Miranda’s seductively accented voice. She could sense all that Miranda ever was, all her thoughts, all her memories, everything that made her who she was, now an open book to her body’s new owner. “Oh that bitch!” She thought as she stumbled upon the memory of Miranda having sex in here a couple nights earlier, but the sensations of the memory made her quiver excitedly. She felt her new exquisite breasts, cupped her ass and gave it a light jiggle, feeling the ripples of pleasure run through her. This body was hers now. Tali’Zodah vas Normandy was now Miranda Lawson.

“But of course… I can’t just disappear can I now?” She said to herself. It was true enough that Shepard would turn over half the galaxy to find a missing member of her crew, but if it appeared as if she had never left, than it would never come up. She walked over to the terminal belonging to Engineer Daniels and pulled out a bag from underneath it. Inside was a familiar environmental suit, and a familiar skin inside of it. One of the other nifty features of this little device was the ability to replicate a target. Presumably so as to make sure questions weren’t asked when a parasite decided to upgrade. So here was “Tali” as everyone knew her. She just needed a consciousness.

She pointed the device downwards, and pressed a different button. This time, the beam struck the empty Tali suit, and suddenly it was standing up, clearly dazed. She did not lower the device, maintaining her aim.

“W-Where… What happened?” Her voice asked. It was strange to hear herself talk. “Tali” flinched when she came to her senses and saw who was standing in front of her. “W-What?!”

“What’s wrong Miranda… or should I call you Tali now?” She asked, smugly.

“You… You bitch! What did you do?!” Miranda cried from inside Tali’s old form, in Tali’s old voice no less. Tali found this strangely hilarious, but stifled her laughter.

“I’ve made a bit of a switch,” she said simply. “I’m in your body, you’re in mine.”

“Good god… I can feel… These memories… Are these yours?” Miranda asked, processing emotions that were not her own.

“Yes, and now they’re yours. Enjoy them.”

“You… You won’t get away with this! Change us back before I… I…” She struggled with words because she was out of ideas. What exactly could she do here? Go to Shepard? How would she prove this and not simply look like Tali went crazy? Tali had no doubt killed the cameras and scheduled it so there’d be no witnesses. It was brilliant. Almost the perfect heist. If they knew each other’s memories, there was nothing one of them knew that the other didn’t, but…

“I’ll contact Cerberus,” Miranda said defiantly.

“You’ll do what?”

“I’ll contact Cerberus. You might know all I know about them, but there is no reason for a Quarian to know their access codes let alone contact them. That will be enough to verify my story.”

Damn. Miranda was right. Tali couldn’t snatch her body without taking care of loose ends. She looked down at the device in her hands, then sighed.

“I really didn’t want to have to do this, but…” She moved one of her five fingers, something she was still getting used to. “Goodbye Miranda.” She pressed down. Suddenly an arc of electricity burst forth and hit “Tali’s” body. She clutched her head in agony for a moment, then it stopped. When she looked up again, it was with dull uncomprehending eyes.

“Ah… Wha…” “Tali” looked around, confused. “Um… What was I… Oh! Hello Miranda. Is there something you need?”

“No,” she replied, supplanting a grin. “I was looking for Jack. I heard a scream and came into see what was wrong. You seemed... distressed."

“Oh. Uh, sorry, I guess I was,” she replied. “I just suddenly had a wicked headache and the next thing I knew you were here… Heh. I think I need to lay down.”

“Maybe go get yourself checked out in the infirmary?”

“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea. I’m not even sure what day it is right now, if I’m honest… I remember Liara showing me something and then… Then I was here…” She trailed off. “Sorry.”

“It’s not a problem, Tali, but you should get yourself checked out to see if anything’s wrong,” she said. “Tali” nodded, and “Miranda” walked away, grinning quietly to herself. That checkup would reveal nothing out of the ordinary physiologically or psychologically. She would be given a clean bill of health and believe it to have been a stress related fluke. She would never guess who she used to be, as “Miranda” had suppressed all that information. As far as that woman was concerned, she was Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, Quarian engineer, only daughter of Rael’Zorah, and exile to the Migrant Fleet. She just had a few memories missing, memories of the device and its capabilities. All the knowledge, memories, and personality of the real Miranda Lawson were now locked away forever. The only one who’d ever know… was her replacement. The new Miranda Lawson.

“Time to see how much fun I can have…” She whispered to herself as she stepped into the elevator with the device still firmly in hand.