Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree) by Marshall S. Thomas

there. The seats were very comfortable. I settled back and closed my eyes.
    Δ
    "Out! Now! Move it!" The interior lights flashed on. I couldn't have been asleep long, for Providence was not far from the starport. We stumbled out under a dark sky but a rosy dawn revealed a far-off mountain range and a nearby peak silhouetted by crimson. We were in an open space surrounded by endless rows of low white modular buildings set out in neat patterns.
    "Form up! First squad right here, second squad behind – NOW , damnit!" We hustled to obey. The squad leaders were up front consulting with some officers. Despite the early hour, the place was busy. Columns of khaki-clad troopers trotted past us along spotless white roads. Some wore shorts and sleeveless tops, some were in camfax fatigues, but all were jogging. A squad of girls in running gear passed as we were lining up.
    "You'll be saw-reeee!" one of them shouted. I didn't doubt it.
    "Sir! Eugarat Transport Platoon Two Nine reports all present or accounted for!" somebody shouted.
    "All right, you've got the data – get 'em moving."
    "Second squad – come! Follow me," Doggie commanded. We followed, walking along in single file, each squad behind its leader. We walked silently through a vast portable city, hundreds of white low modular buildings of various sizes, each labeled with numbers or functional descriptions. As we walked, the sky slowly lightened. A cool breeze touched us. We were the only group that was walking – everyone else charged past us, trotting. Some were chanting but I couldn't make out the words.
    Who were these people? I was amazed at the diversity of racial types in the troopers jogging past us. Our own Eugarat group was straight Outworlder, but it looked like the Legion had been recruiting all over the galaxy. I had studied race in midschool and so I was not surprised to see plenty of Assidics, who were obvious by their light brown skin, black hair, high cheekbones and slightly slanted eyes. These were the descendants of Saka the Invincible who had raised hell with the rest of the inhabited galaxy until his empire had overexpanded and collapsed. They were now strong allies with ConFree and the Outworlder race against all the slave states that had arisen in the wake of the collapse of the System, and a new race was arising as a lot of Outworlder males were attracted to Assidic females and a lot of Assidic males were turned on to Outworlder females. They had taught me that much in midschool but we didn't have many Assidics on Eugarat, and the rest of these exotics really surprised me. There were jet-black Cyrillians with slanted eyes like the Assidics, and as they ran past chanting, I could see the sharpened white teeth for which they were famous – or infamous. From time to time, exceptionally large troopers jogged past us, almost like giants, with shaved heads, invisible eyebrows and pale, slightly greenish skin. These were Mocains, Greenies, the old System's master race, and they had been our most formidable human enemies. What were they doing in the Legion? True, most of the troopers were Outworlders, but there were also plenty of others – including many I could not identify. They did not seem to be Outworlders and I couldn't ID any special ethnic traits. Perhaps they were Inners from the System – but what were Inners doing in the Legion?
    Surprising, I thought. I knew the Legion accepted anyone who was willing to bleed for ConFree, but I had also been taught that multi-ethnic nations or empires were weak, not strong, and that they always resulted in serious internal conflict and ultimate collapse.
    "Squad halt! Right face. That's it, that wasn't so hard, was it? All right, here's where we say goodbye. It's been fun, hasn't it?" Doggie asked. We were facing a giant building of white stone with a shield that proclaimed LEGION TRAINING COMMAND over a large entryway atop an imposing marble staircase where a whole gang of black-clad Legion troopers was