At the same moment back in Veritas, Armin and Oz were quickly making their way down the communications corridor located on the top floor of the Parliament building. They hurried around a corner and walking through the first door on their left. Inside was small box-shaped room with one side completely covered by a large array of technical equipment. Inside Armin made eyes with both Jean and Connie, who both wore the same heavy lines of concern on their faces.
Stuffed inside the tight room was also another engineer he didn't remember the name of and two others: Kiyomi Azumabito, the lead ambassador from the Hizuru nation and a close ally, and the acting President of Marly and leader of Veritas - Andre Wohl.
Wohl was a large and fair man. He had won his campaign the year prior by pledging his sympathies to the Eldian people, which lead to both rejoice and outcry during his election proceedings. He was very interested in the part Armin and his friends had played in the way the world was shaped now, and had become rather devote in the communication/safety of the Queen. He turned to them as they entered the room and greeted them with a pleased grunt.
"Ah, there you are! Good, good. Gentlemen, I wish our meeting was under better circumstances, but I'm afraid this calls for all eyes at the ready." Kiyomi bent slightly to him, looking equally as worried.
Oz slipped passed him with a respectable nod and sat down in a lumpy chair next to the other engineer. It was Pieck who came crashing through the door next, red and huffing.
"What's going on? I had barely landed back on solid ground before they told me I needed to be here, pronto."
"Historia missed her communique this morning." Jean said tightly. "They've been trying to get in contact with her since this morning with no luck." Pieck blanched the same color as Armin had not an hour before.
"Is there any way it could be just a mechanical issue? Something that's broken over on their side?" Armin asked desperately, though he knew he was just grasping at straws now.
Oz looked at him over his shoulder. "We considered that at first. The problem is that we've run plenty of tests to see if that was the issue, but we are still actively connecting with their equipment. There's just… no answer." He turned back to the console and flipped a switch. Loud static could be heard through an audio device sitting on the table in front of him. Oz grabbed a thick wire with large mesh bulb on the top and pressed another button below it.
"Paradis Tower this in Marlyean Base, please respond."
Only continued static answered him. He tried again and again, but all that could be heard was the electrical buzz of the speaker. Turning back to President Wohl he shrugged. "She's never missed contact before sir, especially not since we began planning their removal from the island. They haven't even been late."
"When was the last time we made contact with her or her people?"
"Three days ago."
President Wohl nodded. "This indeed feels worrisome. I don't believe there are many reasons for Queen Historia to miss such an important connection, besides the one I'm sure we are all thinking."
"I KNEW this would happen." Jean spat, running a rough hand through his hair. "I told you we should have gotten her and Mikasa out when the protests started!"
"With all due respect Commander Kirstein, the Queen wasn't willing to leave until she had exhausted all other attempts to regain her foothold with the people." The President said, eyeing him sternly. Jean didn't respond as he began pacing around in the limited space he had.
"Do you think the Jaegerist military got wind of her evacuation?" Kiyomi asked, searching every face in the room for an answer.
"It's possible. Their reach goes very far these days. It's not a stretch to wonder if her regime had an information leak." Oz muttered while leafing through his transcribe notes from the more recent weeks. "But there's nothing in here that suggests she believed there was."
"Then what the hell do we do?!" Connie cried.
Jean's answer came first. "We obviously go get them. Now."
President Wohl held up his hand in a calming gesture. "Now we can't go launching a full-scale envoy team onto Paradis's shores; they would perceive this as a threat and open war would be instantaneous! Besides, it's possible that we are mistaken, and it is just an unfortunate case of malfunctioning equipment."
"Open war was chosen by them when they decided to abduct our people!" Jean countered, eyes livid. "Do you suggest we just sit around and do nothing while the Jaegerists carry out whatever they have planned with them?! She has a daughter there with her!"
"I'm well aware of the situation, Commander. But going ahead with a counter move right now would risk too much. It might not be ideal, but I cannot promote open conflict." President Kohl said with a raised voice. The room was quiet as they looked between one another anxiously. He turned to Oz with his shoulders squared. "Mr. Bennet, I want you to monitor their frequency closely for the next few days. If we do not hear back from them by then, we can reconvene and" –
Jean's face turned bright red. "No way, we need to move now before something worse than a possible kidnapping happens! We don't have any idea what's going on over there. We need to get boots on the ground immediately to assess"-
"Hello?"
Silence fell over the room as they all turned incredulously to look at the static-filled speaker that had just spoken to them.
Oz frantically grabbed the microphone and flipped it on. "We read you Paradis Tower, what's your situation?" There was a small moment of uninterrupted static before the voice returned.
"The Jaegerist military have taken Historia and her daughter, along with a handful of high-ranking officials. I don't know where they went, only that it was North. I wasn't there… maybe I could have stopped it if…"
Armin rushed to the table and pushed Oz out of the way to grab the receiver.
"Mikasa?"
The truth behind the matter was pretty close to what they had surmised: the High Council of the Jaegerist Movement had indeed caught wind of the Free Eldian's plan to evacuate the island and had apprehended Historia and her people shortly after the last communique she had with Marlyean Base. Mikasa had returned to the complex just that afternoon to find it completely empty with obvious signs of a struggle. She had only just been able to figure out the controls to the radio as they had contacted the tower.
Now that their suspicions had been confirmed, panic had rooted itself firmly within the stomachs of Historia's friends and allies.
"Mr. President, I understand your reasons behind not wanting to incite a possible war, but we cannot allow Paradis and their Jaegerists to get away with this." Kiyomi Azumabito reasoned, wringing her dainty hands between one another.
"What possible reason would the Council have for pulling such an aggressive move? Wouldn't they want Historia and her Free Eldians to leave? That would allow them full reign over the entire island. It doesn't make any sense." Connie was sitting on the edge of the table, head in his hands.
There was little response from the room. No one seemed to know what the right thing to say was.
"What we need," Armin began, not looking at anyone in particular, "Is what Jean said; to get people on the ground to assess the situation. Now I also agree that sending in our military force would escalate things too quickly, which in turn could make their government react in a way that would do Historia more harm than good."
He turned to address President Wohl, an all too familiar expression on his face.
"What I suggest is getting together a small covert team"-
"Wait wait wait, don't tell me you want us to go back over there, Armin?!" Connie's face had become damp and green, another all too familiar sight. Armin held up his hand and glared at him.
"A small team that can slip in unnoticed, and relay back whatever information we can gather on Historia's whereabouts and her condition."
Jean was nodding his head in agreement.
Pieck's face was much the same as Connie's as she piped up. "But Historia said the Jaegerists have built watch towers up and down both the east and west coasts after we managed to get out of there a few years ago, and the south controls the port AND their aircraft construction center. There's nowhere to get in without being seen!"
"Those aren't the only options we have." Armin said gravely.
"I don't think that Historia or her family are in any immediate danger." Mikasa's disembodied voice crackled through the open comms channel. "Whatever they have planned for her and Ymira wouldn't include their harm. At least, not yet."
"Then it seems we have some time to plan it out properly…" President Wohl mumbled. "Miss Ackerman, are you confident in your ability to monitor the situation for the time being, until we are able to execute a more cohesive plan?"
Her response was immediate.
"Yes sir."
He turned to Armin now with a serious yet relenting expression. "Mr. Arlert, I hate to say it, but you make a decent point. We can't afford to not know about the location of the Queen or the condition of her and her people. That being said, not a single person you or I may choose to be a part of this mission is obligated to agree. Your knowledge about the lay of the land and people is invaluable to an excursion team of course, but this will prove more difficult than your peace mission ever could have been. They will be expecting a rebuttal now and are clearly ready to take up arms against you."
The weight of the silence in the room was suffocating, a mixture of both fear and decisiveness. The members of the old 104th Cadet Corps looked searchingly between one another. Not one of them would ever consider reliving this particular horror if it was anyone other than Historia and Mikasa. A decade of friendship hung between them now; years of their life spent in the protection of one another. Time and distance may have pushed them from each other's reach, but how could they stand by and watch this happen, even with the immeasurable risks that they would surely face? Armin didn't know what his friends would choose, and he wouldn't dream of holding it against them either way, not after the last time he led them onto the island of their youth. His mind, however, was decided the moment he opened his door to Oz's anxious face.
"Yes sir, I understand the risk completely. I volunteer myself to lead the expedition and to actively participate in the selection of personnel to accompany me."
Andre Wohl nodded solemnly. He had expected no less, it seemed. "Very well, Mr. Arlert. This detail is officially in your jurisdiction to operate. I also expect complete openness with the Veritas government on the progress of your decisions. This operation cannot be rushed, too much is at stake."
"Of course, sir." Whether it was intentional or just an ingrained habit, Armin swung his fist to his heart in solute.
The moment the four of them were alone, Connie was in Armin's face.
"Are you crazy?! This would be nearly impossible even with an army at our back! Did you become suicidal all of a sudden?" His anger was fierce, but it was based in fear, not at his friend. Armin didn't look at him as he sat wearily down on a chair in the empty board room they had escaped to.
"Just as President Wohl said, you don't have any obligation to do this, Connie. This isn't going to be like last time, at least then there was a chance that things would go well, however slim it was."
"Right. I don't think we can expect a welcoming party and escort this time around." Jean said. He was just as decided as Armin was, but he also would have understood if Connie chose not to. His mother had come to the mainland a couple years ago, and this took away much of the drive he had for returning to Paradis, though not all.
Connie hung his head. "You know I could never just stay here and do nothing while you two go and risk your lives for them. You're wrong, I do have an obligation and that's to Historia and Mikasa. And now because of your big mouth, I'm going to have to go back over there!" He threw up his arms in frustration. "A few more weeks and they would have been safely on allied ground. What the hell is going on over there?"
Armin looked at him grimly. "That's what we need to find out. Look, this is going to sound the exact same as three years ago, but it must be said: I can't ask any of you to go through with this and there is no judgement on you if you choose to stay here. It will be dangerous with little chance of success, even less than before. The main reason I suggested this is that I know they would do it for any one of us."
The three of them regarded him with trepidation. This they knew to be true.
"So, I will only ask you this: what is your choice?"
The group was silent for a long moment. Connie stared blankly down at his clenched hands, Pieck looked like she was about to be sick. Even Jean hesitated in the face of this insurmountable task. But just as they always had when they found themselves faced with odds this dire, they found their strength within each other.
"Fuck it, let's do this." Connie said through gritted teeth.
"You'll make Commander yet, my friend." Jean slapped him hard on the back with a smile and turned to Armin. "I'm in."
"I'd like to reiterate the question of how we are even supposed to get there without being seen?" Pieck had been quiet during this exchange, but she spoke now as if her decision was already known. "They haven't left us with any avenues that would even let us land on the island without being spotted, let alone do recon. And if God-forbid the need arises for us to rescue Historia, there's no way we can do that without them knowing what we were up to."
"Like I said, there is another option." Armin's relief had been plain on his face, but now it was replaced with determination. He stood up and looked around the room until he spotted a map plastered on the wall near a desk in the corner. Armin ushered them over to the table, pulled the map down and spread it out in front of them.
There they could see a detailed drawing of Marly and its coast post Rumbling, and a less concise but still accurate image of Paradis. It was well known that the Eastern, Western and Southern edges of the island were guarded now, thanks to the means of their escape years prior. Yet there was one coast that they had all but ignored due to its' inaccessibility: until now.
Armin placed his finger on top of the large mountain range depicted on the Northern coast of the island. "Here. Marotsara."
Jean, Connie and Pieck gaped at him.
"Uh…Armin? There's a reason that side of the island isn't fortified, and it has something to do with GIANT MOUNTAINS being in the way." Jean said sarcastically, trying to find some sort of jest in Armin's expression.
It quickly became apparent that there wasn't any. "That doesn't mean we can't use that to our advantage." He replied seriously.
"Okay so I was right about the death wish, then." Connie muttered as he stalked away, looking exasperated. "That will make things much easier for the Jaegerists if we simply freeze to death first."
"Or fall off the face of a mountain." Jean added.
Pieck however was staring at the map intently. "How would it work?"
Armin looked up from the map with a smile. "The thing is, we don't need to do any actual climbing or navigating through the mountains. What I'm thinking is we take a plane from Kardif… across the water to the Northern-most portion of the island…" he traced their potential path with his fingertip. "And travel OVER the mountains, touching down somewhere just before the peaks give way to the northern section of the island. Now, the Scouts only ever went on a couple missions North of the Walls. The only records I remember seeing mentioned that the landscape was confusing; something about the rock formations that stretch out from the mountain range. There is no way the Jaegerists would expect us to come from that direction, giving us a better edge than we could hope for under the circumstances."
They were all once again staring at him incredulously.
"Has a plane ever actually flown that high?" Connie asked apprehensively. "I mean, the few we do have always go around the mountains surrounding Veritas, and those aren't nearly as big as the ones on Paradis."
"I don't know, but if what Mikasa said is true, we have time to find out."
Frowning at the ground, Jean began to pace again. "Okay, let's assume for a second that this bat-shit crazy idea with the plane works. Then what? We get ourselves lost trying to make it to the wall?"
Armin grinned even harder. "I may have failed to mention that there is still one person left alive who could guide us."
The meaning behind his words hit them like a train.
"Captain Levi!" Connie exclaimed. "He was part of the mission up North?!"
Armin nodded. "It was one of the last expeditions the Scouts went on before the Trost wall was breached. It's been a very long time, I know, but if anyone could remember details from then, it would be Levi."
"Even if he could remember, there is no way he would agree to come with us." Jean reminded him. "Even if his body were able, he doesn't think this is his fight anymore."
Jean has me there. Armin thought. The last time they had seen the captain was not a particularly pleasant memory. Levi believed that not only was his condition irreversible and rendered him no use to the government, but that his fight had been with titans, not people. He had turned down their offers to be a part of command and be seen medical experts ever since.
"Maybe he can just explain it the best he can to us?" Pieck said, looking unsure.
"Maybe he could, but it would be much more valuable to us if he were there. Besides, that still doesn't answer our even bigger problem: how in sweet God do we find a way to sneak into an unknown enemy base AND escape with the Queen and her people? It's impossible. We have two very specific needs for this mission to work, and we don't have either!"
The group lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Jean was right, they needed both Levi's guidance AND at least some idea of how they were going to pull Historia and her people out of there. Without those, Connie's remark about a death wish was much too close to the truth. The hush that fell around them continued as each of them racked their brain for an answer to the massive holes in their strategy. Just as it was becoming apparent that no one had that answer, Connie burst out with a single laugh of disbelief. The all turned to him, brows furrowed.
"That's it." He whispered, looking at them all with a massive grin of surprise.
"If you've got something to say, Con, spit it out." Jean barked.
"The answer to both of our problems is the same! How can we convince Levi to come with us, or at least share with us the knowledge he has? Find a doctor willing to go see him and more-or-less bribe him with a treatment to his injuries. Need a way to sneak into a Jaegerist stronghold without being caught?" He paused a beat before he continued. "Get yourself a Jaegerist."
Armin gasped in understanding as the almost forgotten image of deep ochre brown eyes filled his mind. "Arya!"