Do-Over
One of the times Church does it over again, Captain Butch Flowers lives long enough to meet Caboose. Church can hardly believe how like father and son they are. It makes him jealous.
Then Flowers dies, shot by Tucker when Tucker doesn't understand Sheila's tutorial program. Church never wants to do that one over again. Caboose throws himself in front of Sheila, desperate to stop her from doing anything else and as stupid as always. He gets shot next. When Tucker finally manages to shut Sheila off and get out of the cockpit, he yanks off his helmet and throws up, sobbing.
Church only watches in disbelief and says to himself, half-angry and half-horrified that the universe works this way, "Why is it such a big deal if Captain Flowers lives? Why?" He feels completely helpless, even though going back in time was his doing.
Tucker starts cursing and tearing off his armor. "I quit! I quit! I can't stand it anymore! We were here for no reason. No reason! And now people died. Because of me. Because Command was too stupid to realize we didn't have anyone with armor certification. They thought a tutorial would fix it. They thought that – that sorry excuse for a piece of shit manual in there would stop this from happening! I hate them! I hate them all!"
Church just stares. He can't help it. Horror goes right through him and locks him down.
The Reds surround them and take them prisoner. Sarge talks about torturing them. Church tells him, "The one with all your secrets died. Captain Flowers was the only one who knew anything around here. I'm just a Private. Tucker too." He doesn't know what'll happen. He's just waiting for the chance to do it over. To make none of this real.
Sarge drafts them into the Red Team.
Church learns far more than he wanted to know about Sarge, Grif, Simmons, and Donut. He and Tucker live with them, work with them, see them every day. Donut becomes his best friend. He sort of clings to that until this ordeal is over. Donut's weirdness reminds him of Caboose, and that makes him hurt inside, in a way he wants to deny could ever happen. Tucker and Grif become almost as close as Grif and Simmons, though Simmons gets jealous every time Tucker and Grif do something without him. It's really obvious that his timeline's Tucker was right. Simmons and Grif are in love, or something.
The next time he goes back to the beginning, he lets Captain Flowers die. It hurts, but it's less painful than the alternative. That's when Church starts to think: Maybe the universe knows what it's doing. That helps him get through in the end.