Traute Caven

"We live in a very small world... Death would be preferable to the days that await us if we surrender."

- Traute Carven to her subordinates

Traute Carven (トラウテ・カーフェン) was a female member of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad within the Military Police Brigade. She was loyal to her superior, Captain Kenny Ackerman to her end, but she was killed by falling debris caused by the Titan transformation of Rod Reiss underneath the Reiss Chapel.

Appearance
She appeared to be a young woman with a fit, thin build. She often held a calm, almost sad expression. Her blonde hair was just a little bit past shoulder length which she usually kept tied back with bangs that are parted down the middle. Upon meeting Kenny, she wore a basic Military Police uniform with a white button up shirt underneath, however, once entering the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad she was seen, like the others wearing a pair of tight black pants, a white button up shirt, and a pair of black shoes along with her Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.

Personality
Traute was a rather faithless woman, with little life in her eyes and words. She spoke of the world she lived in and the life she lived as meaningless and was usually rather emotionless, even after Levi Ackerman killed three of her comrades before her eyes. Though Traute was usually dull and sad, she gave her subordinates a motivational speech right before her breech with the Survey Corps, saying that if they are able to buy time, it will pay off and that they much believe in Kenny's dream that will turn the world upside down. Before meeting Kenny, she lacked any motivation to live her life, however after meeting him she found hope in carrying out his orders and trying to make his dreams a reality.

History
Two years after the fall of Wall Maria, in the year 847 during Kenny Ackerman's briefing of the new Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad, Traute Carven gains Kenny's attention when she admits she's fine with having a homicidal maniac who's never been in the Military running their squad. She spoke about the falling of the walls and their giving up on fighting the Titans, and asks Kenny if that is why they're here; being the end result of following the rules of the walls and creating the military corps. She believed that these actions were pointless and it drew Kenny's attention. He explained to her and the squad that opposing the Survey Corps was only a justification to get approval from the higher ups, and that the real reason for his actions were for a grand dream to have power.

The Uprising arc
Traute Carven encounters the Survey Corps for the first time during the pick up of Eren Yeager and Historia Reiss. As Captain Ackerman goes for a walk with Dimo Reeves, she and her subordinates search Eren and Historia for blades and weapons. After Kenny disposes of Dimo and her subordinates dispose of his men, she approaches Captain Ackerman and reports that both Eren and Historia were carrying a number of blades as he suspected. Kenny and his team then take the subjects away and frame the Survey Corps for their death.

Traute later reveals herself when she is able to land a sneak attack on Keiji, shooting him in the side of the head with her Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and killing him. She then partakes in the ambush of Levi Ackerman and his squad. When her leader, Captain Ackerman enters a tavern that Levi fled to, Traute is there to see her leader be shot in the chest and fired out the premises. As her team mates fly off in pursuit of the escaping Levi, Traute questions if Captain Ackerman is finally dead, to which he responds by calling her an idiot and asking how a dead man would respond to such a question. She then listens to Kenny complain about how Levi has grown in his own way to which she sarcastically responds by saying good to hear. Kenny corrects her, not understanding her sarcasm, and says that he is now further from his dreams.

Below the Reiss Chapel, Traute preps her subordinates for the oncoming ambush of the Special Operations Squad. She begins to speak to her comrades about their plan off attack but then transitions to speaking about a more grim topic. She states that they faced an unstoppable threat from the Titans and then questions why they all joined the Military Police Brigade and gathered around Kenny. She then claims that everyone wanted to find meaning in such a meaningless world and meaningless lives. She then states that they must buy time here and believe in Kenny's dream that the world will be flipped upside down. Her words are then interrupted as the entrance door bursts open. Using a stick with a reflective piece of the chapel walls tied to it, she examines the situation and is surprised to see gas canisters tied to barrels coming down the stairs. Confused, she fails to react in time and allows Sasha Blouse to ignite one of the barrels with a flaming arrow. The room then becomes clouded with smoke, causing the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad to lose sight of their enemies. The fight then becomes chaotic as signal flares blast through any open air. When Levi announces the MPs numbers, Traute orders her subordinates to scatter and surround individual enemies in groups.

As the battle goes on, many of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad members are killed off by Squad Levi and Hange. Traute begins to realize the direness of their situation and, mid thought, Levi attempts to kill her but she is able to dodge his attack mid air. She then begins to look for a corps member showing an opening and spots Hange. Knowing that Hange probably knows that users of anti-personnel equipment are vulnerable after firing to shots, she fires two rounds at Hange, missing her on purpose. Hange sees this as an opening and swoops in to try to kill her. Traute seizes this opportunity and, before Hange can react, fires her mobility hook into her shoulder. She then releases the hook, sending Hange off into the air and smashing her against a pillar before she falls on the ground. While the members of Squad Levi worry for her, Traute uses this moment to retreat with her forces and reorganize their defenses.

Upon Rod Reiss' transformation into a Titan, Traute and her subordinates rush toward Kenny. However, Kenny screams at them, yelling for them not to come any closer to the area. His words are interrupted when he is hit by a boulder, barely escaping alive while his second in command and the rest of his squad were crushed by the falling derbies, killing them. During his final moments alive, Kenny reconciles with himself about the life he'd lived. While exploring these memories, Kenny remembers the beginning of his Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment Squad and meeting his second in command.

Relationships

 * Kenny Ackerman - When Kenny explained his motives to his second in command and her comrades, she spoke to him about how she felt that all the actions they were taking were pointless and that they had given up on fighting the Titans. However, as she came to appreciate Kenny's dream for power, she began to put faith in it and dedicated herself to the realization of said dream. She admired Kenny and followed his will unconditionally until her death in the Reiss Chapel.

People Killed

 * Keiji

Failed attempts

 * Hange Zoë

Trivia

 * Her name has been confirmed to be Traute Carven in the Q and A section of the March 2016 issue of Bessatu Shounen.

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