1. Kira/Lacus (4 votes)

1. Kira/Flay (4 votes)

2. Dearka/Miriallia (2 Votes)

3. Yzak/Shiho (1 Votes)

3. Natarle/OC (1 Votes)

3. Athrun/Lunamaria (1 Votes)

3. Flay/OC (1 Votes)

Here are the polls so far. Lacus and Flay are still tied for Kira's heart while the others have stayed the same. There is only two more chapters before the poll is closed so keep those votes coming.

Well anyways, with the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED or any of their machines that I may include in this story. Sebastian Connor who will appear in this story was created and owned by Storm Wolf77415. The only OCs that I own are members of the Sasaki family and one machine I have created.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Comm Chatter or T.V."

Chapter 3: ZAFT Attack

Time: 11:30 AM

Date: 1/25/ 71 C.E.

Location: Vesalius's Bridge

"It is time," Rau Le Creuset informed the rest of the bridge crew of the Vesalius from his chair as he gazed out towards the front of the ship while Fredrik was looking at his commander and nodded.

Fredrik returned his gaze to the front of the ship. "Weigh anchor! Vesalius, taking off!" he shouted with authority. He heard the Vesalius's main engines roar to life, making the ship accelerate around the asteroid they were using as cover and heading straight towards Heliopolis with the two Laurasia-classes following close behind.

(Heliopolis Control Center)

Several alarms sounded as the three ZAFT ships approached the colony at high-speed and entered the restricted area without clearance.

"Heliopolis here! Approaching ZAFT vessels please respond! Repeat, "Approaching ZAFT vessels please respond!" the flight communications officer yelled, desperately trying to contact the incoming vessels with no luck before he noticed someone coming up from behind him as they floated in zero-g. "Chief controller!" he started but was cut off by the chief.

"Calm down, now and turn off the alarm!" the Chief controller barked, trying to bring order around the control center before he snatched the communication officer's head-piece and mic. "Notice to the approaching ZAFT vessels! The actions you are taking are in direct violation of the treaty with our nation! Stop your advance at once! Repeat, ZAFT vessels stop your advance at once!" he ordered over the comm.

"Powerful electrical interference coming from the ZAFT vessels!" another man informed the Chief controller from below him, making the Chief look down at the other officer. "This is clearly a hostile act!" he finished, making the Chief Controller look at the ZAFT ships in despair.

A few seconds later the long-range radar officer detected something. "Sir! Incoming Mobile Suit coming from the ZAFT vessels!" she shouted in surprise that ZAFT was really attacking a neutral colony.

(Inside the Archangel's Hanger)

Everyone in the main control room was desperately trying to get the Archangel ready for take off before the ZAFT vessels. All the high ranking officers and the pilots of the G-weapons were all looking at the captain.

"Don't panic!" the captain of the Archangel barked over the alarms. "If we get excited then we'd be playing right into their hands! Let Heliopolis deal with this situation!" he said, taking notice of Ensign Natarle Badgiruel and Chief Petty Officer Arnold Neumann entering the control center before he heard the Heliopolis Control Center emergency line ring.

His hand quickly grabbed the phone and held it to his ear. "Yes? I know! If needed we'll set sail!" he said into the phone. He hung up and looked at Natarle and Arnold. "Get Lt. Ramius for me! Commence transfer of the G-weapons!" He ordered the two, who gave a quick salute to the Capt in acknowledgement before turning around and heading out of the room.

(In the Tech College Lab with Kira, Kuzzey, Sai, Miriallia, Kazuma, Tolle, and Cagalli)

'Damn it! Where have I seen that guy's face?!' Cagalli thought while she fought the urge to grind her teeth in frustration. She stole quick glances at Kazuma once in awhile, trying to figure out where she had seen him for the past ten minutes. It was starting to drive her, to say the least, nuts not being able to remember.

He was behind one of the main consoles, monitoring the exo-suit's pressure while Kira and Sai were to his left looking over the data they were collecting from Tolle moving around in the suit. Miriallia and Kuzzey were acting as watchers for any problems.

Little did she know, Kazuma was also in the same boat as her. He was also taking quick glances at Cagalli, trying to remember where he had seen her as well. 'This is going to drive me mad, one of these days…,' he thought looking quickly at Cagalli while she did the same towards Kazuma. Their eyes locked for a few seconds before they both broke contact and looked away from each other; each with a small embarrassed blush on their cheeks.

Their locked glance didn't go unnoticed by Kira, however, so he leaned towards Kazuma. "Hey Takashi," he whispered to Kazuma, getting his attention and making him look at Kira. "You know her or something-?"

Sai was cut off as the room was rocked by what sounded like a massive explosion coming from the inside of the colony. Several items fell over as Kira, Kazuma, and Sai held onto a desk. Kuzzey, Miriallia, and Cagalli tried to brace themselves by holding on to anything while Tolle had fallen onto his back with the exo-suit still on him.

Once the shaking stopped everyone let go of what they were holding onto. "A meteoroid?!" Sai ask on instinct, trying to get a hold on what had just happened.

"It was a pretty damn big one, if it was!" Kazuma said getting up from chair, and walking over to Tolle who had fallen over in the massive quake. "You alright, Tolle?" he asked, as he got several parts of the exo-suit off Tolle with Kuzzey and Miriallia helping.

"I'm ok," Tolle said Kuzzey got the last piece off of his friend and helped him stand up, while Kira, Sai, and Cagalli waited for them by the entrance.

"Come on, let's go!" Sai shouted and waved to his friends as the building shook again. Kazuma, Miriallia, Tolle, and Kuzzey ran toward the entrance.

Once the group was together they ran down the hall to the main elevators and met five other students waiting for the elevator to come up. They waited a few second before the building shook once more. This time the power went out, meaning the elevators were no longer working.

Sai quickly looked around and found the door leading to the stair case. He quickly turned the emergency knob and opened the door to see several people heading up the stairs. "What's this all about?" he asked the people.

"I don't know," one of them answered and continued to go up the stairs.

"We are being attacked by ZAFT!" someone behind the first person answered, earning a light gasp from some of the teens. "Some of their mobile suits have entered the colony! You people better hurry too!" he finished and continued to walk up the stairs to the shelters.

'This isn't good at all,' Kazuma thought as his hand curled into a fist trying to keep his face straight. 'They must have found out about the G-weapons and want to capture th-.' Kazuma was brought out of his thought as Cagalli gasped slightly, making him and Kira look at her. They saw her shift her gaze down the opposite hallway they had came from and started to run in that direction.

"Hey, wait!" Kazuma yelled towards Cagalli, but his shout has fallen on deaf ears as she continued to run away from the group. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath as he gave chase with Kira following closely. Further down the hall way, another explosion racked the building, but this time they could see smoke coming out of the wall from the hole created from the explosion. A few seconds after the explosion the shockwave went passed the group, creating a strong wind.

"Kira! Takashi!" Tolle shouted at his friends from the doorway to the stairs.

"Go on without us! We'll catch up!" Kira shouted back as he and Kazuma continued to try to catch Cagalli. She ran into the smoke from the explosion with Kira and Kazuma in hot pursuit.

A minute later Kira managed to catch Cagalli and grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Kazuma caught up with them. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking right at her face. "There is only a dead-end that way!" he finished, hoping to get Cagalli to turn around.

"Why are you two tailing me?" Cagalli questioned back as she yanked her arm out of Kira's grip and looked at them dead in the eyes. "You two better get out of here and hook up with your friends!" She finished before a feeling gale-force wind from another close explosion that had whipped up from behind Kira and Kazuma. The resulting wind was enough to cause the hat Cagalli was wearing to fly off of her head.

When it finally died down Kira managed to get a good look at Cagalli. "He was right…," he whispered under his breath.

Cagalli shot an angry look at Kira. "Yeah, what'd you think I was?" She asked sarcastically. "Go back now! There is something I need to check first," She told Kira before she noticed that Kazuma was gone. "Where did the other guy go…," she started, but was cut off by a slam, followed by a painful sounding grunt coming from behind her.

They both looked towards the sound to see a ZAFT solider wearing their standard green flight and space suit sitting on the ground against the wall where he hit. Kira and Cagalli saw him try to get up, but he was knocked down again by another ZAFT solider who had came flying out of the same hallway. Slammed into him, followed by another. The resulting crash against the wall knocked out the three soldiers and they landed in a heap.

"If you had kept on going by yourself, then those guys were ready to turn you into Swiss cheese," Kazuma said, dusting his hands off as he walked out of the hallway. He walked back to Cagalli and Kira who were now looking at him, stunned. "Besides, we can't go back anyway, the way is blocked," he finished, pointing down towards the hallway where the small group had come from.

"Let's see," Kira said, quickly regaining his composure from the shock. Took a quick glance around the area, trying to get his bearing. Kira recognized the four way stop where they were and grabbed Cagalli's wrist. "Here, this way!" he said, guiding the other two teens down the right hallway.

"Let go of me!" Cagalli protested as she was being dragged by Kira. Kazuma followed closely beside Cagalli as they ran towards the end of the hallway. "I never expected to get stuck here," she said in a low whisper only Kazuma heard, as her eyes began to water.

"That's karma for ya," Kazuma said, surprising Cagalli as she looked up at him. "But don't worry, we'll get through this," he finished giving Cagalli a reassuring smile who returned it.

"There are still shelters left in the factory district," Kira said as they neared the exit, making Kazuma and Cagalli return their gazes to the front.

When they finally reached the factory Cagalli and Kira ran up to the railing while Kazuma stayed back a few feet. Below them and in the factory there two trailers holding the Atlantic Federation's new prototype mobile suits. A firefight was raging in the middle of the two trailers between the Naturals of the A.F. and the Coordinators of ZAFT as both tried their best to complete their objectives.

Kazuma kept his face straight as the firefight increased in intensity. 'I knew it!' he thought, paying close attention to the crossfire. 'ZAFT is after the G-weapons,' he finished his thought as Kira spoke out.

"Wait," Kira said. He and Cagalli gripped the railing while he looked on in shock at the gun fight before he stared at the mobile suits. "Aren't those…," he started, leaving the sentence unfinished as he and Kazuma noticed one of the ZAFT soldiers pointing up at them and yelled at several of his comrades.

Cagalli stared in horror as her fears were confirmed as she watched the fight. She collapsed to her knees, still gripping the rail, her eyes beginning to water. "I knew it. The Earth Forces' new prototype mobile weapons," she said tears threatening to fall, oblivious that four ZAFT soldiers were now taking aim at the group. "Fa-!"

"GET DOWN!" Kazuma shouted, acting on instinct putting his right arm across Cagalli's chest and pulled her down to the ground. He was face down on the ground while Cagalli was looking up at the ceiling and away from railing. Kira hit the deck just in time as the sound of multiple rounds hit the railing and zip past their heads.

Once the shooting died down, Kazuma removed his arm from Cagalli, sat up in a kneeling position, and looked towards the other two teens. "Everyone alright?" he asked, as Kira raised to a crouched position and Cagalli rose to a sitting position.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He stood back up as Kazuma helped Cagalli stand. "Come on, crying won't do you any good!" He finished as he grabbed onto Cagalli's wrist again and ran toward the shelter with Kazuma in tow.

When they reached the shelter's elevators, Kira looked up to see that two were completely full one still had the green light above it. Kazuma, Kira, and Cagalli walked up to the elevator in the middle and Kira pressed the intercomm button.

"Is there still someone out there?" A voice said over the intercomm, sounding a bit desperate.

"Yes!" Kira said into the comm, a bit relieved that they can get out of this mess. "My friends and I need to get in, can you open the door?" he questioned before releasing the talk button.

"How many are there with you?" the man asked.

"Three of us, please let us in!" Kira asked again.

"We're filled to capacity," the man on the other side of the intercom said, making Kira and Kazuma blink. "There are thirty-seven shelters in the left block. Can't you make it there?"

Kira looked over to his left to see the area battled scarred and the sounds of combat over head. He looked towards Kazuma questionably, hoping he could read his mind. Kazuma looked over toward the left block then back at Kira and nodded.

Kira redirected his attention back to the intercom. "Then please take one of my friends, she's a girl!" he said, as Kazuma cracked his knuckles.

A few seconds ticked by before they got an answer. "Very well, sorry!" He replied as the doors opened up.

"Sorry about this," Kazuma said, making Cagalli look right at him. He then raised two fingers on his right hand and hit Cagalli quick and hard on the right side of her neck with the end of his two fingers.

Cagalli's body went numb after the strike. Though she was still conscious, she couldn't feel or move her body from the neck down. As she started to fall forward, Kazuma grabbed her around her chest from behind. He placed one hand underneath her knees and picked her up cradle-style. He then walked over to the door, gently place Cagalli down in the elevator, then got out and stood next to Kira.

"Don't worry," Kira reassured Cagalli as the doors shut in front of her. "We'll get on the other side. We'll be fine," he finished as Cagalli's tube went down into the shelter and the light above it went red.

Kazuma walked passed Kira and hit the button on the comm. "She had been hit on the head pretty hard by some falling debris," Kazuma lied as he felt a sudden chill in the air. "She won't be able to move for about 5 to 10 minutes, so she is going to need some help getting in," he finished releasing the button and taking two steps back.

"Alright! We'll send someone to help her out. Good luck out there!" The man said before the comm went out.

Kira sighed in relief before he looked at Kazuma. He blinked when he noticed he had a slight scared look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked, curiously.

"I don't know," Kazuma said flatly before he looked at Kira. "But I feel like I've just signed my own death warrant because I temporarily paralyzed that girl," he finished, as the cold chill subsided. Kazuma took a deep breath and exhaled before he looked directly at Kira. "So what now?" he asked.

"We have to head for the shelter on the left block," Kira replied, looking back at the scarred area.

"You do that," Kazuma said before he started to run towards the opposite end of where the shelter was.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kira questioned, making Kazuma stop and look back at him.

"There's a shuttle in the abandon part of the factory I can use," Kazuma yelled back. "I should be able to escape that way. I'll catch you planet-side," He finished as he ran into an elevator that lead deep into the colony. 'Right now I just hope it's there,' he thought, pressing the button for the floor where the said shuttle was, leaving behind a confused Kira as he vanished from view.

(3 minutes later)

The elevator Kazuma was in finally came to a stop and opened the doors leading toward another hallway. The area was almost completely dark and had cob-webs. Kazuma ran out of the elevator, into the hallway, and towards the abandoned hangers underneath the Morgenrate complex. While he had been working on the GAT-X prototypes software awhile back, he had heard rumors of a shuttle in hanger X-25.

He approached a door and looked at the writing near the top which read, 'X-19'. "Not that one," he said quietly to himself as he continued to run down the hallway.

After a couple seconds he stopped in front of the entrance to hanger X-25. He pressed a button on the door's control panel, making it open. He walked into the hanger and pressed the 'lock' button on the opposite side which locked the door from the inside.

'There,' he thought as he started to turn around and walk down a catwalk. 'I should be safe no-' he cut off his thoughts as he looked down the catwalk. His jaw droped in surprise. "That is NO shuttle……"

(sweats) Man, that was a fast update don't you agree? Don't expect the next one to be as fast thought, I was in the mood to continue into the next chapter. Please remember to review and keep those votes coming.

So until next time, This is SPARTAN-251, Signing off... (Click)