Fort Norton infiltration
The Fort Norton Infiltration was a secret operation undertaken by Garuda Team that became a turning point in the Emmeria-Estovakia War.
Premise
Weeks before, the Emmerian military carried out a large scale invasion against Estovakian forces stationed in the Moloch Desert region, northwest of the Emmerian capital city Gracemeria. During the battle's climax, Emmerian forces were suddenly issued a general retreat order by Emmerian Mission Command: the Estovakian commanders threatened to employ unspecified weapons of mass destruction to carry out a scorched earth policy on Gracemeria if the enemy continued its advance towards the capital.
Around the same time the retreat order was issued, aircraft from the elite 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Strigon" arrived to ensure the retreat of all Emmerian forces from the Moloch Desert. Despite the warnings from AWACS Ghost Eye, however, Marcus "Shamrock" Lampert of the 28th Fighter Squadron's Garuda Team, who was hellbent on seeking revenge for the loss of Gracemeria to the Estovakian forces, ignored all retreat orders and, in a move that threatened Gracemeria as we know it, attacked the Strigon aircraft. His flight commander, Talisman, was forced to assist Shamrock, albeit against his own will.
The two aces managed to swiftly eliminate all six Strigon aircraft from radar. However, due to their defiance of the retreat order, the Garuda Team were suspended from all further combat operations and were given a formal reprimand for insubordination.
Meanwhile, back in Gracemeria, word of Garuda Team's suspension had already reached both Estovakian Air Force intelligence officer Victor Voychek and newly appointed Strigon Team leader Ilya Pasternak after the latter had just arrived in Gracemeria, Naturally, the two officers became very worried that Garuda Team would lose their positions.
Battle
In March 26, 2016, the Emmerian Joint Chiefs of Staff had drawn an extremely high-risk operation to stop the enemy's WMD threat: the weapons were stored in Fort Norton, an Emmerian mining city north of Gracemeria, located in the Alma River region, defended by a large-scale radar network. The plan was simple: send top pilots into Fort Norton at low altitude to avoid radar detection and eliminating the WMD transport unit before they could deliver their payload. However, there were no pilots available to perform such a risky operation, hence Emmerian command turned to the only available choice: the recently grounded Garuda Team.
That same day, Garuda Team, alongside AWACS Ghost Eye, were deployed in Fort Norton in order to carry out Operation: WMD Suppression. Maneuvering through the ravines and bridges of Alma River to avoid radar detection, Garuda silently destroyed all ground forces in the sector before they could establish contact with their transport unit in Eastern Alma. After a few minutes, the Emmerian ace pilots arrived at the designated attack point, much to the Estovakians' surprise, who immediately began to mobilize the transport unit. Nevertheless, the WMD carriers were taken out, thus erasing the scorched earth threat once and for all.
Tides turn
However, not all was over yet. Even with the WMD destroyed, Garuda Team still had to retreat from Alma River. As they left, a group of Estovakian fighters engaged the retreating Emmerian aircraft in hot pursuit. However, as time passed, more and more enemy aircraft began joining the pursuit, until Garuda were completely surrounded by Estovakian pilots. It all came to its climax, however, when a colossal airborne contingent, consisting of an entire battalion of fighters as well as two electronic support planes and jamming planes, ambushed the 28th Fighter Squadron in western Fort Norton. The two pilots were forced to engage their pursuers, despite being outnumbered 62-2.
However, just when it looked like Garuda Team was on the verge of total annihilation, an equally massive Emmerian formation, composed of Guy Stewart "Snake Pit", 2nd Strike Fighter Squadron "Avalanche", 4th Fighter Squadron "Sky Kid", 15th Fighter Squadron "Windhover", and other pilots Garuda had fought alongside with throughout the entire war, approached Fort Norton at high speed to assist their fellow ace pilots. After an intense furball, all Estovakian aircraft were destroyed.
Aftermath
With the ensuing carnage, the mission was a success. The Estovakian WMD threat had been suppressed, and nothing could stop the Emmerian forces now from advancing towards Gracemeria.
As a result of the mission's success, the Joint Chiefs of Staff immediately lifted Garuda Team's suspension.
Five days later, the Emmerian commanders gave the green light to the operation that would decide Emmeria's fate.