The Red Comet

-G-

Char hurt.

He hurt in places he didn't think it was possible to hurt. Every part of him ached, and shifting or moving only seemed to make the pain go someplace else one his body. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes.

He did not see the Nu Gundam. He did not see Axis. He saw nothing more then then a smattering of twinkling stars, shining through a dense and gaseous nebula. He sat bolt upright. His faculties rapidly returning to him as he looked wildly to and fro.

Where in the hell was he?

No nebulae of that size and density existed near earth. Come to think of it, where exactly was the earth?
He gingerly took the controls of the Sazabi, (but hadn't it been destroyed?) and did some careful maneuvers. Looking around for any sign of the blue and green jewel that he and Amuro had been about to crash into.

But there was nothing.

The earth was nowhere to be found. There was not even the comforting shapes of the colonies to be seen. Char gripped the controls perhaps more tightly than he ought to. And took a slow, deep breath.

If he was not near earth. Then where was he? How far out in deep space had he gone? He checked the Sazabi's diagnostics. And found himself pleasantly surprised.

Weapons, fully loaded.

Funnels, all accounted for, and in good working order.

Fuel levels, nominal.

Whatever divine act of providence had restored the Sazabi. Char hardly cared. He could hardly put the Sazabi to any real use if he had no obvious destination to which he could travel. And as this realization sank in. Char found himself feeling, for perhaps the first time in his life. Utterly helpless.

As he reflected on the seeming hopelessness of his situation. His attention was drawn by one of the Sazabi's display monitors. It was flashing a frantic red. A sign of a transmission consistent with a distress signal. He touched the screen. And waited as the Sazabi's communication system went to work decoding the signal. Char felt no small sense of relief as he heard voices, human voices, on the other end.

"-vilians on board! The Covenant are overwhelming us! If anyone can hear us. Help, please!"

Char frowned, Covenant? What was that? He knew of no organization with such a name anywhere in the earth sphere. Nonetheless, he hardly supposed it mattered. If he could intercede on the behalf of those that had called for aid. He might just be able to earn a berth. For both himself and the Sazabi. And besides, it was not in his nature to turn his back on spacenoids in need.

With a look of hardened determination. Char input the commands necessary to triangulate the signal, and then slammed forward the throttle. Blasting off into the unknown.

-G-