Another chapter! Thank you so much for reading, and please leave comments!

Susanne sighed as she read her mother's letter detailing all the prayers that she had made to bring her daughter back home, begging her to join the MP and leave that silly notion of life in the Survey Corps behind.

With the letter between two of her fingers, she folded it. Lowering her head, she tried to think of what to write in the reply; a polite manner to refuse going back home and becoming the perfect woman her mother expected her to be.

She didn't hate her mother; the problem is that Josi Hellman was simply too much. Too overbearing, too nosy, too absolutely romantic without seeing the reality. Josi wanted her daughter to be exactly like her, to fall in love and get married, have children and settle down – she didn't mind that her only daughter had enlisted, but she minded that she had thrown herself in harm's way, away from home and away from the handsome, rich men that those walls could afford her.

"Fucking hell," Susanne whispered, forehead hitting the wall in front of her.

She wanted to scream, find something and break it. Anything to get all her anger out before she messed up.

"Private?" a soft voice called out.

Jumping, she turned to find the man that called for her. Her eyes were wide when she finally found him.

Or... them, actually.

Captain Erwin Smith stood with Commander Keith and Lieutenant Hange with him. They were walking from the stables towards the main gates of the headquarters, probably to give some sort of paperwork to the Garrison officers standing outside, talking to the Horse Department of Survey.

She gulped.

"Captain, sir. Commander, Lieutenant," she greeted, saluting them.

Hange smiled at her, their hair pulled back into a puffy and sloppy ponytail. Deep inside, Susanne didn't understand why Hange didn't cut their hair; clearly, they didn't have the energy or time to take care of it or even pull it back correctly.

Commander Keith stared at Susanne as if she was something very amusing. Giving that he had just walked past her slamming her head against the side wall of the headquarters while having a nervous breakdown about how to write to her own mother; it had to be at least a little bit amusing.

"What are you doing?" Erwin asked.

"Nothing, sir," Susanne asked right away. "Can I help you in any way?"

Erwin blinked, disbelieving her words, but unwilling to argue with her. Still, his gaze froze on the letter in her hand before looking away, respectful enough to not ask questions to the person that clearly didn't want to talk about it.

Hage stepped forward.

"Since you are offering, do me a favour, Private –"

"Susanne Hellman," Erwin supplied.

Hange glanced at Erwin in acknowledgement before smiling at Susanne again, not saying her name, but nodding.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Susanne said, stepping forward.

"Go to the Sergeant's chambers, call for him," Hange requested. "Give him this report and tell him to come down right away."

"Sergeant Levi?" Susanne asked.

The Lieutenant nodded, offering Susanne a sheet of paper. It was a short report about the change of future breed of horses provided to the regiment and the region they would come from, north of the Wall Maria.

With another salute, Susanne held onto the report tightly and moved into the stone walls of the headquarters, ignoring the horrible feeling that the low murmur of words outside were about her.

Quickly, she went up the stairs jumping steps. While the recruits all slept in the ground floor in a single dormitory, the higher the rank the higher the floor; higher ranks were allowed separate chambers, some had offices within them, some were just small, simple bedrooms with the luxury of a bigger bed and no roommate.

Knocking on Levi's bedroom door, Susanne took a deep breath, hands behind her back in wait for orders.

"Who is it?" Levi asked from inside.

"Private Susanne Hellman, sir. I'm here by request of Lieutenant Hange with a report and orders!" she said loudly.

The next second Levi, dressed in uniform and obviously exhausted opened the door, eyes coloured dark by lack of sleep. His ODM gear was in hand instead of around his waist, which was a rare sight and becoming rarer by the amount of time Susanne spent with him while training, rarely seeing him outside that moment for the past few weeks.

She offered him the paper.

Levi took it from her, unfolding the paper and frowning.

"Hm? Private, are you certain that –" he started, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

With growing horror, she realised that she had never folded the report. The paper in Levi's hand was her mother's letter.

Her face went pale as she lunged forward, taking the letter from her superior's hands violently and shoving the correct paper in his hands, uncaring for protocol or appearances. Her panic had won from her propriety.

"Forgive me, sir. Wrong hand," she said, voice high-pitched and wavering. She cleared her throat. "Lieutenant Hange asked me to make sure you go down to the main gates as soon as you got the report."

Levi looked up for a second, ignoring the report in his hands before looking back down. He didn't seem moved or offended by her lunging at him with the despair of a lovesick teenager being caught writing her name with her crush's surname. Still, she felt small and inappropriate in his presence, as if she was a child instead of the adult that she always tried to prove to others she could be.

"Let's go, then," Levi grumbled once he was done reading.

He started walking, stopping just enough to close the door of his bedroom once he was out of it. Levi didn't look back to make sure she was following, all too aware that she wouldn't stay in front of his bedroom; soon enough, he heard her footsteps following him, her long legs catching up to him quickly and then slowing down enough to let him walk in front of her. She did not stand beside him.

As they got to the door, he opened it and held it open for her, which she was grateful for, but he didn't acknowledge her smile.

Together, they walked to the front gates.

"...drafts," Erwin was saying, shaking his head in dissatisfaction. "Draft horses cannot survive or endure the sort of exercise we put them through."

"Your boy here said that," the Garrison soldier said, pointing at one of the stable recruits.

Uncomfortable, Susanne slowed down and came to a stop a few metres away from the conversation, just waiting for her next orders while Levi greeted and whispered something to Hange, who nodded and grimaced.

"If it's already said, Commander Pyxis, then do you insist on selling me the idea of Shires? They are used for pulling, not running," Commander Keith said, putting his hands on his hips while he scolded a man much older than himself.

"Because the Crown –"

"The Crown must afford this if they want to survive the Titans," Commander Keith said, cutting off the other man firmly.

Susanne locked her jaw, then unlocked it. She sucked her lips in as she looked around, searching for something to pay attention, but it was hard. Though they weren't talking to her directly, her mind seemed to scream at her to pay attention no matter how uncomfortable she was with the tone of the conversation.

What her eyes got stuck on was the Garrison officer walking towards her, smiling. His shoulder-length hair was pulled back and tied, his smile was boyish and familiar.

"Klaus?" she whispered.

"Hey," he greeted. "How are you doing?"

She couldn't help herself; she smiled back at him.

"I'm fine," she chuckled. "What are you doing here?"

"Commander Pyxis asked for volunteers for a long-distance trip to the Survey Corps headquarters, I raised my hand," he explained a little shrug. He put his hands behind his back, copying Susanne's position and turned on his heel, facing the discussion as well and standing beside her instead of in front of her. "Mum is worried."

"I got the letter," she grumbled. "Her disappointment is loud and clear, don't worry. You can tell her that I got it."

Klaus chuckled under his breath; it was more air than real laughter.

"She's just worried. This job is dangerous," he whispered towards her, still watching his own Commander gesturing wildly in the discussion. "Imagine your little girl decides to fly towards the Titans instead of away."

"I'm 23," she said, rolling her eyes.

"You're still her little girl," he said. He leaned to the side, bumping his shoulder against her. "You're still the family's pet, Susie."

"Shut the fuck up," she hissed, turning her head slightly towards him so she could glare without being caught.

His grin grew, fixing his posture and rolling his shoulders back. Klaus had always loved teasing her, but he was the one that often crossed the line and made things annoying and uncomfortable instead of fun.

"Did you write your answer? I can take it with me," Klaus said.

"Not yet, I have been wondering how to say anything," she admitted.

His grin died a bit in understanding and sympathy. He had been there before. He knew how it felt like to be the disappointment of the family, especially during his teenage-years and early adulthood, where he would spend most of his day trying to find fun and comfort in sex, drugs and women that did not care about him. At least, Susanne's attempt of rebellion was a lot tamer compared to the places he had put himself when he was younger than her; he should be content that the most dangerous thing that could happen to her before the expedition was a bad fall with the ODM gear.

"We'll spend the night here, I reckon. Write it tonight and give it to me in the morning, I can –" he started.

"Private!" Levi barked.

Susanne ignored her brother completely, stepping forward like her body had been sucked by vacuum.

"Yes, sir?" she said, eyes finding Levi's immediately.

Levi wasn't looking at her, but at Klaus, eyes narrowing at him in suspicion as he studied the man with attention.

"Go into my bedroom, there's a report with red ink on my bed. Get it and bring it to me," he ordered, not looking away from Klaus.

Susanne pressed her lips together, awkward by the mere idea of walking into someone's bedroom with them there for any reason at all. Still, she accepted the task and ran back into the headquarters quickly.

The Sergeant waited until she was a good distance away from the group before starting to speak to the man that had been bothering the young woman since he had arrived, all confidence and pretentiousness.

"And you, Officer, do not distract my privates from their duties by flirting. If I called her here, it's because I want her to learn how to deal with idiots like –"

"That's my sister, Sergeant," Klaus said, raising his eyebrows.

Right away, it was easy to see Klaus misunderstanding the whole situation as his gaze ran back to the headquarters, where his sister had disappeared into. A man treating a woman like that and disapproving other men flirting with her was a quick and easy misunderstanding to happen.

Erwin was no longer paying attention to the commanders speaking to one another, but watching Levi staring at Klaus as if interrupting him was a crime. When Levi accidently met his eye, he shook his head discreetly in disapproval, but Levi either didn't see it or didn't care about it.

"Well, if she's your sister, then you should want her to learn and climb ranks. So shut up anyway and stop bothering her," Levi continued, ignoring Klaus' face at him. "Have private conversations in your private time. She's working."

Corporal Klaus Hellman stared at the Sergeant before licking his teeth under his lips and nodding, controlling himself.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," he answered, saluting him.

Levi turned away from the scene, dismissing the salutation completely. Hange, however smiled at Klaus with more happiness that they had demonstrated the whole time in the interesting conversation about horse, breeds and breeding.

"You're Susanne's brother? Which one?" Hange asked.

"Klaus, ma'am," he offered.

Hange put their hands in front of their body, seeing Susanne approaching in a jogging rhythm, two reports of several pages in hand.

"We aren't close but my new subordinate is very much a fan of your sister's, always say she flies like a bird," Hange said, voice soft to not be overheard. "Don't worry too much, she'll do fine here. She's a hardworking soldier and trains until her hands bleed. If we're talking skill, she'll survive this; now she just needs a bit more of luck."

Klaus watches his sister tighten her rhythm to get to her superiors faster and purses his lips.

"Throw her in the woods for a few hours and she'll come back with four leaved cloves. If there's one thing that girl has is luck, ma'am," Klaus said, trying to comfort himself. "She'll survive this."

Susanne offered Sergeant Levi the reports.

"These two had red ink, sir," she said, not even out of breath.

He pulled the reports from her hand and turned them around to read them, grimacing before taking the biggest one and shoving the smaller one back into her arms. He did not thank her, just turned back to Commander Pyxis and shoved the report into his chest.

"Look at the expenses of the past three years of all regiments," Levi said. "We got almost half of our money cut while the MP has gained most of it. If you're trying to cut the waste, then talk to them, not to us. They deal with people; we deal with Titans that will eat you and then throw you up."

"I'm following orders from King Fritz," Pyxis said.

Levi scoffed. "I really doubt that," he said under his breath.

Confused, Susanne blinked, still standing right behind him with the report in hands, watching the interaction.

Finally, Commander Pyxis and Commander Keith seemed to calm down while the older man read Levi's detailed report with a frown on his face. He shook his head, seemingly not understanding something.

"Hellman!" he called.

"Yes, sir!" Susanne and Klaus said at the same time.

Levi looked over his shoulder to glare at Susanne, finding it obvious that the man wasn't calling for her, but Pyxis merely looked up, seeing her and smiling.

"Ah, now I see why you wanted to come, Corporal," he said, tone kinder than before. She was ignored after that. "Corporal Hellman, come and check and the mathematics here."

Klaus made his way back beside his commander and read through the report as well, whispering under his breath before nodding and pointing something on the paper, leaning towards the older man to say something into his ear.

Pyxis sighed, annoyed. "Our reports are different," he said.

Erwin, ever the peacekeeper, smile and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure we can find a way to resolve this without getting our biggest aide for survival away from us," he said, raising his hand to call for Susanne, who walked towards him. "Private, why don't you go ahead and warn everybody to prepare the guestroom and add more water to the soup?"

"Yes, sir!" she said.

Before anybody else could say anything, Susanne had already gone back into running into the headquarters again, taking Levi's other report with her.

Pyxis chuckled at the sight. "Ah!" he sighed in delight. "Hellman soldiers are always the best. Every division has one now."

Commander Keith, for the first time in the whole conversation, seemingly agreed with the man.

"I know her other brother, Section-Commander Tom Hellman," Keith said. "Genius man."

"Tom was always the strategist. Klaus over here is the one good with maths," Pyxis said, putting a heavy hand over Klaus' shoulder. "And your Hellman? What is she good at?"

Erwin smiled to himself, waiting for Keith to answer, but the commander turned to Erwin, giving him the chance to answer it.

It was Levi that answered it.

"She's good at surviving. That's all that counts here," he said, taking the report from Pyxis hand harshly. "If you want her to keep surviving, you will find another way to cut more money from us without taking our horses away."

Survival was all that always seemed to matter to him. The subject of the meeting had escaped people's notice and he wasn't willing to let it happen lightly.

The lighter tone dying right away made Pyxis frown.

The mess hall was loud in a way that only young soldiers could make it during that dinner. Cutlery scraping against tin plates, boots shifting on stone, chairs dragged around the floor to get closer together, voices overlapping in low, tired tones. Laughter was the most jarring sound, it bloomed and died quickly, like sparks flying out of the log from the fireplace.

Long wooden tables filled the space, scarred by years of knives, fists, drinks and history that nobody would mention, all lit by lanterns hung from the thick beams above, light uneven and warm. The smell of soup mixed with bread, metal and oil was characteristic to the Survey Corps headquarters.

At the corner, away from the lively displays, sat Commander Pyxis with a tankard of beer in hand. Beside him, Commander Keith Shadis leaned back slightly, arms crossed and food untouched as he counted heads. Across from them, Captain Erwin Smith sat upright, hands folded loosely on the table.

They all watched through the corner of their eyes, the group as another wave of laughter soaked the room.

Hange Zoe sat in the table with their subordinates, one knee pulled up, hand resting there while the other held a spoon that was waved around as they spoke. Beside them, Moblit Berner leaned towards the speaker, half-laughing, half-trying to get the spoon out of their hand before soup flew everywhere. Klaus Hellman sat with his elbows on the table, leaning forward to listen better, voice carrying while he laughed. Susanne sat near the end of the table, shoulders relaxed, one elbow on the table and smiling. A few other privates sat with them, all with their faces bright and relaxed.

"They forgot where they are," Erwin said, a bit distasteful.

"Oh, they know it all too well, Erwin. They're just still hopeful, that's how it goes. You were like that back then," Keith answered.

Erwin didn't answer right away, just watched his friend – Hange – laugh too hard at something Klaus said, which caused Moblit to duck his head in embarrassment. Susanne covered her mouth to laugh, aware of herself even when at ease.

Hange was an impressive person to him, even enviable to a point. Even after the horrible things they had seen together and done for the good humanity, Hange managed to create some sort of defence that left their personality untouched by the horrors they had witnessed. Hange had never been what most people would call normal, but they had always been – above all else – good, and Erwin admired that.

"What is it?" Pyxis asked, not looking at Erwin but all too aware of the facial expression he wore. "Is this reminding you of something?"

"Things were so much easier before," Erwin admitted.

Keith snorted. "Before what? This was always how it was," he said.

"Before command, before names meant more than faces," Erwin said. "Soon we'll go outside again, and I'll have to decide those that have the most chance of surviving it all to put them up front."

Keith mouth tightened, not disagreeing but slipping into his own thoughts.

At the recruits' table, Klaus continued his story – something involving a horse, a miscounted step and an impressive fall that left him with the scar on his head that he had showed off to those who asked about the patch without hair at the very back of his head. The group broke into laughter again, Susanne being the most controlled as she shook her head, already knowing the story.

"... I swear! I thought I was dead when Susie appeared," Klaus finished.

"You always think you're dead when you get hurt. You always ask whoever comes close if you're dead," Susanne said dryly.

"Because I usually should be," he said, glaring at her.

Moblit laughed.

Hange leaned over the table. "You know, if you survive long enough to retire, you could always write a book, a guidebook: How Not to Die!"

Klaus turned to Susanne.

"Susie, you gotta edit it for me," he said firmly.

"I'll burn it before it gets to the wrong hands of unaware children," she answered, shooting him a look.

Hange threw their head off and laughed.

"Oh, sibling love!" she commended.

At the commanders' table, Pyxis sighed and took a slow sip of his drink, finally looking away from the excitement.

"Hellman," he said, tasting the name. "That fucking name is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. What a generation!"

Keith glanced briefly towards Susanne, assessing her in silence.

"Tom Hellman's name reached me before I ever saw the boy," he agreed with Pyxis. "Golden boy. MP loves to flaunt him around. One would think he was royal by the way people treat him whenever he's around. Apparently, he's very useful."

Pyxis nodded in agreement. They all had seen or heard about Tom and his impressive fighting skills, strategies and social connections. Since his promotion, he had become the chosen team leader to be the protection to Rod Reiss

"Klaus has his uses when he's focused," Pyxis said. "Numbers, sense. He isn't nearly as flashy. We're thinking about giving him a promotion and take him out of the streets, put him behind a desk, but we'll probably have to get our reports to be colourful and have drawings on them to get him to read through a full one."

The main problem with Klaus was that he was useful when focused, but there was great difficulty in getting him interested in anything at all.

Keith turned to Erwin.

"You were going to say something before Levi spoke outside, about Private Hellman," Keith said to the younger man.

Erwin didn't answer immediately, unsure of what to put into words.

"She flies clean," he said after a moment, deciding it was what Keith was asking. "She follows orders well and she survives Levi's drills without breaking much of a sweat."

"Not what I wanted to know," Keith said.

But the information mattered anyway.

"She's hardworking and she might be the one to be upfront with us during the expedition," Erwin said.

Pyxis raised his eyebrows. "You sound fond of her," he teased.

Erwin frowned. Had Susanne been a man, nobody would've thought twice about his words, but since she was a woman there was an underlying belief that anybody that got too close to her was fond of her past the normality.

"Captain Erwin would never cross that line with a private, Commander," Keith said right away, turning to the older man with a firm look and tense facial expression. "If those are the words that he uses to describe her, it's because that's exactly what she is."

Never had he ever been prouder of his own reputation of an uptight man. Contrary to many men in the regiment, he never slipped out of the regiment for good nights with prostitutes of the next town over or slipped into bed with one of his subordinates. If he ever had company, it came from willing women after a few attempts of romantic dates.

Before Pyxis could say something else, a chair scraped loudly, following by a handful more near the entrance.

Franz looked pale as he stood in salutation to the newcomer.

Levi had just entered the mess hall, talking in a low voice with Franz, clearly scolding him and his table for something before turning on his heels and walking away. His usual economy of movement left with him with a tray in hand and eyes already scanning where to sit before people were done watching him. His uniform was immaculate despite the day; however, he smelled like sweat.

He ignored everyone, walking towards the commanders' table.

"Commanders, Captain," he greeted standing beside the table.

He waited for Erwin's nod and then sat beside his friend, pulling the tray closer to his body like somebody might take it away from him. The bench creaked under his weight and Erwin grimaced at the smell.

"You're late," Erwin mentioned.

"Solo training ran long," Levi replied flatly.

That explained the smell of sweat.

Keith eyed him suspiciously. "Solo?" he asked.

Levi shrugged, finally looking up at his commanding officer.

"I was alone, so I called it solo," he said.

Erwin knew that some people whispered that Levi's long training sessions by himself in hidden places were place of gossip, but he knew that Levi was actually alone and actually training, much to most people's disappointment. At this point, he could count on one hand the number of women that had not tried to approach Levi and had been turned down.

Pyxis set his tankard down, finding the situation amusing.

"We were talking about your recruit," he said.

Levi's eyes flicked towards the laughing table.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Susanne Hellman," Keith specified.

"Hm."

"That's all?" Pyxis asked.

"She's decent in fighting, good with the ODM gear, organised, clean and listens to orders and suggestions," Levi said, saying everything at once. "She's a good soldier."

"Want her for your squad?" Keith asked suddenly.

"I wouldn't be opposed to it," Levi admitted, but his gaze lowered. "But I believe Erwin was expecting her to go into his squad."

Keith huffed. "I'm asking you."

Erwin's back tensed but he didn't say anything, just turned to look at Levi to see how he would respond.

"She's good with her hands," he said suddenly. All men froze. "Fixed a broken metal buckle in less three minutes with an improvised cloth string and put the gear back on. Was a bit late in the obstacle course, but less than two minutes behind the last arrival. Very independent. It's a good skill to have."

The men relaxed, finally understanding Levi's meaning.

"I'll put her on your squad then," Keith said.

If Erwin was upset, he hid it well in Levi's opinion.

"That independence of her is causing a stir, according to Corporal Hellman," Pyxis said, leaning back. "Her mother was persistent in getting Klaus to bring the girl back home before the end of the year."

Levi's expression didn't change, but Erwin noticed his jaw tightened. Quickly Erwin looked away from his friend to find Susanne listening to Hange, unaware of the conversation unfolding at the other end of the hall.

"I don't think she'll want to leave," Erwin said.

"She wouldn't. Too smart to want to go back to live under her parents' control again," Pyxis said. "They are known for being overbearing even with their male children, let alone their only daughter." He shook his head. "A pity. It makes me wonder why they want her back so eagerly."

Levi scoffed. "Her mother is being logical," he answered.

Pyxis looked at Levi.

"Oh, you have thoughts on it, Sergeant?" he asked, curiously.

"She's young, she's smart and somewhat attractive. Her mother thinks the Military Police is safer and can offer her a better husband," Levi answered. "Why would you want your daughter to marry someone that might die at any moment, like the men here in Survey?"

The words landed heavily.

Keith laughed, loud and sudden. "Of course she does!"

Pyxis sighed.

"Traditional family, traditional values," he said, unimpressed.

Erwin raised his eyebrows, eyes sharp on Levi's posture.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

For the first time, Levi hesitated – barely, but enough for Erwin to see it and categorise it as dangerous.

"I read a letter," he answered.

Erwin's chair shifted as he turned his whole body towards Levi.

"You read a personal letter from one of your privates?" he asked, voice careful and diction perfect.

"By accident," Levi said, turning to look at his captain, eyes hardening.

"Thin line."

"I didn't ask for it. She handed to me by accident," he replied.

Keith frowned. "How does one do that?" he asked, raising a single eyebrow.

Levi took a deep breath through his mouth and exhaled through his nose, irritated that he was required to explain it further.

"Hange sent her to my quarters to get me this morning. She gave the wrong paper," he said. "You were there when Hange gave her the order, so don't look at me like I'm the villain." He pulled his soup bowl to his mouth and drank it. "She panicked when she noticed and took it back, gave me the correct one. End of story."

"But you read it enough to know her mother's intentions," Pyxis mentioned.

Levi rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't hard to find out, she was quite obvious about it. She sounds like a handful," he grumbled.

"She's just a concerned mother who wants the best for her daughter," Keith said.

Pyxis nodded. "I wouldn't want my daughter here either," he admitted. "She found a good, wealthy man in Mitras."

"Do you think she'll leave it to follow her mother?" Erwin asked, avoiding looking at Levi or Susanne at all.

Keith pursued his lips, looking between Levi and Erwin with something unnamed behind his eyes. He seemed lost in thought.

"The girl is being pulled from both sides, I wouldn't be surprised if she did," Pyxis said with a shrug.

"She'll stay," Levi dismissed.

"She's young, she might be swayed," Erwin disagreed, frowning in concern.

"She's a soldier," Levi insisted.

Pyxis gave a thin smile. "Everybody here is, and many will leave," he told Levi.

The man looked at him, trying not to tell Pyxis how he knew – perhaps better than the old man himself – that many would leave, but he knew even better that many wouldn't survive. Pyxis knew nothing of their side of the fight. Levi was polite enough to hold himself back.

Erwin sighed louder than necessary as a way to keep Levi quiet.

"The question isn't her mother's wishes, but if Susanne Hellman is fit to remain here and like it," he intervened.

"She is," Levi answered immediately.

Keith hummed in acknowledgment, adding just a: "that was fast," under his breath.

"I agree. She's adaptable," Erwin said, nodding at Levi. "I don't think she'll freeze."

Pyxis drank the last of his beer from the tankard, looking at the small barrel he had brought with him town into the headquarters.

"Then it seemed obvious that her mother's wishes are irrelevant. Even her brother doesn't seem too concerned about it," Pyxis said, looking between the two men sitting across from him at the table.

"She's still her mother, that's pressure that a soldier doesn't need," Keith said, finally going back into the conversation.

At the other table, Susanne laughed again, making an ugly snorting sound that caused the rest around her to laugh as well. She was unaware that her future was being weighed between simple dinner conversation.