Chapter 18: Reunion

As the second day's fighting begins to wane, Zim, Dib and Tak, as well as you the readers, will learn that oftentimes, the aftermath of a battle is far worse than the battle itself. I'm glad I decided to emphasize the second day so much. Very few texts and movies do more than allude to the fighting in the peach orchard and the wheat field. Even the epic movie Gettysburg (If you haven't seen it, do so…NOW) only shows the defense of Little Round Top on July 2nd. I feel honored to be among the first to tell more of the story in this fic, to tell the stories of the unsung heroes, villains and tragedies of the battle, like Buford, Reynolds, Sickles, Hood and Vincent. All of the stories will probably never be known, and many will never be told, but maybe we can catch a glimpse of the real battle through learning about the real people that were there. Enough preaching though. Now I step from off my soapbox and submit for your approval the next chapter of this little novella. So enjoy, and please review.

Dib stood on the hill that the 20th Maine had defended, leaning tiredly on his musket. He was still in awe that they had won. Colonel Chamberlain had done the impossible. Dib glanced at the commander, who was shaking hands with another officer, probably the commander of another nearby regiment. The man was complimenting Chamberlain on his maneuver and on his bravery and genius, all of which Chamberlain was taking in humbly.

"Wow…he's like the greatest commander in the world or something." Dib said to himself. He reflected again on the battle. It was without a doubt the worst thing he had ever been through in his short life, and the mere fact that it was now over gave him little consolation. He still felt the sickness in his stomach and the fear, and the dead and wounded men strewn about made it all the worse. Still, he admired Chamberlain, and his wonder over how the colonel had won the battle against all odds made Dib smile. He wished he were as brave and gallant as Colonel Chamberlain, and as Tak…now he thought of Tak, of the alien…no the girl he loved. Being so close to death had made Dib prioritize a lot of things. He realized that he was truly in love with Tak, and he was worried to death about her.

"Dib…" Someone said. Dib looked up. Chamberlain had walked over without his noticing.

"Yes sir?" The boy asked.

"You did well today. I…I just thought I should say so. Thank you for your help." He started to walk away.

"Colonel Chamberlain?" Dib called. Chamberlain looked back to him. "You did…I mean…sir…" He sighed. "You're the bravest man I've ever met. It's been like…the greatest honor ever to be here, and even though this was so bad, and so…horrible…" Both of them looked at the ground a moment in respect and remembrance. "Sir, this was my first real battle…and if I had to choose the first battle to have ever fought in, I'm glad it was this one." Chamberlain placed his hands on Dib's shoulders.

"Thank you." Chamberlain replied. "Thank you for your honesty, and thank you for your bravery today. No man here was less brave or less deserved of praise than I, and what we did here, I could not have asked from any man." He nodded and sniffed. He stood and cleared his throat. "And um…I have just ascertained the name of this ground. It is Little Round Top. I thought you should like to know. I do not believe any man here could ever forget it."

"No." Dib agreed. They stood in silence for a moment. Then, as if to break the reflective moment purposely, a messenger, a young junior officer approached. He saluted Colonel Chamberlain and panted for breath a moment.

"Colonel Chamberlain sir." The orderly stated. "Orders from General Hancock."

"Yes?" Chamberlain replied.

"You are to move your men to a new position. The line is moving over you see, and you are to position your regiment on the large hill to the left. Big Round Top, sir."

"I understand." Chamberlain said. "I just need time to bury my dead and evacuate the wounded."

"Yes sir." The orderly answered.

"And my men need food, supplies and ammunition badly." Chamberlain ordered.

"I will see to it, sir." The officer finally saw Dib. "Ah, and you must be Hancock's messenger Private Dib." Dib saluted.

"Yes sir?" The boy asked.

"Hancock wishes you to return immediately." The orderly requested. "And make a report on the fighting here." Dib looked at Colonel Chamberlain.

"You'd better go, Dib." Chamberlain directed. Dib smiled and saluted.

"I hope to see you again, Colonel Chamberlain." He said. The colonel saluted back.

"I do hope kind providence has planned it so." The commander replied.

"Come then." The messenger stated. He turned and began walking back along the path that had Led Dib to this spot. Dib followed, and as he walked, he looked around at the scores of men laying on the hill. The wounded and the dead were impossible to tally as he walked. A young flagbearer, his standard held rigidly upright, knelt beside the body of Colonel Vincent, and looked up at the two glumly as they passed. Dib nodded sadly to the boy, and continued on. Dib wondered how the fortunes of the rest of the army had been.

"Did we um…" He asked. "Did we win the battle today? I mean, all of it?"

"If you mean the total engagement, then yes and no." The officer replied. "We kept the Rebs from taking the left flank, and from dislodging all of the right. They were able to move up further on our right, but that's about all. I do not believe anyone actually…won…anything today. Tactically, neither side won."

"So everyone is still where they were when all of this started?" Dib asked. It seemed impossible. All of this fighting, and neither side had really lost anything. All of this was just to deny the enemy any new ground. The officer sensed his despair.

"We kept the rebs from taking our positions. That much we accomplished. Some battles go this way, son. And tomorrow, I think there'll be another battle. Maybe bigger than today's, I know not. But it cannot go on much longer."

"You know a lot about war and stuff, sir." Dib said, trying to change the subject and make conversation as they walked.

"I graduated 6th in my class at West Point." The officer said somewhat proudly. "I served on the staff of General Burnside during our offensive at Fredricksburg. You know of old Burnside?"

"Umm…" Dib replied. "Not…really."

"Ah…well that wasn't my finest hour." The officer said with a chortle. "Nor was it the Army of the Potomac's. I served under Hooker after that. Bloody mess. That's how I got wounded. I drew the sad lot of being in the action at Chancellorsville. You know about that."

"I don't…um…sorry." Dib replied. This officer was a real chatterbox, but at least it distracted him from the sad scene of all the wounded and dead men they passed.

"Well, you're pretty young still." The officer continued. "We were set up pretty good near Chancellorsville, you see. A good, solid line stretching all the way from the river, with our right flank by a damned near impenetrable wood called the Wilderness. Good name for it. Anyway, That's where General Howard's boys were positioned. Not a sign of the Rebel army near the right, and the day was well nigh done, as Coleridge put it. Anyhow, all of a sudden, from out of the Wilderness comes half of the Reb army. It was General Jackson himself. Old Stonewall had somehow snuck around in front of our entire army without being seen, and hit us right on the flank. General Jackson…you had to admire the man, despite the fact he was the enemy."

"Yeah?" Dib asked.

"Best commander either army had ever seen, and probably will. He was brilliant as they come, and he knew how to make war. Now that he's gone, the Reb army may be a good deal easier to beat."

"What happened to him?" Dib questioned.

"Shot by his own men. Hours after his victory. Tragic, eh?"

"Yes sir." Dib replied.

"Better not to think about it all. It's all pretty damned tragic if you ask me. I have nothing against anyone over there." He motioned across the field, where the enemy had been, and still was.

"Why not?" Dib asked. "I thought they were the enemy."

"So young." The officer stated with a sigh. "They are the enemy technically…tactically, you see. But they are countrymen. I have friends over there. I have a brother on the other side, and many of my old classmates are over there right now. It is our duty to try to kill one another. We're soldiers, and that is our one job. We don't have to despise and hate the enemy. And after this war, we will be friends and brothers again." He sighed again. "It's a shame to have to fight with friends because they're on the other side of the field." Dib thought for a moment. He thought of Zim, and wondered what had happened to him. Had he been captured like he and Tak had? If so, by which side? And what if he too had decided to take up arms, but for the other side. Dib looked across the field. Maybe Zim was over there right now, and maybe they would meet on the battlefield.

The two walked along the ridge, and up ahead sat General Hancock on his horse, gazing across the field with a set of binoculars. Several staff officers sat on horses around him, and more soldiers stood around the group.

"There's the general now, son." Dib's companion said. "I must attend to other duties, so be on your way private."

"I've enjoyed talking to you, sir." Dib said, saluting. The man saluted back.

"And you as well. Now off with you." Dib jogged toward General Hancock. As he drew within thirty feet, he saw amid the cluster of soldiers the person he had been longing to see again so badly.

"Tak!" He called out. Tak turned and looked. Dib was alive!

"Dib!" She replied with relief. The two ran toward each other. Hancock lowered his glasses and looked at the two. He didn't care if they were breaking military protocol. He smiled as the two met.

"Tak…I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried about you." Dib admitted. Tak felt herself blush a little. She dug the toe of her boot into the grass a bit.

"I…I was worried about you too." She said, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm happy you made it through okay." Dib blushed himself. They stood, averting their eyes and wondering what to say or do next. Tak felt Dib wrap his arms around her. She stood rigid for a moment, not knowing how to respond. She then put her arms around the boy cautiously. It sort of felt good.

"It was bad, Tak." Dib said. "All the soldiers, and the fighting. It was so bad." Tak felt the warmth of Dib's tears on her shoulder. Of course they were all the warmer because of her intolerance of water, but it was pure water, so it wasn't painful at all. She hugged him closer.

"I know, Dib…I know." She said soothingly. She thought about all that she herself had seen. "It was terrible. I was right in the middle of the worst death and destruction I've ever seen, and it was horrible."

"I might have killed someone." Dib said sadly. Tak squeezed him again, then realized what he'd said.

"Wait…you?" Tak asked. Dib nodded on her shoulder. Maybe he was braver than she thought. Dib pulled away and sniffled.

"But you should have seen it, Tak. You would have loved it. And you would have loved Colonel Chamberlain. We kept getting attacked, and I thought we were all gonna be killed. We were out of bullets, and half the men were killed." Tak listened in wonder at Dib's war story. "And the enemy was coming again. So Colonel Chamberlain, a professor…he ordered charge. All the men put the bayonets on their guns, and ran down the hill screaming, the Colonel right there leading them. It was awesome, Tak! I've never seen anything like it!" His story over, it was Tak's turn.

"Hm." She scoffed. "I ended up down there in a useless fight with a pompous glory-boy."

"Yeah?" dib asked.

"Yeah, and the general I was with got his leg shot off by a cannonball." She said unemotionally.

"Wow…" Dib said tensely. "Is he um…did he die?"

"God I hope so." Tak sighed.

"Wow…" Dib said again

"Oh, I'm a corporal now." Tak said with a smile. Dib smiled too.

"Eh. You're a better soldier than I am." He complimented. Tak smiled more.

"Is that so, young man?" A voice inquired. Dib looked up at the figure of General Hancock. The commander smiled down from his mount. "Well, I heard from the other messengers and scouts that you fought alongside Colonel Chamberlain when he needed soldiers most, and that you were there when he charged down the hill."

"Yeah, well…" Dib replied modestly.

"Well don't take it so nonchalantly." Hancock said. "You two both acted very bravely today, and went far beyond your duties. You've earned a place in this army by your actions today."

"Thank you, sir." Dib and Tak both said.

"And Dib, not to treat either of you with favoritism, I'm promoting you to corporal as well." He smiled. "Now you don't have to worry about…fraternizing with an NCO." He winked. The two blushed and looked away, embarrassed. "Don't worry too much about a report." Hancock added. "It won't be necessary, and you've done enough today. You both have." He looked around. "I think we all have. You two get some rest and find some food. I'll call on you when I need you." He saluted. Dib and Tak saluted back. Hancock turned and rode off with his staff.

"Okay, corporal…" Tak said with a grin. "Let's go find something for you to eat, and we'll rest up. Dib smiled.

"Sure, corporal. After you."