I look across the rail we're all leaning on.
Christian, Doc, Heidi and me.
I suppose we all have the same love/hate relationship with her.
Christian is an excellent seaman and my First Watch Officer for that reason. He's great at everything, but notoriously clumsy because of his height when it comes to moving around the inside of the boat. The POs amidships have even started a sweep game to count how many loud thumps and consequent oaths are shouted through the boat every time Christian needs to climb through and inspect the engine room. He hates being confined down there, just as he hated being confined in hospital. Christian is best with the sea and wind in his face. That's the part of U-46 he loves best. The Bridge.
Oscar is one of the bravest men I have had the privilege to know. He's technically a non-combattant, but there's no such thing on a u-boat, and certainly the depth charges don't make any such choices between a cook a Medic or a torpedo man. Covered in spurting blood, he looked after our first Flak gunner, Kurt, right up to the end. And he saved Christian, when he was shot that time. He's a great thinker, and no Nazi, neither is anyone on the boat as far as I know, after we got rid of that last Party-Sponsored arse, and managed to get Christian back, fit or not. His bunk is his operating and inspecting table. He is one of the few who have a bedspace to themselves, and regularly sleeps on the same blood-stained mattress covers.
He thinks about things. He questions what our country is really doing or trying to do. He's never said what brought him to the sea. I'm guessing it wasn't the promise of a 3 metre by 1 metre operating theatre as about hygenic as a Berlin dustbin. Sometimes I'm not even sure he remembers what number we are. It's his job to keep us alive within his power, and he deals with the job in front of him. He won't be the first Doc to get all excited at being allowed to fire a torpedo though. What does he see when he comes onto the Bridge (apart from the time when we let him think he was firing a torpedo, that is).
The horizon, I'd say. Particularly the Sun rising.
Now I look left to Heidi at my shoulder...
LS
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