-Chapter 32: The Industrial Heart-

It had been days since his encounter with the Ripper. Despite the fact he had caught the interest of an old, yet infamous assassin, Maverick couldn't find it in himself to truly be bothered, for he had much other important matters to deal with than some old loon. Which is why we find our hero on this early Autumn day ready to finally embark on his long-awaited journey to one of the many secluded and mysterious Factory Cities scattered across the walled lands. He had packed the basic essentials and necessities needed for an old-fashioned road trip, but the most important items were the multitude of drawings and designs safely packed and secured inside many scroll holders.

Taking a few moments to checkmark all of his gear, he exited from the barracks, quickly being met with the amused faces from his squad mates at the sight of nearly two dozen tubes strapped to his body, which clanked every time he took a step. All in good humor though, for they all knew the contents inside were invaluable assets to their cause.

"You sure you got everything?" Moblit joked.

"Yep. Everything but the kitchen sink." Maverick replied, chuckling at his own joke. The squad walked from the residential area to the plaza, all the while Maverick received many wishes of good fortune from his fellow comrades in arms.

Making it to the bronze horsemen statue in the plaza's center he turned to his companions and gave them a lazy American salute. "Welp, I'll see you all in a few days, or a week, give or take."

"See you then Mav." Said the vice-captain, followed by the others and their farewells. Walking towards the main entrance he stopped as his squad leader's voice suddenly shouted out.

"Bring us something back!" He chuckled as he gave nod to her. Only she would ask such a question, made her all the more endearing to the large man.

"I'll see what I can do." With that he continued onwards towards the main entrance. Opening the large doors, he was meet with the sight of a large transport wagon, with two MP's and driver waiting.

"Watch yourself." Turning his head to the left he was met with Levi, who was leaning against the entrance wall, eyeing the two officers with his usual deadpanned expression. But to those with well-trained eyes, one could see the hidden animosity inside the halfling's dark pupils.

Giving him an acknowledged nod and half smile he approached the gathered men while Levi returned back inside, though not before giving one final glance at the unicorns.

"Good morning." Maverick greeted. His calm tone brought some of their tension down as the youngest looking officer responded in kind, while the elder officer remained silent, trying not to look directly into his eyes.

"M-Morning." The MP spoke. Unknown to either of the men Maverick was examining them under the guise of his glowing eyes. The officer was quite young, late teens to early adulthood, no doubt a member of last year's graduating corps. Clean shaven and a fake smile hiding his clear nervousness more than told this boy was still going through the ropes.

"Ready for the trip?" The other officer spoke, his tone flat with a clear hint of boredom. The man was much older than his fellow, possibly in his late forties. His face was weathered, his dark hair and sideburns showing bits of grey, a sign of both his time in the force, and the toll the position had taken him. All mixed with a set of baggy and glazed eyes that clearly said, "I wish I was doing something else right now."

With a nod from the goliath the three turned to their transport, but before Maverick could step one foot inside…

"Oh, I almost forgot" The MP lazily said, as he took out a folded piece of dark cloth from his jacket pocket, presenting it to Maverick. "As per the agreement."

Taking the cloth with two large fingers he looked at it a bit nervously. Sighing he attempted to wrap it over his eyes, only to mess up when trying to tie it together in a knot, getting his fingers stuck. He attempted it again, only to fail once more.

"*Fucking sausage hands…*"

He continued to mutter to himself as he tried to tie the cloth, swearing in foreign tongues, further frustrating himself. The two MPs simply stood and watched the giant struggle with growing worry. The young officer tried to approach and offer some assistance, until a hissed "*Dammit!*" from the man caused him to back away, while his older partner tightened his grip on his rifle strap.

Minutes passed until Maverick managed to successfully tie the knot, letting out an exasperated breath. It was moments such as these that a part of him wished he wasn't such a juggernaut of a man.

Of course, the pros massively outweighed the cons, and he was already quite a tall and fit guy before all this. But at least he didn't have to worry about hitting his head on every bloody door frame, or struggle with the most basic and normal sized utensils and utilities.

He soon brushed those thoughts aside as one of the MP's spoke to him.

"You…can't see through that right?" The elder officer asked, seeing as a blue glow still seeped through the cloth. Upon saying that the glow suddenly disappeared. "Got my eyes closed."

The man still wasn't convinced as he held out three fingers in Maverick's direction. "How many fingers am I holding?"

"Forty-two."

His quick response earned him a few moments of silence, before the old offer clicked his tongue. 'Tch, smartass…'

Not wanting to waste any more of their time the MP's led Maverick into the carriage. To some onlookers it seemed as if the Shiganshina's savior was being arrested, which caused some to approach and begin to bark out accusations to the MP's.

After some reassurances and corrections from both the officers and Maverick the people backed off and resumed their activities, but some still kept their eyes on the carriage. The elder MP quickly gestured for the driver to get the cart in motion, less they deal with the more fanatical people residing inside the district.

Thus, did Maverick's road trip to the Factory City shakingly begin, starting with an exit from Shiganshina, and into the greater lands of Wall Maria, and beyond.

-oOo-

A few hours into the trip…

The trip to their destination was seemingly long but somewhat relaxing, as it allowed Maverick to relax and fall into a big of a lull state. The sounds of the carriage's movement and the occasional huffs from the horses were his only audible sources, as the two officers in his company had kept to themselves, resigned to simply observe him and whisper among themselves.

This would be his current state for the next few hours or so, with the occasional stop in order to relieve themselves. Throughout the trip he could tell that their location was quite far off from civilization, as the sounds of the natural countryside filled his ears. He was currently munching on a sandwich he had prepared when a nervous voice sounded off.

"So….H-How are things…with the titans and all?" Maverick's head slowly to the source of the voice. The young officer cleared his throat as the giant turned in his direction tilting his head. Thinking he had asked a stupid question he was about to apologize, until the man swallowed his meal and spoke.

"Their numbers have been on the decline for the last few weeks, so pretty good I'd say." He continued to finish his meal leaving the young officer quite baffled by the answer. On the decline? They had been a plague on humanity for a hundred years, brought their species to near extinction. How could he be so certain?

"Really? Would have thought you'd have cleared them all out by now." The old officer questioned. Maverick picked up his haughtiness but decided to ignore the slight as he answered.

"It's a group effort, otherwise I would have." A low chuckle escaped the MP's lips, as if he'd heard a crude joke.

"Of course, wouldn't want to put the scouts out of work hmm?" His remark definitely struck a nerve as the giant's head turned to him sharply, the crack of his neck causing him to recline into his seat.

"You want to continue to be dependent on a single person to solve all your little problems?" He asked calmly. "Like a baby relies on their mother for sustenance?" He leaned from his seat while the MP's slowly sunk further into theirs.

"Or like a leech, sucking on the blood of its host? Like the freeloading parasite that it is?"

His inquisitorial tone, mixed with the lack of expression on his face and other uncomfortable sensations had unsettled the MP more than he would have liked, it took all that he had to not reach for his rifle, reminding himself what the man sitting beside him was capable off. Thankfully after a few seconds of silence the intimidating aura around him dissipated, with him relenting and reclining backed letting out a sigh.

"Look, one day I'll be gone from this world. Not today, not tomorrow, but eventually, I'll die." The old officer was quite surprised to hear the man speak of his mortality with such an accepting tone, while his junior, who had heard the man speak such words before, sat attentively not wanting to interrupt.

"And I'd rather leave this place, and the people, in a better state then I when I arrived." Smiling he patted one of the many scrolls strapped to his body. "Which is why I'm passing down my knowledge to your engineers, so then they too can learn, and pass it on to the next generation."

"So, self-reliance?" The elder asked, his interest slightly peaked. A smirk and a finger snap was his answer from the large man, including one little additional tidbit.

"Give a man a fish, he will be fed for a day. Teach him how to fish, he will be fed for a lifetime."

"Huh…" The elder muttered, as he reflected on the man's words.

"Where'd you hear that?" The younger officer asked, finally getting some backbone as his voice didn't stutter. He huffed in amusement at the junior officer's interest. "An old saying from my homeland. Certainly helped me when times got tough."

"Is that so?" Maverick nodded as he leaned back, as a wave of nostalgia washed over him, as days spent out in the many lakes and grand oceans of the world flashed in his memory.

"Oh yeah." He began, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Whenever I found myself low on funds, or just in the mood for seafood, I'd go to the nearest body of water and just fish the day away."

The young man held a dumfounded look. He didn't expect to hear that the legendary Titan Slayer could suffer from something such so…human, like low on money. It seemed beneath someone like the man sitting opposite of him. His older compatriot however seemed to find it amusing.

"Imagine a man like you got quite the hauls." Maverick snickered in response, seeing as he pretty much hit the nail on the head.

"I'm a big man, gotta have at least two nets worth to satisfy my stomach. Catch and release be damned."

With the mood settled, Maverick continued to recount a few of his grand fishing escapades, with even the elder officer sharing a few of his own, revealing he often done it on his days off.

Of course, his stories couldn't compare to Maverick's, such examples as the time he encountered a large pod of whales surfacing near his boat, or how he managed to hunt down one of the legendary Megalodons near the infamous Bermuda, or his run in with the Umibōzu of the eastern seas, and of course how could he not recall how he had nearly brought about the extinction of the bluefin tuna species.

The goliath found that having to explain the concepts of fishes (and mammals) much larger than whatever they could find at the local markets to the two officers was quite entertaining. Even though he couldn't see their facial reactions he could imagine they were very dumbfounded, or skeptical.

But as far as he knew they were still quite a ways from their destination, so he had plenty of time to convince his new travel associates on the existence of sea dwelling mammalians, starting with the taboo subject of the great body of water that was the sea itself.

-oOo-

Somewhere in Wall Rose, some hours later…

Hours seemed to fly by in Maverick's head, as their ride seemed never ending. While telling stories served greatly to pass the time, he hoped, even prayed to his many gods, that they were at least getting close to their destination.

"We've arrived."

A relieved sigh escaped Maverick's lips, for the gods had answered his prayers. His relief was more than evident as he reclined in his seat and continued to mutter to himself, to the officer's seeming amusement.

Their carriage had made its way across a stone bridge, leading to a large, fortified gate. A checkpoint, manned by a multitude of MP's who approached and questioned the driver. Presenting a pass and papers they were allowed entry. After a few minutes the large man spoke.

"So can I…" Maverick asked expectedly, pulling on his blindfold. After a short pause the old MP spoke.

"Sure, why not."

Immediately the cloth was ripped off and thrown aside, allowing Maverick to open his glowing blue orbs and see the world once more. Blinking a few times his vision readjusted to the light seeping through the window holes. With his regained vision he turned and opened the door, to the shock of the MP's.

Leaning his head outside he took a look of his surroundings, starting with the sky. He huffed as he saw that it was late afternoon as hues of orange and yellow were beginning to overtake the heavenly blues. Sighing he then looked downward, and what he saw left him near speechless.

"*Whistle* Well, would you look at that…"

Just up ahead, past a long bridge, lied one of the many industrial hearts of this walled land. From where he was he could see that the massive industrial complex itself towered over the many smaller buildings that encompassed the area, along with the defensive barrier that encircled the city. It reminded him of the old hive cities he saw way back when, though unlike the ones on Necromunda or Armageddon, the industrial city itself was on a much smaller, and hopefully less hazardous scale.

Raising his head he saw smoke clearly bellowing out from the city's many smokestacks, suppose the work done here never ceased. He also toke notice of the large moat that encircled the city, making the stone bridge ahead the only connection between the industrial city and the greater world. Along the path he saw many other carriages farther ahead, both entering and leaving the city, no doubt sending and receiving supplies on a daily basis.

He sort of regretted not making a case to bring along his squad mates, no doubt Hange would get a kick out of seeing a place like this. Placing a hand over one of his hearts unconsciously he chuckled to himself, he could already imagine the awestruck, and admittedly, endearing reaction on her face once she took a gander.

"Jesus, just how far are we?" He asked aloud, thinking back to the smokestacks again. They must have been pretty dam far for those to not be noticeable by both him and the greater population back in the district.

"Secret."

He really should have expected such an answer. For heaven's sake they blindfolded him for the entire trip.

"Now, would you mind getting back in your seat? You're starting to tip the carriage." A loud and hearty chuckle came out of Maverick, as he apologized to the driver and quickly closed the door, restabilizing the transport.

Passing across the bridge, and the fortified entry gate, they had at last reached their final destination. Stopping the carriage at a designated area Maverick was finally able to fully take in the sights.

The collection of buildings surrounding him followed the same style of the early century European architecture he saw back in Utopia. This was clearly the residential area, for the workers and their families to live and enjoy an urbanized existence.

Stretching his back and legs Maverick got the blood flowing once again, only to realize the sea of eyes and looks of surprise from the populace. Both the denizens and the MP's on patrol ceased in their movements and actions and simply stared at the towering man that had arrived at the industrial city.

His two escorts quickly lead him to wherever it was they were taking him, imploring for the people to keep calm and return to their daily business, though that didn't stop a few from continuing to watch the giant pass them by, with both looks of awe and nervousness.

Guided by the lit streetlights along the path the trio made their way further into the city's urban sector, with the occasional startled passerby taking second glances and double takes at the man, as if they had hallucinated his appearance. Maverick took it all in stride, sending greetings to the people, receiving a few in response. If he was going to stay here for some time, then it was best to give a good impression.

His nostrils soon picked up the familiar scent of oil and smoke, which could only mean they had finally arrived at the industrial sector of the city's namesake. And as they turned a corner Maverick set his eyes on the large gathering of individuals just beyond the entrance gate.

"Quite the welcoming party." He said, watching as their faces lit up. The older officer by his side nodded in agreement, readjusting his musket strap.

"They've been eager to meet you ever since they heard you were visiting."

A shot, amused huff sounded from the man. He wondered just how long this group of excited workers had been waiting for their arrival. Not wanting to make them wait any longer he and his escorts approached the gathering, his every step echoing across the street, till he was a few feet away from the gathered masses.

He took note of their faces, etching them into his memory, with one among them standing out from the rest. While his attire was very similar to the rest of the men gathered, the part that stood out was the fancy looking eyepiece that was strapped around the man's dark brown hair, the circular optic covering his right eye.

As soon as he got closer a wide smile formed on the man's face as he held his arms out wide and spoke with a voice brimming with jubilation.

"Welcome to the industrial heart of humanity!"

His boisterous tone was met with the workers behind him who followed along with their own greetings and howdy do's.

"Allow me to say it is an honor to finally meet you in the flesh." The eccentric looking man said as he took a few steps towards the marked man. Holding his optic Maverick heard a few clicks and kinks sound off, as the eye extended forwards as the man was inspecting his face, his mouth opening in surprise at his numerous markings, like the eye shaped blessing on his forehead.

"The reports do you no justice…" His voice teemed with admiration and awe, as he soon began to inspect his exposed arms, leaving nearly everyone in awkward silence. Maverick, despite his breach of personal space, was not surprised in the slightest, though he did wish to get thing going again.

"A pleasure Mr…" Speaking out seemed to break whatever spell the man was in, as his head suddenly raised up and let out a surprised yelp.

"A-Ah! Of course, of course haha!" Waving his hair back, he cleared his throat and bowed before the goliath.

"Emilio Inocencio, foreman of this fine industrial facility, at your service." He readjusted his eyepiece, allowing Maverick to take notice of a missing pinkie finger on Emilio's right hand. "Or Emi for short, whatever your preference Slayer."

He had to take a short pause, for the man's name sounded familiar. Raking his brain, he tried to recall where he had heard such an eccentric name. Though it didn't take quite long as a bulb in his head quickly turned on.

"Ah yes, you sent me that letter some time ago, didn't you?" The man's elated expression was all he needed to confirm it. "A pleasure to meet you in person, and please, call me Maverick."

The two men chuckled before shaking each other's hands. The foreman felt a shock run down his spine the moment their hands touched, letting out a giddy chuckle at the sensation. Though Maverick apologized he was assured that it was fine. Recovering from the jitters he introduced the rest of the gathered workforce.

"And of course, I can't forget about these fellows here."

On que the dozens of workers behind the foreman stepped forwards all at once in order to meet and eagerly shake the hand of the famed demigod, with some nearly bumping and falling over each other.

"A pleasure to meet ya!"

"H-Hello!"

"The stories don't do you justice!"

"Still can't believe a guy like ya walks among us!"

Before he could be completely swamped Emilio motioned for his workers to ease back and give the large man some space to breath, though based on the expression on his face he didn't seem to mind. After all this wasn't the first time he had been surrounded by admirers in this world, the only difference now of course being he was fully clothed.

"Well, I believe a tour of our city is in order, come!"

-oOo-

Emilio had lead Maverick through the grand facility, pointing out specific areas, all the while telling the history of the current factory city they were residing in, with one little tidbit peaking Maverick's interest.

Apparently, at some point in the past, the city had been assaulted by a band of, as the foreman claims, domestic troublemakers, who had attempted to take the city over. Their attempt failed, which resulted in the rebel cell being hunted down to the last, reduced to a minor steppingstone in the pages of history.

Maverick took notice of the foreman's tone when speaking about this band of rebels, it was similar to how he'd speak of bandits and other such ilk, utter contempt. He supposed it was something personal, to which he would refrain from prying into, for it clearly fouled the man's mood.

Soon the topic switched to Maverick himself, as the foreman remarked that a letter he received earlier spoke of Maverick's experience in craftmanship. More than happy to sate his curiosity Maverick told to everyone gathered of his four-year tenure in the Imperial School of Engineers. He spoke of his reasonings to attend, as well as a little history of the school itself.

Established by the late Leonardo da Miragliano, the school was an integral institution for the Empire of Man, not only for producing the most advanced and experimental weaponry for the battlefields, but it served as a nexus for the greatest and outgoing minds of the Old World, whose legacies lived on in their works.

He spoke of a few of his most fondest moments during his tenure, such as his lectures with his dwarfen instructor, the day he fully understood the mechanisms behind of his favored multi-barreled firearm, and having the honor and pleasure of maintaining one of the very rare and prized steam tanks, designed by Leonardo himself. Of course, surviving the many mishaps and failed tests conducted was always a fond memory in themselves.

"This imperial school of yours sounds like quite a riot." Emilio exclaimed. Such marvels that he could only dream of made realities by the astute and free-thinking minds, though the sentiment didn't seem to be shared by some.

"More like a deathtrap." One of the old workers refuted. "I mean really, a pigeon bomb? Only one way that would turn out."

Many of the workers voiced out in agreement, the concept was just something bound for failure. This of course was met by the chuckles from their storyteller.

"Yeah, but what's innovation without the occasional live field tests?" Some shook their heads in response while others simply gave a questioning look, minus the foreman who let out a low laugh of his own.

"I can certainly attest to that." He rubbed his hands, going over where some of his old pinkie used to be.

"And one of these days it's gonna cost more than just your fingers Sir." Said one of the younger workers, whose voice held nothing but concern for their boss. He gave the boy an appreciative look before waving his hand.

"Working on something new?" Maverick asked. Emilio quickly responded with a gleeful expression, tapping his fingers together as he explained.

"We've been tinkering with some specialized variants for the ODM gear. We've reached the prototype stage with a few in fact!" Maverick's interest was raised. With their standard ODM's being the most recent iterations, he didn't think they'd be already experimenting on newer types so soon.

"You experienced with the gear yourself?" He asked. To his surprise, the foreman nodded as a prideful look formed on his face.

"Yes! You see my father taught me a little when I was young. He was a scout himself in his youth." He moved closer to the giant, a glint in his optic shining as he continued, raising a finger up to the man. "But it was my mother who showed me how it truly worked."

Maverick remained silent, processing the man's words as he held the straps of his apron, raising his head high like some important businessman. "In fact, she was the one who developed the idea for the controller grips!"

"Really?"

"Oh yes! You see, she was an assistant for the previous foreman when she was young, in turn she passed down that knowledge to me!" He motioned for Maverick to lower his head to his height as he spoke in a near whisper, as if what he said was some sort of closely guarded secret.

"She even held the esteem of the original creator of the gear!"

Maverick let out a huff, for this man had quite the proud history, reminded him of many of the famed heroes he read of in his youth, as well as met in the flesh. The Inocencio matriarch must have had quite the combination of charisma, intelligence, and perhaps blessings, to accomplish such feats.

"So you've said countless times Sir." One of his workers remarked, jokingly of course. All had heard Emilio's tales of his amazing parents, and most would call off his words as mere bluffs or the words of a madman.

But, like the demigod walking alongside them, many of the elder workers could attest to his stories, for they had their own accounts of the acclaimed woman, some could even claim to have worked alongside her before her retirement. Maverick too had a strong feeling Emilio's words spoke true, for his passionate words for his mother mirrored how he would often speak of his.

"Well with those credentials, I imagine you would have found a place among the Scouts." Emilio's jolly expression faltered as he lowered his head, looking down at his hands once more.

"Yes well, mother wasn't very keen on me joining the scouts, considering my fathers…forceful retirement, shall we say." Maverick could put the pieces together to understand what had occurred and held his tongue as the young foreman continued. "She desired I assisted humanities fight in another way."

"So you decided to follow in her footsteps." He spoke, a smile forming under his dark longbeard. Emilio let out an audible "Mhm" as he raised his head high once more, quickly switching back to his previous jovial attitude.

"Indeed, and I haven't looked back since!" A confident smile was on his face. He knew his work was invaluable to the world. He soon took notice of the darkening sky, realizing they had gone way off topic, completely forgetting he was showing the Slayer the wonders of their city.

"But enough about me, let's move on with the tour!" At his words the party continued on under the guide of the luminous streetlights, for he had wanted to show his new friend more of the place all called home.

-oOo-

Sometime later…

By the time the party had traveled to every point of interest in the industrial city the stars were already shining above the night sky, as well as many found themselves quite exhausted from the trip, minus a certain seven-foot man. At the behest of his weary workers Emilio guided the group to one final stop before finally concluding his tour. Arriving to a series of many buildings deep within the city the foreman turned to their special guest with a vigorous tone, as if the days tour did little to wear him down.

"Our last stop! Here is where all the magic happens!" Opening the double doors, he let the giant enter first and take a gander of the interior. Maverick's mouth nearly gaped open at the familiar sights of an old-fashioned workshop, his eyes darting to the numerous workbenches and machinery, the assortment of tools hung upon the walls. A warm feeling of wanderlust filled his hearts as everything before him was all oh so familiar.

"*Chuckles* Ohhh, this takes me back..." A wave of nostalgia flowed through his soul, as the familiar sights and smells of the room took him back to his days in Dampfplatz, as well as his days under the tutelage of superior craftsmen. The fond memories, both good and bad, filled his head. "All its missing is a few holes in the roof."

Emilio laughed at his remark, clasping his hands together as he joined the large man. "I assure you we take pride in the maintenance and cleanliness of our facilities."

"Just replaced the roof last week." Came a quite mutter from someone in the group, though it went unheard by either the foreman or the giant as the two continued to converse with one another.

"So these must be the designs yes?" Emilio asked with hinting wonder, pointing to one of the many scrolls on Maverick's person. Nodding he handed one of them to the foreman, his hands shaking as his fingers touched the leather scroll.

'The works of a demigod…' His hand moved across the scroll slowly, taking it all in. He could only imagine what sort of grand instrument of destruction lied inside, what manner of weapon had been imagined by the being standing before him? Lifting his head to meet Maverick's glowing eyes the foreman asked with a slight stutter, as he tried to contain his inner excited child. "I-If it's no trouble…m-may we see some of them now, please?"

A few moments of silence passed before a jolly chuckle erupted from the marked man. He was more than happy to oblige such a request. After all, it was the entire reason he was even here in the first place.

"Well, since you asked nicely." Taking the scroll back from the foreman's hands he unscrewed the top of the scroll carrier, slowly taking out the rolled paper sealed inside. "Gentlemen, what I have in my hands is but one of the many weapons that will prove more than useful in the fight against the giant menace."

All stood still as he held the paper in his massive hands, their eyes gleaming with awe and wonder at what could be held withing. Their anxiousness increased as he opened another scroll, then another. With five in each hand he brought them to nearby tables, all gathering around, even the MP's approached, morbid curiosity gleaming in their eyes.

"Now, some of these may look quite bizarre, maybe even difficult to replicate." He began, spacing each rolled paper from each other. "But from the level of technology I've seen here, I'd say we have a damn good chance of bringing these beauties out of the drawing board and into the hands of our valiant soldiers."

Not wasting anymore time he unveil one of the dozen and revealed its contents for all to see. "Feast your eyes boys!"

Feast their eyes they did. For the assortment of weapon concepts presented before them left them utterly speechless. Fantastical artillery pieces, and mind boggling rifles, each with multiple views, with individual parts of their mechanisms and designs separately drawn and described, all neatly written in the common tongue of this land.

"These are but a few of the many weapons developed by both me and the many engineers of Altdorf." Maverick spoke, crossing his arms with a prideful look. "Each have been improved upon throughout the years as the Empire continued to thrive."

Murmured talks began among the workers each dividing themselves as they focused on one of the weapons. Many took note of some of the more outlandish creations, such as the foreman, who simply stared down at what he believed to be some form of artillery.

"Such… macabre designs." The artillery incorporated multiple skeletons, eight armed with rifles, with four extra serving as loaders, built with a ramming mechanism that reloaded the guns. Reading the description on a separate drawing to the right revealed another three sets of eight skeletal gunmen, explaining that they would change through the use of a rotation device powered by a crank, it was then a simple matter of filling the barrels with gunpowder and letting the rest of the machine do the work, allowing for a constant rate of fire upon the enemy.

Emilio was a bit unnerved if he was completely honest, for this Empire seemed to have a certain…morbid fascination with death. Crowned skull iconographies, winged reapers, and marching armored skeleton warriors engraved or serving as a function, like the one he was seeing.

"The hell is this one?" One asked. Turning many eyes widened with curiosity as the cannon like weapon. Maverick himself smiled widely and laughed, for he knew this weapon well.

"Ahhh, the Dragon's Breath. I actually had a hand in this one!" Eyes turned to him as they waited to hear more. "We were inspired by a similar weapon developed by our dwarf allies." He explained, pointing to the array of mechanisms at the back of the weapon.

"These pumps would send hot oil through these pressure chambers, which would then travel through the main barrel." His large finger moved across to the barrel of the cannon, towards the bestial headed end. "As it passed through, these fire pots here would ignite the oil as it spewed out!"

"Like a dragon from a damn storybook!" A worker shouted in realization. Maverick patted the man on the back, for he wasn't that far off in the slightest.

"Yeah. They were hell on the battlefield and choke points. Especially when dealing with trolls and armored units."

'Filthy rats too…'

"Trolls?" Emilo asked, for the word was completely alien to him, a sentiment shared by everyone.

"Big, hulking, and disgusting creatures with an appetite for anything." Maverick described, getting up close to the mid-aged man, towering over him completely.

"So titans?" The old MP said. Many of the workers turned in shock, honestly forgetting the two officers were even there.

"Somewhat." The giant responded, taking a nearby paper and charcoal piece he began to sketch. "Except they weren't picky about what they ate. Like the giants they could regenerate, made them near invincible." He eyed the Dragons Breath, a smile visible on his face. "But with this, it made engagements with them a lot easier."

Finishing the sketch he presented the group with a recreated drawing of a troll, in all its ugly glory.

"Eugh, freaky looking thing." The young MP voiced. With its big bulbous nose, mixed with small, pointed droopy ears, small beady eyes, and an overall bone headed look, he wouldn't be faulted for mistaking this creature as one of the many titans out beyond the walls.

"That's just one of the many species of trolls." The goliath suddenly remarked, to everyone's surprise. "There were river trolls, stone trolls, bile trolls, and there was the rare lava troll too, which was resistant to fire, cause of course it was-"

He suddenly realized he was getting off topic, as well as both confusing and spooking the workers with all his talk of titan like creatures. Coughing into his hand he steered himself back to their previous topic of interest.

"Anyways, we developed both a cannon and a portable version for individual troops." He pointed to another design next to the Dragon's Breath, called the Seventh Solution. It consisted of a long pipe shaped weapon with two grips, with an assortment of valves and a skull with a cross shaped symbol carved in the forehead, serving as an ignition shield. Alongside it was a long tube that connected the weapon to a backpack, with large tanks with a third connected in the center. "Similar design, but instead we used flammable liquids and nitrogen.

The factory crew were amazed. Nitrogen certainly had its uses, they could only imagine how it could be used on such a larger scale. Though Maverick was keen to keep a certain ingredient out of the description, less he architect another flaming sea incident.

"What about this one?" One asked. Turning Maverick smiled as he looked down at the design.

"The Revolver Cannon. Was one of our more advanced developments. Instead of one cannon barrel, why not five?" A few chuckled erupted form the crew, while the MP's closed in, their curiosity peaked. "Could fire with a range of two thousands yards."

Impressed voices rang out, only for Maverick to raised his finger. "But wait, there's more. Instead of the ol' cannon balls we developed a new kind of payload called shells." Pointing to the cone shaped sketches he continued. "Came in the explosive and steel variety. Alongside it we made special cartridges called magazines." His finger moved towards the rectangular cartridge that connected to a device at the back of the artillery piece "Could hold up to ten rounds each." He said, raising all ten of his fingers out, to the amazement of the men.

"Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable!" Emilio exclaimed, once again voicing the thoughts of all the workers in the room. This cannon, alongside the many others presented, were revolutionary. Game changers in their fight against the titans.

"We certainly have our work cut out for us..." An old worker voiced, scratching his head at all the designs plastered across the table, as well as rubbing his eyes as the events of today had been wearing him down.

"Indeed, but thanks to our generous benefactor, the work is already half complete. All we have to do is simply follow the designs as instructed." Emilio voiced, with Maverick backing him up with a supportive hand to his shoulder. "And as your benefactor, I'll be here to supervise and help with any problems or questions you have."

With such short but nonetheless motivating words the workshop was booming with the cheerful shouts from the workforce, with some patrolling MP's wandering inside to tell them to keep it down, only for the sight of the famed Savior of Shiganshina to make them go white and retreat back into the dark streets.

Soon the cheers turned to tired yawns and smacking lips, as the events of the day had finally caught up with the crew. Even Maverick felt the call of Hypnos beckoning him to slumber.

"Though I suppose our work can wait till tomorrow." Emilio said before covering his mouth as a yawn quickly escaped. "*Yawn* It'll be dangerous to work under such tiresome conditions."

"And who do you think is responsible huh?" Chuckles erupted from the craftsmen, causing Emilio to wave them off. "You all were just as excited as I am, don't go throwing me under the carriage!"

The banter continued on for a few more minutes till the Foreman called it a night. Placing his works in the workshop's storage closet the marked man was escorted to the facilities residential area where a specially made guest room awaited him, reinforced bed included.

Dressing into the nightwear he brought from home he rested into his bed, but remained awake for a few more moments, staring at the ceiling as he recounted the events of the day in his mind. While they got little done in regard to the actual construction of any new weaponry, he did gain some new associates, with access to the currently most advanced tools for creating weapons.

Plus, it was just the first day. Like the many vacations he'd have throughout his long life, the first day was all about relaxing after the long flights to you desired location.

His thoughts soon turned back to his mates back in Shiganshina, wondering what they were up to. Were they practicing their ODM skills, Working on the TRW? Or maybe keeping up with their English? Been a while since they had time to have a class.

His mind thought back to what Hange said before he left, he'd definitely have to get something back for them, but what exactly?

He didn't spend too much time pondering, as the sandman's magics soon fell upon him, and with one last yawn his head sunk into his pillow, soon falling into slumber. Dreaming of the vast azure paradise once more.

A/N: So, you know how I said that this was going to be the pseudo-Royal Government Arc?

I lied.

After giving it some more thought, I decided to scrap it, for now. The nobles can be pretty foolish and hostile, but as I've written them now, they aren't retarded enough to try something against our hero, Aurille excluded. Hell at this moment in the story there are some people in high positions of society who actually see Mav as a boon (like a certain businessman, from a certain OVA).

Anyways, instead of all that, in this chapter we get the introduction to the Factory/Industrial City, as well as a new OC into this story. For those who haven't read it, this chapter is one big call back to the spin-off manga Before the Fall.

Well also soon be seeing some new toys for both the Survey Corps and the military as a whole. For those curious the Dragon's Breath as well as the odd organ gun that Emilio was looking at was based on some weapon sketches I found by David Gallagher, an artist involved with Games Workshop, while the Revolving Cannon is based on the real-life Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon, and the Seventh Solution is pretty much a flamethrower with an Empire aesthetic. These weapons were examples I wanted to add to signify that the Empire continued to make advancements in their weaponry, entering into their own WW1 era.

Next chapter we'll be switching back to the scouts, and with February coming up I think another romance themed chapter is in order. Like always thanks for reading and see you next time.