A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

At the Reiss Chapel

Hours earlier...

Nile Dok had given up counting the amount of times he's been left in the dark.

"So the official word is.. the Military Police used a newly-developed maneuvering gear and battled with the remnants of the Scouts. Captain Levi, known as Humanity's Strongest Soldier, and Sergeant Major Isanna Herrmann instigated a planned attack at Trost District and at the capital prison ward respectively, both of whom were able to escape, and both sides suffered casualties in the skirmish. Is this okay, Commander Dok?"

Nile palmed his face, feeling the frustration bubbling inside. "No. I need you to wait."

Herrmann.. and Levi, even until now, you two are the largest thorns in my ass. Walls, what do they teach their soldiers in the Scouts?

Currently, he was out on Trost with a squad, cleaning up the corpses from the battle between the remaining Scouts and some 'MPs'. He'd already dispatched a separate squad to clean up the mess at the capital. Naturally, journalists and curious on-lookers were crowding the streets, the former flocking towards Nile to get details to write for their papers.

Nile had zero knowledge on any of this, and yet the higher-ups expected him to keep public curiosity in check.

"We don't fully know what happened either," he admitted to the two journalists in front of him, Roy, and a much younger member, Peaure.

"So.. does that mean the Interior squad did this? So it's true that they operate independently from the regular Military Police Brigade," Peaure confirmed with enthusiasm a typical journalist would have and began jotting it down on his notepad.

But his superior, Roy, snatched his notepad. "Hey, stop it." He turned to Nile. "Sorry, Commander. We won't mention anything about the Interior squad. This kid's still a cub—he doesn't understand how things work inside this wall."

Suppressing a sigh, Nile turned away. "I appreciate it, Roy." He paused. "Keep anything about the new equipment out of the story, too. Just wait until they come out with their own report." I can't believe they really made those things..

With a dismissive wave, Nile walked away from the scene to get a clear mind on the recent events.

Coincidentally, he'd been in Trost when the skirmish between Levi and the 'MPs' happened, because he was handling Erwin's arrest at the time. He got a close-up of the maneuvering gear that had been used by the 'MPs' when he saw them flying above the roofs.

He thought it was strange. He'd seen the Interior squad before, and he was certain they weren't that adept at combat. It led him to the realization that there was another hidden division of the Interior MP that specialized solely in combat, and not just ordinary combat, but combat against the Survey Corps.

The equipment those guys had were not the typical vertical maneuvering equipment, because instead of blades, they had guns. Guns had been proven to be ineffective against titans, but with equipment like that, it could prove fatal against humans.

It's like.. they were specifically designed to take down the Survey Corps.

Nile deeply frowned. He recalled his conversation with Erwin the other day.

"Just because you carry out orders given to you doesn't mean you'll be protecting your family. Soon, each of us will have to make a choice, including you."

The authorities kept the new equipment and the existence of those soldiers a secret even from the regular Military Police brigade. That meant that it was completely possible..