It’s a nice, thoughtful moment and seems to speak to the inevitable horror of war, no matter how realistic or fantastical the setting. Minor nitpick, I think the sentence about him touching near his eye could do with an alternate word for the second ‘as’. Not sure, just a thought.

things are calming down now. yes, I want to know J’s plan, what’s he got up his sleeve? But it’s not so urgent now.

Thank you for sharing this story with us. It is clear you have put a lot of thought and effort into it. Excellent as always.