Not long ago, a compartment of the stalled and anchored Valiant had been converted into a video recording site.
"You're not letting me take the stage?"
Looking at Hathaway, who had already changed into his Mafty attire, Char Aznable raised an eyebrow. "You aren't suited for these kinds of occasions, are you? I can see your complexion isn't quite right."
"I have to go through this eventually."
Hathaway picked up the pumpkin head mask he had worn during his appearance in Oenbelli. "Besides, there's a voice changer built inside. I can speak using Gawman's voice; at least that will help preserve my identity within the Federation."
"Very well, since you have made your decision."
Seeing Hathaway insist on delivering the speech himself, Char didn't press the matter further.
"To be honest, I don't know if what I'm doing is right or wrong."
Hathaway stroked the Mafty emblem on the pumpkin mask. "How many Federation citizens will continue to respond to us, what kind of changes will occur at the Man Hunter units' stations... everything is an unknown."
Hathaway knew full well that he was standing at a turning point in history, but whenever he truly realized what he was about to do, he couldn't help but feel his mind go blank.
"It won't get any worse than it is now, Hathaway."
Char smiled and patted Hathaway on the shoulder. "Wiping out the Man Hunters will at least give those residents some room to breathe. You are doing the right thing."
Glancing at the now-prepared cabin, Char reached out and pointed toward the lectern for Hathaway.
"It's time for your performance, Mafty."
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On the internet, a live broadcast was quietly underway. The title, "Mafty Press Conference," made it impossible for people to resist clicking.
In the broadcast frame, the screen behind a lectern displayed the bright yellow background commonly used by Mafty, with the red Mafty emblem centered in the shot.
A figure wearing a pumpkin head mask walked up to the prepared lectern. Under the radiance of the bright yellow light from the large screen behind him, the figure's silhouette appeared somewhat dim.
Yet, within such a scene, it inexplicably felt as though that ridiculous pumpkin head was like a demon lurking in the shadows; a sudden sensation of being watched intently welled up in the viewers.
"Residents of Earth, and members of the Federation: good morning, good afternoon, and good evening."
The pumpkin-headed figure nodded toward the camera shown in the frame. "I am... the leader of the Mafty organization, Mafty Navue Erin."
Hathaway, wearing the pumpkin head, continued to use the voice changer with Gawman's vocal profile.
After all, he would soon be heading to the Moon to receive the mobile suit he had acquired on credit from Anaheim; maintaining his identity as Hathaway without being discovered was still quite important.
"The purpose of this speech is, on one hand, to claim responsibility for the recent assassination of two officials over the Pacific—the Australian Regional Tax Collector and the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Man Hunter units—who were en route to the upcoming Australian Regional Population Control Conference."
The pumpkin-headed Mafty nodded, his tone very serious. "That is correct. This operation was our doing."
Seeing Mafty claim responsibility for that air disaster during the live broadcast caused many people to gasp.
However, compared to others who either marveled at the audacity of Mafty's actions or cursed the ruthlessness that led to the deaths of friends and family in that incident, various media outlets instead began to fall into a frenzy.
Reports started springing up like mushrooms in every corner of the internet.
As the live broadcast began, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also swung into action, beginning a search for the location of the stream.
"Hurry, hurry... have you locked onto the signal's point of origin?"
The FBI quickly organized an investigation team. Joel, who had been temporarily appointed to lead this team, was shouting in the office, directing his colleagues.
"Uh, Joel, I think we found it."
Very quickly, a male member of the investigation team looked up. "According to the IP address query, the source signal for the live broadcast is currently in Melbourne, Australia."
With the Federal Bureau of Investigation operating at full capacity, the location where the broadcast originated was identified in less than a few minutes.
"Is there any possibility this is just a proxy or some kind of springboard, Quagmire?"
Joel nodded and looked toward the team member who had spoken, a man named Quagmire.
"It was found this easily? I don't believe they could be that stupid."
"I don't believe it either, but this is the only lead I can find."
Quagmire shrugged helplessly.
"Fine. Send the specific coordinates to the tactical team in Melbourne."
Joel desperately wanted to keep this credit for himself, but he and the investigation team were in America.
Furthermore, it was obvious that everyone was currently watching the team's every move. If he tried to hog the glory, being criticized by colleagues would be the least of his worries—Mafty escaping would be the real disaster!
Therefore, rather than keeping this ticking time bomb for himself, it was better to toss it to his colleagues in Melbourne and let them deal with the headache.
Of course, those Melbourne colleagues would likely only feel excitement upon receiving this news.
The live broadcast continued, with Mafty still standing at the lectern delivering his speech.
"Now then, moving forward, regarding our subsequent operations."
Mafty placed both hands on the lectern and leaned forward slightly, creating an inexplicable sense of pressure. "Henceforth, Mafty will carry out unscheduled strikes against the Man Hunter units—those who run rampant across Earth, having transformed into the lapdogs of the Federation's high-level elite."
Everyone watching the broadcast was stunned by Mafty's declaration.
"After the Battle of Oenbelli, we have come to realize clearly that far too many people have become members of our cause after suffering extreme agony due to the Federation's oppression."
Mafty continued, straightening his posture slightly. "There are still far too many people living in misery, and simply taking out Federation officials is not enough."
As the broadcast continued, two armored vehicles sped through the city of Melbourne, finally coming to a halt beside a residential building.
Having just received the decrypted coordinates from the American region, and after a brief analysis, two tactical units arrived at the target location.
"These Federation officials... they are like replaceable gears. If one breaks, they simply swap in the next," Mafty said. He paused for a moment, as if building up his emotions.
The tactical team charged up the stairs and stopped in front of an apartment door, setting breaching explosives.
"In order to truly change the decadent Federation, we have resolved to first sever the tentacles of oppression hanging over your heads—the Man Hunter units that have weighed upon you for so long."
In the broadcast, Mafty raised both hands and seemed to reach forward, making a gesture significant enough to give the Federation PTSD.
"Everyone, the Man Hunter units are not invincible. We will prove this through our actions."
BOOM...
As the door was blown open, the tactical team members swarmed in, rushing into the room where the broadcast was originating.
They found the room completely empty, save for a single laptop sitting on the floor. What was being broadcasted was merely a video file stored on the computer.
"Dammit..."
Seeing the scene before them, the tactical team knew exactly what was going on. The video had been recorded long ago; there weren't any members of Mafty here at all. They had been played.
As one of the members shut down the live stream, the tactical team leader couldn't help but roar in anger.
"Go and round up everyone else in this building for strict interrogation! I want to know who rented this room—I even want to know who the owner of this apartment is!"
Toyed with by Mafty, the tactical team began to act, kicking open the doors of every other room in the building. They handcuffed the bewildered residents and marched them down to the armored vehicles below.
-----------------------------------
Back to the present. Upon receiving the message from Christina, Roz brought her straight to the bridge, where they watched the entire broadcast.
Even the background audio of the FBI breaking down the door and being made fools of was captured by the laptop's microphone and played back in the live stream.
"That person isn't Char, is it?" Murrue Ramius exhaled as the stream cut out. "Is it Hathaway?"
"Yeah, that's right." Roz reached up to rub his temples. "I really didn't expect that. I thought after Char joined Mafty, that show-off would be the one handling this sort of thing. Who knew it would still be Hathaway stepping up?"
"Char is likely waiting for a more critical juncture to make his appearance," Natarle Badgiruel analyzed, considering the intelligence revealed by Mafty's speech. "Furthermore, it is foreseeable that their subsequent operations will become increasingly bold and frequent."
After all, it was obvious that the assassinations of high-ranking Federation officials would not stop, and now they were moving on to attacking the Man Hunter units.
However, this meant the Federation would inevitably be on high alert after this speech, potentially using the Man Hunter units as bait to trap Mafty.
"There is one more piece of significant news."
At that moment, Big Haro, who had been watching the entire Mafty broadcast alongside them, spoke up.
"The Federation's new mobile suit has likely arrived on Earth. A large cargo plane departed directly from Anaheim and flew to the Kimberley Unit's station in Davao."
"So that means..." Roz's brow furrowed even deeper at Big Haro's words. "The Federation's Penelope is coming?"
"Barring any accidents, yes."
Faced with Big Haro's definitive analysis, Roz let out a sigh.
He didn't feel pressured by the Federation's Penelope; after all, he possessed a Penelope of his own—one with superior performance that was far better suited to him.
But what truly caused him pressure was Char. After all, Mafty's current mobile suits, the Messer, were ultimately just mass-produced units on par with the Gustav Karl; they stood no chance against a machine like the Penelope.
If Char were to happen to die at the hands of the Federation's Penelope, it would be a disaster.
Thinking of this, Roz couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"These are troubled times..."
.......................