Copyright © 1990 by Yoshiyuki Tomino.

Copyright © Sotsu and Sunrise

This book is a fan translation.

Support the official release if there ever is one.

Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents may differ

slightly from official names at the time of translation. Updated versions of
this will be made to reflect changes at a future date.

Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY’S FLASH

(Vol.03)”
Released 1990.05.01

For more information, or to read more Gundam novels and manga :

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Novel Translation and Book Layout by Zeonic|Scanlations

First Edition: August 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter.01 Local Broadcast ··························································· 006
Chapter.02 Camouflage Aggressive ············································· 015
Chapter.03 Different Place ···························································· 021
Chapter.04 In the Morning ····························································· 027
Chapter.05 Touch and Go ······························································ 032
Chapter.06 Pinpoint Defense ························································ 037
Chapter.07 Get Ahead ···································································· 045
Chapter.08 Under the Forest ························································ 050
Chapter.09 Again ············································································· 057
Chapter.10 Be Defeated ································································· 062
Chapter.11 Willy Willy ···································································· 071
Chapter.12 Before the Day ···························································· 078
Chapter.13 Shooting ······································································· 082
Chapter.14 After That ····································································· 091
Chapter.15 Murrumbidgee ····························································· 096
 Chapter 01
Local Broadcast

Adelaide, tucked away in the southern reaches of the Australian continent,

was one of the few cities untouched by global trends, maintaining the aura
of a bygone era as if the white man's colonization had not disrupted its quiet
existence.
Its streets, echoing British colonial charm, contrasted sharply with the
sleek, smart buildings of the last Christocentric century end, creating an
atmosphere of depth. For those weary of the artificial aesthetics of space
colonies, it was a most fitting place to return to Earth.
Above all, the city's architecture, requiring minimal refurbishment, offered
a pleasing sight to the eyes of the Earth Federation government's top brass.
Hence, their peculiar attachment to this city.
For those indifferent to the details of the congress held here, unless they
intervened in the form of Mafty, their attention might not be drawn to this
location, which had become a sealed-off realm for the ministers.
On that particular day in Adelaide, all the ministers were able to attend the
Central Cabinet meeting.
Despite certain risks, the Federation government had many ministerial
candidates lined up, making it easy to fill any vacant posts.
As midday approached, final preparations for meetings led by heads of
various departments took place, and the security of Adelaide, led by the
Circe Unit, tightened further.
Captain Kenneth Sleg was flanked by staff officers dispatched from the
headquarters, and he had been promoted to the rank of Commodore.
Such ranks of responsibility were a common device for the Federation
government and military.
"The objective of the Adelaide Conference is for the Federation
government itself to take command and carry out the Earth Cleansing
Operation."
As General Chief of Staff of the Space Forces, General Medinum
Guggenheim met Kenneth at the airport and immediately issued orders,
leading him to the conference at the Festival Center.
Without even having time to catch his breath, Kenneth learned of the
complete annihilation of the unit that had accompanied Gigi.
"Mafty, eh?"
Gigi's prediction was correct, and the result had tipped in favor of Mafty.
 "Gigi Andalusia has been abducted by Mafty," reported Commander Stagg
Mainzer, who had only impressions of Gigi from their time in Davao and was
bitter about those left behind at Ayers Rock reporting about Gigi.
"I see. So the goddess of victory has sided with them..."
"The goddess?" Mainzer questioned Kenneth's peculiar phrasing.
"Yes. I just hope this doesn't dampen our pilots' spirits."
"Do you think that's possible?"
Listening to Mainzer's vague response, Kenneth realized how childishly
romantic his wish to mythologize Gigi's existence had been. It was a sobering
thought.
Yet, he didn't want to be evaluated so easily by others.
"I wanted to observe human fortunes a bit longer, Gigi..." he mused as he
entered the integrated defense headquarters set up within the airport
building. Unfortunately, Kenneth's longing for Gigi was far from over.
Furthermore, the mobile suit that had abducted Gigi was rumored to be a
Gundam copy.
"I'd rather not believe Gigi had any connections with Mafty... but her
sudden desire to visit Ayers Rock..."
With that thought, Kenneth could interpret that Gigi approached him to
probe the Circe Unit's movements, much like Hathaway.
"Did she simply come to see me out of sheer delight...?"
If that was indeed the truth, allowing Gigi to get close would be a stain on
Kenneth's record. It gnawed at him.
"But that's impossible..." he dismissed the thought, yet with a lingering
sense of uncertainty.
From his office, he surveyed the lineup of Base Jabbers, the Kessaria BJ-
K232s, and the mobile suits, the Gustav Karl FD-03s, all arranged in
formation on the apron.
The planned number seemed to be in place, at least.
However, Kenneth had no time to indulge in personal sentiment.
"Um... Commodore?"
"Yes?"
Francine Baxter, his secretary past her prime, already knew about
Kenneth's promotion, so she was not puzzled by the insignia on his uniform.
"I will replace your epaulets later, so please review this... It's the security
shift schedule, orders and messages from General Staff Headquarters, and
various other matters."
She spread a mountain of documents on the desk as if proudly showcasing
her career, arranging them neatly for Kenneth's convenience.
"My apologies."
Kenneth handed his coat to the secretary and skimmed through the top
document.
"So... the 13th Autonomous Fleet is coming."
Imagining the sight of Captain Bright Noa's fleet floating in the St. Vincent
Bay facing Adelaide, Kenneth smirked.
But his smile was not about receiving reinforcements.
 He had set a goal to annihilate all of Mafty before reinforcements arrived,
so he laughed.
Kenneth had such determination.
He needed to quickly achieve military success, even considering the
possibility of Gigi becoming a stain on his record.
"What about the barrier setup? How's that progressing?"
"Commander Mainzer should have reported that directly to you, shouldn't
he?"
"Hmm...! Call him for me."
While still holding Kenneth's coat, Francine called for the Commander
from the next room.
For a woman of her age, her movements were remarkably spry.
"Isn't it strange? Can't we see any movement from these Mafty dissidents
yet?"
Even while scanning the documents, Kenneth hadn't forgotten to keep an
eye on the reconnaissance unit's computer display.
Moreover, the large display behind his secretary showed charts of the area
around Adelaide, and the movements of the reconnaissance unit were input
in real-time.
The area within a 200-kilometer radius of Adelaide should have been
combed through, but to the ten Kessarias, it seemed conspicuously sparse.
"Is it impossible to deploy aircraft from the European region now?"
Kenneth questioned the officers dispatched from the staff headquarters,
who were huddled under the large display.
"It's impossible. The dissidents are not only in this area, and more
importantly, we should have prepared for this much earlier..."
"That's ridiculous! I should have made a request in Davao."
"We didn't hear about that."
"Even if you don't listen to my orders, you should have arranged it
considering your own safety!"
"Sir..."
The four officers just wore blank expressions on their faces like dolls.
"Huh, so you're saying that you haven't even heard that the wannabe
Gundam that Mafty has is equipped with a Minovsky Craft system?"
"What? Really?"
"Absolutely. Isn't that right, Commander?"
Upon the arrival of Commander Mainzer and Lieutenant Minecche
Kestalgino, Kenneth affirmed.
"Yes... we reported that to the staff headquarters along with the report of
Penelope's defeat."
While presenting Kenneth with the barrier setup progress chart, the
Commander responded to the dispatched officers.
The four officers began hurriedly making phone calls, clearly, a group
accustomed to a comfortable life within their own faction.
 "Unbelievable! Nothing was done by Kimberly, and they were a month late
in calling me. And now this, Commander? What's this progress report? The
barrier setup should have been completed by this morning, shouldn't it?"
"We took longer than expected to set up the power lines..."
Looking every bit the good man, Lieutenant Kestalgino tried his best to
smooth things over.
"That's why I dispatched you here first, Commander! Let's test it before
nightfall."
"Yes, sir!"
Whether it was the Commander or the officers in the background as
Francine started stitching, they were of the same ilk. They couldn't get
anything done.

Lane Aim and his officers, who served under the Penelope, found humor
in the report of Gigi's failed rendezvous in Adelaide. They had always
bristled at Gigi's and Kenneth's boisterous behavior, so they took a perverse
pleasure in this outcome.
"Even if we were to take over the defense of Adelaide's on our own, it
wouldn't just be Kenneth getting all the credit in front of the bigwigs at the
central command!"
They had found their own path to promotion, independent of Kenneth,
within this operation.
This perception quickly spread among the pilots of the Circe Unit, and
there was no sign of the decline in morale Kenneth had feared.
However, that afternoon, an incident occurred that left them speechless.
It was the broadcast of Mafty's declaration of war.
The only channel that was on air in Adelaide had an audio interference
announcing it, and a significant number of people were able to watch the
broadcast on a secondary channel.
The matter of Mafty's radio interference was conveyed to the chairman of
the preliminary meeting. High-ranking bureaucrats witnessed it on the large
display in the conference room.
Of course, most of the ministers also watched it in their individual lodgings
and conference rooms.
"I am Mafty Navue Erin. Until today, the organization centered around me
has been purging the ministers of the Federation government who have
come to Earth. Each time, I have explained why we had to resort to actions
akin to an assassination squad. The considerable public support we have
received for this should be known to the members of the Federation
government. Despite this, the Federation government, showing no signs of
remorse, is even plotting to enact a law in Adelaide to further contaminate
the Earth."
The young man speaking amidst the backlighting of the television camera
would be unrecognizable as Hathaway to those unfamiliar with him.
 However, Kenneth, who had been watching the broadcast at the
integrated defense headquarters of the Adelaide airport, recognized him as
Hathaway Noa.
"Trace the location of that radio transmission!"
Before Kenneth's order was even issued, a Kessaria and several mobile
suits had taken off.
"Listen up! Even if you triangulate the source of the radio transmission,
don't just blindly bomb it. Secure it as evidence. If there's an explosive
device set up, defuse it!"
Kenneth did not forget to issue these orders to the unit heading to trace
the source of the transmission.
"The formal cabinet meeting will begin tomorrow, and it will be agreed
upon that any support will be provided to eliminate Mafty. However, this is
only a matter of the Federation government's attention being directed at us,
and I will not condemn it. Terrorism is never acceptable, regardless of the
circumstances."
Kenneth felt that Hathaway, who spoke so calmly, had prepared himself
for death.
But,
"Hey! Is what Mafty just said true?"
"Huh?"
Commander Mainzer, who had been watching the TV behind Kenneth,
widened his eyes.
"Depends on how the meeting proceeds! Verify whether what Mafty said
is true or not!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The commander hurriedly picked up the receiver.
"We fight under the name of Mafty and alongside the Ξ Gundam against
the Federation government to correct those who have drowned in
corruption within the organization. We know this may not be an ideal battle,
but according to the space immigration law, the Earth will never truly be
purified unless everyone leaves for space. Currently, humanity can live
equally in space. In Oenbelli, there were those who tried to illegally reside on
Earth and organized an army, but is their forceful removal not the same as
the methods of the old-century people who caused the extinction of
countless species? The problem is that new discrimination arises, and only
those who follow the Federation government are considered just, according
to a one-sided intelligence."
"Commodore, it seems the agenda of the discussion Mafty spoke of was
only finalized last night."
"So, there must be someone selling information to Mafty at the top of
some agency."
Kenneth growled at the television.
"Shall we investigate?"
"Yes... Arrange a meeting with Director Yeoksan."
 "Sir!"
The commander returned to the phone.
"How many of you are aware that this Adelaide conference aims to
legalize the discriminatory mindset of the Federation government? Among
the topics on the second day of the Adelaide conference, there's an agenda
item for the revision of the Federation government's investigation rights
regarding Earth preservation zones, which is nothing short of an atrocious
law."
Hathaway's silhouette held up a piece of paper to the light behind him.
The faint light illuminated the silhouette's face, and Kenneth recognized
without a doubt that it was Hathaway.
"Loosely translating this bureaucratic text from the added Article 23, if
requested by a Federation government minister, landowners in the
Australian continent will be required to provide their land at will. Of course,
even those with proper residence permits can have their land taken away.
The compensation is that they can claim an area of land in a space colony of
the owner's choice equal to the land taken away."
"Is that true?"
Kenneth, taken aback, asked the secretary and officers from the General
Staff who were watching the TV by the door.
"I'm not privy to such detailed content."
"That does sound like something a bureaucrat would come up with..."
"Why?"
"Hasn't there been talk of building a new continent in the Universal
Century here for quite some time?"
One of the lieutenants explained.
"I didn't know that..."
As Kenneth turned his face to the TV, the commander's phone in front of
him rang.
"Yes... Commodore, it's from the Kessaria that went out for
reconnaissance."
"And?"
While watching Hathaway explain other bills to be decided at the Adelaide
conference with another sheet of paper, Kenneth took the call from the
reconnaissance team.
"Don't stop the broadcast! Let it continue!"
"Why!? The two trailers are unmanned. The signal from Mafty's broadcast
hijack can be stopped immediately."
The voice of the excited pilot who had the spoils of war in front of him
came through.
"Listen... We can learn something from this too. Even Mafty has
suggestions that might make the Earth Federation a little better. Besides,
that tape might reveal Mafty's next target, or a self-destruct mechanism
could be activated once the broadcast ends. Be careful!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Instead of that, investigate where that trailer came in from."
 "Understood...!"
Kenneth, although he could not hear everything Hathaway had said, still
had a sense that he talked about quite a few things and felt somewhat
irritated.
"If these measures pass in Adelaide, it will snuff out any hope of Earth's
nature returning. Then, the purpose of humanity overcoming hardships and
moving to the space colonies will be lost. Think about it. If a bill for tens of
thousands of privileged classes who want to return to Earth is passed, it's
simply that the number of people returning to Earth will increase tenfold.
Remember once more, humanity, which rapidly increased only in the last
century of the old century, inflicted near-fatal wounds to Earth itself.
Moreover, currently, not even a century after the start of space colonization,
Earth's seas are still contaminated with residual chemicals. Even the rain is
still mixed with chemical substances. Not to mention, the lives of plants and
small creatures are far from fully recovered... What does that mean? That's
right. Humanity must not return to Earth yet. Yet, the Federation
government is beginning preparations for humanity to return to Earth, and
before that, they are trying to secure their vested interests. That is the true
nature of the conference being held in Adelaide."
Hathaway's eloquence was entirely understood by Kenneth.
"If what you say is true, then you are right."
"So, I declare that we will carry out the purge of the ministers here unless
the Central Cabinet abandons these bills. It is possible that after hearing this
broadcast, those involved will flee Adelaide. However, after this, anyone
trying to escape from the area around Adelaide will be indiscriminately
targeted for purge. However, we don't intend to involve the general public,
so anyone unrelated has two hours to evacuate from Adelaide. After that,
any vehicle or person trying to leave Adelaide will be considered our target."
"An announced attack..."
The four officers of the General Staff Headquarters all groaned in unison
while standing.
"Really... If we do this, the ministers will run away, and Mafty won't be able
to do anything, right?"
Kenneth glanced over at the staff officers, standing stiff as rods, and
chuckled.
"There's no sign of an attack, and anyway, what's the point of using long-
range missiles on an empty Adelaide?"
"That's true, but..."
A hiss of static signaled the end of Mafty's broadcast.
"I don't know. Does Mafty have a plan with this?"
"Isn't Mafty aiming to delay the Cabinet meeting?"
"Isn't that naive?"
The lieutenant of the General Staff retorted to the lieutenant junior grade.
"Commodore, the chairman of the Central Assembly is on the line."
While switching the receiver, the secretary informed him.
"Mmm... This is Commodore Kenneth Sleg."
 The call came directly from the chairman in the preparatory meeting room.
He wanted Kenneth to come to the meeting room immediately and explain
Adelate's defense system.
"Depending on your opinion, we may have to consider suspending the
conference..."
"I understand, but I doubt Mafty has the force to purge the cabinet
ministers after the broadcast, do they?"
"What they're trying to do isn't purging. It's assassination!"
"Ahh... My apologies."
"Of course, we have no intention of canceling the Central Assembly over
this child's trick. It's a matter of the Federation government's prestige.
However, there is a need to convince the relevant parties."
"As the military, we don't have the capacity to prevent the general public
from fleeing, do we?"
"Well, we can't help it, but if we don't show panic, the citizens won't up
and vanish, would they?"
"That's true."
"Even if it's a preparatory meeting, it's still an official place, so no slip-ups
in your answers, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
Kenneth, donning his jacket with the new epaulets, headed towards the
Festival Center.
 Chapter 02
Camouflage Aggressive

Kenneth testified that the deployment of the reconnaissance unit would

make a long-range missile or other attacks unlikely. He insisted that Mafty's
broadcast was merely a tool of information warfare, aiming to justify their
actions and sow confusion among them.
However, there were nervous ones among them, like Honore Ballestreri,
the representative for the Outer Space Ministry of Defense.
"What about the precautions against a possible invasion of Adelaide from
the northern mountains stretching to the east? Will the mobile suits fly in or
will there be a missile attack from that direction?" he asked, somewhat
frantically, even now.
"We are intensively watching east of Highway 32. The transmission of that
radio wave is near Uraidla to the east, so we can assure there won't be any
attack from that direction," Kenneth assured.
"But who can guarantee they won't invade from the same direction? The
radio wave might be a diversion, no?" Ballestreri retorted.
"Well, to be perfectly prepared for all possible issues is..." Kenneth trailed
off, eventually losing his patience and deliberately making a faux pas to the
representative.
"Commodore Sleg! In tomorrow's assembly, a motion will be adopted to
arrest Mafty Navue Erin. Once that happens, it will be your responsibility to
thoroughly eliminate the dissidents. You understand that, right?" The
intensity of Representative Ballestreri's statement compelled the
surrounding representatives to nod their heads solemnly, making Kenneth
wish a missile would hit the place right then and there.
"Mr. Speaker? I have practical matters to attend to. May I be excused?"
Kenneth found himself unable to come up with a more appropriate
response.
"No, there's one last question. What about the barrier?" This came directly
from the Speaker.
"It's being set up," Kenneth replied.
"When will it be ready?"
"Tonight or early tomorrow morning at the latest."
"So, we won't be able to respond to Mafty's recommendation then!" The
representative seated to the left of the Speaker's view, Ballestreri, shouted
in frustration, a vein bulging on his forehead. He was seemingly oblivious to
the contradiction in his own statement.
"Sir! I have an urgent duty to supervise the completion of that. Excuse
me." Just as Kenneth was about to leave the second time, the Speaker was
being whispered to by a clerk standing behind him.
"Wait a moment..."
Once the Speaker signaled Kenneth to wait, he announced, "Quiet, please!
We just received new information..."
The Speaker's massive presence filled the room, and he ordered Kenneth,
standing at the podium, to pick up the receiver from the secretary's desk.
"This is Kenneth?"
"Sir, it's Commander Mainzer. Sorry for the trouble at such a time."
"That's alright. What is it?"
"Sir, we observed an explosion that appears to be from a fusion engine
about twenty-five kilometers inland from the Stonewall line. We're currently
investigating, but it seems to be from a mobile suit not from our military."
"That's odd... It's not a military facility, is it?"
"Of course, it's nothing but the wilderness of the Sound Ridge, but there
are also signs that Minovsky particles have been scattered in the
surrounding airspace."
"It's not from a military mobile suit or even a Base Jabber?"
He pressed for confirmation.
"Of course."
"Are the specialized investigation staff on it?"
"They have just departed."
"Good... Can we consider this good news?"
"Probably. We have observed at least two large explosions, and it seems
small explosions are continuing."
"Understood."
Kenneth ended the phone call, returned to the podium, and explained the
situation.
"Based on speculation, it appears that an accident has occurred among
one of Mafty's mobile suit units immediately after the broadcast. I believe
this is a positive sign for us, and with that, I would like to excuse myself from
this meeting."
Kenneth glanced at the Speaker, no longer feeling the need for restraint.
The Speaker, feeling reassured that Mafty's attack wasn't imminent, allowed
Kenneth to exit. By the time he had done so, Kenneth had already left the
chamber.
Stone Wall was not an official place name, but it was commonly used as
such. As the name suggested, it referred to a region where prominent stones
continued in a wall-like formation amidst rocky, sandy terrain. It was located
about 325 kilometers northwest of Adelaide.
"Is it Mafty?"
Upon Kenneth's exit from the chamber, a waiting officer from the Ministry
of Justice inquired.
 "If it's Mafty, the fact that this happened immediately after such a
broadcast is interesting. However, the people in the assembly don't
understand anything."
While Kenneth made sure not to give away any conjecture to the officer,
he said to the man, who had the look of a stereotypical bureaucrat with
rimless glasses.
"I can't help but sympathize, but the representatives are even more
troublesome. We are babysitting them every day."
"That's what makes you a failure as a bureaucrat, doesn't it?"
"Maybe so. Even the article about Mafty's eradication, which will be
approved tomorrow, is not yet finished. We are dealing with people whose
moods change constantly..."
The rimless glasses man spoke these words with a completely serious
expression, confident from his career as a model student.
"What's the matter?"
Kenneth felt irritated by the rimless glasses man who wouldn't leave him
alone.
"Does your report mean that Mafty self-destructed?"
"Who knows?"
"That's not the case, right? We have to be afraid of missiles, but we also
have to create articles."
"In that case, you should find Mafty."
"Huh?"
The rimless glasses man almost stopped in his tracks.
"Among the ministers, among the top bureaucrats, the one with the best
mind and the shortest temper is the mastermind behind Mafty, Quack
Salver."
"What does 'Quack Lawyer' mean?"
"It's an old term for a fraudster, and it's the codename for the mastermind
behind Mafty. If you find that person, the Federation bureaucracy might get
a little smarter, and you'll have plenty of time to create the articles."
"Well, that's an interesting suggestion."
Descending the stairs, the voice of the rimless glasses man remained calm.
This was a talent inherent to those who served the court - instinctively
evading any subject that seemed to implicate oneself and retreating to ask
another question. He too, did the same.
"What exactly is a 'barrier'?"
"It's military technology."
As Kenneth opened the limousine door himself, he cast a stern gaze at his
rimless glasses, then took a seat in the back.
"You're having the Manhunter handle this in the suburbs of Adelaide,
right?"
"No comment."
Closing the door with a decisive slam, Kenneth directed the limousine to
depart.
 It was a stark realization for Kenneth that the true threat of bureaucrats
was the intelligent staff they kept. But at the same time, he also
acknowledged that, after all, they were mere pawns in the hands of
politicians.
They couldn't be an effective force.
To change the organization, an entity like Mafty, willing to play the fool
from the outside, was necessary.
"It's infuriating that those ignorant of the real world get to make the
laws..."
Kenneth had grown truly tired of the hereditary system of government
ministers. Taking the riding whip he had left on the back seat, he struck it
against his own palm.
"The Spacenoids choose candidates who will bring profit to their territory,
leading to situations like this. They're not looking at the big picture..."
The hassles and dangers of the majority-rule system, the underpinning of
absolute democratic politics, were laid bare in the current Federation
government's system.
"Is Mafty going to be the one to change things?"
While he was uttering these words, the limousine arrived at the Adelaide
airport.
And just after he entered his room in the General Security Headquarters,
the next situation occurred.
"We've detected several unidentified aircraft off Spencer Gulf. They're
from 306 Kessaria."
As the dispatched officers from the General Staff Headquarters inputted
the discovery location into the large display, Kenneth thought, Oh?
"Aren't they moving too fast?"
"They seem to have self-destructed!"
An excited young officer was shouting from the monitor in the
communication room.
"Why is that?" Kenneth asked.
"Well, sir... it's unclear whether they actually self-destructed, but there's a
huge water spout. But the interference from Minovsky particles is strong
here, so the reception is... please wait a moment."
Although no new situation arose afterward, a report arrived that a Gustav
Karl launched from Adelaide had found numerous fragments of trailers and
mobile suits at the explosion site of Stonewall.
"This establishes one conjecture."
"...!?"
Kenneth, without saying anything, waited for the next words of
Commander Meinzar.
"Immediately after the broadcast, Mafty planned a full-scale attack on
Adelaide. But during their preparations, an accident occurred within their
mobile suit unit, and several suits escaped to sea. However, due to the
aftermath of the explosion, the damaged mobile suits self-destructed about
fifty kilometers off Kangaroo Island."
 "Hmm... A good story, but why didn't they charge at Adelaide instead of
Spencer Gulf? If they'd gone straight from Stonewall, they should've been
picked up by the radar near Port Lincoln. There was no such report."
"I will investigate the distribution status of Minovsky particles."
"Do that."
As the commander was about to dart into the communication room, he
turned back to Kenneth and asked,
"Are you suggesting that all these movements are a diversion by Mafty?"
"That's right. It's all too convenient."
Even during their time at Oenbelli, Mafty's mobile suits seemed to have
invaded from the northwest. The similarity between that incident and the
current one bothered Kenneth.
"Since Mafty is a hastily assembled unit, accidents are possible, but with
this incident occurring right after the broadcast, it's either a far-fetched
strategy or a real accident... Which is it?"
A far-fetched situation would have no middle ground, having either a right
or left cause.
It was a conundrum.
"If they intended to disrupt the cabinet meeting and make a bloodbath of
the ministers, they could do it with a missile attack from the east... but
they're fixated on mobile suit warfare. They're aiming for the assassination
of ministers only... In that case, is the intention to draw our eyes west for a
mobile suit invasion from the east?"
However, that line of thinking seemed all too obvious.
Kenneth was in doubt, feeling that he had been outwitted by Hathaway
for the first time.
"I thought that the unfolding situation after the events since the Haunzen
and Oenbelli would have put some strain on him, leading him to abandon his
previous assassination methods and hurry to gain some results..."
Thinking it over,
"It seems that's not the case... Is it mobile suit warfare, after all?"
Kenneth contemplated Hathaway since the Haunzen incident.
The mild and gentle young man being Mafty, considering his proficiency
during the hijacking on the Haunzen, was to be expected. That proficiency
couldn't be explained simply by past battle experience.
It was something done by a man in the midst of actual combat or by
someone extremely proficient in martial arts.
Furthermore, considering the timing of the descent of the new type
mobile suits to Earth, it made sense that Hathaway had used the Haunzen to
his advantage.
"And then there's Gigi..."
In conversations with her, there were parts of Hathaway's actions that
hadn't quite made sense to him that he could recall.
"He really stepped up."
Kenneth secretly felt a sense of joy, realizing that the smooth young man
had come forward with considerable resolve to oppose them.
 Having friends who excelled only made them more valuable treasures to
boast about.
Kenneth was beginning to harbor such complex feelings toward
Hathaway.
And the difference in their real-life positions was leading them to pit their
wits against each other. This stimulated the romantic side of Kenneth,
making him feel that the time had come for him to shine as a man.
This must be what it felt like to regain one's youthful vigor.
"Concerning Quack Salver, it would be normal to suspect someone who
fled Adelaide first or who was not in a place that could be bombed... But, no,
that's not it either. They attacked the hotel where Hathaway was staying. It
seems they're skilled in dummy operations..."
If so, the explosions at Stonewall and the flying objects off Kangaroo
Island, all could be considered as camouflage.
From Lieutenant Lane Aim and his team, who had entered Stonewall, they
had received reports of debris from several mobile suits.
"Has Mafty disappeared?"
The officers dispatched from the General Staff Headquarters tried to
conclude as such.
What needed to be verified was whether the objects that exploded off
Spencer Bay were dummies or not. But there was no Navy here, so they had
to find scuba divers to conduct an investigation, which would be time-
consuming.
"Yes... We must await the formal investigation report, but for now, we can
confirm that something resembling mobile suits, not under our jurisdiction,
has exploded."
Kenneth relayed this to the Speaker of the Central Assembly.
"Excellent. With this, the immediate crisis has been averted. The series of
phenomena occurring an hour after the end of the broadcast can be
confirmed as an explosion accident of Mafty's mobile suit unit. No, it's
amusing."
The Speaker laughed as he said this.
"But, there's still the possibility that it's camouflage."
"Indeed. It's your job to uncover that and, if so, to defend against it."
"Understood."
"In any case, the cabinet meetings will continue tomorrow in Adelaide."
"Yes... Well..."
"Are you dissatisfied?"
"No, I wouldn't want to evacuate from this scenic Adelaide."
"Indeed. The unanimous opinion of all ministers is the same."
Kenneth managed to resist the urge to throw the phone, realizing he had
fallen for Hathaway's scheme and lost track of when and from where he
would strike next.
 Chapter 03
Different Place

"Why are you in my way! Quess!" Hathaway's eyes beheld the scene of
Quess Paraya, her innocent girl-like expression disintegrating before him.
Even knowing this was but a dream, it was terrifying.
"Weren't you supposed to come with me?"
Her lips remained still, voice unheard, yet her message was clear. The
words, unspoken, surged towards him like silent storm waves.
"Quess, you demanded too much... and then, you ran away from me,
didn't you? You don't have such a right, Quess!"
"Hahahaha, you're jealous, Hathaway!" Quess taunted, face shifting and
distorting like an image reflected in turbulent waters. "Your error caused my
death! How cruel of you! Had you meant to end my life, I could've accepted
that. But to die by accident... it's insufferable! Come on, Hathaway!"
Her voice echoed deep and loud, compelling Hathaway to cover his ears,
but his hands were as absent as if they'd never existed.
"You're the vilest murderer, Hathaway!" Every single word gouged out his
heart, flaying him down to the bone. The desolation of perceiving the
"nothingness" resulting from this disintegration.
"The sad remnant of the woman who loved Char Aznable dares to judge
me!"
That scream of Hathaway originated from where he might have existed
until a moment ago——a place now devoid of any physical form——and
Hathaway heard it.
"Where are my ears that are hearing my voice? Is this nothingness or
void... There's no sadness... no loneliness... just nothingness..."
Even this realization began to fade.
An emptiness hung before his eyes, and before long, it cascaded towards a
single point of warmth.
"So... warmth is the origin of existence..."
This realization was a joy. Comfort, too.
His eyes opened of their own accord, revealing hands that emerged from
an unseen source. The warmth radiated from his wrists, filling him from the
inside.
"It's okay... you're okay..."
Hathaway shrank away from the warmth as he couldn't imagine what was
producing it. Feeling more heat on his wrists, he looked at his hands.
 A woman's hand was entwined there.
"Hathaway... are you okay?" Beyond his hand, Gigi Andalusia's face
appeared.
"Gigi..."
"You were having a nightmare..."
"Oh..."
Feeling Gigi's hand opening the zipper of the sleeping bag at the collar,
Hathaway stretched his neck. Sweat was cooling the collar of his shirt.
"Well? Want to take some medicine?"
"What do you suggest?"
"A sedative, maybe... or, there are some cold meds..."
As Gigi sat up, Hathaway noticed the tent behind her fluttering violently.
"Because of the sound of this wind..."
They were two people using a four-person tent. It was meant for
mountaineering and didn't have ample space.
With the light of the flashlight in Gigi's hand, she took out medicine and
water from the first aid kit and handed them to Hathaway.
"Thanks."
"Hmph."
Gigi's disheveled blonde hair shimmered and sparkled in the light placed
by her hip, amplifying the brightness.
The medicine and mineral water tasted incredibly bad in his mouth.
"You're pressing yourself too hard for one so young..." Gigi observed, an
undercurrent of concern lacing her words.
"..."
Suddenly being told that Hathaway understand what Gigi was trying to
say. But he didn't argue.
"There are various ways to live your life, don't you think?" Gigi handed him
a towel, her gaze locked onto his wearied eyes. "A car, once set in motion,
deserves to reach its destination."
He mopped the sheen of sweat from his neck and chest with the towel.
That alone seemed to make him feel a lot more relaxed.
"I don't intend to... But am I getting in your way?" Gigi asked, seemingly
unable to fully grasp the weight of the towel now soaked with Hathaway's
sweat and warmth.
"It's fine. If I'm suspected of being a spy, someone has to keep an eye on
me. I'm grateful to your comrades who have allowed this arrangement."
"That's true..."
Hathaway agreed, settling back down into his sleeping bag.
"It's strange... Everyone in Mafty is so kind, even though they're terrorists."
Gigi observed Hathaway from a distance, her figure only faintly illuminated
by the flashlight's glow.
"Is that what society says?"
"Society is on Mafty's side. But they don't appreciate terrorism."
"There's a pistol there, you know," Hathaway pointed to an aluminum case
where the flashlight was placed.
 "Hard pass!" Gigi flipped off the flashlight, her rustling movements
signaling her retreat into her sleeping bag.
A glance at his glowing watch dial told Hathaway he had but two more
hours of sleep.
He began, "I've met people called Newtype in the past. Regardless of their
age, they were immersed in adult society, but success eluded them. And I
don't have the talent of a Newtype... This is my only way to combat the
Earth-centric system's poison and force humanity to acknowledge the crux
of the problem," His voice trailed off, tinged with a hint of melancholy.
"All your actions have resulted in is bloodshed," Gigi's whispered response
brushed against Hathaway's cheek, a sudden annoyance flaring within him.
"You're painfully narrow-minded for someone so insightful."
"Is it wrong to...to find myself drawn to you, Hathaway?"
"Thank you... But not everyone excels at love. That's our world. That's why
we must resort to such measures..."
Her soft sigh skimmed his cheek again, the meaning clear to him.
Fortunately, the swaying of the tent spared him from reacting to Gigi's
subtle cues.
"You're the one being narrow-minded... I hoped for your luck to shift when
I was assigned to accompany Captain Kenneth to Ayers Rock."
While not the entire truth, it held a certain truth for Gigi in that moment.
"That just demonstrates your personal sentimentality, Gigi. Aboard the
Haunzen, you maintained neutrality. Neither for Kenneth nor me. That's the
perspective you need to adopt to comprehend Mafty's actions."
"Personally, that's both challenging and tedious," Gigi huffed and turned
away.
"During the so-called age of modern individualism, human consumerism
soared, leading Earth towards her demise... As long as we continue
endorsing individual freedoms, we risk exhausting Earth, even with the
existence of space colonies."
"So you dispute even the modicum of tranquillity afforded by familial
bonds?"
"We've entered an epoch where our survival is contingent upon collective
action. You need to remember that..."
"Liberalization of all humans culminating in a harmonious collective... It
sounds reminiscent of a Newtype utopia."
"Exactly."
"Then sex would become irrelevant."
"Would it? I've always thought of the act as a pathway to attaining
clarity..."
"Are you kidding?"
"No, I'm not. I believe that even orgasms allow us to recognize something
beyond the act... Otherwise, it's embarrassing for intelligent humans to have
sex."
"That's an ideal. The dichotomy between intellect and primal instincts
makes us human, and the diversity in sexual--"
 "Sex fuels desire. To view sex as a part of desire is human."
"I try to understand, but..." Gigi's movements betrayed her change of
position towards Hathaway. "You're embarking on this path to escape from
the memory of Quess Paraya, aren't you? That's just human, isn't it? Isn't it
endearing?"
Hathaway's muttered sleep-talk of Quess seemed to testify to his
weakness.
"The era of being that kind of human has ended," Hathaway said after a
pause, his voice tinged with anger.
"That's too radical."
"Yes. But it's the harsh truth, Gigi. I'm using you to flee from the past."
"And isn't that quintessentially human? That's the Hathaway I admire."
"...That's what makes it so damn unbearable...!" The cave wind assaulted
their tent, almost overbearingly so. Hathaway decided it was time to halt the
linguistic dance.
"Also, about Quess... it's not like that... When I get close to you, Hathaway,
I feel danger. You're using your past lover as a shield. But that's because you
have a sense of duty to Mafty."
Hathaway was in no mood to hear more explanations.
"Gigi... At dawn, vanish from my sight."
His words struck Gigi like a bolt through the darkness.
Gigi was taken aback; she never pegged Hathaway as someone who
would react so harshly. She held her breath, waited, and finally spoke, "Have
faith. You hold the potential to be a Newtype..."
Hathaway remained silent.
Gigi's hand gently traced Hathaway's sleeping bag, met with no reaction.
"If I could see through people like a god, I could predict their path... I sold
my body because I couldn't do that!"
he wanted to shout those words, but her current predicament offered no
convincing arguments to Hathaway.
"So I should vanish, huh..." Hathaway seemed to have forgotten his role in
her induction into Mafty.
But that was indeed what he desired.
How long had she been listening to the wind and the rustle of the tent?
Gigi sat up and unzipped her sleeping bag. The biting chill in the air left her
no choice but to keep her Mafty-issued windbreaker on. She clutched the
single bag she had brought from her Hong Kong apartment and truly exited
the tent.
The towering silhouette of the Xi Gundam loomed beside her. Further off
near the cave's entrance, a lone Base Jabber Galcezon perched.
The two mechanics' tents, hidden underneath, trembled in the strong
wind. The dark ocean beyond was rippling with white crests.
Due to the Gundam's large size, it alone could be sheltered in this narrow
cave. There were twelve scattered Messer Me-2R units and nine Galcezon
units, each concealed in similar-sized caves, lying dormant in anticipation of
a full-scale attack.
 When Kenneth and his team learned about the machine incident, they
detonated the Galcezons and Messers one by one. But by this morning,
Mafty had managed to prepare this many machines. Gigi carefully picked her
way over the wind-swept rocky terrain, slowly moving eastward.
"Who goes there!" The voice of a sentry echoed, and a shadowy figure
appeared before Gigi.
"I'm Gigi Andalucia. Hathaway has cast me out."
As she answered, Gigi felt a pang of envy at the Asian shadow's confident
attitude.
"Really? You're not fleeing to betray us to the enemy?"
The sentry's question didn't unnerve Gigi. Despite being introduced by
Hathaway as a collaborator, her credibility was only half-accepted by the
group. Some even saw her as a potential traitor, just like the sentry did.
"I'll confirm with Hathaway. Betchie! Watch Gigi." The shadow called
towards the cave next to the Gundam.
"Gigi, really!? Seriously? Chang!" Another shadow bounded over the rocks
towards Gigi.
Looking up, Gigi noticed the sky above the coastline cliff starting to
lighten. A lone hawk cut across the sky, swiftly carried away by the wind,
disappearing beyond the cliff.
"I don't want to wake Hathaway!"
"There's no helping it, is there?" Instead of Betchie, Chang Hei, who had
rushed under the Gundam, snapped back.
"..."
A few meters ahead, the waves of the Indian Ocean crashed violently,
occasionally sending a spray of water in their direction.
Gigi was overwhelmed by everything and felt an irrational urge to jump
into the sea. But she realized that in her current state, she would be thrown
back by the waves, gaining nothing but scratches.
"Why were you kicked out?" Betchie inquired.
"I'm troublesome and selfish. I admit it. With the way I behave, it's strange
not to be suspected," Gigi said.
"But, since Hathaway brought you here, our operations have been going
suspiciously well. Fabio and his crew, who transported the trailer for the
radio hijacking, successfully escaped and headed for the next resupply point.
Even the explosion at the Stonewall went smoothly, with the dummy mobile
suits shot down."
"That's because you guys in the Oenbelli Army are strong," Gigi said,
appreciating the young man who hadn't forgotten her presence.
"Well, we didn't have Athena during the Oenbelli operation."
"I'm no war goddess. It's Mafty who holds power." Gigi was taken aback
that the young man had referenced Greek mythology and was about to
speak of Hathaway's achievements.
"Hey! Betchie! Leave Gigi with Raymond," Chang Hei instructed, lithely
darting over the rocks to stand before Gigi.
 "You two had a petty squabble, didn't you? The operation will be over by
the end of today. Until then, just stay put." Chang's words were laced with a
light-hearted smile.
Gigi felt a wave of gratitude towards those who had joined Mafty later and
didn't harbor resentment towards her.
"Maybe it's because they're not aware of Hathaway and Keria..." Gigi
mused as she trailed Chang and Betchie toward the cave housing the
Galcezon.

"Hathaway, huh? Hmm..." Emeralda Zubin, who was with Raymond, looked
down at Gigi with a mix of disdain and disinterest, "Well, let Hathaway enjoy
a peaceful morning at least."
"I apologize. It was a misunderstanding..." Gigi was at a loss for words.
"Damn it...! Why didn't you just leave him be? What will you do if our luck
runs dry?"
"Again, I apologize..." Gigi found herself drawn to this forthright woman.
"Gigi! You wouldn't like to be with Kimberly and the others, would you?"
Raymond Cain, who had slowly emerged from the tent, asked Gigi, trying to
provoke her.
"So, what, I'm a prisoner?"
"C'mon, the bridge of the Galcezon is warmer."
"Uh...?!" Gigi was too caught off guard to register why Raymond and
Emeralda were sharing an outdoor tent.
The clouds moved swiftly, revealing a gap.
The sunlight broke through in several lines, piercing the surface of the sea.
 Chapter 04
In the Morning

The antiquated freeways still bristled with telephone lines, vestiges of

human habitation on this continent, tolerated by the Federation
government. Now, these lines served as a critical communication link for
Mafty.
Ring... ring... ring...
The phone booth, a relic on the freeway, rang out four times before falling
silent at seven in the morning. The box's door, propped open by a young
man puffing on his cigarette, stirred slightly as the ringing ceased. Casually,
he scanned the freeway before sauntering towards his off-road bike.
Pulling back his windbreaker hood, he listened to the ambient noise, only
then kickstarting the gasoline engine. In this era dominated by electric
vehicles, this engine had the power to threaten people's hearing, but for him,
that sound seemed irreplaceable.
Vroom!
With a throaty growl, the bike hurtled through the landscape, stirring up
bushes, zipping between jutting rocks on sandy grounds, and descending
steep hills, tracing the crude road that was hewn out of a cliff, as if
precariously close to plummeting into the sea. His bike reached the sea-
sprayed edge.
"Four rings!" The scruffy young man's voice, enraged, boomed out, and
from the cave shadows, men and women sprung into action.
"Alright!"
"Quack Salver confirmed that the cabinet meeting is on schedule!"
"Mafty! As planned, a full-scale attack!"
"Hathaway!"
They each dashed back into their respective caves to relay the information
to their teams.
"Gawman! As planned!" Emeralda reported to Gawman Nobile and his
team waiting in a cave a few kilometers away through a landline phone.
"Mafty." Emeralda caught sight of Hathaway following the last of the Xi
Gundam crew, who came for breakfast and beckoned him.
"Don't tell me. I already know... Fabio's team has been deployed for
Minovsky particle dispersal, right?"
"They already left long ago." To avoid any fuss from Emeralda about Gigi,
Hathaway swiftly slipped in with the mechanic crew to grab a cup of soup.
They used one of the tents as a windbreak, sharing a simple breakfast and
ingesting their vitamins and anxiolytics.
"To honor the souls of Captain Wedge and the crew of the Valiant, we
must ensure the success of today's operation. Not only the Circe Unit but
also the government officials of Adelaide don't expect us to attack, thanks to
the diversionary operation yesterday. Those few who may suspect will have
no clue about our line of assault. The success of this operation is inevitable.
Our target for attack is only the white building in the central park of the city,
the Festival Center. If we can attack within thirty minutes from the start of
the meeting, our purging operation will be completely accomplished. My
only concern is--"
Hathaway's speech was interrupted by a fit of coughing.
"Are you okay?" Emeralda's concern was palpable.
"Thanks... The uncertainty is the barrier, but we have received no
information about it from Quack Salver. I hear a barrier has been set up
along the outskirts, but its capabilities and whether it's fully operational
remains unknown."
"It must be a beam barrier," Civet Anhern chimed in, voice filled with
certainty. It was a logical deduction, but no barrier of such kind had ever
been erected on land before, thus fueling their apprehensions.
"Yeah... Output and deployment status wasn't conveyed to the ministers,
as usual with the Circe Unit," he lamented.
"Do we have any information beyond the deployment diagram we
examined last night?" Raymond Cain and the other Galcezon Captains were
most concerned about this, as they were tasked with the duty of retrieving
the Messer after the attack.
"I'm afraid not. Apart from staying clear of the outskirts of Adelaide
airspace, where Galcezon might face resistance, there's not much we can
do."
"So, we march forward regardless?" It was the only comforting sentiment
they could offer the anxious Galcezon pilots.
"Masam... I want you to reconfirm with Kaussaria, Gresshend, Hamilton,
and Rayo on that point."
"Understood."
"Now, let's sync our time. Get me the phone!" At Hathaway's behest,
Masam placed the wired telephone receiver in front of him, a connection to
the squad members unable to attend the meeting.
"Time synchronization for Operation Adelade, code A... All combat clocks,
sync time!"
The procedure's manual nature served as a safeguard against potential
radio disturbances while serving as a morale booster. They were united in
purpose, an essential ritual transcending time. This marked the start of their
choreographed operation. Depending on the situation, several stages of
operational actions have been set. Zero hour for combat was eight in the
morning. Thirty minutes later, each machine would launch.
 "You sure about this?" Raymond asked, nodding at the 1 Galcezon in the
cave's depths immediately after the synchronization.
"It's fine..."
"Depending on how this plays out, you'd release Kimberly Heyman, too,
right? And what about Gigi? I heard she's been imprisoned as well. Is that
okay?"
"If that's your understanding, proceed as such." Raymond, a man of simple
ways, might interpret Hathaway's cold demeanor as harsh.
"As you say!"
Raymond clapped a hand on Hathaway's shoulder,
"I understand the resolve for this mission is deathly serious, but unlike the
others, I don't consider Gigi suspicious. I don't think of her as a prisoner, you
know?"
"Your sentiment is appreciated."
Raymond seemed nettled by Hathaway's formal retort. Before the
situation could further escalate, Hathaway shrugged off Raymond's hand
and turned away.
"What's gotten into you, Hatha?"
"I'm fine... really..."
Raymond could tell from Hathaway's slumped shoulders that he wanted to
be left alone.
"Ray..."
Emeralda's voice reeled Raymond in, bringing him closer to her. He
answered the invisible tug, placing his hand with a lover's familiarity on the
curve of her waist.
"He's prepared to die, isn't he..."
"It's not that simple. Despite how he looks, Hathaway is strong. He's
focused."
As he spoke, Emeralda teasingly nudged her hips against his.
"God, I want to believe that..."
"Mmm... don't worry. That's why Hathaway released Gigi. Hatha is duty-
bound."
"I get that, Emer..." Raymond replied, his hands mirroring her earlier
gesture by applying an equal amount of force to his own waist.
"This morning was good. Tonight, I'll show you again how much I love
you."
"Hehe... If not, there's no point in living..."
The last part didn't quite come out in words. Emeralda's lips had pressed
against his, her tongue intertwining with Raymond's in his mouth.
"..."
This moment, heavy with a mix of anguish and sweetness, seemed to
symbolize the mission's dance with death. A poignant silence was disrupted
by the harsh bark of orders.
"Alright, lovebirds! Gear up, we're moving out!"
The voice was unmistakably Iram Masam's.
"…!"
 Neither of them said anything more. Their farewell was silent and swift,
their lips parting, eyes breaking away from each other. Emeralda, with a
determined swing of her legs, ascended the ladder to the Galcezon.
Raymond stepped into the ship's bridge, no longer seeking her with his gaze.
Once on the Galcezon's deck, Emeralda effortlessly clambered up her
Messer's rope, slipping back into her familiar role as a mobile suit pilot.
"Miss Gigi," Raymond's voice was clear and firm, "Whatever was said,
forgive him, okay?"
"About Hathaway?" Gigi Andalusia, huddled in the corner of Raymond's
bridge, blinked in surprise at his words.
"Yeah, it's a mission that requires a lot of concentration. So, he probably
didn't want any complicated conversations."
Raymond's forthrightness and insensitivity were his defining traits.
"Thank you. I've been... a strange source of worry," she confessed. "Once
we engage, even though I'm a potential spy here, I won't cause any issues,
right?"
Raymond's reply was firm, "That's why we aren't entertaining any notions
of leaving you behind. You're our good luck charm. We can't afford to lose
that."
"..."
Raymond, amid his checks for anomalies on the console panel with his
crew, hoped his words wouldn't be misinterpreted by his colleagues.
"Besides, you should also experience the terror of combat. It's a good
experience to have."
"Fair enough. I suppose I must face some form of punishment..." Gigi
offered a small, resigned smile to Raymond, the good-natured, rugged man.
"Unit 1, taking off!"
"Copy that!"
With his co-pilot's acknowledgment, Raymond's voice filled the cabin, the
roar of a proper captain ready for battle. Masam and the rest of the
operation staff and mechanics who were waiting in front of the Galcezon
confirmed the launch state with the machines in the left and right tunnels
and reported back. Red flashlights were swung widely from left to right,
signaling Raymond's machine to take off.
The mechanics remained with the Galcezon, prepping for the next
rendezvous point. The hum of Raymond's engine reverberated through the
frame. He picked up the microphone,
"To Captain Kimberly Heyman and the rest in the rear cabin! We are
heading to Adelaide. Depending on the situation, we might release you
nearby. However, if we're shot down before then... well, my apologies. Be
ready."
The only machine carrying anything other than weapons and ammunition
was Raymond's.
Gigi and Heyman, and the other four prisoners...
They, too, were still confined, seemingly on the verge of being crushed by
spare missile warheads and bombs.
 "Captain... Did Kenneth Sleg take any action to rescue us?"
His adjutant's words were the last grumble of discontent.
Kimberly Heyman, weary from lamenting their inability to return to space,
merely dropped his gaze to the floor in the dim darkness, his breath hitching.
After Raymond finished speaking, the body of the Xi Gundam slowly
drifted from right to left off the coast in front of them.
The launch had begun.
 Chapter 05
Touch and Go

Emerging from a cavern facing Anxious Bay, six Galcezons machines

ascend in a syncopated ballet, each trio carrying a pair of Messers, while two
are individually loaded with weapons and ammunition for the second wave
of assault.
At the vanguard of this mechanized phalanx, the Xi Gundam commanded a
presence.
Adelaide is four hundred kilometers due east. A slightly circuitous route, it
would take them a solid thirty minutes.
The inability of the Galcezons to reach supersonic speeds due to carrying
mobile suits was their fatal flaw, a weakness expected to be offset by the
dispersal of Minovsky particles by the Oenbelli ground crew along the
projected flight path.
This morning, cryptic codes echoed over civilian telephone lines, cloaked
conversations of Mafty's agents orchestrating the operation as unobtrusively
as a call from a freeway telephone booth.
As Hathaway Noa approached the 4 Galcezon on his far left, the
Gundam's manipulator made contact with its shoulder, establishing a direct
line of communication with Gawman Nobile.
"Sorry for the trouble. I owe you one for the fresh Messer and a
competent pilot."
"The supply from the Ceelack was seamless. We owe our thanks to those
in the rear lines,"
"You've really driven the newbies hard, haven't you? The Galcezon
formation is impressive."
Hathaway's praise hid a concern. Among the Galcezon convoy on his right
was a rookie pilot. Aboard the same Galcezon were Fencer Mayne's Messer
and another untested pilot about to enter the fray. Each detail was a
potential stress point.
Yet, what was gnawing at Hathaway had Gawman curious. The visual feed
from his cockpit projected the Gundam as a formidable figure, its pilot,
however, seemed to be battling an internal war.
"You're not still hung up on Gigi, are you?"
"No way... that chapter's closed," Hathaway denied with an unexpected
vigor.
"Planning to shun her?"
 "Can't overlook her possible link to Kenneth. She's suspect."
"But wouldn't it be wise to apply some pressure before giving her the cold
shoulder? Unless... you've fallen for her..."
Gawman's laughter, teasing and annoying in equal measure, was met with
a stern "Gawman!"
"What's the fuss? Most of the crew already believe you're playing the
distrusting part to cover your infatuation. That's even more amusing."
"Generous interpretation."
"No. You should cut her off once this operation concludes."
Hathaway fell into a contemplative silence, and it felt like the Gundam
above swayed with his emotions.
"Move on! Concentrate on what you need to do with Gigi! The rest will fall
into place."
"Copy that! Your team is heading inland, right, Gawman?"
"Affirmative."
With the communication line severed, and as the Gundam withdrew, light
flooded into Gawman's cockpit.
"What's up?"
Kaussaria Geese of the Galcezon below asked.
"I'm surprised. Hathaway spent the night with Gigi and didn't make a
move!"
"Hehehehe! He probably didn't want to waste his energy. That's so
Hathaway."
"That's an interesting comment coming from a woman."
"Sorry."
Observing the Gundam escorting the three Galcezons in a straight line
across the sea, Gawman left them with,
"Leave the ground support to me."
Gawman, the seasoned veteran, stood ready to lend a hand to the
fledglings, remembering the help Hathaway had once extended to him. This
reciprocal spirit was his modus operandi. Feeling the bonds of camaraderie
tighten, Hathaway took the lead in the formation of their maritime
trajectory.
Despite the operations consuming their last two days, a quick back-and-
forth with Gawman now gave Hathaway a moment of comfort. "If I've got a
girl like Gigi at my side and I don't make a move, am I the laughing stock?" It
was a simplistic line of thought but resonated as raw truth.
"Should I... become intimate with Gigi?"
Hathaway tested Gawman's casual adult phraseology. It lacked any
semblance of obscenity, making it feel all the more authentic.
"Kenneth... I'll make sure to win Gigi over, you hear me?"
This phrase became Hathaway's mantra on his approach to Adelaide,
whispered into the airspace scattered with Minovsky particles.
Until now, the enemy at Ayers Rock was a known quantity. Charging into
battle had been straightforward. But from the day before yesterday, when
the outline of Adelaide's defenses became clear, it seemed Kenneth was also
wrestling with a formidable defensive line.
The presence of a barrier stirred an undercurrent of apprehension. Even if
a beam barrier system was at play, it shouldn't be gargantuan. Its operational
status would elude an amateur's scrutiny unless under testing.
Yet, Hathaway's unease wasn't rooted in such physicalities.
"I tried to be too righteous..."
He pushed the Gundam's throttle to full as the critical moment
approached.
The video aired during the radio hijacking was filmed right after they
arrived at Stonewall. Looking back, the operation might have been spurred
by his inflated self-assurance. Gigi hadn't needed to point out that Mafty's
actions were tantamount to terrorism. There was a yearning... to rationalize
it somehow, to don a façade of righteousness.
Even if it wasn't raised as a query by Quack Salver, the worry was about
whether it was a self-centered action that forgot its place.
However, the frontline staff was all on board with this advance notice.
Everyone loathed assassinations, and if the tactics smelled of terrorism, even
under a lofty cause, the warriors' instinct was to toe the line of justice as
closely as possible. Hence, Hathaway had stood before the camera.
Gigi's reaction to this news was a cold smile. "Good, right? Will you do it?"
she had asked.
Her nonchalance had rankled Hathaway, who sought some form of
definitive assurance. She had no other option but to watch, as she wasn't
part of Mafty.
His encounter had marked the commencement of the rift between them,
culminating in the tense exchange that morning.
When Chang Hei, who had interrogated Gigi, said that it was risky to
alienate her, Hathaway, considering the overall situation of Mafty, left it to
Raymond as a problem to be put on hold.
However, Gawman's words now injected a renewed vigor in Hathaway.
"It was good to have Gigi around..." He echoed the sentiment, a spark of
happiness flickering within him. The seascape blurred past at a dizzying
speed, the formation of Galcezons dwindling in the distance.
"Everyone's a friend, aren't they?" Checking the flight's progress against
the chart, Hathaway pushed the Gundam to greater speeds.
"Fabio! Be at the designated point on time!"
Whether Fabio Rivera had readied the second wave of unique Gundam
missile ammunition in the mountains east of Adelaide was yet to be verified.
But Fabio was a man of his word, so Hathaway dismissed his worry.
If the Circe Unit intercepted the phone, they would be able to estimate
Mafty's forces deployed around Adelaide by comprehensively examining
Mafty's communication and the distribution of Minovsky particles.
To mitigate such concerns, they staged distractions, anything to keep the
Circe Unit on its toes.
They had done all they could do.
 The Xi Gundam broke the sound barrier.

The regular cabinet meeting of the Central Assembly convened with all
ministers in attendance. Yet, a tense air prevailed among the ground security
forces under the direct command of the Circe Unit. Ten minutes later, the
start of the meeting signaled their most taxing hour.
If there was a problem with air defense, it was that the barrier Kenneth
Sleg had been fretting over was still not fully functional.
"An all-nighter!? Of course! Despite promises of overtime pay, they still
can't even run a test!... By noon!? That's ridiculous! What if Mafty arrives by
then? The explosion yesterday was a decoy!"
Commander Mainzer had not been not slacking off, yet his anger spilling
over onto his desk in the form of a riding whip had little effect on the reality
of the situation.
The news that Mafty's mobile suits seemed to have self-destructed caused
a wave of demoralization to sweep through the force.
As Kenneth contemplated ending the phone call, the air defense forces
reported a widespread scatter of Minovsky particles, and this was input into
the display.
"Invading from all sides?"
The officers dispatched from the General Staff Headquarters blanched at
the suggestion.
Casting a wide Minovsky particle net around Adelaide to obscure the
direction of the invasion was a fundamental tactic. The officers promptly
ordered the launch of the Kessaria, armed with mobile suits. The pilots
scrambled to their machines.
"They're here!"
The shout from the air defense force's monitor made Kenneth realize his
miscalculation.
"It's a new model...!"
The assumption that it would take about ten minutes post the Minovsky
particle scatter for mobile suits to breach the airspace had been grossly
miscalculated.
The Gundam, flying at a speed close to Mach 2, appeared over the York
Peninsula, just 80 kilometers west of Adelaide Airport. It defied the common
notion that a mobile suit in standard form could not exceed the speed of
sound in the atmosphere, even with Minovsky Craft. Anti-aircraft missiles
were launched in haste, but the homing feature malfunctioned and failed to
create an adequate barrage.
"Raise the barrier!" Kenneth ordered, his eyes fixated on the approaching
threat from the sea.
The Gundam, seemingly unbothered by atmospheric interference, soared
into the range of Adelaide Airport. It decelerated abruptly, pounded all of its
onboard missiles at the airport, re-accelerated, and zipped past.
"Gaah!"
 The explosion's shockwave, a sonic boom, tore through the air.
"Ah! Get down!"
Kenneth saw a flash of missile fire and the shadow of the object that had
caused it.
Thud! Bagoom! Whadoom!
The resulting shockwave and tremor forced everyone to the floor.
"Ahh!"
Secretary Francine Baxter's scream trailed off.
Fwoom! Crack!
With the blast pressure from the area where the Base Jabbers were
standing by, the windows of the building shattered one after another, and
the fragments flew over Kenneth and scattered in the back of the room.
Chooom!
The large display gave off an eerie glow, then the transparent plastic plate
cracked and disappeared.
The warehouse group that had been hit directly was the machine
maintenance area, and the warehouse group storing support supplies for
mobile suits sparked an instant conflagration. Secondary explosions followed
as the ammunition missiles stored there detonated.
"Commodore!"
"Secure the communication lines! Prepare to move to the shelter!"
Chiding the frightened voices of the officers, Kenneth pulled himself
upright, watching the destructive spectacle through the broken window.
Amid the explosions, Gustav Karls began to move, some taking direct hits
and toppling over.
Next to that, a Kessaria was popping off missiles.
"Evacuate! There might be a nuclear fusion reactor explosion!"
Kenneth yanked his secretary with her butt sticking out from under the
desk, almost not believing that the main engine of the mobile suit hadn't
been directly hit.
"Did Hathaway go easy on us?" He couldn't help but wonder.
A secondary explosion erupted near the armory, the vibrations causing the
building of Kenneth's integrated security headquarters to shudder.
Thankfully, the warheads of the missiles were not large.
Seeing his secretary to safety with the young officers, he tried to pick up
several of the desk phones, but all were dead.
"Damn...!"
Kenneth was about to leave the room after slamming the receiver down,
but he saw several Gustav Karls taking off from the ground to avoid the
secondary explosions beyond the broken glass.
"What about the Penelope?"
The stench of oil and gunpowder began to permeate the room. Kenneth
darted through the chaotic hallway, his mind filled with the image of the
unlucky Penelope and Lane. No matter the success achieved here, the initial
stroke of bad luck wouldn't easily fade.
 Chapter 06
Pinpoint Defense

When Lieutenant Lane Aim activated the console panel to launch the
Penelope, their hangar suffered a direct hit. The miscalculation stemmed
from the fact that his suit, anticipating close-quarter combat, stood erect in
its mobile suit form.
As the weapons depot succumbed to catastrophic detonations, the hulking
unit lost balance and toppled over.
"Damn!"
The inert shock absorbers offered no mercy to Lane, who was flung with
jarring force against the visual display, fracturing its crystalline surface.
In the absence of battlefield chaos, such an event vexed Lane, making him
wonder if the Penelope was an unlucky piece of machinery.
Yet, the maneuverability the Penelope demonstrated when sinking the
Valiant mirrored every motion they'd planned during the space tests.
"I won't let that Mafty do as he pleases!"
Despite lacking any personal encounter with the shadowy figure known as
Hathaway, Lane found himself nursing a bitter resentment toward the young
man.
"Talking all high and mighty."
That's just it.
A mere civilian, blissfully ignorant of the tribulations faced by military
structures, a misguided youth warping the noble tenets of liberalism. Such
was his assessment. The carefree demeanor the figure showcased added to
the mounting irritation Lane felt.
The mere thought of being bested by the youthful pilot of a faux-Gundam
was enough to trigger a resurgent wave of humiliation. Yet, the conventions
of combat dictated that a pilot would seldom, if ever, voice such audacious
declarations to an adversary, which allowed Lane a sliver of composure.
"If everyone lived as they pleased, the world would plunge into chaos."
While it would be appropriate to raise the issue of the excessive freedom
exercised by the massive federal government organization, Lane, as a soldier,
didn't entertain such thoughts.
A young man himself, moreover a mobile suit pilot, Lane found enough
fulfillment merely carrying out his duties. His heightened abilities as a pilot
left little room for him to view the concept of the organization as an enemy
or let his thoughts wander too far.
 Hence, his foes took human form, sometimes manifesting as Kenneth and
Gigi.
With the manipulator still functional, Lane's first course of action was to
right the suit's precarious tilt and fire up the main engine.
Despite Penelope's sturdy construction designed to withstand her own
colossal weight, the mechanisms governing the transformation to flight form
hinted at potential malfunctions.
No matter. With no immediate plan to switch forms, Lane dismissed it as
the engine roared to life.
"Moving out!"
Lane's instinctive call to the deck crew echoed in the empty hangar.
BOOM!
The monstrous explosion from the besieged weapons depot closed in
from behind, violently jolting the suit.
"Damn it!"
Boosting the output of the Minovsky Craft and main nozzle, Lane
deployed the exhaust gases to dispel the billowing smoke enveloping the
suit, widening his field of view.
WHAM!
The detonation of the right depot launched a cluster of missiles into the
air; their flashes seemed to skewer his own suit.
VROOM! WHIRR!
The Penelope streaked along the runway, narrowly avoiding the airport
structure, escaping the destructive reach of their own missiles' blast.
"Damn! There's turbulence?!"
Identifying the unpleasant shudder convulsing the cockpit as unrelated to
flight, Lane compelled the Penelope to break free from the ground, hot on
the tail of the leading Gustav Karl. The rest of the mobile suits dispatched
earlier began scattering to their designated positions.
That was the combat procedure for Gustav Karl's jump flight.
"...!"
Although Lane's Penelope had taken flight later than planned, hardly a
minute had elapsed since the airport bore the brunt of a direct assault.
Yet, the wannabe Gundam remained conspicuously absent.
"It's him! Why?!"
Lane pondered over the possibility of an object with a mobile suit form
capable of flying at sonic speeds.
"The whole suit seemed engulfed in light, didn't it?"
His mind flashed back to the silhouette of the Xi Gundam, streaking past
the airport, the fiery battle where the Gundam had shot him down, and the
discussions during Penelope's painstaking development.
A beam barrier.
This innovation involved the emission of a beam altering waveforms in the
suit's path, scattering atmospheric resistance, and allowing it to breach the
speed of sound. In Penelope's case, the technology had yet to be perfected,
yet it could already break the sound barrier.
 "He's perfected what we've only begun..."
The threat lay in the organizational problems underlying technological
development. However, it was the sense of being outpaced technologically
that left Lane cursing his circumstances.
"The second wave... Which way will the mobile suit team targeting the
ministers come from?"
Aiming the Penelope toward the sea, Lane primed all the weapons on the
suit for instantaneous launch. If he could engage in close-quarters combat,
the speed difference would be negligible.
"Why was the invasion so easy?"
That was now of the utmost importance. The crux of the matter revolved
around tactical response.
Yet, as he pondered this, the name Gigi Andalusia surfaced in his thoughts.
"Did our fortune change when she was captured by Mafty at Ayers Rock?
He attempted to dismiss the idle rumors circulating about Gigi being a
harbinger of fortune with a shake of his head.
"That's pure fiction."
Nevertheless, since Gigi's disappearance, an unsettling feeling of turmoil
had swept through the entire Circe Unit. Lane was quick to pin this on the
inept Federation government bureaucrats, burdening the unit with an
endless list of responsibilities.
They were disrupting the natural flow of luck.
However, upon their arrival in Adelaide, Kenneth, to Lane's surprise, was
swiftly promoted, and he seemed to exercise a fitting level of command.
"Kenneth didn't seem like he was being controlled by Gigi..."
Yet, he couldn't ignore the growing sentiment that things were headed for
the worse. Lane questioned whether what he had experienced at Ayers
Rock was an influence exerted by Gigi. However, he swiftly dismissed it,
"That's right. Only hard facts shape reality."
In defiance of his own intuition, Lane drew this conclusion.
"Could a solitary wannabe Gundam have brought the mighty Federation
government to its knees with a single air raid?"
Lane's gaze drifted back toward the city.
"Damn!"
He realized he had taken a hit.
Beyond the thick veil of black smoke rising from the airport, Lane
discerned another shadow darting forward.
"Has the tide of fortune turned in Mafty's favor?"
He was aghast.
He had naively anticipated the second wave to emerge from the direction
of the imitation Gundam.
Multiple mobile suit silhouettes were conducting a pivot in the city center,
raining down destruction near the Festival Center. The faint glimmer and
illumination of the explosions, insignificant in the vastness of the ensuing
chaos, served as a stinging reminder of Lane's oversight.
 Gawman Nobile's squadron was orchestrating the assault on the Festival
Center.
"Damn it!"
The four leading Gustav Karls, while mindful of the sea, spread out,
oblivious to the turmoil unfolding within the city.
"The city! It's under attack! Behind us!"
As Lane screamed, he maneuvered his unit ahead of the Gustav Karls.
Although they were within communication range, the dense static of
Minovsky particles, a byproduct of the fierce combat, muffled Lane's cries.
Due to the Penelope's movement, which was advancing on the enemy
shadows while ascending to a 500-meter altitude, two of the Gustav Karls
began to alter their course toward the city.
"Will I make it?"
Lane cried out as he beheld the whitewashed, smoke-covered edifice of
the Festival Center, now reduced to a pile of rubble amidst the explosions
and smoke.
Lane fired a missile in a desperate attempt to draw the four Mafty mobile
suits hovering above the city out of his attack range. While Federation
Forces' mobile suits were forbidden from engaging in combat within the city
center airspace, Lane was in no position to heed such constraints.
The flare of his missile prompted two of Mafty's mobile suits to initiate
evasive maneuvers.
"You impudent--
Lane managed to annihilate one of the Messers with his initial volley.
Bagoom!
The shockwave enveloped the city, with buildings directly below the
explosion vaporizing and melting away.
Despite the Penelope's Minovsky Craft capabilities not being inferior to
the Gundam's, the shockwave propelled it too far east, causing its turn to
take longer than expected.
"Kuh..."
Lane regretted pushing the throttle too much. The suit was still vibrating
intensely, frustrating him. His inexperience was glaringly evident when he
failed to lure the enemy units out of the suburbs to take them down.
"Domest's been hit! Pull back!"
While maneuvering his own unit buffeted by the reactor's pressure wave,
Gawman Nobile bellowed a retreat order, calling off the attack on the
Festival Center.
"There!"
However, to buy time for his comrades to disengage and deal with the
new threat, Gawman aimed his Messer eastward.
Simultaneously, the other three Messers concealed themselves amidst the
cityscape left in ruins by the explosion and commenced aerial dogfights with
the pursuing Gustav Karls. The Messers and Karls engaged in a unique
combat style, launching themselves from building shadows to trade beam
rifle shots.
 "Wha--!?"
Gawman spotted the unwieldy Penelope charging towards him against the
backdrop of the distant, low-lying mountain ridgeline.
"Go down!"
He unleashed a hail of beam rifle shots.
"I won't let you retreat!"
Outpacing the incoming beams, Lane launched a fan-shaped barrage of
funnel missiles at Gawman's suit.
"Tch!"
Undeterred by the colossal Penelope, Gawman activated his suit's beam
saber and charged, seemingly making the missiles swerve around him.
"Gah!"
At that moment, Lane couldn't concentrate on the funnel controls.
"What the hell?!"
Evading the funnels, Gawman's suit swooped up from below, resulting in a
jarring thud! The damage indicator lit up – the armor on the right leg was
compromised.
Distracted by a new explosion at Adelaide Airport, Lane had failed to keep
his focus on the funnels.
BOOM! CRASH!
The explosion wasn't due to chain reaction explosives but rather a mobile
suit's main engine failing to fully evade and detonating. Caught in the blast
wave, the Penelope's speed significantly dropped with a lurch.
Predictably, the enemy unit which bore the blast at its rear had pulled back
to the outskirts.
Mafty's mobile suit units, having launched the initial assault on the Festival
Center, had also strategically withdrawn at the opportune moment.
"Dammit!"
A massive mushroom cloud bloomed, seemingly engulfing the Adelaide
Airport.
There it was, just in front of that cloud!
Lane spotted another Mafty mobile suit unit. These were Emeralda's
mobile suits, readying the second wave of attacks on the airport and the
Festival Center.
"Damn!"
The Penelope unleashed all its remaining funnel missiles in a frenzy.
Due to his recent error, Lane had zeroed in on the leading machine.
"I can do this!"
KABOOM!
The unit was Emeralda's, but that detail barely registered for Lane. Upon
spotting an enemy shadow directly ahead, every fiber of Emeralda's being
seemed to dissipate in fear.
"!"
Adelaide was once again engulfed by a nuclear fusion engine explosion.
Amid the explosive chaos, three Messer units charged headlong toward the
Penelope.
 "Nngh!"
Pushing the Penelope to its maximum capacity, Lane felt the triple shock
absorbers of his seat strain against the sheer vibration coursing through his
body. Some part of his suit malfunctioned, buckling under the atmospheric
pressure.
Despite this, his beam rifle functioned without a hitch.
PSSSSHEW!
Light rings bloomed in the air, the result of colliding beam rifle shots
detonating.
"You're good!"
As he reduced speed to counter the enemy mobile suit whizzing past,
Lane squeezed off a shot from the Penelope's beam rifle.
BANG!
The Messer spun in mid-air, trailing off.
One Messer spiraled mid-air, losing control. But there was no respite. He
had to fend off the remaining two Messer units.
"…!?"
As he angled for a strike against the retreating Messer, he felt it.
The presence of that familiar nemesis—the wannabe Gundam—was again
palpable in Adelaide's battle airspace.
"…!?"
At the same time, Mafty's Base Jabber units—Galcezons—darted
underneath the retreating Messers, infiltrating the battlefield in succession.
Coordinated teamwork was evident in these suits' maneuvers.
"…!?"
In response, Penelope rapidly retreated, seeking refuge in the mushroom
cloud looming over Adelaide Airport.
Despite his youth, Lane was proving to be an exemplary pilot.
The same could be said of Hathaway, operating the Xi Gundam.
Instead of pursuing the Penelope—a formidable adversary—Hathaway
directed his assault towards the Gustav Karl, who was hot on the trail of the
retreating Galcezons. His patience in not chasing after Penelope
underscored his understanding of being Mafty, transcending his role as a
pilot.
Partially emerging from the swirling cloud over the airport, the Penelope
watched as the Gundam held the Gustav Karls at bay, facilitating its allies'
retreat. Lane found himself contemplating the pilot behind the wannabe
Gundam.
Frustration trembled within him.
Yet, it wasn't the sight of the wannabe Gundam that conquered Lane Aim.
His judgment not to recklessly plunge into the fray amidst the overall
defensive operation was sound.
Had he let youthful bravado dictate his actions, hurling the Penelope—
whose maintenance was compromised due to the blast—into a face-off with
the Gundam, it would have been easy prey.
 Especially if Penelope had gotten entangled in close combat with the
mobile suits even momentarily, the nearby Gustav Karls would have joined
the fray. The Circe Unit's mobile suits could have been wiped out.
"Damn it!"
Realizing Penelope's missile stock was exhausted, Lane descended
towards the charred runway of the airport.
"Has Gigi become the guardian deity of Mafty?"
He found himself musing on this, pondering whether even a middle-aged
man like Kenneth's piety held some weight.
"Otherwise, even with Mafty's three-wave assault plan, they wouldn't
have bombed the assembly hall hosting all the cabinet ministers so easily…"
Standing before the airport building—scarred by numerous bomb blasts—
Lane Aim harbored a humble realization. Encased in his words was the
wisdom of those compelled to confront reality, even amidst uncertainty.
Superstitions or a touch of faith?
He mused that there might be moments when such elements could shape
reality.
 Chapter 07
Get Ahead

His voice infused with approval, Kenneth commended Lane for his swift,
adept maneuvering.
"If you truly mean that, then I am indeed honored, but...?" Lane ventured,
uncertainty lacing his tone.
Kenneth cut him short. "Young man, you fail to grasp the stark nature of
war. It's not always about eliminating enemy mobile suits. Escape can be the
superior tactic at times. And you seem to have an affinity for this strategy.
Moreover, you neutralized four enemy suits with the Penelope."
Lane protested, "No, I... I only eliminated three."
"From the debris that plummeted to the ground, it's evident you downed
four." Kenneth persisted, soot smudging his face as he continued to fix Lane
with a penetrating stare.
"Your modesty puzzles me. Why?"
Lane's heart thudded with surprise at this sudden scrutiny. Kenneth
appeared to gaze into the inner workings of his mind.
"You appear profoundly sincere. A stark contrast from when I was with
Gigi."
Maintaining eye contact with Kenneth became an escalating struggle for
Lane. A chilling realization washed over him - Kenneth seemed to possess an
uncanny ability to decipher the emotional undercurrents of his subordinates,
no matter his location.
"Well... How do I put this... I suspect I'm starting to comprehend why Gigi
Andalusia holds such significance to you, Captain, or should I say,
Commodore..."
Kenneth challenged him, "Are you sure it's not a product of your
imagination? It might be a mere coincidence."
"Perhaps. I'd like to believe that. But the dynamics, the variance when
Gigi's present and when she's absent... It seems too ideal." Lane confessed.
"Is it, though? For all we know, she could be aligned with Mafty's side
now."
"Ah... Yes, that's plausible."
Meanwhile, Francine, his secretary, was busy on the phone, reporting
Director Hundley Yeoksan's narrow escape.
 "Hmm... Did you arrange for his pick-up and inquire about his injuries?"
"Certainly, sir," Francine confirmed as she resumed her call.
Kenneth issued an order to Lane, "Be prepared to leave at a moment's
notice."
"Sir!" Lane replied with a crisp salute and an infusion of determination
before leaving the command center.
Francine's voice echoed behind him, "The Director is next to the second
aid station in the reception room."
Armed with this information, Kenneth descended into the dank
underground corridor, his footsteps reverberating along the stone-cold walls.
A riding crop swung in his hand, crackling as it cut through the air, an
ineffective remedy for his simmering irritation.
"I can't remain confined here indefinitely!" Kenneth muttered to himself,
the crop slicing through the stale air again.
Upon reaching the reception room, Kenneth greeted Hundley Yeoksan,
the Director of the Criminal Police Organization. His left arm, swathed in
bandages, stood as a silent testament to his recent ordeal.
"How are you holding up?"
"I was trapped under concrete, crushed my fingers." Yeoksan grimaced at
Kenneth's inquiry.
"We'll reassess your injuries later this afternoon." The medical officer
informed him before exiting the room.
"So you were asleep until the bombing commenced?" Yeoksan couldn't
resist adding a dash of sarcasm to his comment directed at Kenneth.
"I am deeply sorry. I won't make excuses. If there's room for it, I am
prepared to be dismissed." Kenneth offered solemnly.
Hundley Yeoksan, unsurprisingly, remained composed. "Now's not the
time for such thoughts. Half the cabinet is dead. We can only speculate
about the survival chances of the injured..."
"That's an unfortunate truth. I could dismiss you anytime. Currently, our
focus should be on our air defense system. If the barrier remains ineffective
and we lose the entire cabinet, it's a disgrace to the Federation
government." Yeoksan remarked.
"Can't I vent a little frustration?" Kenneth protested lightly.
"One complaint is fine. Fetch me a coffee." Yeoksan requested, his tone
nonchalant.
At his behest, Kenneth used the intercom to request coffee before he
added, "We simply ran out of time."
"I presume the Cabinet members would hold the view that if they could
stay on Earth, they shouldn't gripe."
"Yes... We've secured the barrier lines. We can fend off the second wave."
"Hmm... So that's the state of affairs? But the Circe Unit's mobile suits are
dwindling in numbers, correct?"
"Mafty is approaching its limits as well. We may only have five operational
mobile suits left."
"So, no evacuation of the city then?"
 "That's the plan..."
Just then, Francine entered with the requested coffee.
The echo of death had hollowed out their ranks, snuffing out most of the
military-related cabinet. A hush swept over the two men, now holding the
reins of Adelaide's defense.
"Gigi Andalusia," Kenneth said, breaking the silence, "You're familiar with
the name, I presume?"
"Hmm?" Just as he was savoring the first sip of his coffee, the Director
pinned Kenneth with a questioning look. The girl's name hovered in the air,
seemingly familiar yet elusive.
"When she was around the Circe Unit, things... they seemed to unfold
rather favorably."
"The Haunzen landing in Davao?"
"Not merely then, but in the ensuing aftermath too… However, upon her
arrival here, Mafty abducted her."
"The Ayers Rock skirmish? Yes, they did take her away on a Base Jabber."
"As a talisman of sorts?"
"Hmm… So… Are you insinuating that Gigi aligned with Mafty?"
"Finding amusement in this, are we?"
"Hardly amusing," Despite his words, mirth was conspicuously absent from
Yeoksan's gaze. He had borne witness to the unsettling incident of the
Haunzen hijacking and could empathize with the emotional toll levied on a
commander of Kenneth's ilk.
Astute leaders, while not omniscient, possess a keen grasp of the
overarching patterns within their ranks. More often than not, it isn't pure
logic at play; even trivial matters can incite a flutter of imagination, hinting at
potential ramifications.
"But, that's overly romantic."
Kenneth registered the unspoken weight of the director's "but." As an
adult, it was incumbent upon him not to elaborate on this contentious point.
His role now was to surrender to the ebb and flow of events, confined to his
chair— a fitting symbol of adulthood and the Federation government's
hallmark philosophy of "waiting." Such conditions paved the way for
agitators like Mafty. Yet, Kenneth held his peace on this matter. His current
desire, raw and fervent, was to retaliate against Mafty.
The sting of defeat, the indignity of a retreat, the humiliation from the high
command—it gnawed at his self-worth. Perhaps it was this strong sense of
pride that had spelled the end of his marriage to his first wife, Julie.
"If Mafty were to strike again, where do you reckon they'd target?"
"Unlikely the Festival Center. They'd probably endeavor to wipe out the
remnants stationed at the airport."
"Hmm... Is this location optimal?"
The director glanced upwards at the ceiling, musing,
"Even a nuclear onslaught wouldn't breach our defenses here."
"Is that so? I want to believe that."
The director polished off his coffee, the final dregs echoing his sentiments.
 "What's your prediction? Will the nascent cabinet, conceived in the wake
of this incident, fare any better?"
In response to Kenneth's query, the director, grimacing against the
gnawing pain in his arm, retorted, "That question borders on being pro-
Mafty."
"It's a universal sentiment."
"Are you privy to the recent passing of the bill?"
"When?"
"Just prior to the bombing, earlier today."
"You're kidding."
"The advent of communication technologies enables the dissemination of
such bills across all Federation government branches. The bureaucrats and
government will dictate Earth migration."
"Why not dissolve it? Isn't that tantamount to endorsing Mafty's actions?"
"Our livelihood hinges on such undertakings. Consider it from that
perspective."
"Our very lives hang in the balance."
"Well, me too. I barely escaped death."
"Is that so?"
Kenneth forged ahead, ignoring Hundley Yeoksan's unspoken request for
a refill, "Have there been any arrests of journalists suspected of Mafty
affiliations?"
"Man Hunter isn't a military outfit. Besides, I've yet to receive any reports
of such individuals loitering. The Adelaide bombing doesn't play into Mafty's
hands, unlike Oenbelli."
"I'm referring to the scouts, the couriers, the like."
"Hmm... A few have been apprehended for dubious activities. Should we
parade them amidst the Festival Center ruins?"
"That seems apt. It would serve as a psychological barricade, far more
potent than any physical one."
"Shall we proceed?"
"The responsibility to render such efforts futile falls on the mobile suit
squad, led by the Penelope."
"Oh… Well, we could formalize the minutes of our meeting right here.
Bureaucrats value honesty, don't they?"
"Hearing such tales makes one inclined towards Mafty."
"Utter that again, and I'll have you arrested for treason and subject you to
a clandestine trial."
"Well... that's after Adelaide…"
Kenneth bared his gleaming teeth in a tight smile for the first time,
punctuating the air with a sharp rap of his riding crop against the table's
edge.
 At that moment, the 13th Autonomous Fleet, including the Ra Cailum and
two other vessels that had entered Earth's artificial satellite orbit, plotted
their descent. Each vessel, equipped with Minovsky Crafts, boasted the
capability to navigate even in gravity-bound atmospheres.
Captain Bright Noa, ensconced on the bridge of the Ra Cailum, cast his
gaze on the Earth, resplendent in radiant blue and cloaked in a swath of
cloud cover.
"Captain! All vessels are primed!"
"Hmm…"
Hearing this, Bright hurriedly pulled himself away from his concern about
whether his unacquainted son Hathaway was catching a cold on some
southern island.
"Alright! Initiate atmospheric entry! Secure yourselves, everyone!"
The trio of vessels, each swathed in a dense shroud of beam barriers to
safeguard their crews, gradually steepened their descent. The azure expanse
of the Pacific Ocean beckoned them from below. They were scheduled to
infiltrate Earth's southern hemisphere via an indirect route.
"Well, perhaps a woman should warrant more concern than a common
cold?"
Bright couldn't help but indulge in paternal speculation despite the violent
tremors triggered by the atmospheric entry.
 Chapter 08
Under the Forest

As Kenneth and Director Yeoksan engaged in their clandestine

conversation, Hathaway and his squad nestled in a valley roughly fifty
kilometers southeast of Adelaide. Once they crossed the mountain range of
fifteen, sixteen hundred meters, they would reach Adelaide. An unlikely
meeting place, it was so close yet strategically hidden enough to divert
suspicion.
Here, even the colossal shape of a Gundam could vanish within the dense,
verdant cloak of the slopes.
"Fabio, you've handled this well," said Hathaway, "Perhaps, when the time
is right, we'll head downstream to Lake Alexandrina or Encounter Bay. We
could also retreat inland, lay low until it's safe, and then escape the
continent."
The laughter in Fabio's voice betrayed his grim words. "We'll handle this, I
promise. But the loss of two Galcezons and six Messers... It's a severe blow,
no?"
Hathaway shook his head. "No, this is as expected."
"Once we've concluded this assault, you'll retreat to Lodoicea?"
"Yes, we will disengage one by one."
Fabio's question carried a hint of hope. "So, we're bound for the southern
sea next?"
A faint smile touched Hathaway's lips. "Send my best to Chang and the
others," he answered.
His duties called him, a final bombing of Adelaide to ensure a safe retreat
for Fabio's team and the undercover operatives in the city.
Hathaway scaled the rope to the Gundam's cockpit, offering a final,
reassuring smile to Fabio and his team as they vanished beneath the forest
canopy. Their presence here signified a crucial detail - the Gundam could be
resupplied for further strikes on Adelaide.
By the time Hathaway accessed the Gundam's console panel, the hum of
an engine from the trailer below filled his ears. They were set to blend in as
harmless vegetable transporters, their escape plan in full motion.
With a push of a button, Hathaway released a balloon from the Gundam's
head, its attached camera scanning for the Galcezons and Messers that lay
in wait. The Messers were refueling the reserve missiles mounted on the
Galcezon, preparing for another attack. The camera of the Gundam captured
the heads of two Messers and a flock of rose-breasted cockatoos.
"We're certain to succeed," he murmured to himself.
"Our success is certain. I'm glad we didn't have to drive Gigi away," roared
Gawman Nobile over the contact line to the bridge after he landed onto
the 4 Galcezon under Kaussaria Geese to replace his missile pods.
"I'd like to think it's because we're lucky, but..." Kaussaria retorted a bit.
"That's jealousy speaking, Kaussaria. The Festival Center is nearly
demolished. It doesn't always go our way," he retorted, not hiding the ire in
his voice.
"Half our mobile suits are down. Emeralda's taken out too!" Tension rose
in the air as Kaussaria's fury spilled out, her crew wary of her wrath.
"Captain, please remain composed," pleaded the copilot, but Caussaria
wasn't to be silenced. "We all knew what we were getting into when we
signed up. If we don't boost Rey's morale, we'll lose hope. We can't let
Emeralda's fate befall us all!"
Gawman's stern voice filled the receiver, and silence fell upon the scene.
The time for mourning was yet to come - it was a luxury they couldn't afford
now.
Once Kaussaria processed Gawman's words, she found another target for
her fury. "That woman, Gigi, I bet she reported to Circe. This mess is her
doing!"
Gawman, understanding her anger yet knowing it was misplaced,
suggested, "If you're so sure, why not execute her after we finish this
operation?"
As their tense exchange filled the air, the Gundam moved, looming over
the scene. A moment of silence was broken by the rustling of the trees,
swaying violently under the Gundam's wake.
"It's about time. Let's move!" cried Gawman.
Kaussaria's voice crackled in his receiver one last time, laden with a sob.
"You're too nosy..."
Hathaway's gaze locked onto the Messer affixed to Raymond's unit. Its
mere presence, a grim reminder of the now absent Emeralda, sent a pang
coursing through his heart.
"Golf! Request Raymond to release the prisoners!"
"Huh? Got it."
When Hathaway conveyed this to Golf's unit, which had finished replacing
the missile pod, by touching the Gundam's manipulator, Golf passed it on to
Raymond.
"It's happening now."
"I see..."
As they awaited Golf's response, Hathaway maneuvered his unit upwards,
the Gundam's monstrous form shadowing over the dense eucalyptus forest
below. The vegetation trembled under its might, revealing a flurry of figures
between its branches.
 The liberated prisoners, led by Kimberly Heyman, gradually emerged from
the confines of the Galcezon. Amid the chaos, the slight figure of Gigi
slipped through, a phantom amongst the trees. The sight of her stirred a
torrent of emotions within Hathaway, compelling him to soar higher.
He yearned for the warmth of a final farewell, but he swallowed that
impulse. The need for pragmatism over sentimentality took hold. An
optimistic whisper within him murmured, "We'll meet again, Gigi."
That's what he wanted to say.
In the twilight gloom beneath the eucalyptus, Gigi exchanged hushed
words with Heyman before vanishing into the verdant maze. Her
indifference was a stark, chilling blow. Yet Hathaway clung to his optimism
and steered westward, his thoughts running parallel with the clouds.
The foreboding uncertainty cast a long shadow, but leaving a trace, he
reasoned, was the grim art of war survival. It might be a somber trait of
humanity, but it was a poignant testament to endurance.
Amidst the looming Galcezons, Hathaway sought comfort in the
realization of his shared human predicament. His attention darted between
the airborne giants—five machines equipped with a single Messer, two
operating solo. Their remaining firepower was a stark reminder of their
dwindling resources.
As the Xi Gundam gently traced the mountain slope, Gawman's craft
leaped off the deck of the 4 Galcezon and approached from behind.
A slight vibration managed to shake off Hathaway's sentimentality.
"What's this?"
One of the advantages of a Minovsky Craft was its ability to support a
weight equivalent to one Messer.
"Don't you reckon Kimberly and Gigi are still worth something?" Gawman
purposefully instigated this conversation.
"I'm open to a suicide mission, but the prisoners—particularly Gigi—aren't
superfluous. Shedding their weight could buy the Galcezons some time,"
Gawman argued, his pragmatism echoing Hathaway's.
"But isn't that a touch fatalistic?"
"Worried, are you?"
At that moment, Hathaway was just contemplating the advantage of
having something left behind. He wondered if Gawman was being more
pessimistic.
"Just a bit..."
"No worries. Leaving Kimberly behind will showcase Mafty's mercy. As for
Gigi, she serves as a reminder for Kenneth. It'll keep him vigilant."
Hathaway's retort had a teasing edge to it.
"Planning for the aftermath of Adelaide?"
"Of course. Kimberly becomes our living proof, illustrating our humanity.
Even if they lie, their survival in itself will surely spark public outrage, a
victory for Mafty. We'll be returning soon, you know?"
"Well, I understand, but reconsider the suicide mission, will you?"
 "I apologize. I'll rephrase. I vow to make a strategic withdrawal from the
battlefield."
Upon hearing this, Gawman exhaled a sigh of relief. Hathaway didn't seem
as crushed by the loss of their comrades as he'd anticipated. A leader, he
realized, needed to uphold a certain emotional aloofness.
Now, Gawman's gaze shifted to a lone Galcezon. Its flight was steady.
It would spell trouble if Raymond, having lost Emeraldaa, gave in to
despair. Yet, observing the Galcezons soaring low over the mountain in
formation, he could gauge the pilot's frame of mind.
"He's likely thirsting for Emeralda's vengeance..."
"Here we go!"
Following Hathaway's declaration, a flash of light erupted from the main
nozzle of the Gundam, now at full thrust.
"Hathaway?!"
Gawman, having lost his foothold, began to fall. Adjusting his verniers, he
quickly approached a lone advancing Galcezon and touched down on the
deck.
Golf's suit took a step back and offered its support.
"How's Ray faring?"
"He's holding up."
"I see..."
Even as he listened to Golf's voice, Gawman focused the multi-monitor of
his visual display on the bridge skylight of Raymond's craft. He could just
make out Raymond's shoulders.
"Well, he appears stable..."
With that, Gawman shelved his worries for his comrades.
"In a few moments, I might be the one shedding tears..."
It was then that he tasted the sour reality of being an unattached middle-
aged man since his initiation into Mafty. The harsh reality of having no one
to truly mourn his death made the prospect all the more terrifying.
"I can't die before I've found a good woman or had children!"
Voicing the phrase aloud, he plunged deeper into contemplation.
"If not, then what's the point of all this? What have I been living for?"
This determination stirred up a resolve within him, a resolve that declared,
regardless of the opposition, he would survive.
The Galcezons crossed over a grand ridgeline, their sights set on the peak
beyond.
Adelaide awaited them.
But by then, the silhouette of the speeding Gundam had vanished from
their view.

"Miss, wait up!"

Their voices, sugary and insidious as a feline's purr, left her with little
option but to increase the gap between them. Gigi had intended to dawdle,
to watch the silhouette of the machine, less daunting than the Gundam, fade
into the tree line. Alas, time was a luxury she didn't possess. In her
desperation, she wormed her way through the rich, verdant ivy, ascending
ever higher up the gradient.
"You've got the keys, haven't you!"
"That's what the Base Jabber pilot said!"
The four soldiers, led by Kimberly Heyman, were hot on Gigi's trail. But
they were hampered, their hands cuffed behind their backs, running
awkwardly and struggling with the uphill climb.
Gigi, ensuring a reasonable distance from her pursuers, unfastened the
leather bag bestowed upon her by Raymond Cain.
Inside, sure enough, were five keys. However, Gigi resented the
instruction she received when Raymond gave her the bag.
"Perhaps there's some merit in aiding them," he'd hinted.
A swarm of vibrant, roseate parrots took flight overhead, their raucous
squawks echoing through the clearing.
Unbeknownst to her, the forest was alive with the calls of countless birds.
"You're here to keep an eye on us, aren't you! You've got the keys! Miss!"
The sight of a stocky middle-aged man floundering through the dense
woods in her pursuit was something she cared little for.
"Oh, please. I was taken captive by Mafty, too. I'm hardly the type to be
trusted with keys."
Gigi, telling a lie, continued to climb the slope.
"You were on the bridge of the Galcezon. You're not a prisoner of war."
"But looking at how I'm dressed, you can tell I'm not part of Mafty's crew!"
Gigi stumbled on a pebble, nearly falling.
The crunching noise of the men blundering their way up through the
rustling ivy fueled her fear.
"Ugh…!" Her hand slipped on some slick moss, and her foot, shod in an
insect-crushed shoe, skidded.
"I… I want to get away from both Mafty and you guys," Gigi declared,
crying out as she made her way through a few more trees to an old paved
road.
The path was blanketed in asphalt, yet it was so overrun with grass and
tree sprouts pushing through the cracks that it was hardly discernible as a
path at all.
"Huff… Huff…!"
Despite this, it bore evidence of past vehicular journeys. Gigi sprinted,
aiming to stay on the remnants of asphalt still bearing resemblance to a road.
"Hey! Young lady!"
The men's voices were faint and distant. To Gigi, their tone was one of
forced compassion. She took several turns on the asphalt road before daring
to peek towards the right, from where the voices emanated. She spotted the
captives' heads bobbing amidst the foliage.
"Hey, you lot! Does this look like a key to you?!" Gigi brandished the
leather bag, hollering.
"So, you did have the keys!"
 "Mafty instructed me to do this! If you think there are keys in here… find
them yourselves! Then your hands will be free!" With that, Gigi flung the
cluster of keys into the forest with all her might.
Thwoomp!
There was a dull sound in the distance, but it didn't echo.
"You!"
"Oh, spare me! I was instructed to do this!" Gigi fabricated yet another
tale. She saw three of the younger captives dart in the direction of the
sound. Gigi, now devoid of any reason to look back, commenced a desperate
sprint. She had to get closer to Adelaide. That was her conviction.
"Huff… Huff…"
Gigi questioned her frenzied escape. Hathaway had bid his farewell. There
was no rationale for rushing towards the place where a man like that met his
demise. Yet, Gigi found herself running, undeterred.
"Ah!" Her foot got caught in a crack in the asphalt, resulting in a painful
fall. Her hand protested with the raw sting of a scrape. The sun's rays
stabbed the cracked asphalt road, drawing heat from the depths. Steam
began to curl from the underbrush.
Looking at the black tire tracks on the asphalt, Gigi picked herself up. They
seemed to point, like signposts, to Adelaide. If she could get over this small
range of hills, she'd be okay. However, if Adelaide lay beyond this hill and if
vehicles were to come from that direction, they were likely to be Federation
military vehicles. If that were the case, she might be captured by them.
"What should I do?"
The dense undergrowth of the woods on either side looked treacherously
thick; confidence waned in her ability to navigate through it.
"Comb the area! The keys must be here!"
Faint voices echoed like ghostly residues, creeping closer to Gigi.
"If it's not a military vehicle, maybe they'll give me a lift…"
Gigi, reduced to a weary walk, braced herself, all while deliberating her
next move. Even in these dire straits, she must persist, she decided. Perhaps
she could hitch a ride to Adelaide in the car coming up from below, if it
weren't military, she thought. But by that time, that car would likely have
already been seized by Kimberly and the others.
Nonetheless, she decided to navigate the tumultuous asphalt road at a
brisk pace. Gigi realized that without verifying Hathaway's circumstances,
she wouldn't be able to decide how to proceed, even if she was left to fend
for herself. For this purpose, she had forsaken her supposed life of ease in
Hong Kong.
Gigi ran on.
Her chest constricted painfully; it was sweltering.
And then, her worst fear materialized. The growling hum of several
vehicles, a sound like a descending titan. Gigi hid in the thickets by the road.
The engine noise, though suggesting a few cars, was a gross
underestimation. It was exponentially larger. More than twenty cars
maneuvered the precipitously uneven slope in a convoy, the majority being
electric, Elec-car, making minimal noise.
"Soldiers?!"
Although they were civilian vehicles, most of the people in them were
dressed in military uniforms. Moreover, they appeared as a group of
defeated people, clothes torn and sooty; they were the ones beaten in the
first Mafty attack. There would likely be more vehicles of this sort. Gigi
reasoned this road was now off-limits. Before that realization fully sunk in,
another hit her: Kimberly Hayman and his lot would halt this vehicle convoy,
unlock their shackles, and begin their search for her.
Despair seized Gigi.
"I'm always just hiding..."
Despite such thoughts, Gigi was ultimately saddened by her fate, which
seemed doomed to end in the hands of someone else.
 Chapter 09
Again

"Looks like the vehicles are ready," announced Chief Gass H. Huguest of
the Investigation Bureau, his coat smeared with oil and soot, as he came to
greet Director Hundley Yeoksan.
"Nngh!"
"Director, how's the pain?"
Chief Huguest carefully regarded the Director's bandaged appearance.
"The remaining ministers are evacuating from Adelaide as a precaution."
"I don't think it's that serious."
The Director flashed a weak smile at Kenneth and accompanied Chief
Huguest towards the elevator.
Kenneth sent the two of them to the elevator, thinking that being close to
the Director at a time like this might help Chief Gass advance in his career.
"Well then, I'll leave the defense to you."
Perhaps feeling a promising future, Gass tipped his soot-coated cap in
salute to Kenneth.
"Oh, no need for that."
The day was growing hot, the soft cap providing both shade and
protection.
Kenneth's emotions were mixed as he observed the earnest nature of a
man who had once crawled through regional investigation missions.
"Now, is it about time, Hathaway?"
He entered the command center, his thigh a rhythmic target for his riding
whip.
"Commodore, your efforts are appreciated."
"No trouble at all..."
Suppressing his inner agitation, Kenneth saluted Generals Medinum
Guggenheim and Richard Creshendow of the Joint Headquarters and a few
staff members from Staff Headquarters.
"Your injury?"
"Just broken glass at the Staff Headquarters' hotel, but all the airport-
facing windows shattered."
General Guggenheim, one of the older officers, pointed to his bandaged
cheek and laughed.
"I'll leave the command to you. We'll watch the battle here."
"That would be best."
 The top staff members, unaccustomed to observing actual combat
command, looked as anxious as civilians.
The central tactical display depicted ten Gustav Karls and Kessaria's
positions, but the arrangement tilted southward.
South of Adelaide lay a gentle slope where the Flinders Ranges met the
sea. Green patches unfolded, and old urban areas were only discernible by
tree shadows.
Kenneth had a feeling that if Mafty attacked Adelaide again, this was the
only direction, so he arranged his forces accordingly.
Even the delayed Penelope was to be deployed, though it remained at the
airport.
"You removed the flying form parts of Penelope, right?"
"Yes, sir. We're adjusting after removal. No mechanics were on hand, so
it's taken time, but we're near completion," a young crewman replied,
munching on a sandwich.
"Lieutenant Aim."
Another crewman displayed Penelope's cockpit on a monitor. Lane Aim,
helmetless, came into view.
"Lane! Can you hear me? We'll be making it look like our Kessaria is being
deployed north, so you should hide in the south and intercept the wannabe
Gundam."
"Yes, sir."
Lane looked at the camera, donning his helmet.
"Only two Gustav Karls will support you. Manageable?"
"Yes, sir. I know Penelope well from space tests, but part removal leaves
me feeling exposed."
"That's natural, but we're unsure if Mafty will strike again. Stay calm."
"True, but. I'd like to have a proper fight against the Gundam at least
once."
Lane smiled from beneath his helmet.
Kenneth finally felt that Lane had matured as a pilot.
"Let's run it again, shall we? The timing for the retreat should be the same
as before, but don't forget to use the barrier."
"Yes, I'll be careful in a one-on-one fight."
"That's the spirit."
Praising for ego's sake was futile, but praise that motivated and spurred
survival was valuable.
With Lane's current attitude, all should go well.
"Command Center! Penelope, heading out."
The call came from Lane.
The next communication came from the two Gustav Karls accompanying
the Penelope. On the display showing the left runway, three mobile suits
began their takeoff.
As they roared down the runway, sending up clouds of soot piled on the
runway, the Penelope and the two Gustav Karls took off, scattering the
debris thrown by the explosions.
 The spectacle was cinematic in its grandeur, painting a picturesque scene.
Having removed the parts that disseminate Minovsky particles when in
flying form, the Penelope appeared to be light on its feet, seemingly
showcasing its potential for hand-to-hand combat.
Despite the satisfying spectacle, Kenneth, positioned in the central chair
of the command center, found his emotions tangled and complex. His
thoughts were consumed by the conversation with Director Yeoksan;
intercepting and annihilating Mafty's potential decisive attack on Adelaide
seemed simple enough.
Even if it fell short of annihilation, a significant blow to Mafty could cripple
their recovery.
The problem lay in the possibility that Mafty could withdraw and prepare
for a new phase of the conflict. If that happened, Mafty's surprise attack
today would be publicized as a complete victory among the dissidents,
further bolstering their base of support.
The difficulty would then spread long-term across Earth.
"The Director has good foresight." Kenneth mused, halting urges to
prepare an interception. He wanted to bait Mafty with a first strike on
Adelaide, leaving a weakness to lure them into a second attack. Then, strike
down the wannabe Gundam with Penelope and the barrier. More than mere
military gains through brute force, this was a strategy that sought true
victory.
"What's the power situation for the barrier?" Kenneth queried Commander
Mainzer, who was managing the barrier installation.
"Proceeding as planned..." the Commander responded, still engaged in
inputting test reports from the barrier generators and calculating outputs, his
jacket stained and worn from recent fieldwork.
Until recently, he ran around the site supervising the barrier generators.
They had enough power to down a single mobile suit, but Kenneth's
instructions had been to secure double that to neutralize the wannabe
Gundam.
"Alert!"
Lane's formation had barely crossed Adelaide's defense line when the call
rang through the command center.
"Good! Commander, forget the search. Concentrate power on the S18
line!" Kenneth commanded, his eyes on the tactical display's alert. Mafty's
signature was approaching as planned. Kenneth's delight was palpable. The
worst fear was dispelled.
"Sir! Once it resonates, the resonator will burn out due to the
concentrated output. That's okay, right?!"
"It doesn't matter! That means our victory."
Nearly a hundred displays were arrayed before him, the upper tier
portraying the southern sky.
"That one?"
"Sir! Number three, zoom in!"
 A hum resonated as the image zoomed, enlarging the shadows of several
airborne objects: the Penelope and Gustav Karls and the wannabe Gundam
charging at them.
"Two Gustav Karl units of the first vanguard shot down."
"Already!?"
Disbelief permeated the crew, but no display or monitor captured the
scene.
"Redirect the northern Kessaria's!" Kenneth's order was crisp.
Tension permeated the underground center.
"It's the Gundam!" bellowed out the checkerman; it and the staff
supporting it were blessed with sharp eyes, reacting faster than Kenneth.
"The Gundam, it's amazing!"
"A Gustav Karl has been shot down!"
The checkerman's unemotional voice resonated, its declaration
underscoring the unfolding drama.
Kenneth's gaze was fixed on the tactical display that formed the
centerpiece amidst a constellation of monitors. The southern battlefield
showed a predictive line of how the fight was approaching the barrier line
set up south of Adelaide.
"Where will the reinforcements for the Gundam come from?"
"South-southeast! Unknowns at four degrees!"
"That's it!"
"Unknowns at six degrees too!"
The term 'unknown' denoted unidentified units, which were, in fact, Mafty.
"How many Mafty suits?!"
"Six, eight! At least!"
"Checking type... Mobile suits, four! No, three!"
"One unknown shot down!"
"Well done! Prepare the barrier."
"Understood. S18 personnel, pull out!"
Commander Mainizer was rapidly deploying instructions to the barrier
setup team.
"Enemy Base Jabber, one down!"
"Six-degree line! Defense line breached! Kessaria's intercept was too late!"
Battle updates and pilot instructions were beginning to blur into a
cacophonous symphony.
"Fine. Let it unfold."
With Kenneth's declaration, a subtle tremor coursed through the
command center.
"They're fast and skilled..."
Kenneth couldn't hide his admiration. If the airport endured another
bombing, the Festival Center and its vicinity would undoubtedly face the
brunt of the impact.
"Isn't it premature?"
"Hmm?"
 A voice sounding disinterested in the unfolding crisis prompted Kenneth
to swivel around.
General Richard Creshendow, appearing younger than General
Guggenheim, was discussing the ongoing battle with detached curiosity.
"In other words, they launched an attack before the Gundam did."
The General hadn't anticipated units other than the Gundam to carry out
ground assaults.
"Ah, the Base Jabber previously only provided support for mobile suits and
didn't partake in ground attacks, but this time the Base Jabber did it,
correct?"
"Oh, the Galcezon?"
The generals appeared to reach a consensus.
"There aren't any suits nearby, right?"
"That's the assumption."
They discussed this out of fear of a nuclear fusion reactor explosion, but
Kenneth didn't indulge them.
Battle situations aren't long-drawn dramas, yet they can pivot on a singular
instant, with that moment potentially altering the course of conflict. It's akin
to drawing cards in a gamble, where drawing the Ace of Hearts can redefine
one's fate, if one is to believe the symbolism.
The transition in the unfolding events, where a seemingly irrelevant
situation can determine the outcome, steering destinies and dispensing life
or death verdicts.
In such a time, entertaining novice-like generals and drawing a joker was
simply not feasible.
"Use the cameras to capture enemy movements! Don't dawdle, or Mafty's
mobile suits will attack this shelter!"
Kenneth's admonition was a clear lesson for the generals behind him that
no place was utterly safe.
They should hold this degree of alertness, even as generals.
Kenneth thought this as he frantically focused on the monitors and
displays, which were now less than half their original number.
 Chapter 10
Be Defeated

The Hathaway contingent intended a decisive blow against Adelaide

Airport and the Festival Center before their planned withdrawal.
That had always been the plan.
Yet the remnants of the Galcezon and Messer units had struggled to
rendezvous in the mountains to the east of the Flinders Ranges.
This delay inadvertently granted Kimberly and Gigi their freedom. If the
rendezvous had been timely, 1 Galcezon would've patrolled around
Adelaide, focusing purely on metro containment.
The only scenario for aborting Adelaide's second wave of attack was when
the remaining forces dwindled to a single Galcezon and two Messers, and in
such an event, the downing of the Gundam was anticipated.
This was because the Gundam faced the daunting task of inflicting two
hits on the airport during the second wave.
And as for this second assault, it was pre-agreed: no negotiations en route.
They acted according to their multi-phase plan.
However, after crossing the Flinders Range and checking the Adelaide
direction, Hathaway found the Circe Unit's Kessaria deployed to the north.
He immediately went on the offensive.
Kenneth might not have left a deliberate weak spot, but Hathaway, the
strategist, spotted an opportunity.
The operation felt as if it was progressing smoothly.
It was assumed that the so-called "barrier" wouldn't activate. They could
only conclude that.
But despite the absence of the Kessaria, Hathaway eyed the green
expanse warily, knowing it wasn't devoid of threats.
His suspicions were confirmed when three Gustav Karl units were taken
out. Then, missiles, directed at the airport from Hathaway, streaked through
the sky. Explosions erupted before reaching Adelaide.
Before those missiles could hit the heart of Adelaide, they erupted into
multiple fiery spheres, casting dark plumes against the azure backdrop.
"Here they come."
The Gundam's missile attack was thwarted by Lane's Penelope on its way
southward, but in that interlude, Raymond's Galcezon, invading from the
east, breached the airspace of the airport and Festival Center, unnerving the
generals in the underground bunkers.
 Hathaway gained altitude, baiting the Penelope.
The adjacent Gustav Karls noticed the Gundam's trailing Messers too late,
and their reaction was delayed.
Penelope, now stripped of excess armor, was more agile than before.
Hathaway released another missile, positioning the airport right behind him,
both as a threat to Penelope and to blow up the airport.
Though Penelope's beam rifle took aim and shot down a missile, the rest
found their target at the airport.
Around the same time as Raymond's unit passed by, the Gundam's missiles
struck the airport's building—a forbidden act.
"Gah!"
Funnel beams were deployed, all focusing on the Gundam.
Dispelling the funnels with rapid-fire beam rifles and diffusing a beam
saber, Hathaway exclaimed, "He's done it!"
Indeed, the Penelope's attacks had evolved, yet the Gundam seemed to
have the edge in agility.
The Penelope's attitude control verniers weren't optimal.
"Damn!"
Lane grappled with this issue as damage received from Gawman's unit in a
previous battle lingered on his right leg.
Wielding a beam saber, the Penelope maneuvered above the Gundam,
accelerating and pivoting as both sabers clashed, producing resonating
waves and intense flashes.
SWISH!
Their aerial duel had escalated into a whirlwind battle.
"He's powerful!?"
Although Hathaway felt like a mere human against a titan, he was certain
that the latent strength was either equal or in the Gundam's favor.
"Lane Aim!"
Calling out his adversary's name, Hathaway unleashed a volley from the
Gundam's funnel.
His concentration was singular, aimed right at the heart of the Penelope,
at Lane Aim.
Yet, the Penelope, too, possessed funnels guided by the same brainwave
control.
Matching the Gundam's response, Penelope's funnels fired back at the
Gundam's funnels.
PING! PING!
In the sky, top-like flashes darted about, interspersed with beams.
Amidst the myriad flashes of beam sabers and rifle beams, funnels were
mutually obliterated.
BOOM! BOOM!
Amid the explosions, the two mobile suits clashed in close combat.
ZING!
 In that momentary scorching flash, the sizzle of Gundam's shield echoed,
followed by sparks and another flash, sending the Penelope's waist armor
soaring.
"Hah...!"
With the verdant backdrop streaming past, Hathaway locked onto
Penelope in his sights.
The tension, perhaps palpable to Lane, was disrupted as the Penelope's
close-range missile shrapnel erupted.
BANG!
Dozens of shrapnels impacted the shield, but the jolt was fleeting.
ZOOM!
The beam rifle seemed damaged.
"Tch!"
Recharging the beam rifle's energy pack from the main engine, Hathaway
released it.
BAGOOM!
The overcharged energy pack exploded, blinding everything in the vicinity.
ZAPSSSSSH!
In an instantaneous flare, the Gundam's saber shot forward, its
incandescent arc just missing the chest of the backpedaling Penelope.
It wasn't a fatal blow.
"...!?"
Shock rippled through Lane, his senses reeling, the looming barrier battle
consuming his thoughts.
Suddenly, as the two massive entities danced in the sky, Gawman's
squadron—a fleet of four Messer units—saw an opening. But as they turned
to unleash their remaining missiles, a barrage from three Kessaria units
struck the rear Messer, sending it spiraling downwards.
 FAHDOOM!
The searing explosion boiled the waters beneath, sending a towering white
plume skyward. In the midst of this chaos, Gawman directed a hail of
missiles toward the Festival Center, seeking refuge from the explosion's
aftermath.
The Fencer and Golf units seemed to have a similar idea, but their flight
was curtailed by a lethal onslaught from the Kessaria and two Gustav Karl
units.
"You think this is mere child's play? You've misjudged," Gawman taunted,
veering left in a quick retort, but the opposition anticipated him.
As Fencer doggedly launched its missiles toward the Festival Center, the
thickening smoke provided the Gustav Karl a perfect cover.
ZAGOOOOOW!
Fencer's unit plummeted, crashing into the earth and ricocheting multiple
times, culminating in an explosion at the base of a building.
The explosion, amplified by its fusion engine, wreaked havoc in the vicinity
of the Festival Center. In mere moments, half of Adelaide was blanketed in
searing heat. The subsequent blast razed the nearby forests.
"Ugh...!"
His companion, Golf's unit, was thrown about by the blast and collided
with a building. After a significant bounce, it regained control several
hundred meters in the air. The pilot, Golf, seemingly unscathed, grunted,
"Fencer…!"
Spotting a Kessaria unit in close proximity, he took aim, muttering, "You
bastard!"
WHIZZ! BOOM!
Whether this Kessaria was responsible for downing the Fencer was
uncertain, but the satisfaction was palpable for Golf.
Feeling momentarily at ease, Golf contemplated using his ground missiles.
"Just watch!"
Golf turned his suit sideways, attempting to retreat towards the Adelaide
Airport. Beyond the post-blast flames and smoke, the airport seemed void of
viable targets.
ZOOM! WHACK!
"Ugh!"
Multiple beams struck Golf's unit. Its descent, accelerated by the impact,
culminated in a monumental detonation among the airport edifices.
Another fusion reactor went rogue.
DOHGOOM!
Adelaide now seemed devoid of any towering structures.
"Damned fool!"
From an underground bunker, Commodore Kenneth Sleg screamed in
fury, enraged at the friendly fire.
THUD!
A dislodged ceiling panel rained debris, and a pungent scent filled the air.
"Is everyone accounted for?"
 Generals behind Kenneth were in a frenzy.
"The barrier!"
Kenneth, disregarding the superiors, turned to Commander Mainzer, "Is it
functional?"
"It is."
"How?"
"The oscillator is compact, and power lines are buried underground."
"Perfect! Now, locate that wannabe Gundam!"
"Onscreen now!"
"Monitor number?"
"Thirty-four! Barrier S-eighteen!"
With the crew's frantic calls, Kenneth could finally pinpoint the Gundam
on the screen. But with most city surveillance cameras obliterated, the room
felt more claustrophobic.
"Tell Lane! Direct the Gundam!"
"Yes, sir! Lane! Lane!"
Kenneth's orders, tinged with urgency, resonated.
"Ready!"
As the Penelope and the Gundam shifted from monitor forty-one to
thirty-nine, the former seemed to be pushing the latter towards the
southern defensive line using missiles and beam rifles alternately.
"Prepare the barrier!"
The staff in charge of the southern barrier echoed Commander Mainzer's
orders.
"Don't panic..."
Kenneth intoned.
Hathaway, witnessing the Penelope's armor in tatters, was taken aback by
its astonishing agility. He sensed an intense aura from its pilot, the golden-
haired Lane Aim.
Attack, then counter!
He thought.
"Argh…!"
Hathaway executed a roll, shifting the Gundam's position and adjusting its
altitude.
BRRRRRRT!
Sand barrels hit the Gundam's right manipulator. The blow also struck its
side, but Hathaway, at that moment, swung down his beam saber.
PSHEW!
It severed Penelope's beam rifle, triggering an explosion. The Penelope,
recoiling from the blow, retreated over Adelaide, rapidly losing altitude.
"Pursue!"
Hathaway spotted an opening.
Descending with the Gundam's blade poised, the prospect of victory
hovered tantalizingly close.
But events took a dire turn for Hathaway.
In a cruel twist of fate, victory eluded him.
 "Guh–!"
An involuntary scream escaped his lips. Blinding white overwhelmed his
vision, feeling as though every nerve was electrified.
GYAAAAAN!
The sensation was that of an internal rupture—of consciousness
fragmenting.
For Hathaway, sensation ended there.
The ground-based beam barrier enveloped the Gundam's frame just as the
Penelope was but a few hundred meters away.
"He's..."
Incredulity played on Lane's features as he witnessed the paralyzed
Gundam. Rendered immobilized, all functions halted, and it plummeted
toward the surface.
The Gundam, amidst a blast, angled towards the trees as if seeking a
cushion for its fall. Upon contact with the ground, the luminescence in its
eyes faded rapidly.
"Yes!"
In haste, Lane descended above the Gundam, scorching its hand-held
energy tube with a beam saber, rendering its beam capabilities useless.
Further crippling it, he melted multiple thrusters.
The once-potent Gundam now lay inert, its arms outstretched, awaiting
further fate.
All that stood between Lane and his quarry was the cockpit's seal.
ZZZT!
The Penelope's feet gripped the ground, angling its body to observe the
fallen Gundam.
Lane approached the cockpit. Using a rope, he descended to the
Gundam's hatch, pressed its emergency release lever, and pulled.
BOOM!
From deep within the armor, a sound reminiscent of an explosive cough
bellowed, revealing a triple-hatch.
Guided by procedure, Lane trained his weapon on the cockpit's interior. As
the hatch slid open, a burnt aroma tainted the air.
"...!?"
The pilot, dressed in a flight suit, slouched with the helmet concealing the
face.
Lane cautiously lifted the helmet.
Beneath it lay a face- a young man's skin scorched, dry and cracked.
"...?"
Although this face reminded him of one he had seen in a broadcast, a
more overwhelming sentiment was the familiarity as if they'd met before.
"Is this him? Ah, it's him..."
Realization dawned on Lane that this was the face he had seen in the
Circe Unit, leading to confusion.
"Could he be... Mafty...?"
The words to follow caught in his throat.
 The notion of Kenneth Sleg being an accomplice of Mafty's was
inconceivable.
The pilot's suit, which seemed designed for space, had no signs of burn
damage. It did, however, bear faintly electrified dust, presumably from a
powerful electric shock.
Yet, the sight of the lifeless form, still distinctly human, evoked feelings of
pity and sorrow.
Holstering his pistol, Lane emerged from the Gundam's cockpit core.
He removed his helmet.
Reflecting on the situation, with a sense of looming caution, Lane felt
burdened and overwhelmed.
Above, a semblance of normalcy returned—punctuated by the oppressive
heat and a symphony of avian calls.
 Chapter 11
Willy Willy

Hathaway came to due to a pervasive itch, a curtain of discomfort

wrought from pain that enveloped him. Yet, this irritation didn't thrust his
consciousness into the forefront. There still was no sense that his body
would heed his will.
In his vision, a serene white light shimmered.
A silence like this he had once known, long ago... and with that fleeting
thought, his mind slid once more into sleep.
Of course, this wasn't Adelaide.
He had been secluded in a room at a hospital managed by the Federation
Forces, a renovated cottage located a dozen kilometers southeast in the
suburbs of Goolwa. Time and again, in this way, Hathaway's consciousness
gradually returned. He faintly recalled a young girl's visit, but it felt half-
remembered, perhaps a dream. It might have been Gigi, but even that wasn't
certain. For Hathaway, who had believed he would no longer meet Gigi in
the realm of reality, it could have only been a dream.
"Are the burns severe?"
"Not as you'd imagine, but they're everywhere. And there's damage to his
heart."
The voices of Kenneth and Gigi...
Were they in a dream, or...?

Upon truly regaining consciousness, Hathaway found himself gazing upon

Kenneth Sleg.
"Looking... better, aren't we?"
"Captain?"
Moving his lips, he found comfort in their gritty sensation, a sign that his
own mind was at the helm.
"You really gave us a run for our money. I'll give you that."
"Hmph..."
It wasn't a scoff. It was just the only sound he could muster.
"Are my limbs intact?"
"They're all there. Battered and burned, but minor. The Xi Gundam, huh?
Impressive machinery. It should've concentrated all of the barrier's output in
Adelaide, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill the pilot. Good defensive system."
 "Took my time researching that."
"I bet. Which factory at Anaheim Electronics built it?"
"Can I have... some water?"
Kenneth peeked into the neighboring room, inquiring about water from a
nurse.
"They say you can drink some..."
Receiving a straw from the nurse, Kenneth settled into a chair beside the
bed and held it to Hathaway's lips.
His eyelids felt heavy, and it seemed bothersome to signal with his eyes,
but Kenneth, cautious not to miss Hathaway's reaction, carefully poured
water into his mouth.
"Thank you..."
The cool rush of water, gradually warming as it flowed down his throat,
was deeply comforting.
"A beam barrier?"
"Yes. Had no time to set it up. Your decoy got our ground troops feeling
safe. Clever move... Uh, I mean!"
"Look, I had fewer cards to play. What happened to the Gundam with the
barrier?"
"It's at Adelaide airport. Repair's gonna take time."
"Did the cockpit's barrier activate?"
"Yes, but the cockpit core was too close to the armor. The pilot ended up
getting paralyzed."
"Would it have been different without the barrier's direct hit?"
"Lane admitted defeat. Grateful for the valuable experience."
"I see. So I'm being groomed as a pilot trainee?"
Hathaway felt at ease, realizing the gaps in his memory.
"How long has it been since I was shot down?"
"Four days."
"..."
He figured as much.
"Tell me, Hathaway. Who is Quack Salver?"
"Wasn't he in Adelaide?"
"Don't know... I had orders to monitor those taking the lead in
evacuations, but we couldn't spot him. Who is he?"
"I haven't met him either."
"Well, once you're up, we'll have a formal interrogation, okay?"
Though Kenneth said this, Hathaway sensed he wasn't telling the whole
truth.
The interrogation of Mafty was never meant to take place.
It had been resolved in the emergency cabinet meeting the day prior, and
the Joint Chiefs of Staff had accepted this decision.
When Kenneth learned of this, he was genuinely incensed, promptly
submitting his resignation to the Integrated Command.
 Throughout this operation, Kenneth had grown increasingly disillusioned
with the Federation's organizational structure. The lack of an interrogation
for Mafty implicitly signaled his execution.
To remain a part of such an institution was unbearable.
Therefore, his resignation, though on paper due to his failure in defending
Adelaide, was essentially guaranteed acceptance.
Federation bureaucrats, ever eager to clearly place blame, would welcome
someone like Kenneth willingly assuming responsibility.
In Kenneth's rank, it was common practice to deflect blame onto
subordinates, and this had become a perverse norm in their world.
"It's inevitable," Hathaway remarked.
With a wry smile, Kenneth stood, "Gigi did visit you, but you didn't
notice?"
"Is that so..."
"Yes, but it seems a future visit won't be possible."
"Why?"
"Too much noise around. I sent her back to Hong Kong using what
remains of my authority."
But this was a lie.
Gigi was still here, but after submitting his resignation, he couldn't just
bring her to such a place.
Though they were granted a cottage, this place was a military hospital, and
it was unlikely that just anyone could visit someone as crucial as Mafty.
"That's good... they took her in," Hathaway nodded.
"Yes, they took in Kimberly as well. That fool is too spirited, seemingly
unaware of the concept of shame."
"Won't he be punished?"
"He's not so noble-minded. If left unchecked, he intends to rejoin the
Circe Unit."
Hathaway, now aware of all matters outside of his companions, seemed
reassured.
A deep weariness enveloped him.
"Need rest?"
"Yes... I'd like that."
"Very well."
With a wink in response to Hathaway's answer, Kenneth called a nurse
from the adjacent room to take over.
"Kenneth..." Hathaway mused. A worthy adversary indeed. But what of his
allies? How many had survived? He'd need to inquire next time. With that
thought, he drifted into sleep.

Commodore Kenneth Sleg was feeling depressed.

The activities of Mafty had come to an end with the shooting down of the
Gundam, and thereafter, there were no signs of the insurgents' activities
around Adelaide. They had disappeared without a trace. Even though their
remaining forces had been largely eradicated, the events were still vivid.
Those who had sided with Mafty Navue Erin went into hiding underground.
Some of the concerns the director had were left as real, lingering issues. This
search was going to be troublesome.
Moreover, the same difficulties had occurred repeatedly within the
Federation government. The surviving government ministers, who were
responsible for running the government, had appointed replacements and
gathered their credentials. They had formed a central parliament and begun
consultations with the military regarding the post-Mafty campaign to
suppress the insurgents. Their shameless expediency was very much in line
with the Federation Assembly's modus operandi. They never seem to learn.
And last night, at a special meeting in Gourwa, it was decided to execute
Mafty Navue Erin. Mafty that is, Hathaway Noa, was to be executed as soon
as he was well enough to stand. Before that, he was supposed to face a
military trial, but even that had become uncertain this morning, as it seemed
the trial might not proceed beyond a mere formality.
Even if one acknowledges that those who witnessed the Adelaide tragedy
have a right to demand retribution against Mafty, this decision seemed
almost childishly petulant. However, the ministers felt constrained by the
paranoid notion that they must set an example for the other underground
dissenters. Given their temperament, this was expected. In this sense,
Kenneth's failure to completely eliminate the Mafty group was a significant
blunder.
"When can I retire?"
Kenneth pondered, stepping into the intense afternoon sun, crossed the
road from the cottage serving as a hospital, following the shade of a lush
tree-lined street, and returned to the mansion that was the command post
of the Circe Unit.
"Commodore, Captain Bright Noa has arrived," Francine Baxter, who
occupied the desk at the entrance hall, informed him.
Kenneth's heart skipped a beat. He was aware of the relationship between
Hathaway and Bright. However, Bright did not know that Mafty was
Hathaway.
"Ah... right..."
Standing in front of the door near the staircase, Kenneth took a deep
breath.
"Meeting the son, then the father..."
Kenneth wished for Gigi's luck in moments like these, but he still hadn't
truly grasped the relationship between the two.
Yet, opening the door felt unbearably heavy.
Standing with a dignified expression by the fireplace was Bright Noa and
his deputy, Raegen Hamsett, awaiting Kenneth.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting. I just heard that Mafty has
regained consciousness."
"Oh, really? Any useful intel?"
"Unexpectedly mature for his age..."
 Kenneth paused, realizing he had been separating Hathaway, Mafty, and
Bright in his mind. What he was about to say concerned the son of the man
before him. Kenneth felt a weight settling upon him, struggling to find the
words. A dizziness overwhelmed him.
Bright had arrived in Adelaide the day after the Gundam was shot down.
His fleet had not arrived in time to defend against Mafty. But over the past
four days, Kenneth had requested Bright's mobile suit units to help hunt
down the remnants of Mafty and take care of the rescued Gigi. He hadn't
given much thought to the relationship between the two.
Now, this relationship stood before Kenneth as a tangible barrier.
"I shouldn't have met with this man..." Kenneth thought.
Dispelling Kenneth's doubts, Bright asked, "I heard you submitted your
resignation. Is it true?"
"I did. I inadvertently eliminated most of the ministers, didn't I? It's only
natural. If you were to take over, the remaining ministers would be satisfied,
isn't that right, Captain Bright?"
"How do you figure? In your case, Commodore Kenneth, you managed to
shoot down Mafty's main mobile suit even with limited time. They won't
accept your resignation. Just like mine has been ignored for three years."
"That might be true under normal circumstances. But this time is different.
The higher-ups make quick decisions."
Kenneth felt compelled to be verbose as he had to keep the conversation
going to avoid dwelling on his own sentiments.
"Do you know why your resignation was not accepted, Captain Noa?"
"No, why?"
"There's a rumor. Since you were in charge of the Newtype unit, you
were, in a way, held hostage by the Federation Forces."
"Hostage? Myself, you mean?"
"Well, it's a harsh way to put it. But Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan? You've had
such outstanding pilots, these so-called Newtypes, under your command.
The idea was to keep them close, to use them as shields should a Newtype
uprising occur within the Federation Forces. It's what I've heard."
"Using them as a shield, huh..." Bright glanced towards his deputy.
"Do I truly possess the capacity for such manipulation?" He said with a wry
smile.
"You do. This idea seems to have a strong hold on the bureaucrats, and
the military followed suit. Besides, wouldn't politicians and military leaders
alike be most inconvenienced if Bright Noa, of all people, began making
Newtype-centric statements? Hence, your detainment."
Kenneth pondered this, drawing parallels with Hathaway and his father,
struggling to shake off these thoughts.
But they persisted.
After ensuring Bright's fleet would continue its operations against the
insurgents, Kenneth escorted them out of the command center.
The weariness he felt, more intense than after any battle command, nearly
overwhelmed him. Taking a seat on a sofa in the spacious lounge where his
secretary Francine could be seen, Kenneth sipped tea, downed a nutrient
supplement, and caught his breath.
"I'm at a loss..."
His thoughts were interrupted just as he was ascending the stairs by the
arrival of General Medinum Guggenheim, Chief of Staff at the military
headquarters. His face was etched with grave concern.
"General?"
"No need for concern. Let's head to your office."
Guggenheim followed Kenneth up the stairs, close behind.
"Please, have a seat. Is there a matter you wish to discuss?"
"Yes, well... We at the General Headquarters have decided to accept your
request for retirement. I am here to convey that decision."
"I am humbled by your acknowledgment of my request..."
While motioning for the general to take a seat in front of the desk,
Kenneth showed a sense of deference.
"What need is there for such formality? We have deliberated extensively
in today's council meeting and decided to accept your honorable request to
step down. We are deeply impressed by your integrity. Under normal
circumstances, your achievements – the downing of the Xi Gundam and the
eradication of Mafty – should have balanced out any fault on your part. But
casualties included cabinet members, didn't they? The military couldn't
possibly absolve all responsibilities."
Kenneth appreciated the consideration. It reassured him that there were
still some in the highest echelons of the organization with a shred of
humanity.
But the conversation soon took a darker turn.
"Retirement is immediate?"
"Well, there's a stipulation... it's about the reduction in your retirement pay
as a part of your exoneration."
"Huh...?"
"The pension after retirement won't remain at your current rank. It will be
reduced down a level, equivalent to the rank of Captain."
"Ah, that's fine. So, when does this take effect?"
Kenneth quickly redirected the conversation, sensing a disconnect in the
General's sympathy.
"Well, it will take effect after everything is settled, and that includes the
execution of Mafty."
"Execution? Will I be in charge of that?"
"If not, then how will Operation Adelaide be wrapped up?"
Kenneth swiveled his chair to face the window behind him.
The outside's glaring red hurt his eyes. On the south-facing slope outside
the window, plants with reddish stems and even redder flowers basked in
the sunlight.
After a long pause, he asked, "Who's my successor?"
"Captain Bright Noa."
"He requested retirement before I did."
 Kenneth turned back to the aging General Guggenheim.
"I'm aware. We'll accommodate Captain Noa's wishes. He'll stay here for
three months, after which we'll assign a replacement."
"And the date of Mafty's execution?"
"I visited the hospital with Richard—he's quite the energetic young man."
Richard referred to another general stationed here.
"Early tomorrow morning. If the insurgents learn Mafty's alive, they might
retaliate. We must act swiftly."
"A military trial?"
"As decided yesterday. Military trials aren't for executing foes. They're for
internal breaches of military conduct. Rebels, on the other hand, require a
more... adaptable approach."
"But—"
Kenneth, now increasingly agitated, hurried his next question.
"If the Cabinet decided on Mafty's execution, then the execution order will
be in the name of the Cabinet, right?"
"That won't be the case. They won't sully their name."
"Pardon?"
"It will be in the name of the Pacific region's military district commander –
you. Surely not Captain Bright Noa, your successor?"
Kenneth sat in silence, looking at the ceiling, resigned to the fact that
executing one's own child might be more merciful.
 Chapter 12
Before the Day

Kenneth Sleg ceased his gaze at the ceiling, and when he looked at
Medinum Guggenheim, he noticed the old man's eye mucus for the first
time.
"……?"
"Do you know who the current Mafty really is, General? He might be one
of Mafty, but he isn't the Mafty itself."
"I'm aware. Mafty is an organization, and another Mafty will eventually
emerge. I'm not concerned with the current Mafty's identity. However, the
fact that the Federation government hasn't retaliated after Mafty's
audacious assassination of ministers means there will be significant public
backlash."
"Indeed... This matter is too heavy for me to keep to myself. I need your
discretion, General."
With a hint of faltering courage, Kenneth felt compelled to share this,
although he contemplated remaining silent.
"Why? Did you make him talk?"
"Of course not... He wouldn't talk. But, by chance, I found out the current
Mafty's identity. His name is Hathaway Noa."
"Noa?"
"Yes. That Noa."
"Does his father know?"
The General, appearing genuinely troubled, glanced around the room as if
reflecting on the vagaries of life.
"It's a good thing. We might have seen a father execute his son if we had
discharged you immediately. It's a divine intervention."
"What becomes of me?"
"You see to your duties, Commodore."
Kenneth couldn't resist the old man's words. If he dared to resist here,
executing Hathaway would be easy, and it would be done by Bright.
"Is the transition of duties going smoothly?"
"With Captain Noa?"
"Yes."
The old man stood.
"Just a matter concerning the Adelaide region. It seems almost resolved. I
take it I may leave this place once the mission is over?"
 "Do so. You seem to have your own concerns. If you wish to reside on
Earth, I'll grant you that."
Kenneth couldn't believe the surprisingly lenient words from the General.
By saying this, the General should perceive Kenneth as a potential agitator.
However, the following day proved otherwise. Due to an oversight or a
deliberate move in the bureaucratic system, both Kenneth and Gigi were
granted a legitimate Earth residency permit by the Federation government.
But that was a concern for another time.

"A rather unusual decision, isn't it? I was under the impression my
resignation had been approved?"
Bright Noa mused, seated in the captain's quarters of the Ra Cailum, even
as he acknowledged General Richard Crescendo while clarifying his own
position.
"It's only for three months... a commitment on behalf of the headquarters.
If you have reservations, I can fetch the President's signature for
reassurance."
"The new president hasn't arrived here yet, have they?"
"All in due time. And tell me, Captain, if Mafty's resistance had been more
tenacious, wouldn't we be in the thick of combat right now? Surely, you
were prepared for an operation spanning at least three months?"
"I'll give you that."
"Now that the uncertainties in this region are largely quelled and once
Captain Kenneth concludes Mafty's execution tomorrow, there'd be little left
to oversee. Perhaps you'd simply be mobilized for Adelaide's
reconstruction."
"While that's a fair point, if you put it that way, I might consider it a bit of
a vacation..."
"Think of it as a much-deserved break. Isn't your son studying as a
botanical observer nearby? Pay him a visit. Oh, and I almost forgot – in light
of the circumstances, permission can be arranged if you wish to call your
family down to Earth."
"Thank you, that's generous. I could visit Hathaway, but my family..."
"Why?"
"I owe it to my subordinates as well."
The General chuckled heartily, "Being so principled, you make it hard for
your crew to relax! Rotate them out periodically for some leisure. They'll
hardly feel incentivized if you don't set the example and rest."
General Crescendo was visibly pleased. "Prepare a Launch for me. I'm off
to survey the Murray River with General Guggenheim."
"Surveying the river?"
"For fishing spots, naturally."
"Ah, of course!" Bright stood up, exchanging a firm handshake with the
General. "Well, even if there's some activity related to Mafty, it would be
somewhere else, and restructuring Mafty would take time. You should relish
your final military days on this red continent."
"Thank you."
As Bright observed the departing launch carrying the General towards
the coastline, he mused about how it evoked old navy scenes. The spaceship
Ra Cailum gleamed in the unique summer sunlight of this continent as it
floated in the vast bay and seemed like a relic of another time.
"The tides..."
Bright murmured, feeling a sudden envelopment of everyday grandeur.
The absence of combat had an uncanny ability to unburden the soul. Apart
from the Ra Cailum, the other two vessels should have landed in St. Vincent
Bay facing Adelaide, deploying their mobile suit squads for the restoration
tasks.
"What's the plan?"
"Hmm. Just as the general suggested, it might be good to relax. The ship
will return to Adelaide, and I plan to return here by midnight. The execution
of Mafty is scheduled for early dawn, and I intend to witness it."
"There's no need for that. Given the General's stance, it's best to leave it
to Commodore Sleg."
Executive Officer Raegen seemed exasperated by Bright's meticulous
nature.
"True, but I've been appointed his successor. I think it's best to at least
meet the Commodore."
"That's excessively considerate of you."
Bright, amused by Raegen's words, waved dismissively and ordered,
"Prepare us for takeoff."

As the day descended into evening, the sky painted a deep red over
Adelaide Airport. Bright Noa, having landed, stood in front of the Xi
Gundam, now situated at the less-damaged southern end of the airstrip. He
had observed this machine from a distance upon his arrival yet had never
taken the opportunity to approach it this closely.
Silence.
The form, worthy of the Gundam title, was evident. Yet, in comparison to
the Gundams of yore, it seemed somewhat more formidable.
"Where was this one manufactured?" Bright inquired of the lone
mechanic he had brought along.
"According to the reports from the Circe Unit, the origin remains
unknown," the mechanic said, referencing the data on his handheld tablet.
"There's no tangible evidence or any trace of its manufacturing plant."
"Hmm... It bears the craftsmanship of Anaheim Electronics," deduced
Bright from his impression of the suit. "There have been suspicions leaning
toward that, yet neither Circe nor Headquarters have confirmed anything,
right?"
"That is correct, sir," the mechanic replied.
 "That's the world of adults for you," mused Bright.
Though appearing lightly scorched, the armor seemed to retain its
fundamental integrity. The outstretched manipulators, however, gave the
Gundam a crucifix-like silhouette. Their ends, charred and mangled,
conveyed a painful sight. Ascending the maintenance platform and lifting the
protective sheet, Bright could peer into the partially opened cockpit.
Inside, save for the cracked surface of the visual display, it appeared
ready for operation.
"It's very much a Gundam," Bright mused again, "but there's an added
complexity to this machine that doesn't sit well with me."
The thought of his son, Hathaway, piloting this cockpit never crossed
Bright's mind.
"But Captain," began the mechanic while on the maintenance platform,
"isn't it unsettling that these insurgents are using a mobile suit bearing the
name 'Gundam'?"
Bright stepped back, looking up at the soot-covered face of the Gundam,
"Not particularly. Historically, Gundams, even those within the Federation,
were piloted by individuals with a rebellious spirit. And the end for a
Gundam has always been somewhat tragic – decapitated, scorched, or torn
apart. But that rebellious spirit? It always persisted, even long after the
Gundam was gone."
"Is that how it is?"
The mechanic, following Bright down from the platform, cast one last
upward glance at the Gundam, lingering on its imposing figure.
 Chapter 13
Shooting

"Early tomorrow morning, by firing squad..."

Hathaway lay on the bed, looking at the two men.
"Yes, it is abrupt, but we were waiting for your condition to stabilize," one
of the men replied.
"Waiting?"
"Yes. Until today, we've been holding off the top brass' demands for your
immediate execution. Of course, there have been movements within the
military and the Federation government to prevent your execution, but it
was officially decided this evening."
Hathaway listened and knew all those words were lies.
"We express respect for your valiant efforts as a warrior. This is a
message from Commodore Kenneth Sleg and his Circe Unit."
These were the only words the Commander, who had been listening
silently to his colleague's clerical report, spoke.
"Wasn't he a Captain?" Hathaway asked, confused.
"Yes. He was recognized for valor against your attacks and promoted to
Commodore."
"I see. That's good."
"As you say."
"We will pick you up at 4:50 a.m. tomorrow."
"Ah... I have one concern."
The two officers, about to leave Hathaway's room with a salute, paused.
"Was hanging also considered for my execution?"
At Hathaway's question, the officers exchanged a fleeting glance at one
another. Then the Commander spoke.
"Some damn fool in the cabinet thought so. Three days ago, he said even
if you're unconscious, it should be done..."
The Lieutenant Commander pulled at the Commander's arm, cutting him
off.
"Rest easy, then."
And they left.
Hathaway closed his eyes. He was not shaken.
From the moment he joined Mafty, he was prepared for this outcome if
he were captured. It was a year and some months, considering all that had
happened until today. Instead, he felt a lightness, as if some self-imposed
pressure had dissipated.
Perhaps he had sensed this coming.
It may explain why he acted the way he did towards Gigi.
"I'll never see Keria Dace again..."
He regretted not meeting her, even at Darwin Point.
There was a light knock at the door, and Chief Nurse Helena McGovern
peeked in.
"Do you need a word processor?"
Her demeanor was filled with kindness and care, unmistakably stemming
from her knowledge of Hathaway's fate.
"Why would I?"
"If you wish to write a will..."
He had forgotten entirely.
Helena stood calmly beside his bed, noticing Hathaway's peaceful
expression.
Although her bust was noticeably larger, she looked about the same age
as Hathaway's mother, Mirai.
"I didn't intend to write, but I might. Leave it here."
"Anything else you'd like?"
Her smile was forced, but it was brimming with compassion.
"Well... How about an apple? Can I get a yellow apple? I want to eat one."
"I think we can find one somewhere if that's what you want. Despite this
being the military, Commodore Sleg seems to have some goodwill towards
you."
She was the epitome of magnanimity.
Hathaway was grateful to meet such a nurse on his final night.
"I'm sorry for what we did to Adelaide... We owe the civilians a huge
apology."
"Yes... But thanks to your suggestion to evacuate, most citizens were
saved. There's no fault in how you attacked."
"Thank you, Helena."
"Shall I? I'll have Margarita bring it..."
"Thanks. I might also need an envelope."
"Yes, of course..."
Helena made a circle with her right hand's thumb and index finger, then
left.
"So Kenneth Sleg is in charge? Fate has a funny way of circling back,"
Hathaway mused. His body was no longer unbearably sore, and his limbs
had regained some semblance of motion. As a result, he couldn't bring
himself to resent the decisions made for the night.
"If they could've, I would've wished for them to kill me while I was
unconscious. But that would hardly qualify as an execution, would it?" A
weary chuckle escaped him, and he drifted into a brief reprieve of slumber.
 When he awoke next, it was to find the nurse Margarita attempting to
leave, a word processor discreetly placed on his bedside table. Their eyes
met, her deep blue irises locking onto his.
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"No need," he smiled.
Suddenly, tears spilled from her eyes.
"Margarita..."
"I just—it's so sudden."
Still searching for a handkerchief, Margarita muttered an apology and
vanished behind the door.
Adjacent to the word processor lay an assortment of papers and
envelopes thoughtfully arranged. A brown lacquered fountain pen had been
set aside as a paperweight. Touched by the nurses' care, Hathaway forced
himself to focus on the ceiling, reminding himself to maintain his composure
for what little time he had left.
"Dying is something everyone has done; I should be able to do it just as
well," he muttered, almost like a mantra.
Dinner was still a liquid meal. Head Nurse Helena McGovern was the one
to assist him.
But when no apple appeared, he acted like he'd forgotten about it.
"How about a regular meal tomorrow morning? What would you prefer?"
"Given the early hour and the execution, something easy on the stomach
would be nice."
"Oatmeal?"
"Do you know what porridge is?"
"Of course. Chinese-style, Japanese-style, Thai? There are options."
"Japanese-style, and make it simple."
"Understood, Mafty."
As time passed, Hathaway stared at the word processor. The only
recipients he could think of for a letter were his parents and his sister,
Cheimin. But writing a letter would mean using his real name, a fact that
prevented him from taking up pen and paper. "I could ask Kenneth, but that
would be pitiful," he thought.
It was late into the night when a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Nurse Helena peeked her head in, "A gift of an apple has arrived from the
Commodore. Would you like to eat it?"
"Yes, I'd like that."
"Alright."
"Helena."
"Yes?"
"I want to practice standing. Can you assist me?"
"Certainly, although..."
Helena seemed reluctant.
"I have to stand by morning. I want to practice."
"Alright."
 She cleared the bedside table and lifted the blanket for him.
As Hathaway slowly maneuvered himself, his feet touched the ground.
His tightened skin seemed to crackle.
The strain showed on his forehead, and he could feel sweat breaking out.
"You shouldn't force yourself," Helena cautioned, attempting to lift his
legs back onto the bed.
"No, I have to stand!"
"Very well."
Reluctantly, Helena lowered his legs and supported his upper body.
The smell of middle-aged womanhood seemed to pull Hathaway towards
the abyss of defeat, perhaps because it forever linked him to thoughts of his
mother.
"..."
Hathaway tried to put his feet on the floor while leaning on Helena. But
then, a dull pain surged through his body, starting from the soles of his feet.
He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Helena's shoulder, even as
piercing pain ran up his bandaged fingers. But still, he tried to stand.
"Are you alright?"
"Go ahead..."
Sensing her patient's psychological state, Helena applied her own
strength to aid him. She timed it perfectly, allowing Hathaway to rise.
"..."
A thud. The weight of his body sank from his sides down to his thighs. It
felt like his bones and skin were crying out.
"You okay?"
"I'm standing, aren't I? If it's a firing squad, I don't need to stand for long,
do I?"
"I wouldn't know about that..."
Helena hesitated, fumbling, as she released her arms from around him.
"Tell the Commodore to stop with the ceremonial stuff and not make it
any more painful..."
"I will relay that. After the apple, certainly..."
Hathaway eased himself back onto the bed and took a deep breath. He
felt ready. Margarita peeled an apple for him, and he ate it. It was harder and
lacked the crunch he had expected, a disappointment.
"..."
Watching Hathaway's cracked and parched face, Margarita shed tears
again.
"Your skin was just starting to look better..."
"It was good. You should eat it..."
"I can't."
Staring at the apple on her fork, Margarita made the sign of the cross
over her chest with her left hand and left without a word.
"Mom, Dad."
Facing death before his parents and doing so by his own principles
seemed overly individualistic.
 "It's because I encountered Newtypes and aspired to be one, without
reflecting on my own capabilities. It wasn't about Quess Paraya or the war..."
Past midnight, such thoughts lined up in Hathaway's mind. But even then,
they lacked solid logic.
"Even Gigi seemed to be saying something like that... it was a dream. I
must have been dreaming...all this time..."

Gigi Andalusia had been staying in a house next to the mansion used by
Kenneth Sleg. She was, in essence, a prisoner until Kenneth chose to leave
the area. Bandages covered her cheeks—a result of long wanderings in the
forest to evade detection by Kimberly and the others.
She decided to wait for the rescue team sent by Kenneth, grateful that
among them was Lieutenant Minecche Kestalgino, who had been kind to her
in Alice Springs. The team was pleased to see her return; their victory was
made possible by her, and so they escorted her to Kenneth.
At dinner time, Kenneth called her. She promptly showered and changed.
She was fortunate to receive military attire, so her appearance was
somewhat respectable. Her room, devoid of even a single CD, was filled only
with the distant sounds of birds and beasts. The clamor of machinery was
nowhere to be heard, save for the distant landing sound of a Base Jabber
just once.
Lake Alexandrina reflected the shadows of stars and adorned a window
without curtains. She lay there, sleep eluding her, yet not dwelling on
Hathaway. Ever since Kenneth had told her that Hathaway's execution
would be carried out just two hundred meters from her lodging in the
garden of a commandeered mansion, she had steeled herself for it.
"I can't believe he'll be gone," were the only words that escaped her lips
in the course of several hours.
The clock had now struck four times near the front door, having chimed
every hour. The following half-hour felt much longer. At 4:30 a.m., she put
on the jacket she had been wearing since Hong Kong and left the house.
"Where to?" a guard inquired.
"To the mansion where Mafty will be executed," she replied.
"You won't be allowed to watch."
"That's fine. I'm just going to see the Commodore."
"Please return promptly. I'd be the one to catch hell from the
Commodore."
"Yes, I intend to."
The morning air was sorrowfully fresh. Tire tracks left by military vehicles
were imprinted on the gravel road, a grim reminder that even here, peace
was elusive. Just as Gigi arrived at the mansion where the execution was to
be held, a military vehicle pulled up with the rumbling of a gasoline engine.
Gigi hesitated to enter the front yard when a guard stationed in front of
the mansion sprinted toward her. Her eyes caught the officer emerging from
the vehicle, and for a moment, she mistook him for Hathaway. A soundless
gasp vibrated through her.
The eyes, the cheeks, the aura emanating from the officer—it was
Hathaway. Or so it seemed to her, still under the guard's forceful escort.
"Captain Noa! A pleasure to have you," saluted the guard, giving Gigi a
moment of clarity.
"Then why... why is he here?!" she wanted to scream.
"The Commodore is waiting for you inside the mansion," the officer—
Captain Noa—simply saluted back and entered the mansion.
The officer's voice, presence, even his breathing patterns—they were all
Hathaway.
"What is happening...?" Confused and weakened, Gigi dropped onto a
low stone wall that separated the front yard from the sidewalk. And as she
sat there, trembling, Captain Noa entered the mansion.
"Who was that girl?" his voice echoed, and it was Hathaway's voice.
"Was Hathaway yearning to see his father?" she wondered vacantly.
However, the demeanor of the Captain didn't suggest a man going to meet
his son, who was about to be executed.
"What's going on... Kenneth, tell me..."
Feeling she shouldn't be here anymore, but paralyzed, unable to muster
the strength to leave, she finally sat down on one of the low stone walls
dividing the front yard and the sidewalk.
"Gigi?!" Kenneth's voice vaulted from the mansion, "I suspected you'd
come, but cross this line, and I'll have you removed."
Grasping Gigi's arms tightly, Kenneth whispered, "You'd really kill
Hathaway? In front of his own father?"
Exploding with emotion, Gigi was instantly silenced by Kenneth's hand
over her mouth. "Captain Noa doesn't know that Mafty is Hathaway. I'm
doing everything to avoid a public execution. Keep silent!"
Kenneth's grip was unyielding, like a vice.
"Is such a thing even possible?"
"I took on Hathaway's execution precisely to keep this from Captain Noa.
What other reason could there be?"
"Hathaway... Didn't he want to meet his father?"
"You know damn well he's not that sort of man!" Kenneth thrust Gigi
aside, "Let him have some peace in the end."
His visage, bathed in the dawn light, looked demonic.
"I want to see him," Gigi muttered.
"It's a man's job. Hathaway is prepared. Go away!"
"Captain..." a familiar term Gigi used for Kenneth.
"This is no place for a woman right now," he declared. Gigi broke into
tears, turned her back, and bolted.
An unmarked military vehicle from the opposite direction transported
Hathaway on a movable bed. Gigi, passing it, had no inkling he was inside.
"What man's job! What military!" Words raged inside her head as she ran.
 The transport carrying Hathaway circled around the side of the front yard
where Gigi had collapsed, then entered the backyard directly.
This garden was enclosed by ivy-covered brick walls on the left and right,
and on the eastern side, the hazy colors of Lake Alexandrina under the dawn
light stretched out.
At the center, with the lake at its back, stood a single pillar, lit by a
spotlight from the mansion, awaiting Hathaway.
He was lifted from the wagon while still on the bed, and the bed was
placed next to the pillar.
He could see nothing but light. Behind the focused light, there seemed to
be a dark building, like a shadowy mansion.
Amidst the backlight, Kenneth Sleg's face emerged, hovering above his.
"Mafty Navue Erin, is that correct?"
"Yes..."
"In accordance with the Earth Federation government's General Staff
Headquarters' orders, you will hereby be executed," Kenneth announced.
With those words, Kenneth instructed his officers on both sides to make
Hathaway stand.
"…!!"
Once again, the struggle against pain began. The men's hands were no
gentler than the nurse's, but Hathaway tried to convince himself that this
was a mission, enduring the pain.
Behind Kenneth were a dozen officers and a clergyman, all with pale,
rigid faces.
The absence of Bright in that courtyard was at Kenneth's discretion.
Bright had been confined within the mansion, instructed to wait until
Kenneth's task was complete.
He stood with his back against the pillar.
Hathaway wondered if Helena, the head nurse, had conveyed her
message to Kenneth. He wanted to know.
His wrists, still wrapped in bandages, were secured with handcuffs
around the pillar, and the soldiers led him toward the illuminated area.
"Is there anything you'd like to say in your final moments?"
"As Mafty, I've said what I needed to. I believe that someday, the sound
mind of humanity will protect this Earth. Until then, the mistakes made by
people will continue to be corrected by Mafty."
Amidst the backlight of the spotlight, Kenneth's face seemed contorted.
"Any last confessions?" the young priest stepped forward.
"I'm sincerely grateful to everyone who has been involved with me and
provided me with a fulfilling life."
Kenneth, now holding a black blindfold, stepped forward.
"Does your wrist hurt?"
"It's fine."
"Hath, you know I care about you, right?
"Thank you."
Kenneth put on the blindfold. "We'll always be friends. Don't forget that."
 "I won't, Captain."
Hathaway was glad to hear Kenneth's voice close by.
But then, the sound of Kenneth's footsteps on the lawn grew distant.
Hathaway clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to scream out with every
fiber of his being.
“Kenneth! Just get it done, dammit!”
Perhaps Kenneth had intuitively sensed the tremor of urgency in
Hathaway's internal plea. Without a moment’s hesitation, the lash of a riding
crop sounded.
"Fire!"
Gigi didn't hear the gunshot. Whether it was the wind or her distance,
she couldn't tell. But her tears, she knew, would not cease as she continued
running down the road as dawn broke, despairing.
 Chapter 14
After That

The lights illuminating the garden had been extinguished, leaving the
sky—a sky that hinted at warmth—to paint the lake below. Not just seagulls
but a variety of waterfowl began to sketch arcs across the lake's surface,
heralding the morning's bustle.
The body of Hathaway, known as Mafty, lay in a coffin. The soldier
handling the lid wore a face of stoic solemnity as he sealed it shut. Kenneth
turned away. Everything had unfolded with startling abruptness, and the
chaos both he and Hathaway had feared never materialized; all was carried
out with an eerie tranquility.
With a mind tinged by unease, Kenneth made for the mansion. He
noticed Captain Bright Noa approaching a window that faced the lake,
causing his heart to flutter momentarily.
Was it possible that Bright had seen Hathaway's face? No, the expression
reflected on Bright's visage through the glass suggested he was merely
observing a colleague's work.
Kenneth had arranged for Bright to wait in the entrance's reception
room, where breakfast and pastries were laid out, until the execution was
done. If he had recognized Hathaway, Bright wouldn't have this nonchalant
demeanor. He was at ease.
Having heard the gunshots, and judging the execution to be complete,
Bright must have decided to meet Kenneth in the living room. Such
forthrightness was disorienting for someone in Kenneth's position.
"Well done," Bright's voice, though businesslike, was tinged with genuine
concern, as he stood by the living room door that Kenneth opened.
"I—"
"How did it go?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mafty Erin."
"He faced his end with dignity and composure."
Kenneth cast a fleeting glance at the coffin, its lid now securely fastened.
At this point, even if Bright were to approach, it was safe.
"Are you sure it was right to delegate the entire task to me? You didn't
even supervise, instead opting to stay comfortably in the house."
"Don't misunderstand. This part was a junior officer's duty. What comes
next is your job, Captain."
 "Still, it must not be a pleasant feeling, right?"
Bright settled onto the sofa in front of Kenneth after watching the coffin
being loaded onto a vehicle.
"I would have preferred him dying in battle," Kenneth confessed, realizing
he had forgotten to bring a secretary, and therefore, could not offer any
coffee.
"So, you're saying Mafty was resilient?"
"Yes. His death isn't the end of this. It leaves a lingering trail."
Kenneth couldn't muster the courage to continue the conversation.
"What do you mean?"
As Bright asked the question, Kenneth stood up and walked toward the
entrance, saying, "The Federation will regret executing Mafty here."
"To incite public opinion?"
"Yes. The Spacenoids won't remain silent."
"Commodore!"
At the entrance, a doctor and a priest stopped Kenneth.
"What is it?"
"We require your signature on the examination report."
"Apologies. I'm not accustomed to this sort of work."
Kenneth borrowed a pen from the doctor and signed the document on a
small table by the entrance, flashing Bright a rueful smile. Hathaway's name
was nowhere on it.
"So what becomes of Hathaway?" Kenneth mused as he handed the
document back to the doctor, who promptly slid it between files held by the
execution officers. Everything was now in order.
"What about the cremation?" Bright inquired, standing by the entrance
door.
"What will you do with them?" Kenneth asked the officers.
"Well, we'll take the papers to headquarters, but after that..." The two
officers shrugged.
"Damn it. Adelaide ought to have a military cemetery. Even the enemy
fought honorably. Request proper burials, will you?"
"Sir!"
"Convey it to headquarters from the Captain as well. Do it for me, will
you?" Kenneth spoke, looking Bright in the eye.
"If a Commodore who fought them directly says so, then absolutely."
"It wouldn't be necessary for worthless enemies," Kenneth mused.
Eventually, they walked alongside to the cars lined up on the road.
"Once the mission in Adelaide is complete, you'll be retiring, Captain?
What will you do?" Kenneth broke the silence.
"I'll run a restaurant with my wife at Londenion on Side 1."
"I envy you. Being single is tough at times like this," Kenneth said as he
opened the car door himself and turned to Bright, "The transition of
responsibilities will proceed as planned at my command center?"
"Yes, unless you have any objections to do it now, Commodore?"
"Right now?"
 "If you're up for it. I'm not tired, and starting at nine doesn't leave much
time in between."
"Let's say seven, I'd like to have breakfast."
"Very well."
With an unburdened smile, Bright apologized for the inconvenience and
disappeared into the car.
So Hathaway had inherited such meticulousness, Kenneth realized as he
entered his car.
Arriving at the command center, a mere three-minute drive away, he had
Francine prepare morning tea and called Gigi. She had returned to her room.
"We can leave by noon. Is that alright?"
"Sure."
Gigi seemed like she wanted to say more but left it at that. She had little
choice, being almost a prisoner, and perhaps sensed something in Kenneth's
assertive demeanor. Kenneth didn't forget to order the guards at Gigi's
residence to keep her from going outside.
He then proceeded with the scheduled transition meeting with Captain
Bright Noa and others. Since Commander Mainzer was staying under
Bright's command with the local Circe Unit, the briefing was largely a
formality.
"So, we'll say our goodbyes at Staff Headquarters and I'll leave via
Adelaide."
"Best of luck!"
Bright and Kenneth exchanged one final handshake.
"Those eyes, so similar to Hathaway's..." Kenneth stared into eyes that
looked just like Hathaway's, and suddenly, tears blurred his vision.
"Regrets about the Earth Federation Forces' methods?"
"No, I'll forget it. I'm setting off on a free wandering journey. I have been
granted an Earth residency permit, after all."

Exerting the last of his energy on a jest, Kenneth placed a farewell kiss on
Francine, the secretary at the entrance, and left the headquarters. His
journey across the mountains from Goolwa to Adelaide was made in a
military limousine, with Gigi sitting beside him.
"Is this where they found you?" Kenneth finally broke the silence as they
drove through the dark and winding mountain road, streaked with erratic
shafts of light weaving like dark veins.
"Maybe. I can't be sure," Gigi replied, sounding vaguely displeased.
Kenneth sensed her anger, presuming she was upset over his recent
decision to execute Hathaway, unmindful of the risks he'd taken.
By the time they reached the deserted Adelaide Airport, its runways
partially repaired to accommodate the Big Carrier from Davao, the late
afternoon sun cast long shadows over piles of rubble. Kenneth mused that
the rapid advances in asphalt technology from the Space Colony era made
such repairs fairly straightforward.
 After ushering Gigi into the carrier's cabin, Kenneth moved in front of the
surviving mobile suits, where pilots from the Circe Unit led by Lane Aim
stood in formation waiting for him.
"All ranks, salute!"
A nearly hundred-strong contingent of officers and soldiers saluted at
Lieutenant Lane Aim's command. In different circumstances, this would be
accompanied by the ceremonial trumpet of a military band.
"We are honored to have had the opportunity to gain valuable combat
experience under you, Commodore Kenneth Sleg. As a token of our
gratitude, we present you this gift on behalf of all members of the Penelope
squadron."
Lane handed Kenneth a small gift. Not expecting this, Kenneth allowed a
rare smile to grace his face, and reciprocated by handing Lane his riding
crop, before boarding the Big Carrier.
This carrier would transport vital materials from Davao to Adelaide and
fly right back. Kenneth and Gigi would completely transition to civilians, free
from military obligations.
As the carrier flew back to Davao, Gigi's face remained rigid, her time
spent in distant thought. Kenneth, meanwhile, found himself in an almost
endless sleep.
By the time they reached Davao, it was close to midnight. They were met
by three stern-faced officers. Kenneth moved to the civilian lounge and
chartered a limousine, feeling the officers' cold, wary eyes on him and Gigi.
Kenneth sensed it was not the usual contempt they had for Gigi but a
different, harder kind, as if they were on guard against both of them.
The officers bid Kenneth a perfunctory farewell, and he tried making
hotel reservations after the limousine departed. Due to Mafty's recent
bombing of the largest hotel, finding a reservation this late was difficult. The
limousine moved at high speed as ordered by Kenneth. After several wary
glances over his shoulder, he finally secured a hotel.
"Mirab Hotel," he confirmed.
"Alright," the driver agreed, changing course back toward the city.
"You, I'll need you to make do with this, but could you drop us off around
here?" Kenneth passed several bills through a small plastic window
separating him from the driver.
"Huh? Oh, sure."
The driver accepted the money without another word.
Kenneth had rented two rooms under an alias at the hotel, a modest
establishment on a backstreet near the airport.
"Why are you angry?" Kenneth finally asked after ushering Gigi into her
room.
"I can't speak... when I think about the sacrifices you've made," she
responded before closing the door.
Kenneth retreated to his room a couple of doors away, emotionally
suffocated by her words. Entering his room, he felt as if the lid on the
emotional box he'd kept deeply buried had been blown open.
 Though the room was cramped, reaching the bed from the door required
only a few steps. A realization hit him: how horrible his position was, having
executed a friend.
Exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed and burst into tears, and a torrent
of suppressed emotions broke free. His shoulders, his back, shook like ocean
waves.
His anguished sobs filled the small room almost instantaneously and
showed no sign of stopping.
 Chapter 15
Murrumbidgee

The sound of a knock at the door jerked Kenneth awake.

Startled, he realized he had fallen asleep in a heap on the bed.
Rubbing his puffy eyes as if to dispel their fatigue, he opened the door to
the urgent voice of Gigi.
"Captain! Look at this!"
In the dimly lit corridor, a pallid-faced Gigi thrust the morning paper
toward him.
"It says Hathaway is Mafty!"
"What?!"
Kenneth felt his eyes clear in shock as he grabbed the newspaper and
scanned the headline.
Suddenly, devoid of strength, he stumbled and sank onto the floor in
front of the bed.
"Mafty Executed. Adelaide's Circe Unit Retaliates. The Fury of Mafty. Is
the Earth Federation Government Collapsing?"
Beneath these headlines was an exposé detailing the identity of Mafty,
delving into the behind-the-scenes intricacies of the Earth Federation's
turmoil and exposing the figure as the son of a Federation Forces officer.
"What does this mean?"
Recognizing the name of Captain Bright Noa in the subheading, Kenneth
realized there was no need to read further.
Kenneth stared blankly at Gigi. She was reading the paper spread out on
the floor, but she hadn't actually read the article either.
Kenneth was fixated on Gigi's transparent profile, yet he wasn't seeing
anything at all.
"Who leaked this? From where?"
This was the thought spiraling in his head.
All the articles related to Mafty were based solely on official releases
from the Federation government and the General Staff Headquarters.
Hence, there were no details about the execution process. The responsible
party for the execution was listed as Captain Bright Noa, the newly
appointed commander of the South Pacific District. The article only
mentioned that Hathaway Noa, known as Mafty Navue Erin, was executed
at the hands of the Captain, in other words, by his own father.
The headlines, however, were the newspaper's own spin.
 "Who's quoted here?"
"Uh, General Me-Medinum Guggenheim..."
"I see..."
On hearing the general's name, Kenneth stood up, realizing his mistake of
revealing information about Hathaway to the man.
"This is a farce, orchestrated..."
Yet the article framed Captain Bright Noa as the embodiment of loyalty
to the Earth Federation government, highlighting his heroic actions as an
unwavering soldier. It also depicted Hathaway, or Mafty Navue Erin, as
having reflected upon the inhumane terrorism carried out as Mafty and
accepting his execution with dignity.
But the overall impression was that the Earth Federation government
was resorting to intimidation, trying to gain sympathy by showing how they
were quelling subversive elements.
Kenneth was left speechless.
"Even if this is all fabricated, what will become of Hathaway's family?"
Gigi uttered this with a gasp, having skimmed through the article.
Kenneth was already on the phone.
"Is there a flight that goes as far away from Davao as possible? Yes, I
arrived late last night."
"....?"
Gigi stared at Kenneth, bewildered by the dark timbre of his voice.
"What's wrong?"
"If we stay here, we can't complain if we're made to 'disappear.'"
Kenneth's dark, theatrical voice conveyed a painful decision.
"Ah..."
Gigi's reply caught in her throat.
"I see... Japan, huh? Japan? Expensive? How much? Oh, I've got two."
While gazing into Gigi's eyes, Kenneth responded.
Gigi finally grasped their situation from Kenneth's theatrically gloomy
tone. Kenneth had turned Gigi into his lover.
Kenneth's next actions seemed choreographed to dupe onlookers — it
was the best way to distract from their situation.
"Well? We depart in an hour? Fine. A car will be arranged? An unclean
car from the hotel? That's fine."
An hour later, a jet took off from a private airport on the outskirts of
Davao, launching a weather observation balloon. Kenneth and Gigi settled
into the small seats in the cabin, where a draft was blowing in.
"The Earth Federation is trying to appeal to the public's sympathy by
emphasizing how it was trampled upon by Mafty and other insurgents. But
this might actually backfire..."
Kenneth mused, staring at the lush green landscape of Mindanao Island
disappearing into the distance.
Gigi agreed, not fully comprehending but trusting Kenneth's words.
"Bright will never appear for a TV interview. Public opinion will not react
as the government and the military expect..."
 "True..."
Her thoughts strayed to the image of the stern Captain Bright Noa, filling
her with sorrow.
"I wonder what will happen?"
"To the world?"
"No, to Captain Noa..."
"Bright will find out about his son being Mafty through that paper.
However, there will be no evidence, no proof. He will be perplexed and will
retire."
"Why would that happen!?"
Gigi was astonished at Kenneth's grim prediction, more than she had ever
been since meeting the Count.
"It's easy to say that this article was leaked by Mafty's side and dodge the
issue."
Kenneth's words were a shock to Gigi.
"No way! But that article...!"
Gigi was on the verge of unraveling.
"The military only revealed factual information. Anyone can make up a
story like that. Besides, Gigi, you can only verify facts when you're faced
with them."
"But, Captain..."
Gigi started to speak but stopped. Kenneth was the man who had
prevented Bright and Hathaway from meeting. Whether that was good or
bad, she wasn't sure.
However, Kenneth could not have done anything more.
"I'm sorry, okay? I have to work for a bit..."
A young man from the cockpit began his task of releasing a weather
balloon with meteorological instruments.
Through a small window, Kenneth and Gigi were baptized by a fierce gust
of wind.
"Next one's in thirty minutes."
"That's quite a job, isn't it?"
While wrapping another scarf around Gigi, Kenneth smiled.
"Well then, take your time."
The jet seemed to be moving away from the islands of the Philippines.
"Having the father execute his son. Would public opinion forgive the
Earth Federation Government and military? Rather, those who know Mafty's
principles would support Mafty even more."
Kenneth enlightened Gigi.
"Really?"
"Yes."
When Kenneth and Gigi arrived at the airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan,
another jet of the same type was waiting.
"You're the ones going to Japan, huh?"
"Yes, why?"
 "Lunch and water aren't included; you'll have to pay extra. Are you okay
with that?"
The pilot named a ludicrously high price.
Kenneth silently paid for it.
"That's the spirit. Oh, looks like something came up. Care to read a
newspaper fax?"
"Which edition?"
"Today's evening edition. The printed version hasn't been released yet."
"How much?"
"It's on the house."
With that, the pilot handed Kenneth a sizable roll of fax paper and said,
"Kyuushuu okay?"
Kenneth and Gigi didn't recognize the name of the place.
"If it's Japan, it's fine."
"You have a nice voice, you know?"
The pilot closed the cockpit door and took off. They were soon over the
sea.
"Look here, Gigi. Rebuttals from Mafty's side have appeared."
Kenneth showed Gigi the fax paper.
"Hathaway Noa is a Newtype with a history of shooting down the mobile
suits of Char's rebel army. That's why he, claiming to be Mafty Navue Erin,
took action against the Earth Federation government's policy of disregarding
Earth's restoration. Despite this, the Earth Federation government ignored
such protests entirely and, as a means of retaliation against Hathaway Noa,
forced his father to carry out the execution, an unbelievable act that ignored
humanity."
Such arguments were posted in several articles, and in the form of
reader's letters, there were those who represented Mafty's opinion. Above
all, various media companies began to protest the hasty actions of the Earth
Federation government, and the argument that 'Why was Adelaide
bombed?' became stronger.
"Does this pilot think we are Mafty?"
"Probably. Many from Mafty escaped from Adelaide."
"Did you know that Japan is Hathaway's country?"
"It was his mother's birthplace..." Kenneth answered, taking a bite of a
sandwich.
"Yes. That's why I'm happy... It's the first time I can go to a friend's
country..."
Kenneth thought, 'Is that so.'
Perhaps it was due to Gigi's forlorn demeanor that he felt drawn to her—
a metamorphosis of Kenneth himself. Initially smitten by power, he gradually
discovered the allure of vulnerability and sought to become its protector. He
thought, 'This is the role of a man.'
"Could it be a good place for you then, you think?" Kenneth mused.
"It's sparsely populated, and the climate is nice. That's where I'll die," Gigi
responded.
 Only the sound of jets stirred their hearts.
"What will you do, Captain?" she inquired.
"Well, even if the current Federation government falls and something
new arises, the same organizational flaws will probably surface. Maybe
prepare for the next Mafty?" Kenneth speculated.
"The next Mafty?"
"Yes, it could be a hundred years from now, but I'd like to create an
organization that can revive someone like Char Aznable, Hathaway, or even
Amuro."
"I see... You seem better now, Captain."
"Do I? Once the dust settles, I'll swing by Mace's place and apologize.
'Sorry for being deceived by a young woman'... and then move on to the
next job."
"Heh heh heh... a young woman, huh?"
"Yeah, she was a real piece of work," Kenneth admitted.
As they spoke, a series of small islands came into view on the right.
"Is that Japan?"
"Not yet, I'd wager," Gigi answered.
She imagined that henceforth, the name Hathaway Noa would be known
wherever humanity lives as Mafty Navue Erin, which signifies 'the Just King
of Prophets.' It would be likened to the term Murrumbidgee, an Aboriginal
word meaning 'a river that will never run dry.' That's how it would be—
legendary, even mythical. But for now, the world was still littered with raw
realities: a father's agony, a mother's sorrow, a sister's despair…
And Gigi felt sad. It was for the Count too, and Kenneth, sitting next to
her, sipping on his expensive water.
For a while longer, until the memory of Hathaway's warmth faded, hard
times lay ahead for Gigi.