The Star of Medusa
This highly
ornamented medal is the general service
medal of Imperial High Command; awarded
to soldiers of all ranks for active military
service during the Medusa V Campaign. -
Regular field personnel where awarded a
silver version while officers received a
gold and platinum-plated version.
On the back-side
of the Star, there is a line that reads:
"Medusa V - Forever in our Hearts and
Thoughts"
In most versions
awarded, the five gems are Rubellite Tourmaline
Cabochons, but there are also some that
held real Rubies. - The Ruby versions where
exclusively awarded to high-ranking officers
and to Heroes of the Adeptus Astartes.
Due to the
relatively high value of the medal (approximately
1200 Imperial credits for the regular ones),
it has on occasion been sold by needy Imperial
Guardsmen. - While this practice is frowned
upon, it is rarely punishable as the medal
is the property of the soldier. - Due to
the honour and promotional benefits following
the medal however, this practice is rare,
and no Ruby versions are known to have been
sold.
How many
of these medals have been awarded is unknown,
but the numbers would indicate that somewhere
around 10 000 000 medals where awarded with
over 60 000 gold versions and presumably
over 1200 Ruby medals. - Many medals where
however awarded postmortem and quite a few
on paper alone.
