"Brigadier General."

Blinking a little upon hearing the voice of his subordinate, McGillis Fareed was quick to look up from his computer screen and make eye contact with Isurugi Camice, who was standing at attention directly in front of his office table.

The man's posture was as rigid as it usually was, with him standing almost impossibly straight with his hands by his sides and his gaze centered on his Brigadier General. In all honesty… it was rather worrying, just how respectful Isurugi was of him despite knowing full well of his role as just another one of Fareed's pawns to be sacrificed as soon as he has outlived his usefulness, though at the very least, McGillis reckoned that it meant that Camice was, at the very least, worthy of his trust as he smiled at the man and deactivated the holographic screen of his computer.

"Isurugi. Is there something I need to know about?" inquired McGillis, with him glancing at his subordinate as he clasped his hands together atop his table. Isurugi was quick to nod in response to his General's words, though before he could speak, Fareed cut him off. "When in private, you may loosen up a little, Isurugi. Whilst it is true that you are a high ranking soldier within the ranks of Gjallarhorn, even you deserve to relax from time to time."

Blinking a little at that unexpected comment from his General, Isurugi found himself slowly nodding in response to his words as his shoulders relaxed just a little. Outside of that mild change, however, the soldier's posture didn't change, a sight that amused McGillis, to say the least, though he didn't let that deter him as he chuckled and nodded.

"That in itself works well enough. Now, as for what you wish to say?" continued McGillis with a small smile as Isurugi shifted one of his hands behind himself and pulled a notepad out from his back pocket. Thereafter, Camice's eyes were quick to scan the contents of the notepad as he made sure that he wasn't about to misread anything to his superior, and once he was sure of it, he nodded to himself and replied.

"It is a report in regards to the Prototype Lightspeed Drive, Brigadier General," responded Isurugi, and upon hearing those words from him, McGillis sat up a tiny bit straighter as he perked his ears up attentively. Camice took this as a sign to continue, and so he did, with him speaking as he usually did all the while. "As per your instructions, the first batch of prototypes were tested a few weeks prior, before your meeting with Tekkadan. I take it you recall the results?"

A silent nod from McGillis answered Isurugi's question as they both recalled the testing phase for the first few prototype variants of this Lightspeed Drive. The process was… not exactly pleasant, so to speak, as it involved installing the drive into several Space Type Mobile Workers and shunting them to a random part of space. Each Worker was piloted by a single Gjallarhorn pilot who was briefed by the engineers on how to operate the drive, and thereafter, they were sent on their merry way to test the things.

The test as a whole was rather simple. All eight testers were instructed to simply use the Lightspeed Drive to warp their respective Mobile Workers to a specific point in space, namely the coordinates that were picked up by the Gjallarhorn soldiers in regards to Barbatos. Of course, it was simple enough on paper, but in practice… things ended up going much worse than expected.

Prior to the testing phase, Gjallarhorn had up to eight Lightspeed Drives at their disposal, though after, they only had five. By all means, it wasn't exactly the worst possible outcome, as this was the first time these devices have been put to use, though it was disheartening, to say the least. A single Lightspeed unit had caught on fire after its coolant system had malfunctioned, causing its Mobile Worker to explode whilst the seven others were able to function without any issues. Two more Mobile Workers were lost when their respective drives both malfunctioned upon reaching their destination, and by all means, that was why the Gjallarhorn scientists had given all of them a single pistol to bring along with them on their journey.

Upon returning, the five remaining Mobile Workers and their Lightspeed Drives were quickly put into storage as Gjallarhorn scientists did their best to improve upon their design. They didn't wish for a repeat of what happened to the three destroyed/missing units, after all, especially when it came time to mount these things onto large scale warships or civilian vessels.

"Indeed, Isurugi. I recall all of what we have learnt during the testing phase," assured McGillis as he nodded, prompting the soldier in question to nod in return as he continued.

"Well, if I may, our scientists have learnt quite a bit more about the device following the testing phase concluded. During the testing phase, the Lightspeed Drive required up to three days in order to clear the distance between the Solar System and the last known location of Gundam Barbatos," continued Isurugi as he glanced up briefly from his notepad. "While this is indeed fast, it is believed that to transport a single Warship from the Solar System to the location of Barbatos could very well take up to two weeks worth of time. Those aboard the Warship will feel only minutes, if not hours, pass, however."

"Is any of this information confirmed?" asked McGillis, prompting Isurugi to shake his head.

"It is not. I apologise, Brigadier General, but we are making use of an incredibly new and highly theoretical piece of technology. Our knowledge regarding it is… severely limited as of now," apologised Isurugi as he glanced down at the floor a little, seeming genuinely apologetic before he shook his head. "However, what has been confirmed is that currently, none of our Lightspeed Drives will be powerful enough to power a Warship."

"That in itself is rather obvious, is it not?" quipped McGillis with a small smirk on his face, prompting Camice to nod a little as the blonde continued speaking. "How long until we have a functional prototype for Warship use?"

"Our engineers are working around the clock with any and all Ahab Reactors we have at our disposal. At their current pace, by the next three weeks, we will be able to construct three prototype Warship class Lightspeed Drives," assured Isurugi as he lowered the notepad in his hands and eyed his General with a neutral look in his eyes. "Do you wish to inform Tekkadan about this?"

"In due time, Isurugi," assured McGillis with a small nod to show his gratitude towards his surbordinate's relayed information. "Thank you for informing me of all this."

A mild salute was Isurugi's response to McGillis' thanks, and at that, the blonde raised a brow as he watched Camice fidget a little in place as he flexed his fingers. That in itself was rather strange to see, honestly, as Isurugi was always calm and collected, in a perfect state of tranquility, so to speak, and as such, to see him in such an… awkward state was more than enough to get a mild snort out of Fareed as he cleared his throat.

"Is something on your mind?" inquired McGillis as Isurugi shuddered a tiny bit as he was jolted out of his unusual state of mind, though he was quick to recover as he swiftly squared his shoulders and nodded in response to Fareed's question.

"Indeed, Brigadier General. If you will allow me, I wish to share some of my concerns with you," confirmed Isurugi as McGillis rubbed his chin and nodded. Though it was most likely nothing too important, Fareed reckoned that it was better to know what was on his subordinate's mind. After all, Isurugi was never known to be a fidgety man, and considering how whatever was on his mind was able to make him act this restlessly, McGillis reckoned that it must've been at least a little important. "It is in regards to the other Seven Stars of Gjallarhorn and how they view your project."

Ah… McGillis reckoned that he should've seen this coming sooner or later. Isurugi was always worried about the little details in life, after all, and by all means, he was bound to ask this question sooner or later…

"The Seven Stars have long since learnt of this project, Isurugi," explained McGillis, prompting a shudder to go up the aforementioned soldier's spine as he stood a little straighter out of shock. Fareed was quick to pick up on it, however, as he smiled a little and continued. "The issue was considered to be top secret within the ranks of the Seven Stars, and not many soldiers have been informed on it."

"I see. I presume that they do not approve of your actions fully?" quipped Isurugi, and the expression McGillis gave in response to his inquiry was more than enough to answer his question as he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, they do not," lamented McGillis as he exhaled gently and glanced up at Camice with an annoyed gaze. Isurugi did flinch a tiny bit under his gaze, though aside from that, he didn't react much more as Fareed found himself sighing in irritation.

The Seven Stars of Gjallarhorn… for as long as McGillis could remember, they have acted as the governing bodies for the whole organisation. Formed several years after the end of the Calamity War, the main purpose of the Seven Stars was to ensure that Gjallarhorn functioned properly from within. For the most part, during the first few years since they were formed, the Seven Stars did just that, with every member working tirelessly to ensure that the people that Gjallarhorn protected lived safe lives.

In more recent times, however, the Seven Stars found themselves changing, and as of year P.D 325, they have become… let's just say less about the people and more about themselves, so to speak. Over the past few decades, they have gathered a massive amount of power, power that they were mostly unwilling to share, and it didn't take long for a good majority of the current Seven Star heads to grow corrupt with the influence that they had gathered over the years.

The Seven Families that ruled over the Seven Stars, the Elions, the Issues, the Fareeds, the Bauduins, the Kujans, the Baklazans and the Falks… every one of them had a long and powerful lineage tied to their family names, though McGillis found himself respecting only a handful of them as he recognised the threat that they posed against his vision for a reformed Gjallarhorn.

The issue in regards to McGillis' plan to construct a Lightspeed Drive had been brought up by Elak Falk, the current head of the Falk family. At first, McGillis was genuinely surprised at knowing that the overweight head of the Falk family had found out about his little side project, though he was quick to dismiss it when he remembered that Elak's family was well known for digging up old and obscure trivia on rival families, information that could very well bring them to ruin if revealed to the public. With that in mind, the prospect of Elak being the first to learn of McGillis' project wasn't exactly that far of a stretch…

Upon being asked about the Lightspeed Drive, McGillis was quick to answer in a calm and collected tone of voice. He was surprised about being found out so soon, to be sure, but even so, panicking was never his strong suit, and he remained composed as he explained the surface details of the Lightspeed Drive and how he believed that, ultimately, its construction could very well change the world in a good way.

Upon finishing his explanation, McGillis took note of how Elak Falk seemed to like how that sounded, and Fareed could tell that he was already scheming to find a way to monopolise a design that was just barely past its testing phase. While the overweight head of the Falk family appeared content, however, the head of the Kujan family, Iok Kujan, seemed less than pleased with the blonde's proposal.

A frown was the only thing that Fareed could express at the time as the young head of the Kujan family began to accuse him of setting such a project into motion in order to ascertain more power within the Seven Stars for himself. Young and rash, Iok was certainly a lot more… suspicious of McGillis when compared to the other family heads, though before Kujan's accusations towards Fareed could go out of control, the current head of the Bauduin family, Gallus Bauduin, silenced him.

The wise old sage of a man was quick to ease things with Iok, with him claiming that his surrogate son wished only to help the people that Gjallarhorn was meant to protect, and by all means… while he wasn't entirely on the mark with that assessment, the fact that Gallus, the father of the man McGillis had murdered in cold blood, had step forth to defend him was more than enough to make Fareed crack a small, almost unnoticeably smile as he stared at the purple haired man in appreciation.

Gallus Bauduin was not the only one who agreed with McGillis' little side project (for reasons that were not monetary, at least), however, as the head of the Baklazan family, Nemo Baklazan, voiced out his support for Fareed as well. The wise old sage of a man was the oldest member of the current Seven Stars, and with his age came a substantial amount of wisdom, wisdom that the younger family heads tended to heed whenever he spoke to them.

Likewise, the final, and arguably the most powerful, family head of the Seven Stars, Rustal Elion, voiced out a small amount of support for McGillis' plans for this Lightspeed Drive of his, though even so, he remained rather apprehensive on the whole thing as, according to what the blonde had told them over the course of the past few minutes, he was unsure on if the Lightspeed Drive was safe or even reliable enough to mass produce in the foreseeable future. Fareed's response to Elion's worries was simple; he would have to be patient, as, in his own words…

"I have some… testers who are more than willing to try out the prototype for a Warship class Lightspeed Drive."

And to that, Rustal simply nodded and said that he was expecting to hear some good things from this project. McGillis, for his part, simply chuckled at that and told the older man that he would do his best.

"But even so… I have the support of more than half the Seven Stars, and that in itself is enough to allow me to carry on with the testing phase for the Warship class Lightspeed Drive…" muttered McGillis as he shook his head, snapping himself out of his mild trance all the while, and stared back up at Isurugi, who nodded at that.

"I expect no less from you, Brigadier General," quipped Isurugi as he saluted his General rigidly, prompting McGillis to smile a little in appreciation towards Camice's words as he readied himself to leave. "Regardless of what happens, I shall remain by your side until the bitter end!"

"Thank you, Isurugi," was all McGillis could really say at that point as his subordinate nodded and turned on his heel to leave his office, and with his departure, things became rather… silent as the blonde rubbed his chin thoughtfully, though before long, the young man snapped out of his mild trance-like state as he reactivated his holographic computer screen and tapped through it several times over, with him only stopping once he found a picture of a certain Mobile Suit.

It was an image of Barbatos that was captured by the optic of a destroyed Graze back during the Edmonton battle. By all means, it was one of the last recorded instances of the Gundam before its disappearance in P.D 323… and in spite of himself, McGillis could never stop himself from revisiting it from time to time, and with every visit… Fareed would ask himself the same question over and over again.

'Where exactly are you, Gundam Barbatos… Mikazuki Augus?'

Saluting was never exactly Mikazuki's strong suit as, thus far, very few people living within the Walls have earnt enough of his respect to warrant him saluting them in earnest, though by all means, he reckoned that he could make an exception from time to time as he, alongside the various members of Team Mike and Levi, plus Hanji and a mostly conscious Eren, offered Erwin Smith rigid salutes.

Seconds after they had done so, Smith nodded and gestured for them to be at ease, much to Mika's relief as he lowered his arms and held them behind his back. The other soldiers that were present in Erwin's office did so as well, and thereafter, Hanji Zoe took a step towards the Commander's office table and began to file in her report on the Preliminary Expedition. Sure, Mike and Levi were present, though they weren't exactly known to be the talkative types, and as such, they allowed Zoe to do the talking for them.

For the most part, Hanji's report on the whole ordeal was rather positive, with her praising the destructive potential that Mikazuki had displayed whilst out on the field, both within and without his Gundam, and just how many lives he had saved just by being a part of the Expedition. Her genuine praise of his skills was more than enough to surprise Mika, not that he really showed his surprise outside of a mild raise of his brows, as he didn't think that Zoe would go out of her way to compliment him specifically rather than his shower his Gundam in praise, though the pilot didn't dwell much on it as he simply listened.

Of course, with all that being said, Hanji was very quick to move on to saying how Barbatos was the main contributing factor to the overall success of the Preliminary Expedition. Its very presence was more than enough to boost the morale of the soldiers within its vicinity, as they knew of just how powerful it was, and with it fighting by their side, victory would almost certainly be guaranteed. Her compliments were almost enough to get a smile out of Augus as he listened, though he had to admit that his superior remembering exactly how many Titans he had killed whilst out on the field was more than a little… worrying.

On the topic of Eren Jaeger, however, Hanji didn't exactly have much new to say about him. Though his abilities were truly commendable, they paled in comparison to the sheer destructive potential of the Gundam, and the expedition did very little in helping any of them learn more than what they already knew of in regards to his ability. Even so, Zoe did complement the fact that Jaeger's Titan form was a respectable stand in for when Barbatos was unable to be fielded in combat, as, in spite of the obvious difference in strength, the Titan Shifter's Titan form still possessed a respectable amount of power, a complement that was enough to make the junior in question blush in embarrassment as he was still unused to being praised.

From time to time, another member of the group that had been gathered in the office would pipe up to correct Hanji's words, much to her chagrin, though she didn't think much of it as she went through her report, and before long, she concluded it with a nod of her head before taking a step back to stand shoulder to 'shoulder' with Mike and Levi and going silent, giving Erwin a handful of seconds to process what he was just told.

About ten seconds passed before Erwin finished processing Hanji's full report, and at that, he was quick to thank the soldiers before him for all of their hard work. Thereafter, the Commander, after going through his usual debriefing speech, was quick to send his Elite soldier off on their way, with him ordering them to take some time off for a change and spend some time with their families before the actual Expedition came rolling around, and by all means, they were eager to comply.

And yet… not everyone was dismissed so quickly, however, as Erwin had asked for Levi, Hanji and Mike to stay behind. He had also requested for Eren and Mika to do so as well, though he also mentioned that they could leave if they wanted to as, whilst what they were about to discuss was certainly of importance, it wasn't important enough to warrant either of them staying if they wished to depart.

Unsurprisingly enough, Eren, being an incredibly dedicated Survey Corp supporter, remained behind as he wished to know what the issue was, and should he be able to help out in any way, he would do so without hesitation. On the other end of the spectrum, however, Mikazuki didn't seem to be too interested in the whole ordeal, though he remained behind regardless as, according to him: "I don't know my way around Karanses. I'd rather not get lost, so I'm going to wait for Mike."

And for all it was worth… that was a pretty good reason. Or at least, Mike thought it was rather sound. Hanji found herself snickering at just how… childish that line of reason sounded, especially for someone who's proven to be just as strong as an Elite Survey Corp, and Levi… he didn't really react to Augus' comment as he shrugged and accepted that the shortstack will be joining in on their little conversation.

"I see… in any case, thank you, all of you, for remaining," thanked Erwin as he nodded in appreciation to his subordinates. The three Elites responded by mirroring his gesture while Eren didn't know how to properly respond and simply remained at attention. Meanwhile, Mikazuki had retreated over to the far right of the room and leaned himself against the wall. Reaching into his pocket, the pilot pulled a raisin out of there and threw it into his mouth as Smith continued speaking, seemingly oblivious to the mild disrespect Augus was showing him all the while. "I know that all of you are undoubtedly exhausted, and as such, I shall be brief on this."

Off at the back, Mikazuki glanced over at Eren, who was giving him the stink eye for his behavior, as he chewed on his raisin. At that, the pilot raised a brow and fished another out of his pocket. Staring down at it for a brief few milliseconds, the pilot eventually shrugged and threw it towards Jaeger, who gasped and clumsily caught it. The junior was baffled at first, though the pilot responded to his bewildered expression with a shrug, telling him that it was totally up to him on if he wanted to eat it, and after some consideration, he did…

"The traitor. They have attacked us yet again."

… and he promptly choked on the raisin as soon as he heard what Erwin had to say. The young man coughed and hacked like there was no tomorrow as Augus winced a tiny bit and watched as he slowly but surely recovered, and likewise, everyone else present watched with a mixture of amusement and mild worry as the boy smacked his fist against his chest to help him recover.

"S-Sorry… but… d-did I hear you right… sir?" muttered Eren in shock as he wiped at his eyes, prompting the Commander to nod solemnly in response to his words as he continued.

"Yes, Eren Jaeger. You heard me right," assured the Commander as he held back the urge to grimace. Erwin found himself pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a moment to push back his growing frustration, and before long, he continued speaking. "According to a report left by Moblit, they attacked roughly five hours ago."

As he spoke, Levi pursed his lips together in irritation while Hanji rubbed at her upper arm with a small amount of worry. She didn't like where this was going… and as soon as he took note of how her hands seemed to be fidgeting around more than usual, Levi was quick to shift away from Zoe before she snapped from the tension.

Mike, on the other hand…

"What exactly did the traitor target, Sir?"

And in response to Zacharius' question, Erwin exhaled sharply and responded…

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Wincing a little at that, Eren, Mika, Mike, Levi and Erwin, alongside several other Garrison soldiers and even a small handful of civilians in Trost found themselves nearly going deaf as Hanji fell to her knees in a truly dramatic fashion and screamed towards the heavens. Augus was the first to recover from the earrape, so to speak, as he poked at his ear holes with his pinky finger to rid them of the ringing sensation that they were experiencing.

Thereafter, the pilot turned back towards Hanji, or more specifically, towards the source of her grief, and found himself exhaling in irritation as he took note of why she was so agitated.

Roughly ten minutes prior, Erwin Smith had told her about just what the traitor had done whilst they were out on the field. Though his words came as no surprise to the soldiers present… the revelation was more than enough to make Hanji scream out in shock as she immediately sprinted out of her Commander's office and sprinted straight towards Trost, towards the holding site for the two captured Titans, Sawney and Bean, with the other soldiers present following her for the Hell of it.

And by the time they caught up with her, the soldiers bore witness to the poor lady's grief as she screamed up to the heavens in rage.

"They did it, huh? They killed those Titans," quipped Levi as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Mikazuki, who shrugged in response to Ackerman's comment as he watched Hanji lean forwards and slam the side of her fist into the ground in anger. As she did so, Moblit, who, curiously enough, had his arm in a cast, shuffled up to her and attempted to calm her down, though all he got in return was Hanji lunging at him and seizing him by the shoulders. Thereafter, she shook him around like he was a ragdoll as she cried out in agony for the sake of her deceased test subjects, and though it was rather mean spirited for him to admit… Mika found the sight to be rather amusing…

"Mikazuki did say that the traitor would try and kill the Titans as soon as possible…" reminded Eren as he adjusted the cloak that he was wearing. Likewise, Augus glanced over at his fellow junior with a neutral gaze as he heard his name being called out. As with Jaeger, the pilot also wore a Survey Corp cloak over his head to conceal his identity in case anyone were to recognise him as Barbatos' pilot, though in spite of the hood of the cloak, Eren was still able to make eye contact with Mikazuki briefly, and he was quick to shudder when his grey eyes met Mika's blue pair.

"Indeed, but even so… we doubled the security for the site, and yet, it wasn't enough to keep our assets safe," lamented Mike, snapping Jaeger out of his trance as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and took a sniff of the air. The scent here was highly unusual, Zacharius noticed. Aside from the stench of Hanji's grief and the dizzy panic that was emanating from Moblit, Mike couldn't make out much else. At best, there was a smell that very much reminded him of a Military Police Brigade member… but it wasn't precise enough for him to say for sure as he grimaced.

"Oi, Erwin, you said that the traitor attacked five hours ago, didn't you?" piped up Levi, with him glancing up at the aforementioned Commander as he spoke. In response to his question, the blonde nodded, prompting the midget to cross his arms and fiddle with his cravat thoughtfully. "Hmph, five hours ago… that's usually when the Garrison working at night have their break. There'll definitely be a lapse in security around that time."

"Indeed. Their attack was certainly calculated, was it not? Whoever our traitor is… they are certainly very knowledgeable on how the Military Brigades conduct themselves," quipped Erwin thoughtfully, with him half-heartedly complementing the bugger who had outsmarted them as he rubbed his chin. In response to his words, Mike, Levi and even Eren stared up at him with amused and, in the latter's case, baffled expressions while Mika stayed silent. "We must be more vigilant from here on out to prevent more losses…"

"Yeah… we do," replied Mika, surprisingly enough, as he watched Hanji have a mental breakdown in front of them. Whilst the sight was rather amusing, to say the least, the blue eyed pilot found himself swiftly dismissing the whole issue as he simply exhaled sharply and shut his eyes in frustration.

Almost immediately after he did so, however, the pilot found himself… remembering the encounter he had with that traitor that they were looking for. Though it was brief, the little sword fight they had with one another was more than enough to tell the pilot quite a bit about them.

Their traitor was strong, above average at best, though they were certainly not on the level of an Elite or senior, placing them in a Cadet or, at best, junior soldier category. Likewise, the traitor was smart, as they knew how and when to strike in order to maximise results. And finally… the traitor… they likely had blonde hair… and that last part was the thing that riled Mika up more than he wanted to admit.

Above average physicality, intelligence and with blonde hair… all of that was a dead ringer for… for…

"Hey… Mika, you alright there?"

Blinking a little as his name was called, Mikazuki glanced over to his side and raised a brow when he saw Eren Jaeger staring at him with raised brows. The Shifter appeared to be rather worried for his mental health, Mika noticed, as he eyed the kid, though as soon as he made eye contact with the him, Jaeger noticeably flinched as he leaned his head back a little in fear, though he was quick to get over most of it as he cleared his throat.

"S-Sorry… you just kinda spaced out for a moment there. I got kinda worried," apologised Eren as he scratched the back of his head in a truly awkward manner. Augus' response to his worries was rather simple, with the pilot simply shrugging a little as he turned back to see Hanji punching the ground in anger. The ground actually cracked a little under her fist as she did so, surprising the pilot a little as he raised a brow in amusement. "Are… you alright?"

"Yeah," replied Mika neutrally as he clenched his fist in frustration, with him not wishing to believe his own thoughts all the while.

"I'm just peachy."

Some time later

And so, after about fifteen minutes of bawling her eyes out, Hanji eventually allowed the other soldiers present to cart her off as she remained slouched forwards in grief.

The poor lady had a hollow look in her eyes as she allowed the Survey Corp and Garrison soldiers to drag her off to recuperate from her loss, though for as… heartbreaking as it was to bear witness to, Mikazuki, in all honesty, found it more amusing than anything. Vice versa, Eren, as he usually did, felt rather bad for the Captain and volunteered to help her get back up to her feet, so to speak, a notion that surprised Erwin quite a bit, though he granted him permission to do so, thus leaving Mikazuki alone with his three seniors as they stood within Erwin's office.

"That kid's a real softy," quipped Levi as he watched Eren waltz off to provide moral support to Hanji. Beside him, Mike, in spite of himself, couldn't help but nod in agreement as Erwin chuckled in amusement. "Still rather hard to believe that he's one of our strongest weapons against the Titans."

"Regardless of how 'soft' he may be, Eren's drive to contribute to our cause is something that even some of our best soldiers can't claim to possess," commented Erwin with a gentle smile as he gestured rather unnecessarily. Mike and Mika both had nothing to say in response to that comment, though Levi couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes as he snorted.

"Soft, yes, but the Survey Corps have no need for these… simple souls, Erwin," rebutted Ackerman as Smith chuckled and nodded.

"On that, we can agree, though I believe that Eren is anything but a simple soul," muttered Erwin solemnly as his smile slowly but surely faded into nothing. His little comment ended up reminding everyone present that Eren, alongside every last one of their new recruits, were not as naive as a good majority of their previous recruits were. The Battle for Trost had hardened their hearts, and from here on out, Erwin knew that to treat them as mere recruits would be an insult to their abilities.

After all, considering just what the Hell these kids have been through, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to consider them to be tried and true Survey Corps.

"Yeah yeah, I get you, Erwin. These kids are… impressive, aren't they?" relented Levi as he rolled his eyes. Upon hearing him, Mika, of all people, perked up as he glanced over at him, though he said nothing as he kept his gaze on the midget, who continued speaking. "They survived the equivalent of Hell and are still in good enough condition to speak about it. Seems almost unnatural, but what do I know. I'm not one of them."

"We have one of those kids standing right here, don't we?" reminded Mike as he gestured towards Mikazuki, who remained silent as all eyes lowered themselves down, or in Levi's case, up to his level. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Because I'm sure he has better things to do with his time," retorted Levi as he stared at Augus for confirmation. At that, the pilot simply shrugged as he showed quite a bit of indifference to the midget's comment, though he didn't disprove it completely as Ackerman snorted and continued speaking. "Speaking of which, can we tell him to go already? He's been here long enough."

"I never thought you, of all people, would be worried for Mikazuki's health and wellbeing," quipped Mike rather abruptly as Ackerman rolled his eyes and leaned his back against the wall closest to him. Crossing his arms, the Elite was quick to crack his neck before responding.

"No. I just believe that he has some… people to get back to right about now, you know?" responded Levi in his usual deadpanned tone of voice as Erwin raised his brows briefly in confusion, though before long, he understood just what Ackerman was getting at as he nodded.

"I see… your… family, yes?" inquired Erwin, smiling in understanding as he briefly made eye contact with Mikazuki, who noticeably perked up as the topic of family was brought up, though he was quick to shake it off as he offered a mild nod in response to his words, prompting Smith to smile as he clasped his hands together and continued. "I see. Mike, if you may, please bring him to the Survey Corp HQ. I don't doubt that Sys or Ness would turn him down, but it never hurts to prepare for everything."

"That, and we don't even know if Mika knows where the place is anyways," added Levi, with his sarcasm being very much apparent as Erwin rolled his eyes and chuckled. He didn't respond to that jab from the Elite, however, as he remained silent.

"Yes sir," was all Mike said in response to Smith's orders, with him ignoring Ackerman's little comment all the while. Thereafter, the Elite gestured for Augus to follow him out of the room, though before he left the Commander's office, the pilot stopped at the door and gripped onto its frame rather harshly, with him grabbing onto it with enough force to break the door's frame all the while.

Upon noticing the pilot's apparent uncertainty to leave, the Survey Corp Commander glanced over at him with a raised brow and opened his mouth to ask just what was wrong, though before he could do so, he was swiftly silenced when the pilot abruptly glanced back at him with an… unusual gaze.

Though his gaze was just as stoic as it usually was… there was something undoubtedly off about it, Erwin noticed. Aside from the stoic neutrality, there was… there was also a small amount of fear hidden behind Augus' neutral stare. It came as enough of a surprise to Smith that it made him flinch in shock, though he was quick to get over it as he cleared his throat.

"Mikazuki Augus, is something wrong?" inquired Erwin, to which Mika simply shook his head, though the gesture appeared to be rather… forced, Smith realized, as the pilot released his grip on the door frame and left the room completely.

"No, sir," assured Mika as he shut the door on his superior. "It's all… peachy."

And with that, the sound of Erwin's office door shutting itself signaled the start of a rather awkward silence as both Levi and the heavily eyebrowed blonde said nothing thereafter… though before long, the silence was broken as Ackerman exhaled sharply.

"... he knows something, doesn't he?"

"Indeed…"

Been a hot minute, now hasn't it?

A new chapter, a new month! Ah… a new month…

Look, here's something important. I'll elaborate on this more in the future but… there will be more consistent updates for the next two months. Why? Well, simply put, I have something… important coming in August. For now, don't worry about it. Just sit back and relaaaaaax.

Admittedly, this is one of my weaker chapters. A lot of exposition… but I hope it was enjoyable at least! I'm not a science or politics guy so the first half was probably a little wonky but hopefully not unreadable.

Oh! And I redrew the cover picture for the story! Everyone looks more natural now... or at least as natural as my drawings can look.

Review replies!

nliochristou: canon divergence will come… soon

Jose Diaz1: thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And Eren being written that way is just me trying to bring him a little into the light. He's not a character I know how to write that well, admittedly… and regarding Barbatos being embarrassed, I'm a firm believer of the Gundams with AV Systems having a tiny form of sentience.

Grey Falcon Knight: aye, Barbs is truly a beast, now isn't he? And oh yeah Flauros. I wonder what that could be. And yeah, it's pretty good to be back.

Touhoufanatic: well I'm glad it was nice to you! It was a bit of a nightmare to write, I won't lie…

Cassnova5424: again, it's good to be back! And I'm sure they're better Gundam fics out there, honestly!

naufalrakha0104: while it could certainly be cool to have more than one, for the sake of balance, the other Gundam won't be brought up for the foreseeable future…

Hat109: well, this is getting kinda repetitive of me to say, but I'm glad that you enjoyed all that I wrote! And regarding Flauros… refer to the top reply please.

N1cok, Batman9117 and Shadow: why thank you!

Guest: yes, that fanfiction. The one that disappeared some time ago.

Mark1: yes, Flauros is another Gundam. And due to spoilers, I can't tell you that…

Dancouga01-23: ok so I know I just said no spoilers, but I will reveal this; the way Attack on Titan ends in this story will be very different from how it did in canon. Likewise, due to circumstances, IBO S2 does not happen in this story more so for my sanity.

Afdhalul akbar: this one's a little long so let's not waste time. Renn (proofreader) and I discussed this quite a fair bit and we agreed that a telephone will more than likely not be able to pick up LCS or local comm links as advanced as a Gundam's. At best, it'll be a mild interference that can be easily hand waved off. And in regards to the spoiler things, I'll just quickly say that I don't mind spoilers. However, I can't say the same for the people who read the story and read the reviews, and as such, I implore anyone who reads this to avoid posting spoilers for the sake of others!

Xenofoxwolf: well, I'm glad you think that!

Adriaus Nighthunter: it's still funny how I made some ships by having this story up…

Alright! It would seem as though a lot of you guys wish for Iron Blooded Orphans REVAMPED to be brought back! Well your wish is my command at this point!

Oh, and if you guys are interested in Undertale… well, I do have a story for that up on my profile so… if you waaaant… it's called Amalfitale!

Alright enough self promotion. See you guys next time!