Last Stand at Mount Soulless

### Result

Decisive Eternal Empire defeat. Dyss regain control of planet and use it as staging ground for further attacks.

## Forces

### Defending forces

HM Imperial Army: 9 Million soldiers, mainly composing Ground Troops and Armoured CommandsImperial Air Force: 2 Support Wings, 1 Hastefully formed Fighter Wing

Vanilla Battlefleet: 32+ Warships

### Attacking forces

Dyss Army: 20 Million soldiers, pilots and mechanised unitsGreat Purification Armada: 120+ Warships

## Commanders

### Commander of defending forces

General Alexander William Baron (KIA)Lieutenant General Nicholson Valery (KIA)

Admiral Graham Romulan ‘Vanilla’ (KIA)

### Commander of invading forces

Veg-la Hyu Z-uv (WIA)Great Purifier Pav-la Hald'Ydon

## Casualties

### Defender casualties

Complete losses. 9 Million men and women are either killed or captured and late executed by returning Warlords. Thousands of vehicles destroyed or capturedAll but two screening ships survive in Vanilla Battlefleet

### Invader casualties

Heavy casualties. 7 Million dead or missing, along with countless others wounded in battle. 2 Million would die later, due to extreme environmental condition in Conderon after the battle

### Civilian casualties

Planet wide extermination. Estimated 5 billion Dyss deaths before the Second Battle of Conderon

The famous last stand of mount soulless, an extension of the bloody **Battle of Conderon**, during the Bloody Push, was a clash fought between advancing Dyss troops and cut-off soldiers from the Eternal Empire in the then Dyss occupied planet of **Conderon** (Name attributed by Imperial invading armies). The first battle for the world started officially in February 2262, whilst the second - The Dyss counter-attack - in March 2263, ending later in that same year and with far more reverberating consequences than the previous. The confrontation in Conderon remains to be one clear example of the greater scale within the Bloody Push; The Imperial Army, overstretched and undersupplied, was cut off after a swift Dyss counter-attack, being later left to fight on it’s own against a fierce and numerous opponent, in a last stand at the mountain-range known as ‘**Mount Soulless**’.

The high casualties left by the struggle at Conderon left a wound in the Empire that almost made it collapse in total bloodshed. With the total destruction of all forces in planet, the outcome of the battle not only gave a strong sense of defeatism amongst Imperials, but also brought a sense of xenophobia greater than anything before. For the Dyss counterpart, it commenced a new vengeful phase within the war sentiment of soldiers, one that almost reached the gates of New-Earth and brought the Western Lion to its knees in a matter of months. What initially gave Imperial Marshall Lionel Firefly a sea of glory, then made Great Purifier Hald'Ydon one of the most respected military warlords of the Dyss’ merciless war machine. In a year of total conflict, two empires now had turned tables, in one of the most deadly wars the Galaxy had ever seen.

## **Prelude**

### **Arriving in Force**

Throughout several systems, Armed fleets of the Empress opened the way for an all-out invasion force coming from core worlds of the Eternal Empire. The mastermind behind such plans of attack, Imperial Field Marshall **Sir Lionel Firefly**, who was also commander of standing forces in the Northern sectors of the Empire-Dyss frontier, was keen on a quick and merciless victory over the alien foe, often ignoring warnings of most cautious commanders on the great restraints in supply lines and manpower shortages when landed in several planetary fields of battle. Himself, along with several high-standing Imperial Admirals involved in the devising of the attack plan were fond of fast-paced mass attacks, which overwhelmed Dyss defences and routed incoming enemy reinforcements in a lightning battle that the enemy had no choice but fight or surrender - Something the Dyss were never known for.

In the beginning of the second year of the offensive, in 2262, they moved for their next invasion target; Conderon.

The Dyss planet, also known by the actual name of **Varya Almass** (Translated as ‘Land of Brave Warriors/Souls’ in Dyss language), was set as a stepping stone for further advances inland to the heart of the alien Empire and as a regroupment base for munitions, supplies and newer troops being brought to the frontlines of the offensive. In late January, the ‘**Vanilla Battlefleet**’ (Commanded by Admiral Graham Romulan ‘Vanilla’) broke inside amongst dyss space system and anihilated all enemy warship presence located in orbit, then moving in to perform orbital bombardment and open way for arriving transports of the Imperial Army and Air Force of the assigned battle contingent. With relentless fire coming from above, many of the fortifications found on the surface were abandoned or vaporized without any discretion of dyss civilian losses. In the following month, at the third of February, the 74th. Royal Army - Along with the 304th. and 1042nd. Support Wings - landed in mass to meet with dyss forces face-to-face; the **First Battle of Conderon** was about to begin.

### **Months of Struggles**

The task of taking an important planet like Conderon was not an easy one, for the Dyss knew the importance of a choke point like it for a quick-moving force like the Imperials during the Push. Already over stretched in the command structure and manpower pool of battle-ready soldiers, the Invasion force responsible for effectively taking the planet fell under command of a single General, stubborn and experienced **Alexander William Baron**. Not only that, but the 74th. Royal Army had been recently rebuilt in result of previous battles down south, making the sight of several fresh-faced recruits - Although wielding more advanced weapons - a worrisome endeavour for such a grand-scale operation. The first weeks, with so many military shortcomings displayed by the Imperial side, were the bloodiest, but also only the beginning of the first battle in Conderon.

Aided by elements of the 1042nd. Close Air Support Wing (Spearheaded by Imperial Ace Harold Mountbatten, who, at the time, competed for top spot with Alfred Hitchcock) and orbital bombardments made by weaponry of the Vanilla Battlefleet, the Imperial advance crawled forwards, despite heavy losses inflicted at the larger columns. In march, the Imperials saw the most success they would get during the battle, charging across plain fields and raising dyss living centers to ashes along the way towards the ultimate goal of completely occupying the planet as quickly as possible. With the arrival of the following months, however, the invasion slowed to a crawl with newer setbacks imposed by far away high command; the Vanilla Battlefleet, a great morale boost and support force for the 74th, was on leave in May for the upcoming conglomerated fleet engagement at the Battle of Lost Sun, some systems ahead of the one having the planet of Conderon in. Left without much needed strikes keeping the bulk of dyss forces tied up underground or in mountains, General Alexander Baron cooped with a much more even fight than anyone could have anticipated, having to adopt a ‘Barrage with Advancement’ doctrine that greatly impeded the Imperial lightning gains like done previously.

In June, only 75% of the planet had been occupied; it was one of the slowest advances accomplished by Imperial Armed Forces during the Bloody Push Campaign. By July, most strong pockets of dyss resistance had already been crushed, but some strongholds still proved to be troublesome when faced by more lightly armed Imperial divisions. With a final charge displayed by the most veteran regiments of the 74th. Army, General Baron announced, in the start of August, that the planet had been eliminated of dyss common standing forces throughout the surface, and most of said xenos had already been exterminated by the outcome of the battle on itself.

### **Turning the Tides**

The victory in Conderon was well received, but in the end, it was deemed as too late for the upcoming offensives at the heartland of the Dyss Berserkers. General Alexander Baron, along with his 74th. Royal Army, remained in post, receiving rather more criticism for his supposed ‘slowness’ than praise for his efforts in the battle for the planet. In the initial months of occupation though, the plan for turning the world into a frontline operating base was still incentivized to be put in action, but the defeat of the Combined Fleet at the Battle of Lost Sun halted most optimal leaders and forced them to reassess their strategy in a grander scale than before. Field Marshall Firefly, who was still hoping for further advances, made several mentions of increasing Imperial presence in Conderon with great numbers, of which many still remained unanswered; stalled by the strained supply lines and crippled reinforcement chains of the Imperial Armed Forces. In the end, most promised supplies and troops did not arrive, whilst those who did were either stocked in mountain bunkers or kept in personal command of Firefly, who had personal complications with General Alexander’s way of management, along with distrust of him as a whole other issue limiting better assignment of manpower.

In a timespan of six months, the occupied world suffered several changes. The soldiers, who worked also as ‘makeshift colonizers’ when not in threat of battle, raised and constructed several fortifications along with many more ways to live off the land, rather than consuming the shortening supplies available. Shortly yet steadily, the priority changed; from an operational base for further Army Group advances to a local defensive chokepoint expected to hold the dyss onslaught for as long as possible. With a recorded nine million soldiers posted at Conderon, the planet had grown to be one of the main lines for stalling the enemy; but, as later realised, nobody would have the strength to stop the upcoming dyss armed counter-attack.

### **A Hero's Return**

What was something predicted as delusional or taken by denial when overlooked by officials had happened; the Empire was in complete retreat from now onwards.

The main Dyss Armada, arranged and guided by the very competent and wise Great Purifier Hald'Ydon, was leading the way for the great efforts of clenching and liquidating local pockets of Imperial resistance nearby the core worlds of Berserker territory; unfortunately for the Empire, Conderon was the next stop. In late February, 2263, what would later be nicknamed as ‘**The Great Purification Armada**’ reached the system housing Conderon, surprising much of the Transport Flotilla nearby shipping weapons and aircraft for the Imperial planet in sight. In a flexible clash, the elite dyss force destroyed all Imperial vessels in a matter of 24 hours, eliminating any potential threat coming from space in the nearby weeks of engagement. The accompanying army under watch of Great Purifier Hald'Ydon, stood by awaiting deployment as ordered; 20 million veterans were being assembled once more to erase all humans in old dyss territory, and they were as determined as ever to bring pain and suffering to those that did the same to their homeland in such magnitude beforehand. The ground commander of the invasion, Veg-la Hyu Z-uv, ‘The Butcher of Seven Worlds’, demanded nothing more than complete victory at the battlegrounds of the planet, an attitude that only encouraged more bloodshed to be spilled by his ravagers in the coming weeks of engagements.

Like heroes of tales, they cheered for the upcoming battle. As the Imperial ground troops noticed they were cut off from home, there was nothing they could do unless wait and watch bitterly, whilst assembling a defensive command in preparations for the true struggles ahead. If nobody showed themselves to assist, a complete defeat would be certain to fall on Imperial hands.

## **The Battle**

### **Clash Between Broken Men**

As the command of the 74th. gathered for the fight, the only hope encountered by the troops was to call for help in the inner systems of the Empire. Though cut off from the rest of the Army, it did not ultimately meant communications were lost with command. General Alexander Baron’s unstoppable requests for any kind of help grew in numbers with each day; soon turning into curses, rather than pleads. Lionel Firefly, who still commanded the grander scale of ground forces of the incursion, dismissed the constant calls, relaying them to officials as “*A rather necessary outcome for the restarting of newer offensive efforts*.”, and taking the claims held by Baron lightly and sarcastically, rather than answering appropriately. Another rising figure in the scenery of battle, Field Marshall Nathaniel Romulan, a man who urged for a retreat earlier and is rumoured to have taken matters at his own hand once Firefly suffered a heart attack whilst in office, was now the second in command for the Bloodied Imperial Push of the north, and was advocate for hearing whatever the stubborn general in Conderon had to say, even when Lionel disregarded the issue over the common discussions involving the operation.

Unfortunately, for the troops of Conderon, the ignorance of command would soon turn out to be one of their least concerns in March, as Dyss battlegroups began landing in mass at the shores of the continental world with extreme ferocity and taste for battle; It was the beginning of the Second Battle of Conderon.

Imperial losses turned to be the highest at the initial months (Apart from last ditch stands in October). The more veteran Dyss divisions, spearheaded by relentless waves of mechanised and orbital bombardment, were also ones that made quick way on the crossings of plains at Conderon, stomping on any kind of defense scrambled by the Empress’ redcoats grouped in rebuilt fortresses. Disaster struck in early days of April, as General Alexander Baron, during one of the daily briefings of the planetary defence, was killed along with his entire general staff when Dyss suicidal strike crafts broke through defensive lines of the main Army divisional command stronghold and detonated a great part of the building up, leaving little to no leadership structures for the Imperial army facing the defense of Conderon. Hours passed, and the decisioning only deteriorated into more chaotic and sporadic calls for taking over; One by one, each high ranking official still alive refused the task at hand, either with their hands too full already or with their own concerns of bearing the planetary defeat to themselves, that is, until **Lieutenant General Nicholson Valery** was approached with the challenge for the defense. The 59 years old Logistics Wizard, tasked with properly supplying (And sometimes directing reserve regiments to fill divisional gaps) frontier troops and providing equipment and support whenever he could to nearby commanders, was not a man to cour away from battle, let alone one meaning the life or death of his own troops. Having suffered some demotions from insubordination in the past despite his great deeds, he was once a frontline officer who rose in ranks during the lack of military commanders with the losses the 2261 offensives. Adjacent with the 74th. since the first landings, his abilities in coordination of his units - **The New Quebéc Royal Army Group** -, along with the successful taking the mountain ranges of the south (Later to be named **Mount Soulless**) got him the post of Logistical commander of the southern Corps; entrusting millions to be fed, rested and comfortable enough in the fields of battle. Nevertheless, the task at hand had turned much more difficult for Valery, and it would take more than a mere miracle to hold the already crumbling defences in the plains of Conderon without any Dyss breakthroughs in the coming weeks. He and the remaining commanders needed to change strategy, if not to face complete annihilation by sheer enemy determination and will to murder the humans to the last.

### **Offensives Stalled**

Although a stone-faced veteran of exiled french guards, Lieutenant General Valery was much more keen on adapting to a changing a situation than most officers like Field Marshall Lionel and old-guard tacticticans. With the clear sight that they would either be squashed by Dyss mobility or beaten down by space fire of the Great Purification Armada, little choices presented themselves to the Imperials rather than to organize a tactical and orderly retreat to more defensible terrain locations, if not to stall the enemy for as long as possible to then figure out the next move of batte. As Nicholson Valery had gotten much of his experience at Conderon in the southern more mountainous regions of the planet, he advocated for a complete reshuffle of defending troops for the chain of mountain-ranges found near the coasts of the South, with a narrow entrance point in a peninsula surrounded by continental oceans which had proven hard to be broken beforehand in the Imperial invasion of the planet. In the following weeks, wave upon wave of soldiers entered their positions safely whilst frontline troops held the Dyss at bay for as long as they could to give more time for regrouping forces. In the middle of May, the contingent forming the 74th. Royal Army that occupied the entire planet had either been partially liquidated or found within the pocket of the southern peninsula, then totalizing roughly 6 Million bodies still able to fight in the active defense.

At this time, the Mountain ranges occupied by imperials down south were mostly referred to as **Line 203**, entrenched locations with roughly the same size as the European continent in Old Earth; in later stages of the campaign, however, it had been nicknamed by the men as ‘**Mount Soulless**’, until the very end of the campaign.

The sudden change of strategic planning for the Imperial troops had gotten the Dyss to be caught off guard for exploiting the retreat in their enemies. What could have potentially been used in favour of the purifiers to encircle several Army Corps was disregarded in favour of cautious maneuvers, as Veg-la Hyu Z-uv, though merciless in his own way, was not willing to lose troops unnecessarily, something advised by Great Purifier Hald'Ydon, who looked forward for further incursions inland of Imperial territory, and needed as many available troops as possible to fulfill the task at mind. With the great exploit ignored however, a grind for control of the planet would only show itself more concrete as time passed on.

In a period going through May to August, the Dyss army organised 14 large scale offensives in hopes of shattering defenses of the Eternal Empire in Line 203. Lieutenant General Nicholson, predicting the use of combined strikes at the mountains, ordered dug-in soldiers to carve into mountains and create their own centered commands around them, making every mountain-range a fortress very hard to be taken over with conventional warfare and armoured tactics previously used in the plains of Conderon. Soon enough, every range became a line of defense, and a rough endeavour to be faced by the Dyss purification army. Whilst beforehand they had taken around a million and a half dead to their ranks in early months, they racked up 3 million more whilst crossing mountains, fighting ambushes and opening way for mechanized columns. The situation reached such a bad state that even Veg-la Hyu Z-uv, when commanding his personal elite armoured detachment, was mortally wounded when the hill he commited to capture collapsed from inside out, eliminating a great part of both contingents and almost taking his life in the process. The strategy for the Dyss needed to change if they wanted the battle finished fast, for they were forced into a war of attrition only they lost the upper hand with time.

### **A Race for Relief**

At the Imperial side of battle, however, things were also still deteriorating quickly. Most of the Air Wings of the Fighter and Support Corps had been completely overwhelmed by the Dyss pilots themselves, and even fighter ace Harold Mountbatten had been shot down out of the skies in June. Chemical weapons began being implemented in mass at Line 203, which many times allowed for a masked approach of Dyss flamethrower-like units to flesh out frontier Imperial defenders and provide a clear path for other purification ground detachments to advance without much opposition. The possibility of a naval invasion from sea also limited much of the Empire’s disposition to reinforce under strengthened divisions holding the line, placing men in quiet regions of the peninsula whilst many other places were in dire need of support reserves. Despite the 74th. Army’s best efforts their already depleting supplies (Most of which used for the defensive efforts of Line 203, or were left behind during the retreat) made a lasting defense seem impossible for much longer without any exterior help from High Command, and with further cadet losses coming from the frontlines, months, rather than a full year, were soon becoming the real expectancy of survival for these troops holding at Conderon.

Systems away, countless miles distant from the dangers of the great Dyss armies, Lieutenant General Nicholson’s many requests for direct support were already being looked upon for many months by the high figures of the Armed Forces. Despite Lionel Firefly’s deep concerns with the situation - Which turned drastically with the death of General Alexander Baron - and frequent distrust over the much asked plan of relief, his voice over the matter was being more and more ignored in favour of men like Field Marshall Nathaniel Romulan, advocate for an intervention in the system as quickly as possible to prevent further damage. Romulan had voiced his own opinion over the matter for weeks, and was keen to take a gamble on the rescue of troops under the 74th. Royal Army with fast action. The planning efforts - Taken to relieve the force mostly from orbit, with action mostly from the Royal Navy - were rushed though, and did not count with the presence of the **Great Purification Armada** in such magnitude; With oversight from both sides, it can be stated today that the Imperials were being led straight into a trap, even when they thought to be performing a daring manoeuvre with great chances for themselves. In late June, they began assembling a relief force. By the beginning of August, remnants of the **Vanilla Battlefleet**, still somewhat battered and lacking numbers since the Battle of Lost Sun, left in course for Conderon, hoping to find little resistance in space, and provide fire to once more squander Dyss forces.

Little did Admiral Graham Romulan - Commander of Vanilla Battlefleet - know, they were being awaited systems across their own position, walking into a trap set long before they ever thought of wandering by to help Conderon, a plan set by the virtuous Great Purifier Hald'Ydon all along.

### **Millions at Mercy**

Unfortunately, the situation in the seas of Conderon also proved deadly for men and women answering to Lieutenant General Nicholson Valery and his command staff. The rumours, ones spread by common ground troops concentrated in coastlines of the peninsula, weren’t actual fabrications, and rather red flagged warnings of an incoming dyss amphibious landing at the other tip of the landmass Imperial soldiers protected with their lives. With the flanking from behind, and another front opened by half a million Dyss infantrymen, the shoreline surrounding Imperial forces was completely abandoned, in hopes of consolidating a last ultimate fortress alongst the front and behind of Line 203 to contain larger more ambitious dyss strikes. Late August had come as a rough month for the defense, as line after line of army holdouts crumbled by the ferocious attacks of ever more cunning Dyss strategies and tactics applied in mountainous combat; It seemed like the end for the 74th. Army and the soldiers amongst it were finally arriving, and each day reached closer and closer to the jaws of defeat…

...Until Vanilla Battlegroup arrived to relieve Conderon at last.

One jump into the system signaled the beginning of a battle for control of naval superiority in the nearby space. At one side, the bunched up Vanilla Battlefleet composing of 32 vessels from the Eternal Empire, in the other, the legendary Dyss Great Purifier Armada of more than 120 warships of all sizes ready for the upcoming carnage. Imperials moved close to orbit of Conderon, making quick gains whilst the Armada seemed slowed down by its sheer size. Pav-la Hald'Ydon allowed Imperial Admiral Graham Romulan to take the initiative, leaving both his flanks exposed for the small but hard-hitting royal fleet take advantage of in initial hours of the skirmish. The Imperials once again took the bait, which separated Romulan’s force in two, rather than maintained the fleet into a clustered stance that could sustain itself better against small craft fire; the cards were laid perfectly at Hald'Ydon’s disposal. Hours passed and the battle started to show the Imperial shortcomings during combat, Dyss gunnery was not just better, but also more numerous and powerful in comparison to its xenophobic adversary, under armoured and less agile, trying to break the blockade above Conderon, making the fight ever closer to a complete Dyss victory. Two hours and forty minutes into the firefight, and the Great Purifier made his last move of the confrontation; the Armada, seemingly cornered and without room to navigate, then scattered to all directions in complete coordinated disarray. Taken by surprise, Admiral Romulan took action to close in even more, broadsiding his warships to every approaching Dyss vessel incoming into lines of fire of the spilt up Battlefleet. In a finishing play, the numerous dyss suicidal strike craft pilots, found within specialized sections on many ships of the armada, were put in active engagement to pick off every imperial present in sight. Mere three minutes after the effort, whatever relief effort made by the Imperial admiralty to Conderon was either broken in flames, scattered through fields of debris or shattered in a rout for friendly territory once again. All but two ships survived the confrontation and managed to return to the Imperial homeland, the Frigate **HMS Halberdier** and the Destroyer **HMS Thunderchild**. Admiral Graham Romulan, like all members of his vessel, went down with the flagship, which was swarmed with suicidal strikes and detonated by Dyss capital ship fire in combat, despite the capable high caliber weaponry presented on his Battlecruiser. The Dyss enjoyed their victory with minimal losses, for now they had their path cleared for the true prize of the battle: Taking Conderon in a last swift all-out engagement that would crumble all enemy forces to ashes.

The sight of battle above the surface wasn’t only reserved by sailors of the respective navies however. If Imperials and Dyss in the ground didn’t know which side was winning by then, they surely found out later with falling wrecks of Imperial warships all over the Southern hemisphere of the planet. The arrival of September days later saw many Army Corps of the 74th. already merging due to extreme losses with head-on fights against the enemy, and still continued to mount casualties due to spreading chemical attacks throughout the peninsula’s depleting water supplies. Morale had reached an all-time low, with the true statement of ‘Being left behind’ setting in with most soldiers of the force still alive to even reason with themselves. With defeat closing in, retreat being sounded from all sides, and a starving army ready to give in at any passing day of constant warfare and infighting, Lieutenant General Nicholson, in the last contact with outer Imperial posts, repositioned the remaining troops in the last line of defense at Line 203, preparing for their last stand at **Mount Soulless**.

## **Last Stand**

By September of 2263, amidst chaotic retreats of the Bloody Push, the Imperial garrison at Conderon stood with little more than a Million soldiers at their disposal, facing a foe numbering around 15 Million in strength coming from all sides they found fit to attack human defenses. Three large mountains became the main lines of engagements during the last month; **Hill Britannia**, **Hill Prosperity** and **Hill Victoria**, the last bastions of Imperial perseverance amongst the conflict-ridden battered world of Conderon. Hill Britannia maintained itself as the northernmost bastion of the 74th. Army, holding itself off with elements of the five largest army groups of the planetary defense still disposed as frontline capable. Hill Prosperity found itself the most under strengthened by Imperials, and faced off the amphibious landing forces coming from the southwest with mostly remnants of armoured corps and non-combatant personnel from logistical bases. At last located Hill Victoria, in the southeast, which housed command for HQ units, battered mechanised units, mountain artillery and a single army group of New Jamestown Volunteers; they not only preserved their ranks for the defense, but also kept in the single largest hidden supply of ammunition of the planet, directed for resupplying of warships for further incursions of the Push, on ancient orders of Field Marshall Lionel Firefly months beforehand the invasion even began. In the 16th. Pav-la Hald'Ydon gave the go-to order for a final advance, in an effort that would bring the end of Imperial presence on Conderon at last.

The northern mountains saw the most vicious Dyss mass charges. They sought not only to weaken the most strengthened forces of the defense (Which always brought the risk of crippling counter attacks at inopportune times for Dyss forces) but also to consolidate complete panic on the remaining bastions of resistance still holding out in the south. Ten days after the first pushes, Hill Britannia, with bombarding elements of many warships at orbit and artillery divisions, was completely erased from the maps of the warring nations; Casualties numbered 1.2 Million there alone. Hill Prosperity was the next target, and was abandoned in the second of October, when Dyss commando forces, armed with flamethrowers, chemical weapons and some even say local dangerous predators completely ravaged the inner tunnels of the holdout. Those lucky enough either escaped through underground makeshift tunnels connecting Hill Victoria (Which were destroyed three days before the actual evacuation) or locked themselves in smaller chokepoints and committed mass suicides once the elements proved fatal for survival; At Hill Prosperity, 700.000 troops from both sides met their fates until the hill went silent. In the last stronghold of humanity at Conderon, both command and line troops now found themselves holding either combat roles or overstretched leadership gaps. Men and women fought on with anything in hand; but it still was not enough. October 5th. brought the remaining Imperial force to 190.000, October 6th, 110.000, October 7th, 40.000; whatever was done to solve the crisis would fail, now they could only watch or fight to the last like the last stands of Old Earth thousands of years before.

At last, in what can be described as noon in the conturbated time frames of Conderon, the last orders of engagement were sounded by the royal troops still alive on the planet. Lieutenant General Valery, who’d lost both legs in the 6th. and barely held on as commander in charge, ordered the munitions depots still in Imperial hands to be litten ablaze, in an effort to provoke an explosion that would not only destroy Hill Victoria entirely, but also a great part of the Southern Peninsula as a whole; Finally the plan went through, and the shockwaves completely obliterated anything within a 500 to 600 Km reach from the epicenter of the blast. In October 8th, more than six months after the initial Dyss landings of 2263, the Second Battle of Conderon had ended, with casualties in Hill Victoria alone reaching more than two million, and further losses to crippled environment topping at a further two; one of the bloodiest battlegrounds of the Bloody Push campaign. The Dyss had achieved a overwhelming military victory, but their own losses and slowness hinted at another stalled push coming to the future. Their efforts came at a high cost, yet, the true payment for the conflict was not yet upon them...

...For the Great Northern War was still far from over...

## **Aftermath**

Though the fields and mountains of Conderon now laid quiet and calm, so did all the life that had previously inhabited the planet. The blast of Hill Victoria did not only reach orbital heights, but further encouraged the extinction effort put on by the warring nations on the planet’s surface. Five years later, Conderon was completely abandoned, and a large dust cloud covered the planet for decades, even after the war had reached a conclusion. What remnants of Dyss armies that survived the blast returned to space for the next incursion. Now had to rest and recover from wounds, or be plagued with great morale hits; Hald'Ydon had seen the effects of over exhaustion on the battlefield in 2261, and because of it almost recalled the counter-attack underway from fear of a similar result of the Bloody Push, a year later. In the end, the battle proved longer and bloodier than expected, which gave some precious time for Imperial war-efforts of defense on their homeland systems away, as well as it brought the realisation of Imperial ferocity and resilience for further attacks on occupied planets.

For Imperial high command, Conderon was a lost cause ever since the loss at Lost Sun, but it still drained resources, ships and, most importantly, morale all across the front and the home theatre. Field Marshall Firefly, for all his flaws and shortcomings previously was spared of criticism, whilst most of the flak landed in Field Marshall Nathaniel Romulan’s lap instead for his failed attempt at the relief of Conderon. The blame for the operation was thrown loosely, and that almost costed Romulan’s career in the end of the war. For the remembrance of the battle, it not only gave a bloody stain in the flawless and golden victories of the years before, but it also set in the tone on further news in the frontlines of the Northern border for the coming months of Dyss relentless counter pushes.

Like so many others during the retreat of 2263, there was nothing that could have been done after loss of space naval dominance over the systems; the damage had already been done by then. The loss of Conderon, along with the 74th. Army and the great bulk of Vanilla Battlefleet was not decisive in any means for Dyss success, but it certainly helped set in the tone of an impending invasion of the Imperial homeland by Dyss counter-attack forces. The battle showed cracks amongst the army's deepest roots, and weakened the stance of the Empire to organise a space defense even further with their losses on orbit. If the aftermath of the catastrophe called Great Push was a definitive result for the campaign, Conderon served as a warning to even the most oblivious of a new foe coming in stage, whether they were ready or not, however, that was another great question...