(He was in the right place at the right time with the right kind of confidence.)

Which the Soldier knows, now, wasn't actually confidence. It'd just been so frightened and off-balance that it had accepted the bluster as "good enough". The Soldier's arm plates do shiver a little, now, and the flesh hand isn't as steady as it was. It pauses its work until both hands settle. It doesn't like this conversation much anymore. (Did you ever really? No. Not really.)

It makes a weak attempt to change the subject. "He isn't anymore. By the way. He never really liked it, so he asked not to be."