America: 50☆Stars (Vol. 2)

Episode 29: The Battle of Glorieta Pass

March 26, 1862.

Gunshot after gunshot, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains echoed the blasts of an ongoing battle.

Texas hid behind the silver brush, wondering how she got into this precarious position.

"I don't get it, sir. There's no fighting going on in the West." She scratched her head.

"But you know what's in the West?" The Confederacy circled areas of the West on a map. "Colorado's goldfields. California's ports. And land—lots of land." He looked back at her with a devious smile. "If we can take control of the West, not only will we cut off the Union's source of wealth, but we'll also get that wealth for ourselves."

"So, I can kick California's ass while I'm at it?" She smirked.

"If she insists on being a Union lapdog, ya can kick her ass as many times as ya want until she submits to the Confederate cause."

She made a salute to her commander. "Leave it all to me, sir! I won't let ya down!"

He laughed, "Good! I trust you'll be able to do your job on your own."

"It'll be a cakewalk conquering the Southwest and its territories!" she laughed with him.

"Boy, do I feel stupid..." Texas grumbled as she listened to screams ahead of her.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" New Mexico shot at the Confederate Texans who were trapped in the middle of a crossfire between two groups of Union soldiers.

She glanced over her shoulder and yelled, "¡Oye (Hey), New Mexico! You're supposed to be on my side! Stop shooting me!"

"I'm not taking orders from you!" he shouted. "You'll get out of my house and leave me alone for good!"

She cursed under her breath, "Damn it. You just had to make my job a lot harder." Outnumbered and outgunned, Texas and the Confederates continued their disorganized retreat, allowing the Union soldiers to take advantage of the chaos.

"Get back here!" New Mexico chased after her on foot. He ran out of bullets to fire at the Texan. However, that didn't discourage him from ceasing his unmerciful attack. He picked up some fist-sized rocks and threw them at her. 

"Hey! Quit it! Ouch! Ow!"

"¡Te odio (I hate you)! ¡Te odio! ¡Te odio!" He flung more rocks at her.

"You're such an ass!" She hurried to get on her horse and gallop out of there.

He was going to throw another rock at her when someone grabbed his arm. "¡Suéltame (Let me go)!" he barked at the person that held him back.

"Whoa, man! Calm down." Colorado stepped back from the upset New Mexican.

"Calm down? She's getting away!" He pointed at the fleeing Texan.

"She may be getting reinforcements. For now, let her go."

He shook his head angrily. "No! We can't let her flee! If we let her get reinforcements, she'll—"

"Hey!" He grabbed his shoulders and made him look directly into his eyes. "Most of our troops marched over four hundred miles to get here from my home without much rest. We need to recuperate and plan our next actions. Otherwise, if we rush things, we may end up failing to protect the West. That can't happen."

New Mexico was about to bite his head off. But after another glance of their sluggish troops, he reluctantly dropped the rock from his hand. "Esto no ha terminado (This isn't over)," he grumbled.