Chapter Text
In the barracks hall of Radgend city, countless Eldian soldiers were gathered, boosting their morale with the refreshments that had been provided.
Pieck let out a small smile. It had been a bit of an expense on her part, but it was worth it to see her fellow soldiers looking happy, and she had nothing else to really spend the money on anyway.
Two dark haired twins, Saul and Paul, stood near Gabi, and were already drunk, much to the young cadet's dismay.
Saul held up his glass. "Here's to Gabi! The hero of Eldia!"
Paul shouted. "Did you hear what she did? She risked her life for us by going up against the armored train!"
Saul shook his head, swaying slightly on the spot. "That was so reckless! So stupid! So brave!"
Paul grinned and thrust his fist in the air. "That fucking Beast Titan ended up killing most of our unit off anyway, but we won't forget what she did for us!"
Saul raised his glass again. "Here's to Gabi! The future holder of the Cart Titan!"
Saul and Paul then picked Gabi up and carried her through the crowd of soldiers, who had begun chanting her name.
"Gabi! Gabi! Gabi!"
Off to one side of the room, Colt and Falco watched the soldiers antics.
Colt smirked. "Heh, they're carrying her again."
Falco looked less amused. "Hmm."
He glanced up at his brother. "Aren't you going to have a drink?"
Colt shook his head. "Nah, you remember what happened last time, right? Besides, as the inheritor of the Armored Titan, I should set a better example."
Falco looked out the dark window behind them. "Speaking of which, do you know when Reiner is returning?"
Colt scratched his head. "I think Magath said that they would be gone for about a week, so four more days, give or take."
Several weeks had passed since the defeat at Fort Slava, and Marley's military had mobilized to counter the new threat presented by Paradis island and the Mid East Allied nations. After recapturing several of their ports and causing a lull in the war, the Mid East Allies appeared to have been engaging in trade with Paradis island to revitalize their economies and militaries. As attacking the island itself was not an option, Marley's only other recourse was to stop trade between the enemy nations as soon as possible. To that end, while their naval forces were being rebuilt, Marley had amassed its superior numbers and had gathered over 100,000 soldiers in the city of Radgend, which was fairly close to the border between Marley and the enemy nations. Once they had gathered enough supplies and weapons, they would mobilize their troops, and use their superior numbers to seize the enemy ports by force, starting with the closest one, Yilmaz.
It was a bold and risky move, and there would doubtless be many casualties. But it was the simplest and most straightforward strategy the military higher ups had come up with to end the war as quickly as possible. While Pieck was skeptical about their methods, she knew that they were right about the need to end the war as soon as possible.
Porco stood next to her, and was watching the twins with a scowl.
"Tch. Those two idiots. Reminds me why I stay away from alcohol."
Pieck raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You don't drink?"
Porco shook his head. "No. I've seen what it can do to people. Besides, I make enough dumb decisions when I'm sober."
"As I'm well aware." Pieck teased. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"
Porco smirked. "Oh, I have a few ideas. Why don't we discuss them in private?"
Pieck let out a sly grin, and the two of them left the barracks.
Falco watched them go. "Huh, looks like Ms. Pieck and Mr. Galliard are turning in early again."
Colt frowned. "Hmm."
Falco looked back at Gabi, who had finally been set down. "Brother, do you really think Gabi should inherit the Cart Titan?"
Colt patted Falco's shoulder. "Yes. Don't get me wrong, you're a hard worker, and a good warrior. But you're not quite on Gabi's level yet."
Colt smiled. "You'll get there though. Besides, this way you'll get to live longer."
Falco ducked his head. "I know. But she won't."
Pieck sat on the edge of Porco's bed, slowly stretching her arms into the air.
Porco sat back on the bed, a small smile on his face as he admired her nude form.
Shortly after the war had begun, the two of them had started a discreet relationship together. It wasn't romantic in nature, as neither of them would live long enough for such a thing to work out. It was more of a deep friendship, where they shared everything with each other, both on and off the battlefield.
Porco leaned back with a contented sigh. "That was nice."
Pieck smiled softly. "It certainly was."
She slowly stood up. "But we need to be up bright and early tomorrow."
She walked away and began to get dressed.
Porco shook his head. "You always take your duties so seriously."
Pieck smirked. "Somebody has to."
Porco shrugged. "Well, Reiner does."
Porco frowned, as if something was troubling him.
Pieck looked back at him. "Something wrong?"
Porco grimaced. "I've just been thinking...I always thought the Army had made a mistake when they made Reiner a Warrior, and I used to be convinced that if it had been me, the operation on the island would have succeeded. And...secretly I blamed him for...my brother's death."
Pieck remained silent, though she continued to get dressed.
Porco shook his head. "But...I can tell now that I was wrong. Reiner...he's done a good job. Hell, given what those...devils are capable of, I'm not sure I would have done much better if I had been in his place. And it was good to see his resolve, after we showed him that paper."
Pieck looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?"
Porco winced. "Well, if I'm being completely honest, some of the things the devils said in that paper...some of it seemed almost...genuine. So it was nice to see that Reiner was still able to stand up to their lies. After all, if anyone knows what's been going on behind the walls, it's him."
Pieck frowned as she finished dressing. "So you didn't see it."
Porco looked at her uncertainly. "See what?"
Pieck sat down on the edge of his bed. "Reiner...he was lying."
Porco's eyes widened. "What? What makes you think he was lying?"
Pieck grimaced. "His words didn't quite reach his eyes. It was pretty obvious that he was putting on a strong face for Gabi and Falco."
Porco tilted his head. "So...what are you saying? Are you questioning Reiner's loyalty?"
Pieck shook her head. "No. But I think the five years he spent on that island may have caused him to see through Marley's propaganda and see the islanders as people rather than devils."
Porco raised an eyebrow. "You think they aren't devils?"
Pieck sighed. "Honestly? I don't know. But you do realize that many Marleyans consider us to be devils, and we know that isn't true."
Porco silently nodded.
Pieck frowned grimly. "And the dear leaders who have told us that the people on that island are devils are the same ones who thought it was a great idea to leave the whole mission up to four children. So blindly trusting them isn't a good idea."
Porco looked at her carefully. "That almost sounds treasonous. I know you don't mean it that way, but you'd better be careful about who you tell these things to."
Pieck smiled softly. "I know, that's why I'm telling you."
Porco blushed slightly, though he kept his expression calm.
Pieck's smile faded. "It's just...I have a feeling that the war is going to get a lot messier. Marley has made too many enemies over the years, and now Paradis island and their allies have taken advantage of the situation."
Porco nodded. "Yeah. But they still can't match our numbers."
"True." Pieck shook her head. "Well, it's too late for this kind of discussion."
She stood up and walked to the door. "Good night Porco."
Porco scowled. "I've told you not to call me that."
Pieck smiled at him teasingly. "Sorry."
A few days later, Porco and Gabi were walking through the barracks. Most of the Eldian soldiers were off doing work or training exercises, but a few had the day off.
And as Porco and Gabi passed one of the rooms, they saw that two of the soldiers with the day off were Saul and Paul.
Saul raised a hand in greeting. "Hey, if it isn't our little hero."
Gabi smiled shyly. "Hi."
Saul pulled out a bottle he had stashed away. "Here, I've got a little extra beer from the other night. Want to give it a try?"
Paul shook his head disapprovingly. "You know you're not supposed to do that."
Saul waved his hand dismissively. "Oh lighten up, it's not a big deal."
Giving in to her curiosity, Gabi tried some, only to immediately grimace.
"Ugh! It's bitter!"
Saul laughed at her reaction, while Paul stepped away from his brother.
He looked at Porco apologetically. "Sorry about him. My brother can be a bit of an idiot."
Porco shrugged. "Yeah. My brother always had to keep an eye on me when we were kids. That was before…"
He trailed off.
Paul winced. "I'm...sorry for reminding you about that."
Porco forced a smile. "Oh, it's fine. He died in service to Marley."
Paul nodded. "Yeah. And now you're a Warrior just like he was. It must be pretty cool, being able to turn into a Titan."
Porco looked down at his hand. "Yeah, it is pretty cool."
"And becoming one of the nine is a great honor, but the 13 year limit is a bit of a drawback. I don't think I'd be able to do it."
Porco shrugged. "That's okay. Not everyone can, and you're still protecting our homeland in your own way."
"Yeah." Paul grinned. "Oh, by the way, Saul and me, we were recently recognized as honorary Marleyans for our bravery on the battlefield."
Porco clapped him on the shoulder. "Congratulations."
Paul nodded. "Yeah, our family is naturally thrilled."
He glanced back at Saul and Gabi. "I just hope this war lets us live long enough to see them again."
Porco frowned. "Well, once Commander Magath and Warchief Reiner return, I'm sure we'll be fine."
Among the soldiers who had the day off were Colt and Falco, and they had taken the opportunity to explore the city of Radgend. Much of it had been repurposed for use by the military, but there were still some civilian sections, with shops and houses and other normal buildings.
Pieck, however, was busy, investigating something that had been bothering her for the past few days.
She'd noticed that there had been a suspicious Marleyan soldier hanging around the Eldian barracks. They never directly interacted with the soldiers, and just simply observed them. This would make sense if they were one of the officers whose jobs was to keep an eye on the Eldian soldiers, but Pieck knew all of the officers, and this soldier was not one of them.
It was one of the things Pieck lamented about the unequal treatment of Eldian and Marleyan soldiers. The Eldian soldiers were closely scrutinized, and often subject to brutal punishments for fairly minor transgressions. But the Marleyan soldiers were usually overlooked, and treated much more leniently.
And it seemed that this particular soldier was taking advantage of this fact.
The soldier's odd behavior by itself wouldn't have made Pieck suspicious. But after noticing them multiple times, she realized that she had seen them somewhere before. And unless she was mistaken, the soldier was Yelena, a female soldier who had gone missing three years ago.
Unfortunately, she had no proof, and despite her high standing as a Warrior, she still wasn't treated with much respect by her superiors due to her Eldian blood, Magath being just about the only exception. If she wanted them to take her suspicions seriously, she needed evidence.
So when she noticed the soldier once again hanging around near the Eldian barracks, she decided to take a gamble.
As the soldier began to walk away, Pieck ducked into a nearby alley, took off her armband and tucked her hair underneath a hat. Without the armband, no one would look twice at her, and most likely assume she was a Marleyan soldier.
Her hasty disguise finished, she began tailing the suspicious soldier, and this led her away from the militarized section of the city and into one of the nearby civilian sectors.
Eventually the suspicious soldier entered the back door of a nightclub. During evenings and nights, Pieck knew that this building would be full of horny soldiers watching strippers put on a show for them. Most of the soldiers and strippers were Eldians, as it was one of the few opportunities they had to leave the internment zones and earn a decent living.
During the day, though, the establishment looked empty. After pausing for a moment, Pieck entered through the same door as the soldier, being careful to make as little noise as possible.
She made her way through the quiet building, and before long found the soldier, who was standing next to a radio.
The soldier spoke. "This is V1 speaking. Tell the war chief everything is in place. The horse is ready to be opened. Squads 1 through 4, stand by for the signal."
Pieck pulled out her gun and pointed it at the soldier, who immediately froze.
Pieck looked at them sternly. "May I ask what you're talking about?"
Author's Note: Be sure to review and let me know what you think. Or don't. Your choice. Though I would appreciate it.