Author's note: My plan is to do these every 2 weeks but I was so pumped that I finished this one in a week. If people think it could do with improvement I'll revise it. Otherwise enjoy.

Chapter 2

Jasper kept the trainees drilling for the better part of 3 hours to ensure they knew their roles. He'd had them rotate their duties several times to combat boredom. Unfortunately, it came down to threats and insults a few times to keep them motivated. Erika certainly knew the procedure but she lacked any natural talent.

"I wonder what her specialty is" Jasper thought to himself.

He'd taken the time to talk to Elsa and Marvin about the trainees and learned that Erika was currently ranked twelfth out of the legion. From the trainees that Jasper had seen, which was roughly a third of them, there was not much drive to be the best.

"They probably just want a stable job to help their families" Marvin suggested.

"Or they know that they don't have a chance so why bother" Elsa added.

Whatever the case, the trainees had been working on cannonading for long enough. It was time for them to return to the barracks for lunch.

"Alright everyone, that's enough for today!" Jasper called. There were a few groans of gratitude but most knew by now to show respect. "Return to the barracks for lunch. All except you three" said Jasper pointing to Erika, Fredrik and another girl. "You'll be helping to put away the equipment"

Fredrik had groaned but Erika and the other girl just accepted it. Elsa and Marvin had led the trainees back to the barracks while Jasper put the trio to work. Erika showed eagerness in her work, almost as if she expected to learn some trick about cannons. Fredrik complained about his stomach while he clumsily stacked cannonballs. The other girl kept to her work as though it was an everyday occurrence. Jasper considered her for a moment. She was roughly sixteen years old with midnight black hair that she kept in a braid which hung to her waist. Her eyes were an icy blue that sent shivers down Jasper's spine. Yet in those eyes he saw someone who'd been to hell and back; someone who'd seen a Titan attack.

"Trainee?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir?" she replied flatly.

"What's your name?"

"It's Luna, Luna Abendroth, Sir"

"That's a beautiful name, named after the moon and dusk. Tell me, where are you from?"

"I'm from a small village inside Wall Maria" She answered with what Jasper thought was a hateful stare.

"Believe it or not, I am also from a village that was inside Wall Maria"

Luna seemed to relax for a moment while Fredrik and Erika had stopped working to watch the exchange. Neither had considered that he was from outside Wall Rose. Both were struck with a renewed respect for Jasper and what he had experienced.

"W-with all due respect, Sir, what happened to your village?" Erika asked.

"First, you three are technically off duty and it's becoming annoying so just call Jasper from now on. Second, there's not much to tell honestly. Titans showed up without warning and my village burned. To my knowledge I'm the only one who made it out alive. Personally, I would have rather stayed and died, but with my family dead I was compelled to avenge them. You three will never speak of this again. All that matters is that you fight and remember why you do so."

The trainees just stood there dumbfounded. Here was a man who had been through hell and emerged a soldier of humanity. Fredrik looked like he was about to pass out, Erika looked like she'd just disturbed a hornet's nest, and Luna looked like she'd finally found someone who understands.

"Let's get this gear packed up and we'll get some lunch" Jasper said. "The next shift should be here soon enough. How long has it been since you have had meat to eat?"

Fredrik's face lit up like a bonfire. "Y-you mean you'll give us officer's rations?"

"Why not? You all worked hard and stayed late to clean up."

"How would you get them?" Erika asked.

"Fritz owes me a favour or two"

With that they set to work with a renewed vigor. It had been almost five years since any of them had smelled let alone tasted meat. They finished cleaning up and the relief shift arrived to take Jasper's post. The trio of guards were less experienced than Jasper, but they all knew what they were doing. Jasper led the trio of trainees back to the barracks.

When they arrived Jasper led them to one of the storage sheds and said "Wait here, I'll be back soon"

Jasper headed off towards the officers' quarters wondering which favour he was going to call in. Maybe the time Fritz was hung over and needed Jasper to cover his shift? No too small a favour to trade for three officer's rations. Jasper settled on the time Fritz needed him to repay his gambling debts. It had been a large debt but fortunately Fritz quit gambling after that close call. Arriving at the officers' quarters Jasper found Fritz finishing his lunch.

"Hello Fritz, I need a favour" Jasper said.

"What kind of favour are we talking about here? Is this about the hangover or the gambling?" Fritz asked in a hushed voice.

"The gambling; I need three officer's rations of bread, bratwurst, and milk"

"You've got to be kidding me! You know they're already looking for whoever's been stealing the milk already. I'll get you one serving of milk. Give it to your favorite. That Erika girl perhaps" He said with a sly smile. "I've seen the way you watch her".

"It's nothing like that" Jasper said sternly "these three stayed late to clean up and they were some of the hardest workers in the drill today. Besides, you know Becker isn't my type".

"Yeah, by the way Michelle's been looking for you. Did last week's date work out?"

"It's… complicated" Jasper said. "Just get those rations and that's one less favour you owe me".

"Fine, get yourself those rations, but only get one bottle of milk."

"Fair enough, thanks Fritz"

"Anytime Jasper"

With that Jasper made for the officers' kitchen. The cook knew him well enough to leave him alone and to cover for him if things went bad. Jasper had that way with people; they just wanted to help him because he would help them in turn. Jasper grabbed the food, including something for him, and returned to the trainees.

"Here ya go" he said handing over the bread and bratwurst. "I could only get one bottle of milk since there have been some thefts recently"

Luna made an attempt to avoid eye contact but Jasper could tell she was hiding something.

"I'll ask her about this again later" he thought handing her the milk. "Something tells me you need this the most" he whispered.

"T-thanks, Sir" she replied

"Let's dig in then" Jasper said fishing his food out. It was a freshly baked potato that was cooked to a golden brown.

"Tell me, why'd you all decide to join the military?" Jasper asked making conversation.

"Well I joined to become a member of the Military Police, but after what you said on the wall I'm having second thoughts" Fredrik replied through a mouthful of bread.

"I wanted to join the Stationary Guard to help my family maintain themselves" Erika said "my family is made of bakers but we've been having trouble with the shortage of supplies and money". She looked at her feet as she finished.

"Admirable goals but it'll take a lot to achieve them. Especially with only a few days until final evaluations" Jasper replied with a nod. "What about you, Luna?"

"I joined because I had no other way to survive. No family, no skills I could sell, and nowhere else to go. This gives me a home and three meals a day. What else is there?"

"There's friendship and family, even if you don't realise it" Jasper answered. "With nowhere else to go, you'll find people just like you who need a purpose. I've walked that road and while it seems empty at the start, you'll find people along the way".

Luna wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at Jasper. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so. You found me didn't you?"

"So what? Are you our 'big brother' now?" Fredrik asked.

"I guess I am" Jasper answered.

The group shared a laugh, but they were cut short by a crash of lightning and a loud boom.

"What was that?" Ekira asked.

"It came from the merchant district!" Fredrik said.

"It's just like Shiganshima and Trost" Jasper said in a cold tone.

"What do you mean, Jasper?" Luna asked.

"Reports stated that before the Colossal Titan appeared there was a crash of lightning and a clap of thunder"

As if on cue several red smoke flares were launched from across the wall and the city. Jasper grabbed his flare gun from his belt.

"They've got it all wrong. This isn't a regular titan; it's a deviant!" Jasper shouted loading a black smoke round. "We need to take it down before it does anything" he said launching his flare. "To Battle!" he cried breaking into a sprint towards the merchant district.

With only a moment's hesitation Luna chased after him, followed closely by Erika and Fredrik.

End of chapter 2