This is more of a reboot to an old, pretty messy fic I have than anything else. I wanted to re-use the idea after all these years since it turned out so badly the first time, so...yeah. Enjoy this little piece.

The Ultimate Ace

"Roar of the Zeloth"

"Allow me to start by saying you're all practically going on a suicide mission." The raven-haired chairman sitting in front of the three ZAFT soldiers broke the silent air filling the room, chin propped up on his hands.

"Please tell me that was some sick joke, sir!" Almost simultaneously, two of those soldiers, Shinn and Lunamaria, practically burst at the seams with shock. Rey, calm as ever, took the initiative and tried to fix the situation. "We don't even have an idea why this is such a risky mission. Besides, if it's us he called on, it has to be a serious matter…so settle down."

His colleagues immediately backed down to cool off.

"Thank you, Za Burrel. Now…I believe you all recognize this death machine that stormed onto our battlefields earlier." Durandal raised a photo for them to see. It was a towering behemoth, not unlike any other Mobile Suit – but its armaments had to be seen to be believed. It carried a double-barrelled, medium-sized rifle hooked up to the suit itself – tell tale signs that it was an energy weapon, missile pods that would make the Buster quite envious, CIWS, and on top of all that, it was armed with what looked like a high-frequency beam saber for close combat. Its whole body save its core was a brilliant white, the core itself colored a tinge of grey.

"That's the unknown Gundam, isn't it?" Luna quipped.

"Yes. Its pilot has proven to be a great threat – quite comparable to, maybe even worse than the Freedom, I must add…and you all know how much damage that caused."

"You sure look like you're taking this better than the rest of us…" Shinn cringed. They would have to face down the mammoth that had interfered in many of their recent major battles. Luna wasn't any better; even Rey, although stoic, was getting exasperated.

"You're sending us to deal with that thing, aren't you?" The aforementioned's deadpan tone rang through.

"Sorry to pile on so much work on you three, but…yes." Coming from Durandal, it normally wouldn't be so serious, but this was a dire threat to his grand scheme for the world. He was sending three of his prime troops to a battle even he isn't sure they would survive, and he knows it more than each of them. "You're to depart in half an hour – the mobile suit won't stay in its current location for long. It's currently tearing a hole into our production lines and our main armories; any more delays and he'll have torn a giant gash into our reserves by the time you get there."

Luna shivered. The way he was describing it, it was more than clear that this pilot might actually be several grades worse a threatthan the Freedom's. "W—we're on it, sir." She stammered, unable to control her fears.

Gilbert stood up, easily noticing this uneasiness. "Now, what's got you so frightened of that pilot? Is it everything I've said?"

Luna just shook her head. Shinn stepped forward in her defense. "Sir, you do realize just what kind of work you dumped on us, right? You yourself told us we'd be facing a suicide mission! She has all the reasons to be frightened!"

"But would anyone else be capable of at least surviving him, Shinn? If this was some menial job I wouldn't have assigned you this mission in the first place – after all, you have better things to do." Gilbert paused to contemplate, before continuing his argument. "But it isn't – and that's why I'm giving this job to you three, the most trustworthy of my unit. No one else can get in close to such death machines as the Freedom and this unidentified unit like you could. It would be folly to put anyone else to the task."

"Well, when you put it like that, that's – for better or worse – just slightly relieving…but I'll take that over anything else." Shinn stepped back just as he had gone forward, shaking his head.

"It's settled then…now, hurry. There isn't anymore time to waste." With a salute, the trifecta walked off. Gilbert stood there for a while, before pulling out his chessboard and going back to his seat.

"Now that leaves just one question…" he spoke, putting the pieces in order. "Which side is he on…and will he be of any use to my plans?"

And that's that, for now. Sorry for making it so short, it's kind of a prelude to the mess that'll go down later on. Bear with me. ;;

Until next time.