Annie Leonhart held a small Imperial storage container to her chest and opened the top.
A stormtrooper officer in his black dress uniform appraised the contents. Between the regular rations inside, he picked out one of the small glass jars and shook it while eyeing the material inside. "What do your people call this again?"
It was a fairly exotic spice, derived from herbs exclusive to the island. Annie was fortunate enough to have a connection to a chef with access to the ingredients after her time infiltrating the Interior.
A stormtrooper with partial armor jeered at his superior. "Who cares about the name, Loot? Tastes better than the garbage mix the rook cooks up." Laughter followed, the "rook" in question trying to shout over his squadmates with defensive remarks.
"Loot" was a shorthand for "Lieutenant", Annie had learned. Lieutenant Dix rolled his eyes before shutting the box and taking it from Annie's arms. He handed her a datapad. "COMPNOR tends to care more about your attitude than your aptitude. Ideology over competency. Read up on what COMPNOR wants you to say, and you'll get more leeway on where you get deployed for the expedition."
Annie and her partners never needed to blatantly bribe their way up the ranks of the Cadet Corps, and they were matching the pace of joint task force training adequately enough, but given that the Imperials were from outer space, it was better to have as many advantages as possible when dealing with them.
"Chief Strom is smart," Dix said, "as are his closest advisors. They'll catch on if too many cadets are feeding them only what they want to hear. Don't share it with anyone other than your friends here."
Bertholdt and Reiner were at Annie's sides, carrying their own share of deliveries due for this batch of Imperials. A couple troopers took their offerings, a flurry of movement erupting in the room once the squad was done bullying their rookie. They were inside a modest restaurant near the inner gate of Wall Rose, just outside Trost. The owners had died during the Titan attack, and Imperial troops had effectively commandeered the building for their own private use.
"I still need that datapad," Dix added as half the squad went through the boxes to begin cooking for their platoon. Others were clearing away weapons and equipment to make the platoon comfortable when they were recalled from their daily duties for lunch. "You three can read it over outside. Study session's over when I come out to take it back."
Reiner played the diplomat. "Thank you, Lieutenant."
Dix was already turning his back to the cadets and joining his men. With their business concluded, three secret Warriors of Marley exited the restaurant and huddled around a small table.
Imperials and Paradis soldiers alike were crawling everywhere with all the joint task force training and distribution of offworld technologies. Thanks to the increased security and activity, most of the inconspicuous locations and times of the day for the Warriors to safely discuss their mission in detail were out of their reach. Today's exchange of favors proved beneficial for the Warriors on this issue; foot traffic was extremely low by the Trost gate since many civilians in this area had signed up for work under the Empire, and Dix's men were too busy to eavesdrop on the "primitive" cadets. The Warriors essentially had free reign to formally resynchronize at once, and their relations with potential Imperial allies improved.
In a low voice, Reiner cut to the chase: "We need to report back to Marley. Tell them everything we can about the Empire."
Annie propped up the datapad to maintain their cover of studying, but her full attention was on this discussion. Whatever they decided by the end of it would dictate how they played things for the remainder of their mission.
"There's no way the Empire doesn't know about civilization beyond Paradis," Reiner said. "I ran the math on the gunships. Even with conservative estimates from the data COMPNOR provided on their vehicles, their flying machines can easily make it to the mainland from the island in a fraction of the time as our ocean-bound ships. The Empire is playing the island devils for fools while other Imperials are gauging the other nations. The world beyond Paradis has too many resources the Galactic Empire wouldn't ignore."
Bertholdt threw a paranoid glance over his shoulder before rejoining the huddle. "What does that mean for us? Do you think they've landed on Marley already? Do they know Marley has Warriors on Paradis?"
Annie doubted it. "Marley must be keeping quiet about us," she said. "Imperials wouldn't be letting us roam free if they knew. We're a security risk for them. If the Empire is really stranded, then they'll have an easier time stripping Paradis of its resources without outside interference. The Eldians here are helping the Empire. Whether or not the source of their 'disruption field' is on the island, they'll have an easier time tracking it down here or in another part of the world once they've restocked with everything Paradis has to offer."
Reiner shook his head in frustration and disbelief. "Man. Improvising shelters and outposts make sense. But portable equipment to immediately process raw materials into fuel and ammunition? They can refine metals and shape them into tools as easily as carving out a wooden stake."
He was barely exaggerating. The Empire had prefabricated factories, on top of the prefabricated barracks and command centers and mining facilities. They weren't making entire gunships and juggernauts any time soon, but small arms, their munitions, and new armor sets were definitely on the production queue.
"They did say Wellhart Battlegroup was originally intended as an expeditionary force," Bertholdt said. The Imperials on the island were divided into three main groups: the Army Battlegroup, the 501st Legion stormtroopers, and the naval division who had crewed their crashed Star Destroyer. COMPNOR officers mingled between each group, and everyone, the high-ranking generals included, answered to Darth Vader. "Their engineers haven't stopped working ever since we retook Trost. The Empire is on countless planets already. If we're in unexplored lands – If Kyojin is in unexplored space, then they must have planned a lot of contingencies to fall back on."
"And we have no contingencies for something like the Empire throwing everything into chaos," Reiner said in resignation. "That's why we need to update Marley on our first-hand knowledge as soon as possible."
It was a risky plan. "We're technically part of the Empire now," Annie said. "Three top cadets deserting is going to make things more messy. Considering the reinforcement they've done for Trost, they must have turned the port into a fortress."
Reiner knew Annie would be the most resistant to whatever plans he proposed, so he centered his stare on her. "The Empire is going to bleed Paradis dry. They already have their paws on Eren, who might be the Coordinate for all we know. Our mission will be a total failure unless we tell Marley everything we've learned. Give Marley everything our superiors can use to plan out deals with the Empire, or operations against it, with more context than whatever limited information the Imperials give them."
"Five years on Paradis, and the most we can show for it is telling Marley it stands no chance of beating the alien invaders? That's what you want to do?"
"It's better than nothing!" Reiner kept his retort down to a harsh whisper. "We don't know how talks are going down between the Empire and Marley, or between the Empire and the many nations that would love to see Marley burnt to the ground. Our superiors know far more about Titan and Eldian physiology than anyone else. Titans are the most unique thing about our planet. Marley can leverage its power over the Titans to make sure our people aren't left in the dust when the Empire takes control of everything."
Leverage the power of the Titans that were wiped clean from Trost by less than a dozen Imperial gunships? "Let's say we do make it back to the mainland. We tell the War Chief about the gunships, the walkers, the mining lasers. We'll bring back a blaster and a datapad or two. Hand out a few Imperial rations for the Warrior candidates. All the War Chief and the Commander will tell their bosses is that every weapon the Empire has, their entire society, already won the race to make Titans moot."
"Not necessarily. Not if Marley entices the Empire with the power of the Coordinate."
Did he mean surrendering the Coordinate to the Empire?
The more Annie thought about it… the more she could see where Reiner was going with this.
"We go home," he elaborated, "tell our superiors exactly how the Empire is handling these island devils, and our people will figure out how to convince the Empire that unlocking the full potential of the Titans can only be done through Marley. We as Warriors must ensure the Empire agrees to help Marley reclaim the Coordinate. Then Marley secures the entirety of… of our world, Kyojin, for the Galactic Empire." Reiner lost some confidence as he lined out his idea aloud, but he took a breath and hardened himself, staring intently at Annie.
Of course Bertholdt was in Reiner's camp. "So the government of Marley becomes the client of the Empire instead of Paradis, with preferential treatment over all other nations."
It was a gamble Annie wasn't sure would work out in their favor. "Do you really think Titans are that big of a bargaining chip? They're a curiosity to the Empire, not some game-changing phenomenon that will change their understanding about humanity. If we can trust COMPNOR's history books to a point, there are Near-Human species, hundreds of them, already living on thousands of worlds. They have their pick of 'changeling' species, too. Eldians and Titans are just another variation."
"Titans are still a useful asset," Reiner insisted, "especially for expeditions on other planets. More primitive planets, where Titans can be used as fodder to eliminate undesirables who don't have the technology to fight back. If it's more aliens who aren't human, then the War Chief or the Warrior who inherits the Coordinate can command Titans to take them out. Then the Empire can save on resources they wouldn't otherwise need to spend on subjugating new worlds. Or, Imperial scientists can work out how to adapt Titan regeneration into regular humans, like their bacta patches."
An absurd idea on the surface, but the Empire has already broken the Warriors' expectation on several different fronts, Annie privately admitted.
"Can it be done? Marley and the Empire can find out together. If we get to Marley first and advise them how to get into the Empire's good graces. Stress to our people at home that Marley needs to earn the Empire's favor before the Imperials get too comfortable on Paradis."
Our people at home.
Hardly anything else mattered to Annie except for returning home.
Reiner took her silence as begrudging agreement "It'll have to be you, Annie, who makes the trip back to Marley."
She maintained her cold, stoic demeanor, showing no signs of eagerness at being the one to return home first.
"Like you said, all three of us disappearing will make things messy. Plus, the Walls only have records on the Armored and Colossal Titans. The Female Titan can pass as an Abnormal to the Imperials easy enough once you get beyond Wall Maria. If patrolling Imperials get too close, you can attract Pure Titans to give yourself cover to escape. Keep a low profile once you get to the southern port. If any Marleyan soldiers are being held by the Imperials, you should make contact with them and work from there. Otherwise, choose your moment to hide aboard a transport slated for Marley. If the Empire's being sticklers about resources, then they'll be launching transports from the edge of the island to conserve fuel."
A decent plan, but a problematic one given the implications from their education under COMPNOR. "We're not even sure if stowing away is possible for whatever vehicles the Empire is using to get to Marley," Annie said. "They used advanced technology to detect life forms on our planet. They could have systems we don't know about to catch stowaways, too."
Reiner froze, and quietly swore. "That's a good point. They already recorded our names and faces, too. If you get caught…"
Annie saw Bertholdt's genuine worry at the prospect of her being captured. Reiner stewed in a mix of concern for a fellow Warrior and worry for the secrets she could spill if interrogated by the Imperials. "I won't compromise our real identities as Warriors," she declared.
Yet she might have to if she became a prisoner like Eren.
When Annie had observed Eren use his Titan form during Trost, she figured it was one of his first times transforming. He was as clueless about his abilities as the Empire, so he willingly surrendered himself to their custody to learn about his power with a modicum of guidance. Annie had the power, and knowledge about the Titans and Marleyan society. Those were her only bargaining chips.
The last resort of hiding herself in a shell of hardened crystal was liable to not even work. If blasters or small-scaled explosives didn't cut it, concentrated mining lasers could likely penetrate Titan hardening and force her out.
Then there was all the rumors about Darth Vader's strange powers. Annie didn't know if among his arsenal was something that would break her, compel her to talk.
Unless Annie was somehow able to cut through the middleman and bargain a deal for herself ahead of Marley… but there was no guarantee of that succeeding either.
It was an option Bertholdt entertained for all three of them. "Should we just come clean to the Imperials outright?" he asked with hesitation. "Tell them who we are? Tell them our nation can offer more than the devilspawn on the island. If we want Marley and the Empire to work together, more subterfuge risks that relationship."
"No," said Reiner. "The Empire has to have made contact with Marley by now. If the Empire hasn't detained us yet, then Marley must be keeping the operation on Paradis and its participants confidential. Giving Marley the advantage in any negotiations will only work if we reconnect with the mainland covertly, without the Imperials aware of us. If we tell the Empire who we are right now, we'll only be revealing ourselves as valuable assets for them to enslave, following the Empire's tune over Marley's."
Slaves to Marley. Slaves to the Empire. What would be the difference?
Annie's father was still in Marley. That was the difference.
"I'm a bit short for a stormtrooper," Annie noted, "and I don't think there are many women in armor compared to men, but if I can get a set, with the helmet and the bodysuit underneath…"
Reiner looked optimistic at the suggestion. "Disguise yourself and join a stormtrooper unit on a flying ship due for Marley. That could work." His lips formed a grin that Annie wanted to knock the teeth out of. "You can play the strong, silent type, too. You'll fit right in with those bucketheads."
Annie was never in the mood for Reiner's jokes. Especially this smiling Reiner, the self-assigned leader of their Warrior detachment who couldn't help himself from getting cozy with the devils of Paradise. To play the role of the dutiful, exemplary soldier he was never able to embody back home. He didn't even realize how much he was lying to himself.
But in the end, it hardly mattered to Annie if Reiner the Soldier had his solidarity with the other cadets, sharing their general wariness and intrigue with the Empire while trying to raise their spirits with faked confidence. Reiner the Warrior wanted Annie to return to Marley. She can work with this.
"I'll need more time to familiarize myself with the armor," Annie said. "The private helmet comms, as far as I understand it, can operate with a wrist-mounted interface, or under the visor, a specific sequence of eye-blinks. 'Defective equipment' is an excuse that can only go so far. Any ignorance on my part will immediately expose me."
"You might have some leeway," Reiner said. "The galaxy is a big place, and the regular army and elite stormtrooper branches have been overlapping because of their losses from the Titans. Different walks of life, different levels of competence, different biases coloring people's judgment–"
"There's still a common standard of training and protocols the Imps adhere to. I need to know how to work in the armor to stave off suspicion. There's also securing a suit of stormtrooper armor to begin with. After Sasha's last nerf heist, every Imperial bureaucrat has been keeping a tighter leash on their supplies and logistics. The tricks with going hungry to pocket our allotted rations or hiding half-charged power packs won't work for a full set of armor." Their exchange with Lieutenant Dix only worked because they gave him local Paradis resources. Trading Imperial property, especially as precious as elite armor, was a far harsher challenge. "Stealing components piecemeal will take a long time."
Annie Leonhart needed to disappear if she was going to leave the Walls and reach Marley. It won't be hard for the Imperials to connect the dots if a cadet goes missing at the same time as a set of armor also gets lost. Maybe the Warriors can steal a set and hide it, let the Imperials go on a wild goose chase? Wait a while for Annie to make her escape? But that will take time, days or weeks that will give the other nations of the world more time to court the Empire. Maybe frame others in the Walls – criminals, civilians, even other cadets – as the thieves to distract the Imperials?
Bertholdt offered a potential idea. "Maybe we don't have to take uniforms one piece at a time. Sasha is working directly as a member of that stormtrooper team, Gennith Squad. I've seen them eyeing me, too."
Reiner considered his words. "You were always the best shot out of all of us. They must want you to help Sasha in hunting game. Split responsibilities between tracking critters and shooting them down."
"The task force is officially going to launch the expedition soon. Before the month's over, at the earliest. I think cadets attached to stormtrooper squads are only getting light CompForce armor pieces since we can't be too weighed down for our ODM gear. But out on the field, Titans roaming wild everywhere…"
"Right, I get it. Annie can eliminate a trooper and steal his armor with more ease out there than inside the Walls."
He meant murder a trooper.
It wasn't as if none of them have killed before. Reiner already killed one stormtrooper during Trost, but there was no evidence to implicate him. Even the blaster Reiner stole can be excused as regular loot from the battle rather than spoils of a direct kill. If their plan was to get Marley on the Empire's good side, then the Warriors needed to be portrayed as near-impeachable to avoid accruing a debt to the Empire. From what the Warriors were able to gather, Eren's manslaughter of a respected mid-level officer led to Eren becoming shackled in the task force, regardless of his dream of joining the Scouts. Annie painting a similar target on her back if she killed a stormtrooper risked everything.
No matter the circumstances, she couldn't allow herself to get caught.
"We'll be on stormtrooper squads for the expedition to retake Wall Maria," Annie said. "I'll need to kill every single person on my team; frame it as a Titan massacre." She can cut off a limb to fake her death in the slaughter, as well. "At an isolated location, where I'll have enough time to take what I need from the bodies, recover after leaving evidence of my own death, and leave before anyone sees me."
Reiner nodded in approval. "We'll each try to get a clearer picture on the task force's deployment plans. We can figure out a good time and place for you to strike. Stormtrooper armor will give you anonymity, but if any Imperial out there sees Annie Leonhart alive and well after–"
"Then it will be the last thing they ever see."
I'm coming home, father, like I promised.
"Show me."
Eren wasn't sure how to react. Did Darth Vader seriously want Levi Squad to fight him? Right this second? After Eren has just finished Titan-shifting and wouldn't immediately be able to take on the form of the Scout Titan? Vader's saber of light against the squad's ODM blades that would easily be sliced into useless scraps?
"You can schedule a play-date another time," Levi said in his usual curt tone. Any apprehension at Vader's presence or his request was well hidden. Levi hardly flinched as he kept Mikasa restrained from obliging Vader. "Our resident Scout Titan has dues to pay for his performance in today's training."
Vader motioned to the line of Imperial walking out of the Juggernaut. "Officers of the task force have pressing business to discuss with you, Captain Levi, as well as with other squad leaders of the Scouts. I will gauge the ability of the 'Scout Titan' for myself."
"He needs a minute before he can actually become the Scout Titan again."
"A luxury the real battlefront is unlikely to accommodate him."
Darth Vader stepped forward.
Mikasa broke out of Levi's hold by blasting her ODM gear, the gas burst sending her back toward Eren. She turned her body around to tackle him. She locked her arms around Eren, keeping him close as she used calculated ODM bursts on a trajectory over the fields back to the castle.
The reality of the situation hit Eren when he saw Vader's figure swiftly shrinking. Eren struggled against Mikasa's grip. "Stop! He's right there! I've been waiting for this, Mikasa!"
"Vader can't help you! Why do you think he pulled out his lightsaber? He wants to cut you, Eren. Slice off limbs and see what your regeneration looks like."
"So what if he does? I'll heal. As long as it means he can teach me–"
"Levi treats you like a soldier. Vader will make you a slave, Eren. There's a difference."
"How do you know? You and everyone else won't let me talk to him."
A shadow darkened over Mikasa and Eren.
Master Sergeant Drayk flew with his jetpack, catching up to the cadets and flying directly above them. Still holding Eren against her, Mikasa tried rotating in mid-air to swipe at the stormtrooper with an ODM blade. Instead, Triton Squad's leader followed Mikasa's rotation, keeping himself directly behind her. Firing his blaster, Drayk shot the gas mechanism of Mikasa's gear. Still moving with the momentum of the last gas burst, Mikasa shot a hook at Drayk. If she closed the distance without getting hit by a blaster bolt a second time, then she must want to steal his jetpack.
Despite the speeding wind and the awkward position Eren was trapped in, he had a clear view of Drayk intentionally letting his arm get impaled. The hook had enough force to pierce the forearm armor and dig into his skin. When Mikasa started reeling him in, Drayk threw her off-balance by moving backwards with his jets. Drayk's uninjured blaster arm fired again. Eren was briefly blinded by the blue-white light that traveled all over Mikasa. The stun blast made her body go slack, releasing Eren but forcing him to hold onto her lest she suffer a bad, uncontrollable fall.
Drayk barreled into the cadets, holding them both as he reversed and brought them back toward Vader.
Eren didn't fight Drayk. On an objective level, Mikasa would recover with no issues from a stun blast, but Eren was still disturbed by seeing her be subdued so easily. Then again, the men and women in Triton assigned to watch over the Scout Titan and the last Ackerman needed to be soldiers at a comparable level to Levi Squad. Before now, Eren hadn't yet witnessed the gap in skill between the Galactic Empire's elite and Mikasa's natural instincts.
Why didn't Mikasa understand? The Empire will strengthen them. Eren didn't care what kind of pain or cruelty Vader might have in mind with his special powers and his alien laser sword. It was all a means to prepare Eren for the inevitable challenges he will have to face if Kyojin was going to be free of the Titans.
Mikasa's eyelids quivered. She grimaced, fighting her lethargic state. Eren wasn't sure if Drayk had used a lower stun setting or if it was Mikasa's innate force of will trying to awaken from a normal stun blast.
"Your handmaiden's too protective of you," Drayk said, stating the obvious.
"She's not my–"
"Should've used you as a human shield. She knows we don't want either of you dead, and without your ODM gear or your Titan power, you're practically dead weight anyway. I wager you'd make for a decent club for the little handmaiden."
"Hey! I'm not some useless–"
"Lord Vader will decide that. Good luck."
Drayk separated Eren from Mikasa and let him drop. Eren couldn't stop from unceremoniously flailing as he fell, though at the last second, he managed to roll onto the grass below without hurting himself.
Eren was on his knees when he looked up to see Darth Vader standing over him.
There was no time to take in his surroundings, see where Drayk took Mikasa or where the others were situated. Eren focused purely on dodging the swing of the lightsaber poised to take his head.
Eren's head. He felt the searing heat emitted by the blade as it moved centimeters away from his throat.
Vader had to be only testing Eren's reaction time, right? He didn't want to see Eren try to regenerate from a decapitated head. Right?
Yes, Vader had to be moving slower than he would be if he were facing a real enemy. Eren imagined he weighed as much as a real stone statue, but it had to have been someone who was more agile who had saved Eren from that bearded Titan during Trost. Now, Vader pulled back his full strength in each swing, only barely letting Eren weave out of the way.
But evasion wasn't enough. Vader was testing Eren as a fighter. Eren needed to impress him, not simply survive. So, Eren grabbed a clump of dirt and tossed it at Vader's face.
It was only a distraction, hardly of much use on its own since Vader wore a helmet. Even so, Eren needed the momentary misdirection, Vader focused on delivering another sword swing while also keeping the dirt from obstructing his vision. In that small window, Eren dove forward for the Imperial apparatus of buttons and switches placed over Vader's torso. He didn't have to know anything specific about cybernetics to know that careless mishandling of any machinery wouldn't bode well for the user.
In one second, Vader was right in front of him. In the next, Eren grasped nothing but air, Vader using his true agility to sidestep past Eren.
Eren blinked. His right hand was outstretched to mess with Vader's torso interface. That hand was now flying off to the side. Only a stump remained at the end of Eren's arm, burnt with the damage struck by the lightsaber's blistering heat.
He wanted to scream. The pain was even worse than when Eren lost his limbs at Trost. There was a scorching sting reverberating up his arm from where the lightsaber left its mark. Eren fell to his knees again, gritting his teeth and biting his tongue to keep from panicking. Screeching out wouldn't be a battle cry like what Eren instinctively did as the Scout Titan. A pained shriek would be a sign of weakness, a disappointment to Vader.
His hand will heal. It will heal, regrow, as if the original hand was never cut off in the first place.
Reform its original shape exactly like the god forsaken Titan/human freak he was.
Vader was directly behind him, but he wasn't following up with any more attacks yet. Eren clutched his forearm with his good hand and pressed it against his chest. He tried to use his injury to force into existence the Scout Titan, but he failed to summon any flash of light. There was no nauseous steam of Titan regeneration from his wound either. Nothing was going right for Eren.
He looked around for a weapon. A scrap piece of wood from the wrecked dummy Titans. Even a rock would do. Anything.
Eren noticed he was near where he had exited the Scout Titan. The corpse was fully evaporated. Triton troopers were standing near individual members of Levi Squad. Eren's fellow Wall soldiers looked on with varying degrees of concern for him. The troopers must be preventing them from interfering with Eren's and Vader's "spar." Drayk stood over Mikasa. Her lying body twitched, trying to get back into the fight.
Without his own Triton stormtrooper, Captain Levi was accompanied by Hange Zoe. The Titan enthusiast's eyes were drawn to Eren's detached hand, but Levi's gaze was squared on something above Eren; Vader was making his move.
Suppressing the burn, Eren swerved around to face Vader, only to be abruptly grabbed by the throat. Not even by the front of his shirt; Vader held half of Eren's neck with one hand, raising him off his feet. Eren kicked out his legs to no avail.
Staring down at Vader's lifeless, dark red lenses felt strange in its own right instead of looking up at him, but Eren was too distracted from struggling to breathe to pay much mind to it.
"You have the benefit of near-instantaneous recovery from your wounds," Vader said. "An advantage you waste by allowing the pain to paralyze you."
Vader tossed him away. When Eren's back hit the floor, he refused to follow his instincts to curl his body into itself.
"Your companion, Ackerman, acts with purpose no matter what pain she faces. Can you not match her mettle? Take action when few others have the same drive to carry out their resolve to the end?"
Damn it, Eren can't keep letting Mikasa "protect" him. Eren can transform into a Titan, and still people were holding her to a higher standard than him.
Eren pressed his head against the ground and saw Mikasa getting back up. Triton's medic was tending to Drayk's arm, so once Mikasa was fully conscious again, no one stopped her from charging toward Eren and Vader.
She moved too fast for Eren to do more than watch her sprint over him and clash her ODM's blades against Vader's glowing sword. Unsurprisingly, one stroke of the lightsaber cut the strips of Kyojinite steel into pieces. However, even with her current weapons torn apart, she was already moving in the blink of an eye to replace her broken blades. While the fragments of her old blades were still spinning in the air, Mikasa moved around Vader's cape for another attack.
Eren's eyes widened at Vader's next move; he didn't simply sever the blades in half. For the sword in Mikasa's offhand, Vader's saber sweep went through its hilt. The trigger was already useless with the ODM gear's gas mechanism shot, but now Mikasa didn't even have the ability to rearm herself with her remaining blades for that hand.
If Vader cut her second grip, Mikasa would be completely defenseless.
Save her. Save Mikasa.
Truthfully, a rare line of thinking for Eren, but with it, the Scout Titan had a defined, palpable goal to center himself.
Eren lunged for Mikasa, wrapping his un-mutilated arm around her waist to pull her back. With nothing but open air in between Eren and Vader, Eren held out his other, singed arm and willed the Scout Titan to make a partial transformation. The flash of light was accompanied by an explosion of dirt, the sudden spawning of a Titan arm dragging flesh across the ground as it shot toward Vader.
The pain was gone; the pain from the lightsaber strike. His new hand, same as the old one, was inside the giant Titan arm. From the other side of the arm, Eren could feel the separation of Titan bone and muscle wrought by Darth Vader's lightsaber.
Taking a deep breath, Eren placed a foot on the back end of the Titan arm for traction and pulled out his human limb. Visibility became nil as steam started spewing from the Titan arm, but Eren needed the freedom of mobility for Vader's counterattack.
"Get out of here, Mikasa," Eren said as he rolled over her and went to disconnect the wire between her functioning sword and the rest of her ODM gear. "This isn't about you. Let me fight Vader by myself."
Although Eren managed to take the ODM blade by its hilt, Mikasa was quick to get up and shove him against the dissipating mass of Titan flesh. The burn of the steam and deteriorating muscle was a far cry to the burn of a lightsaber. She must want Eren at least partially hidden once Vader reappeared. She even voiced another token "Vader will hurt you" line, essentially reiterating that it was her job to protect him.
Despite all of her skills, Eren watched her unable to do anything of use when her hands went to clutch her own throat, her entire body dragged by an invisible force to levitate in the air. Mikasa choked as she tried and failed to breathe.
Vader's telekinesis at work. Eren had heard the story of Vader lifting and closing one of the Wall gates, but Vader's foreign powers were so refined to concentrate that ability to strangle a single person?
Is Eren able to do the same? Could he… push against Vader's telekinesis with his own to free Mikasa of this stranglehold?
There was no time to entertain the idea. Through the steam, Eren saw the light of Vader's saber. Eren preemptively swung his ODM blade.
He aimed for the torso panel. Eren committed to executing the full swing even if Vader cut through the blade. The cyborg interface was his only shot at doing any damage.
Except Eren hit a sturdy object that caused his strike to rebound backwards. This wasn't the smooth severance of the glowing saber cutting through steel. Vader stepped out of the steam, revealing a clenched fist masked in a gauntlet that had deflected the sword. Imbalanced, Eren had to take a step back. In that moment, Vader cleaved Eren's sword hilt and, through his invisible hold on Mikasa, slammed her against Eren.
Mikasa gasped for air, the chokehold gone, but the invisible force kept her body pinned over Eren. Vader raised his saber for a downward strike. With nothing else to defend themselves, Eren held up his arms to shield Mikasa. As the Imperials already pointed out, he'll heal anyway.
Vader stopped short when Levi moved between him and the cadets.
"You satisfied with kicking their asses yet?"
Vader didn't show any offense to the sardonic tone. He lowered his saber to his side. His grip on Mikasa disappeared, allowing her to make a mad dash to stand up and place Eren behind her and Levi. Eren almost wanted to push them away to continue the spar, but he could feel a shift in the air; this wasn't about him, Mikasa, and Vader anymore. This was a confrontation between Vader and Levi.
"What the hell was the point of this?" Levi asked Vader.
Deactivating his saber, Vader attached his weapon to his belt and gestured to the nearby crowd. Past Triton and the Scouts were the civilian laborers and their Imperial overseers charged with cleaning up debris from today's training. None of them were working, instead fully concentrated on the duel. They were too far away to hear the conversation, but at Vader's hand motion, the civilians openly shuddered and turned back to their work.
"Your people live in ignorance," Vader said. "Not merely of the Empire, but also the true depth of power native to your world, especially in your so-called Scout Titan."
"So… you're showing 'our' people's ace in Eren can't stand up to a Lord of the Empire. Get people talking about how only the Empire can save us? Not even our Scout Titan can?"
"I am familiar with the trial the cadets underwent. He vowed to liberate your world from the Titans. For the Kyojinites to attain their dream of a free world, and for the Empire to honor its obligations to Kyojin and beyond, the boy's training must be accelerated. Your people, soldiers and otherwise, must sooner realize the burden you must bear if you are to experience a new golden age as promised by the Kyojinite King." Vader gaze locked on Eren. "The people have watched Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman fail to defeat a warrior of the Empire. Will you wallow in your failure? Or will you work to redeem yourself?"
Yes, Eren will earn the right for his friends and his people to live in a free Kyojin, no matter what stands in his way.
"I'm going to lead the charge," Eren declared, ignoring the look Mikasa gave him. "I'm never giving up. I couldn't beat you today, Lord Vader, but one way or another, I'll see every single Titan on this planet annihilated." He held up his regrown hand, stretching it out before closing a fist. "No Titan can kill me. I won't let them. For humans, men and women like the Scouts and the stormtroopers; I may still be a rookie compared to them, but I promise, my resolve will never waver. I will fight for humanity with everything I have.
"You can teach me how to do it."
Eren was no longer a mere witness to Vader's power. Diluted though it was, Eren experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of an onslaught by the Dark Lord's Will. It was a taste that already has made Eren act more creatively with his Titan power. His last partial transformation was an accident. Today, Vader helped show Eren how every aspect of his power was an asset when pushed to a corner.
Eren understood; reaction was only slightly better than inaction. He needed to be far more proactive if he was going to get any of his questions answered by Vader, see any of his dreams come true.
But Vader said nothing. It was Levi with his surly disposition who turned and acknowledged Eren.
"There's no time for Vader to teach you anything. Turns out he wasn't blowing smoke about pressing business for us. Whether we like it or not, the King's made it clear: Joint Task Force Xamaural launches the expedition tomorrow."
For a second, the fire inside Eren faltered. He was still determined to speak with Vader, but the sudden news was too great a surprise to overlook. Why so soon, without warning? Weren't Eren's and Mikasa's friends still in the middle of training with new Imperial equipment? Eren could use more time on the range with a blaster rifle, too. And they were all going to start battling real Titans with foreign weapons so soon? What was the King thinking?
"Erwin couldn't even come here to make the announcement himself," Levi added. "He's too busy prepping things at Trost for us. The Scouts here need to get everything in order so we can be ready to leave Wall Rose in the morning. That includes you Eren."
But… Eren was a soldier, bound to follow his orders. It was a road that will ultimately lead to the retaking of Wall Maria, the reclamation of the entire world.
But… Vader was right here…
And, just by looking at him, Eren could somehow tell Vader wasn't going to give him everything he wanted. Not right this second, anyway.
The Dark Lord said, "There is still much for you to learn, Eren Yeager. According to the terms of your pardon, you are duty-bound to fulfil your responsibilities to your homeworld."
Eren still needed something. There was no telling if Levi would allow Eren to be near wherever Vader was positioned during the expedition. Vader might even delegate the work to his subordinates instead of taking an active role outside Wall Rose. "I have the power of a Titan," Eren said. "You have powers of your own, Darth Vader. A Will that lets you do incredible things in their own right. You know I have the potential for the same Will."
An emotionless facade stared at Eren. "You call it a 'Will'?"
So the men of the Empire called it something else. "Titans are something unique on my home, Kyojin. The Will is something different. What do you call it?"
The same power assured Eren that behind Vader's unreadable countenance, there was genuine intrigue in Eren's potential.
"There is a power," Vader said, "that surrounds all living things, whether they be human, Titan, or alien. Just as you enforce your 'Will' over your Titan ability, you may also impose your Will over this power. It transcends mechanical constructs like your intuitive ODM pieces, the Empire's war machines, or our medical technologies. It goes beyond biological fascinations like your Titans. It is a power that can enable a wielder who has mastered its use to accomplish nearly anything they desire."
Exactly the kind of power Eren needed.
"This is the power of the Force. Only by following down the path of the Dark Side can one achieve true mastery over the Force."