The rest of Joyce’s first expedition consisted of her fiddling with her equipment trying to figure out its use. Unfortunately Amalgam offered no real help throughout this process. Eventually they received a call from the captain to head back to The Star’s Embrace. Joyce gladly complied. Amalgam dragged her feet. Thankfully there weren't any other encounters with the wildlife as they meandered back to the colony. 

They made their report to Captain Mikasa of their misadventure. Leaving out all the details of Amalgam’s ditching attempt. 

“I don’t recall Amalgam having injuries this morning or your jacket being torn to shreds,” The Captain stated skeptically.

“I backed into a Hopping Hexeye and it didn’t take too kindly to that. I should have worn something more practical anyways,” Joyce lied. “As for Amalgam, she was walking and talking about the local environment when she tripped over an exposed mushtree root. I failed to catch her before she ate dirt.”

“I see, would that be your summary of events too Amalgam?” She asked.

Amalgam slouched with her arms crossed, staring daggers at Joyce half of her face hidden by bandages. Joyce in turn held a neutral expression and stiffly held her arms beyond her back. 

“Yeah,” Amalgam grumbled. “Thats what happened.”

“Nothing a trip to medical can’t fix.” Joyce stated, before concern crossed her face. More softly she added, “be sure to get everything looked at, Ok?”

“Whatever,” she scoffed before stalking away.

“That wasn’t a dismissal but sure,” Joyce muttered.

“She has a tendency to be trouble,” Captain Mikasa said. “Fortuneatly she also has a tendency to stumble across some of the more interesting things.”

“I’m not sure it's worth the risk. She lacks discipline."

“We’re not soldiers, so we don’t have to be.”

“But that's also the reason you don’t want her out there alone. Getting caught in a rampage by herself would mean death.” Joyce stated, known the reason for her transfer in the first place.

“Exactly right,” Mikasa nodded in approval. “At least until we find a way to put a stop to them.”

“Do we know what causes them?”

“Nothing concrete, mostly it's just speculation at this point. Most seem to think some manner of creature is causing the others to be whipped into a frenzy but we haven’t seen anything capable of doing so.”

Joyce recalled her experiences fighting the past attacks. A variety of creatures charged the colony walls as if part of a stampede but instead of going around the colony they tried to run straight though it. Joyce didn’t imagine animals were dumb enough to not know what a cliff wall was so she found it odd they didn’t just go around. Also they did actively attack anyone they came across. That was for people smarter than her to figure out though.

“About Amalgam,” Joyce said, clearing her throat before continuing. “I don’t think our personalities mix, I think it might be better to find her a more compatible partner.”

“I'm certain she’ll be difficult no matter who we stick her with.” Mikasa replied, “It’s only been a day, give it some time. If you’re unable to work together then we’ll split you up before we send you out to the unknown.”

“Yes ma’am. Anything else or am I dismissed?”

“You’re good to go.”

With a nod Joyce walked off to her quarters. She had more important things to do than worrying about that walking dumpster fire anyways.

—

Amalgam paced back and forth across her room. Her anger from having her scars seen turned to panic. Being angry had been the only thing keeping the memories of having her chassis ripped open and insides poked, prodded, pulled out and replaced at bay. She needed to distract herself. 

“Do something. Do something. Do Something,” She mumbled to herself as she avoided the clothing piles, recipe books, notes, and variety of garbage scattered across the room.

Eventually she settled on the floor and grabbed her tablet. She opened her notes and started writing potential locations to find the ingredients Otic mentioned she would need for her baking escapade. Her hands shook the entire time and she tried not to pay attention to her cobbled together arms. Her hands were as they should be so that's what she focused on.

By the time she finished making a plan for the next few days her mind had slown. She had begun to pick at the bandages on her face and was reminded of her new injury. The thought of going to medical filled Amalgam with dread. Instead of letting herself spiral again she threw on some large headphones and blasted her favorite screamo in an attempt to drown out her own thoughts and to distract her from the fact that she was now moving toward the med bay to get her visor fixed.

—

Joyce entered her quarters in a surprisingly good mood considering her day. Fortunately for her she could forget about all of that. Or more specifically she could complain to Cas about it! That was something that she couldn’t wait for! Joyce dropped her calm facade and practically skipped over to her computer to check on the progress of her CassAI. She impatiently shook her mouse to wake the computer. The screen lit up the room as Joyce hadn't bothered turning on the lights. 

Procress Complete.

Joyce quickly sat in her seat and closed the completion window. Then she navigated her way to the chat screen before hesitating. It wasn’t because she thought this was a bad idea, but because she wanted to make sure things were set up right. She wanted this to go perfectly, unlike the downhill spiral of mediocrity and failure she found herself in since Cas’s death. So she checked the settings of the chatbot. Confirming that the personality was as close to originals as possible. Making sure the bot actually used the memories Joyce had uploaded, among other details. 

Once she was done fretting over the settings, she moved back to the chat screen. Joyce stared at the blank line for her message. Her fingers nervously tapped at the keyboard without actually pressing the keys. She felt her cooling fans kick in as her core temperature rose. 

“Come on Joyce,” She said to herself. “It’s just a conversation, you’ve had hundreds before.” With the grumbling done, she finally wrote her message.

Administrator: Hey Cas… its umm… been a while…

CasAI: Hello Administrator! I don’t recall the last time we chatted so it must have been some time! 

Joyce kicked herself mentally for not checking that CasAI actually knew her name! Such a stupid mistake considering all the checking she did. Completely unlike herself.

Administrator: I’m actually Joyce… you know… from your memories…

CasAI: Oh my! I can’t believe I didn’t recognize my own girlfriend! I suppose not having eyes makes it difficult! Tell me everything that's happened since we last talked. And don’t you dare try and keep any secrets from me! I’ll know!

Joyce’s mode soured at the not having eyes comment. Her own mind flashed back to the moment she found Cas’s lifeless body staring back at her. She slapped her palms to her cheeks to distract her from the memory, the sound filling her audio processors. 

Joyce: So I actually got a new job. It’s been… a time.

CasAI: Seriously!?!? YOU getting a NEW job! Let me guess, it's down in the engineering bay with me?

Joyce: No not engineering, you know I’m no good with that stuff… It's actually in the Survey Crews.