Athrun in G.S.D - Alternate

"Good morning, Commander. Are you awake yet?" Lunamaria's voice came over the door as she knocked on it.

"Um, yes," Athrun replied in a hesitant voice as he stood up from his bed.

The Zaku Warrior pilot had been pestering the boy since then. Athrun couldn't understand why she was acting so overly friendly for. While they had met and worked briefly together during the Junius Seven incident, it was nothing enough to warrant such an enthusiastic response from her.

"Have you eaten? I thought that maybe we could go to the dining hall for breakfast together." The girl asked, her voice mixed with a tinge of anticipation.

Athrun's head began to hurt. "It looks like I won't be to get myself out of this …"

There was another knock

"Commander?"

"Give me a minute. Coming!"

Athrun hastily replied as he changed into his red ZAFT uniform. He looked into the mirror and straightened his collars. Reflected in the mirror was a good-looking individual. Athrun had navy blue hair along with a fit figure. Coupled with the fact that Athrun was only an 18-years old and someone who was a hero of the Great War - it was little wonder that many of the females swooned over him.

He opened the door to see an excited red haired girl. Lunamaria was dressed in the standard red ZAFT uniform for the elite pilots and an short pink miniskirt. Along with her slim figure and slender thighs, it had already started to give rise to certain imaginations in Athrun's mind.

The two then walked towards the dining hall with Lunamaria peppering him with questions. Athrun took the chance to inquire more about situation as well, much to the girl's surprise and delight. The commander had been quite hesitant to engage in conversations with her when he first arrived, but was now even taking the initiative to ask her questions.

"Chairman Durandal really said that?"

"Mhm. He said in a speech that ZAFT has no intention of taking over any new territories. But speaking of this … the Chairman must have though very highly of your abilities to appoint you as a FAITH member." she stopped and turned to face him, her eyes sparkling. "You're the youngest member ever to be appointed to this position!"

"Really?"

"Of course! The news are all about it! The famous war hero Athrun Zala, returning to ZAFT as a member of FAITH and working with the Chairman to bring peace to the PLANTS. Everyone aboard the ship is talking about you."

"..."

"So what did you and Chairman Durandal talk about? Back in the elevator you only briefly mentioned it was due to a conversation between you and him, that made you decide to return to ZAFT." Lunamaria asked.

Athrun slid a hand in into one of his pockets as he continued walking. He had intentionally decided to be vague about the topic earlier as he didn't want to talk about it, but it seemed he had no choice. "Well …"

"Come on!"

"I just simply believe that the Chairman's aspiration are noble, and I want to help him achieve it."

"That's surprising simple." Lunamaria said. "Aspirations?"

"To bring an end to this war quickly and for peace. The chairman has been working around the clock to try and get a ceasefire brokered, even go so far as to offer some concessions. It is the Earth Forces on the other hand who have been taking reckless steps to escalate the situation. If the PLANTS had retaliated in kind, the whole situation would have easily spiralled out of control." Athrun said. "I respect the Chairman greatly a lot choosing the more difficult road, he must have been under immense political pressure from the more radical factions in the supreme council… what happened in the last Great War … musn't be allowed to repeat itself."

The man's thoughts flashed back to some painful memories. The bloody valentine where his mom was killed, the death of Rusty and his dear friend Nicole, a brawl where he fought his dearest friend Kira to the death. The countless lives that died as a result of the Genesis weapon used by his father and the tragic battle of Jachin Due where a horrific amount of lives were lost. Pain seized him for a moment, but he tried to not let it show on his face.

"Athrun? What's wrong?" Luna gave him a weird stare, wondering why the commander was spacing out.

"It's nothing …" he shrugged.

Meanwhile, inside the dining room of the Minerva, the conversations were all centered around Athrun Zala and the new Saviour Gundam he had arrived in, as well as the sudden promotion of Captain Gladys to FAITH.

"Are you serious!" Vino exclaimed. He was in a green engineering outfit, a sign that he served as one the Minerva's mobile suit engineers and technicians.

"Positive. I've heard it from the Deputy Chief Captain himself, and an official announcement will soon be made later." Meyrin nodded.

Vino scratched his head. "I wonder how it will affect us …"

"Get real." Yolant folded his arms. He was a friend of Vino and dressed in a green engineering uniform as well. "This has nothing do with us."

"What?"

"FAITH membership is only handed out to individuals. The only people who can be appointed are those acknowledged by the Council and Chairman as having certain characteristics. Those include a proven combat record and quality of character." Yolant explained.

"It's amazing, isn't it? As a member of FAITH, those individuals will be given authority that outranks most commanders in the field. I heard there only twenty or so individuals in the entire PLANT that are part of it." Meyrin became starry-eyed. "Commander Zala is only eighteen and yet he is already one."

"Do you understand now? Those that are part of it are the elite of the elites. It's nothing but wishful thinking for grunts like us." Yolant grinned.

Vino sulked and crossed his hands, but he was secretly impressed.

"Hmph. It's not like you're one either!"

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--- Earth Forces Flagship - John Paul Jones ---

"With that. This concludes the mission briefing. Mobile suit teams from our forces frontline base nearby will also be deployed to support us. We expect the Minerva to depart the Carpentaria base in a few days time." Neo Roanoke clapped his hands. "In between now and then, I will permit the crew to take breaks aboard the ships' deck. Dismissed."

"Sir!" The numerous pilots saluted and left the room.

"We'll get you this time … that damned ship." Neo murmured.

(1.1k Words)

A/N: Did a rewrite of the chap