- "If Gracemeria falls, they'll no doubt bring ruin upon the entire world!"
- ― Emmerian pilot[3]
The assault on the Chandelier, referred to by Estovakians as the Chandelier Defensive Operation,[2] was the final battle of the Emmeria-Estovakia War. Emmerian pilots performed a long-range strike on the Chandelier cruise missile system[1] to defend Gracemeria from missile attacks.[3]
Estovakian military forces who opposed the ongoing Emmerian peace talks, including Strigon Team, defended the Chandelier. Despite suffering heavy losses, Emmeria's forces, especially Garuda Team's leader Talisman, destroyed the system, thereby ending the war.[1]
Prelude
Following the liberation of Gracemeria, Emmeria began negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Estovakian leaders.[4] That night, Estovakian officers who opposed the treaty[1] activated the Chandelier and launched a cruise missile attack on Gracemeria. After repelling the attacks, AWACS Ghost Eye and Emmerian intelligence tracked the missile trajectory back to Sonne Island.[5]
Despite having some knowledge of the Chandelier, Emmerian intelligence on the weapon was scarce. The following morning, numerous Republic of Emmeria Air Force squadrons flew north to investigate Sonne Island and destroy any hostile Estovakian forces.[3]
On route to Sonne Island, the Emmerian pilots were contacted by Melissa Herman with the help of Zed Waters' radio station in Gracemeria. She and Ludmila Tolstaya had convinced Estovakian ace pilot and intelligence officer Victor Voychek to provide information on the Chandelier that would assist in its destruction.[6] The radio station sent the relevant data, which marked the Chandelier's hastily-constructed cooling units as its weak spots, to AWACS Ghost Eye, who then relayed the data to all participating Emmerian aircraft.[3]
Battle
The odds were heavily stacked against the Emmerians as the Chandelier was covered with AA weaponry, multiple cooling units covered with protective barriers, guarded by the remnant Estovakian naval warships and formation the Strigon Team survivors. Numerous F-22A Raptors and Su-47 Berkuts also took part in the Chandelier Defensive Operation.[3]
Undeterred, the Emmerians fought hard, destroying multiple Estovakian defenses while losing several aircraft. Every so often, they had to break off their attacks in order to destroy Stauros shell before they were loaded and shot towards Gracemeria. Thanks to Garuda Team, all the main cooling units were destroyed.[3]
However, the back-up cooling unit still remained inside the railgun facility, at the end of the loading chute. Braving heavy fire, Shamrock dove into the chute in order to obtain data on the back-up unit before suffering heavy damage and being forced to bail out. Talisman followed his wingman's route, flying into the chute and successfully taking out the cooling unit. Amidst the confusion, General Gustav Dvornik attempted to escape, however, he was shot down by Talisman. Following this, the barrel of the railgun opened up, revealing the location of the Chandelier's core. Talisman then flew into the weapon's barrel and destroyed the core from the inside before narrowly escaping the resulting explosion.[3]
Aftermath
The destruction of the core resulted in the entire weapon collapsing.[3] There were no further attempts of retaliation by Estovakian officers and a coup d'etat in the Estovakian capital overthrew The Generals. The ceasefire agreement between Emmeria and Estovakia was signed later that month, restoring peace between the two nations.[1]
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Aces At War: A History 2019, page 059.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Assault Records #09 - Aleksei Cheshenko.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Mission 15: "Chandelier", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 13: "The Liberation of Gracemeria", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 14: "Gracemeria Patrol", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Cutscene 16: "Resolve", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.