A/N: Here's another chap. Hope you like it. I tired to make this chap short but failed..as usual. I also apologize for how long it took me to put this up... Hope you like it!!!!!!!!! Please, please, please R & R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: refer to earlier chaps.

Meeting with Destiny

"I never thought the Aegis was so cramped!"Leer growled trying to move into a more comfortable position, and in the process accidentally hitting the controls.

"Stop moving so much!" Athrun muttered in mild annoyance.

Leer was seated on Athrun's lap inside the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam. They had left Earth Alliance territory and had entered ZAFT's.

"And this Gundam wasn't made to carry two people." Athrun added as he readjusted his hold on the controls.

"I know, but I can't believe we never thought of making the interior bigger!" she sighed.

Athrun smiled understanding her discomfort, "We're almost there."

Athrun sighed inwardly. He had little idea of what he was going to tell the others. He couldn't just walk up to Creuset and say, 'Well I brought this stranger here because I believed what she said..and I had this feeling.. yeah..'. That would be asking for a decommission. He would have to make up something that made sense. He began to wonder why hehad done this? Why had he offered to help her? Was it because she beat him? Or did he pity her? No, he didn't pity her. If she could take him down then everything else would be a breeze for her. It was defiantly not pity.

"There it is. Caress our closest stronghold." Athrun pointed to the screen.

She stared at the screen pretending not to hear him. She had one immediate goal now. To meet Athrun's superior.

(Time lapse)

After landing Leer exited the Gundam first, leaping the two-foot gap between the gundam and the platform. She waited tapping her foot impatiently. Sighing, she began to walk along the platform, looking around.

"Hey! Athrun, where is everyone else..." a boy yelled running around a corner. He froze when he saw her.

Leer raised an eyebrow. The boy was a little shorter than her and had slate grey greenish hair. Like most coordinators his hair color had been altered by genetics. He was in his ZAFT uniform. She studied him looking at him from his shoes up to his amber brown eyes. She smiled.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, still alarmed.

"It's alright Nicol." Athrun said emerging from the Aegis.

"You worried me there for a second Athrun." the boy, apparently named Nicol, immediately calmed, "So, where is everyone. The scanners only showed you coming back.."

"I am..the only one." Athrun whispered bowing his head.

"The only one to..." Nicol was horrified.

".. make it back." Leer finished bluntly.

Nicol glared at her and was about to replied angrily, "No Nicol..she right. None of them survived. It was my fault.." Athrun looked up obviously hurting on the inside.

"It's...it's ok..at least someone made it back.." Nicol muttered quietly.

Leer sighed impatiently. "Oh...I'm sorry." Athrun jarred himself from his sadness, "This is Nicol Amalfi. Nicol this is Leer Lahara."

Nicol nodded his greeting, "So why did you bring a Natural here?"

Leer snorted, "Ha! Natural!" she brushed past Nicol walking towards the door he had come through.

"Well? Why?" Nicol whispered to Athrun.

"I...I promised to help her. And..she's not a Natural." Athrun muttered back.

"She's not?"

"Nicol, open your eyes!" Athrun shot quietly, "Does she look like a Natural to you?"

Nicol looked at Leer who was walking ahead of them. Athrun was right, she looked nothing like a Natural. Her body was well formed and obviously more powerful than any Natural's. Another giveaway was her hair, which was a violet-indigo color.

Nicol blushed as she glanced back catching him looking at her. Leer laughed, "Yes, I'm a Coordinator." she confirmed.

"Sorry..I didn't think you were. I mean you came from a Natural capitol." Nicol said still red.

She slowed until they were all walking side by side. "Yeah, I had to lie a lot to keep from getting caught. They were really suspicious of me when I first came. They even spied on me a few times, but I out smarted them every time. They eventually gave up assuming I wasn't there to hurt anyone."

"Were you?" Nicol asked curiously.

"No," she said tightly, "No..he...I mean the person I was looking for...wasn't there." she stared ahead trying to swallow her rage. Sighing she changed the subject, "Where is this leader of yours?"

"He should be in the mess hall. If not he's on the Bridge giving orders or making plans..as always." Athrun explained.

"Well, let's get this over with." she walked ahead of them again looking around curiously.

"Have a change of heart?" Athrun asked Nicol.

"Well, if she's as good as you say she is..and lets just say ZAFT needs all the help it can get." Nicol said sadly.

(Time lapse)

"So who do you report to?" Leer asked in extreme annoyance. She was really getting sick of these introductions.

The captain had been unable to see her right away so Athrun had suggested that she meet everyone. She had meet the other Gundam piolets Dearka and Yzak. She had then been carted off to look at the ship. Only after 4 hours after her arrival was she where she wanted to be. No more detours.

"That is none of your business." Rau Le Creuset said smoothly.

"I've made it my business." she countered just as calmly, though inside she was a raging storm.

Creuset smiled, he was already starting to like this kid. "Well, I report to Chairman Zala. Why do you ask?"

Leer seemed put out, "I am searching for someone.."

"And I did not give you the name you seek.." Creuset finished.

She glared at him frustrated, "You've wasted my time!" she finally snapped at him pointing an accusing finger.

Creuset smiled again, "Who is it that you seek?" he stuck firm to the subject.

Leer dropped her arm and studied him for a second. She began to wonder if she was offering what she thought he was offering. "I..."she began taking a breath, "I am searching for a murderer..a thief..a traitor.." she clenched her fists as she shook violently.

Creuset looked thoughtful. He stood from his chair and walked over to a holographic chart that he had been studying earlier. "Athrun has told me that you can fight, and that you also seem to know quit a bit about the mobile suits too."

She looked at him suspiciously, "What does that have to do with what I want?"

"I have an offer." he said turning to her.

Leer paused and walked over to the hologram chart, "And?" she asked interested.

"That you fight for ZAFT, specifically join my group.."

"Now why would I do that?" she laughed playing along with him.

"Not only will it give you a purpose and something to do, but I will help you find who you are looking for..."

"Really?" she asked thoughtfully folding her arms.

"Yes, I swear." Creuset said honestly.

"Does ZAFT need help this badly?" she laughed mockingly.

"As you know Naturals vastly outnumber us, we need all the help we can get, and considering that you know so much about the mobile suits..." he paused doubtfully but went on, "and you seem ready for insanity about this man."

"Murderer." she corrected fiercely.

"Yes, I will need more information on him."

Leer sighed, she had to keep in mind that this was someone who was trying to help her. But it didn't change the fact that this was still difficult to talk about. "His...his name is Farin Drez.." she swallowed hard, "He's a Natural..about 50 years old by now.." Creuset walked over to his desk and wrote this down.

"Anything else?" he asked gazing at her through his mask.

"He'd be a leader against Coordinators..he did this murder with a bunch of people..some from Orb others from Desert Dawn and some from Earth Alliance."

"Like a terrorist group?"

"Yeah.. maybe.."

"I'll check some people in the Blue Cosmos..a terrorist group that has targeted Coordinators and see what I can find. I'll also request that headquarters look some things up as well. They may have better luck than I do."

"Than..thanks.." she stammered, surprised that he actually meant it.

Creuset heard the doubt in her voice and surprise, "I will do all I can, but for the meantime you'll work for me."

"I know." she thought for a second, "What do you want me to do? Fight?"

"I have quit a bit of faith in Athrun's assessment on you but.. not that much. I'd like to test you a little before sending you out to battle and there's a problem of supplying a mobile suit for you.."

"No need. I have my own." she said smoothly.

It was Creusets turn to be surprised, "Really? Where?"

"3.4 miles outside Saylin."

"Why so exact?" Creuset asked in friendly suspicion.

She smiled, "I can "call" my Gundam to me as long as it's within that distance."

"Call?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I installed the ability to "call" it, I speak into my watch and it activates where ever it is and it follows a signal that the watch emits." she frowned, "It's one of the many 'just in case' abilities that it has..."

"In case you encounter this man?"

"Yes...so I can beat him down and clean myself of this business of revenge."

"You seem confident that you'll win when the two of you meet."

"It will be me or him, Rau." her expression became dark, "But I've already sworn it's gonna be him...or both of us..."

(Time lapse)

"What? Why me!!" Nicol cried.

"Because, I said so." Rau said as-a-matter-of factly.

Nicol sighed, "It's always me.. why is it always me!" he moaned.

"You just need to take her to the outskirts of Saylin and then, assuming she's telling the truth, she will have her own mobile suit."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

"And now you know why I agreed to this. The danger. So much to lose yet so much to gain." Rau said with a mild smile.