Chapter 41
CE 74, March 26th, Dover Base, England, Atlantic Federation
Morning 06 31
With one last final turn on the bed, Captain Ray Feric gave up any notion of going back to sleep. Although the sky was only beginning to light up near the horizon, his sense were already wide awake; the events of the past four days still burned in the back of his mind, churning his thoughts up into a maelstrom monologue of opinions and viewpoints as he threw the blanket off himself and slowly made his way out of his bunk, to the nearest barracks washroom.
The Manhunters had stayed on-site at the Nantes region until well into the evening providing reports on the Nantes Underground Garrison site, as well as assisting with any cleanup efforts required of them. The transports from Dover had come then, delivering supplies as well as Atlantic Federation expeditionary units on transit to the European theater.
From the wreck of the Manhunters' support aircraft that had been shot down, the Eurasian Federation managed to rescue eight people out of a total of fifteen crew. Ray found a little cold comfort in the fact that at least the remaining bodies were recovered with little hassle.
He had met one last time with the three Eurasian commanders that had accompanied him down into the underground base; Lt. Colonel Len Kadinger, Major Jahn Heres, and Major Andre Faroque, the four exchanging last-minute talk before duty pulled them on their separate ways. Ray always believed that the bedrock of personnel that served with OMNI stood apart from the few Blue Cosmos members that reared their ugly heads; this stint of action only served to strengthen his beliefs.
Now, the Manhunters were back in Dover Base, recovering from their exertion and awaiting new orders. They had hardly been idle since then, however, having sat through numerous meetings with the senior command staff, as well as the other pilots of the Special Response Unit that had returned from their missions to Brest and Rennes.
The forces deployed to the Brest Naval Complex had crushed the Blue Cosmos resistance there. Comprised of the 18th Division, the unit's large size mattered for little as Major Venna Callis led the 119th Armor Tactics Squadron Ironstrike to skirt the coast in a decapitation attack against the unit's leadership elements as they attempted to escape to the submarine carrier that waited for them. Bereft of command, the Blue Cosmos forces had quickly folded to the French Regional Guard units there; their Orcinus -class submarine was trapped against a screen of Eurasian Federation Navy units, and their crew had surrendered.
Things at Dinan had been less optimistic, however. Despite two SRU units deployed to the region alongside the French Regional Guard, Blue Cosmos forces there were the most numerous and mounted a fearsome resistance, stymieing OMNI's attempts to clear them out. The situation shifted for the worse when the last of the Orcinus-class submarines had surfaced in the region; while the SRU had successfully cut off some of the Blue Cosmos units, others had managed to escape onto the submarine carrier, which eventually made it out to sea.
Both Eurasian and Atlantic Federation naval elements were now on the prowl for the remaining two submarine carriers that they knew of; the one they had tracked had unfortunately given them the slip offshore Greenland. The SRU units returning from France had been told to rest up as much as they could; if the enemy made landfall at any of the suspected sites, they'll be ordered to deploy at a moment's notice. No region was left unmarked; even the old rocket launch facilities that supported the now-defunct JOSH-A Supercomplex were being watched by Atlantic Federation agents.
The fact that there were still a significant number of Blue Cosmos agents unaccounted for rankled Ray's thoughts. Colonel Rahabinod Ravinan had briefed them all on the aftermath of the battle at Heaven's Base; numerous members of the supremacist group were still at large, and the captures and killings that the SRU had done at France only accounted for a fraction of the Atlantic Federation's hit list. Even now, other members of the SRU were deployed to various locations around the world; not all of their targets operated in the military or led fighting units on the ground, and thus, a multi-front approach would be needed to ferret out each and every top-level supporter and sympathizer. Space was just as bad if not worse; as with the Atlantic Federation Navy, the Space Force had suffered severe levels of defection, losing over half their forces to Blue Cosmos-led defections as well as the critical locations of the Lunar Defence Network, including the Arzarchel Base, the largest Space Force facility on the moon. Rahabinod had informed them that the remaining Earth Alliance loyalists were working with the Lunar Cities Defence Forces and even fast-response ZAFT units to plan a counterattack to retake the Arzarchel Lunar Base, but no other details had been forthcoming.
For now, however, his tasks were yet to come. With nothing major planned for the day, Ray's only concern was the stack of reports on his desk awaiting editing and final ratification, mostly detailing the operations and statuses of his mobile suit during their action at Nantes; Rahabinod had said that the Atlantic Federation wanted to gather operational data from the SRU to further improve their designs. Entering the unit office, Ray's first sight of his subordinates and squadron members was one of Guy Leon tapping away at his keyboard in an idyllic manner, while Sheryl Camelot slowly spun around on her office chair.
"Morning, Ray," Guy said. "Had a good rest?"
"I want to say I did, but frankly, I think my body clock has yet to adjust to the peace," Ray replied, turning to his other subordinate. "You're awfully unoccupied, Sheryl."
"I'm waiting for my drive to work to wake up," Sheryl replied lazily. "I shoot the railgun at one-hundred-fifty percent power, so it nearly destroys itself; what kind of thousand-word report do they want me to write about that?"
"Maybe the context that you were going to try and hit a submarine carrier with it?" Ray remarked, as he took a seat at his desk, pulling out one of the reports.
"Do the technicians really know enough about the Orcinus-class submarine carrier to compare the gun's power to whatever it's hitting?" Sheryl pondered. "Isn't it a Blue Cosmos-led black project?"
"These reports will hardly end at our hands," Ray answered. "Atlantic Federation intelligence will go through them again once we're done; we'll leave it to them to decide which parts they want colored over with black ink."
Sheryl sighed as she slowly hauled herself back to her desk. "I wish I could just get a computer to scan my thoughts and write that report by itself."
"Thought-reading technology sounds like a bunch of hooplah to me," Guy laughed. "What if you thought about the wrong thing at the wrong time? Imagine if firing a gun was done by thought, and you just thought 'oh what if I fired?' and the computer can't tell the difference?"
"We have that, don't we?" Sheryl said. "There's all these rumors of people who can control things at the speed of thought."
"You mean the rumors about the Battle of Endymion Crater from the first war?"
"Yeah, that one!" Sheryl peeked over the top edge of her computer to look at Guy, eyes alight with enthusiasm. "The rumors were everywhere; they say that OMNI had special units during that battle that could let select people control weapons with their thoughts. And that's not even talking about the other rumors spread throughout the time period of the First Bloody Valentine War."
"I've heard a few, but it's always just vague details." Guy remarked. "I'm surprised, Sheryl, you didn't strike me as a conspiracy theorist."
"Really? That kind of talk is common on idle days," Sheryl replied. "You two are old hands from the first war, I'm surprised you haven't heard of them."
"Lunch gossip is hardly my area of expertise," Ray interjected, eliciting an angry sound of disagreement from Sheryl. "C'mon, that report isn't going to write itself."
Work proceeded apace; for Ray and Guy, at least. Sheryl finished her part of the paperwork last, pushing the last of it away with a groan a while past lunch hour. "Finally!"
"And this is after we split some of it amongst us," Ray said pointedly.
"Spare me a break, leader," Sheryl groused. "Lining up a bead and clicking triggers is easier for me."
"There're plenty of people in your line who wish getting their aim right was as easy for them," Guy chortled, standing up to stretch his body. "Lunch hour is almost up, let's get a leg on it."
The Dover Supercomplex was a medium-sized base in contrast to the other facilities classified as such. Situated just shy of the shores of Dover, England, the facility housed up to a full air wing of various Air Force units, as well as two regiments' worth of land forces on permanent station. Occupancy would be higher during periods of action; the Special Response Unit was just one of the forces that was currently on the base, with several others en route to or from Europe. Only one thing stood out amongst the activity that permeated the military facility; Dover dedicated most of its space to a permanent garrison, but had no naval facilities of its own, instead relying on nearby naval bases to provide support.
The roar of heavy transport aircraft engines momentarily tugged at Ray's attention as the trio walked past the back doors of a row of mobile suit hangars on their way to the nearest mess hall. As he watched, a flight of three C-200s came into view over the roofs of the hangars, the edges of their delta-form grey-hulled bodies glinting in the afternoon sun as they accelerated past takeoff speed. Squinting, Ray caught sight of their tail insignia; instead of the Atlantic Federation markings he expected, the aircraft all bore the emblem of the Eurasian Federation Air Force instead.
"More storks from the mainland, huh," Sheryl quipped.
"No," Ray replied. "Those are Eurasian transports."
"Eurasian?" Sheryl watched the receding silhouettes of the heavy transport aircrafts a while longer as they began to angle eastwards, towards Europe. "You're right. Odd. Are they ferrying things off… or dropping something in?"
"Rescued Atlantic Federation personnel, maybe?" Guy offered.
Guy's question was shortly answered as they passed by one of the hangars. Ray glanced through the open back doors to see a familiar face; Master Sergeant Kim Rassare was giving out instructions to a group of infantry, setting them to work with the ground crew in sorting out their items from the other cargo that littered the area. More soldiers milled about further in, awaiting their orders, as nearby ground crew pushed cargo containers in; Ray surmised that the transports had been offloading both humans and gear.
"Master Sergeant Rassare!" Ray called out.
Kim turned to look in the direction of the shout, a smile appearing on her face moments later. "Captain Feric! Good to see you in one piece and still in boots."
"Same to you too, Kim," Ray replied, joining the infantry commander. He looked at the gathered soldiers. "Nice to see that some of them made it back, at least."
"We've all had our fair share of battles," Kim said. "The catch-up will probably take us weeks."
"Damn right it'll take weeks!" A shout from behind Kim exclaimed. Craning his neck, Ray caught sight of two other familiar faces; that of Gunnery Sergeant Yohann Fauser, with Staff Sergeant Hason Warbeck beside him. With Hanson attempting to stifle a laugh, Yohann snapped off a salute at the pilots of the Manhunters. "Nice to see you all again, sirs and ma'ams! Prepare to be wow'ed by the tales of Rassare's Ravagers!"
"Stop trying to get that name to stick!" Kim shot back, though her expression told a different story.
"I'll be waiting to hear all about your stories, Sergeant," Sheryl said, exchanging a handshake with Kim. "Knowing you, it'll definitely be worth our time."
"I could say the same of you lot," Kim returned good-naturedly.
CE 74, April 7th, Dakar Spaceport, Senegal, African Community
Evening 18 59
Not for the first time since he joined the Atlantic Federation military did Ray muse about the stark duality of life within it. Phases of frenzied activity were always offset by stretches of near-nothingness.
Four days ago, Colonel Rahabinod had assigned the Manhunters their new orders; suspected personnel had been spotted in the territory of Dakar, under the African Community, and negotiations with the independent alliance of nations had yielded enough results for the Atlantic Federation to deploy forces in the region. The group selected for the missions consisted of just the Manhunters, supported by Kim's unit and another group of infantry. They were just the fighting face of the operation, however; intel operatives and field agents had been out and about in the region, working with the authorities of Dakar to root out the Blue Cosmos suspects.
After meeting up with Kim, the Manhunters had spent a few more days tidying up loose ends before the call for a mission had some in. Frenzied preparation and deployment followed; two days ago they had touched down in the Dakar Spaceport, and now they were back to the boring phase of the operation; waiting for leads to come in. Depending on how well their allies did, it was entirely possible that the Manhunters would not even need to sortie; both the field operatives and local defence forces in Dakar were in line well before it would be their turn. When Ray and Kim had talked it over, the infantry commander carried the same sentiments regarding the use of her soldiers.
Ray did not begrudge this part of the military. He understood all too well that the Manhunters and Kim's infantry were the insurance for the operation; if one or both of them wound up spending their entire time here just waiting for the end of the mission, then it would be considered a good result; the problem would have been cut off at the root before it could be allowed to blossom into something more widespread and destructive.
Ray mentally went through the details he had been given regarding the area of operations. Dakar was a city situated in the Benin region of the African Community, and an average city by all things considered if not for the rocket launch and spaceport facility built some distance from the city center, bordering the shores of Dakar that faced the Atlantic Ocean.
In this day and age, no major locus of civilization on Earth was truly cut off from space, all things considered; but the advent of the mass drivers that dominated the socio-political landscape of the Cosmic Era illustrated just how powerful the capability to cheaply deliver goods and people could be. No dedicated rocket launch facility had survived the advent of the mass drivers intact; places like the Alaskan Launch Complex and the French Guiana facilities were kept relevant with governmental and scientific use and support, while places such as Dakar's, which were mainly used in civilian applications and serviced the entire region of Senegal, were kept alive by virtue of sheer distance from the nearest mass driver. In days past, the rocket site was swarmed with transport requests; with the Habilis Mass Driver at Lake Victoria drawing off much of the original traffic from all over Africa, the Dakar launch facility of today was much less crowded than in the past.
The First Bloody Valentine War ironically helped to revive the city's relevance as a launch hub, as Lake Victoria was closed to non-allied use by the Eurasian Federation, and later tightly controlled by ZAFT for most of the war, causing orbit-bound traffic to be diverted elsewhere; but the peace that followed quickly returned the spaceport to its quieted state. The Second Bloody Valentine War failed to revive Dakar to its pre-mass driver days; the short stint of the Eurasian Federation under the Blue Cosmos-controlled World Security Treaty had not affected their decision this time around to keep civilian routes open, and the Habilis Mass Driver had continued to service African needs for the few short months when the Eurasian Federation was officially at war with ZAFT.
That, unfortunately, meant that Dakar was very easily kept out of sight by other locations of greater importance, and the reports of Blue Cosmos suspects only strengthened Ray's theory of their presence. The African Community was nominally allied with the PLANTs, but possessed no PLANT facilities or permanent ZAFT presence, unlike the Oceania Union and ZAFT's Carpentaria Base, or even the Special Administrative Agreement with the Eurasian Federation that allowed for the existence of ZAFT's Gibraltar Base. Their leaders, at least, understood that in recent times it would be political suicide if Blue Cosmos elements were allowed to escape via their territories, and so had contacted the major powers secure better aid in their efforts to prevent Blue Cosmos from escaping.
For what reason Blue Cosmos had a small power base in a region so far away from the Atlantic Federation, Ray could only guess at, and none of the reasons were palatable. Nevertheless, Atlantic Federation high command had quickly pounced on the chance, zeroing in on Dakar, the largest spaceport in the region. Ray recalled the briefing Nain had given them when they arrived; they, in addition to local and Eurasian Federation forces, were all combing any place of the African continent that was within reach for the remaining Blue Cosmos elements that operated within. While the Atlantic Federation handled Dakar and any transit point westwards, the Eurasian Federation and the South Africa Union handled the other East African launch facilities, the Habilis mass driver amongst them. Ray had heard that ZAFT was also sifting through North Africa, as well as the nearby regions of the Atlantic Ocean, although they had no lasting contact with the Atlantic Federation. He supposed that they were far enough removed from the area to be out of the equation.
The ceiling fan spun lazily in the waiting room that constituted their temporary quarters, its low humming only broken on occasion by Sheryl's irritated sigh as she tugged at the collar of her pilot suit. The weather was no ally of theirs today, a hot, arid day slipping into a windless night. Although Ray made no sounds, he shared Sheryl's sentiments; they had only been in their pilot suits for slightly over a half-hour, but it was already beginning to chafe at their mental state.
"Command must not be expecting much of a show if there's only the three of us here." Guy remarked.
"We don't have many spares ourselves," Ray replied. Much of the SRU had been deployed into Europe and Eurasia at large, leaving just a few squads such as Ray's to respond to other requests for backup. "Besides, we're in the minority today."
For this operation, the Manhunters were all that was available for mobile suit support, while the actual boots on the ground was many times theirs. Not counting Kim's unit, there were the various operatives of the Atlantic Federation, working in concert with the local authorities. The African Community had also stationed mobile suits in the Spaceport proper; their pilots were in a separate waiting room, and Ray had not much chance to interact with them.
Major Nain bint Aamir had personally briefed Ray and the others when they arrived on the base, having been assigned here from even before their battle at Nantes to lead counter-intelligence and small-scale raids against Blue Cosmos operatives in the region. Concurrent operations across the globe were a fact of life for the Atlantic Federation's Special Response Unit, now making up for the time lost by the Atlantic Federation while under the influence of Blue Cosmos.
"We're planted here at the ass-end of the cargo storage hangars, with the main points of ingress into the spaceport's launch facilities and runways on the other end of the land," Sheryl mumbled. "We should have just planted our mobile suits in the middle of the place to send a message."
During the briefing, Nain had detailed how the Dakar Spaceport had been predicted as a prime target. Ray understood in general that with the land war lost, Blue Cosmos would be seeking to consolidate their forces in space, hence the iron grip of security around the mass drivers and the other spaceports across the world.
"The objective is to keep up appearances to lure in the enemy," Ray said. "There's no point in trying to scare them off."
"The Senegal military has some mobile suits stationed here too, right?" Sheryl asked, her voice edged with a hint of mischief as she glanced at the nearby wall; on the other side were the local points. "They use modified GINN OCHERS, right? With any luck, Blue Cosmos will think that that's all that's waiting for them here."
Guy chuckled. "We're thinking in shadier terms with every passing day."
"That just clutters the area," Ray said. "I won't be surprised if the Blue Cosmos agents have spaceport staff sympathetic to them; Nain hinted to as much in the briefing."
"I'm just joking," Sheryl replied, settling back into her chair with a sigh. "More people just means more obstacles in the way of shooting, anyways."
CE 74, April 7th, Dakar Spaceport, Dakar, Senegal, African Community
Night 21 53
Kim Rassare watched the camera feeds with a hardened gaze. Seated in the security control room of the spaceport alongside Major Nain and the airport staff, her view flicked from screen to screen, taking in the visual information they presented with washed-out colors.
Her platoon was situated in a holding area converted from a staff lounge, brought in not to provide fire support to the field operatives, but for any possible firefight at the airport, just like Ray and the Manhunters; in the event that Blue Cosmos members stopped skulking around in the shadows and that direct firepower would be needed to oppose them, Kim had been given authority to take control of that part of the operation. She trusted that Yohann and Hanson would be able to keep the rest of the soldiers quiet until the time of action. Beside Kim sat Nain, who was outfitted in fatigues and a flak vest like her. Nain had a similarly hard gaze set into her expression, although her attention was split between the data unit she carried and the security screens. Kim noticed that the intel officer sported a handful of fresh scars on her forearms that ran up her limbs past her sleeves, usually kept out of sight by her main uniform; she made a mental note to ask her about that privately once this was over.
Around the two OMNI personnel, the airport staff busied themselves with their day duties, trying to keep themselves occupied despite the obvious military presence. The spaceport had been virtually shut down and multiple plans drawn up on evacuation to the underground shelters on Nain's advice, with only vital traffic and personnel allowed; Kim eyed the security manager, a stereotypically middle-aged man with a paunch who wrung his hands with worry as he flitted from station to station, talking in hushed tones with his staff; occasionally, a look or two backwards would be aimed in Kim's direction by the more inquisitive members of the security staff.
Memories of Kim's suppression mission to the Panama Spaceport and mass driver at the outbreak of the First Bloody Valentine War drifted just under her consciousness, the yells and gunfight sounds seemingly welling up from the subconscious as though she was back in the action. Quashing her past with a self-admonishment, the sound of conversation brought Kim's attention back to the present as the leader of the African Community Armed Forces' local units for this case, Major Adar Dalleou, updated Nain on his part of the situation.
"My men have swept the outermost sites with your operatives and the local police, but they're blank," Adar said. "Evidence of a hasty exit is obvious enough, but so far we haven't found any targets."
"We have to assume that they're already on the way here, then," Nain replied.
"Will they really target this place?" Adar remarked. "Surely one of the mass drivers-"
"They should have seen enough examples made of those who tried the mass driver routes," Nain said. "The captures at Kaohsiung and Habilis should be public knowledge by now."
"Then Panama-"
"If you think they'll make it far enough into Panama to get within view of the mass driver, you'd be sorely mistaken," Nain interrupted the chief investigator. "That leaves the spaceports. Believe me when I say that I'm not the only one here doing this. They don't have a lot of places they can run to."
"I only hope we can get them before they start a fight we can't stop easily," Adar muttered. "We don't have a mass driver to fall back on if they wreck this place."
Kim eyed the security cameras, her gaze noting the relative lack of people in the facilities. All flights off-world that couldn't be sped up had been cancelled starting from evening, and only vital cargo flights had been allowed in or out. The majority of civilians had been notified and the last of them were even now being transported to other locations that would no doubt prove to be safer if it came to a firefight within the grounds of the Spaceport.
A chirp from her ear-mounted communicator made Nain turn to the side, tapping on the device. Kim watched as her expression changed from the stone-face façade she presented to the chief investigator to one of vindication. "Understood, Ranger Three. Good job; continue on with the pursuit. Scryer Leader out."
"Did you get their leader?" Adar asked as soon as Nain turned back to him.
"Were it that easy," Nain replied. "But we're making progress. We'll stick to the plan; keep watch on the outbound space flights today."
As Adar left to speak to the security manager, Kim returned her attention to the security viewscreens, only for Nain to nudge her arm, motioning for her to follow out of the room. Kim acquiesced, and the two walked for a distance before ducking into a corner.
"So what do you think of the local forces?" Kim asked.
"Mostly sincere, by my guess," Nain said. "As much as I can tell with the hurried pace at which we're proceeding. One or two turncoats won't change the plan. I'd expect a handful of airport staff to be in on it as well, I wouldn't expect the local military or the police to know the exact scheduling of spacebound flights, nor will they be able to fudge records to replace cargo with people. And with the spaceport shut down to the bare minimum the Blue Cosmos agents won't be able to blend in with civilians either."
"So we just sit here and wait for the crisis to reveal itself?" Kim pressed.
"Government requests notwithstanding, we don't have the coverage to lock down the entire city," Nain replied. "Our best bet is to lure them into a corner, trammel them in, then get as many of them as we can in a single strike."
"What if we asked ZAFT for assistance? Surely this concerns them."
Nain blew air through her lips in a low-pitched sigh. "I would welcome it in this case. I even raised that question to the Senegal regional authorities. After all, the African Community is an official PLANT ally."
"Yeah, that." Kim quipped. "Surely ZAFT wouldn't turn down such a request?"
"ZAFT's public intentions seems to be one of cautious peacekeeping. They're not looking for war with us anymore, but they aren't that hot with the idea of working close with us, either. They have a representative in Senegal currently, but if they have any intention to work with us, they aren't forthcoming with it. Spread thin as they are, it seems like they won't be in the area, so that leaves us freer to move about, at least."
Kim sighed as she leaned against the nearby wall. "The war should be over. Why are we still handling all these things at arm's length as though it's going to explode all over our faces?"
Nain's expression turned morbid. "Remember how this war started with the Junius Seven drop. You can't fault ZAFT for keeping their distance."
"Not to mention that with the Berlin incident, ZAFT has been trying to conserve and rebuild their strength on Earth. Then the LOGOS reveal and the attack on Heaven's Base occurred; even with defectors and the Eurasian Federation providing advance firepower, they still took a serious blow in that fight. I'd be suspicious if they didn't rein it in after all that."
"Besides, ZAFT's sights are currently fixed on the topmost members of LOGOS first and foremost, or so Atlantic intelligence believes. We know that there're signs of a force buildup at Carpentaria, and some indications of it at Gibraltar as well; the question is where ZAFT's first strike will be aimed at. Atlantic and Eurasian intel place their top suspicions between several locations in the Equatorial Union. Less likely is that they'll send a force northwards and to the Kingdom of Scandinavia. The Orb Union is under consideration too. The Republic of East Asia has agreed to assist us by liaising with the Equatorial Union, while the Eurasian Federation handles the Kingdom. We'll be sending representatives to Orb as soon as we're able to." Nain explained. "Last I recall, a mid-level LOGOS member had previously been caught in the Equatorial Union's territories, hoping to escape from the Sarawak Spaceport, so there's a precedence for it, at least."
"Running to gather some of their foreign assets before they flee for space, eh?" Kim said. "So ZAFT is watching over the Oceania Union's spaceports?"
"Hardly. The Oceania Union owes the PLANTs much of their advanced technology, they're all too happy to join in and hand whoever they net straight to the PLANTs. No, ZAFT is saving strength for a bigger prize." Nain paused as she chose her next words.
"It's Djibril. Atlantic intel currently believes that ZAFT isn't picky about wanting the leader's head attached to his shoulders, or on a pike; they just want him on hand to account for his deeds. His is an unusual case, as Djibril seems to have gone and vanished himself despite being the number one on every wanted list since the first day this search-and-chase affair started. No clues, no leads, nothing. I'd bet he's found a place to shelter himself, and ZAFT probably thinks so too, if they're gathering strength in that locale. If so, I hope whoever did it is doing it unknowingly, because the alternative is not something I want to consider possible."
Kim smirked, her expression explaining the incredulity she felt better than any words could. "Deliberately shelter the person currently topping the shit list of every major national power? Who's stupid enough to do that?"
Afterword:
We're still in the in-between of the Heaven's Base battle and ZAFT's assault on Orb, with Ray and team chasing Blue Cosmos leads across the globe. Ironically, I might be presenting them to be more powerful than their original depiction in the show suggested; in the TV series Heaven's Base served as their final stand, while here it's more like breaking open a pest nest; the pests are all gone from that one spot, sure, but now they're running about and nobody knows where they're going to run into one.
Given Dakar's near-equatorial location and proximity towards the shore, it's one of the locations that spring to mind first and foremost for a spaceport; the slight issue here is that it lies in North Africa, which is at least nominally slanted towards ZAFT rather than OMNI, so I had to write a way to fit the Manhunters in no matter how awkward it might become.