Rhino

The Rhino Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is a mainstay of the Adeptus Astartes. It has provided safe transportation since the days of the Great Crusade, transporting its cargo of Space Marines swiftly and safely to the forefront of battle. Robust and versatile, and able to resist the most hostile of environments, the Rhino has become the basic troop transport of Space Marine squads. It has also been used by other trusted branches of the Imperial forces.

Origins
The Rhino APC has been in the Imperium's service for over ten thousand years, but it's true origins stretch back further still, in the depths of Humanity's past. Curiously, the surviving documents on the past of the Rhino APC are almost completely intact, and give an accurate early history of the vehicle.

Ancient records show that the Rhino originally began life codenamed RH1-N-0 Tracked Exploration and Multi-Purpose Defense Vehicle, for use by colonists and explorers as Mankind spread throughout the galaxy colonizing worlds. The Rhino was a Standard Template Construction (STC) template. They needed a robust, tracked all-terrain vehicle, sealed against hostile environments and providing some measure of protection against hostiles. The first Rhino was field-tested on Mars, and proved a great success. It was capable of being constructed from any locally available materials, and powered by nearly any fuel source, the popularity of the Rhino spread rapidly. Soon, Rhinos became common sights on frontier worlds all over human space.

The Rhino's position of dominance came to an end with the Age of Strife, as Mankind's golden age of technology and exploration ended in bloody warfare engulfing every human colony. By the end of the Age of Strife, and the emergence of the new Emperor, almost all of the STC templates had been lost or destroyed utterly. The Rhinos were slowly wiped out by attrition. Only the work and dedication of the newly-formed Adeptus Mechanicus saved the Rhino and several other STCs from being lost utterly. The reliability of the original Rhino design meant that it has changed little over the thousands of intervening years.

Today, only the most trusted Imperial organizations have access to the Rhino APC. The technology of their creation is too valuable to be risked with any but the most trusted of troops. The Adeptus Astartes, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adepta Sororitas, Adeptus Arbites and the three Holy Orders of the Inquisition all use Rhinos as their main transport vehicle.

Service Record
The earliest known use of the Rhino in combat is recorded in the ancient Liber Armorum. According to this document, it was human colonists of Torben's World against unknown indigenous Xenos creatures of a primitive technology level. The Rhinos formed a spearhead of the human colonist's attack, against which the alien's primitive firearms were of little use. The Xenos were purged from Torben's World, leaving the colonist's progress unimpeded.

Over the following 100 years, use of the Rhino spread to human military forces. Early commanders adopted the basic chassis design as an armored fighting vehicle, fitting various weapon systems and augmenting the vehicle's engine power. In time, the vehicle became the standard fighting vehicle of the Imperium's forces. STC systems provide early armies with Rhino variants still in use today, such as the Predator, Immolator and Whirlwind. There are many other variants, now lost in the depths of time.

Notable Features
Due to its STC roots, the Rhino can be built with any suitable locally available materials. Most Rhinos are constructed of a bonded ceramite layer over a cast plasteel hull, although others use composite carbon compounds or a conventional hardened steel, depending on their origins. A Rhino's engine is a work of genius. It is capable of running on almost any combustible material.

A Rhino is crewed by a single Space Marine driver who also controls the remotely operated Storm Bolter. In addition to this, a pintle mounted Storm Bolter may be fixed to a top hatch, which can be operated by an additional crewman gunner. All Space Marines inducted into the Chapter are trained to operate the Rhino as part of their training.

A Rhino is capable of carrying up to ten fully armored Space Marines within its armored hull. It is probable that the Rhino is capable of carrying a greater number of normal humans, due to their smaller size compared to the mighty Space Marines. Access is via four doors and hatches. Disembarkation can be achieved through the hydraulic rear ramp and two side doors. There is also a hatch on the top, which provides passengers with an opening from which to fire their weapons. It also provides a quick escape in the event of catastrophic damage, or if the other doors are jammed.

The Rhino is powered by two MkII 'Mars' Pattern adaptable combustion engines. Each engine runs a dynamo, which in turn runs two electric motors (and recharges the engine's batteries). Each dynamo is attached to it's engine via a power coupling, and is independent of the other engines. Should an engine be damaged there will be a reduction in speed but the other motor will continue to move the drive wheel.

The engines are fed by a fan-assisted air intake, providing the oxygen for the combustion chamber. Each engine has its own fuel tank, and an oxygen supply. This means that if there is no oxygen, or if the environment requires the air intakes to be sealed, the engines still have the oxygen they require.

Construction
The Adeptus Mechanicus has established strict guidelines concerning the construction and maintenance of these valuable machines. The purity and spiritual welfare of the vehicle's machine spirit is thought to be as important as the skill of the artificers who created the vehicle. There are many rituals surrounding the construction, maintenance and use of the Rhino. They must be cared for using the correct liturgies of maintenance.

Like all Space Marine vehicles, the construction of a Rhino is akin to a religious ritual. At every stage the correct oils must be applied and incense burnt to sanctify the process and ward off demons and gremlins from getting into the vehicle and working their mischief. As they are cast, each armored panel is inscribed with protective sigils to ward against damage and help protect it's future passengers. Components are checked and blessed before being installed. Finally, when the Rhino is complete, the Ceremony of Commissioning is undertaken. The Techpriest calls upon the Spirit of the Machine God to invoke the Rhino with power.

The final blessing is the Naming Ritual. Every new vehicle must have a name worthy of the Chapter's great history. This name is recorded, and some Chapters choose to paint or engrave it onto the vehicle's armored hull.

Technical Specifications

 * World of Origin: Mars
 * Known Patterns: I-XXXV (1-35)
 * Crew: Driver
 * Powerplant: Quad MkII Adaptable Thermic Combustion Reactor
 * Weight: 30 Tons
 * Length: 6.6 Meters
 * Width: 4.5 Meters
 * Height: 3.6 Meters
 * Ground Clearance: 0.44 Meters
 * Max Speed - On Road: 70 Kph
 * Max Speed - Off Road: 55 Kph
 * Main Armament: Storm Bolter
 * Armor


 * Superstructure: 60 mm
 * Hull: 60 mm