Tunneling Transport Vehicles

No one expects the Mole!

Imperial Tunneling Transport Vehicles are not to be confused with the Hades Breaching Drill as these vehicles actually rely on a large truck for it to transport it to its location, unlike the Hades which can just dig underground without the need of assistance from another vehicle. These overgrown drilling machines are meant to transport troops underground and are the cave versions of Valkyries. Basically they're ripoffs of the Mole from Thunderbirds.

It should be important to note that these are actually called Subterrenes, which are basically the land equivalent of Submarines, they were meant to transport troops deep behind enemy territory and launch a surprise assault. This was prevalent during the Cold War, in which both the United States and the Soviet Union tried Subterrenes as an alternative way to dig underground undetected, so that they could successfully launch an intel campaign and learn more from the other side. Of course this quickly escalated from intel gathering into new and sneaky ways of deploying a nuclear warhead, and seeing how this is the Cold War, of course both sides planned on using nuclear-powered Subterrenes. As you can imagine, such an awesome concept would prove to good to be true. The reason why the two superpowers never really bothered in actually creating a fleet of these things was due to a number of reasons. Number one: there was no practical and easy way to return the Subterrene back to its point of origin once it surfaces especially behind enemy territory, the Subterrene was literally a one-way trip. Number two: technological limitations at that times meant that the driver of the Subterrene has no idea where the fuck he was going unless there is radio to guide him from the surface (which would have been intercepted anyway), meaning that he had to pray to God/Stalin that he actually reached his destination. Number three: Subterrenes proved to be pretty damned slow and fucking noisy, it would be inevitable for a seismologist to pick up some strange disturbance underground. Number four: the invention of ICBMs made the need to sneakily deploy a nuclear bomb behind enemy lines obsolete, why bother digging slowly through varied terrain with no idea on where you will surface when you could just create a coordinate and launch a fucking missile over enemy territory. Number five: we know how disastrous a flying nuclear bomber is (Imagine a piloted nuclear bomb that is too slow to avoid missiles (Due to the lead shielding needed to keep the pilot alive), too expensive to build en masse, extremely and unnecessarily high maintenance, smaller bomb bay due to the nuclear reactor taking up all the space and the fact that it is a piloted nuclear disaster waiting to happen), imagine this shit on land; the only upside is that if anything goes wrong, than the ground being drilled under would promptly absorb any excess radiation from a nuclear-powered Subterrene, unfortunately for the crew, they are completely and absolutely fucked with no way to escape as they are trapped with a nuclear time bomb and being several hundred meters below ground.

The modern equivalent of Subterrene is called a Tunnel Boring Machine. Some of them are quite big and large enough to literally be considered as a land Submarine.

As of the recent Horus Heresy lines, we are getting an updated and modern reiteration of the Termite and Mole. Woot Woot! The rules have yet to come out, but knowing how the Hades Breaching Drill works, it is bound to have similiar rules.

So far it is unknown whether the much bigger Hellbore would also get a modern makeover, but seeing how the big ass Stormbird and even the Squats of all things got a chance so would maybe the Hellbore.

There are three flavors of Tunneling Vehicles.

Termite

The Termite doing breeches to your undefended territories.

The Termite is smallest of the Tunneling vehicles used by both Humans and They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and is the primary underground transport vehicle if the Hades isn't available.

Launched from a mobile surface transporter, the Termite is used to transport troops through the earth, safely hidden from incoming enemy fire. In addition to providing greater protection for its passengers, the Termite's tunnelling ability means they are often used for launching surprise attacks, appearing behind enemy lines and causing chaos amongst their unsuspecting foes, sometimes the Termite can use its drill to make mulched meat out of any unsuspecting foes of the Imperium.

The Termite has a transport capacity of around ten individuals and is often armed with heavy weapons such as Lascannon and Heavy Bolters which it can fire as it breaches the surface. Once a Termite has surfaced and dispatched its payload it is essentially immobolised. The Termite's surface transport vehicle (The giant truck carrying the giant drill) is un-armed as it usually stays safe from the back lines.

In the Horus Heresy, the Legiones Astartes used the Terrax pattern Termite Assault Drill, which sports additional Dakka once it spews out of the ground to provide covering fire for its troops. It takes a squad of warriors deep underground, using multi-directional drills to maneuver beneath the enemy and bursting out of the ground in the heart of their formations, disgorging Space Marines and blasting enemy apart with Bolter shells, volkite beams, or gouts of flame.

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Mole

I am back...with a vengeance.

Looking more like an underground giant bullet bill.

The Mole (Literally named after the Thunderbirds craft) is a burrowing vehicle used by the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard. Larger than the Termite but smaller than the Hellbore, the Mole if the middle brother of the drilling family. The Mole uses a phase-field generator to burrow a drill filled with troops into the ground, allowing them to surface behind or on the flanks of enemy fortifications and positions. It can probably hold double the amount of the Termite if needed.

In the newest Horus Heresy line, the Termite’s big brother is coming too, with the Imperial Mole looking like an absolute monster, with four huge tracks holding up the immense bullet-shaped device. Curiously, the Mole is referred to as being an Ordinatus, and it shows in its sheer size.

Seriously look at that thing, its fucking massive. Its like the size of a goddamned Gorgon Armored Assault Transport. Now one must picture just how big the Hellbore is going to be once it props up.

So far it is unknown what weapons it would stored with. But seeing how the much smaller Termite is bristled with guns, it would be unsurprising if the much bigger Mole would be given a hefty amount of Dakka to provide covering fire behind enemy lines.

Tl;dr, GeeDubs heard our prayers and they have spoke and delivereth.

Hellbore

The Hellbore. Yes it is that big.

A drill that will piece the Heavens!

The Hellbore is the largest burrowing vehicle of the Tunneling Transport Vehicles. Larger than both the Termite and Mole, it uses a gigantic phase-field generator to burrow its ECKSBAWKSHUGE drill filled with troops into the ground.

The Hellbore is so big it can transport both Space Marines and Terminators, meaning that in the case where even Land Raiders are having difficulty, than the Hellbore is the way to go. The size of the drill is so big and powerful that it may be possible for it to drill through underground fortifications, weakening the walls of enemy fortresses and making it more susceptible of collapse. Seriously this thing is a demolition charge on the move as it will topple the underground foundations of buildings and wreck any underground pipes and wires underneath the fortifications.

The Hellbore may even do a surprise buttsex on unsuspecting enemy artillery or tanks, as its drill will penetrate the incredibly weak under armor of the vehicles, boring straight through before unleashing its several squads of Space Marines into lightly defended territory. Yes, it can sound as perverted as you think.