Yelena

"Our native lands were snatched up by Marley and we were conscripted as soldiers. We were on our way to losing any will to oppose such a great power. Until...he guided us...."

- Yelena to Hange Zoë and Levi Ackerman

Yelena (イェレナ) is an ally of the Survey Corps, formerly a soldier of Marley who was part of the first survey fleet after the failed Paradis Island Operation.

Appearance
Yelena is a very tall woman with her blonde hair in a bowl cut. She has large, black eyes and somewhat androgynous features. She wears the standard Marleyan military uniform.

Personality
She is a fervent follower of Zeke Yeager, holding great admiration and respect for him. She is usually calm and collected, her demeanor remaining unchanged even when Jean Kirstein yelled at her for failing to see her job through. Nonetheless, she is willing to take responsibility and apologizes should she fail in her task. Yelena appears to have a very relaxed demeanor, but appears to also have dry, humorous undertones to much of her actions.

History
Yelena saw her homeland being invaded and conquered by Marley and after that, she was forcibly drafted as a soldier, fighting in the Marleyan military. She held a deep hatred for Marley and only thought of rebelling against that large nation. It is said by her that she and her comrades were in a situation where they were losing their will to rebel against Marley, but Zeke Yeager came and saved them: this rejuvenated their fighting spirit and Yelena became the leader of the Anti-Marleyan faction. She also became a devoted follower of Zeke, even considering him as a God.

Marley arc
In 851, Yelena is among the first survey fleet sent by Marley to Paradis after the operation to retrieve the Founding Titan failed. Her ship is captured and beached by Eren Yeager, where she and her fellow soldiers are confronted by Hange Zoë, offering to negotiate with them. When her commanding officer refuses to listen, Yelena promptly kills him, and accepts Hange's offer to talk.

Meeting with Hange and Levi Ackerman, Yelena and her compatriot Onyankopon allow the two to inspect their weapons, explaining that Marley has not yet launched a full assault on Paradis due to a war they are currently caught in. Hange guesses that Yelena and her comrades are sleeper agents who have infiltrated the Marleyan army, but Yelena explains to her that they are simply conscripted soldiers who have chosen to rally around Zeke Yeager in opposition of Marley as the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers. Forming an alliance with Paradis, Yelena and her comrades begin sharing their technology with the islanders, and preparing to fight back against Marley.

In 854, after their forces receive word that Eren Yeager is planning on launching a full-scale attack on Marley, Yelena is among the forces Paradis dispatches to retrieve him. Using a fake beard to disguise her appearance, she pretends to be a Marleyan soldier and arrives at the Warriors' seating area during Willy Tybur's production. Declaring that Magath called for them, she asks that Pieck, Galliard, and Zeke follow her. Soon after, she sends Zeke off in another direction while continuing to lead the other Warriors. They stop temporarily when Pieck suddenly hugs one of the Panzer Unit soldiers they meet on the way. She leads them into a room, where she traps the two in a hole.

At the end of the Battle of Liberio, she joins the rest of the Survey Corps on the blimp. Standing in a room along with Zeke, Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert, Levi, and Mikasa Ackerman, she takes her fake goatee off when Levi asks her to, commenting how people seemed to like it. They are soon joined by Jean Kirstein, who brought the recently captured Gabi Braun and Falco Grice. Jean yells at her for not carrying out her duty of locking up the Jaw and Cart Titan, causing more soldiers than necessary to die, for which she accepts responsibility.

People killed

 * A Marleyan captain

Trivia

 * Yelena is the Anglicized form of "Jelena" which is, in turn, a Slavic derivation of a Greek name "Helénē" (Ἑλένη).

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