It turned out, the warriors of Marley made their move before Dina. The titans apprehended in Trost have been killed. The culprits haven't been found, yet one thing was clear. They were killed by someone who was using vertical maneuvering gear.
Now everyone fresh from training were potential suspects. For Dina however, it greatly narrowed down her watchlist. By killing those titans, the warriors made a grave mistake.
Currently they were lined up to have their equipment checked.
"When was the shaft last switched out?" Sasha was asked by an MP.
"After the mopping up operation six days ago, sir" the girl replied.
Dina was sure that the warriors weren't stupid enough to use their own gear. During the battle of Trost, lot of equipment had been lost, never to be recovered. If they intended to stay under cover, they could easily find some equipment while they were cleaning Trost up.
As her equipment was being examined, Armin was closely watching, looking for anything suspicious. Dina sighed at that. He really meant what he said before. But right now, he didn't have any hard evidence and she knew, he wasn't the kind of person to act upon his feelings.
"You can't blame someone for hating titans" Connie said after his gear had been examined.
"Yeah" Armin responded "but this practically helps the titans. Whoever did it may have satisfied their thirst for vengeance, but it's a blow to the human race."
So, Armin was aware of the enemy. Dina should have expected that, given the boy's intelligence.
"I get where they're coming from" said Connie "before I saw my first titan, I really wanted to join the survey corps… but now… I don't want to see another titan ever again."
Dina felt sorry for her colleagues from the corps. Many of them fell in battle the very first day on duty. Innocence lost would be an understatement.
"Damn it…" Connie continued "…even Jean said he's gonna join the survey corps."
"If you want to join the MP, just do it" Marcel suddenly interjected.
"Huh?" Connie looked at him.
"It's a human thing to be scared," the taller boy continued "however, we wouldn't be able to take back Trost if all of us just cowered in fear."
Connie looked down.
"What branch are you joining then, Marcel?" He asked him.
"The military police brigade" Marcel replied.
"Then what's with all your big talk, huh?" Connie asked him astonished.
Marcel pondered on that for a while.
"Nothing will ever change if the ones who join the MP are the greatest cowards" he finally said "I'm not scared of titans. What I'm scared of is a government that does nothing to prevent the suffering."
His conviction seemed real. Dina knew where he was coming from. Anyone reasonable could see the king's lack of proper response.
"I wish there were more people like you in the military police, Marcel" Armin said.
Marcel looked down agitated.
"I'm just trying to fulfil my duty. If you lack conviction, ask yourselves whatever you think is the right thing to do."
As expected, the investigation didn't uncover the culprits. They were good at concealing their tracks, that was for sure.
Along the sunset, came the moment for the new cadets to choose the branch of the military they wanted to be appointed to. The trainees lined up in front of the stage. Fire from the torches illuminated their faces as they were waiting to make the most important choice in their lives.
Commander Erwin stepped on the stage. He took a deep breath and started his speech.
"I am survey corps commander Erwin Smith. The king has granted me the authority over all survey corps activity. Today, you choose which division to join. The reason I'm up here is to invite you to become a part of the survey corps."
"But I should warn you. In the recent attack, everyone here experienced what average excursion is like. I'm sure nothing else in your lives came close to it. Though you are trainees, you experienced sacrifice. As a result, I'm sure you came to know your own limits, and the terror of the titans."
"Nevertheless…"
"…The human race has advanced towards victory like never before. By now everyone is aware of the existence of Eren Yeager. Through his actions and all of yours, the titan incursion was halted, and we have obtained a path to understanding the true nature of the titans."
This part of speech was intriguing. Such information could be a liability to the warriors, thus making them interested in the next scouts' expedition.
"I'm not at liberty to tell you much here regarding Eren but believe me, he's proven himself as an ally who's willing to lay his life on the line. And we also know that in the basement of his old house in Shiganshina district, there are answers about the titans that even he doesn't know."
'Grisha must've hidden something there' Dina thought to herself.
Her best guess would be some notes about the outside world and his mission. Maybe he even put some material proof there. Whatever it was, the warriors wouldn't ignore that possibility. If the people of the walls found out about the outside world, who knows what would happen to Marley? The power of the founding titan was still a threat, and the warriors would do anything to prevent a disaster like that.
"If we can just get to that basement, I believe we'll find clues that may free us from a century of domination by titans."
Not only did Erwin pick the interest of the warriors, but he also brought hope to everyone who weren't sure about joining the survey corps. When Dina was looking at him, she saw a true leader. She knew that she could trust him with her information. He seemed like the kind of person who could bring down a government with just a few words.
"Those of you who wish to join the other divisions are dismissed."
A crowd of soldiers started to walk away. What surprised Dina was that a lot of her colleagues stood in place. Besides Jean who expressed his choice before, Sasha, Connie and Krista all stood still along with her. Even Bertholdt and Reiner remained in front of the stage. Dina looked at Krista with her eyebrow raised. Krista gave her a confident look and mouthed:
"I'm still waiting for you to reveal that secret…"
At that, Dina nodded at her with a smile.
Erwin looked at the remaining trainees and asked:
"If you were told to die, would you, do it?"
"I don't want to die!" Someone yelled back.
"I see" said the commander "everyone, you look good."
"VERY WELL! I WELCOME YOU TO THE SURVEY CORPS!" Erwin cried out as he made a salute "THIS IS MY REAL SALUTE! DEVOTE YOUR HEARTS!"
"YES, SIR!" replied the new scouts.
"You have withstood your fear well. You're all brave soldiers. You have my heartfelt respect" Erwin said "Dismissed!"
As everyone started walking to their living quarters, Dina went behind the stage. When the commander concluded his chat with some other soldiers, he walked down. Dina made sure that no one was around and walked out of the backstage.
"Commander Erwin" she spoke to the departing man.
Upon hearing that, Erwin stopped in his tracks.
"Yes?" he said as he turned around. He looked her up and down "I believe you were among the cadets who joined the survey corps. Like I said before, you have my utmost respect."
He looked her in the eyes.
"Do you need something from me?" Erwin asked.
Dina took a deep breath and exclaimed:
"I believe I possess valuable information."
She could see a sparkle in the commander's eyes. He closed his eyes and asked:
"And what kind of information would that be?"
"Information about the outside world" replied Dina.
