Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY

The New Coordinate

Story:
AU of GSD. Xander Darklighter, a pilot with attitude problem was just assigned to Minerva when three new mobile suits were stolen from Armory One. What will happen when he decided to take that path in front of him?

Notes:
Thanx for the reviews, guys. Even though it's just a handful. It just gives me the motivation to continue.

Please correct me if there's anything wrong. I'll fix it ASAP.

And Lunamaria might be a little OOC in this chapter. You can murder me for that.

I don't own GSD, their characters or anything else aside from Xander Darklighter.

Chapter 2: Time To Rock and Roll

The GOUF unit used by Xander landed into Minerva's catapault deck and just as soon that it did so, the flight pack attached exploded, causing a small vibration within the area. A female approached the unit as Xander jumped out of the cockpit. Xander took a good look at the girl. She got an ideal height for a female her age. Her hair was pink and short. She's wearing the red ZAFT uniform with miniskirt and a pair of black stockings covering most of her legs. He told himself not to look at her too long.

(Hold your horses, Xan. Hold your horses...)

"You're the one that were using that?" she asked. Xander blinked and turned to the GOUF. "Yeah. It had its energy all used up. Maybe I made the OS way too fast and don't have the time to check its energy output."

"Aah, let me introduce myself." Xander did a formal ZAFT salute. "Xander Darklighter of the Dark Crimson. I was just assigned here by the Chairman himself."

Lunamaria gasped at the name of the team. "Dark Crimson?" She heard that Dark Crimson unit is specialized in covert operations. They did everything that was assigned to them with a hundred percent success rate with zero error.

The female returned salute. "Lunamaria Hawke. Of the ZAFT Red Team."

Xander smiled at her. "Aah, so you're Lunamaria. I've heard that you're pretty popular with the guys..."

Blushing, she didn't know what to say. "That's..."

Looking at the crew that were looking at them, he scratched his head. "Hahaha. Sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you that way." Xander then slings his bag. "I suppose that the captain is busy and have no time to make my presence here official."

Lunamaria nods. "Come. I'll lead the way inside and have the engineers fixed up your unit."

They passed the infirmary when Xander saw Athrun and Cagalli inside. "Just a moment." Xander said. Lunamaria blinked as she looked on.

"Yo, A..." before Xander could finish, Athrun quickly covered his mouth.

"Hey, what gives?"

"Shh. I'm using a fake name here. The name's Alex Dino."

Xander shrugged and nods lightly. "So...uh, Alex. Are you okay?"

Athrun frowned at Xander's attempt on acting. But Cagalli managed a chuckle.

"I'm okay. But the Chief Representative here got injured."

"Hey, it's you fault for getting into that suit!" Cagalli blurted in.

After having a small chat with both of them, Xander left the infirmary with Lunamaria.

"I have reported your presence here to the captain. It seems that the chairman is here as well." she informed.

There's a short pause. "I see..."

Suddenly, there's an alarm and the announcement came in;

"All hands return to your designated post. Prepare for battle station. I repeat..."

"We're going out already?" Lunamaria asked in surprise.

Xander managed a sigh as he muttered a curse for the umpteenth time. "Great. Just...great..."

Lunamaria looked at him curiously. "Sir Darklighter?"

Xander gagged and gasped for breath upon that. "Uhuk...hey. What's up with that? Just call me Xander, okay?"

On the bridge, Talia was giving the orders to attack the enemy ship dubbed as Bogey-1.

"Shinn and Rey?" she asked the read haired girl nearby.

"Both are engaging a mobile armor. Communication couldn't be established due to radio interference."

"Are you planning to recover the stolen suits?" The PLANT Chairman Gilber Dullindal who was sitting behind her asked.

She turned to him. "No. But we planned to attack Bogey-1 to lure it in."

"I see."

"And according to a report I received, Xander Darklighter is onboard as well. He was the one that used the GOUF unit against our targets."

Gilbert flashed a smile. "I see. To think that he could cope so well against the three new units alone is quite extraordinary. His reputation is well earned."

Xander was sitting inside the lounge whistling a tune he had learned from a friend who was a fellow member of the Dark Crimson. He closed his eyes as remembers how all of his teammates perished during the battle at Jachin Due two years ago.

(What's the meaning of Dark Crimson with me as its only survivor? I should have died back there. I never want to get into battle. To use a mobile suit. To cause any more grief. I've had enough.)

A voice broke his thoughts. "Xander?" He turned to see Lunamaria.

"You got nothing to do?" he asked. She shook. "I'm making my way to the hangar. I have to check out my unit."

Xander rested his head on the couch. "I see. We're going into battle again..."

Lunamaria nods. "It seems so..."

"History is an endless waltz. One massive war happens, then peace, and finally revolution. And it repeats itself over and over again..." he said as he stared up at the ceiling aimlessly.

Noticing that Lunamaria were staring at him, Xander faked a cough. "Oh, sorry about that. Just got lost into philosophy for a while. A bad habit of mine."

Lunamaria smiled at him. "You're not what the others had said."

Xander managed a look that says 'Eh?'. She chuckled.

"From what I've heard, you often came in late, skip classes, have a very short fuse and frequently got into fights." she remarked.

Xander laughed. "You got that right. But that fighting part only applies to Yzak Joule. He seems to think that I'm his personal rival or something. Too bad he got promoted to commander and I'm still stuck here training new recruits. Otherwise, I'll be kicking his ass downside up over and over again."

Lunamaria smiled at the light humor. "You two were classmates?"

"Hell yeah. We even graduate at the same time but I never get into Le Creuset's team. Only God knows why though. But that was long ago. I grew a lot since those days."

Suddenly, there's an explosion and the whole ship shook violently. Lunamaria was thrown away and was about to hit the wall until Xander held her hand and pulled her close.

"Phew. That was a little dangerous, isn't it?"

Still stuck in his arms, Lunamaria blushed. "Ah...yes..."

Xander noticed what he was doing and broke the embrace. "Ooops. I did it again. I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay. I'll be heading to the hangar. You can come check out your unit if you want."

Without waiting for Xander to respond, she left. Xander sighed.

"Dammit. I screwed up again."

Xander entered the hangar only in time to heard Cagalli fuming about the weapons PLANT had made. And he also heard a rude reply from a rookie soldier. His eyes were full of anger and sadness. He then left and passed Xander without a word.

(He must have lost somone he cares. Must be tough for him...)

Rey came up to him and extends his right hand. "Xander Darklighter, yes? I'm Rey Za Burruel of the Red Team."

Xander shook hands with him. "Xander Darklighter of the Dark Crimson. Pleasure to meet you."

Rey nods. "You must forgive Shinn. He just had a bad memory about Orb."

"Oh, that kid? No problem. I kinda feel for him though."

"If you'll excuse me, I have something to do."

"Please."

With that, Rey left and Xander approached the GOUF unit he used. He saw an older man was working on it. He turned to him.

"You're the pilot?" he asked.

Xander salutes him. "Yes. Xander Darklighter. I just got assigned here."

"Madd Aves, mobile suit team leader. Pleasure to meet you."

"Same here. So, what's the status?"

"I ran a few basic tests on it since we didn't have any detailed info on it. Aside from the thrusters on the jet pack we repaired, everything is okay."

"I see."

"But unfortunately, we don't have any spare parts to fix up the whip."

Xander smiled approvingly. "Don't worry, I'll manage."

"From what I've heard from Miss Hawke, you actually made the OS?"

"Ah, yes. That's because that thing don't even have one. Just managed to make it good enough to give those three a good run for their money."

"That's quite astounding. I never know anyone that could build an OS from scratch."

"Naah. It's nothing, Chief. It's just a GOUF not a Gundam. If you're okay with it, may I go up and check out the system again? I think I messed up somewhere."

Aves nods. "Sure. Go ahead."

The whole ship was on battle station again as Shinn and Lunamaria had launched with their units in order to locate Bogey-1. After making final checks on the system, Xander smiled in satisfaction.

"This time, I won't screw up."

After getting his pilot suit on, he then contacted the bridge. "Tell the captain that I'm going out to help them." He said to the red haired girl. Talia, Arthur, Gilbert, Athrun and Cagalli heard it. Talia turned to the Chairman. He nods in approval. Talia returned to the officer. "He may launch."

The GOUF was carried into the catapault deck and the repaired jet pack was attached at the back. Xander took out the chain surrounding his neck. He touched the ring attached to it and utters a silent prayer. He then slid it back into his suit and zips it.

Aves messaged Xander through the line. "There's an asteroid field out there. Be careful!" Xander gave a nod. "Understood."

"ZGMF-2000 GOUF standing by. System all green. You are clear for takeoff."

Xander pushed a switch to lower down the visor of his helmet.

"Don't treat your unit as a machine. Just think it as an extension to your body."

Smiling, he let out a shout. "Xander Darklighter. GOUF, time to rock and roll!"

To Be Continued...