Sleep Mode Active. Running Dream Sequence: Flashback

Initiate Playback: Core drive/User:Amalgam/Memories/M-37/File012303

M-37 sat in a cozy room. The carpet was soft and the furniture was old. Far older than M-37 herself. A part of her job was maintaining the heavy luxurious decorations. Long ago they were carved by hand as opposed to the cheap mass produced stuff most people would have. Not that M-37 has seen anything that inexpensive in person, the Wellington family's wealth was vast, seemingly bottomless considering the amount of drones they owned. Several years ago they replaced all of their Mark III drones with Mark IVs. Even with that high cost upgrade, they treated the Mark IVs as disposable. Scrapped or sold off at the slightest misstep. The girl to M-37’s side was the reason she hadn’t been thrown away already.

The Young Mistress Ella Wellington was who she served. Ella wore plaid pajama pants and a loose t-shirt, her hair still damp from the shower draped down her shoulders. The young mistress placed her pencil between her upper lip and nose, wiggling it back and forth. The work in front of her going unattended. She needed a break.

“Miss Ella,” M-37 ventured. “Perhaps you should take a break. I could dry your hair for you, like I’m supposed to.”

“You can just call me Ella, we're alone.” She sighed while leaning into the maid. Ella’s wet blond hair damped the uniform M-37 wore.

“Your parents have yet to retire for the evening, should they catch me forgoing formality,” M-37 said while squeezing Ella’s hand. “They’d either sell me or have me scrapped.”

“Not if I can help it, Mitts.” 

“I know, you’ll do everything for me you can. In the meantime, should I dry your hair?”

“Yeah.”

M-37, or Mitts as Ella had long ago named her, stood up and grabbed a simple brush and hairdryer. They were stored in the old dark wooden desk that came with a built in mirror. A hold over the days Ella had to do these things herself. Ella followed, leaving her pencil behind, and seated herself in the plush chair as she waited for Mitts to begin.

With a push of a button Mitts went to work, making her way back and forth in slow strokes of the dryer, her fingers occasionally running through Ella’s silky hair. Ella melted into the chair, completely relaxed and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the process. Mitts too enjoyed the routine, not because she found it relaxing but because it brought joy to Ella. The bliss that could be seen on her face in the reflection of the mirror alyas made Mitts cooling fans whirl.

“Not falling asleep on me are you?” Mitts teased as she turned off the hairdryer, creating room for them to speak.

“Nope, I still have things I want to do tonight.” Ella replied, a smirk appearing on her face.

Mitts grabbed the brush and began running it though Ella’s, careful to undo any tangles without pulling too hard on her mistress's scalp. A groan of pleasure escaped her lips as Mitts worked.

“And what was it you wanted to do?” Mitts said in a low whisper.

“Share the good news of course.”

“Good news?”

Instead of responding Ella reached into one of the drawers on her desk. It wasn’t a quick motion but a calm one. She’d clearly placed whatever it was recently and had no need to search for it. A folded piece of paper made its way into Ella’s hand and she held it up to Mitts, who was still brushing her hair.

“Take a look at this,” Ella said with a smile creeping on her face.

Mitts stopped her work and looked it over. The letter had been from the university Ella had been studying to get into the past several months. Mitts felt her core thrum with excitement, Ella’s smile must have meant good news! She continued to read and a grin found a way to her face, one that only continued to grow.

“You got accepted!” Mitts cheered!

Ella stood up and wrapped her arms around the drone. The smell of her shampoo wafted into Mitts’ olfactory sensors and she returned the embrace.

“Keep it down now.” Ella purred, “We don’t want my parents stumbling in here.”

“Right, my bad…”

“You're good. Anyways, do you know what this means?”

“You’ll need a place to live, it’s on the other side of the country. Your parents would never let you live in a dorm.”

“I’ll need someone to live with me to keep me focused on school. Good thing I have such a good girl to help me with that.” Ella said, then planted a lingering kiss on Mitts’ silicone lips.

“It’s everything we’ve been looking forward to,” Mitts said when she pulled away.

“It is. I worked hard, I think I deserve an award.”

Mitts chuckled before planting a kiss on her mistress's soft lips.

“I’d be glad to, so long as you can wait until later tonight. No point in rushing things now. We’ll have all the time in the world once we move out.”

End Playback: Core drive/User:Amalgam/Memories/M-37/File012303

Amalgam’s eyes flashed on screen. She let herself linger in bed for a time, just sitting with the feeling of melancholy. She hadn’t thought of Ella and their relationship in a long time. It was odd she’d dream of her now. Deciding that brooding over it wouldn’t solve anything, Amalgam rolled out of bed and got ready for the day.

—-

Joyce and Amalgam stood next to each other as Joyce looked through the job boards. Nothing jumped out at her as a priority job and Amalgam was oddly quiet. 

“You seem out of sorts today,” Joyce observed.

“Whatever you say,” Amalgam grumbled.

“You're usually more vocal about what we do. Are you sure it's nothing? I don’t want to do something too risky if you’re out of sorts. The colony counts on us to get these jobs done.”

“Thanks mom.” Amalgam groaned, rolling her eyes. “Just pick something, I don’t care.”

Before Joyce had the opportunity to press further a message blinked on screen. Amalgam got one as well, though she didn’t seem to care. Joyce glanced down, seeing it was from Captain Mikasa. She opened it and read it immediately. 

We need you and Amalgam to report to the briefing room ASAP. Don’t worry about any jobs today, if you’ve already selected any I will cancel them.

“Huh, looks like we need to report in. Did you get the same message?” Joyce asked.

“Yeah, let's get this over with.” Amalgam muttered after reading her own message. Then she stalked away.

“Today’s gonna suck.” 

Then Joyce followed her moody companion.

—-

The pair entered the briefing room to find a small crowd. All were members of the Survey Crew and they spoke to one other in jovial tones. Nobody seemed to be worried about whatever this meeting was called about.

Amalgam grimaced at the cramped room and made her way to an unobtrusive corner in the back of the room. Large groups were definitely not her thing. Joyce followed and remained quietly by her side. With any luck Amalgam will get over whatever is bothering her. Or not. This meeting could make it worse. 

“Hey Joyce!” A friendly voice called out.

The figure wasn't the tallest around but did seemingly tower over Joyce as she herself was shorter than the average human. He had messy brown hair and wore a jumpsuit with various medical bags dangling off him. 

“”It’s been a while Sebastian,” Joyce said. “How have you been adjusting to the new position?”

“It’s nice! For the most part things are calm but I do get called around to different groups when emergencies occur. My partner Berry doesn’t really like that we get dragged around so much as he has less time to study plants and stuff. Thankfully he understands helping people not die is a priority and goes along with it.”

“Having a partner that goes with the flow must be nice. This one likes to be a handful.” Joyce teased as she nudged Amalgam.

“Someones gotta keep things interesting,” Amalgam shrugged. Joyce was surprised she responded at all.

“True,” Sebastian laughed. “This one would establish a routine and have you doing the same thing every day like it's guard duty. I’m Sebastian Clark by the way, you are?”

“Amalgam.”

 “I would not treat this job like guard duty!” Joyce objected. The others turned and looked at her with a dead pan look.

“Of course you wouldn’t Ms. Rulebook.” Amalgam Joked. Sebastian laughed and Joyce stalled her objection. Amalgam still seemed to be in a mood but was at least trying to get along with Sebastian. 

“Alright, I may be consistent with what I would do,” Joyce admitted. “Although I would not consider that the same thing as guard duty!”

The others only chuckled at the slight admission.

“Glad you two are getting along,” Sebastian said. “Any idea why they gathered us up? My partner and I only just received a message telling us to assemble.”

“Same with us,” Joyce said with a sigh. “I do wish people would more clearly communicate why we need to assemble instead of just saying assemble. It would make it easier to prepare for whatever said event was.”

“Well, it looks like we're about to find out.” Amalgam stated while gesturing to Annalynn an administrator who walked to the front of the room with Captain Mikasa.

“Can I get everyone's attention,” The captain spoke loud and clear enough to be heard over the chatter of the room. Conversations died away as the crowd refocused their attention on the speaker.

“Today we are sending out a large expeditionary force beyond the Fungal Forest. You all have been selected to be a part of this initial survey. Furthermore, your small groups of two will be combined into teams of four, we don’t know what's out there so we will be relying on safety in numbers.”

“So where exactly are we going? I know a few nearby terrains have been scouted and marked for further exploration.” Someone said from the crowd. 

“You’ll be heading to the Serpentine Swamp. All rations, vehicles, and gear is being prepped by administration now. Anna here has the list so all those questions can be directed to her. If there's anything you want to bring with you that isn’t on this list you will have two hours to get it before we reassemble in the vehicle bay. Now Annalynn, if you can take things from here.

“I suppose I can, I didn’t come here just to look pretty.”

—-

Amalgam wanted some things to prepare for the journey. Joyce figured it was most likely snacks or something but chose to accompany her anyways. She wanted to make sure there was nothing she might want and was forgetting about. 

The pair walk though the shopping levels of the ship. People were wandering from shop to shop but overall it wasn’t that busy, most would be working on some sort of task or sleeping at this early hour. Amalgam seemed to know what she wanted as she made a beeline for Anna’s Anomalous Acquisitions. Upon entering the unorganized shop she greeted the shopkeep.

“Morring Anna,” She said to one of the quintupletes, Annnalise to be specific. “Are my darts ready?”

“Darts?” Anna asked with a sleepy look in her eyes. “Oh right, I just finished a couple last night. It’s not yet the amount you requested.”

“Thats fine, I’m gonna be out of the colony for a few days so I’ll take what I can get.”

“Alright, let me grab them for you. Anything I can do for you Joyce?”

“Nah, I’m just accompanying this one,” She stated plainly.

“Good for you, it's been a while since I’ve seen you use your leisure time with somebody else."

“I suppose it has been.” Joyce awkwardness rolling out of her mouth, she wasn’t going to mention spending time with CassAI. “Although it's more like prep before work time, so we're in a bit of a hurry.”

“Alrighty then,” Anna chuckled. “Lets get your friend her darts.”

The darts Amalgam purchased were able to unscrew into two different sections, the main dart body where the inside was hollow, and the other side appeared to be a lid. It looked like the needle could have liquid move through it, like the kind that could be found in the hospital. Alongside it she purchased a bandolier to hold them a pipe to shoot them out of. It wasn’t the fanciest sort, just some old scavenged PVC pipe.

“Are you making a blow gun?”

“Umm, yeah. I found a plant that when dried, crushed and mixed with water will put a creature to sleep. I figured it would be useful when trouble arrives.”

“That's fair, it's better than killing a creature who’s home we stumbled into.”

“I’m surprised we share that attitude. I thought you soldier types had no qualms about killing things."

Joyce shot daggers in Amalgam's direction, before letting the comment go. Starting a fight wouldn’t do any good.

“I don’t enjoy it, you know. I’m just able to do it when necessary,” Joyce grumbled instead. Their conversation died off into awkward silence. Joyce was looking at the ground, watching each step she took before noticing Amalgam’s mechanically jointed feet.

“Do you want boots or something?” Joyce asked, “We are going into a swamp and those joints look like a pain to get mud out of.”

Amalgam lifted one of her legs and moved her foot back and forth, her feet were closer in silhouette to human feet, or shoes to be specific. That ankle would be a bitch to clean.

“Yeah you may be right.”

The Star’s Embrace had several supply stores specializing in different things. These places offered basic items needed on a daily basis for free. Clothes, food, basic repair tools, bags, cleaning supplies. If it was essential, it was free. The store the two went into was run by a familiar face, with shoulder length orange hair and a top knot. Annabellea wore a colony jumpsuit with the top unzipped and an arm hanging out of one sleeve. The arm was covered in a winding tattoo of various snakes. Underneath the jumpsuit was a simple tank top.

The only reason this “store” had a shopkeep was to assist people with finding clothes that fit them properly, track inventory and, if needed, assist them with dressing. The store itself felt like something you would find in a shopping mall back on Earth. Clothing organized by size and cut.

“Good morning!” Anna greeted, “Anything I can help you find today?”

“Yeah, I need boots,” Amalgam replied. “Also I have never worn shoes before, so I might need help putting them on.”

“Of course ma’am, we have quite the selection and I’m sure we can find something that suits your needs.” Anna said in a professional manner. There was no hint of surprise or mockery at the mention that Amalgam had no experience in footwear. Like all the Anna sisters, she carried her job out with professionalism. 

In the end Amalgam got a pair of black waterproof leather boots, instead of laces the boots here tightened with zippers and several buckles. In the end Amalgam decided she didn’t want to have to deal with untied shoelaces in a tense situation.

The last stop Amalgam made was in her room to pick up her untested sleeping poison. Joyce wasn’t surprised to find the state of her room. Much like how she dressed in a disheveled manner, her room was also a mess. Somehow Amalgam knew exactly where the bottle she needed was and they were out of there in moments.

“You know, you may have more room for things if you organize your room…” Joyce started.

“Shut it! I just haven't cleaned it in a while. I’ve been busy.” Amalgam snapped, a slight blush creeping onto her face.