-Chapter 29: The Commander's Tale-

It was the late summer inside the Walls. Days had passed since their grand expedition, and the Scout Regiment continued in their tasks and trainings in preparation for the next trip to the outside world, minus one squad. While others trained with their ODM gear or worked to improve their physiques one certain squad was currently testing out their latest contraption on one of the many titans that they had procured and restrained inside Wall Maria.

That squad of course being Delta. For whom else in the regiment would have the courage, and/or lack of self-preservation to utilize humanities enemy as giant guinea pigs for whatever experiments came to their leaders head.

Today the squad had completed the construction of Moblit's design for a titan restraining weapon, or TRW for short. Now they were simply trying it out on one of their many titans couped up inside the ranch.

-oOo-

Titan Ranch, inside Wall Maria's interior

"UUUUAAGAGAGAGA!" Shrieked Excellus, one of the many titan test subjects, as he was in the process of being branded by the Slayer. The man in question held no sympathy for the wailing beast, as it tried fruitlessly to shake him off, only for Maverick to press his hand down with greater force.

The rest of Delta, as well as the guards of the ranch watched with shock and bewilderment as steam emitted from the titans forehead, followed by a bright blue light enveloping the titans eyes. In seconds the titan immediately ceased its cries and lowered its head, showing it's new hand shaped marking singed into its forehead.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's still freaky as all hell." One guard muttered, looking at the other titans, who had all been branded and were currently sitting with their backs straight, eyes forwards, and awaiting orders from their new master.

"Meh, if this means we don't have to worry about these things biting our heads off, then its all good to me." His fellow replied. Though he wished that it would happen sooner he felt critiquing the demigod wasn't the best idea, especially in the vicinity of the squad leader.

"Are we set Mav?" Shouted Hange, waving her hands wildly. Maverick stepped back from Excellus and gave a thumbs up to her delight and excitement.

"You ready boys?" She asked, turning to the rest of the squad who were pushing the three stacked and barrel shaped weapon into position. With a thumbs up they confirmed they too were ready. "Alright! Send him out!"

With the assistance of the guards the titan's restraints were lifted, allowing it some momentary freedom. "RISE." Maverick ordered. The titan obeyed and began to stand up as the guards backed away quickly, with looks of surprise forming as the pudgy titan showed absolutely no interest in them.

"ADVANCE, SLOWLY." He ordered again, pointing in the direction of the squad. Excellus turned his head and began to approach his target, all with a dopey grin and glowing eyes. Some in the squad looked a bit nervous as the sight of a glowing eyed titan was a far cry from that of their large companion. Hange meanwhile was barely holding in her excitement.

"*Giggle* That's right a little closer…" With a hand on the string she shook in anticipation, as the tian continued its slow but steady waddle. Just as it was closing in…

"FIRE!"

Pulling the activation string the inner mechanisms of the TRW came to life. With an explosive discharge the weapon fired out eighteen arrowheads from its barrels, all aimed at the titan. The giant surprisingly reacted little as it's stomach was impaled, though it did stagger and stop its advance.

The squad leader was about to celebrate, only for the TRW to begin to shake and make odd noises, causing everyone to back away. The situation only escalated as a few of the wires connecting the arrowheads suddenly snapped off.

Knowing what was about to happen Maverick quickly shouted and waved for his teammates to duck and cover.

"GET DOWN, COVER YOUR EARS, AND OPEN YOUR MOUTHS!"

Falling onto the ground the squad was able to perform Maverick's odd sounding request, seconds before the restraining weapon exploded, sending bits and pieces flying in all directions.

Hange slowly raised her head to see the remains of their weapon, as well as Excellus slowly beginning to get back up. Bits of shrapnel had been lodged in the titan's body, but it didn't seem to cause a reaction as it began to move towards them one more.

"STAY PUT!" Came a shout from the Slayer, and the tian immediately obeyed, ceasing any and all movements. Rushing past the beast Maverick made way to his squad mates, a concerned look plastered on his face.

"Who's hurt?!" He asked in a panicked tone as he rushed to his squad mates who had begun to get back up.

"*Cough* *Cough* W-Were fine Mav." Hange reassured. With a helping hand she was able to get back on her own feet, while Maverick went about to help everyone else. She soon turned and made her way to the now smoking remains of the TRW they worked days and nights to make.

"Guess we still got some things to tweak out."

Meanwhile Maverick had helped his comrades up and was inspecting them for any remaining injuries sustained.

"You sure you're okay? Any cuts?" He asked Moblit, who shook his head. "Anyone?" A similar response came from the others, causing the giant to let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank the Nine…"

After thanking one of many pantheons, Maverick and the others reconvened near the wrecked weapon and tried to think of anything that may have caused it to go haywire.

"*Sigh* Just what went wrong." Harold wondered glancing at the remains of the gun barrels.

"Maybe we put too much powder?" Abel theorized, looking at the mechanisms that stored said powder, at least, what was left of it.

"A dysfunctional piece, perhaps?" Rashad added, picking up a chipped gear.

"Nah, maybe something inside got loose on the ride here." Keiji said, kicking one of the wheels that was used to transport the weapon.

All the while Hange remained silent as she took their theories in consideration, yet she found herself struggling to pinpoint the possible mistake in their design. They had made sure that the weapon was secure, inspecting every piece utilized in its construction for quality insurance. As well as using a minimal amount of powder, at Moblit's request.

Or perhaps the mechanisms inside couldn't handle the combined force of the weapons discharge. Or maybe it was simply one of those moments of bad luck, maybe Fortuna or Ranald weren't smiling down on them at the moment.

"Well we won't know until we get it back in the shop." She eventually said, with the others agreeing. They soon began to gather up any remaining pieces they could find and prepare to haul their latest test back to their workshop. "Mav, Excelles."

"What about him?" He responded with an uncaring tone. Hange simply pointed at him showing he was still standing about, as a few birds were perched atop his head. "Oh, right." He cleared his throat and gave him a final command

"RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL SPOT!" Like before the titan followed its order and turned back to its previous, falling onto its bum as it allowed itself to be restrained once more, offering no resistance whatsoever. With that settled the squad began to gather up any pieces from the TRW that they could find and get them back into the carriage they used to arrive at the ranch.

"Huh isn't that something." Keiji muttered, watching as the guards re-attached the wires and nails. "Say Sir, why didn't you do this before?"

A humored scoff escaped Maverick's lips, as his junior asked a very dam good question. "Well Keiji, I've been meaning to this since the expedition." His eyes then shifted to Hange, unbeknownst to anyone. "But a certain someone didn't want me to, said they wanted these blighters to be in their most natural forms."

Immediately everyone turned to the squad leader who looked insulted at their unamused faces. "H-Hey, you say it like it's a bad thing Mav!" She got no response as they all continued to give her a variety of judgmental looks as they departed back to their headquarters.

-oOo-

Hours later…

The commander had caught wind of the incident regarding Hange's squad and saw fit to see them inside their workshop and see if everything was all right, only to find it empty. He quickly figured out they were at their other location. So grabbing his mare he made haste towards the home of their resident demigod, the old Sout Headquarters, now re-christened as Slayer's Keep.

Arriving at his destination he took a moment to gander at the old castle, noticing the now repaired or replaced windows and blinds, the cleaned stone towers, and the lack of vegetation and vines that was previously there. Seemed that the new owner had been busy during his off time.

Making his way through the front entrance he once again slowed to take notice of the castles' interior. While there were still some old crates and barrels strewn about it was clear the castle had gone through a serious clean up. From the floor to the paintings on the wall, everything had been made spick and span.

He also took a moment to notice the new banners displayed, showing the symbol of a morning star. Chuckling he continued to make his way deeper into the keep, as the sounds of metalworking soon led him to the entrance of the marked man's workshop, which had once been the smithy of the scouts of old.

Slowly opening the door he took a peek inside, allowing himself a chance to see the squad in their natural habitat. His eyes widened at the sight of the squad gathered around the remains of their latest creation, picking it apart and inspecting said pieces.

He also took notice of the many drawings and sketches that adorned the walls, each with a picture of what he assumed to be the destroyed weapon. But what surprised him more was the sight of an old cannon in the corner of the room.

Just what exactly were they doing? For he couldn't recall ever giving them the go ahead on additional weaponry. Straightening himself out he slowly opened the door, as to not disturb them from their delicate work.

"Hard at work Delta?" He was met with the surprised looks from nearly everyone from the squad, minus Maverick who gave him a wave.

"Oh Erwin! What brings you to our little heaven?" Hange said, offering a salute.

"Heard about your latest field test." He eyed the ruined contraption in the back to which Hange chuckled and scratched the back of her head in response.

"Heh, Heh, yeah… But it's to be expected, can't always get it right the first time." She recalled a few other experiments in the past that had fallen flat at the first go, it served to only inspire her to keep at it until she perfected her craft.

"Better we work the kinks out now than out there in the field. Rather not lose more friends to flying shrapnel." Maverick suddenly added. The commander gave a questioning glance but didn't see fit to inquire further.

"And if we get this right then we can move to the heavy stuff!" Hange exclaimed. Erwin raised a bushy brow as her tone, for she sounded as if the was a sure thing.

"Heavy stuff?" He repeated, looking back at the cannon in the corner of the workshop, making everyone else look back at it as well.

"Just something for the future." Maverick spoke, meeting the commanders gaze. An uncomfortable silence formed as the two continued their impromptu staring contest before the commander spoke again.

"I see…well, I'll let you all get back to it then." That was al he said as he made his way out of the room, leaving the squad perplexed. Though they soon returned to their work with the belief that the commander had given them the ok to continue, but both Hange and Moblit looked to their giant comrade with slightly concerned looks. All he could do was offer a calm expression and a small smile, assuring them that everything would work out.

-oOo-

The following day…

Maverick had just enjoyed a meal with his squad mates, only to be stopped by the commander as they were about to make their way back to Slayer's Keep and continue their work on the TRW.

"Maverick, a word please." Erwin said standing near the Mess Hall's main doorway. Without a response he turned and began to walk towards their headquarters' main building, leaving Delta confused, minus the man in question. Letting out a resigned breath Maverick was about to follow suit, but not before reassuring his squad once more.

As they split off, he gave a small thumbs up which was reciprocated, with his squad leader mouthing a "good luck" before she turned to lead the others to their HDQ's main entrance.

Catching up with the commander the two stayed silent as they went inside and traversed the main building's many hallways, all the way to Erwin's office. He gestured for Maverick to enter first. Mindful of the doorframe he stepped inside, knowing what this was all about.

"I take it this is not a discussion about my uniform proposals?"

His jest wasn't reciprocated as Erwin looked out into the hallway, before closing and locking the door. Releasing a sigh he turned to the man with an unamused look.

"Maverick, where did you get that cannon?" He said, getting straight to business. Maverick dropped the lighthearted tone and responded with equal coldness.

"A gift from members of the Garrison. Instead of scrapping it they brought it to me, figured it would be useful in the future."

"For what purpose?" He asked. Scratch that, more like demanded, as he stepped closer into the large man's personal space.

"Been meaning to add some raged weaponry into my personal arsenal." Erwin's brows raised in confusion. The man had the strength to kill titans with his bare hands, his other weapons were often times just accessories he carried around, why would he want more?

"And you want an obsolete cannon as your choice?" His question caused a snide chuckle to escape Maverick's lips.

"When I'm done fixing it up, its gonna pack a hell of a more punch, believe me." He sounded so sure of this, as if it was an inevitable outcome. It did nothing but make the commander very much uneasy.

"Do I have to remind you about what we discussed barely a few days ago?"

Erwin suddenly felt a chill run down his back, as Maverick's head quickly turned to face him with an audible crack, his brows furrowed and eyes burning like balefire.

"No, you don't." He replied, the volume in his voice rising before quickly lowering once more to a near whisper. "But you and I both know we can't grow stagnant with our tech." He leaned forward, getting closer to the commander's face. "Innovation is the future Erwin, it's how our ancestors survived and thrived, from the creation of fire to the world wide web."

Erwin didn't respond but the slight flinch in his eyes was all Maverick needed to know he was in agreement. With that he continued to make his point.

"Take the ODM gear for example." He explained, raising one finger. "If it wasn't for that, you'd all still be trying to nick and slice their legs. Fruitlessly." He looked around and noticed a framed picture of a group of soldiers gathered around a certain piece of artillery.

"Example two, cannons." He raised his hand almost immediately, as Erwin was about to raise a counter point. "Now I know their accuracy isn't the best, but it's something that's given you all a fighting chance. Not to mention the new ones we got atop the wall." He slowly began to get in Smiths' personal space as he listed off the cannons many additions.

"Downward mechanics? High Ex? Grapeshot? The rail system?" He closed in on the commander once again, causing Erwin to take a few steps back.

"That's innovation by its definition!" His sudden raised voice startled the commander a bit. Maverick backed up once more to give the commander some space while he continued on his tirade.

"Won't be long till we see howitzers on the field. Or maybe we should start with multi barrels…" He scratched his beard as he pondered about the possible future advancements in their arsenal, until the commander brought him back from his thoughts.

"You're forgetting that those advancements were approved by the central government." Maverick cliqued his tongue as the commander tried his best to break the situation to his large comrade. "What your proposing is far more advanced than what they're prepared to allow."

Now it was Erwin's turn to step into the goliath's space as he stared him down with a furrowed brow and sharp eyes.

"They'll see this as a challenge, and they will act accordingly."

The commander and the marked man were once again staring down one another, neither of the two seeming to back down. On one hand Erwin had a point, should Maverick continue in this pursuit then those in power in these Walls would clamp down on him and try their damnedest to stop him. But on the other, Maverick had dealt with threats far larger than some disgruntled nobles high atop their ivory towers.

Eventually Erwin seemed to give in as his features softened as well as his tone, as he didn't wish to start a heated argument with the demigod.

"Maverick, I would love nothing more than give you the go ahead, believe me, but there's another way to go about this, this is not something we can simply rush into headfirst." He said, as he moved towards his desk, his eyes shifting to the framed photo sitting on said desk.

"You might be prepared to face them, but I have to consider not only the lives and safety of the men under my command, but their families as well."

Silence filled the room for a few moments as Erwin stared into the picture, leaving Maverick to his thoughts. There was only one clear explanation for the commanders' hesitance, though a part of wish wished it wasn't.

Someday he hoped there would be a lifetime where he wouldn't have to deal with situations like this, but that was serious wishful thinking. Letting out a resigned breath he asked the commander the big question.

"Smith. What's the government up to?" Erwin's eyes turned to Maverick to show a look of hesitation before turning back to the photo.

"What's really going on inside these walls?" He asked with a softer tone. Seconds passed as the commanders face soon hardened, as if finally coming to some sort of resolution. Whispering something to the photo he set it down before closing the blinds to the windows of this office, as well as placing his ears to the walls, making sure no one was listening in.

Once he was certain the were completely alone he faced the marked man, his eyes once again narrowing into his.

"Maverick, what I'm about to tell you stays in this room, understand?" He began to close in on the large man, his tone expressing nothing but absolute seriousness. " You cannot tell this to Hange, Moblit, your squad mates, or anyone else."

He received a firm nod in response, which was more than enough for the commander as he started to divulge everything he'd kept locked away in his mind for so long.

"First, let me ask you Maverick…." He began.

"Do you believe in the history of these Walls? Of how we got here?" Maverick took a moment to recall all that he'd heard and known about this lands main religion. From the texts and preaching's of the pastors in their highly decorated churches, to the ravings and litanies of the average street zealots.

"Not really." He replied with a shrug. "The Wallist say they were a gift from God, to provide you all with protection. Last year's attack proved them wrong."

Now, besides some few exceptions, Maverick was never one to outright insult other's beliefs. But usually when the icon of a faith is shown to fail their followers, well…it's never a pretty sight.

Yet he was very much surprised to see the Cult of the Wall still around. Of course, he had seen a few renounce their belief, but he expected far more to happen, such as everything concerning the Walls divinity to be thrown out, graffiti painted across the Walls, or the faithful being beaten on the streets and generally ostracized.

But no, life just seemed to go on. Besides the ostracization, he was definitely sure that every Wallist in Maria had either chose to flee to the other Walls or were kicked out.

Clearly something was going on behind the scenes, or the Cult of the Wall would have collapsed long ago. Which brought him to another critique of their beliefs.

"What I don't especially buy is that you're all the last of this worlds humanity." Erwin raised a brow at his comrade's declaration, to which he explained further with a smirk on his face.

"If there's one thing I've learned about our species Erwin, is that were tenacious as all hell. Really hard to kill off, like roaches or the flu." He chuckled at his own jest.

"Regardless of whatever situation we find ourselves in we've somehow always been able to learn, adapt, and overcome the odds." Memories of valiant fighters and stubborn survivors flooded his mind.

"I don't doubt for a second that there are others out there. I'm sure plenty were able to escape and repopulate, maybe living inside their own Walls, or in other continents. Don't think the giants are smart enough to swim….unless were in Pangea situation." He muttered the last part, yet the commander was still able to hear.

"Pan-gea?" Erwin worded out. Yet another foreign word of Maverick's extensive vocabulary.

"A supercontinent." He explained. "Eventually broke apart and formed the smaller continents of my home planet. Plenty of other worlds I've gone to have had similar origins." Erwin was certainly intrigued, but didn't get to ponder much on the topic as his comrade quickly moved on.

"But back on topic. Guessing by your question, this whole "last of humanity" spiel is a bunch of crock they've spun to keep everyone in line...and they have a knack for silencing those who say otherwise."

He'd hit the nail on the head. Honestly he shouldn't be so surprised what with all he had gone through before arriving to this world.

Perhaps he should fill him in on the true plight of the people of this land. He'd told them many tales of his long-lived life, suppose now it was time to tell him one of his own. Sighing he nodded and prepared to tell his tale.

"I happened during my youth, while learning history with my father…." Erwin turned the picture frame towards Maverick, revealing the drawing of a man who looked very similar to the commander, much older, with glasses, but definitely similar.

"He was a teacher, taught all the children in my home region the basics and the bare necessities of life." Erwin continued as a nostalgic look formed on his face, as memories of his childhood filled his mind.

"One day we were studying history, how our species was nearly wiped out, and how we fled to these three great walls. It's something every child learns at a young age." His bushy brows suddenly furrowed as his eyes shifted back to Maverick.

"But you know what we don't learn? Our ancient history. Never in our classes did we ever discuss how it was like back then, before we fled, before the titans." He let that sink in for a few moments before continuing.

"You'd think that knowledge wouldn't be lost so easily." His voice suddenly began to rise. "It be something our ancestors would record and hold onto, to cherish and protect, pass it down to the next generation, to give their children the knowledge of the old world." Realizing he wasn't using his indoor voice anymore Erwin quickly coughed into his hand and calmed himself down.

"You agree right?" He received an immediate nod in response.

"Of course. Plus I've had my own suspicions for a while now." Leaning on the wall Maverick elaborated. "Remember a while back when Hange asked me about how I made Skullsmite. When I talked about using lava from volcanoes she had no clue what they were."

He could still remember the look of utter confusion on both her and Moblits' faces. Out of everyone in the regiment they should have been the most knowledgeable about such topics, at least Hange should have, considering the woman's near zealous passion for research.

"Also looked into a lot of the books she had. Like you said, none one of them had a single mention of a time before the Walls." Erwin nodded as he went on.

"Not to mention whenever I talk about my past adventures to everyone, you all have this look of utter bewilderment whenever I talk about stuff like a desert or a gun that fires multiple rounds."

"Well in our defense Maverick, a weapon such as that is quite surprising."

"But it's something you all should have already been concepting." He argued. "You'd think the military would have a division committed to that." A humorless chuckled escaped his lips the moment he said that.

"I'm guessing the bigwigs have something to do with that." Erwin gave another nod, pretty much answering his question, not like they were talking about a wall-wide government conspiracy for the last couple of minutes.

"Now then where was I?" He asked, trying to remember where he left off in his tale.

"You said you noticed your father never taught you about your ancient history." He snapped his fingers thanking the large man.

"Right, right…" Getting back into his groove he resumed his story.

"When I began to wonder I questioned my father about it that day, how do we know that there aren't any humans outside the Walls?" A sigh escaped as he turned to the window behind his desk.

"He dismissed it and returned to our lesson. But when we returned home he answered…and what he told me changed everything." Turning back he walked closer to his comrade, as what he was about to tell was not something so easily discussed at a distance.

"He said that the history texts distributed by the government were full of mysteries and contradictions." He near whispered. "Even if humanity had lost all documentations and records of the old world the first generation would no doubt still be able to teach their history to their children, and their children's children."

"Know plenty of tribes that pass their stories and history down through oral traditions and artifacts. Shared plenty myself…" Maverick remarked.

"Exactly! It would be next to impossible to simply forget everything our people have ever learned, much less stop speaking about the outside world!" Once again he had to calm himself as his voice began to rise, but he couldn't help himself to get excited. Maverick was no stranger to government conspiracies and felt he could truly open up in regard to this situation.

"Anyway, my father had a theory about why our history had seemingly been forgotten, and what he said was truly astonishing…" Preparing himself he spoke in a clear and sharp tone.

"107 years ago, the people who escaped these walls had their memories altered so the king could control them better."

Maverick's brows raised with some interest. While not the wildest theory he's ever heard, it was certainly pretty high up on his list, next to the use of memory erasing water on the human populace and of course the idea of an alien species running the world's governments and institutions. Both of which had been proven true in many a lifetime.

"Well….that's one way to get people to forget." He muttered. "But still, at some point people are gonna start to wonder what's out there."

"Indeed…" Maverick noticed the commanders immediate tone shift as he turned around to stare at the closed window behind his desk. As the memories of those days in his youth began to rear their ugly heads.

"I lacked the knowledge to know why he never spoke about it in class, so in my…idiocy, I began to tell it to all the children in town." He could see an image forming in his mind, of a young Erwin Smith yapping his mouth off alongside two other children. He stared at the back of his younger self's head, as the boy continued to speak. Oh how he wished he could stop him from speaking, but alas this was only a memory of the past, and a reminder of his sins.

"Until the local MP's asked me about it…" He saw the two approach the boys, calmy and politely asking him from whom did he hear such a wild tale. His hand formed a fist as he saw the faces of those two officers, their fake smiles plastered and rehearsed pleasantries. Made him wonder how many times they had done this before.

Maverick remained in his spot, watching as the commander told his story, his back turned to him. He knew the direction this story was going, for it was a story he had heard from many a friend and acquaintance throughout his many lives.

"On that day…my father never returned. Killed in a carriage accident in the next town they said." He scoffed.

The scene before him changed once again. Of him in a black suit, looking over the grave of his father, the man who had spent the last of his years raising him, teaching him, loving him. He tried to place his hand over the gravestone, only to pass through, like rippling water.

"But I know better…"

The commander turned his head, showing a rather flat expression on his face, but his tone failed to hide the grief and anger.

"It was the crown that killed my father."

Silence filled the room before a sigh left Maverick's lips. He had a strong feeling this matter was personal to the commander throughout their talk, this revelation cementing it. He slowly approached and offered the commander a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"My condolences, for what it's worth." Erwin gave him a somber but thankful smile, for that was more than what anyone had offered at his father's reception.

"Thank you, but do you understand my point Maverick? If they killed my father for simply theorizing, then what will they do once they get word that your building advanced weaponry?" Maverick's quick response was not quite comforting to the commander, for he had long since made up his mind, despite the concerns.

"They're going to do nothing, that's what."

"Maverick!" Erwin exclaimed. He'd known Maverick long enough to know he was gun-ho on a lot of situations, but this was borderline suicidal. Perhaps he would actually have to pull rank on him, for the sake of the regiment. Before he could act though a risen hand stopped him, as the demigod had more to say.

"Erwin. If I were to die, right now, what do think will happen?" He questioned. Erwin took pause and pondered a little. The thought of their comrade dying wasn't a pleasant thought,

"Well, many would be distraught." He responded, idly scratching his chin as he listed off some examples. "The scouts of course, the people of Maria, your following..." A smile began to form on Maverick's face as he nodded his head.

"Mhm, and that grief would be followed byyyyy…" He gestured for the commander to finish his sentence.

"Anger."

"And who do you think they'll aim that anger at?" Grinning from ear to ear he bent down to meet Erwin at eye level as the commander soon retreated into his thoughts. While he was sure he would get it, it didn't hurt to offer a reminder.

"Do you remember back in my trial? What Dawk said?" Erwin remained silent as he recalled the events of that day last year.

"Should we cast him out, the backlash from the masses will no doubt cause a civil war, that will no doubt leave humanity in a worst state."

"Now let me ask you, commander." Maverick spoke, his smile dropping back to a more neutral expression. "Do you really think they'll want to risk it? The giants' may outnumber us, but we outnumber them."

He backed away glancing at the photos and bookcases inside the office. "I've dealt with nobility before Smith, I know how they think and act."

Flashes of past lives came to him, of him seated on a multitude of thrones and pedestals with his beloved, having to listen to a multitude of uppity, ungrateful, spoiled, and borderline unpleasant creatures jabber and whine about every decision he made that wasn't solely in their favor or interests.

Then of course the assassinations and attempts to overthrow him when he ignored them or deliberately circumvented their demands. Or the usual tactic of denouncing his right to the throne, claiming he was not of noble birth or lineage, or simply call him a usurper.

Shaking himself out his thoughts he looked back to the commander, who seemed to be recalling thoughts of his own.

"So you've mentioned…"

"Then you should know that there is one, and only one way to truly get through to them. To quote an old ruler of my homeland…" With a fist to his heart, he retold the words of the Colonel.

"Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Erwin could only sigh in response. It was very clear that Maverick was going through with this plan to introduce advanced weaponry, and despite his misgivings there was something inside of him that respected him for it. He had no sense of fear when it came to dealing with the upper echelons of these Walls, whether it was his own spirit or the blessings didn't matter, what did was he was confident that thing would work in their favor.

But he had to know if the man had a plan of engagement, this "my way or the highway" mentality, while effective, should not be the sole tactic. With that in mind he questioned him.

"Maverick, do you even have a plan to introduce your technology, without sending us all to the gallows?" The man gave an almost insulted look in response.

"Of course! You think I'd honestly go about all this without one?" He gestured for Erwin to come close. Once he was at a respectable distance he leaned into his ear and told of his grand plan.

"It's quite simple really." His toothy grin returned as he spoke. "We'll just make it, so they have no choice but to approve. *Chuckles*"

And so, for the next half hour or so Maverick detailed his plan to the commander, who offered his own inputs, considering he had connections with higher authorities. With a rather basic but effective plan now in mind he let Maverick return to his squad, who had questioned him almost immediately about the events that entailed.

All they got in response were a few cryptic words from the marked man, saying that things were going to be alright.

A/N: Alright, so at this point we've entered the pseudo–Royal Government Arc of this story. Pretty early I know, but I honestly want to get this out of the way as quickly as possible, as this will allow me to finally release certain ideas and concepts I've wanted to introduce into this universe, hopefully you'll find them enjoyable.

Had to rewrite this chapter a few times, as I wasn't satisfied with the original dialogue between Mav and Erwin. Originally, I made Maverick come off far too aggressive and domineering, which I wasn't intending.

I wanted to emphasize in this chapter that while Maverick will try to keep a level head about things, the subject of improving their technology is something he won't back down from, regardless of the possible consequences and threats that it entails. We also get to see Erwin open up a little with a reveal of his past, and the incident that has followed him throughout his life. Figured he'd be willing to share a little with the man with so much life-experience.

That's pretty much it from me. Like always thanks for reading and hope to see you all next time.

Also, happy late Halloween and happy early Thanksgiving, still plan to write a spooky themed chapter so look forward to that whenever I get to it.