Editing Darmine

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Darmine is a dusty, dry planet rich in minerals and lying in the Eastern Ultima Segmentum, currently just within Imperial territory and resting precariously on the border of the Tau Empire. It suffers constant interest from the Tau, as well as the threat of neighbouring the Farsight Enclaves.

Its population is 16.5 billion, spread across the planet into dedicated mining communities and with an estimated further 30 billion convicts. Darmine's population are mostly the descendants of ex-criminals and are notorious for being tough as nails. They are extremely xenophobic to foreigners to their home planet (especially those from fortress or hive worlds), deeming them "city-folk". Despite its hellish climate and vast, unforgiving deserts, its populace often refer to it as "Darm" or "Good ol' Darm".

Its main exports are precious and non-precious metals including gold and iron. Convicts are often sent to the planet on labour detail, or fitted with explosive collars and made to serve as penal soldiers with the planet's armed forces.

== Planetary History ==

Darmine was discovered in 435.M39 by Imperial explorer fleets. Initially, the planet was deemed useless, but scanners eventually managed to pick up potentially large mineral deposits underneath the unforgiving sands and rocky mountains.

While mining machinery was requested, it quickly broke down through heavy sandstorms and general wear-and-tear. Further requests were denied due to being uneconomical, and so prisoners were shipped in from throughout the Imperium to ensure the deposits did not go untapped.

Though there was initially little to no success, a prisoner named Weston Mills unearthed a huge gold deposit when he tripped over a rock formation on the way back to the mining camp and hit it with his pickaxe in frustration. He was the first to be granted Free Man status as a reward and an incentive for his fellow convicts to increase their efforts. Many others, spurred on by this, doubled their work in determination to also be pardoned. Though a large amount died due to exhaustion and sunstroke, many more soon joined him. Weston requested permission to start the first true free settlement of the planet and be named Mayor of it, realising he would probably be killed on the spot as a suspected informant if he returned to his old Hive World gang. 

The Imperium representatives had not taken serious thought in attempting to actually populate the planet, and so were taken aback by this unusual request. Unwilling to go through the effort of processing the pardoned convicts back to their places of origin and hoping that they would stay and continue their work if they were granted this further freedom, their request was authorised. The settlement of Millstown was established, and while reportedly filled with whorehouses and harbouring several establishments suspected of contributing to the traffic of illegal drugs from off-world, it policed itself notably well and kept its streets relatively safe and patrolled by "the Marshalls". 

These would later go on to assist the Imperium officials in pursuing convicts who escaped their work and made their way up to the mountains, convincing them to eventually make Weston Mills the planetary governor and thus allowing him to create more settlements. Over the next 30 years, hundreds of towns and cities had sprung up and those convicts not on mining duties were instead directed to the construction of roads and spaceports to link them together.

When Mills passed away of supposed food poisoning, his successor allegedly almost immediately entered talks with the Tau Empire. Prisoners who had heard this down the rumour mill and were looking for an easy pardon began offering information on the man's extra curricular activities, which was quickly picked up by the Marshalls. The Planetary Governor was dragged from his quarters in the middle of the night by order of High Marshall Rudabagh and taken deep into the desert, where he was buried alive for his crimes against the Emperor. Rudabagh issued a report to the Administratum regarding this, who were satisfied with his judgement and issued him Planetary Governor status, ordering him to raise regiments to support the ongoing Damocles Gulf Crusade. 

Rudabagh converted the Marshalls from a lawkeeping organisation into the planet's armed forces almost overnight. Already used to travelling and fighting in horrific weather conditions, the Marshalls made up the elite units within each regiment. The rest of the ranks were filled with penal troopers fitted with explosive collars.

As the final stages of the army neared completion however, Rudabagh was informed that it was already over and was instead directed to help in the effort against the impending arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth. 

Though losing two entire regiments to the xenos threat over the course of their conflict, the tactics of the Marshalls was deemed an effective counter to the Tyranids. The penal legionnaires' bombs were finding themselves detonated more and more frequently, the commanders in charge by the end of the conflict seeing them as little more than glorified suicide bomber squads against any Tyranids that managed to get into range. As the Hive Fleet was halted and defeated in Ultramar by the Ultramarines, the Marshalls were commended on their service and ordered to return home and raise new regiments to cover the loss of their old ones. 

== Present Day ==

Presently, Darmine is in a state of "controlled chaos", many of the numerous settlements containing street crime and smuggling activity, as well as other minor illegalities. The Marshalls keep a close eye on all of this, knowing much more than they let on in every operation and keeping the ringleaders wrapped around their little fingers. Any smuggling of xeno technology or slaves is immediately shut down, with its conspirators finding themselves "taking a trip to the desert". 

Though proposed several times, Planetary Governor Rudabagh has seemingly managed to block the construction of Adeptus Arbites Precincts whenever they have been suggested, finding some reason or another why it would be inappropriate.  His motive for doing so is unknown, but it would be suspected that he would not want the law-enforcing diminished or taken from his Marshalls, who still take up an active role in policing the populace and keeping things "as they should be".

Tau interest in Darmine has remained almost constant, traders sometimes acting as intermedaries and making their will known. The Planetary Governor has not budged on this issue however, and thus far the Tau Empire have found little success in sewing dissent amongst the planet's xenophobic populace.

Other than these descrepencies, Darmine is noted to have extremely high productivity with regards to its mining activities, and keeps its regimental tithes crisply punctual.

== Darmine Marshalls ==

The Darmine Marshalls refers to the elite troopers and veterans of Darmine's armed forces, forming the backbone of the army structure. The rest is filled out with penal legionnaires.

The Marshalls themselves are fitted for desert environments and rough terrain, experienced in both. Every Marshall has a wide-brimmed heat-repellant hat and longcoat issued to them, a luxury the legionnaires are not granted. They also employ widespread use of heavy-duty goggles in order to combat the effects of sandstorms and other harsh weather conditions. They are renowned as crack-shots and serve as an additional constant motivation for the convicts within the army to do their jobs.

The convicts are issued bright orange flak armour to go over their standard jumpsuits. They are then fitted with explosive collars and issued lasrifles, being told that they will be pardoned if they perform exceptional service to the Emperor.

The Marshalls employ mass infantry tactics, using the convicts as shields to take enemy fire while supporting and shoring up the line with their veteran squads. 

Use of Chimera transports is generally reserved for the Marshalls themselves, with the convicts within regiments being forced to march en masse.

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Stories]][[Category:Stories/Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Imperial Guard]]