Chapter 36: Wall Maria
Hanji sighs as she puts down her glasses and looks out of the window. The first rays of sun appear to tell her she had spend another night working through. Not that she minds. She is currently very busy sorting out every bit of information she got form Levi, Eren and the military applications of the 104th. She has picked out the two most likely to be like Eren. The most holes in their background story. They are in the top 10. She knows Eren has to hold back or is made to hold back but the other shifters have to do that too. Still, you can´t hide that you are physical advanced to humans. Someday it just hast to come out.
After graduation they need to take them out as fast as possible. Best way is one by one. The colossal titan is a danger to the wall itself but the armoured titan will be hart to fight against it. Both are just different from their ordinary titans. Hanji doubts their blades will do anything to them. She hadn't seen them in action and it makes her scream inside that he had missed it.
A knock on the door gets her attention and Erwin enters. He looks like he just came out of a poster catalogue for the perfection of wearing a uniform and looking all uptight soldier. She really misses the days of titan training with Eren and to annoy Levi until he wants to kill her.
"Good morning." Hanji greets the commandant.
"Have you worked out our first target?" She nods and gives over the file containing her report and the profile about the recruits he thinks are most likely the shifters.
"They are in the top ten and when Eren gets them to join we have a better chance of getting them away from everything." She offers, Hanji is feeling tired. A feeling she didn't have often. Whenever something gets her attention, her energy level rises and every thought of sleep or food vanish.
"After graduation we will take that on. We also need to train our new soldiers as soon as Eren and Levi are back. The others need a bit freshen up. Our last missions to clean out the walls didn't go as smoothly. We had to many injured to my liking." Erwin closes the file and looks at her.
"At least our casualties gone down since Levi found Eren. You can't denial it." She had seen them return. They were exhausted and many were hurt but the wall is free of titans again. It had only taken three years. The most difficult part was to be sure. The area is big and many titans were walking around aimlessly. The ones going to the wall, to the smell of humans were the easy ones.
"We need to act fast, who knows what the shifters will do when they hear that the wall is ready to get resettle again. We can´t let them open the gate again or destroying the wall in a way we wouldn't be able to fix it again." She still sees the hole in the wall as they returned from their first successful and longest expedition they ever had. Three years ago and sometimes she feels like the one that comes from outside. The one wanting to go out again. Being outside and seeing all the new things, seeing the titans walk around it is the most beautiful thing.
"Can we get me a few titans on our next real expedition outside." She needed to ask, she hadn't done it in months and there is no way she lets Erwin forget that he had promised her some titans. They weren't able to catch one alive of the one inside. Maybe she will get one with Eren´s help when the whole shifter thing and the threat of humanities downfall is gone. When they go out to explore and find out where titans come from and if they do to destroy the source to finally be free. Before that she needs the titans, she wants to study them. She has so many plans what to do with them.
"I haven't forgotten, no worries." Erwin sighs, takes the report under his arm and turns around to leave. "You should get some sleep. I will go to find our new recruits today and when we return there will be much to do for all of us." He leaves and Hanji decides that she really could use some sleep. Maybe she will dream about a new experiment she can do with Eren, one Levi wouldn't object against it.