[Hathaway's Flash] Vol.02 Ch.17

Chapter.17
Uluru

　Before the white men began to corrode this vast continent, the Aboriginal people called it "Uluru," a sacred land with Ayers Rock and Mount Olga standing tall.

　As dawn's light crept over the horizon, it painted the monumental monolith with a fierce, earthy red, its imposing form casting shadows upon the barren wilderness. A tinge of air pollution intensified the rock's fiery hue as the sun's rays grazed its face.

　Atop Ayers Rock, a listening device had been installed, stirring the slumbering Hathaway and his comrades nestled at its base.

　"Everyone! We're pulling out!"

　Their detection was so swift one might think the ancient Aboriginal gods had granted them this gift of foresight. It was naught but a sound borne on the wind, yet it seemed something more.

　"Mobile suits, proceed to Gawler as planned!"

　"Rowe! Can you evacuate?"

　"It depends on the number of enemies, I guess."

　Roewest Heinrich, a man as bold in character as in stature, responded.

　Indeed, only a man of such mettle would undertake a task demanding a journey of seven hundred kilometers from the nearest coastline.

　Neither monetary gain nor ambition could entice one to accept such a mission with its uncertain prospects. Only the truly reckless or free-spirited would suffice.

　Hathaway's concerns were assuaged by Rowe's confident assurance of escape.

　As Hathaway mounted the Gundam, Fabio Rivera and his cohorts arrived, swift as thieves in the night.

　"Hey! Mr. Mafty! Are you alright?"

　"I'll fend them off! The strategy meeting will be in Adelaide! Go!"

　"Right on! Don't die on us!"

　"Yeah...!"

　The Xi Gundam roared to life, lifting Hathaway's spirits just as easily.

　He realized the importance of having people like Roewest and Fabio on his side.

　"Enemy units: two! One Base Jabber...!"

　Roewest's voice crackled over the radio from his trailer as the six Galsezons and the Gundam began to hover low to the ground.

　However, among the machines gathered here, only two additional mobile suits joined the Golf and Emeralda units, with four Galsezons carrying no mobile suits onboard.

　Hendrix, mourning his wingman lost in the previous night's skirmish, was understandably anxious during the evacuation.

　"Damn it!"

　Hathaway strained to hear Rick's voice, tinged with frustration, amidst the noise of the Minovsky particles, but he remained silent.

　The eight trailers under Roewest's command set off one after another toward the west, their shadows stretched out across the barren, flat landscape.

　"All Galsezons, disregard the enemy and proceed southward!"

　Hathaway manipulated the Gundam to arrange the containers abandoned by the last trailer in two tiers between Ayers Rock and Mount Olga.

　Sixteen rocket launchers in total.

　The triple-stacked rockets, carrying six projectiles each, were designed for mobile suits. They had been modified specifically for Mafty's guerrilla warfare tactics.

　Two small external cameras were placed on either side of the rocket launchers, serving as makeshift sights.

　Sequestered within the easternmost shadow of Mount Olga's Valley of the Winds, the Gundam connected the external cameras' feed to the display and input the launchers' firing angles.

　The enemy was already close enough to discern details, with one of them appearing to move in a rightward direction.

　They seemed intent on pursuing Raymond's Galsezon unit.

　"Will they ignore the movement here?"

　With a click of his tongue, Hathaway raised the Gundam, moving it westward through the Valley of the Winds before showcasing further movement north and south.

　He made it seem like they had more units.

　This subterfuge prompted the Base Jabber heading south to alter its course from the southern edge of Ayers Rock to the north.

　"They must be frightfully simple-minded..."

　Hathaway watched the retreating trailers led by Roewest, feigning a sense of security as he displayed his deceptive movements.

　However, as the concentration of Minovsky particles intensified, the camera's radio waves and the launchers' remote control signals became increasingly unreliable.

　No choice remained but to receive these signals within a one or two-kilometer range in a direct line.

　Bam!

　A searing burst of light erupted within Mount Olga's Valley of the Winds.

　"…!"

　Thanks to Hathaway's timely retreat, he avoided disaster.

　The Gundam swept from the northern side of Mount Olga to the west and emerged in the south.

　There, the faint radio waves of the two mobile suits charging headlong were captured by the small cameras.

　However, the radio waves were weak.

　Under these circumstances, it was impossible to confirm the positions of the launchers on the display and aim accurately. The feed was reduced to a monochrome still image.

　"Tch...!"

　Hathaway discharged his beam rifle, alerting the enemy to his position.

　Simultaneously, he advanced rather than retreated, using Mount Olga as a bulwark and narrowing the distance to the launchers.

　The two Gustav Karls split left and right, attempting to flank Mount Olga from the north and south.

　As Hathaway assailed the northern unit with his beam rifle, he unleashed a torrent from the rocket launchers.

　Boom!

　The sudden, swelling explosion likely also set off the remaining rocket launchers, but it was impossible to identify anything in the blinding light that seemed to push back the dawn.

　During that time, Hathaway took advantage of the momentum from the explosion to close in on the Gustav Karl that had circled around to the north.

　Whoosh!

　He unsheathed the beam saber and swiftly closed the gap.

　"You're mine!"

　The enemy pilot's panic, exacerbated by the explosion from a fusion reactor behind him, worked in Hathaway's favor.

　Vvvvzzz!

　The beam saber required no excessive energy.

　The Gundam's beam saber severed the Gustav Karl's beam rifle, cleaving through the manipulator's base at the shoulder.

　The Gundam's leg struck the Gustav Karl's head, disengaging from the mobile suit, and skimmed low across the ground as it moved eastward.

　"…!?"

　Through the sandstorm, the Federation's Kessaria appeared to falter on the other side of the Valley of the Winds.

　It was hovering around ten meters above the ground.

　The sandstorm, spawned by the explosion, continued to roil the surroundings.

　The Gundam approached the Base Jabber concealed by the sandstorm, but unbelievably, the Kessaria didn't attempt evasive maneuvers, struggling to control its swaying in all directions.

　"…!"

　Hathaway propelled the Gundam out of the sandstorm's turbulence, alighting on the Kessaria's deck.

　Thud!

　The unit momentarily sank as if attempting to dislodge the Gundam but swiftly regained its balance.

　"I recommend you surrender! If you resist, I'll drive the beam saber through your head!"

　Hathaway's words reached the bridge through the contact line.

　"We won't resist! Spare our lives!"

　"We want to land, but we must distance ourselves from the explosion's epicenter!"

　Such distant voices, characteristic of the contact line, reached Hathaway's ears.

　"Head south!"

　"We're scared of the radiation. We're only equipped with standard gear."

　"Go!"

　Hathaway imagined that the enemy was quite shaken by the weight of a single Gundam, which was equivalent to two Mobile Suits.

　"We'll be fine. Just go!"

　"I'm doing it!"

　One of the voices on the bridge belonged to Gigi.

　"Gigi!?"

　Hathaway, thinking his ears must be deceiving him, couldn't imagine the current situation and refrained from speaking any further.

　Hathaway recalled the state of mind when he had stood by Kenneth and greeted the captured Gauman Nobil.

　Kessaria smoothly soared through the sky, leaving behind Ayers Rock.

　Above them, a mushroom cloud glittered in the morning sun, continuing to expand.

　"Crew, out now!"

　Hathaway landed Kessaria on the plain and disembarked the entire crew.

　Though dumbfounded by the sight of unfamiliar mobile suits on their own ship's deck, they were equally concerned for their own well-being.

　"Is that everyone!?"

　When Hathaway shouted through the external speaker, the hatch on Kessaria's bridge ceiling opened from below.

　"…!?"

　Sure enough, there was Gigi Andalucia.

　"Take me as your prisoner."

　Gigi used the microphone in her hand to address Hathaway through the contact channel. Her voice was audible only to Hathaway in the cockpit.

　"Y-yeah, sure..."

　As Hathaway offered a vague response, Gigi vanished from the hatch and exited through a side hatch of the bridge.

　What was she thinking? What had she been doing?

　While Hathaway struggled to comprehend the reality of Gigi standing before him, she strode towards Kessaria's crew.

　"Who is that woman!?"

　Despite his elation at unexpectedly encountering Gigi, he consciously bellowed in an intimidating manner.

　One of the pilots uttered something.

　"A hostage? You insidious lot!"

　Hathaway disregarded the pilots' pretexts, hollered, grounded the Gundam, and positioned it between the crew and Kessaria, extending the Gundam's manipulator towards Gigi.

 "Put the woman on this! Hey! Help her!"

 Hathaway shouted at the pilots, concerned about the elevation to the Gundam's palm.

　"What will become of us?"

　"We won't kill you. But we will destroy the Kessaria."

　"How the hell are we supposed to get home!?"

　"Your allies should notice that mushroom cloud. Rescue will come soon."

　With Kessaria's crew aiding her, Gigi clambered onto the shield-equipped Gundam's palm.

　"…!?"

　Her gestures and appearance were unmistakably Gigi.

　Moved by the sight, Hathaway recalled his inescapable predicament with Keria Dace, tasting bitterness in his mouth. He had no choice but to elevate the Gundam's manipulator in front of the cockpit.

　"I trust our comrades monitoring Alice Springs will observe your main forces' swift movement and rescue you!"

　As Hathaway called out, he slowly stood up the Gundam, placed Gigi at its chest, and began to ascend.

　"Girl, cover your ears!"

　Hathaway warned, mindful of the crew's hearing, then discharged a single beam rifle shot, obliterating only Kessaria's bridge.

　With that alone, Kessaria assumed a posture as if nuzzling its head against the ground, emitting a faint plume of fire.

　It would be dangerous if the fire spread to the missiles, but it should not result in a massive explosion in the engine section.

　Hathaway, leisurely gaining altitude while turning around, leaving behind the battlefield of Uluru.