ATTACK ON TITAN: 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 // an erwin smith fanfiction

chapter twenty-two /// hanji

The day after I send Armin Squad out to Wall Rose, I receive word that my proposal for the 59th Exterior Scouting Mission has been approved, and the regiment is cleared to leave the walls within the next two days. Shipments of supplies for the mission are already en route to HQ.

I send word to Levi and Armin that their two squads should return to the headquarters as quickly as possible. Almost impatiently, I realize that sending Armin's squad out there has definitely delayed the start of the mission by at least a couple of days, but there's nothing to be done about it now. I never thought that the proposal would be accepted so quickly.

It takes two days for the supply wagons to reach the HQ, followed quickly by the two squads from Wall Rose. With the entire regiment ready and raring to go, I call a meeting between all of the squad leaders to prep them the night before we're set to leave.

"All right, Mikasa, your squad is going to cover the left flank of enemy detection. Jean, yours will be on the right." I point to the respective boxes on the diagram of the formation I've tacked to the wall. "Maxwell, you're behind Mikasa Squad on cart duty. You should also assign four of your guys to act as relays between the command column and the squads on the right flank. I'll leave the judgement of 'who' up to you."

The burly man nods, his jaw set. I remember how inept of a leader he'd been in the formation practice run I'd observed during training, and trust he's grown since then.

"Armin, same instructions as Max, but you're going to be on the right flank, behind Jean Squad. And that leaves Ferrence Squad," I say, turning to the second new officer. "You guys will be at the very back, in charge of the last two wagons. You're only job is to follow my signals - and to keep anything from happening to those supplies."

Ferrence frowns at the diagram and shifts on his feet.

I keep myself from sighing. "Celebrate, man! You're the least likely to come into any trouble back there. Odds are, your entire squad will make it back alive."

I hear Levi snort out a laugh at my optimistic claim, but I ignore him and clap Max and Ferrence on the shoulders.

"Everyone's going to be just fine. Just listen to my orders and don't lose your heads, and we'll make it through." I keep my voice level and confident, although I need the assurance just as badly as my men. I've never directed an entire formation before; and in reality, the decisions each of these squad leaders will make will ultimately matter less than an anthill. The success of the regiment weighs solely on my shoulders, and the calls I'll make tomorrow.

I tell the officers to get some rest for the night, and after saluting me, they trundle off to bed. I hope they sleep well. I know I, for one, won't be catching a wink.

The morning of the mission dawns with a sense of nervous anticipation. When I wake, the air seems to quiver in my lungs as if charged with electricity. I lie in my bed for a moment, steeling myself for the long day ahead, and stare up at the paint cracking on the ceiling.

As soon as I step outside my room, I'm accosted by a flurry of soldiers equally as anxious as I am. I've never seen this many men up and awake so promptly for morning muster, even though we're not even getting a proper meal this morning: just a packet of wafers to eat on the go. Thanks to the prep meeting last night, the squad leaders are able to direct their squads into their assigned position with confidence, and we manage to pull out from the headquarters before the sun has fully risen in the sky.

Instead of heading straight south for the gate at Trost, the regiment heads first west, then north, setting a course for the Krolva district on the western side of Wall Rose.

My reasoning for this is twofold. First, most of the new recruits are fairly familiar with the terrain outside of Krolva, since they underwent that training exercise during their stint in the Training Corps. That should give them a greater chance of surviving. Instead of being green cadets in unfamiliar terrain, they have the advantage of knowing the territory, even if they've never ridden in a fully functioning long range scouting formation before.