Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree) (4 page)

Δ

The past is dead and gone
. I pondered the phrase as I entered the ready room. It was a large lounge, full of airchairs and sofas and tables of various sizes. The walls were decorated with large, darkened d-screens and colorful Legion propaganda posters. It was dead quiet and totally deserted – no, not quite. As I entered, a single youth shot up from a chair and snapped to attention, startling me. I looked around quickly to determine who he was standing at attention for and decided that it was for me, because there was nobody else in the room.

"Relax," I said. "I'm not an officer, I'm a new volunteer." He was in civilian clothes, I noted. He looked like about fifteen, very slender with long brown hair and big round eyes, but he must have been seventeen because that was the minimum age for Legion recruitments. He appeared greatly relieved to learn I was a fellow volunteer.

"Oh," he said, "good. I thought you were a trooper because of the haircut."

I smiled. "No, the haircut came before the enlistment."

"Really? Here, want some dox? They've got a doxmod – free dox." He hurried over to a wall unit and it popped out a fresh cup of dox. He handed it to me. "Have a seat. You like dox?" He seemed even jumpier than I was. We both settled down in airchairs and he was looking into my eyes intently. He seemed so young he almost looked like a girl.

"Yes, I love dox," I said, taking a careful sip of the hot foamy brew. "This is great."

"So they made you get the haircut before enlistment? How long you been in? Man, you really look beat-up. Did they beat up on you? What happened?"

I smiled. "What happened," I repeated. "Good question. I've been asking that myself. No, they didn't beat me up. That also happened before I enlisted. But I guess you could say it was part of my…motivation. Yes. I understand we'll be getting new haircuts during induction on Veltros. How long have you been in?"

"Two…whole…days," he said, as if it was more than any human should have to endure. "I've been the only one here. Except for them. I'm really glad to see you."

"Where are you from?"

"Sunglen. It's way out in the Pine Barrens. Windwood was the closest Legion Gate."

"What made you want to enlist?"

"Clearly you're not fam with Sunglen or the Pine Barrens. It's the armpit of the world. And my girl…well, short story, she dumped me. And I really cared about her. How about you?"

"Your story makes sense compared to mine. Well, I had a lot of reasons but bottom line is I thought it was the right thing to do."

"That's pretty idealistic, I'm impressed. Do you know anything about Veltros?"

"Yeah, it's the Legion's premier basic training center. Everybody gets run through Veltros. Only it's a long star run from here. Did they tell you you'd be leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, they did."

"Good. We'll be going together. Looks like just the two of us."

"Great! That's great!" He took a big gulp of dox and held out a fist. "Arie Gaignon. It's great to meet you."

"Richard Rains," I said, touching knuckles. "Likewise. I'm from Windwood. Recently graduated from Windwood Middle."

"Same here, Sunglen Middle. It wasn't much of a school, but I liked it – until she dumped me. I was on track, gymnastics and contact."

"Wow! Really? You're a real athlete." He sure didn't look it.

"Yeah, I guess so. I liked it. But that's all gone now." The past is dead and gone, I thought.

"Did you see the Monument to the Dead?" he asked. "In the plaza?"

"Yes – I noticed it when I first arrived but I didn't pay much attention."

"That's got all the names of all the Legion troopers who died defending the people of ConFree. Immortals all. That's what they told me. An endless list, they said."

"Yeah, I know about the monument. They've got it in every Legion installation."

"You seem to know a lot about the Legion," Arie said.

"I've studied history, that's all. It seems strangely inappropriate that the first thing new Legion volunteers see after walking through the Gate is a list of Legion dead."

"I'm sure there's a reason for it."

"Yeah, me too. What do they make you do here? Any duties? Processing?"

"No, they said just wait for the aircar tomorrow. I've been lying around sipping dox, mostly."

"Is there a mess hall around here, or something to eat?"

"Sure, come on, I'll show you."

Δ

Arie and I stood in the backblast of the aircar as it settled onto the landing pad on the roof of the Legion installation. It was a bright, clear day and Eugarat's two moons were both visible overhead as the crash doors of the car slid open. Mustache said goodbye to us from the carport personnel door. I still didn't know his name. We scrambled into the car, finding seats and strapping in. It was a Legion military transport car, with two troopers up front piloting it. Arie and I were the only passengers. We lifted off abruptly, gained altitude rapidly and headed roughly southwest towards Temple Mount and the starport. We had a fabulous view of Windwood as we shot over it heading for the future. A seemingly endless green forest, with a neat little settlement nestled in the trees. I could see downtown, the civic center, the hospital, Windwood Middle School, my own little residential neighborhood, rust-red roofs scattered through the forest. I spotted the teen club up on a forested hill, and even the playground on the edge of the botanical gardens. Last view, I thought. That was my home. I wondered if I would ever see it again.

Arie and I had talked a lot the night before but finally fell asleep in our quarters, exhausted. Now Arie was quiet, and I still felt very tired. I hadn't gotten much sleep, the first night of my new life. Suddenly I remembered – Mark's note! It was still crumpled in my trousers pocket, I hadn't even thought about it before. I pulled the little note out of the envelope.

When and if you come back I will be going with Kittykat.

Good luck. Mark R. Kane.

We hustled to form the rows in silence except for the shuffling of bodies. We were still in civvies and had no idea what was coming. The building we were in was part of the Temple Mount spaceport complex. From what I gathered from the other bodies, some of them had been waiting weeks for this event. Arie and I had arrived just in time for the space flight to Veltros, which was set for the following day.

Arie and I found a place midway into the second row and then did our best to become invisible. We could hear the Legion troopers discussing us as the people at the rear did their best to form one last row that evidently did not add up to ten.

"They get scruffier every time, don't they?"

"Deadman! See the one with the bone in his nose?"

"You want to rip it out or can I?"

"That girl looks like she could kick ass."

"I don't think that's a girl."

"
STAND AT ATTENTION! SILENCE
! Now the intelligence test will continue. First man in the first row, here –" he pointed at him. "You say
ONE
and the rest of you count off, two, three, four, et cetera. Can you do that? Let's hear it.
NOW
!"

"One." It was barely audible.

"
WHAT?
"

"
ONE
!"

"That's better. Continue!"

"Two!'

"Uh, three!"

"Four!"

"Um, five. I mean, five!" This continued with several hopeless screw-ups until the last man confirmed there were ninety-six of us. We were mostly young males, almost all Outworlders, with a sprinkling of females as well. It was a motley crew.

"
ATTENTION
!" We didn't know how to stand at attention but we gave it our best. It was silent. A new trooper entered, making his way to the dais and standing behind a lectern. He dropped a field cap onto the lectern. He was flanked by the other troopers. He appeared as young as the others but you could tell immediately he was not the type you'd want to challenge to a bar fight. He stood there glaring at us for some time. Then he spoke.

"Is this the best we could do?"

"I'm afraid so, sir," one of the troopers answered.

The officer sighed. "All right, volunteers, pay attention. You are about to be inducted into the ConFree Legion. Tomorrow you will be transported to Veltros for Basic Training. That's all you have to know for now." He spoke in a low voice; I had to strain to hear him. "You should know that your act of volunteering is greatly appreciated by the people of ConFree. It comes at a very dangerous time in galactic history. Great events are underway that are going to threaten ConFree's future and perhaps the future of humanity as well. The ConFree Legion is all that stands between our sworn enemies and the women and children of ConFree. And, after Basic,
you
are going to be the ConFree Legion. Think about that as you repeat the Oath of Enlistment. Generations of Legion troopers before you have taken this oath, and we all take it very seriously. Now, eyes front, salute with right fist over your heart, and repeat the words you see on the screen. Attention to the colors!"

The lights abruptly cut off, plunging us into darkness. A huge screen appeared behind the dais, glowing with light, and it revealed a great flag, the black flag of ConFree with a silvery Legion Cross in the center, seemingly flapping in a brisk breeze. We could hear the wind whipping past and the flag cracking in response. The Legion Cross was shimmering with silvery light – almost as if it was on fire.

White letters suddenly appeared on the screen, scrolling across from right to left. The officer led us with a solemn voice, crystal clear, his fist to his heart. I slammed my fist over my own chest and repeated the words in time with his.

"I am a soldier of the Legion. I believe in Evil – the survival of the strong and the death of the weak. I am the Guardian. I am the sword of light in the dark of the night. I will deliver us from Evil." The dark hall reverberated with our words as the flag continued to flap boldly and the words continued to scroll over the screen.

"I accept life everlasting and the death of my past. I will trust no Earther worm nor any mortal man, but only the mark of the Legion. I have burnt the book of laws to serve the Deadman's cause as a soldier of the Legion."

I was almost paralyzed before that wild flag, hypnotized by that burning Legion cross. My eyes were watering. I knew about the Legion. I had studied history. Every word was true, I knew. I had never imagined in my wildest nightmares that it had anything to do with me. And here I was!

"I am the slave of the Future, at the gateway to the stars. Where I can see – eternity. For I walk in the shadow of death and yet I fear no evil, for I am the light in the dark, I am the watch on the mark, I am a Soldier of the Legion."

I was stunned. It was true. I was a soldier of the Legion. Me!

"I will have no talk with Evil. The arts of death are the tools of life. And in the end I will send a maxburst to advise the O's come by surprise, and though we kill them where they stand we know it's death's dark land, for a soldier of the Legion."

The lights snapped back on, the flag and the screen were gone, and we stood there frozen in shock. The officer turned to face us. "Welcome to the ConFree Legion. Proceed through the doors to your left for issuance of fatigues and boots."

Δ

"
SIMULATE ATTENTION
!" One of our black-clad minders ordered. We may have been inducted into the Legion but we sure weren't soldiers yet. We did our best to stand at attention. It was very early the next morning and we were formed up in ten squads outside on the spaceport grounds, ready for our new life. They had yanked us out of our bunks, shouted us into our new fatigues, boots and field caps, given us five in the latrines and then marched us out into the dark without breakfast. The eastern horizon was now glowing ochre and the stars were fading. The still dawn revealed a fantastic sight a short distance away – a massive assault shuttle, glowing a luminous pink, vac black in shadow, seemingly growing out of the ground. A sinister Legion cross was emblazoned on the skin. It was a titanic dart, deadly, invulnerable, and scarred by the dust of the cosmos. I could barely make out the designation up front,
Hot Drop
.

Beautiful, I thought. Our shuttle to the stars.

"Do you really think there's any hope for these folks?" Some of the Legion troopers were chatting while inspecting our ranks.

"They'll do all right. Believe it or not. Providence will cure them."