(Greentext) The Siege of Tillsburg (Part 1/2)

>The General galloped up the dirt path towards Tillsburg with only her son by her side, him hoisting the fluttering colors of the Second Corps
>Because packing up camp and assembling her reluctant men took longer than expected, she felt she had to meet Lee immediately as some form of apology
>The pair were far ahead of the troops, though, them at least a half hour's sluggish march behind
>With one hand on his horse's reigns, Dixon uncorked the nearly-full canteen dangling by his hip and brought it to his front
>A small sudden jump from the animal bucked him forward, splashing lukewarm water all over his face and upper coat
>"Sumbitch!" he growled through gritted teeth, hastily attempting to dry himself with his sleeve
>Had the General seen this, she might have gotten a laugh out of it, but her careful attention was fixed to the uneven ground
>"Hey, Mama," Dixon loudly asked with his forearm wiping his wet chin, "I got a question that I've been meanin' to ask you."
>"Mmmh?" she murmured, finally looking up and showing a smile, "Shoot, hon!"
>"Mama..." he began, then hesitated, "What exactly are we?"
>"What do you mean?"
>"Well, if we're nandroids, how was I born? All the other ones I met were BUILT, not born... and why don't we need to be wound up? Why do I get all woozy when I'm out of the sunlight for a while, and why-"
>"Dixon!" she interrupted, "...Even I don't know the answers to most of those questions."
>"But you know at least one, right?" he prodded as one eyebrow raised
>Sighing, she lost her grin as she thought back to the early campaigns of the war; it felt like an eternity ago despite only being a handful of years
>The weapons and tactics used had changed so drastically in such a short period of time, much like the General herself, though she never told her children about her previous "form"
>"I, uh, USED TO run on clockwork like a normal robot," she vaguely stated
>Just before he could ask her to elaborate, a small detail of approaching horsemen suddenly appeared in front of them, no longer concealed by a bend in the road
>"Woooaah!" the pair bellowed as they tightly pulled their horses' reins back
>The cavaliers stopped dead in their tracks as well, braced for an ugly collision that almost came to be
>Dixon slapped his hand on his gun holster as a reflex before the sight of their butternut and gray coats met his eye
>He exhaled in relief while his mother breathed deeply to calm herself
>"You boys scared the hell outta me!" she snapped, her horse likewise huffing in frustration
>The front most cavalry officer saluted, showing youthful astonishment on his wrinkled, scarred face
>"Sorruh, ma'am," he said in an excited voice, "We're just veruh glad we found yew! General Longstreet sent us, now where's yer corps?"
>"Back up there a little ways, not too far."
>"Good. Folluh us to General Lee's headcarters, ma'am. It's not far either," he replied, turning his horse around and spurring it forward
>As his men did the same, the General and her son glanced at each other and followed the group down the path
>The distant cracks and booms that echoed over the trees soon grew loud enough to make conversation difficult as they approached Tillsburg
>Dixie noticed one of the younger horsemen frequently looking back to peek at her body, and when she called him out on it, his cheeks flushed
>Thinking up a quick excuse, he asked her how she got the small crack in her face that ran below her right eye
>She chuckled; she knew exactly what he was staring at, but she didn't blame him one bit, instead confessing how a Yankee got close enough to smack her in the face with the butt of his rifle before she shot him
>It was surprisingly a lie, something she didn't do often; the crack actually came from when she tripped and hit the corner of a table the year prior, but that didn't make for as good a story

>As rows of vacant tents and wounded men shambling by came into view, she knew the Yankees were near
>Up ahead was the small town of Tillsburg, Yankee-occupied trenches dug in its outskirts with high walls of debris shielding the main road from Confederate invasion
>Being completely left in the dark, the General could only guess the major facts like enemy strength, casualty numbers, or even how long the siege had been going on
>"Hon, what's been happenin' here?" she quietly asked Dixon
>"I'm not too sure myself, Mama," he said, "My regiment's been sent on raid after raid after raid of the Yankee supply wagons. Only a few minutes after we came back this morning, I was turned around and sent to deliver that dispatch to you!"
>The mud-covered troops couldn't take their eyes off the wooden general as she slowly passed by; if it wasn't them seeing her for the first time, it was the surprise of her reappearing after being elsewhere for many months
>It was instinctual for many of the younger soldiers to feel safe around her; even if they served under someone else, she was the closest thing to a comforting maternal figure they had in their womanless army
>Coming to a stop, the scarred cavalier extended his right arm and pointed to a lone tent standing beside a tall flag pole, flying from it was a noticeable variation of the first national flag
>"General Lee is raght ovuh there, ma'am!" he announced over the roar of sudden cannon fire close by, "Him and Longstreet are expectin' yew!"
>"Thanks very much, son!" she said, exchanging salutes with him as she and Dixon continued past
>Just as soon as they reached the tent and dismounted their horses, the front flap lifted and two men wearing open gray coats emerged in succession
>One had silver hair and a short beard, while the other's was brown and long enough to reach his upper chest
>"General Lee," she greeted, saluting the older commander in two fast, robotic motions, "The pleasure is all mine! My corps is not far behind me, I assure you, sir!"
>The old soldier lightly touched the side of his forehead with his fingertips, mild relief washing over his well known face
>"I appreciate the urgency, General, but our situation has become much less dire since this morning's attack," he spoke in a gentle, smoothly accented voice, "Regardless, your corps will be what finally ends this costly siege."
>"Well, that is good to hear, sir. Assumin' they don't get held up for any reason, the men should all be here in just shy of an hour."
>She gave an acknowledging glance at the other long-bearded gentleman, a good friend of hers, and couldn't help but be cordial to the fellow South Carolinian as well
>Many of the other iconic southern generals she could name were Virginians: Lee, Jackson, Stuart, Hill, Early, yet Longstreet was fortunate enough to come from a town that neighbored hers
>"Hi, Pe- um, General Longstreet," she said with a warm smile, fighting the urge to informally talk in front of Lee, "It's mighty good to see you again... sir."
>He flashed her a light grin in return that juxtaposed the sadness in his hollow eyes
>"Likewise, ma'am," he responded before sticking an almost-finished cigar between his teeth
>Of all the corps commanders she worked alongside throughout the now six year long war, Longstreet was one of the few she wanted to continue socializing with after its conclusion
>Though he was a married man, Dixie felt a secret attraction towards him, and she was glad to know her presence always seemed to lift his often low spirits
>Around the other officers, he tried his best to hide or downplay the depression that had been eating away at him for the past four years, but those who were close to him knew the exact reason for it
>Remembering the reason for her coming, she returned her attention back to Lee and asked, "General, I'm afraid I know very little about this operation in Tillsburg here. What's the situation as of right now?"
>Lee cleared his throat and motioned towards the tent, saying, "I have a map laid out inside, General. It will only take a moment to summarize."

>What started as a two day long skirmish transformed into a siege once the Union force captured the small town and fortified the perimeter with blue suits
>As more Confederate reinforcements kept arriving, the Yankees dug themselves in deeper, soon sealing their own fate as the starving populace had little to offer them inside
>The tactically-cut telegraph cables leading out of town prevented them from calling for help; the only way to make contact with the outside world was under a white flag
>Hours before General Dixie arrived, the Federals desperately charged from out of their trenches and into a slaughter, canister shots & fresh Confederate infantry cutting a majority of them into pieces
>Aside from that, their defense had reduced to occasional artillery and sniper fire from the highest remaining buildings that never seemed to hit anyone
>Lee's plan was to use his soon-to-be boosted numbers to execute a charge of his own with artillery in support, confident the Union defense would crumble once the exterior trenches were taken

>She exited the tent alone, Lee staying inside to write orders and chart her troop positions with his aide
>To her surprise, Longstreet was still there, sitting in a foldable chair with his cigar in hand, staring into the distance
>"So, Pete," she chirped, watching him jolt awake at the sound of her voice, "How've you been? Not too stressed, I hope!"
>It was as if he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice she appeared, and he promptly stood up after she started talking
>He didn't even take a moment to create a fake response in his mind, instead sighing and gently grabbing her shoulder
>"Frankly, Dixie, I've been miserable today even before the Yankees attacked us this morning," he grumbled with a frown
>"Oh?" she asked, concern growing in her low voice, "What happened, hon?"
>He spun his head around to make sure nobody else was in earshot before leaning closer to her face
>"I had a dream last night," he murmured, "I saw my... my late children running across the battlefield, right in the path of the Yankee cannons. It almost seemed... deliberate, the way they danced in front of them. I ran out, yelling, trying to herd them back to the safety of our lines, but one of OUR OWN batteries suddenly opened fire and..."
>He paused, taking a single deep breath to prevent tears from forming, then continued
>"Well... it was horrible what I saw, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it... Brought back the haunting memory of watching them each pass from the fever, but this was way worse. It took me a couple hours after I woke up in a panic for me to calm down."
>"Oh lord, Pete," she whispered, trembling from secondhand fear, "I'm sorry you had to see all that."
>He took his hand off her shoulder and lurched forward in the direction of Dixon, patiently waiting with the pair of horses
>"There's no need for you to apologize," he said with the exact same gloom behind his voice, "It's my own brain that should be sorry. It can scare me real good sometimes."
>She started walking beside him, no longer in an upbeat mood as she began grimly imagining what would happen if she lost one of her own...
>"No. Don't even think about that," she silently ordered herself, "Dixon and the girls will be just fine. This war won't go on much longer after this siege anyhow."
>She had trouble believing that final part, but it bolstered her fantasy of not being an "ex-parent" by the time of her death
>As Longstreet reached the wooden young man, the latter fixed his posture and gave as neat a salute as he could with his free hand
>"General," he simply greeted before his attention was torn away by his mother's brown horse strongly pulling at its reigns
>He lost his balance for half a second, and when he righted himself, he had lost multiple feet of ground to his new enemy
>Watching him comically struggle with the animal finally returned a small smile back to Longstreet's face
>"I remember you from this morning, son," he said, dropping his finished cigar to the ground, "What's your name, corporal?"
>While preoccupied in a losing game of tug-of-war, he found it hard to remain standing at attention, his hoof-like feet being dragged sideways in the dirt
>"Corporal Dixon- errgh- 6th South Carolina Cavalry, sir!" he blurted out
>Another hand that belonged to neither of them swiftly grabbed the reigns and the horse immediately relaxed, sending Dixon stumbling forward without warning
>"Woah there, sugar!" Dixie sang in his ear, cushioning his stagger with her well-padded torso, "Sorry, I shoulda mentioned earlier that Palmetto hates bein' held by anyone other than me."
>She then turned to Longstreet, her spirits nearly as high as when she first arrived
>"Pete, I could sure use a new aide-de-camp. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind transferrin' my son to my command?"
>"What?! Mama!" Dixon tried to protest
>Not even a second passed before Longstreet nodded and said, "Consider it done, Dixie. I'll have his commanding officer notified right away."