Gilbert,
The Navy is the same as the Military, in that we received training to ensure we move when trouble finds us. Like the police, we run toward the dangerous situation rather than away. A soldier moves when commanded. A leader… a leader must be the fastest: he must analyze the situation, determine the best course of action within seconds, and shout the command without hesitation.
Even so… on the train to Gardarik, I froze.
I hope you'll forgive my sloppy scribbles. My hands shake, even now, recalling the reckless abandon of your little flower.
The solder, Isidor, had climbed to the top of the train behind her, his gun trained on her back for the kill. I did not even think: I dove in front of her, weapon raising to meet the enemy, and in a flash of gunpowder, his life was forfeit. But his final act was to pull the trigger, and I fully expected -even wanted- that bullet to hit home, and put me out of my misery….
But she stepped in between me and the barrel of my final rest. I heard the bullet burst from its chamber, and I knew, my brother, that I had failed you miserably. Your sacrifice had been in vain. She was going to die, protecting your wretched brother. I stared in numb wonder as the bullet ricochet off her metal arms with a metallic zing and caused a light fixture to explode a small distance away. She stood before me, alive.
The remainder of that train ride, I was emotion embodied. Rage and disbelief as she charged out from the box car to dislodge the bomb. Worry as she destroyed her arm in the process. Terror as she began to fall, and I stood frozen within the train. I tell myself I would have never made it there in time, but it haunts me that I stood still while Benedict snatched her back up into safety.
I would have never guessed that by testing the humanity of a war Doll, I could rediscover some of my own.
D