A/N: So it's been awhile since I've written a one shot, but this has been a short fanfiction I've been wanting to write for awhile. However, this story is a lead up to a work of mine that should be coming out sometime this year ;).

A Distant Promise

Alas, it had to come to this.

He was fighting a war with no end in sight.

A war based on attrition.

When Nigel first joined what he thought was called the Galactic Kids Next Door, he always thought he would be battling adult tyranny across the galaxy.

Truth be told, there was never a battle against adulthood, never a GKND.

It turns out that all of that was a lie, nothing but a clever ploy to get him to serve what was really a Galaxy-wide Republic that seemed to have been anything but.

He was eighteen years old, a young man by Earth standards, but he had the mentality of somebody much older. It was a cruel sense of irony really, considering how much he loathed growing up. But war changed people, and Nigel was no exception.

Of course, he'd fought in a real war before; the one against Father, but that lasted only a few months.

This one he'd been fighting for six years.

He'd participated in countless battles since, and every one of them brought new scars; both mentally and physically. Nigel had seen too much, and knew that even if this nightmare ended, the horrific events that happened during its reign would haunt him forever.

Him watching those under his command ripped by advanced enemy weaponry, hearing their screams, feeling their warm blood splashing all over his face, seeing their mangled bodies spread out among the battlefield. Those were things he would never be able to forget, no matter how he hard he tried. There was no comparison between this and his 'battles' prior to the KND's war against Father, where the worst possible injury anyone could sustain was burnt hair or a broken arm. Thinking back on it, how he was able to take such childish antiques seriously was beyond him.

Did he have any regrets of joining, any desire of fleeing back to Earth?

Perhaps, but that wasn't an option he could consider.

Not when considering what was at stake.

He may not have been fighting against adulthood, but he sure was fighting against a far more terrifying enemy. If they had their way with the galaxy, there was no telling what would happen, no telling what would happen to his home planet, Earth.

Or so that's what he was told by the Republic.

Disturbed by his thoughts, Nigel sighed and stretched; bringing his hands back behind his now regrown brown hair.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to retreat back to his quarters, he thought to himself. When not in combat, his worst enemy was his own mind.

Getting up, Nigel walked towards his window, giving him sight to the countless and massive starships under his authority. It was still surreal to him that, during his relatively short time with the Republic, he had been given command of his own starfleet.

But that wasn't the view he was searching for.

No matter how long he'd been out in space, he always found that the stars swept his breath away. Their consistent, peaceful beauty took him to a place where war didn't exist, where all of his worries ceased to exist.

They took him back home, back to her.

Nigel sighed, taking out a small picture out of his pocket. On it was a familiar blonde, one that he hadn't seen since he departed from Earth. He could still remember her sweet lingering scent, her warm embrace, her vibrant gold hair that seemed to literally glow when in the proper lighting. She was always at the back of his mind, and during his free time, he'd often find himself sitting there thinking about her. Though time had eroded away at most of his innocence, they hadn't touched his feelings for that certain girl.

In fact, they only strengthened them.

When he left, he made a promise to her, and it was a promise he would fulfill no matter the cost.

Rachel McKenzie

That name was the only thing that kept him going, and hopefully, would be the name that finally brought him home.

A/N: To answer those of you who are wondering, yes! This story is directly related to the new version of Faithful.

I haven't exactly posted anything related to the that story since I discontinued it and decided to rewrite it, but hopefully this gave you some insight into what to expect in the rewritten version.

Think of it as a teaser of some sorts!