This is another blah chapter, even though it's been revised a bit.

The first spears of light burst through the clouds in the east, glittering off the hull of the Archangel as it passed beneath pools of sunlight. They had arrived at the small island to the extreme west of the Orb mainland just before dawn. And now they were circling the island for a suitable place to land.

"Captain!" A crewman turned in his chair. "We've spotted something on the beach."

"On screen." Ramius announced, leaning forward in her chair. There was a massive intake of breath from around the bridge as an image blinked on screen.

"A mobile suit…" someone breathed.

"It looks a lot like the Strike."

"Is it one of ours?"

"ZAFT couldn't have made any this fast."

"Alright!" Murrue stood; her gaze silencing any more outbursts. "We'll send a crew out to investigate. But until we know more about it and how it got here, no one except authorized personnel is allowed to approach it. Understood?" She waited until everybody had either nodded before continuing. "La Flaga, and Murdoch are the -only- ones with permission to investigate. Lieutenant, inform Mr. Murdoch that you two will be leaving for the shore in half and hours time."

Mu saluted, not bothering to hide his characteristically wry grin. "Yes ma'am."

"Hey Dearka."

"nagumph…" followed by a snore.

"Dearka wake up." The voice persisted with slight annoyance.

"gah… piss off." Shifting fabric then another snore.

"Come on Dearka! Wake up!"

Someone was shaking the bars of his cell. Someone was waking him from a nice nap. They would have to die…

Dearka cracked an eye open and blinked against the light. That someone was… Nicol?

"What the hell!" He bolted upright, throwing the thin blanket aside. "What the hell are you doing out there? Why don't you get me out!" Nicol coughed back a laugh at his companion's disheveled, bleary expression. "That's what I was trying to do, but you wouldn't wake up." The blond pilot scrunched his nose. "Come on Dearka. I heard that they're investigating something. So they won't have any time to look over us."

"Oh. You're sneakier than we gave you credit for Nicol. Or maybe Yzak and I just rubbed off on you." Dearka cracked a snide grin and pushed himself to his feet. The younger pilot just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "I'm guessing it was the latter."

"Did you say something?"

"No. Just do as I say and I'll get you out…"

Light… Numb… Dizzy…

Pain!

Amethyst eyes snapped open. The pilot's mouth froze in a silent scream as he arched against the bonds that held him to the bed. Must stop pain!

Struggling only made the pain in his arm and chest increase tenfold, but there was no feeling anywhere else. Why couldn't he feel the rest of his body? Panting, the coordinator whipped his head from side to side. His pupils had dilated till they nearly swallowed their own irises and yet he could tell that this was not the Archangel. The machinery here seemed more advanced, sleeker and more compact. Was he a prisoner? The Archangel! What had happened to them? Had he failed? "NO!" His hoarse throat contracted and strangled his cry and sent him into a fit of coughing. Alone… he was a prisoner and yet no one guarded him. "Where…" he managed to whisper to the empty medical station. No response…

"Well… where do you think it came from?" Mwu looked over at Murdoch, who was currently struggling to walk in the loose sand on the beach. "Aside from Space… I really don't know." He retorted hotly. The pilot rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for making conversation." Mwu shrugged and walked ahead. Leaving a very flustered Mechanic to curse about 'sand', 'beaches' and the like.

Before them loomed a fallen mobile suit. The sun glinted off the smooth edges to an almost blinding point. The duo approached with guns poised and ready. Mwu shielded his eyes with his spare hand as they came to the machine's side. "So… how exactly do we get inside?"

Murchoch and Mu exchanged a glance before groaning and turning back towards the Archangel.

"Ma'am, have any of the search teams that remained found any trace of Tolle of Kira?" Kuzzey looked up at Natarle hopefully. His expression crumbled as she sighed and turned away. "I'll take that as a no then." The young crewmember looked down at his hands, lying uselessly on the table. Sai and Miriallia sat down across from each other further down the table. Their trays clattered to the table and they began a silent lunch.

Chapter Eleven Teaser

"In all his life, he had never had so much sand in his shoes- and somehow some had managed to find its way into his pants..."

Enter Caiohme on the Sands of Change pt. I