His mind was changed when a Republic officer named Jan Dodonna asked him why he was outspoken against the Republic's war effort. The young Zelosian replied that he had no desire to participate in the slaughter of other beings. Dodonna replied that he was not merely killing—he was defending others. He asked Zel to consider coming aboard one of his ships for two weeks and seeing what they did, to give a fair assessment of the situation. Zel agreed reluctantly, and after those two weeks, developed a new appreciation for the Republic military. He joined his sector's defense force and served out the war on a small patrol cruiser, seeing no action but learning many of the lessons needed for running a deep space vessel.