Chapter 33: Valiant to the Last
Dib and Tak now fired again and again, reloading as quickly as they could. From their position on the wall, it looked as though the tide of rebels would overtake them like a flood. There was no time to speak now, and they knelt beside each other, knowing the other was there, watching out for them as they defended themselves and the wall. The enemy seemed to keep coming, an inhuman mass of grey and tan forms surging endlessly up the slope of the hill. The cannons of Lt. Cushing's battery continued to fire nearby. Men were falling dead and wounded while working the gun, only to be replaced by others, who would succeed in firing once or twice more before they too would fall. Cushing fell again, shot through the shoulder, but was soon on his feet again, screaming orders to the artillerymen.
"Tak! I think it's almost over!" Dib cried out. "Look! They're starting to leave!"
"Keep shooting Dib!" Tak replied, firing her rifle. The rebels who had been charging up the hill were no longer making a hard fight to get to the top. A few continued the suicidal task of walking up to the wall, only to be killed. General Hancock rode by, dispatching orders to all officers along the line. Tak saw him suddenly lurch, and fall off his horse, tumbling into the arms of an officer. A feeling of dread and horror ran through her, but there was no time to mourn. She turned back to the battle and gasped. "Dib! Look! It's not over yet!" A new mass of rebels were charging up the hill. The two fired at the same time into the approaching enemy.
"The last round!" A voice shouted. Tak looked to see the artillerymen of Cushing's battery decimated. Every soldier who had once manned a cannon was either dead, wounded or had left his post as the ammunition chests had run dry. Now the last round of the last cannon, crewed by the last of the men was being loaded. Cushing himself, bleeding and holding himself up with a rifle watched the line of grey warriors reach the wall directly in front of his gun.
"FIRE!" He bellowed. The cannon roared, and the scene in front of the weapon became an unmentionable mass of smoke, flame, and twisted bodies. 'Fire' was the last word Tak, Dib, or anyone would hear from Lieutenant Cushing. As soon as he gave the command, Tak cried out as the friendly, courageous officer fell dead with a wound in his head, valiant to the last. Tak loaded her gun, and fired again, tears streaming from her eyes. Beside her, Dib fired again, and watched as a bearded man in a brown uniform fell dead. They were almost upon them now, and finally reloaded, Dib prepared to fire another shot, when Tak grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him away. They ran past the cannons, and turned as the enemy broke over the wall.
Dib had been on Little Round Top, and remembered the last stand there by Colonel Chamberlain and his men. He had stayed because there was nowhere else to go, nothing else to do. Now, as more men in blue came up beside him and Tak, he knew he could run. He knew he could leave the fight if he wanted. He opened the breech of his rifle, and loaded a new round. He barely had to rationalize it. He would not run, he would stay. He would fight here and probably die because it was the only thing to do. He capped the gun and cocked it. In a second, he had figured it all out…Buford, Reynolds, Chamberlain, Hancock, they had all taught him something. Heroes weren't men with superpowers casually saving everyone in their path. They were ordinary human beings who in a fraction of a moment decided that there were things more important than their own lives. That they were willing to give everything for that cause that now gave him the strength to stand against inevitability, so that their families, their friends, and everyone that will come after them can have something better. He raised his rifle, took aim and fired.
Tak heard a bullet pass by her head. This was war. She remembered back to her younger days when she had dreamed of being a soldier, of being an Irken elite. Irken society had glorified war, and made the destruction of one's enemies a high honor. She now saw the humanity of it all. There was no glory here. That was all a lie. But there was something else…she was fighting for a completely different reason. She was fighting for love, for the brave, wonderful man standing beside her. She was fighting for duty, for the red, white and blue banner of the country she didn't quite understand, but knew it was worth fighting for. She was fighting because so many great men had already died protecting that country, men like General Reynolds and Lieutenant Cushing, and she fought for their honor, for their sake. She felt alive in battle, and it felt good, as bad as it really was. As Tak raised her rifle, she decided that she was going to stay alive too, and she and Dib would be together forever, whether in this age or their own. If not, she conjectured, she would at least go down fighting like an Irken, and lay beside Dib forever in a soldier's grave. She fired.