EDITED CHAPTER OF "MY LEFT HAND COMMAND" (April 24, 2013)
Kira and Cagalli are siblings with different surnames (which will be explained in the fic later on)

CHAPTER 01: Recruit

"Cagalli Yula Attha, sir." Nicol Amalfi stated as he stood in formality in front of his commander. The said man did not look a bit pleased as he browsed through the folder that he held.

"Aren't there any men?"

"I'm sorry to say that she exceeded the capabilities of the men who tried out for the slot, sir."

"And these capabilities being…?" The report that he was represented with did nothing to assure him of the new recruit's skills. He hated the mere thought of a woman joining his team.

"If it's any consolation sir, she is the younger sister of Commander Yamato."

"Amalfi, ability is not inherited." His voice showed no sign of amusement or interest. He merely gave his soldier a glare, quite irritated by his statement.

Nicol was dead scared—but being under him for almost three months now, he had learned to hide such fear in front of the celebrated commander. "I understand sir…I apologize. Sensing that he could yet again get scolded if he made another excuse for the new recruit, he decided to excuse himself. "I'll take my leave then."

"Make sure that she reports on time."

"Yes sir." Giving a salute, he left the dimly lit room.

As the door closed, the said commander frowned at the folder settled on top of his table. His team's third member, Miguel, was transferred to another base. So he was forced to find a new member—and he didn't like it.

Why? Because of the possibility of having a woman, to become his new recruit. And apparently, much to his dislike, the cream of the crop among the ones who were tried out, was a woman. Not that he was sexist or anything…but he saw their capabilities of combat far less than that of men.

Cursing to himself as he clutched the side of his head, he could feel a headache coming as he imagined a woman fighting alongside him on the fierce front lines.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!"

The Yamato household was filled with a certain blonde girl's scream as she jumped around the house in glee, the cordless phone on one hand while the other hand was busy fist-pumping in excitement.

The person at the other line could not tell if he were to continue with his report, or to wait unitl her excitement died down. "Miss Cagalli? Are you still there?"

A few muffled shouts seconds later, her voice rang through the receiver once again, much to the caller's relief. "I-I'm here!"

"As I was saying, you have garnered the top spot in our simulation—"he could hear a happy squeal from the other line. "That being said, we're offering you the vacated position under Commander Athrun Zala."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She sounded so happy that the man couldn't help but chuckle. Normally, new recruits like this would act quite formally in such situations—this one was a breath of fresh air.

"Well then, please report at the base by 7:30 am. Please be punctual."

"Yes! I will! Thank you again!" Cagalli was nodding wildly, as if the man on the other line could see her.

As the line went dead, a huge smile was still on Cagalli Yula Attha's face.

She had always dreamed of entering the military—especially when her older brother, Kira Yamato, managed to enter two years ago. The thought of piloting her own gundam and defending her country excited her to no end. After continuous lessons from Kira, she finally tried out for a slot that just recently opened.

"You look happy."

The blonde girl turned her head to see the said man leaning against the kitchen's door frame. She had been too distracted with celebrating that she did not notice her older brother coming in. It seemed as if he had come home straight from work, seeing the white ZAFT uniform that he wore. "Oh! You're home!" A huge smile was still plastered on her face, slightly disturbing Kira.

"…Please don't smile like that." He chuckled as he headed towards the blonde girl, ruffling her hair in the process. "You look borderline psychotic."

Even her brother's casual teasing could not burst her bubble. She was still all smiles, her excitement still fresh. "I got in!"

"You got what in?" Kira looked genuinely confused.

"I got in! I'm part of the military!"

It took a few seconds before Kira processed what his younger sister just said. "You…in the military?" he was in a state of disbelief. As much as he wanted his sister to be happy, he hated the thought of Cagalli battling it out in the front ines—he would give anything to see his sister safe and unharmed all the time, but the blonde girl just wouldn't settle for such.

"They're asking me to report for duty tomorrow morning!"

Kira was still too surprised by the sudden turn of events that he wasn't listening too well. The words 'military' and 'cagalli' were still floating around his head. "...Cagalli…the military force is dangerous. Don't you want to work under intelligence or something? I can talk to the higher ups and—" he stopped upon seeing Cagalli's palm right in front of his face. The blonde girl was still smiling at him amidst this, although he could tell that she was somewhat quite pissed.

"Listen Kira." The blonde girl started as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I got in with my own abilities, and I hope you respect that enough to support me." After which, she gave her older brother a reassuring smile. She did not want such great news to cause a fight.

Kira sighed. He knew that Cagalli was right, but he couldn't really do anything to stop her. She was old enough to decide for herself. "…Alright. But I have one condition."

Cagalli's face lit up. She could not believe that her overprotective brother was that easy to persuade. But after hearing Kira's condition, she couldn't help but realize that she spoke too soon.

"The moment you're ever tagged to be in critical condition, I will file your leave myself. Power play be damned."

More than half of the chapter was re-written J I hope the readers won't mind re-reading ^^