Medusan Reach

Medusan Reach
Capital	Medusa
Official Languages	Cant Mechanicus, High Gothic and Low Gothic
Power	Minor Power
Size	Small, scattered across the Medusan Sub-sector
Head of State	Kardan Stronos
Head of Government	Kardan Stronos, Iron Council
Governmental Structure	Confederated Supranational Parliamentary Democracy
State Religion/Ideology	Imperial Cult, Cult Mechanicus
Demographic	Humans, Space Marines, Cyborgs
Military Force	Iron Hands Force, Iron Hands Fleet, Land-Behemoth Fleet, Local Militia

The Iron Hands is a bit of a unique Space Marine Chapter, as their structure is less of a direct military stratocracy and more of a system resembling a parliamentary democracy, with their Chapter Master-equivalents being elected in and out with term limits. So it is not too much of a surprise to find out that the Iron Hands themselves have its own private fiefdom akin to that of Ultramar, but to a lesser extent.

Overview

The Medusan Reach is a loose dominion of Imperial worlds and valued protectorates, scattered across Segmentum Obscurus' Medusan Sub-sector, who offer the Iron Hands a tithe of their resources, in return for the Chapter's guaranteed protection. This strange confederacy of loosely-aligned worlds means that those worlds under the rule of the Iron Hands are exempt from usual Administratum tithes as, technically speaking, they are already paying those tithes to a separate political entity. The relationship isn't equal however. Despite being a confederacy, Medusa holds the majority of the political, military and economic power in the region. As such, the relationship between Medusa and its protectorates is less of a unitary government and more like a business relationship.

On a whole, the Chapter's Iron Council takes no interest in these worlds' governance or affairs, provided that the Iron Hands' needs are met in full. The Reach's defence is currently the responsibility of Clan Sorrgol.

In the aftermath of the Great Rift's creation, a great many worlds petitioned to join it. But, like any type of supranational organisation, the Iron Hands only permit worlds that can contribute ore and other raw materials to feed the Chapter's forges, and thus the Iron Hands' endless war. Once a world can no longer pay their tithe, the Chapter removes them from the Medusan Reach and ends their guaranteed protection.

The Reach's greatest ally is the Adeptus Mechanicus, which is not surprising given the already close relationship between the Iron Hands and the AdMech.