[Hathaway's Flash] Vol.03 Ch.02

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.