Under a Blazing Sky

38. SAHARA ADVENTURE SERIES — UNDER A BLAZING SKY

The narrative commences at Fort Jacques, a French stronghold in the Sahara, where a tense atmosphere prevails. Legionnaire Emil Tredoux, a member of the Secret Army Organisation, is bound to a post. Captain Cordier, the commander, announces that Tredoux will be executed for treason. The Secret Army Organisation desires Algeria to remain part of France, contrary to the French government’s decision to grant independence. Cordier fears that Tredoux’s propaganda could sway the entire garrison and intends to make an example of him. He requests volunteers for the firing squad, yet no one steps forward. The silence is broken when Teuns Stegmann, a South African in the Foreign Legion, steps forward.

Teuns’s decision is rooted in a conflict with Tredoux months prior. During a private conversation in the washroom, Tredoux attempted to recruit Teuns to join the Secret Army. Teuns refused and subsequently threatened to report Tredoux. After Teuns informed Captain Cordier about Tredoux’s actions, Cordier confronted Tredoux, leading to the planned execution. The atmosphere within the fortress grows more sombre as the time of Tredoux’s execution draws nearer. Following the execution, a sense of impending doom pervades the fort. Zelda Tredoux, Emil’s twin sister, learns of her brother’s death and swears vengeance. The Secret Army elevates Emil to martyrdom and seeks retribution.

Theuns and his comrades, Podolski and Fritz Mundt, are dispatched back to Fort Jacques with a reinforcement column. Upon their return, they observe vultures near the fort, signalling trouble. Just outside the fort, Teuns and the rest of the garrison discover a gruesome scene. They find the corpses of legionnaires executed there. The reinforcement column is led into an ambush and captured by members of the Secret Army Organisation. Zelda introduces herself as the new commander of the fort. While Teuns devises plans for escape, he quickly realises the only recourse involves betrayal and deception, to save the fate of his comrades. Executing his plan, he finds himself engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with his captors. Teuns must employ all his skill and ingenuity to escape the clutches of the Secret Army and put an end to Zelda’s cruel future schemes. Will Theuns succeed in destroying the Secret Army and preventing the execution of his comrades, or will the secrets buried in the sand remain sealed forever?