Speaking of the Devil—or more so, thinking of him—the Colonel appeared with swinging doors, like a shadow bursting out of an abandoned cathedral. Ivushkin quickly reclaimed order within the whispering and muttering men, shouting his commands while he walked along the tight line of cadets, his shout coming low and soft, nothing close to a traditional yell of a military leader. The men understood the command "stand at attention" without him raising his voice.
Nikolay decided to stand along with his men instead of coming to the Colonel’s side. Specifically, he stood in front of his crew; despite them all being in a horseshoe formation, his three-man crew, which included his retired loader from their T-62, stood close together. When the Colonel stood in his truest form, arms folded behind his back, he could hear footsteps shuffle behind him. Slightly turning his head to look over his shoulder, he could notice the lanky soldier scoot a few inches behind him than where he stood previously, slim eyes—similar to his own—now wide with trepidation. Ivushkin could scold the boy on proper form, but he chose to shield the boy as he desired. Ivan, often called “Vanya” by his crewmates, was the youngest member of the crew. It took a great deal of mental training for Ivushkin to help him develop into the man he is today. Even so, there are still some things that make him feel uneasy. Evidently, the German Colonel seemed to be one of those things.
The Junior Lieutenant, however, could not have been prepared for the official order the Colonel decided to give them. It almost made him unclench his jaw and stare in consternation. Instead, he gritted his teeth and bowed his head to the side, knowing the pair of cadet eyes were all turning to him for explanation, an explanation which he couldn’t give them, for even he didn’t know what was going on. Ivushkin listened on, realizing that Jäger was looking among his men for this “man that disobeyed the order”! Nikolay almost shouted for the meaning of the matter, but retained himself. He looked among his men, turning his head both ways, being met only with perplexed looks. It took some nerve for the Colonel to accuse his own men on their first day on base. He then turned to the one who he could assume would be up to no good, his retired loader, and even he looked up at Nikolay with bewilderment in his expression, shrugging lightly.
Ivushkin scoffed and silenced the mutters among the groups with a waved hand, while his legs came to approach the Colonel with little apprehension, as if the energy around the Colonel was optional to feel. Before he even reached fully to the spot Jäger occupied like some guard, he called out.
“Before changing the plans, mind telling me beforehand?” Nikolay stepped in front of the Colonel, ignoring the two inches the man had on him. He had dealt with men whose character was greater than their height before. Now, more quietly, he continued. “What’s the matter, Colonel? If I knew you had different plans, I wouldn’t pull out all of my men.” He didn’t sound upset or fiery; instead, he maintained a diplomatic tone that was almost icy in nature. One could say he gained it from a certain translator, who was witnessing the event with solicitousness.