Re: Forward Gun Mount
Seeing no good reason to smoke his own when somebody else is giving them away, Joost accepts Dawid's offer of a cigarette and a light. He takes long drag, watching the hulk of approaching burnt out bridge materialize thru the fog as he listens in on Dawid's conversation with the newcomer. Joost is making a half-hearted attempt at avoiding eye contact with her. A casual observer might mistake this activity as an expression of shyness or some other lack of social comfort, but in reality Joost is wondering how far into this voyage he will get before the ORMO trooper eventually recognizes him for who he is.
"So," Joost eventualy pipes up, indirectly addressing Griet but still looking forard over the bow, "Looks like the local civil authority has issued us a babysitter for this cruise. Lovely. The peacekeepers must have danced a jig when they found out they were getting a genuine Zampolit to run overwatch."
Joost chuckles to himself, stopping to reflect and admire his own appreciation of the situational irony at play when he realizes that Tucker has joined the group on the foredeck. "How's your ass?" he crudely inquires as to the status of Tuck's wound. Joost accepts Tuck's response and follows on with his own medical advice. "Nothing can't be fixed with a little bourbon and some duct tape, right Sergeant?"
They laugh, and it feels good to lighten up a bit. Joost takes another drag off his cigarette and then turns to a more serious tone as he addresses Tucker. "Look mate, I think we've covered that I'm ex-Legion. I was a Sergent in the Second Paras, but that was pushing twenty years ago. More recently, due to what we shall call a case of mistaken identity ..."
He hesitates, stoppping to eye the ORMO trooper, then continues, "... I spent some time with the Brygada Podhalanska, the Highland Brigade. Polish mountain troops. As a conscript Szeregowiec - basically a Private. It is a rather ... sordid ... tale that mostly involves me being in the wrong pace at the right time, but the long and short of it is this."
Joost stops to punctuate the "this" in his last point by extending toward Tucker the index finger of the hand that cradles his cigarette which he then places back between his lips.
"I have played this game enough times to understand that committees don't survive first contact with the enemy, so I will abide by this, this ..." He waves his hand around over his head, "...this chain of command. But you - and the Hauptmann - must know that I have no interest in subordinating myself to some kind of NATO or UN expeditionary force. I am an independent operator and intend to remain so. I will man my post and I will cover your back. I put my services at your disposal, but this is not my Army. I hope we have an understanding."
Joost stops to take another hit and absorbs Tucker's reaction before continuing. "On that note, I have fired an AGS only a handful of times in my life. I am afraid I am not much of a machinegunner, so I first respectfully request a reassignment of billet. Or, conversely, permission to expend some ammo getting myself re-familiarized with the weapon system."