Fall of Medusa V - The Birth of a World: The Mining World of Medusa V in the Medusa System of the Ultima Segmentum was settled in the early years of the 37th Millennium by the Imperium of Man, yet enjoyed a relatively peaceful history until the late 41st Millennium, when it was consumed by a terrible conflict that ultimately resulted in the destruction of the world.The Warp phenomenon known as Van Grothe's Rapidity pulses on the Eastern Fringes of Imperial space. It is a purple-glowing whirlpool of destruction that extends across light years of territory and spells destruction for those desperate or careless enough to enter it without caution. However, the Rapidity is not without its uses, for though dangerous, it is also considered relatively stable by Adeptus Mechanicus Observators. It is of incalculable value to the Mechanicus Explorator fleets and Rogue Traders who regularly pass through this region. When traversed correctly, it can hurl a Warp-borne spacecraft through the eddies and tides of the Empyrean with such speed that an interstellar journey through Warpspace can be shortened by months, if not years. As a result of this effect, despite its hazardous nature, the Rapidity has earned itself the moniker of "Hell's Slingshot."Upon the Warp anomaly's discovery in 241.M37, the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus were in agreement that, carefully used, the Rapidity would be of great value for Imperial commerce and defense in the Eastern Fringes. So Carral Van Grothe, the original discoverer of the Warp anomaly, was commissioned by the Imperium to locate a habitable world nearby that could serve as a way station and staging point for vessels seeking to make use of it. After an extensive search, a star system was located that held two habitable planets. An Explorator Fleet, under the protection of a Clan Company of the Iron Hands Chapter, began the process of settling the two worlds. In honour of the Iron Hands Space Marines, who began exterminating the indigenous alien populations of both planets, the system was named Medusa, a tribute to their own homeworld.Medusa IV was the larger and more bountiful of the two habitable planets in the Medusa System and the Explorator Fleet descended in force. Masters in the art of planetary settlement, the Explorators quickly brought Medusa IV under the Emperor's rule. Great cities were erected within only months, becoming massive expanses of gleaming metal. Huge settlement craft, loaded with civilian settlers drawn from hive worlds across the Imperium in search of new beginnings brought people both willing and fearful to their new home. By comparison, Medusa V, the second habitable world of the system, was only settled in part by the Imperium. The Iron Hands obtained a foothold spanning an entire continent with their customary military efficiency, but further conquest was then halted. An urgent summons drew the elements of the Chapter in the Medusa System away to assist in the suppression of an uprising against the Imperium and the Explorator Fleet went about its business alone. With valuable mining regions already established on the continent that was under human control, further exploration and settlement of Medusa V was deemed unnecessary by the Mechanicus and postponed indefinitely.Despite its obvious advantages -- its mineral wealth and proximity to Hell's Slingshot -- the Medusa System had one flaw. Severe Warp Storms, originating from the Rapidity, would occasionally flare up, cutting the system off from outside travel or astropathic communication sometimes for months, years or even decades at a time. On each occasion of a major Warp Storm, contact with the Imperium was restored swiftly once the storm receded and each time the message from the inhabitants of the Medusa System was always the same: all is well.Medusa IV became a vast Imperial population centre; the plentiful supplies of food and temperate climate of the planet assisted its growth into a hive world and soon tens of billions of humans toiled in the vast hive cities erected upon its surface. By contrast, Medusa V remained barren. Only a few small cities were established, each devoted to mining precious iridium ore and drilling for the promethium that would feed the Imperial fleets berthed at the great orbital space docks erected around the planet. Hundreds of starships passed through Medusa's space docks: Imperial Navy fleets in need of rapid resupply, Explorator Fleets that emptied entire population centers from Medusa IV's hive cities for resettlement elsewhere and Rogue Traders who needed rations and fuel before daring Hell's Slingshot in an effort to launch themselves further into the unexplored galactic East. Though contact was regularly lost with the Medusa System, its value was recognised by all in the Imperium.