What More Could I Want (Book #1) AOT Fanfiction *COMPLETED*

Emergency Defenses

I can still feel it. My insides burning, ripped, bleeding. They always took me back to my cellar half naked, shaking. No matter how much I wash and bathe, I can still feel them. The men's creeping hands, their coarse stubble on their necks as they whispered words that could not be expunged from my mind by either alcohol or pain. My past follows me everywhere I go, no matter how far I get or how many Titans I kill. The Titan blood that coats my blades and clothing is nothing compared to the filth my body will forever be covered in.

Slowly and reluctantly, I uncover my face. I blink, close my eyes, and blink again. Streaks of sunlight penetrate the window and blind me. I sit up, throw my feet off the bed, and rub my knuckles into my eyes. I stretch my arms over my head and yawn. Levi and the Elite Squad left earlier today. The Survey Corps went into Wall Maria to begin killing off the Titans. Erwin had me stay behind since I did him a favor at the graduation.

I dress quickly and tie my hair back, something I rarely do. I haven't got my vest back from Hange yet so, for now, I have to go without it. As I'm leaving my room, Petra comes running toward me. Sweat is coating her forehead and she's geared up with her cloak. Did they just get back? "Captain Saichi! We are being ordered to assist the Trost Military! The Colossus Titan breached Wall Rose!"

I run with her down to my office where I hastily equip my maneuvering equipment. I make sure to grab my flare gun before meeting the entire Elite Squad outside. We can't bother with horses right now. Levi throws me my cloak. "We are being sent out to help with the citizens' evacuation. We kill any Titan that might get in the way of them getting through the inner gate. Is this understood?"

"Yes, Captain!" the Elite responds.

"Saichi, you're being called in by Garrison. It seems an emergency situation has come up and they want your assistance. Anything goes wrong, don't hesitate to use your flares."

My flare gun. That is the only way to communicate with everyone else. A signal flare is a common tool used in the military by the Garrison and the Survey Corps. The signal flare has a variety of uses, depending on the mission and brigade using them. While the flare has many uses, the main purpose is long distance communication. The Garrison uses it as a way to inform the higher-ranking officers how their mission is going, while the Survey Corps uses it as a way to communicate often in the presence of Titans to the rest of the legion. One improvisational use is to use them to conceal allies from enemy sight or to stop fast-moving Titans. 

The ammo comes in pre-loaded barrels that are locked into place on the pistol. After being fired, the barrels are discarded and replaced before being capable of use again. There are various types of ammo and usage depends on the mission and message at hand. The ammo the Garrison uses is green for a mission started, red for mission failure and yellow for a mission success.

The ammo the Survey Corps uses for the signals beyond the Walls is red for a Titan spotted in order for the squad to avoid the Titans, black for awareness of an Abnormal Titan spotted, purple for emergencies, blue is an order to retreat and green to change the direction of the formation. Green is fired by the commander in one direction to indicate a change in the direction and then repeated by the relay soldiers. Finally, there's yellow. This lets everyone know that the mission has been terminated, be it successfully or failed. Erwin changes the colors occasionally depending on what we're doing but it's never a last minute decision. He doesn't want confusion during a critical mission. 

I nod and grab my triggers. I can't believe they would send the recent graduate soldiers out into a battle like this. I hope Eren is okay on his own. "Move out!"

We zip through the forest together as a team then split off into different directions. I continuing going straight until I reach the wall. My body is in the worst pain. My bullet wound still hasn't healed properly but I can't let that stop me now. Please be safe, team. Humanity still needs us to fight for them. Hopefully, there will be no...out of the ordinary Titans that will get in your way.