Fort Saganne Page #3

Me neither.

Fire!

Fire!

Fire!

We got them!

We got them!

Embarek,

go check on Messaoud.

I think they killed him.

Sound assembly.

We can't go on.

They walked a long way.

Their country is far away.

Down that way,

there's a river and animals.

There are tall trees,

but no palm trees.

I've never been that way.

With them along,

you'll never catch up to Amajar.

Sir! Sir!

Sir, we saw some carabineers

and their captain.

Halt!

Lieutenant Saganne.

Captain Baculard, District 3,

North Sudan!

You're a godsend, Captain.

I was after the Nemas,

but I came across some Berabers.

I was wondering what I'd do

with those women and children.

- I assume you know where you are.

- I honestly can't say for sure.

You are in French West Africa...

on my territory!

Those people are mine.

I've been after them for days.

The booty's yours, then.

That includes

the camels and riffles...

and those people

who need to go home.

I don't give a sh*t

about those n*ggers.

- I'm afraid I'm on a mission.

- Are you kidding me?

You won't enter my district!

Only I have the authority

to negotiate with the Nemas.

Again, I'm asking you

to take those people home.

I have no orders to receive

from a little sh*t like you!

Shut the f*** up

and get the hell out of here!

Then I'll take them home.

Lieutenant Geindroz.

We're going to the Senegal River!

You a**hole!

Moving forward!

Turn around, Saganne!

This is an order!

Stop or I'll open fire.

Halt!

Let me go, sir.

Ready, aim!

You want to open fire? Do it yourself

and shoot a French officer.

Moving forward!

Hit me, Captain.

Hit me!

Moving forward!

"You wouldn't believe it,

little brother!

I can barely believe it myself.

What a trek...

from the Mediterranean

all the way to Senegal...

a whole continent!

The children are now

in an orphanage run by nuns.

Will they ever see

their families again?

And who will take

those abused women back?

No father, no husband will.

One man refused to leave us.

He's grown attached

to my second lieutenant...

a new recruit for France."

If you want them to leave him alone,

just tell them he's yours.

Have I shocked you?

You have.

Stop torturing yourself, Geindroz.

At least you've found

what you were looking for.

"Dear father,

Here, I am a liberator.

Here, I'm important.

I wish you could be with me.

Here, people are judged

by their actions, not by their origins.

Now, I have to find Amajar.

If I complete my mission,

I'll be entitled to ask Dubreuilh

whether or not he got orders

to take me away

from the De Saint-Ilettes."

There's your Nemas.

You were right.

Captain Baculard is insane.

Amajar.

Who sewed you up?

He did.

But with his leg,

he's done for.

Sir, can you imagine

what it will be like?

I can't.

Have you ever done

that before?

I haven't, especially not

with a tool kit!

He sewed himself up.

We can't just let him die.

I need the needle!

He's bleeding.

All right, let's do it.

Hold him still,

goddamn it!

- He's dead.

- We'll see. Let's finish this.

The plate!

Embarek, bandage him up.

He's breathing.

- How's Amajar?

- He slept a lot. As did you.

I know you were ambushed.

It was no battle.

You got slaughtered.

You will walk and ride again.

Madeleine?

I can't play.

I'm hurt.

So, Saganne...

what's the news

on the Senegal River?

Please accept

my resignation, sir.

Now for the facts...

The report from French West Africa

accuses you

of "insubordination,

threatening a superior," etc.

It goes on for three pages.

The War Ministry is

requesting an inquiry.

We have another report

for the General Governor,

and last but not least,

the Health Services

are requesting

that you be punished

for illegal practice of medicine.

- Some record.

- Sir, I want to leave the army.

Why is that?

Captain Baculard slaughtered

men under my protection.

Nonsense!

There was an altercation,

and you weren't even there!

That was no simple incident.

That was a deliberate massacre

in retaliation against me!

So what?

These tribes were getting away.

Now, they got so scared,

they're back with us.

Isn't that what we wanted?

So I should have left those women

and children to die,

and killed the Nemas myself?

- Of course not.

- Of course, yes!

Let's be logical to the end.

That's why I'm resigning.

If you quit now, you lose face,

and so do all the Saharans,

me included!

Sir, I cannot wear

this uniform if officers...

You mean Baculard, right?

Here, you'll keep this

as a souvenir.

Orders from Paris calling

Baculard back to France,

where he'll do some meditation

in a small town

before he's transferred

to the madhouse.

Come on, take it!

So, Saganne,

are you satisfied?

No, sir.

I heard the De Saint-Ilettes

put pressure...

A question for you, Saganne:

do you think

the President and his family

can impose their whims on me?

Do you?

Do you think me capable of surrounding

myself with officers I don't respect?

Would you rather

have stayed here to rot?

I took you with me

because I needed you.

And because you needed me.

One last question, Saganne:

do you think I'm a puppet?

Are you still resigning?

- Answer me!

- No.

At long last.

I was worried there.

Did you think of your family?

You support them, don't you?

I did think of them, sir.

Let's have lunch tomorrow.

I have a great mission for you.

In the meantime, relax a little.

You'll notice that everybody's

talking about you here.

I asked her to marry me.

I was going to convert to Islam,

stop drinking...

start over.

The b*tch left the next day,

without a word, nothing.

Why?

With Arabs, you know...

I've lived with them a long time

and I know that those who like us,

hate us really.

For them, we're dogs

that pounced on Africa.

That's all we are.

And you...

a glorious,

handsome lieutenant.

The De Saint-Ilettes are going

to crawl at your feet!

Who's there?

Madeleine.

Are you crazy?

If anyone saw you here...

I waited for you

on the tennis court.

For hours.

Why didn't you come?

It's like I don't exist for you.

If I do, tell me so.

Tell me what I should do.

'Cause I'll do it.

- You are just a child...

- I am not a child!

I'm not!

Don't cry.

- I love you.

- Madeleine, l...

I've loved you

from the start.

Go home now.

I'll be back and

we'll see each other again.

I told you.

You are the man of the day!

I rarely eat out alone

with a subordinate.

Lieutenant...

I've decided to crush

Sultan Omar on his own ground.

Behind the border?

Borders are nothing

but lines on a map.

And we decide

where to draw them.

Now that Mekalla is with us,

we might as well

put an end to all dissidence

and insure our hold

on that area for good.

Does the government approve?

In a democracy,

you can act without

the government's approval,

on one condition:

if public opinion's behind you.

That's where you come into play.

I'm sending you to Paris.

I need a hero for the reporters.

Don't argue, you're a hero.

I want all Paris to talk about you...

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