Medusa V
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Medusa V is a fictional world in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. The world is the focus of the 2006 Games Workshop Worldwide Campaign; The Fall of Medusa V.
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[edit] The Medusa star system
The Medusa star system is located on the far side of the galaxy to Holy Terra. Named after the homeworld of the Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter, the star system consists of eight planets; named Medusa I - VIII. Of these worlds, two were suited to human habitation (Medusa IV and V), and two were gas giants (Medusa VI and VII). Medusa VII was believed to be a Necron tomb-world.
The original purpose of colonising the Medusa system was to provide a waystation and staging point for Imperial starships seeking to utilise the Warp phenomena known as Van Grothe's Rapidity. The system's great mineral wealth, discovered after the removal of the native alien species and the colonisation of Medusa IV and V, became one of the primary contributors to industry in its galactic subsector.
The presence of Van Grothe's Rapidity causes significant warp storms to flare up on occasion. These storms served to cut off external access to the Medusa system for varying periods of time, ranging from months to decades.
[edit] Medusa V
Since the middle of the 41st millennium, Medusa V was the primary world of the Medusa star system. Medusa V was colonised by the Imperium of Man during the early part of the 38th millennium, and is classified as a "Mining/Industrial World" by the Imperium. The planet had a population of 4.5 billion people, who primarily inhabit nine hive cities (massive arcology-like structures that stand several kilometres tall). In addition, as a consequence of the evacuation of Medusa IV, there are an additional three temporary hive structures on the surface of the planet, which are now largely populated by refugees.
The world is orbited by three Imperial Navy spacedocks, which contribute heavily to the defence of Medusa V.
[edit] Van Grothe's Rapidity
The Warp phenomenon known as Van Grothe's Rapidity was discovered by the Imperium two hundred years into the 38th millennium. This Warp/Realspace overlay spans several light years and, like most overlays, is considered extremely dangerous to interstellar travel.
It was discovered that when the overlay was transversed in a certain way, instead of destroying the vessel, it would propel the vessel through the Immaterium at a significant speed, reducing transit times by several months. The relative stability of the Rapidity, combined with the rapid-like propulsion effect has been harnessed by the Imperial Navy and Rogue Traders, but the ever-present danger has earned the overlay the moniker of Hell's Slingshot.
[edit] History
After the discovery of Van Grothe's Rapidity by the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus, it was decided that to exploit this phenomenon, the Imperium would need to maintain a continual presence near the Rapidity. After several years of searching, a nearby star system was located with two human-habitable worlds. Under the protection of a Clan Company of the Iron Hands, the Imperium began to exterminate the indigenous inhabitants of the system, before colonising the star system's fourth and fifth planets. In honour of the Iron Hands' assistance, the system was named after their homeworld, Medusa.
Being the larger of the two worlds, Medusa IV was marked for heavy colonisation, with the Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleet establishing many large cities, to be filled with civilian colonists (both willing and unwilling), siphoned from Hive Worlds across the Imperium. In contrast, Medusa V's settlement consisted only of a single continent, and was focused primarily around establishing mining regions.
[edit] The Medusa Schism
After the system's colonisation, the worlds witnessed numerous minor attacks, ranging from Eldar pirates to the Tau Empire. However, the most significant attack prior to the end of the 41st millennium came from within. Two Hive Cities on Medusa IV declared themselves independent from the Imperium. As the planetary governor attempted to put down the rebellion, more and more citizens declared their true allegiance to the powers of Chaos. As the majority of the population fell to insanity, the few Hive Cities still loyal to the Imperium sent out a call for help. Unfortunately, the Rapidity had generated a warp storm that had already lasted several years.
The only people able to respond to the distress call were the inhabitants of Medusa V, whose minimal Planetary Defence Force recruited thousands of willing miners and workers, before commandeering numerous interplanetary freighters and heading for their sister planet. Over the next two and a half years, the hastily-raised Medusa V army was able to defend the final bastions of Imperial allegiance from the forces of Chaos. Eventually, the second company of the Ultramarines arrived, along with several members of the Imperial Inquisition. The inquisition presence on the planet deemed that Medusa IV could not survive. The world was sentenced to Exterminatus, although after much appeal, a one-week reprieve was granted to evacuate the few loyal Imperial citizens left on the planet.
Millions of civilians were saved before the Inquisition incinerated Medusa IV's atmosphere, converting the once lush world to a barren, airless rock. The refugees were relocated to Medusa V, where they were forced to undergo months of screening and purification to ensure that the Chaotic taint had not escaped the planet. They were housed in massive prefabricated cities, where they became a willing labour force, processing the raw ores and fossil fuels taken from Medusa V by its original miner-inhabitants.
[edit] The Fall
Two hundred years after the Schism, near the close of the 41st millennium, the once-stable Rapidity began to grow in size. The cause of this expansion was uncertain and hotly debated by many, but the effect was clear to all. Everything the expanding warp/realspace overlay came into contact with was completely destroyed, and the growth of the Rapidity was increasing. The Medusa system lay in its path, and it was determined that Medusa V would be consumed within less than a year, likely much sooner.
As the Imperial forces planned to evacuate the planet, several events occurred, infinitely complicating the situation. Several cities of Schism refugees began to revolt against planetary authorities. Energy spikes were detected, first emanating from the dead world of Medusa VII, then on Medusa V itself, one in close proximity to the second-largest population centre on the planet. Imperial vessels travelling through the outer system were mysteriously attacked, just within sensor range of the planetary picket fleet. An investigating frigate squadron encountered only dead hulks. The Ordo Xenos reported a Tyranid splinter fleet in the subsector, which was apparently being drawn towards the expanding Rapidity. An Ork space hulk appeared near Medusa V, and then was lost by the Imperials. Unknown attackers began to attack farms on the northern edge of the main continent, looting all the machinery. In response, farmers began to abandon their crops in fear, in turn making a famine situation likely. Medusa V, on the verge of death, was about to erupt into chaos and war.
[edit] The Fall of Medusa V
The Fall of Medusa V was the Games Workshop Worldwide Campaign for 2006. The campaign began on the 5th of July, 2006, and continued until the end of August. The campaign primarily revolved around the Warhammer 40,000 miniature war game. Like the previous campaigns, the results will have an impact on the fictional and game play development of future versions of Warhammer 40,000, although it was announced that regardless of the outcome, Medusa V will be destroyed. The efforts of the players may instead determine how the world dies, or how their faction benefits from the conflict and destruction.
Unusual for any one planet, especially a dying one, every major faction in the Eastern fringes found a stake in the events surrounding the planet's approaching doom:
- The Imperium of Man organised the evacuation of as many citizens of Medusa V as possible, while attempting to thwart the machinations of Traitors and Xenos while they were there.
- Ygethmor the Deceiver, one of the Chosen of Abaddon the Despoiler, foresaw events that, if they came to pass, would have turned Medusa V into a Daemon World with the coming of the Warp storm, with himself as its lord. He gathered a massive force of Chaos Space Marines to ensure that this occurred, with Abaddon's blessing. Lucius the Eternal, Champion of Slaanesh, was also involved in the fighting here.
- The Space Marines, led by Captain Sicarus of the Ultramarines, heard of Ygethmor's plans, and would lay down their lives to stop him.
- Broken spars of the Webway terminated on the planet, and if they remained open when the Rapidity hit, the raw stuff of Chaos would have entered the Webway, threatening all the Eldar, in particular, the Craftworld of Alaitoc. The Eldar fought on the planet to ensure that the Wraith Gates on the planet were sealed forever.
- The Scylla, the Space Hulk of Ork Warlord Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub crashed on the planet. Nasdreg, made aware of the oncoming destruction of the planet, ordered his Boyz to go out and loot all the scrap they can find (or make!), so they could use it to repair the hulk. Of course, with all this fighting going on, the Orks weren't going to leave without getting themselves a taste of it.
- Tyranid Advance Organisms, in particular a powerful strain of Lictor known as the Death Leaper, had been stalking attacker and defender alike in the time leading up to the conflict. The Hive Fleet came to the planet, to strip it clean, and reabsorb the Death Leaper's genetic code into the Hive.
- No’akei, the Daughter of Pain, a former vassal of Dark Eldar lord Asdrubael Vect, took it upon herself to unseat her former master, and sought to gather souls to gain the favor of other Dark Eldar lords and their support. The chaos on Medusa V not only provided ample cover, but also the opportunity to collect souls of all kinds of races.
- Led by Aun’T’Pel, the Tau sought to uncover the secrets of Warp travel for themselves, and the approaching storm gave them an ample opportunity to observe the Warp. They set up secret research facilities in St. Raffelo's Spine without the knowledge of the Imperium, with the armies of Fire Caste warriors to defend them.
- An ancient Necron Lord, called the Herald of the Storm for its ability to manipulate the weather, was awakened by the oncoming warp storm. It sought to construct a series of vast towers that, when activated, would completely seal off the planet from the storm... allowing the Necrons to harvest those still on the planet at will.
The results of games played were recorded on the "Fall of Medusa V" campaign website, where they contributed to the overall outcome of the worldwide event. Similar to the Armageddon3 campaign, different regions of the world were assigned different geographical areas on the primary continent of Medusa V. Stores also hosted in-game events to support it.
However, there were two main differences between The Fall of Medusa V and previous campaigns. The first is that instead of the storyline being a war between two major factions (such as the Imperium and Orks during the Armageddon campaign) and the other races assigned to fight alongside one of the two factions, each race had its own 'campaign objective', and victories by that race contributed to the accomplishment of that objective. Secondly, no Event Codex was released. Instead, the campaign material was provided via the website, White Dwarf, and the Cities of Death Battlefield Codex.
[edit] Warzones
As a worldwide campaign, players were assigned to one of nine warzones, determined by their geographical location. Any and all battle-reports, with attendant fluff, would subsequently have an effect for their faction in the said warzone and for their faction in general.
The nine battlezones, with major objectives/landmarks/borders, were:
| Zone | Location | Objective(s) | Borders | Real-world area | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euryales | Central | Hive Eurayles (Capital) Guilliman's Scar Refugee Camp Alpha Vigilus prison complex |
All but Tisiphone | Spain & Latin America | Significant proportion of Medusa V's population were located here |
| Articus | Northwestern | Hive Zethus Hive Amphion Hive Alecto |
Euryales, Telosia | Italy | Sector contained significant amount of industry; arctic conditions |
| Telosia | Northern | Hive Megaera Spaceport Deimos Hive Machavius |
Articus, Euryales, Verdia | Northern Europe (except Germany & France) and South Africa | Spaceport was vital for evacuation; main staging point for incoming Imperial forces; major Necron presence detected |
| Verdia | Northeastern | Monastery of Madrigales Sybilla Secundus The Verdian Strip |
Telosia, Euryales, Tisiphone, Edethor | Germany, Austria, Switzerland | Sector provided vast majority of Medusa V's foodstuffs; primary astropathic choir and external communications facility; rumours of major Chaos and Ordo Malleus activity |
| Tisiphone | Far Eastern | Hive Tisiphone Nazdreg's Hulk Charybdis Crest |
Verdia, Edethor | Canada | Significant land transport infrastructure, major Ork presence detected, Tau presence suspected |
| Edethor | Eastern | Sybilla Tertius Edethor's Mouth Charybdis Crest Sybilla Quarantine Zone The Mortise Line Geryon Strip Mines |
Euryales, Verdia, Tisiphone, Armida, Hydra | United Kingdom | Significant mining infrastructure, presence of major Eldar Wraithgate suspected, Tau presence suspected |
| Armida | Southeastern | Hive Stheno The Eye of the Emperor Baptiste's Wrath |
Edethor, Hydra | France | Major rebel presence suspected in Baptiste's Wrath; tropical conditions |
| Hydra | Southern | Sybilla Primus Hell's Crucible Hydra Tooth Geryon Base Geryon Strip Mines |
Perseus, Euryales, Edethor, Armida | USA | Sector contained significant amount of industry; major imperial air base and communications array present |
| Perseus | Southwestern | Hive Perseus Diamedes Mineral Extraction Facility The Mission / Refineries / Promethium pipelines |
Euryales, Hydra | Australia and New Zealand | The refineries provided 76% of the promethium for Medusa V |
[edit] Official Timeline
- 2006-05-03: Website Online
- 2006-06-07: Website Opens (Note: Dates may vary for different websites)
- 2006-06-21: Registration Begins
- 2006-07-05: Campaign Starts
- 2006-08-30: Campaign Ends
- 2006-09-06: Results Posted
[edit] Campaign slogan
This year, a world will die... ("Year" is replaced with "Summer" or "Winter" in Northern and Southern Hemisphere-specific materials respectively)
[edit] Aftermath
On the 6th of September, the final results of the campaign, with faction summaries, were posted. With the Van Grothe's Rapidity finally engulfing Medusa V, it is now a dead world, with the survivors of the conflict celebrating their victories and commemorating their dead.
While individual commanders, of whatever faction involved he is aligned to, may have experienced both victory and defeat, the ultimate success of the factions varied widely indeed, all of which influenced by the overall performances of the commanders that fought for them.
According to the overall faction summaries posted [1], the fates of the factions were as follows:
- The Imperium of Man- both the Space Marines and loyal imperial guard troops were the overall winners of the campaign. Though the planet itself could not be saved, much of the civilian population was successfully evacuated from the doomed planet. In addition to the successful evacuation, many of the planet's sacred sites were defended to the bitter end, and Ygethmor's plan was thwarted. Such a victory came at a huge cost, with many Guard Troopers and Marines, led by Lord Marshal Graf Harazhan, choosing to remain on the planet to deny the enemies of the Imperium anything of value. Overall ranking: 1st (Space Marines) and 2nd (Imperial Guard)
- Eldar - the forces of the Craftworlds were successful in closing the Webway portals, but their losses were heavy, including the loss of Autarch Elarique Swiftblade of Alaitoc; however, Swiftblade's death was not in vain, as she was able to personally behead Ygethmor before being slain herself by his bodyguard. Overall ranking: 3rd
- Chaos- Ygethmor's plans to ascend to daemonhood were foiled; while many aspiring Chaos champions were able to achieve battlefield glory, they were unable to claim the planet for the Ruinous Powers. Ygethmor and other "failures" were left to their fates on the doomed planet, while their more successful brothers were able to escape. Overall ranking: 4th
- Dark Eldar- No'akei and her followers were successful in capturing a huge number of slaves to bring back to the dark city of Commorragh. Upon her return, No'akei entered the Hall of Blood in the Dark Tower of Asdrubael Vect in order to unseat him, only to find herself (and those loyal to her) presumably betrayed. The ultimate fate of No'akei is unknown. Overall ranking: 5th
- Orks - the marooned space hulk Scylla, which the Ork forces had attempted to repair, was lost. Attacks from both Imperial and Chaos forces (including a "murky pestilence" left behind by Chaos) sent Nazdreg and his "Boyz" looking for another way to escape the planet. A successful raid on a nearby Imperial facility yielded a large bulk freighter. The fleeing Orks were then able to 'convince' the ship's crew to trick an Imperial battleship into 'evacuating' them. The battleship's subsequent fate is unknown. Overall ranking: tied for 6th
- Tau - the Tau expedition's goal, to gather information about the warp, was largely successful; however, analysis of the gathered data, and the fates of those Tau who remained behind, caused Earth Caste scientists to believe that further research would be unfeasible. The Fourth Expansion of the Tau Empire was thus delayed in order to further consolidate the recent Third Expansion. Many humans joined the Tau Empire. There were great losses, personified with the loss of Commander Shadowsun's sibling, Shas’el Ty’res. Overall ranking: tied for 6th
- Tyranids - the disorganised Tyranid swarms on Medusa V were unable to make any headway in taking the planet; Imperial officials believe that the sheer diversity of opponents contributed to the inability of the Tyranids to make any progress. A Death Leaper creature, which the Hive Fleets had sought to claim, was captured by Imperial forces and has since vanished; Imperial investigations hint that Death Leaper escaped into space aboard a freighter, killed the crew, and escaped aboard a second ship which came to investigate. The Hive Fleets orbiting the planet have become inanimate bulks floating aimlessly, apparently abandoned by the Hive Mind to their fates in the warp storm. Overall ranking: 8th
- Necrons - unable to construct the great pylons in order to secure a Null Shield around Medusa V, the leading Necron Lord, the Herald of the Storm, was left behind on the dying planet, cursed by the Deceiver himself to remain for as long as the planet endured in the warp - after which, the Deceiver would return to administer the "True punishments". The remainder of the Necron forces were teleported away along with the Deceiver. Overall ranking: 9th
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Games Workshop Worlwide Campaigns |
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Eye of Terror | Storm of Chaos | War of the Ring | |
